2020- 2021 Year in Review - Equal Justice in the New York State Courts Report

In November 2021, Chief Judge DiFiore announced the release of the Equal Justice in the New York State Courts: Year in Review Report (“Report”). The Report detailed the Court’s progress in implementing the recommendations to address issues of diversity and systemic racism from the Report of the Special Adviser on Equal Justice in the Courts. The Special Adviser on Equal Justice Report was issued in October 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and a racist Facebook post by a New York State Court officer.

New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFiore appointed former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson as Special Adviser to conduct a review of the courts and provide recommendations. On October 1, 2020, the Special Adviser on Equal Justice issued a 100-page report, emphasizing the dehumanizing effect of overburdened, under-resourced, high-volume courts on people of color and on the poor, who disproportionately appear in those courts. The Special Adviser’s Report also noted the presence of racial bias and intolerance within the court system and included thirteen specific recommendations.

Judge DiFiore pledged to implement the thirteen specific recommendations and assigned Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Edwina Mendelson-Richardson as the lead administrator within OCA in its effort to implement the recommendations. The Equal Justice in the New York State Courts: Year in Review Report documents the tremendous progress by the courts leaders and administrators to implement those recommendations. We expect the new initiatives to make major progress towards a more equitable, diverse, and just court system. You may view the Report here:

https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/publications/2021-Equal-Justice-Review.pdf

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