Measuring access & fairness in Ohio
Project background
The move to online court operations in 2020 and following the pandemic called for an updated approach for examining perceptions of fairness and access. To better understand how people were experiencing these evolutions in the justice system, we worked with the Supreme Court of Ohio to test an updated CourTools measure 1 that evaluated both in-person and remote court experiences, allowing courts to see where they were succeeding and where they needed to improve.
Evolving practices to assess public perceptions
Some key goals of the project included:
- Testing a survey that works in today's hybrid court environment
- Comparing access and fairness ratings between in-person and remote proceedings
- Exploring what recruitment strategies worked best to gather responses
Among the top takeaways from the project were:
- Remote hearings were rated as more accessible and fairer than in-person proceedings
- Court users offered a choice between remote or in-person options reported the best experiences
- Offering small, immediate incentives (such as candy or coffee) helped to boost response rates
By testing this tool across different court types and communities, Ohio helped shape an amended performance survey that your court can use to make meaningful, data-driven improvements.
Looking Ahead
The pilot program's success gives courts nationwide a flexible, tested tool for gathering feedback and improving services. With continued use and customization, the updated CourTools measure 1 will help courts better understand and meet the needs of today's diverse users.