 You're watching FJTN, the Federal Judicial Television Network. The courts are the watchdog of our rights. They resolve disputes that can't otherwise be resolved. They protect the community. They enforce the Constitution and the laws of the land. What higher task can there be? What greater contribution can be made? And so being part of a system that does that, and being part of a mechanism that is indispensable and invaluable in your community and in your country is a very special thing. The judicial branch, in my opinion, is the most important branch of government. I really firmly believe that what we do is the most important function of our government. And so why is that? We are, I think the phrase that really resonates with me is that we're the fulcrum of democracy, that if you don't have a free and independent judiciary preserving and protecting the rights of our citizens, then our society, our government, our way of life goes down the tubes. In order to achieve that goal or that function within our society, we have to have a well-trained and educated workforce who are knowledgeable about what they do, who are knowledgeable about why we're here, what the courts are supposed to be up to, what the judges are trying to accomplish, so that we can have that fair and effective judiciary. That third branch of government, although we're third, I think we're the most important. Judge Marshall, Judge Pro, what do you think makes the judiciary and the employees and the judiciary so special in the federal government? Well, I think just being a part of the administration of justice and, of course, all who work in the federal courts realize that. And I think that we, of course, try to impress upon them that the machinery can't work. We can't accomplish what we hope to accomplish without them and that everybody plays a role in that. The courts play such an important role in our society as places to resolve conflicts fully and fairly. And we depend mightily on those employees at every level to help the judges and others that are in the courtroom do their jobs. So it's an awfully important responsibility that everyone holds as part of the court system. A judge without a competent and supportive staff is not unlike, perhaps, a pilot without aircraft or a firefighter without equipment. They're ill-equipped to do the job. The staff provides the judge with the work product that he or she needs to get the job done and get it done well. So employees should understand that they're not just valuable. They're indispensable. What I think makes the judiciary and its employees special is, number one, the courts are mentioned specifically in the Constitution. And you certainly can't say the same thing about the IRS and the Social Security Administration. So I think that gives us a very special place to start. Next, I think the fact that what we do has an impact across the entire spectrum of people's lives, the decisions that are made by the judges, the work that the staff does, touches people in so many different ways, in so many very personal ways. Working for the federal courts is different than any other job I've had or what other people I've known have had. Because at the end of the day, you can have the feeling you've done something good for someone. You can have the feeling that you are been part of a system, that you've moved it forward, and that you're proud of the system. And that's a rare feeling in many other jobs. What makes us special as court employees is that, unlike employees that work for, say, private sector industries, we are actually for the citizenry, the embodiment of democracy. We are the people who demonstrate democracy by the way we handle papers over the counter to prosalit against, the way we counsel offenders when we have to gather information for them, the way we sit in courtrooms taking down the record. The independence of the court, to me, is the most important part. We aren't working for a corporation. We're not interested about profit. The basis of the court is the Constitution. So unlike other jobs, it is a much bigger picture. It's the fundamental of what America is all about, is our Constitution, and the court is actually the protector of that. I think the federal judiciary is, as an employer, very much different place than working for a private sector firm like Kmart or Intel. First of all, the judiciary is a permanent institution in our society, unlike private sector firms, which are here today and often gone tomorrow. And the judiciary serves a decidedly important function in our society. It is the embodiment of the rule of law. How does the work of the individual court units, whether probation, pretrial, or clerk's office, help to support and protect the rights and liberties guaranteed in the Constitution? Well, if one were to come into the federal courthouse and we were to take you on a tour so that you start with the clerk's office where the complain is filed that starts the process, you could see from that person who's at the window receiving that complaint and file stamping it to the judge who ultimately are the jury, who ultimately is going to resolve the issues in the case. And all along the way, there will be people involved with that process. And all of them are needed in order for us to accomplish the final goal, which is to make sure that justice is done, that people get a fair trial, that they get their day in court. Everyone is familiar with Brown versus the Board of Education. It had such a profound impact and a positive impact in our society. And that's a good example of how our court system has worked to protect the rights of people in this country. But that case began with the filing of a lawsuit. And somebody had to process that from filing through docketing and so forth. They may not have been one of the nine justices in the US Supreme Court, but along the way, as Judge Marshall said, people played a very important part. And they have a piece of that. And that's reflective of cases that are maybe not as important or as famous as Brown versus the Board of Education. But every one of those cases is very important to the litigants that are involved. I think the work of our employees helps to further the mission of the federal judiciary, primarily, I would say, through making the federal judiciary more accessible. And that can take a variety of forms, whether it's good customer service that encourages people to use our services or disseminating information which enables people to navigate the federal courts more easily. Government is about service. And the federal judiciary and its employees are about problem-solving service. In the federal courts, we have a direction under the civil rules to resolve and apply the civil rules with a rule that we are bespeeding, that we be inexpensive, and that we be just. And the whole purpose of the judiciary and its employees from at every level is to bring about those results. From the small things that we do to the large things, our individual efforts, even though they may seem trivial, these things all contribute to something that's important to our citizenry and important to the Constitution of the United States. People come to the courts to resolve disputes and very important issues in our lives, wide-ranging issues involving our civil liberties, our responsibilities as citizens, the role of the government. And our role in the federal courts is to protect those rights and to ensure that people have a say and that the different issues are presented in a fair way. If you take a look at the, back at our Constitution, and specifically the Bill of Rights, it's interesting to note how that intersects with our jobs. The First Amendment of the Constitution, talking about freedom and guaranteeing freedom and the fact that if a citizen feels wrong, that they have a voice, a right to redress the government for any grievances, that everybody has a voice. The Fifth Amendment, nor shall any person be subject to the same offense twice, nor deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. It's starting to come a little closer to home, isn't it? Without due process of law. And you are in the front lines of helping make those decisions of providing facts, of working with people, working with the community on issues of life, liberty, and property. One time when I was a new probation officer, I was driving home from work and listening to the news and heard that there had been a Supreme Court case that had been decided just that day that had impact on a case that I was working on right at that time. And that really struck home for me that I'm part of the national system, and that Supreme Court decision affects what I write tomorrow in the office. And this report that I'm writing today could go to the Fourth Circuit for review, could even go to the Supreme Court. And someday there could be a news piece on a decision that was the result of the case that I'd worked on. The Sixth Amendment talks about to a right to a public trial and speedy trial by an impartial jury. You're constantly fighting the clock, as you are in doing pre-sentence investigations to help guarantee that speedy trial and also that notion of impartiality. And of course last but not least is the Eighth Amendment. This says, excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted. We hope you leave this week with the essence of pride in knowing the importance of the work that you are doing, the importance of the work in justice, and that justice is up to just us working together, helping each other. We have unique attributes. I mentioned judicial independence as something as being very important for the judiciary. That goes to different aspects. Yes, you probably heard about you wanna protect the judges from ex parte communication. You shouldn't have one side on a case talking to the judge or somehow interfering with the case without the other side being present. So we have a very unique function within the judicial branch that doesn't exist in other branches of government really, that we have duties and obligations that are unique to the judiciary. A second unique aspect of us, it's not unique in the concept, but it's unique in its application, is the code of conduct. I mean, if anybody can tell me what other branch of government or what other private entity has a higher degree standard of care, a standard of conduct than the judiciary and its employees in terms of our ethics and what we are supposed to uphold, I'd like to hear about it, especially in the government arena. I do not think that there's any other higher standard of care than what we have to do with our code of conduct, and so that's unique. That's different. That's a challenge for us within the judiciary to make sure that our staff is well versed in the code of conduct, that we adhere to the code of conduct and the ethics that are contained in the code and that we are ever vigilant on that. I've had several deputy clerks and clerks in probation free trial mention that when they became aware of the code of conduct and how specific it was to the judiciary, it gave them a different sense of the work that they do. Have you found this to be true in your units? I think that that is true, and as we were talking earlier, during the season when people would normally be exchanging gifts, and of course, those who have taken advantage of the service of the courts, the lawyers mainly, want to reward the clerks and others who've been involved in the process, and of course that code of conduct would not permit them to receive any gifts, and the clerks will bring it to our attention and talk about the fact that there is that code of conduct, and it also protects them, and it's their answer when someone wants to give a gift of some type that the code does not permit them to do so, and often you'll hear them say, this is my job, I love doing it, I'm doing it because that's what I want to do and I'm supposed to do, so it's not like you have to reward me for the job that I've done. That's an awfully important point. Taking pride in the work that you do is so important to having whatever our jobs are, that we do it well and take pride in it, but that code of conduct does a couple of things that I think are awfully important. When you focus on matters of conflict of interest and the appearance of impropriety, it kind of drives home to every employee that they are part of the judiciary. What they do matters, how they appear, I don't just mean in a physical sense, but how they conduct themselves really does matter and because they are an extension of not just an individual judge, but of the court of an important third branch in our constitutional democracy and I hope that reinforces some of those values with each employee. To inspire new employees, we go into the courtroom, I talk to them about the oath, I explain of course that they're not enlisting in the military, but it's similar and that it's a very serious matter to be a deputy clerk and that by taking the oath, I want them to think about it and we talk a lot about customer service because at bottom we serve the bench, we serve the bar and we serve the public and we can never lose sight of that. I take a personal responsibility in every new employee that comes into the court, into our office, that they should understand what their role is in the big picture. They may have what may seem to be an unimportant part of the process, but if they understand where they fit in the whole system, they feel a sense of worth, a sense of importance that what they're doing is crucial to the process. We hold a special ceremony that is part of the oath of office taking process. We have a reception, we have a special room and a foyer that's decorated with the American flag and a picture of the Constitution and our circuit executive, Greg Walters, administers the oath of office and at the same time, he reminds people of the importance of serving for the United States courts and indeed, why it is a special responsibility. We take them to court right away because to me, that's where you actually can feel the whole system come together. The minute you walk into one of our courtrooms, you get the solemnity of the entire process right there and you realize that what you're doing is a very serious part of the job. I meet with each employee within their first oh, six or eight weeks of being appointed. I tell them about the functions of the judiciary, its organization, how judges are appointed and then I always attempt to tell them some stories about roles the federal courts have served over time. I characteristically draw upon the civil rights movement era and the important role that federal judges were uniquely able to play at that time because they had life tenure and were insulated from political forces at that time and this seems to make a tremendous impression on them. When I talk to jurors at the end of a trial and I always talk to the jurors, not about the merits of the case, but just to learn from them if there's something we could do at the courthouse that would make their job a little bit easier. Invariably, I receive from those jurors compliments on the professionalism of the staff. Now it could be the courtroom deputy, the court reporter or court recorder or the technician that comes into the courtroom to assist or other people that they may have encountered during the jury selection process and so forth and that goes back to something you mentioned earlier I think in terms of each employee being an ambassador. They really are an ambassador to the public and they're the face of our court and they're the people that the litigating public or the jurors or their attorneys come into contact with and the way they conduct themselves, the way they do their jobs and do them well makes a real difference I think in how the public views and appreciates the court system.