Developed with support from SJI, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) recently released a report titled, Courthouse Violence in 2010-2012, Lessons Learned (SJI-13-T-089). Through review of six tragic incidents of violence in court facilities or on premises occurring between December 2011 and February 2013, the report provides judges, court administrators, and security officers with a tool that catalyzes preparedness and planning.

The report was written with the assistance of several state court judges and administrators who shared their experiences and voiced lessons they had learned first-hand from recent security incidents. These jurisdictions were represented by rural, urban, and most frequently, suburban communities located in South Carolina, Minnesota, Washington, Oklahoma, Delaware, and Arkansas.

The report reveals four key lessons learned, they include:

• Everything during a violent courthouse incident happens unbelievably fast.
• It may not be possible to prevent a violent incident, but there may be “indicators” to look for in advance of the incident.
• There are obvious needs for certain security measures, and courts need to be proactive in making sure those measures are in place.
• There must be a focus on the impact of these incidents on court staff and their families.

Recommendations addressing each of these lessons learned, with input from NCSC Court security experts are included in the report. They provide valuable considerations for state courts to consider as they evaluate their emergency plans.

The report is available through the NCSC Library eCollection.

Through an SJI Strategic Initiatives Grant, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and Self-Represented Litigation Network (SRLN) have developed case triage protocols for cases involving self-represented litigants, and developed a report offering best practices for the collection of litigant information. This innovative project will provide a basis for system redesign towards quickly and effectively serving litigants as they access the state courts (SJI-12-P-085).

The project team included representatives from the state courts, the civil legal aid community, and the private bar. These partnerships are critical, since successful triage requires coordination between the courts, litigants, and service providers. The project team met its goal of developing triaging processes to better serve litigants.

While the report begins with a brief historical framework for understanding triage in the legal context, particularly as it applies to the self-represented litigant, most of the focus in each legal issue section is on the application of stakeholder protocols, inclusive of: a) litigant choice protocol; b) court protocol; and, c) provider’s protocol. The following legal issue sections (pp. 6 – 20) are included:

• Eviction Protocols;
• Family Law Protocols;
• Foreclosure Cases; and,
• Credit Card Cases

Each section addresses common issues and barriers to triage, as well as the most frequently applied policies and available resources. Specific information tailored to each section addresses the perspective of the individual stakeholder and seeks to identify elements of the triage critical to all parties.

Applicable to multiple SJI Priority Investment Areas, this report offers stakeholders more detailed information and recommendations in the areas of self-represented litigation, state court reengineering, and the application of the protocols to improve access to limited English proficient (LEP) populations. While many jurisdictions already engage in some form of triage, the focus of this report is to:

• Provide guidance on full integration of the court, litigant, and service providers as stakeholders;
• Advance mechanisms for standardization of triage protocols; and,
• Promote access to justice through the litigant portal, inclusive of self-help centers and websites

The project team is currently exploring the development of an implementation guide that will enable key stakeholders to implement these protocols through online portals. Topics for the planned implementation guide may include: resources required, sequential implementation tasks, governance, integration and information requirements, and how to best make litigants aware of the portal so they may access services.

The report, titled, Triage Protocols for Litigant Portals: A Coordinated Strategy Between Courts and Service Providers is available through the NCSC Library’s eCollection and via their online Self-Representation Resource Guide.

The Board met on September 9, 2013, to make decisions on quarterly grant applications and awarded a total of 12 grants. Eight (8) Technical Assistance (TA) Grants were approved, including: an operational improvement initiative for the 3rd Judicial District Court of Kansas; a review of probate and guardianship procedures for the 2nd Judicial District Court of Nevada; a criminal caseflow assessment for the Alameda County Superior Court in California; development of a court facility plan for the Mohave County Superior Court in Arizona; an organizational assessment for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals; a communications reengineering and probation service integration project for the Pierce County District Court in Washington; and, update of the Virginia Court facility guidelines for the Virginia Supreme Court.

Four (4) Curriculum Adaptation & Training (CAT) Grants were approved, including: delivery of the curriculum, Improving Access to Justice for Immigrant Crime Victims: The Important Role of Legally Correct Information, to four additional jurisdictions and via webinar by American University; cultural diversity training in the 15th Judicial Circuit of Florida; development and pilot testing of the nationally-recognized curriculum, Preventing and Addressing Internet-Related Juror Misconduct, by the National Center for State Courts; and, court facilities training for the Idaho Supreme Court.

During the September 9, 2013 meeting, the Board awarded a Strategic Initiatives Grant (SIG) to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), in partnership with the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS) to support the Civil Justice Initiative. At its 2013 Midyear Meeting, the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) passed a resolution calling for the creation of a Civil Justice Initiative to address the impact of excessive costs and delays in civil litigation on access to justice, public trust and confidence in the courts, and the constitutional role of the courts. The project will develop guidelines and best practices for civil litigation based on best practices in various states, and other applicable information. The project will focus on a wide variety of issues such as civil case processing including variations for pleading standards, discovery procedures, summary judgment and other dispositive motions, business court programs, and managing mass tort litigation. The project will result in: 1) a written report presented to CCJ summarizing the project’s findings and recommendations including evidence-based practices, best practices, and templates for civil rules and operational practices for CCJ members to consider adopting in their respective states; and 2) a series of briefing papers on the current landscape of civil litigation in state courts and other issues addressed by the project.

Each fiscal year, SJI allocates significant financial resources to support its Priority Investment Areas. In FY 2014, the Priority Investment Areas will be (in no ranking order): 1) Language Access and the State Courts; 2) Self-Represented Litigation; 3) Reengineering in Response to Budget Reductions; 4) Human Trafficking and the State Courts; 5) Immigration Issues in the State Courts; 6) Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Elder Issues; and 7) a new Priority Investment Area on Remote Technology – e.g., innovative use of technology to improve the business operations of courts and provide enhanced services outside the courtroom (videoconferencing, online access, educational services, remote court proceedings, the electronic record, centralization/regionalization of court services, etc.).

The state courts have been increasing their use of technology to enhance services, become more efficient, and reduce costs. However, much of this work has been fragmented across and within states, and often depends on various factors such as awareness of how remote technology can be harnessed to improve the delivery of court services and/or willingness to embrace new technologies. Technological advancements such as the electronic record, digital recording, and videoconferencing require courts to not only reassess current business processes, but also create new rules and procedures that support access outside the traditional courthouse/courtroom context.

SJI is interested in innovative approaches to promoting awareness of the ease and benefits of embracing remote technology to improve access to justice, enhance court operations, and reduce costs. Please note that SJI will not support the operational costs associated with the development or enhancement of case management and electronic record systems, in addition to any other equipment costs that support these systems.

The SJI-funded Human Trafficking and the State Courts Collaborative recently released a new website that will serve as a portal for all the TA work, education/training, and resources associated with this project. Each member of the Collaborative will provide updates on their activities using the website, providing a centralized location for all the information available on this critical issue.

Beginning in FY 2013, SJI supported a Strategic Initiatives Grant (SIG) to the Center for Public Policy Studies/The National Judicial College/Center for Court Innovation (CPPS/NJC/CCI) to form a Human Trafficking and the State Courts Collaborative focused on 4 strategic priorities: 1) increasing understanding and awareness about the challenges faced by state courts in dealing with cases involving trafficking victims and their families, and traffickers; 2) developing and testing state and local approaches for assessing and addressing the impact of human trafficking victims and defendants in the state courts; 3) enhancing state and local court capacity to improve court services affected by human trafficking-related case processing demands; and 4) building effective national, state, and local partnerships for addressing the impacts of human trafficking case processing in the state courts.

The Collaborative will result in a variety of products benefiting the state courts, including:

• A comprehensive resource inventory of background information about the demographics, scope, dynamics, and implications for the courts and justice system of various forms of human trafficking;
• Measurement framework that includes measures and tools for monitoring the impacts of human trafficking case processing in the state courts;
• Summary of changes in federal and state trafficking law, policy, and practice that might better serve the interests of the state courts;
• A human trafficking and the state courts web-based resource network and clearinghouse for judges and court personnel;
• A best practices toolkit for jurisdictions interested in establishing a specialized prostitution/trafficking court;
• A series of bench cards targeting human trafficking-related issues;
• Best practice guidelines;
• Model planning and technical assistance process and supporting materials;
• Training on human trafficking via 12 courses for judges;
• Intensive technical assistance in six jurisdictions, and proven nationally applicable technical assistance approaches; and
• Published articles in various court periodicals about the project and the issue in general.

In April 2013, theNational Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) and Legal Momentum/National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) officially joined the Collaborative. NAWJ has made human trafficking a priority over the past 2 years, and with SJI support, has been able to offer educational programming to their membership on this critical issue. With a recent SJI grant (SJI-13-E-090), NJEP will add a module on human trafficking to it popular course, Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse: Adjudicating This Hidden Dimension of Domestic Violence Cases. This web course has proved to be highly successful, and is available free of charge at www.njep-ipsacourse.org.

During the Annual Meeting of the Conference of Chief Justices/Conference of State Court Administrators (CCJ/COSCA), the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) released National Call to Action, Access to Justice for Limited English Proficient Litigants: Creating Solutions to Language Barriers in State Courts. The Call to Action represents the culmination of a multi-year SJI-funded project aimed at addressing limited English proficiency in the state courts, which included a National Summit on Language Access in the Courts held in 2012. The Call to Action presents an overview of important data the NCSC collected during the assessment of the courts, which was conducted prior to the convening of the Summit. It also provides a summary of the Summit, in addition to action steps that state courts can use to implement or improve language access programs.

In addition to the Call to Action, SJI has provided support to the NCSC’s newly established Language Access Services Section to provide direct technical assistance to the state courts on this critical issue. Specifically, NCSC will:

• Assist states through COSCA, CCJ, and the Language Access Advisory Committee (LAAC) in developing consistent national standards for increased ability to share resources, including the ability to share interpreters, tests, and training opportunities;
• Assist in the creation of regional and/or national databases of interpreter resources, and increase capacity through remote interpreting;
• Conduct state and local courts needs assessments;
• Assist state and local courts with developing LEP plans, including assistance in determining when interpreter resources are required, and the necessary resources, as a part of case management;
• Develop model training for judges and court staff on cultural and interpreter use issues;
• Develop instructions and bench cards for judges to explain to courtroom participants how interpreters are best used in the courtroom;
• Evaluate gaps with meeting DOJ guidelines, and establish a plan of action to address those gaps; and,
• Similar to what courts have done with Americans with Disabilities (ADA) issues and security threats, establish a clearinghouse to collect data on LEP complaints in order to assist courts in addressing these issues.

On July 20, 2013, the House Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee marked up the FY 2014 CJS Bill, which included $4,799,000 for SJI. The full House Appropriations Committee approved the Bill on July 17th. On July 16th, the Senate CJS Appropriations Subcommittee marked up the Bill, including the requested $5,121,000. The full Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Bill on July 18th. SJI greatly appreciates the support from the House and Senate CJS Subcommittees and their staff. SJI will continue to provide updates on the FY 2014 Appropriations Process in future editions of the E-SJI News.

The Executive Session for State Court Leaders in the 21st Century has released two new papers in the series. Executive Session participants, in coordination with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) have been publishing an ongoing series of papers that explore, through in-depth analysis, a policy or operational issue critical to effective state court leadership.

The latest papers, Governance: The Final Frontier, by NCSC President Mary McQueen, and, Maintaining Institutional Independence: Funding Sustainable State Courts During Economic Crisis, by former Oregon Chief Justice Paul De Muniz are now available. These two new papers, in addition to the full catalog, are available online.

The SJI Board of Directors met at the Supreme Court of Connecticut on June 24, 2013, to consider grant applications for the 3rd quarter of FY 2013. A total of 13 grants were awarded during this meeting. One Project Grant was awarded to the Supreme Court of Ohio to for a statewide initiative that will provide a forum for domestic relations judges and their justice system partners to assess protocols, examine resources, and share promising practices.

A total of nine (9) Technical Assistance (TA) Grants were awarded, including grants to: the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to test and evaluate approaches used in three states to adjudicate domestic relations cases in order to develop a triage system for these case types; the Missouri Office of the State Courts Administrator for a forms and self-represented litigant website six-language translation project; Okanogan County, Washington, to assess the performance of the Office of the Clerk; the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) to develop a training program for judicial officers on human trafficking and increase outreach on this critical topic area; the Henderson Municipal Court in Nevada to conduct an operational review and recommend best practices to improve court administration; the Eugene Municipal Court in Oregon to assess caseflow management; the Oregon Judicial Department for a pilot project designed to improve language access in Oregon’s courts; the Idaho Supreme Court and Judicial Council for a statewide judicial performance evaluation; and, the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts to develop and implement a statewide caseload data evaluation for adult and juvenile probation and pretrial services caseloads.

Three (3) Curriculum Adaptation & Training (CAT) Grants were also awarded including grants to: the National Judicial College (NJC) to develop an advanced skills curriculum for state appellate judges; the Connecticut Judicial Branch to implement a training program for court staff and judges that better identifies and serves individuals with hidden disabilities; and, the Superior Court of Fresno County, California, to deliver a situational leadership training program to 50 current and future court leaders.

The deadline for FY 2013 4th quarter grant applications is Thursday, August 1, 2013. Consultation with SJI staff prior to, and during the preparation of, grant applications is strongly encouraged.