GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - After gathering information last summer that was used to improve the way the courts of the 21st Judicial District conduct their business, judges, magistrates, clerks and other court employees will spend time this week collecting more data. The new information will be used not only to check on the progress of recent changes, but also to support the possibility of further improvements.

Since the Colorado Judicial Branch launched its use of CourTools surveys in Mesa County in June 2007, surveys have been conducted in several other judicial districts. The 21st Judicial District is the first to conduct a second round of the surveys.

"We promised to conduct regular follow-up surveys to gauge the effectiveness of any changes we made and we are pleased to follow through on that promise,' said Judy Vanderleest, district administrator for the 21st Judicial District (Mesa County).

On July 23 and 24, employees of the Mesa County Justice Center will talk to people - in English and Spanish - about their experiences as jurors, parties to a case or as recipients of other Judicial Branch services. Attorneys, law enforcement officers and anybody else who does business with the courts also will be encouraged to participate. The judicial employees will be stationed in the lobby of the Justice Center for this two-day period and will ask people exiting the building for feedback regarding their experience. The survey is brief and anonymous.

"The results from the survey conducted last summer were invaluable," Vanderleest said. "They provided all of us with some much-appreciated feedback and motivated us to make some needed changes. We look forward to learning how the community feels we are doing this year."

Improvements made at the Justice Center since the 2007 surveys include increasing the hours of the clerk's office, revising the First Appearance Center scheduling process to help people finish their court business in a more timely manner, and fine tuning customer service skills.

"We are pleased with the results we're seeing from the CourTools surveys across Colorado, and happy to say that they are leading to changes that will enhance people's experiences in their courthouses," Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey said. "These are the public's courts, after all, and they deserve the best the Judicial Branch can offer them."