Race and Ethnic Fairness

 

State: Tennessee            Report 1

 

Committee/Report Name: Implementing Fairness: The Report of the Committee to implement the recommendations of the Racial and Ethnic Fairness Commission and the Gender Fairness Commission. 2000.

 

Number of Members: 36 Commission Members

 

Number of Subcommittees: 5 Subcommittees

Education and Training Subcommittee; Court Environment

Subcommittee; Court Policy and Procedure Subcommittee; Selection and Evaluation Subcommittee; and Data Collection Subcommittee

 

Chair/Co-Chair: Committee Chairs for the five subcommittees

 

Methods Used: The Committee recommends the funding of an additional full-time position within the Administrative Office of the Courts for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data regarding racial, ethnic, and gender demographics. During its factfinding, the Committee learned that there are a large number of entities already collecting data relevant to racial, ethnic, and gender fairness, but that there is no centralized repository for that data. Therefore, it is difficult to gain a complete picture of our state’s justice system in terms of racial, ethnic, and gender categories, and in turn, it will be difficult to monitor the improvements resulting from adoption of any recommendations of this Committee.

 

Topics and Recommendations

 

Perception

 

Public

 

Recommendations

 

1.   Local court systems should designate an ombudsman to assist public participants in the judicial system.

 

Access

 

Language

 

Recommendations

 

1.   The Tennessee Supreme Court should ensure appropriate interpreters are available pursuant to applicable law.

 

Juries

 

Selection

 

Recommendations

 

1.   Courts should ensure that jury source lists represent the racial and ethnic makeup of the areas they serve. If standard list sources, such as driver’s licenses, property tax [rolls], and voting lists do not adequately represent minority demographics, courts should consider lists from other sources, such as school enrollment, public housing residents, and utility customers.

2.   Juries should review jury service and its policies and adjust those policies that may be barriers to minority participation, such as the length of service, jurors' ability to serve on call at home, the level of reimbursement, and assistance with child care.

 

Courtroom Experience

 

Judges

 

Recommendation

 

1.   Judges should issue clear and concise directives to eliminate discriminatory practices within the court environment.

2.   All participants in the court environment should be addressed by appropriate formal titles.

3.   State and local bar associations, in conjunction with judges and clerks, should develop court monitoring programs to ensure court environments free from racial or ethnic bias.

4.   Judges should encourage sheriffs, clerks, and other court personnel who hire court assistants to appoint minority personnel.

 

Court Staff

 

Recommendations

 

1.   All participants in the court environment should be addressed by appropriate formal titles.

Other

 

Recommendation

 

1.   That the Tennessee Supreme Court amend the Tennessee Rules of Professional Responsibility to prohibit, inter alia, bias or discrimination by lawyers. Bias and discrimination have no place in the courts and in the performance of legal services. The concept of one system of justice for all persons does not contemplate, nor should the profession and the Court permit, prejudice or discrimination by lawyers.

2.   All participants in the court environment should be addressed by appropriate formal titles.

 

Quality of Representation

 

Recommendation

 

1.   Courts, district attorneys, and public defenders should assure that all defendants receive the same quality of treatment and representation.

2.   The Legislature and the Tennessee Supreme Court should expand efforts to make legal representation available to low and moderate income people.

 

Legal Profession

 

Recruitment/Acceptance to Law School

 

Recommendations

 

1.   Law schools should continue their affirmative efforts to recruit, admit, and graduate more minority law students.

2.   Law schools, together with the bar associations and state education officials, should increase their efforts to disseminate information about careers in the law to encourage minority high school and college students to consider careers in the legal profession.

3.   Law schools should offer greater financial assistance to minority applicants and law students.

4.   Law schools should act as community resources with outreach to communities across the state to help eradicate existing forms of discrimination and bias and to improve opportunities for all persons to achieve personal and professional goals, regardless of race or ethnicity.

5.   Law schools should continue or initiate mentor programs to support the academic success and professional development of minority law students. Law schools should develop activities to improve the knowledge and responsiveness of students, lawyers, and judges to issues of race and ethnicity in the workplace.

6.   Law schools should continue efforts to increase employment opportunities for minority students and graduates, ensuring that minorities have access to the same employment opportunities as other law students and graduates.

7.   The Tennessee Supreme Court and the Legislature should promote appropriate methods to increase financial assistance to minority law students by such programs as scholarships, loans, and tuition forgiveness.

8.   Local and state bar associations and the courts should develop educational programs to provide training for primary and secondary school students and the public through community forums.

 

Hiring and Promotion

 

Recommendations

 

1.   Law schools should increase the diversity of their teaching faculty—both fulltime and part-time—by continuing their efforts to attract and retain high quality minority professors.

2.   Law firms, corporations, government agencies, and other law-related offices should develop in-house mentor programs to support the professional development of minority lawyers.

3.   Law offices should implement programs to assure equality in the nature, scope, and importance of tasks assigned to all attorneys regardless of race or ethnicity.

 

Education

 

Judges

 

Recommendations

 

1.   Judges should educate public audiences about the legal system and the adversarial process to help avoid confusion and misunderstandings about the judicial process that may be misinterpreted as bias.

2.   We recommend the adoption of a courtroom conduct handbook modeled upon the existing guide prepared and approved by the Memphis Bar Association. Similarly, with respect to courtroom staff and personnel, we recommend an appropriate document to be used as a part of the training process.

3.   Judicial Conferences, the Court Clerks Conference, the bar associations, and other associations that offer continuing legal education programs should encourage the selection of educational faculty from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

4.   Judges should exercise authority and receive funding to require sensitivity training for all court personnel.

 

Lawyers

 

Recommendations

 

1.   Local bar associations, in conjunction with legal and judicial organizations, should develop handbooks to provide judges, attorneys, and court personnel with information that will improve their interaction and communication with persons of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in courtroom and judicial settings.

2.   The Tennessee Supreme Court should require that continuing legal education include, within its ethics and professionalism requirements, racial and ethnic diversity training.

 

Public

 

Recommendations

 

1.   The legislature should require state and local law enforcement officials to invest time and resources in diversity training for officers and support staff.

 

Civil and Family

 

Civil

 

Recommendations

 

1.   The Legislature should enact legislation to provide for sanctions against insurance companies that discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity in the evaluation and settlement of personal injury and workers' compensation claims.

2.   Courts should ensure that in civil or criminal fee-generating cases, attorneys are appointed on a non-discriminatory basis.

 

Criminal Justice

 

Recommendations

 

1.   The Tennessee Supreme Court and the Legislature should review all aspects of the system of assessing and providing bail bonds; should set forth specific guidelines regarding surety requirements; and should consider a public pre-trial service system free from bias as an appropriate alternative or addition to the current bail bonding practices.

2.   Courts should ensure that in civil or criminal fee-generating cases, attorneys are appointed on a non-discriminatory basis.

 

Court as an Employer/Appointer

 

Hiring/Promotion

 

Recommendations

 

1.   We recommend that the State of Tennessee implement the broadest possible recruitment efforts for all positions on a continuing basis, with special emphasis upon measures designed to increase the numbers of women in higher paid and higher status positions in the justice system. The Supreme Court should monitor, on an on-going basis, implementation of policies designed to assure fair employment practices. Finally, we note that all judicial department offices, agencies, and courts should be mindful of the need to maintain a working environment that will recognize and seek to accommodate the unique problems confronted by the single-parent employee.

2.   The Administrative Office of the Courts should recruit and hire minority court reporters for use in state-funded cases.

 

Judicial Selection

 

Recommendations

 

1.   Judicial appointing authorities should establish as a priority the increase of minorities in judicial and quasi-judicial appointments.

2.   The Tennessee Supreme Court and the Presiding Judges of Judicial Districts should designate minority judges to fill temporary vacancies, including those in jurisdictions that have little or no minority representation in the bench or bar.

3.   The Legislature should review the composition of the Judicial Selection Commission to ensure compliance with statutory requirements of diversity.

4.   Judicial candidates should be screened and disqualified upon evidence of racial and ethnic bias prior to appointment.

5.   The judicial evaluation process should include screening for bias when evaluating sitting judges and evaluators should reflect the proportionate population of minorities.

 

Other Topics

Data Collection

Recommendations

1.   That the Tennessee Supreme Court create, and the Tennessee General Assembly fund, an entity: (a) to continue the study of how race and ethnicity affect the fair and equitable dispensation of justice in the State of Tennessee; (b) to follow through on the recommendations made by this Commission; (c) to identify other appropriate measures that should be taken to eliminate discrimination or bias in the practice of law and in systems of criminal and civil justice; and (d) to report periodically to the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Legislature, and the Governor on the accomplishment of appropriate goals and recommendations.

2.   The Administrative Office of the Courts should collect and distribute data on the impact of current bail bonding policies on racial and ethnic minorities.

3.   The Administrative Office of the Courts should compile and distribute data on civil cases to evaluate the influence and impact of race and ethnicity issues on outcomes, settlements, and damage awards.

4.   The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance should require insurance companies to report the amount of personal injury settlements and the race and ethnicity of the parties.

5.   The Tennessee Supreme Court should prepare reports showing minority representation among court personnel by judicial districts, and make such reports available to appointing authorities.

6.   The Tennessee Department of Correction should compile and distribute data on the access minorities have to, and their success in, offender programs that offer educational, vocational, and drug rehabilitation treatments.

7.   The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth should compile and distribute data on the outcomes of juvenile court proceedings by race and ethnicity and recommend appropriate corrective actions if such data shows bias.

8.   The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth should compile and distribute data regarding the extent to which minority children are eligible for educational, vocational, and drug rehabilitation programs and the outcome of such programs for minority participants.

 

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