TRAINING CURRICULUM TOPIC:
Your Role As A Court Employee

Goals For This Training. This training should assist new employees to:

1. Know that they play an important role in promoting the court's mission and vision.

2. Make ethical decisions.

3. Recognize that they represent the integrity of local court and court system as a whole.

4. Promote equal and fair access to courts.

Available Resources:

• "One Court of Justice" Access to justice is a significant goal of Michigan Supreme Court. Resources are available to assist Michigan courts in removing racial, ethnic, economic, language, and disability barriers and gender bias. http://courts.michigan.gov/scao/resources/publications/pamphlets/bias.pdf

• Model Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees

• Ex Parte Communication Webcast. Court support personnel often hear case specific information from litigants, and may be unsure whether that information should be shared with a judge, referee, and/or magistrate. When communications between a litigant and a court employee occur outside the presence of, or without notification to the other party of the action, the conversation may be perceived as ex parte communication. Understanding the difference between hearing information from and providing information to a party, and being an advocate for the party can be confusing for court personnel.

• To learn more about your role as a court employee, complete the following MJI self-study training modules:

  • Quality Customer Service [print version]

  • Serving the Self-Represented Litigant

  • Court Customers with Special Needs: How Best to Serve Them

  • Contributing in a Changing Workplace

• To learn more about the proceedings that occur in the court for which you work, view the following archived training seminars:

  • District/Municipal Court Employees Seminars
    (http://ustools.you-niversity.com/youtools/companies/mji/archivesLayout2.html#district)

    • Civil Infraction Procedures: A Training Seminar for District and Municipal Court Support Personnel

  • Family Division/Probate Court Employees
    (http://ustools.you-niversity.com/youtools/companies/mji/archivesLayout2.html#family)

    • Juvenile Delinquency Proceedings

    • Adoption Procedures

• Jury Administrators

  • Jury Administration Guidelines and Best Practices

  • Jury Duty Orientation Video

• QuicKnowledge.com. A series of online, self-study training modules. Courses applicable to this training topic include:

  • Valuing Diversity
  • Organizing Your Workspace
  • Discriminatory Harassment: Promoting a Respectful Workplace for Employees
  • Becoming an Effective Team Member
  • Appreciating Personality Differences

Best Practices:

• Cross Training. The 3rd Circuit Court and 36th District Court cross train employees. This training is facilitated by department managers. Employees are rotated into different positions on a regular basis to allow them an opportunity to learn the work of each department/position.

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