The Florida Supreme Court this month eliminated a rule requiring new judges to take a daylong training session on the topic of “fairness and diversity” and also disbanded the court’s nearly 20-year-old committee that oversaw the training.
In a Feb. 2 administrative order, Chief Justice Carlos Muniz emphasized that recent policy changes would assure that new judges are exposed to ethics principles, including the subjects of civility, due process and equal justice under the law.
“The Code of Judicial Conduct … imposes obligations centered on judicial professionalism, procedural fairness and nondiscrimination in the court system,” Muniz said in the order. “Confident that Florida Judicial College offerings will thoroughly address these issues, the court has eliminated the requirement that new judges attend a separate, daylong training on ‘fairness and diversity.’ “
Some in the state’s justice system, including the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, have called the court’s decision unfortunate and urged the high court to reconsider the changes.
“We cannot achieve fairness in our courts unless our judiciary is consistently and intentionally educated about diversity, fairness and inclusion,” the FACDL said in a statement emailed to the Florida Record. “This must include not only implicit bias training but also instruction on historical factors that cause such implicit bias. This impacts everything from the way litigants are treated in the courtroom to the punishment they receive.”
Implicit bias, according to the National Institutes of Health, refers to the type of bias that happens unintentionally but nevertheless can alter “judgments, decisions and behaviors.” The NIH goes on to say that raising awareness about the issue is not enough and that under-represented groups need to be sought out and engaged to achieve true diversity.
The court also discontinued the diversity panel’s work, which focused mostly on the education of new judicial officers.
“Perpetuating a separate standing committee dedicated to overlapping issues risks inconsistency and duplication of efforts,” Muniz said in his order.