Category: News

For survivors of domestic violence, obtaining a protection order can be daunting. Fear, confusion, limited resources, and the ongoing threat posed by their abusers often prevent individuals from seeking help through the court system.

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) is working to improve the civil protection order process by making it more accessible, efficient, and fair using secure, user-friendly virtual portals with support from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women.

“Survivors needing protection shouldn’t have to navigate a complex or intimidating process,” said Sarah Vandenberg Van Zee, NCSC court management consultant and project manager. “Through this project, we’re developing national guidance to enhance virtual court portal technology to uphold safety, accessibility, and due process in cases involving domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.”

Learning collaborative

This project brings together a learning collaborative that includes technologists, access-to-justice leaders, and experienced courts from Arizona, Kansas, and Indiana that have successfully implemented innovative e-filing and portal systems.

Vandenberg Van Zee explained that portals can do more than facilitate document filing; they can also serve as centralized platforms where all parties can complete necessary tasks, access resources, and receive timely case updates.

Seeking pilot courts

To further develop and refine best practices for portal technology, NCSC is seeking learner courts—jurisdictions interested in piloting the recommended guidance established by this project—to join the learning collaborative.

Selected courts will receive hands-on technical assistance to implement or enhance court portal technology to:

• Support survivor safety
• Enhance access to justice and the user experience
• Work with national experts
• Contribute to national best practices/guidance

For more information: Civil Protection Order Portal Technical Assistance Project | VAWA

Read the full article here: Civil protection order portal project aims to improve process for survivors of domestic violence | NCSC

A new report, Preserving the Future of Juries and Jury Trials, offers strategies to combat these critical challenges that threaten the existence and legitimacy of our jury system while also suggesting strategic solutions to preserve its future.

“We need to take action, or we risk losing a living component of justice,” warns Paula Hannaford-Agor, director of NCSC’s Center for Jury Studies. “This report is a starting point for continued conversations about where we need to go to strengthen jury trials.”

The report identifies four key vulnerabilities and outlines a plan to preserve and improve the jury system:

• ⚬ Foster Public Education and Engagement About the Jury System
• ⚬ Focus on the Juror-Centered Experience
• ⚬ Increase Capacity and Incentives for Jury Trials
• ⚬ Identify and Address Disparities Between Values and Practices

Access the report here: Preserving the Future of Juries and Jury Trials

As it gears up to finalize recommendations, the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators (CCJ/COSCA) Committee on Legal Education and Admissions Reform (CLEAR) held a National Convening on the Future of Legal Education and Admissions last week at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. The convening was in partnership with the American Bar Association (ABA) Council on Legal Education and Admissions, the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), AccessLex Institute, the Law School Admission Council, the Law School Survey of Student Engagement, the National Conference of Bar Examiners, and the National Association of Law Placement.

CLEAR background

Established by an August 2023 joint resolution of CCJ/COSCA, CLEAR has a broad mandate to assess the current state of legal education, define standards for minimum competence to practice law and the skills necessary to be practice-ready upon graduation, and identify ways to prepare and incentivize public interest lawyering.

The March 14 national convening brought together a diverse array of stakeholders from law school deans, bar educators, bar admissions, the courts, and the practicing bar to tackle the evolving challenges confronting the legal profession and to brainstorm innovative solutions for legal education and bar admissions.

Read the full article from NCSC here: Stakeholders gather to map future of legal education | NCSC

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.

The Center for Justice Innovation, with funding from the State Justice Institute, is leading the development of the Trauma-Informed Practice Strategy Lab for Criminal Courts (TIPS Lab). The TIPS Lab aims to bridge the gap between training and implementation of trauma-informed practices in criminal courts. The TIPS Lab has developed a comprehensive Blueprint to address the urgent need for trauma-informed practices within the criminal court system. See attached for an Executive Summary of the forthcoming Blueprint.

The Center is currently offering no-cost, actionable training and technical assistance to select criminal courts to implement trauma-informed practices identified in the TIPS Lab Blueprint. Center staff will guide criminal court administrators, judges, and other partners as they prioritize, plan, and implement trauma-informed practices. Please complete this brief application to be considered for selection as an incubator site and receiving no-cost training and technical assistance: https://form.jotform.com/250224144518045

For more information, contact Alejandra Garcia at garciaa@innovatingjustice.org.

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges has just released a newly updated section of the Civil Protection Orders: A Guide for Improving Practice! This section of the publication focuses on the intersections of civil protection orders with firearms, military protective orders, and technology.

For more information and to access the publication, click here.

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.

The National Association for Court Management (NACM) has released an updated Courting AI: Understanding Artificial Intelligence in Courts Guide.

The National Association for Court Management presents the first revision of their AI Guide adding additional use cases in the courts and the broader legal profession. This guide continues to be a reference for courts and court professionals pursuing the responsible use of AI.

The AI Guide, Courting AI: Understanding Artificial Intelligence in Courts, V2 (2025) is available through the NACM Store – National Association for Court Management.

The Judicial Innovation Fellowship (JIF) is a fellowship for technology industry professionals to transform justice across state, local, territorial, and tribal courts. Partnering with courts to build critical data infrastructure, simplify processes, and improve usability of court services, this competitive fellowship is a unique opportunity to innovate a core democratic institution.

The Judicial Innovation Fellowship is incubated at the Georgetown Institute for Technology Law & Policy. This work is made possible by the State Justice Institute, the New Venture Fund, Schmidt Futures, the Ford Foundation, the Utah Bar Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Fritz Family Foundation.

The inaugural cohort took place from 2023-2024. This successful pilot is commemorated in the JIF Final Report and the Judicial Innovation Fellowship Webinar video, which was recorded in January 2025.

To read about how the program was built, please read the JIF Roadmap.

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.