Under each of the model structures, the Assignment Judges would remain the chief executives for the vicinages, having fundamental responsibility for providing court services in accordance with the standards set centrally by the executive management component. The primary role of the Conferences of Presiding Judges is to identify best practices and to promote appropriate program uniformity. The Conferences will sometimes be advocates for their respective divisions, but they also must understand systemwide needs. The Conferences of Division Managers should continue their ongoing work in this area as well. The AOC's role to provide administrative and programmatic support to the trial courts is essential.
Accountability is an essential element of effective management.
The Judiciary's adoption of a table of organization that allocates authority and responsibility clearly, sets the stage to begin holding judges, managers, and operational units fully accountable for their work. The mechanisms of accountability need to be improved and strengthened. They should include performance indicators that measure the quality as well as the quantity of the work. While there is a greater need for centralized governance in attempting to achieve judicial unification, the appropriate role of decentralization in the Judiciary's organizational structure nonetheless must be recognized. Because of New Jersey's tradition of local access to courts, the Judiciary has a vested interest in being able to delegate operating authority to vicinages and within each vicinage to empowered personnel, so long as all are in active pursuit of common goals and share the same sense of purpose.