Category: News

Last year, the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators adopted a resolution urging NCSC to showcase effective, scalable models for civil diversion programs that create alternate pathways for litigants to resolve disputes. These programs would be grounded in a set of guiding principles, which encourage collaboration with other civil justice system partners.  

Inspired by that resolution, NCSC formed a partnership with the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and the Court of Common Pleas in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which had an existing consumer debt diversion program. 

A review of filings from the first half of 2024 showed that the court’s diversion program reduced the number of cases on the docket by more than half. Those results suggested that this market was ready for testing software developed by AAA. The software is designed to help further expand a burgeoning diversion program the court had established to address credit card debt cases.

“NCSC has been extremely supportive of the Lancaster County Court’s vital Credit Card Diversion Program,” said Shelley Schenk, diversion program coordinator and staff attorney of the Lancaster County Court of Commons Pleas. “The AI App developed by AAA will save the court a great deal of time and resources.”

The purpose of the software—coined the Court Diversion Eligibility Screener—Built by AAA—is to help increase access to justice, preserve judicial resources, and streamline civil caseload management. The screener applies AI to help court staff evaluate and triage cases while also automating the administration and management of those that are routed for diversion.

Software such as this will be most impactful in jurisdictions where court-based civil diversion programs are already in place (or are ready to be launched) and sound case flow management practices exist and are ready for automation. With staff support and oversight, successful diversion programs can be optimized to divert cases more efficiently while reducing the burden on court staff and improving the litigant experience. AAA and NCSC are now partnering to make the eligibility screener software available for use by other courts. Read more about the partnership in this article on NCSC’s website, and contact the Access to Justice team to learn more.

A new resource is now available to support courts in upholding state and federal law and applying Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which applies to all state and local government entities, including courts.

Serving People with Disabilities and Title II of the ADA: A Toolkit for Courts helps courts address aspects of the law that apply to court services, covering areas from physical access to digital accessibility.

“Making courts accessible for people with disabilities improves the system for all users,” said Grace Spulak, an NCSC principal court management consultant and lead author of the toolkit. “Thinking about the needs of court users with disabilities leads to process simplification, clearer communication, and better navigation for everyone. It’s a win-win!”

Courts can serve people with disabilities by developing accessible resources, services, buildings, or documents, and by creating accommodations or modifications to existing ones to meet individual needs.

The toolkit details essential aspects of serving people with disabilities, including:

• Establishing relationships with the disability community
• Ensuring effective communication
• Addressing document and web accessibility
• Considering building and facility accessibility
• Understanding the use of service animals
• Addressing the use of mobility devices

For more information on access to justice and to access the toolkit and other accessibility resources, visit: ncsc.org/accessibility.

Navigating AI in court translation is opening new doors for access to justice.

To meet the needs of Limited English Proficient (LEP) users, the Superior Court in Orange County, Calif., is leveraging an AI-powered Court Application for Translation (CAT) tool.

Blanca Escobedo, deputy chief operations officer for Orange County Superior Court, shared an overview of the tool last month during the “AI-assisted translation in the courts: Exploring opportunities and navigating risks” webinar, presented by the TRI/NCSC AI Consortium.

Orange County’s experience with machine translation

California’s CAT initiative began with the top two languages needed in Orange County: Spanish and Vietnamese. The court customized a third-party product to understand legal terminology to improve translation accuracy and hired certified translators and interpreters for quality control. By combining machine translation with certified human review, they’ve improved accuracy, cut costs, and sped up case processing. Learn how AI and human expertise together can transform court services: Navigating AI in court translation: Insights for court leaders | National Center for State Courts

#AccessToJustice #CourtInnovation #AIinJustice #LegalTech #AI

SJI received ten (10) grant applications requesting a total of $1,020,979 for the 3^rd quarter of FY 2025.

The Board awarded two (2) Strategic Initiative Grants to: the Mississippi Center for Justice to focus on rule implementation and modifications in justice courts across the state; and the Children’s Law Center, in partnership with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Children’s Voice Project to develop and promulgate best practices in children’s participation in family court proceedings.

Six (6) Technical Assistance Grant applications were awarded: the Supreme Court of Virginia to examine the significant disparity in participation rates of parents in court-ordered parental education seminars for contested custody, visitation, and support cases; the Mississippi Administrative Office of the Courts to transform and improve juvenile delinquency court (“Youth Court”) policy, practice, and funding statewide; the Nebraska Administrative Office of Courts and Probation to expand judicial leadership in cross-sector collaboration through the 2025 Children’s Summit and Upstream workshops; the DeKalb County, Georgia, Magistrate Court to plan and launch a court-based self-help center based on national best practices; the 5^th Judicial District Court of Pennsylvania to improve the child custody and related motions docket, with particular focus on self-represented litigants; and the Indiana Office of Judicial Administration to implement innovative triage solutions to enhance criminal case management. 

Two (2) Curriculum Adaptation and Training Grants were awarded: the National Center for State Courts to pilot, adapt, and improve the course content of a recently developed curriculum on data literacy for court managers and staff; and the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals for a workshop focused on building leadership capacity and team building.

The next deadline for grant applications is August 1, 2025.

The FY 2025 3rd Quarter SJI Board Meeting was held on Monday, June 2nd, 2025, at the Maryland Judicial Center in Annapolis, MD. SJI Executive Director, Jonathan Mattiello, Senior Program Advisor, Michelle White, and members of the SJI Board were joined by Chief Justice Matthew Fader, Chief Judge Joseph Getty (ret.) and State Court Administrator, Judy Rupp, pictured inside of the Supreme Court of Maryland.

#SJIBoardofDirectors #SJIBoard #StateJusticeInstitute #BoardMeeting #SupremeCourtofMaryland #MarylandJudiciary

The State Justice Institute, in partnership with Praxis Consulting and Rulo Strategies, is excited to launch Collaboration in Action: A Toolkit for Courts and Counties, a comprehensive and user-friendly resource designed to support courts, county officials, and justice stakeholders in creating safer and more effective local justice systems. This free toolkit provides step-by-step guidance to help communities plan strategically, collaborate across agencies, and implement sustainable ideas and programs.

Whether you’re addressing pretrial practices, reentry, substance use, or overall justice system coordination, the toolkit offers practical tools and real-world examples tailored to the challenges of local governance. It walks users through how to identify the right partners, engage key stakeholders, and facilitate the planning processes. From convening working groups to setting priorities and tracking progress, the toolkit emphasizes collaboration and community-centered approaches.

Inside, you’ll find resources on:

• Building cross-sector partnerships
• Leading strategic planning initiatives
• Sustaining long-term efforts and funding
• Turning ideas into actionable programs
• Promoting data-informed decision making

Whether you’re just starting your planning journey or looking to strengthen existing efforts, the toolkit is a valuable companion in advancing your community’s justice goals. Visit the toolkit here.

This year, the Justice Management Institute received a strategic initiatives grant from the State Justice Institute to expand the use of online case resolution (OCR) for traffic and misdemeanor cases. With OCR, a person who receives a citation or is charged with a misdemeanor can access a defendant app and contest their case online. The technology enables courts, attorneys, and those charged to work through the discovery stage and plea negotiation without appearing in court. OCR can also be used for post-resolution efforts like entering into a payment plan, collecting payments, and/or providing documentation of completing community service and relevant classes that may be part of the case outcome.

The potential impact of this work is significant. Based on JMI research, there are over 11,500 courts that have jurisdiction for more than 35.5 million traffic and misdemeanor cases per year. In other words, on average, up to 14% of adults living in the United States are likely to interact with a traffic or misdemeanor court every year.  OCR benefits people by providing increased access to the courts, making it easier to navigate the legal system, and enabling courts and attorneys to manage overwhelming caseloads and reduce delays. It also increases accountability to the public and builds a repository of information to promote evaluation, research, and transparency.

The OCR initiative has two primary goals. The first is to map traffic and misdemeanor jurisdictions and supporting technologies in each state. This groundwork will assist the OCR project team to bring the OCR platform into that jurisdiction or state. The second goal is for the OCR project team to work with two pilot courts, Missoula Municipal Court and North Las Vegas Justice Court, to write the requirements and adapt the OCR web-based platform design to their courts. The project is built on a pilot OCR project JMI has done with the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans, with technical support from the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts, which built during the pandemic a traffic case resolution system for NJ municipal courts. Further, JMI has partnered with Kalamuna, an open-source application developer, to assist with the technical aspects of the project.

For more information, visit the OCR Initiative or contact Robin Wosje at robinw@jmijustice.org, or Tim Dibble, Vice President, at timd@jmijustice.org

Funded by the State Justice Institute, the National Center for State Courts, in partnership with Rulo Strategies LLC, launched the Rural Justice Collaborative (RJC) to showcase the strengths of rural communities and highlight the cross-sector collaboration that is a hallmark of rural justice systems. These strengths include strong professional networks, deep ties to the communities they serve, resiliency, and ingenuity. The Rural Justice Collaborative is guided by an advisory council of rural practitioners representing the judiciary, public safety, behavioral health, public health, child welfare, victim services and other stakeholder-focused justice systems. The advisory council guides the initiative and has focused initial efforts on advancing innovation, promoting collaboration, and raising awareness of rural justice system needs.

SJI received fourteen (14) grant applications requesting a total of $1,285,848 for the 2^nd quarter of FY 2025.

The Board awarded four (4) Strategic Initiative Grants to: the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to further develop the Court Recruitment System – a state court clerkship application portal; the Institute for Intergovernmental Research for ongoing support to the Reaching Rural: Advancing Collaborative Solutions initiative; the NCSC, in partnership with the Conference of State Court Administrators/National Association for Court Management Joint Technology Committee, Court Information Technology Officers Consortium, and the Integrated Justice Information Systems Institute to engage courts and technology vendors in open discussions about common challenges in working together on technology projects, and identify strategies to mitigate those challenges; and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System to launch a national initiative to address how best to provide legal services to self-represented litigants in high stakes/high risks cases.

One (1) Project Grant was awarded to the Missouri Office of State Courts Administrator to assist local courts with developing Continuity of Operations Plans.

Six (6) Technical Assistance Grant applications were awarded: the Kansas Supreme Court for local strategic planning projects; the National Association for Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers for educational programming; the City of Beaverton, Oregon, Municipal Court for a caseflow and case management system assessment; the District of Columbia Courts for an interactive web system for the Court of Appeals; the Superior Court of Mohave County, Arizona for a strategic planning process; and the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts for an organizational assessment. 

Three (3) Curriculum Adaptation and Training Grants were awarded: the Montana Supreme Court to support educational programming for limited jurisdiction judges during the Montana Judicial Institute; the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal for educational programming; and the National Association of State Judicial Educators for training programs that enhance judicial education. 

The next deadline for grant applications is May 1, 2025.

The FY 2025 2nd Quarter SJI Board Meeting was held this week on Monday, April 7th, 2025, at the Supreme Court of Indiana, in Indianapolis, IN. SJI Executive Director, Jonathan Mattiello, Senior Program Advisor, Michelle White, and members of the SJI Board were joined by Chief Justice Loretta Rush, of the Supreme Court of Indiana.

#SJIBoardofDirectors #SJIBoard #StateJusticeInstitute #BoardMeeting #SupremeCourtofIndiana