New Curriculum Will Address Immigration Issues in the State Courts

SJI began using the Strategic Initiatives Grants (SIG) program in FY 2008 to address immigration issues in the state courts at a national impact level.  Two grants were awarded; one to the Center for Public Policy Studies (CPPS); and another to support a collaborative effort between the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and the National Judicial College (NJC).

As part of the NCSC/NJC grant, on Tuesday, November 18, 2008, a special 17-member National Committee on the Impact of Immigration Cases in State and Local Courts met at the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County to discuss legal substantive issues confronting trial judges who deal with cases involving both permanent resident immigrants and undocumented immigrants.  Committee members included federal district and circuit court representatives, immigration advocates, limited and general jurisdiction state court judges and court managers, researchers, and immigration experts from a variety of states.

NCSC and NJC will use the information gathered at the meeting, in addition to data collected through focus groups, literature searches, questionnaires, technical assistance, and interviews with educators, to develop a 1-3 hour curriculum for state and local judicial officers about common problems, and essential legal advisories and processes regarding immigration cases.  The curriculum will be available to state judicial educators and others for use nationally or locally.

The Committee determined that although the intersection of federal and state practices, policies, and laws vary from state to state and jurisdiction to jurisdiction, there are recognized, effective judicial processes that judges can use to promote greater understanding and a better, more accurate court record.  The prototype education program will also address little known, but commonplace impacts state court sentences have on subsequent federal district court and immigration administrative proceedings.  Topics explored will include the juncture of immigration and criminal law, domestic relations, children and juvenile law, probate and mental health proceedings, and selected civil litigation.  An initial curriculum will be available for distribution to the states and local jurisdictions by the summer of 2009.  It is expected that updates to the curriculum will be frequent over the next several years, as federal and state law is likely to continue changing.