Category: News And Announcements

SJI’s Funding Toolkit for State Courts and Justice System Partners is designed to support local courts, state courts, and their justice system partners as they pursue federal and philanthropic funding opportunities. 

Each week you can find a new FAQ about the grant making process, along with an answer from a grant expert.

Or follow SJI on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and look for the Q&A icon highlighting the latest posting.  Send your funding and grant questions to fundingtoolkit@sji.gov.  Experts will provide answers, as well as references to additional resources.

The SJI Board of Directors met virtually on April 27, 2020 to make decisions on quarterly grant applications, and approved a total of 21 new grants.

Four (4) Strategic Initiatives Grants were awarded: the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to support Phase II of the Conference of Chief Justices/Conference of State Court Administrators Mental Health Initiative; the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFJC) to develop a National Bench Card Resource Center; and two SIG grants to the Utah Supreme Court to pilot the innovative Legal Services Oversight project, and in partnership with Pew, to assess the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform. 

Four (4) Project Grants were awarded: The National Disability Rights Network, on behalf of the National Guardianship Network, to support the 4^th National Guardianship Summit; the D.C. Court of Appeals for an organizational and management structure assessment; The Center for Court Innovation (CCI) for the Harlem Community Justice Center – Housing Help Center Community Project; and the NCSC to assist the Iowa and Kansas courts in planning for implementation of the Civil Case Management Team (CCMT) model.

Six (6) Technical Assistance Grants were awarded: the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts for a Recovery and Mental Health Oriented System of Care; the Council for Court Excellence (CCE) to evaluate estate administration in Washington, D.C.; the NCSC for a Cybersecurity in the Courts initiative; the Vermont Judiciary for an access and resource center planning project; the Montana Supreme Court for a district court workload assessment; and the 4^th Judicial Circuit of Idaho for a comprehensive security assessment.

Eight (7) Curriculum Adaptation and Training (CAT) Grants were awarded: The NCSC and NCJFJC to build a replicable caseflow management curriculum for juvenile and family courts; the Colorado Judiciary for a language access outreach and interpreter recruitment initiative; the National Judicial College for a series of webinars on judicial ethics; the American Judges Association (AJA) for educational programming; the NCSC for a curriculum for presiding judges on leading change; the Wisconsin Office of Judicial Education for a faculty development workshop; and the Oregon Judiciary for training on handling criminal defendants who are unable to stand trial by reason of incapacity.

The next deadline for grant applications is August 1, 2020. 

The Pandemic Rapid Response Team (RRT), a group of chief justices and state court administrators established in March 2020, has created a roadmap to help state courts move forward during the pandemic—and after it ends.  The plan will be developed by a series of working groups that will determine what courts have learned, how to resume court operations as the curve flattens, and what they can do beyond to build a stronger judiciary.

The working groups will focus on court management, technology, and communications and funding issues.  Recommendations will be completed within 90 days, though component parts may be delivered sooner.  The RRT was created by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) and is supported by National Center for State Courts (NCSC).  The State Justice Institute (SJI) is providing funding for this initiative.

Texas Chief Justice and CCJ President Nathan Hecht said the RRT has provided critical guidance to courts that had to quickly adapt to new business practices, while maintaining essential court functions.  “Since the onset of the pandemic, courts throughout the country have determined to stay open to deliver justice without faltering, no matter the adjustments and sacrifices demanded, but also to protect staff, security, lawyers, parties, jurors, judges, and the public from the risks of disease…We are learning new technology and practices together.  Now, our Rapid Response Team is helping us shift attention to what’s next for courts as we begin to dig out.”

New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, whose court system is at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, said her courts “pivoted quickly to create a virtual court system…As we improve and expand our virtual model, we must also begin planning ahead for a safe return to normal court operations.  I am grateful that the CCJ/COSCA RRT is exploring the many difficult public health and operational challenges that will need to be overcome for our state court systems to resume delivering justice safely in what is undoubtedly going to be a ‘new normal.’”

The working groups—composed of court leaders from all levels of courts—will be tasked with identifying what the “new normal” is going to look like, and how to get there.

• Four working groups will be formed to study court management issues in the areas of: civil; criminal; children, families, and elders; and appellate.
• A technology working group will focus on ways that online dispute resolution, videoconferencing, electronic filing, and other tools that have allowed courts to conduct business during the pandemic can be used more in the future.
• A communications working group will provide guidance on how best to communicate with lawmakers, the executive branch, and the public.

Have information to share on how your court is responding to the pandemic?  Submit it to pandemic@ncsc.org.

As states begin to issue partial restart orders, more than 3,200 people from state, federal, and international courts recently attended the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ)/Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) Pandemic Rapid Recovery Team’s webinar on planning for resuming normal court operations – the first of several to help courts as the coronavirus pandemic curve flattens and courts expand their services.  At this point, there are more questions than answers, but it’s clear to court leaders that the pandemic will lead to changes—some known and some unknown.

The webinar focused on nine factors that courts should consider to help them decide when and how to expand services, and webinar attendees received this document, which outlined the factors.  They include the health of court employees, scheduling, criteria for in-person hearings, vulnerable populations, social distancing, hygiene supplies, health screenings, face coverings, and cleaning courthouses.  During the webinar, three topics surfaced more than others: 1) screening the public; 2) resuming jury trials; and 3) collaborating with local health officials

SJI continues to provide support for the RRT as an important resource to state courts.  In addition, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has a pandemic website available that is cataloging state court actions to address the pandemic.

With over 500 million LinkedIn users and 100 million different companies and organizations registered, the State Justice Institute (SJI) has joined the ranks of those engaging with the platform to disseminate knowledge, provide informational leads, and share news of our organization’s development.

The SJI page on LinkedIn is now live, and aims to distinguish itself as something different than our social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, which are both accessible to the public.  Currently, we’re sharing our SJI Toolkit Q&A, and will feature links to our forthcoming podcast,  Court Cents. 

If you have suggestions of what you would like to see on our LinkedIn page, please let us know by e-mailing contact@sji.gov and sharing those ideas.

The National Association for Court Management (NACM) regular podcast series, Court Leader’s Advantage, which focuses on innovations, thought-provoking trends, and questions that matter to the court community, has been temporarily suspended in order to bring you weekly episodes on how courts are coping with the coronavirus crisis.

Court Leader’s Advantage podcast series, began as a forum by court professionals for court professionals to share experiences and lessons learned.  Episodes typically air the third Thursday of each month.  Currently, the podcast is examining how the crisis is like nothing we’ve seen before, and the impact this has had on state courts.  Throughout the crisis, the weekly podcast episodes will feature a “rotating panel” of guests that answer the question, “How are courts and court administrators dealing with the coronavirus on a daily basis?”

Do you have questions or comments about Court Leader’s Advantage Podcasts? Contact clapodcast@nacmnet.org

Once the crisis subsides, NACM will return to their regular monthly schedule.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has impacted operations significantly in state courts across the United States, and courts across the world.  SJI has assisted a number of key partners in the immediate release of resources to judges, administrators, clerks, staff, and justice system partners. 

The list below contains an overview of some of these resources:

1.  National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has several resources to help courts through this public health emergency:  www.ncsc.org/pandemic
2. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) is continuing to provide information related to COVID-19: https://www.ncjfcj.org/covid-19-resources-and-updates/
3. The National Judicial College has been offering regular webcasts and more information via the NJC Podcast: https://www.judges.org/
4. National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) is hosting a centralized portal for drug treatment court teams to access a variety of information: https://www.nadcp.org/covid-19-resources/
5. The National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) is keeping their site updated on the pandemic: https://www.nawj.org/covid-19

Learn about best practices, hear from experts from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and elsewhere, and have a chance to think through court operations in the time of COVID-19, with an access to justice lens.

Subscribe: ncsc.org/tinychatsubscribe

See all Tiny Chats: ncsc.org/tinychats

Schedule a 30 minute brainstorming session: ncsc.org/drtinychat

In direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Karen Lash, from The Justice Government Project at American University has developed a compendium of the federal block/formula/open-ended reimbursement funds (AKA federal pass through funds), which are available now to state and local courts to support civil self-help, technology innovation, and domestic violence.  To support jurisdictions interested in exploring these kinds of funding opportunities, the NCSC has released a 15-minute conversation.

The Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS), and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) finalized a three-year project with the release of their new report, Transforming Our Civil Justice System for the 21st Century: The Road to Civil Justice Reform.  The report highlights the experiences of four states—Idaho, Maine, Missouri, and Texas – as they worked to implement guidelines adopted by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) to ensure the just, prompt, and cost-effective resolution of civil cases in state courts.  With support from SJI, IAALS and NCSC provided each state with the guidance and tools necessary to support successful implementation, and then circled back to interview those involved.  Due to COVID-19, courts are currently operating under uniquely challenging circumstances and a tight timeframe—while reform takes time, the need for change has been accelerated.  The experiences of the states in this report, and their use of Transforming Our Civil Justice System for the 21st Century: A Roadmap for Implementation – a set of seven clear steps for courts to follow when implementing change – can provide invaluable guidance to other courts.  The Roadmap steps provide a key framework for reform that states can follow: leadership; assessment and definition of issues; engagement of stakeholders to gain input; development of vision and goals for reform; clear recommendations; and action.

With support from SJI, the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has released a new guide: Treatment Courts and COVID-19 What to Consider During a Pandemic.  The guide provides practical solutions for treatment courts as they adapt to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, including timely information for judges, practitioners, and partners involved in treatment courts.  The guide includes both short- and long-term examples on ways courts can maintain positive outcomes, while protecting the safety of treatment court participants and the community.

In addition to this guide, the NADCP is maintaining a COVID-19 Resources website for the treatment court community.  The website includes:

• Adaptations by treatment courts to state/local restrictions regarding COVID-19;
• A Hot Topics, Q&A, and A-Z Resource Index;
• Numerous Training and Publications, including webinars and resources from NADCP for programs responding to COVID-19; and,
• Relevant federal, state, and national partner resources from the experts in federal and state governments and national associations.

NADCP’s annual conference – All Rise – made the decision to go virtual in May 2020.  Those interested in the world’s largest conference on addiction, mental health, and justice reform, will join experts from across disciplines for the latest on COVID-19 responses and much more.