In the current modern society, there are numerous issues facing the court and administrative systems, and the trend makes an indication that the future is bound to make a change on numerous issues and aspects. For example, there has been changes with regard to the victims' rights where there has been some issues that have remained the same while others have changed tremendously. The changes in court and administrative systems have changed in tandem with the changing social values, which have changed crime trends. For example, there has been numerous staggering marriages leading to an increase in the number of children born out of wedlock. This has led to a loss of patriarchal figures who can guide, teach and lead the children on what is right or wrong. This paper seeks to evaluate the current and future issues facing and affecting the courts and administrator of the court in the current modern society.
The increased globalization has been among the issues facing the court and courts’ administrators in the current modern society and will be a challenge in the future based on the trends. Globalization has led to an increase in immigrations, cultural integration and diversity, which have been among the issues changing fast in court and administration of court. For example, in the current American society, it has been identified that approximately 32 billion people do not speak English. Therefore, as the law requires, there has to be an interpreter when the individual involved is not fluent in English. Language barriers are among the most potent issues that the court faces in the current society and poses challenges to all parties within the court system. Therefore, there has been views that legislation is required and should have many qualifications certified in language interoperation.
The issue of the language barrier has been a major challenge and not only should the interpreter be trained, but also the judges, clerks and the personnel working within the court system. This will play an imperative role in aiding the interoperation process. There has been many cases when issues have arisen with regard to obtaining interpreters in numerous courts and the financial obligations that arise thereof. The protection of the victims' rights is an essential part of the law. There are cases when legislations have been passed in support of victim’s rights, such as the 1984 Voca Victims of Act Crimes, which involved a finical support for victims suffering from a finical loss as a result of crime. However, the funds allocated in this program might not be sufficient due to an increased reduction of funds towards the program. The funds have been fluctuating in the past, and the trend might continue into the future depending on the crimes and the available funds.
Globally, the courts are under the obligation of setting the standards of justice in tandem with the changing global societies. In some countries and court systems it has been an easy task, but some have faced extreme challenges. This has been compounded by issues such as increasing crime levels, language barriers and budget issues making the court system hang on a loose piece of thread. The current and future factors and issues facing the courts and court administrators require effective planning, enthusiasm and set objectives. The challenges facing the system need to be exposed and innovations need to be made through employment of skilled and knowledgeable staff. Court administers are bestowed with the responsibility of ensuring strategic management and constant review of the strategies employed. Strategic planning ensures the formulation of an integrated plan that involves thinking through the organization creating the best possible future for the whole court system. In the recent past, strategic planning has been an essential component of court management and management of the judicial system in the modern society and especially in the American society. For example, the making of current judgement from past practices has been challenged immeasurably, where the concerned parties have questioned its ability to deal with future problems.
The court system and administration face numerous challenges in the current complex society characterized by changing trends in criminal activities. For example, there is an increasing trend of violent crimes in the US, which have led to an increased workload on the US criminal justice system. This has led to an increased backlog of the cases with the current staff, judges and other personnel working for long hours while still suffering underpayment (Ladner, 2000). The increasing crime and increasing backlog of the cases compounds the challenges facing the system as it brings about the issues of delayed justice for victims, which is against victims' rights.
The current modern society has experienced extensive developments in technology in all spheres. The court system and administration have not been spared and has increasingly been forced to change its systems to adopt the existing technology. This has led to an increasing challenge on judicial educators and administrators as they seek to improve accessibility of justice. Judicial educators have had to develop new ways of integrating training programs that improve the interaction of court staff, judges and the general public currently and in the future. Adoption of technology has proved beneficial to the enhancement of the criminal justice system, but it has been a challenging task for the personnel to learn about using the new technologies.
Technology advancement has been essential in facilitating the management of complex information through e-filing and standardization of the court. Technology has led to the adoption of judicial decision support systems and court management softwares that facilitate the improvement of accountability. There has been changes in the courthouse designs and electronic discovery of files and information that has been essential in the justice system. The technological advancements have been emerging issues that continually challenge the court system and court administrators (Ladner, 2000). This has specifically been due to the changing nature of technology, where new technologies are developed leading to absolution of the existing ones.
Judicial independence is another major issue affecting the operations of the court system and court administrators. For example, a cross-organizational court constituent survey conducted in 2005 established that judicial independence has been a major concern in the delivery of justice. There has been a concern that judicial selections have been politicized, which has been a major concern for the operations of the court not only in the current period, but also in the future. Although judicial judicial independence is not a new phenomenon, it has continued to evolve requiring new information and resources from different, divergent perspectives. Court administrators have faced the challenge of ensuring independence of the court since judicial selections have increasingly been susceptible to partisan political influences and bias.
There has been an increased criminalization of social problems, which has been another major issue facing the court system and court administrators. For example, there has been an increase in population, political trends and certain fiscal pressures, which have curtailed the availability of traditional social services. This has led to an increasing number of the people in need of these services who end in the criminal justice system. This has increased the number of people in need of the criminal justice system while the court system is not enlarging its capacity. This has made the court a surrogate for the weakened social institutions handling personal and community problems. Such issues can be handled in churches, families, schools and other community institutions without court interventions, which can play an important role in reducing the backlog in the criminal justice system.
In conclusion, there has been numerous issues facing the courts and court administrators in ensuring the smooth running of the criminal justice system. This has resulted from the numerous social changes that continually challenge the existing systems. For example, the issue of globalization has been among the major issues affecting the operations of the courts. This has been due to increased immigration of people from one country to the other creating language barrier. The development of technology has been essential in the operation and management of the courts by the administrators. Independence of the courts and criminalization of social issues have also been emerging issues affecting the operations of the courts.
References
Grossi, P. T., Mills, J. L., & Vagenas, K. (2012). Crisis in the Courts: Reconnaissance and Recommendations. Retrieved January 7, 2014, from Trends in the State Courts: http://www.ncsc.org/sitecore/content/microsites/future-trends-2012/home/Better-Courts/1-2-Crisis-in-the-Courts.aspx
Ladner, J. (2000 , February 29). Issues Facing the Courts Today. Retrieved January 7, 2014, from http://www.smartvoter.org/2000/03/07/ca/la/vote/ladner_j/paper2.html
Maguire, B., & Radosh, P. F. (1996). The Past, Present, and Future of American Criminal Justice. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
