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Preamble <br />The Oregon State Court system is responsible for assuring stability and predictability in tl~e <br />law, and preserving and protecting individual rights. It is the reactive branch of state <br />government; i.e., it interprets and implements the principles and ideals in rules that have <br />already been n,ade, including the state and federal constitutions. The court system rightly <br />insists on being given ~ood reason before it will aliow changes to be made in the rules it <br />fosters and protects <br />But the fact that the state court system respects today's rules does not mean it cannot change <br />the way it serves the public in the future. In fact, a rapidly changing world demands that <br />the courts be more proactive in anticipating and preparing for the future. To that end, the <br />Future of the Courts Committee of the Oregon Judicial Conference has investigated the <br />probable future of this state and its justice system. It has also drafted a vision for a better <br />future and has identified ideas and tools for achieving it. <br />A few key points about the vision: First, it should be ~iewed as an integrated whole, not <br />merely the sum of its parts The vision contains a number of concepts that may be <br />challen~in~; or cr~ntroversial ~rhese ideas are best evaluated in the context of the ftill <br />do~ument <br />Second, the v~5ic~n represents a broad, long-term direction for the state court system, not a <br />short-tern~ strate~ic c~r operational plan (t is intended to provide a frame~vork for future <br />st~te c~~urt plannin~;, bucigeting and legislative activities, rather than dictating specif~c <br />strategies for chan~;e <~r immediate courses of action. <br />F~nally, the Futures Committee and the Judicial Conference caution the reader that the <br />examples of chan~e or restructuring in the state Courts or overall justiCe system that are <br />citeci here are onlv a few of the possibilities. The inclusion of a given example does not <br />mean ~t wili or should be implementecf, nor does the exclusion of another example me~~n it <br />should not be considered. <br />This vision is the result of intensive study, discussion and debate. [t is an open document, <br />to be penodicallv re~~i~ited ~~nd revised, in order to guide the courts as they move into ~ <br />dynamic future <br />