Introducing Our Family Court Judicial Performance Evaluation Survey: Building Trust Through Transparency
In a democracy, public trust in the judiciary serves as the cornerstone of legitimacy for our legal system. Yet this trust is increasingly strained in family courts, where life-altering decisions about child custody, domestic violence protections, and family dissolution occur daily.
Why We Created This Survey
Research and community feedback has revealed concerning patterns within our family court system:
- Judges lacking required domestic violence, child development and implicit bias training
- Survivors feeling silenced and/or punished when presenting evidence of abuse
- Court-appointed professionals operating without standardized qualifications
- Children’s safety concerns going unaddressed
These findings motivated us to develop a structured platform where those who interact with the court system can provide meaningful feedback on judicial conduct. Our judicial survey evaluations aim to gather feedback from all participants in the family court system—including attorneys, court personnel, litigants, witnesses, and others, because the public often lacks comprehensive tools to properly assess judicial performance in their state.
A Constructive Bridge Between the Public and the Judiciary
Rather than undermining judicial independence, our evaluation survey creates a constructive channel for all citizens who interact with the court system to share observations about judges’ performance. By focusing on observable behaviors aligned with established American Bar Association guidelines, we aim to:
- Provide judges with valuable insights for professional development
- Increase transparency in how family courts function
- Identify patterns of both exemplary practices and areas needing improvement
- Support evidence-based recommendations for system-wide enhancements
By collecting and analyzing patterns of performance, we aim to strengthen public confidence in the judiciary while supporting judges’ professional development in these critical areas. In each state, we will collect individual judicial evaluations, then develop reports of the results and make them available to the public. The public deserves information when making decisions when voting.
Ultimately, a robust judicial evaluation system serves everyone: judges gain valuable feedback for improvement, the public gains greater confidence in judicial decisions, and most importantly, families and children receive more informed, consistent, and compassionate treatment in our courts.
How the Survey Works
Our evaluation framework is built on five key dimensions established by the American Bar Association:
- Legal Knowledge and Application – How well judges understand and apply family law
- Integrity and Impartiality – Whether judges treat all parties fairly and without bias
- Communication Skills – How clearly judges explain procedures and decisions
- Judicial Temperament – The judge’s demeanor, patience, and professionalism
- Administrative Capacity – Efficiency in managing cases and court processes
We’ve added specialized sections that assess judges’ understanding of:
- Domestic violence dynamics
- Trauma-informed practices
- Child development needs
- Cultural competency
How Your Feedback Will Be Used
Your anonymous feedback will help us:
- Publish periodic reports on judicial performance trends
- Create educational materials about family court processes
- Develop recommendations for judicial training
- Inform court administrators about system-wide issues
- Provide judges with anonymized feedback to support improvement
Join Us in Strengthening Family Courts
By participating in this survey evaluation, you become part of the collaborative effort to improve the family court system. We believe that a robust judicial evaluation system serves everyone: judges gain valuable feedback, the public gains confidence in judicial decisions, and most importantly, families and children receive more informed, consistent, and compassionate treatment in our courts.
Take the survey now and help us build a more transparent, accountable family court system.
This survey operates independently from State Judicial Branches and complements, but does not replace, official channels for judicial evaluations or complaints. For more detailed information about our methodology and privacy protections, please review our full disclosure agreement.