Author: Lauren Curtis

Puerto Rico Judicial Branch Electronic Court

During the pandemic, the Puerto Rico Office of Courts Administration (OCA) created an email account through which self-represented litigants (SRLs) seeking an emergency restraining order, a temporary detention or an involuntary admission order related to the Mental Health Code could file their petition to the Municipal Court.  SRLs could download, complete, and submit the applicable form through the designated email account. SRLs were given the option of attending the hearing through video conference. This system enhances access to justice and expedited the presentation of emergency resources at the Municipal Court level. Due to a considerable demand for the service, the Judicial Branch decided to institutionalize this effort by engaging in the development of a web-based application.

Under the leadership of the Deputy Court Administrator, the initial step was the establishment of a multidisciplinary court committee. Committee memberships included representatives from the Information Technology Directorate, the Directorate of Judicial Programs, (whose mission is to enhance access to justice for all, but specially for disfranchised communities), the Operations Directorate and the Office of Education and Community Outreach (EDUCO), among others. Subsequently, the Requirements Document was drafted to have a detailed roadmap of the legal and technical requirements the electronic application must fulfill. The software design and automatization component were outsourced to Rock Solid Technologies, who then appointed the software developers who would engage with the Judicial Branch’s committee in the development of the application. The application development required at least one weekly meeting among all committee members; and following meetings amongst court staff. The Court also appointed staff to oversee that the recommendations were incorporated into the application technical and design features.

View the detailed guide of the web-based application below:

Puerto-Rico-Judicial-Branch-Electronic-Court-Guide Download

The development of the web-based application has been a challenging and multidisciplinary effort because it requires bridging to distinct disciplines: the legal nomenclature and court paper-based administrative work procedures and its engineering into an electronic software application. Achieving such requirements has been challenging because the application must be user friendly, easily comprehendible, and navigation intuitively. And, at the same, streamlining court forms information, while guaranteeing that legal evidence and procedural requirements are met. Nevertheless, the Judicial Branch is on its way to attaining its desired results: a web-based application that will enhance access to justice while broadening the sphere of population that can be serve. 

IAALS Releases New Allied Legal Professionals Landscape Report and Online Knowledge Center in an Effort to Increase Legal Options for the Public

IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver, just announced that it released its new Allied Legal Professionals landscape report, along with an accompanying online Knowledge Center. With generous support from the Sturm Family Foundation, this project seeks to help standardize a new tier of legal professionals nationally, with the goal of increasing the options for accessible and affordable legal help for the public.  

“Today, the majority of Americans are faced with a very serious access to justice problem—not only low-income populations, as many people believe. And the pandemic has only made matters worse in recent years,” says Jim Sandman, chair of IAALS’ board of advisors and President Emeritus of the Legal Services Corporation. “For example, studies show that around 40–60% of the middle class have legal needs that remain unmet. Simply put: people want legal help, and they are not getting the help they need.” 

The access to justice problem reflects the way in which current regulations constrict new pathways to accessible legal services and leave consumers with few alternatives. However, one solution that has been spreading quickly across the country is in the form of allied legal professionals—licensed and regulated professionals who are not lawyers, but have been authorized to represent clients in limited matters.

“IAALS has been closely watching those states who have altered their unauthorized practice of law rules to allow this new tier of legal services providers, creating avenues to legal help for many who cannot afford an attorney,” says IAALS Manager Michael Houlberg. “The few programs that have been created—and those still in the planning stage—have all been set up with a slightly different framework to fit their jurisdictions’ needs. We created the Allied Legal Professionals project specifically with the goal to map out what these different programs look like, understand the benefits and challenges that exist within each one, and then create recommendations for a national approach with the assistance of subject-matter experts based on data and best practices.”

The Allied Legal Professionals landscape report offers a preliminary compilation of existing programs, presented across a framework that allows for comparison between and among the various state and international efforts. The accompanying online Knowledge Center is designed to be an up-to-date resource with current state information for those considering how these programs can be achieved and improved upon.

Additionally, IAALS recently hosted a convening where experts and national partners came together to develop recommendations and best practices for states developing allied legal professional programs. 

For more information, please visit: Homepage | IAALS (du.edu)

Registration Now Open! ICM Courses

Registration now open! Funded by State Justice Institute, ICM offers a wide variety of high-quality, evidence-based courses for court professionals and the general public. If you’re looking to advance your career, take a look into these courses. Registration for all 2023 virtual courses is now open! Courses fill up quickly, so be sure to register early: https://courses.ncsc.org National Center for State Courts

Judicial Task Force Releases Final Report on State Courts’ Response to Mental Illness

Funded by State Justice Insititute, the Judicial Task Force releases the final report from the National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts’ Response to Mental Illness. Continued collaboration between the courts, government agencies, mental health providers and others is critical to affect the systemic change needed to improve how courts respond to individuals with serious mental illness. That was the message echoed during Tuesday’s release of the final report from the National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts’ Response to Mental Illness. The virtual event drew about 900 participants, including court officials, behavioral health professionals, and members of the news media.

“We see how the justice system can become a never-ending highway of pain as it maneuvers people on a needless journey, with no off ramp, often to ineffective support and treatment,” said task force member Circuit Judge Nan Waller of Multnomah County, Oregon. “However, having had the privilege to serve on the task force has given me great optimism. The task force operated in a manner consistent with its recommendations, bringing together stakeholders from the behavioral health and justice systems, along with the important voices of those with lived experience, and then providing expert staff to help turn our thoughts and ideas into tools, bench cards, policy briefs, and research.”

Judge Waller joined task force co-chairs Chief Justice Paul L. Reiber of Vermont and New York Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks to offer insights on ways the task force recommendations can positively impact individuals with severe mental illness during Tuesday’s virtual launch and policy discussion.

Two national mental health experts – Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, Ph.D., the U.S. Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and leader of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Dr. Sarah Y. Vinson, Interim Chair of the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Morehouse School of Medicine – elaborated on ways the behavioral health community can partner with the courts to improve outcomes for individuals with serious mental illness.

“We know that our country is facing a mental health crisis,” Dr. Delphin-Rittmon said. “… I am confident that these recommendations and examples of successful programs have the potential to make really meaningful impacts in communities across the country.”

Among the task force recommendations, state courts should:

  • Convene justice and behavioral health system partners to identify opportunities to collaboratively improve responses to individuals with behavioral health disorders.
  • Promote processes to identify and divert individuals with behavioral health disorders at every stage of system involvement towards treatment and away from further penetration into the criminal justice system.
  • Examine current case management and calendaring practices and implement strategies to more quickly and effectively address issues presented in cases involving individuals with behavioral health needs.

Watch the recording of the webinar and download a copy of the final report and recommendations.

New Toolkit Provides Guidance for Adopting Pandemic Era Procedural Improvements

During the pandemic, courts stepped out of their normal routine and comfort zones to find new ways of doing business. These new procedures benefitted both courts and court customers. The National Center for State Courts (NCSC)’s new Pandemic Era Procedural Improvements toolkit outlines tips and examples that your court can adopt to enhance operations in the post-pandemic era.

“The pandemic was a major disruptor. I think about other major disruptors that changed society—cars, TV, mobile phones. We didn’t stop at the Benz Patent Motor Car, black and white television, or car phones,” said Lonni Summers, an NCSC senior court management consultant. “We continued to innovate and evolve to make things better. Courts should do the same with pandemic-era procedural improvements.”

This toolkit contains a high-level summary of procedural improvements that courts implemented between 2020 and 2022 that courts should adopt permanently. Resources include examples, best practice recommendations, and references to publications and materials that provide information, models, and guidance for jurisdictions that want to adopt these improvements.

For more information, please read Pandemic-Improvements-10.31.2022.pdf (ncsc.org)

Upcoming Webinar! Black Robes and White Coats: Using Project ECHO to Increase Judiciary Knowledge about Substance Use Disorder

Upcoming Webinar! Hosted by SAMHSA’s GAINS Center on Monday, November 21st, 2022, from 2:30-4:00PM EST. Black Robes and White Coats: Using Project ECHO to Increase Judiciary Knowledge about Substance Use Disorder. High rates of substance use and overdoses among people interfacing with the criminal justice system have highlighted a need for judges to be more informed and aware of substance use disorders and optimal treatment approaches. Register here.

Convening County, Court & Justice Leaders: A Framework for Cross-System Collaboration Initiative

In January 2022, the National Association of Counties, Rulo Strategies, and Praxis Consulting launched a new initiative to support justice-oriented strategic planning co-led by judges and elected county leaders. This timely project leveraged the renewed interest many courts have, coming out of the pandemic, in partnering with local stakeholders to expand the resources available to the courts.

Ten diverse local and regional sites served as pilots. Some sites aligned their work under an existing planning group, while others formed new planning bodies to support their planning. Each site engaged diverse stakeholders representing the court, elected county leadership, law enforcement, corrections, behavioral health, and other stakeholders.

Informed by the work with the ten sites, the project team launched a national toolkit highlighting the key components of the planning initiative. The County, Court, and Justice Leaders Framework is a resource for court leaders and their partners to explore a variety of effective models that span pre-arrest diversion strategies to reentry models that reduce recidivism. The toolkit is also a one-stop shop for the most up-to-date information and research published by leading national experts. Various topics are addressed in the toolkit, including strategies to reduce community violence, build a behavioral health continuum, reduce overdose deaths, establish diversion and alternative to incarceration opportunities, strengthen family justice systems, and reintegrate individuals back into the community upon reentry. Court, county and justice leaders can also access federal funding resources that align with different strategies and information about no cost technical assistance opportunities.

“This project reminds me of the stone soup parable. You have the one person who brings the magical stone to the town, and people say they have nothing to contribute. But this person helps people understand that they have something to contribute. They get one person to bring the carrots and one to bring the potatoes, and all of a sudden, and they have this amazing soup. This is what this project is about – the consultant team bringing ideas to our communities but empowering us to take action as a collective.”

-Judge Tamara R. Bernstein, Cambria County

IAALS Launches New Report and Online Resource Center for Unbundled Legal Services, Offering New Tools that Lead to Access to Justice

IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver, released Unbundled Legal Services in the New Normal—a new report highlighting key takeaways from the national 2021 conference—in partnership with The Chicago Bar Foundation, the ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, and the Self-Represented Litigation Network. Accompanying the release is the launch of an unbundling resource center on IAALS’ website, which will help various stakeholders like consumers, lawyers, and courts get how-to information on promoting and utilizing unbundled legal services. 

Unbundled legal services, or limited-scope representation, is one way that people who are unable to afford a lawyer—and would end up representing themselves in court—can still receive legal assistance in their case. While typically lawyers handle all aspects of a case from beginning to end, a lawyer providing unbundled legal services works on and charges for only certain legal tasks within the broader case, often based on what their clients can afford and need help with most. Unbundled legal services are becoming a more popular and less expensive way to help people get legal assistance, which usually leads to better legal outcomes than forgoing legal assistance altogether.

The three-day event highlighted that while there is increased use of technology and scalable unbundled services in this “new normal”—which makes starting an unbundled practice easier—important startup and ethical considerations remain for practitioners in this space, in addition to needed increased support by courts. The conference created a forum where an array of stakeholders shared their perspectives, gained better insights into collaborative roles, and learned about best practices to advocate for this service delivery model.

To read the full report, visit: IAALS Launches New Report and Online Resource Center for Unbundled Legal Services, Offering New Tools that Lead to Access to Justice | IAALS (du.edu)

The Supreme Court of Ohio – Ohio ODR Pilot Program

The emergence of COVID-19 has had widespread effects throughout the court system and quarantine orders slowed operations. The Supreme Court of Ohio anticipated an influx of evictions and foreclosure filings in Ohio’s trial courts, as well as a backlog of civil cases.  Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor directed the Office of Court Services to convene stakeholders to analyze projected caseloads, create strategies for backlogs, and modernize court operations through technology. The Evictions Report and Recommendations and Foreclosures and Civil Justice Report were developed, both recommending the use of online dispute resolution (ODR). Subsequently, through a grant from the State Justice Institute, ODR was expanded in Ohio.

OH-Resolve, a vendor hosted ODR for 15 pilot sites, is a court-monitored messaging system designed to help parties resolve evictions, small claims, foreclosures, and family law cases.  ODR increases access to justice for self-represented litigants and is a convenient way for litigants to resolve disputes from a computer or smartphone.

Tools were developed to assist courts with implementation on the Supreme Court’s webpage.  FAQs for Courts, FAQs for Public, court user instructions, a legal glossary, the ODR Toolkit and instructional videos were created to help guide parties and the courts through the ODR process. 

As Ohio continues to explore ODR best practices in different types of cases, it will be an ongoing opportunity to provide courts with another method to resolve legal issues while providing citizens of the State of Ohio an additional way to access the court system by utilizing technology.

Register Now! Family Treatment Court (FTC)

Register Now! Children and Family Futures (CFF) will be hosting Family Treatment Court (FTC) Practice Academy 2022: Beyond Counting: Strategies to Collect and (Actually) Use Your FTC Data on August 30th, 2022, at 2:00PM EST. FTC teams use data to achieve equitable access and results, identify barriers to success, and support sustainability—all with the common purpose of improving outcomes for children, parents, and family members affected by substance use disorders.

Register here: Meeting Registration – Zoom