Register today! Online Webinar Event on September 14th, 2023, at 1:00PM EST. Missed court appearances are leading causes of warrants and jail time in the U.S. Plus, they contribute to:
📊 Racial inequities in arrests
🕗 Pretrial process delays
💵 Huge court system costs
But this doesn’t have to be our reality. Sign up to get the latest research from experts—and their practical approaches to turning the tide.
Register here: Webinar Registration – Zoom
Register now! The Center for Justice Innovation (the Center) is pleased to announce an in-person Trauma-Informed Practice Strategy Lab for Criminal Courts (TIPS Lab) Symposium, funded by SJI, in Denver, Colorado on November 2-3, 2023, for practitioners, academics, and other stakeholders to share ideas, lessons learned, and discuss challenges to implementation of trauma-informed practices. This symposium will inform the development of a blueprint for implementation of practical strategies, which will include tools and a framework to assist courts in moving beyond training to sustained implementation.
The Symposium is scheduled for Thursday, November 2, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. to Friday, November 3, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. in Denver, Colorado at the Inverness Denver, a Hilton Golf & Spa Resort. This Symposium is funded by the State Justice Institute. This event is free to attend, and all attendee travel and hotel accommodations will be covered through federal grant funds. Participants must apply to attend and be approved by the Center before booking any travel or accommodations. Please click the link below to apply to attend the Symposium. In order to attend, each person interested in attending must click “apply to attend” below and complete the online form by 8:00 PM EST on September 15, 2023.
If you have questions regarding attendance, please contact Alejandra Garcia, Associate Director of National Technical Assistance at garciaa@innovatingjustice.org. Please note that by completing this form, you are applying to attend the Symposium and acceptance is not guaranteed. If you are approved to attend, you will be contacted by Center staff and provided further information about hotel and travel.
Register here: Trauma-Informed Practice Strategy Lab for Criminal Courts Symposium Tickets, Thu, Nov 2, 2023 at 9:00 AM | Eventbrite
As cannabis legalization and regulation evolve, the United States is at a tipping point. These continued changes in laws are impacting our courts and society, and are creating a dynamic and sometimes confusing landscape for a variety of disciplines including judges, attorneys, law enforcement, drug court professionals, academia, the drug and alcohol testing industry, and employers’ human resource offices. As a result, the American Judges Association has partnered with the National Judicial College, the American Bar Association (ABA) Judicial Division; the ABA Tort, Trial, and Insurance Practice Section; the National Council for Juvenile and Family Court Judges; Cannabis Law Report; and the New England Association of Recovery Court Professionals to build on the success of last year’s Symposium, and again bring forward an interdisciplinary approach to the 2023 Symposium. This Symposium will bring together impacted disciplinary groups and allow for significant interaction, discussion, and knowledge-sharing.
The Symposium partners have assembled the best faculty from across the country to discuss the most pressing cannabis related topics. There will be 4 Keynotes, 12 Panels, and a Professional Facilitator to engage the attendees in discussion. The goals of the symposium are: 1) identify current issues related to the legalization of cannabis and its impact on judges, law enforcement, academia, drug court professionals, the drug and alcohol testing industry, attorneys; and human resources; 2) identify and analyze how cannabis-related issues are addressed by each discipline; and 3) develop an educated approach and plan to address the issues facing each discipline with a multidisciplinary perspective.
The event will be held December 1-3, 2023, at Portland State University and also online. Registration opens on August 1, 2023, and be accessed here: 2nd National Interdisciplinary Cannabis Symposium – NCJFCJ.
Applications Due: July 31st, 2023
RURAL JUSTICE COLLABORATIVE (RJC)
Rural communities face unique challenges that impact their ability to deliver fair and equitable justice. Despite these challenges, rural communities rely on their many strengths to address the needs of their residents. The RJC is designed to highlight the success found in rural justice systems. More information about the RJC can be found at www.ruraljusticecollaborative.org.
RJC SEEKING INNOVATION SITE NOMINATIONS (APPLICATION)
The RJC is soliciting nominations for rural justice programs or initiatives that were developed in rural communities or adapted for rural communities that fall into the RJC’s seven areas of focus. To be considered, a program or initiative must:
Priority consideration will be given to initiatives that are multi-disciplinary in nature (at least two agencies representing two different disciplines must be involved). Past Innovation Sites can be found here.
Click here for more information: https://www.sji.gov/wp-content/uploads/Innovation-Sites-Flyer-05.05.23-2.pdf
Join us in celebrating #PPPS Week!
The American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) is promoting the National Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week (#PPPSWeek), held the third full calendar week of July (Sunday – Saturday).
This week, we celebrate over 100,000 community corrections professionals around the country who work hard to keep our communities safe.
Upcoming #Webinar! Tomorrow: Friday, June 23rd, 2023, at 3:00PM EST.
National Discussion on the U.S. Supreme Court Ruling Upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and its Impact.
The National American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA) and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) will host a national discussion on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and its impact. This interactive discussion will bring together judicial thought leaders from across the country to discuss the challenges and successes of the decision and will provide an opportunity to share perspectives on ways to effectively support families and communities moving forward.
Register now: Webinar Registration – Zoom
Upcoming #Webinar! Family-Centered Fridays: Creating User-Centered Courtrooms. Friday, June 30th, 2023, at 12:15PM EST.
Learn how #courtroom design can support user-centered court culture. Attendees will have the opportunity to view plans for #usercentered courtrooms and court service areas, hear details of the design process, and learn some of the creative ways jurisdictions can begin to implement user-centered design principles at all levels of scale. National Center for State Courts
Applications Due: July 31st, 2023
RURAL JUSTICE COLLABORATIVE (RJC)
Rural communities face unique challenges that impact their ability to deliver fair and equitable justice. Despite these challenges, rural communities rely on their many strengths to address the needs of their residents. The RJC is designed to highlight the success found in rural justice systems. More information about the RJC can be found at www.ruraljusticecollaborative.org.
RJC SEEKING INNOVATION SITE NOMINATIONS (APPLICATION)
The RJC is soliciting nominations for rural justice programs or initiatives that were developed in rural communities or adapted for rural communities that fall into the RJC’s seven areas of focus. To be considered, a program or initiative must:
Priority consideration will be given to initiatives that are multi-disciplinary in nature (at least two agencies representing two different disciplines must be involved). Past Innovation Sites can be found here.
Eviction dockets are often fast-paced and high-volume, which can create challenges for the overwhelming numbers of litigants appearing without counsel and struggling to understand the legal process and their options. Judges from three different jurisdictions will describe how they have adopted principles of active judging to increase understanding, ensure due process, and expand access to resources for litigants in eviction court.
NCSC will be hosting this webinar on Wednesday, May 17th, 2023, at 3:00PM EST.
Register here: Webinar Registration – Zoom
Application Deadline: June 30th, 2023
Background:
In 2016, the Conference of Chief Justices/Conference of State Court Administrators (CCJ/COSCA) established the National Task Force on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices to:-develop recommendations and tools to promote the fair and efficient enforcement of the law;-ensure no person is denied access to the justice system based on race, culture, or lack of economic resources; and,-develop policies relating to Legal Financial Obligations that promote access, fairness, and transparency.
State Justice Institute, along with the U. S. Department of Justice/Bureau of Justice Assistance, provided grant funding to support the work of the Task Force. The Task Force produced the Principles on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices, in addition to numerous additional resources in the Resource Center. Though system improvements have been made in some jurisdictions, the equitable enforcement of fines and fees, along with issues related to bail practices, remains. Through a special Request for Applications (RFA) process, SJI will award grants to further improve state court efforts to address fines, fees, and bail practices. SJI intends to award grants that will enhance state and local courts’ ability to:
-Review these practices to ensure processes are fair and access to justice is assured.
-Develop processes and procedures for indigency review.-Implement alternative forms of sanctions.
-Implement processes that replace money-based pretrial practices with those based on a presumption of pretrial release by the least restrictive means reasonable to assure appearance in court and promote public safety.
-Ensure pretrial release practices include connections to wrap-around services, such as legal and non-legal navigators, behavioral health, housing, and public health services.
-Promote transparency, governance, and structural reforms for better court oversight of legal financial obligations.
In addition to meeting all other application requirements, SJI will give priority consideration for funding to projects that focus on institutionalizing and/or replicating the Principles on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices of the CCJ/COSCA National Task Force on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices.
ELIGIBILITY
SJI is authorized by Congress to award grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts. For the purposes of this RFA, eligibility is limited to the following entities:
• State and local courts and their agencies (42 U.S.C. 10705(b)(1)(A)).
• Other eligible grant recipients (42 U.S.C. 10705 (b)(2)(A)–(D)).SJI may also make awards to state or local agencies and institutions other than courts for services that cannot be adequately provided through nongovernmental arrangements (42 U.S.C. 10705(b)(3)).
SJI is prohibited from awarding grants to federal, tribal, and international courts.
Funding Categories
Eligible applicants may apply for funding based on the categories below.
Category 1-Local Court: Eligible local court applicants may apply for up to $50,000 for a period of up to 12 months.
Category 2-State or Territory Supreme Court and/or the Administrative Office of the Courts: Eligible state (or territory) supreme courts and/or administrative court office applicants may apply for up to $100,000 for a period of up to 12 months. They may also submit applications on behalf of one or more local courts for up to $50,000 per locality for up to 12 months and must agree that all funds will go directly to the local court(s).Note: No grant funds or cash match may be used to pay the salary and related costs for a current or new employee of a court or other unit of government. Cash match for these grants will be waived; however, applicants are encouraged to include as much cash and in-kind match as possible towards their proposed project.
Full instructions are available here: Request-for-Applications-Fines-Fees-Bail_5.1.2023.pdf (sji.gov)
