Why this Particular Focus and Design?

• Author: Peter Jamadar/Elron Elahie/Richard Jamadar
• Pages: 17-19

17

WHY THIS PARTICULAR FOCUS AND DESIGN?

Utilizing a Four-Quadrant Model

What the procedural fairness research reveals is that in the new procedural dispensations

of justice (e.g. in the new civil and criminal procedure models), judicial officers must now

have internal (“inside”) and external (“outside”) 360-degree awareness in the courtroom.

In other words, they must be simultaneously aware of:

a)what is happening within themselves, their thoughts, feelings, attitudes, biases;

b)how they are conducting themselves and behaving in court moment by moment;

c)what is happening all around them in the courtroom, including the behaviours of

persons present and the impact of the layout and structure of court spaces on the

hearing; and

d)systemic, cultural, sociological, and ideological influences that may affect the

hearing.

This all appears almost unreasonable for a single person to do – and to do so all at once!

A seemingly impossible task. Yet, this is what the nine elements of procedural fairness

demand of judicial officers, and what modern justice systems are expected to deliver to

its customers.

Ken Wilber offers a framework of a quadrant model for interpreting and analysing

reality. We have found this a useful practicalmodel for undertaking the design and

interpretation of this research. It has allowed us to develop and test Intentional

Awarenessingin the context of a complex operating system –the courtroom, and to

develop a working practice that may be applicable and effective for aspiring to achieve

the standards demanded of judicial officers by procedural fairness requirements. What

the quadrant model allows, within its terms, is to analyse in the context of the nine