Category: News And Announcements

E-filing Domestic Violence Protection Orders—Safety, Accessibility, and Effectiveness

This webinar will review key considerations identified through NCSC’s critical conversations with court stakeholders across the country related to portals and e-filing systems for domestic violence cases, such as addressing safety and confidentiality/privacy concerns, challenges to accessibility, support strategies to help petitioners navigate technology, and court processes and collaborations necessary to build a robust framework.

1:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, September 27

As a result of this program, participants will be better able to:

  • Explain the benefits and challenges, especially for users, of e-filing systems for domestic violence protection orders
  • Identify the specific obstacles and strategies to overcome them, regarding user safety, confidentiality/privacy, and accessibility of e-filing systems
  • Describe the challenges petitioners face in navigating the e-filing process and how to address them by providing necessary support through access to advocates and other strategies
  • Effectively collaborate with key stakeholders to develop, implement, and assess the effectiveness of e-filing systems

Facilitators:

  • Alicia Davis | Principal Court Management Consultant, National Center for State Courts
  • Kathryn Genthon | Senior Court Research Associate, National Center for State Courts

Panelists:

  • Darren Mitchell | Consultant, National Center for State Courts
  • Ayyoub Ajmi | Director of Technology at University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law; Founder CiviLaw.Tech
  • Staci Pratt | Head of Student Services and Outreach, Assistant Professor of Teaching, William A. Wise Law Library, University of Colorado Law School, Boulder
  • Kay Radwanski | Senior Court Policy Analyst, Arizona Administrative Office of the Courts

Register here

Today’s Disinformation Threats

Disinformation and misinformation campaigns undermine public confidence in our country’s institutions, including courts. These campaigns can cause a crisis of confidence that can affect the ability of courts to do their duty and potentially harm the people who depend on court services. We will kick off a two-part webinar series by exploring “Today’s Disinformation Threats.” Featuring nationally recognized subject-matter experts, this webinar will highlight the current disinformation landscape, forecast disinformation trends on the horizon, and detail why courts should be concerned.

3 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 22

Moderator:
• Anna Blackburne-Rigsby | Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals


Panelists:
• Jennifer Rubin | Opinion Columnist Covering Policy and Politics, Washington Post
• Suzanne Spaulding | Senior Adviser for Homeland Security and Director of the Defending Democratic Institutions Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

Register here

New Resource on Diminished Decision-Making Capacity and Elder Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice, Elder Justice Initiative (EJI) has announced a new suite of resources addressing issues involving diminished decision-making capacity and its impact on elder justice.  These resources have a particular focus on elder justice cases that reach civil and criminal courts, but they are useful for all elder justice professionals and extend beyond the court setting.

In April, the EJI convened a ground-breaking virtual symposium on decision-making capacity, attended by over 1500 individuals from across the country. Over the course of three afternoons, national experts provided discussion and analysis on a broad spectrum of topics, including: 1) ten key facts about diminished decision-making capacity; 2) the latest research on the aging brain and how it impacts decision-making capacity; 3) issues pertaining to clinicians conducting capacity assessments on older adults; 4) the importance of maximizing self-determination and minimizing harm to older adults whose capacity is being questioned or assessed; and 5) panel discussions of how decision-making capacity issues arise in civil and criminal cases.

The EJI has posted a recording of the full symposium for those unable to attend the symposium or who missed any of the sessions. In addition, EJI has compiled a detailed downloadable resource guide to supplement the symposium presentations. It includes key materials and links for law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, Adult Protective Services staff, civil attorneys, clinicians, and other elder justice professionals, as well as resources that professionals can use in presentations to the public. The updated webpage also includes a comprehensive literature review and other useful items.

To find these and other resources, please visit the symposium webpage:

https://www.justice.gov/elderjustice/symposium

Master Jury Lists Report

The master jury list is the first step in the complex process of assembling a pool of prospective jurors.  To ensure that the process is efficient and that the resulting jury pool reflects the demographic composition of the community, the master jury list should be broadly inclusive of the adult population, geographically and demographically representative, and contain accurate address records.  With funding from SJI, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) Center for Jury Studies examined juror source lists and master jury lists in three states.  The final report highlights the implications of using poor quality juror source lists and failing to identify duplicate records during process of merging multiple lists, which resulted in substantially over-inclusive source lists and master jury lists in all three states. 

The NCSC concluded that over-inclusiveness can be as problematic as under-inclusiveness.  The presence of unrecognized duplicate records and stale records undermines the efficiency of the jury system by incurring printing, postage, and staffing costs for duplicative jury summonses or summonses that do not reach the intended recipients.  It also distorts demographic representation in different ways.  In some states, it may mask underrepresentation of racial and ethnic groups; in others, it may cause concerns about underrepresentation that does not really exist.  The NCSC recommended that state courts use only as many juror source lists as necessary to achieve inclusiveness at or near 100 percent.  The choice of which source lists to use should be based on assessments of list quality, especially concerning record accuracy, which may differ from state to state.  The report includes detailed recommendations for courts to assess the quality of juror source lists in their respective states and maximize the accuracy of their master jury lists.

Court Voices Project: New Report

With support from State Justice Institute, LaGratta Consulting, LLC, in collaboration with Rulo Strategies, LLC and the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at the Wayne State University School of Social Work is assisting twelve pilot criminal courts by collecting and analyzing court user and court staff feedback to assess the value of COVID-19 pandemic-response practices.  Through coordination and lesson-mining of these pilot sites, and the creation of web-based practitioner tools, the project is offering guidance to state courts on how court users and staff have experienced new practices, bringing valuable insights into court leaders’ decision-making process.  This new publication documents user feedback in the pilot sites. 

Rural Peer Exchange Site Visit Opportunity: Justice Partnerships to Address Substance Use

The Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR), a training and technical assistance (TTA) provider for the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA) Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP), is pleased to announce a peer exchange opportunity for rural communities on October 19–20, 2022 (with additional travel days required depending on your home location). Up to six rural communities will be selected to receive travel scholarships through the State Justice Institute to participate. These travel scholarships will allow each community to send a team of four practitioners to participate in the structured, 2-day peer exchange at no cost.

IMPORTANT:

Request forms for the peer exchange TTA opportunity in Lenoir County will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants are encouraged to submit their forms as early as possible but no later than September 21. Applicants are also encouraged to check https://www.cossapresources.org/Status/Peer-Exchange-Submissions to determine whether the opportunity is still open.

The peer exchange will be based in Lenoir County, North Carolina, a rural community in the eastern part of the state, and includes a visit on the second day to Wayne County, an adjacent community approximately 30 minutes away. Throughout the 2-day site visit, the six visiting teams will have the opportunity to learn about and observe the many successful aspects of Lenoir and Wayne Counties’ comprehensive, multidisciplinary substance use response, including:

  • The Family Accountability and Recovery Court (FARC). This family treatment court program serves rural Lenoir, Wayne, and Greene Counties. The FARC program supports parents and families entering the child welfare system because of parental substance use disorders. The court team includes two judges, a case coordinator, a case administrator, a parent attorney, a guardian ad litem, treatment providers, child welfare case workers, transitional housing representatives, vocational rehabilitation representatives, a community college representative, parenting support staff, peer support specialists and, when needed, a domestic violence treatment provider.
  • The Women’s House of Hope. This program is a 12-bed transitional housing facility operated by Hope Restorations. Hope Restorations is a transitional employment and training program for adults recovering from addiction or incarceration. In addition to housing, the Women’s House of Hope offers transitional employment, recovery groups, aftercare resources, and computer classes through the local library. Residents of the Women’s House of Hope can work at a local thrift store recently opened by Hope Restoration.
  • The Wayne County Detention Center’s jail-based medication-assisted treatment program, which includes a day reporting center.
  • The Wayne County Community College partnership with the detention center, which supports individuals earning a high school equivalency diploma while in custody. The community college is also a partner in the FARC and provides education services to treatment court participants. 
  • Local employers, including the Mother Earth Motor Lodge, that work closely with the treatment court to provide employment opportunities for treatment court participants.

Through this peer exchange, visiting teams can discuss and share best practices, exchange ideas and knowledge, and engage in peer networking events. Visiting teams also will be provided opportunities to meet together and process the information as a team.

For more information on this opportunity, including eligibility requirements, please view the request form here.

Technical Assistance Request Timeline

Request forms will be reviewed and approved on a rolling basis, with selections made no later than September 21.

Notification of selection:
By September 21, 2022

Technical Assistance Request Checklist
____Technical Assistance Request Form
The technical assistance request form should be emailed to COSSAP@iir.com.

Questions
If you have any questions about completing this form or have submission issues, please email COSSAP@iir.com.

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

Upcoming Webinar! The Role of Risk Assessments & Evaluations in Sentencing Drug-Impaired Drivers

Upcoming Webinar! The National Judicial College (NJC) will be hosting: The Role of Risk Assessments & Evaluations in Sentencing Drug-Impaired Drivers tomorrow: Wednesday, August 17th, 2022, from 3:00-4:15PM EST. 

In this webinar, participants will cite the need for, and difference between, DUI specific assessment tools and identify how to best utilize them when sentencing drug-impaired drives.

To register now for this free online webinar: The Role of Risk Assessments & Evaluations in Sentencing Drug-Impaired Drivers – The National Judicial College (judges.org)

New Resource! Engaging Parents and Youth with Lived Experience

The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW), the Children’s Bureau (CB) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) have collaborated to create: Engaging Parents and Youth with Lived Experience: Strengthening Collaborative Policy and Practice Initiatives for Families with Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders. This resource provides key considerations for recruiting and engaging those with lived experience who were involved with child welfare associated with a substance use disorder or other mental health challenge. It also highlights considerations for engaging youth who have spent time in the foster care system.

Parents and youth can offer valuable insight, based on first-hand experience, that helps agencies implement strategies to improve outcomes for those served.

To access this new resource: Final_LiveExperience (hhs.gov)

New IAALS Report: Strides in Legal Innovation, Oregon Greenlights Licensed Paralegal Program

The Oregon Supreme Court approved the Licensed Paralegal (LP) Program, a program that will license individuals who aren’t lawyers to provide limited legal services in family law and landlord/tenant issues, two areas with the greatest unmet need for legal assistance in the state. This makes Oregon the fifth state in the country to enlist a new tier of legal professionals in the effort to provide more access to legal help. The LP program will train paralegals to assist with a variety of legal issues, including divorce and separation, custody and parenting time, child and spousal support, and forced entry and wrongful detainer.

Some of their duties include:

  • Meeting with potential clients to evaluate and determine needs and goals, as well as provide advice
  • Filing documents and pleadings with the court 
  • Preparing for, participating in, and representing a party in settlement discussions, including mediation 
  • Attending court appearances and depositions with clients to provide support and assistance in procedural matters

Fortunately, states like Utah, Arizona, and Minnesota have also embraced new tiers of legal professionals. As IAALS Manager Michael Houlberg, “There’s a big push. Since 2020, there have been more than 10 states that have developed proposals.” Building on this momentum, IAALS’ newly launched Allied Legal Professionals project aims to help standardize these legal professional programs nationally, in order to expand the options for accessible and affordable legal help for the public. Programs like Oregon’s are exemplary of what we hope to eventually see spread even further across the country.

To read the full article, please visit: Oregon Joins Growing List of States Empowering Legal Professionals to Help More People | IAALS (du.edu)