NY court officers ordered to complete anti-racism training to end ‘culture of toxicity’

New York court officers will undergo mandatory bias training and increase community engagement to combat racism in the courts, said Chief Judge Janet DiFiore. Eagle file photo by Charisma Miller

By Rachel Vick

All New York court officers will undergo mandatory anti-bias training after a 2020 report revealed a “culture of toxicity”and racism in their ranks, the state’s top judge said Monday.

In a weekly address to the court system, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said the officers will attend a series of workshops to address discrimination and to better engage with the public following a report published by the Equal Justice in the Courts Task Force in October 2020. The task force, led by former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, interviewed hundreds of people in New York’s legal justice system and uncovered pervasive and explicit racism, as well as implicit bias, among court officers.

“Although interviewees stressed that not all court officers behave in a hostile manner, almost every interview touched on what appears to be a culture of toxicity and unprofessionalism exhibited by court officers towards litigants, litigants’ relatives and attorneys of color,” the report read.

Multiple people interviewed by the task force described court officers using racial slurs, including the n-word, inside courthouses. One court officer sergeant called a group of Black teenagers the n-word in an elevator, an attorney told the commission.

DiFiore said court officers will undergo bias training in June. Court officers will also take lessons in basic customer services to improve interactions and address cultural insensitivity, she said. 

“The initiatives announced today will reaffirm our commitment to treat all court users with equal dignity and respect, enhance our skills and professionalism, strengthen our ties to the communities we serve, and allow our court officers to carry out their official duties with professionalism, respect, courtesy and humanity,” DiFiore said.

The state will also establish a Court Officer Community Affairs Program, which will train officers to engage with the public inside courthouse lobbies. Program staff will address complaints and concerns and provide basic help and information to court visitors.

DiFiore said officers will wear nametags to increase transparency and “foster an environment of trust and accountability.”

“It is human nature to want to put a name to a face when interacting with people we don’t know, and being able to address a Court Officer by his or her name sends an important and humanizing message,” she added.

The head of the state’s court officer union disputed the report’s accounts of racism and discrimination, but said he welcomed additional training.

“There may have been some incidents, just like there are good doctors and bad doctors, [but] 99 percent have treated the public with respect,” New York State Court Office Association President Dennis Quirk told the Eagle. “I think court officers have a good relationship with everyone — all races, sexes, religions — and treat people with respect.” 

 “But all training is good training,” he added.