San Francisco Bay Space courtroom CEOs mirror various public navigating authorized waters

Mendocino County Superior Court executive officer Kim Turner believes that people of color, women and other citizens who happen to fall into a category on a diversity wheel should be represented in their home.

Court CEOs essentially conduct court business like corporate CEOs.

“This is a very diverse branch (of the state court system) with a workforce that is very reflective of the California population,” she said.

Turner, who has served as chief executive officer of Northern California courts for nearly half a century, has noted a growing list of district courts with diverse staff and leadership. Out of 11 counties in the Greater Bay Area, from Santa Clara to the middle of the Emerald Triangle, only one courthouse is occupied by a white, heterosexual male.

“Kind of remarkable, isn’t it?” Turner asked.

And California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye is a Filipino woman of Portuguese descent.

For a long time, people walking to courthouse counters saw women as clerks. Now more women are running the legal show.

“The dynamics in public administration have changed. In the last 25 years, there are more women in leadership positions in bailiff positions,” Turner said.

The Mendocino County Court Superintendent said she made a concerted effort to urge her workers to learn other languages ​​and cultural differences in different populations. For example, there are 10 Native American tribes in Mendocino County.

It’s difficult enough for Turner to fully understand the legal language.

This “legal language” is what Turner refers to as “$28 words” that attorneys use to get a point across. Sometimes these legal eagles aren’t even there to explain what the terminology means. For example, lawyers are no longer required to handle a divorce or civil partnership dissolution unless it is complicated. Still, the process requires a general understanding of how the legal system works.

Turner said her staff — who are made up of Black, Asian, Hispanic, gay and transgender workers in the small county — are willing to provide factual information, not advice. But she thinks there is a level of comfort in having these diverse employees explain complicated legal issues.

“Our cultural services are very sensitive. We try very hard to connect with people,” she said, further stressing that the need is exacerbated when court users are feeling stressed or even in psychological anxiety. “Very few happy things happen at our courts. I think it’s very important that people go to court and see people who look like them.”

Turner cited a 2006 study entitled “Trust & Confidence in California Courts,” which assessed the need for diversity in courthouses to better understand the plight of members of minority groups because it makes “a big difference.” to get through to people navigating the legal system with no regrets.

“We found that people leave the court not remembering whether they won or lost, but whether they were heard,” she said.

The study found that trust in the courts varies widely across the state’s ethnic groups.

“Blacks and Latinos showed lower self-confidence,” says the report, with undocumented immigrants tending to avoid the legal system for fear of deportation.

Of the survey participants, 31% were born outside the United States. The statistic aligns with the 2000 US census, which shows that more than half the state’s population is from an ethnic minority group — with the three largest groups being Latino, Black and Chinese American.

Court users in the focus groups indicated that many of these minorities and recent immigrants seek to bypass the legal system altogether.

“Some worry that if they have records of any kind, they are more likely to have legal issues with the system in the future,” the study adds.

Susan Wood covers law, cannabis, manufacturing, biotechnology, energy, transportation, agriculture, and banking and finance. Susan has worked for a variety of publications for 25 years, including the North County Times, now part of the Union Tribune in San Diego County, along with the Tahoe Daily Tribune and the Lake Tahoe News. She graduated from Fullerton College. Reach her at 530-545-8662 or susan.wood@busjrnl.com