Author: Lauren Curtis

The SJI Board of Directors will be meeting on Monday, April 20, 2026, at 1:00 PM ET.  The purpose of this meeting is to consider grant applications for the 1^st quarter of FY 2026, and other business.

ADDRESS:  Supreme Court of Delaware, Renaissance Center, 405 North King Street, Suite 500, Wilmington, DE.

A major national initiative is now underway to help state courts respond to escalating risks. Through NCSC’s Safer Courts project, courts will gain access to strengthened security practices, expert guidance, and training designed to help judges, staff, and the public stay safe. Supported by a State Justice Institute grant, Safer Courts will create standardized incident reporting and threat evaluation tools; update court security best practices and minimum standards; and publish training materials, assessment templates, and personal safety guides. A national convening in the fall will set the foundation for future phases of the project.

The initiative focuses on three critical priorities: strengthening courts’ ability to identify and respond to security threats, improving coordination among state and local court security partners, and clearly defining roles and responsibilities for protecting court facilities and personnel.

Safer Courts also aligns with growing national attention to judicial safety. It complements the Countering Threats and Attacks on Our Judges Act, bipartisan legislation passed by the U.S. Senate in November 2025 that is now before the U.S. House. If enacted, the legislation would establish a State Judicial Threat Intelligence and Resource Center to provide technical assistance, training, and monitoring of threats for state and local judges and court personnel.

The initiative also builds on “Securing Justice,” a COSCA policy paper outlining court security as a shared responsibility. The white paper was unanimously endorsed by CCJ. 

Visit ncsc.org to explore current court security resources and follow updates on the Safer Courts Initiative.

Court users are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to seek information and advice to navigate their legal issues. This guidance provides a framework to discuss AI use with court users while emphasizing accuracy, responsibility, and compliance with court rules. Court staff should familiarize themselves with their policy on providing legal information vs. legal advice (also known as a safe harbor policy) and make sure to provide guidance according to that governing policy.

Access and download the guide here: How to Talk to Your Court Users About AI.pdf | Powered by Box

As courts face increasing demands for data, the National Open Court Data Standards (NODS) are improving data quality and governance nationwide. Over the past five years, NCSC has worked to implement the National Open Court Data Standards (NODS) to establish business and technical standards to facilitate the sharing of standardized case-level data. The standards are intended to make data more accessible, understandable, and useful for the public, researchers, and justice system stakeholders. NODS is currently being adopted by at least 16 courts across multiple states, and an evaluation of the implementation shows great promise in helping courts ensure consistency and reduce the cost and effort required to respond to data requests.

Survey responses from 106 court professionals across 40 states, one territory, and the District of Columbia, informed the evaluation of the NODS implementation. Nearly 79% of respondents from implementing courts reported using NODS to establish data standards. More than half created a case-level data repository, and 57% reported improved data governance.

Supported by the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) and the State Justice Institute (SJI), NODS has been endorsed by COSCA, the National Association for Court Management (NACM), and the Joint Technology Committee (JTC).

Read the full National Open Court Data Standards Implementation Project Evaluation Report.

Docketing and case processing can be challenging in high-volume case types like debt collection, where courts may hear thousands, or even tens of thousands, of factually similar cases every year. In these cases, many defendants lack legal representation, and low appearance rates often lead to default judgments that may not serve justice or efficiently resolve disputes.

To overcome these challenges, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) recently released, “Supporting Appearance: Docketing and Process Simplification Considerations for Debt Collection Cases,” to help courts implement practical process improvements in these cases.

The debt collection reform implementation toolkit offers guidance for implementing debt collection rules or reforms that create better access for all parties and increase procedural fairness. The supporting appearance toolkit offers practical changes courts can make to their scheduling, docketing, and hearing processes to support appearance and resolution in debt collection cases.

For more information and to read the full NCSC article: Putting consumer debt reforms into practice | National Center for State Courts.