Guideline for Tenet Eight

DUTY TO SERVE

A major goal of all court employees is to provide accurate and timely information. When giving information to customers, whether orally or in writing, present it in as easily understandable a format as the inquiry allows, and avoid legal jargon whenever possible. Court personnel are employed to serve and should strive to do everything possible to make things easier for customers rather than for themselves or the court organization. The category of customer should extend not only to the general public but also to attorneys, process servers, staff members of other justice agencies, and especially to fellow court employees. Colleagues are internal customers and should have their information service needs met with the same level of dispatch and consideration as external customers.