SJI and its Board of Directors are pleased to announce the release of a 40-year report that provides a retrospective overview of the important work that SJI has achieved over the past four decades, highlighting specific projects that have supported the greatest areas of need within the #statecourts.
Over the next decade, SJI will leverage funding whenever possible to help the state courts address the most critical issues. SJI will continue to focus on using its Priority Investment Areas to address court issues on a national level and maintain flexibility to adapt its grants to address emerging topics.
Courts across the country are recognizing the potential of digital tools to bridge the gap for self-represented litigants navigating complex legal issues. These tools assist users in understanding the legal process and help them make informed decisions about their case.
These tools serve as virtual companions—offering step-by-step guidance and plain language explanations—for self-represented litigants in landlord-tenant and consumer debt cases, adding Philadelphia to the growing list of courts embracing innovative technology solutions to improve court services.
“The majority of our litigants are pro se,” said Judge Gregory Yorgey-Girdy, supervising judge of the Civil Division, Philadelphia Municipal Court. “This technology gives them the keys to unlock the doors of the legal process and allows easier access to the Philadelphia Municipal Court.”
Digital Assistants
Philadelphia’s new digital assistants guide court users through the landlord/tenant and consumer debt process. By answering questions about their situation, court users receive a customized “just-in-time” plan in a friendly, plain language document they can bring to court.
“There is no shortage of legal information online. Sometimes the challenge for users is managing it all and determining what to do next,” said NCSC Court Management Consultant Aubrie Souza. “Digital assistants enable individuals to focus on the next steps in their case rather than figuring out how to digest and piece together information found online.”
Youth across the country are facing unprecedented challenges, from community violence to mental health issues to school absences. These new resources from the CSG Justice Center provide state leaders, policymakers, and youth justice professionals with critical data and evidence-based solutions to address the growing challenges faced by youth and the systems designed to support them:
Navigating Concerns on Youth Crime, Violence, and Justice: What Does the Data Say? Details the most recent national data trends on youth mental health, arrests, violence, court cases, incarceration, and disparities along with key implications and recommendations for needed policy, practice, and funding improvements. These resources provide state leaders, policymakers, and youth justice and service professionals with critical data and evidence-based solutions to address the growing challenges faced by youth and the systems designed to support them. Also, save your spot for the accompanying webinar. Register here: https://csg-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AyhQKk3oR7quTEIDuNQHWg#/registration
Support or Court: How States Respond to Youth Who Commit Noncriminal Offenses and Children Who Break the Law. Many states are experiencing severe service and staffing shortages and youth are often pushed into the juvenile justice system, not because they are a public safety risk, but to receive needed services. This report focuses on youth who commit status offenses and children who break the law (minimum age of juvenile court jurisdiction), shares findings from a 50-state scan, and provides key takeaways and a call to action for more effective, systemic, community-based responses.
From First Offense to Future Arrests: The Impact of Probation on Youth. This study by The Pew Charitable Trusts, based on data provided by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and analyzed by researchers at the CSG Justice Center and Pew, shows that diverting youth from probation could improve juvenile justice system efficiency and public safety outcomes.
This exclusive training program is hosted and presented by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) and the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ). This four-hour in-person training offers a unique opportunity for judicial officers and key team members to increase knowledge and promising practices using three stages to organize courts’ preparation for and response to dangerous incidents.
This training opportunity is a product of the NCJFCJ’s DV AWARE Project (Domestic Violence Analysis, Warning, Action, Recovery, and Engagement), funded by the State Justice Institute. DV AWARE is an interactive training program meticulously designed for judges, recognizing their crucial roles and their increased vulnerability to violence. For more information on DV AWARE, please click here: https://www.ncjfcj.org/dv-aware/
On June 18th, 2024, President Biden nominated LaKresha Moultrie to the SJI Board of Directors. Ms. Moultrie has led a career dedicated to service in the Delaware community. She currently serves as Vice President of Legal Affairs, General Counsel, and Chief Enterprise Risk Officer at Delaware State University, one of America’s leading Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In this role, she provides legal counsel to the University and its Board of Trustees. She also uses her legal expertise to assess critical issues facing the institution. Recently, she helped guide the University through the acquisition of Wesley College, which gained the University the distinction as the first HBCU to ever acquire a college or university.
Prior to joining Delaware State University, Ms. Moultrie led a successful career at the Delaware Department of Justice where she began as an entry-level prosecutor and progressed to Chief Deputy Attorney General, second-in-command of the office. Her career at the Department included trial and appellate work in all the State courts. She received her law degree from Delaware Law School of Widener University and her undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from Pace University. Moultrie’s professional accomplishments and charitable activities were acknowledged when she was recognized by The Delaware Business Times as part of the Class of 2015 “40 Under 40” and one of the “40 Most Empowering Women in Business” in 2021.
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 FY 2024 3rd Quarter State Justice Institute SJI Board Meeting was held on June 3rd, 2024, at the Michigan Supreme Court in Lansing, Michigan. Members of the SJI Board, Executive Director, Jonathan Mattiello, and Senior Program Advisor, Michelle White, were joined by Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement and State Court Administrator, Tom Boyd, of the Michigan Supreme Court.
SJI received 14 grant applications requesting a total of $2,169,020 for the 3rd quarter of FY 2024.
The Board awarded three (3) Strategic Initiatives Grant to: 1) LaGratta Consulting for the Fairness Challenge Pilot Project, which will employ emerging innovations in diverse pilot courts to improve and measure procedural fairness; 2) the Council of State Governments Justice Center and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges to formalize and sustain a national juvenile justice training and resource center; and 3) the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, in partnership with the Center for Justice Innovation to develop a Blueprint for Adjudication for use by judicial officers and adjacent system actors before, and during, initial hearings to help facilitate access to mental health treatment and decrease the amount of time people with mental illness spend in jail.
Six (6) Technical Assistance Grant applications were awarded: 1) the Supreme Court of Nevada to develop an online guardianship portal that will enable online submission of guardianship filings and identify potential issues with guardianships; 2) the Alaska Court System for a caseflow management workshop; 3) the Nebraska Administrative Office of the Court and Probation for a self-help center pilot project in Douglas County, Nebraska; 4) the National Association of Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers for educational programming; 5) the Unified Judicial System of South Dakota for a strategic planning project; and 6) the Kansas Supreme Court for court clerk organizational assessments in three (3) counties.
Three (3) Curriculum Adaptation and Training Grants were awarded: 1) the Council of Chief Judges of the State Courts of Appeal for educational programming during the 2024 annual meeting; 2) the National Judicial College (NJC) for podcasts on judicial independence and the rule of law; 3) and the NJC for training for judges on restorative justice practices.
The next deadline for grant applications is August 1, 2024.
The State Justice Institute‘s Executive Director, Jonathan Mattiello, was honored to be on this recent panel on May 22nd, 2024, during a Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill, joined by U.S. Senator Chris Coons, judges, and other justice partners. This briefing was organized by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and co-hosted by U.S. Senator Chris Coons (DE), U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (TX), and U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (TX). Court leaders discussed the increasing threats and attacks on judges. Delaware Senator Christopher Coons, judges, and other justice partners emphasized the urgency in passing the Countering Threats and Attacks on Our Judges Act.
Maryland Judiciary Chief Justice Matthew Fader and Judge Julie Kocurek of the Travis County (TX) District Court shared accounts of how recent attacks have personally impacted them and their courts.
On May 23rd, 2024, President Biden nominated Bethany Pickett Shah to the SJI Board of Directors. She will fill a public member position previously held by Judge John Nalbandian, who resigned after becoming a Circuit Court Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Ms. Shah is an attorney with Jackson Walker LLP, where she specializes in complex commercial litigation, government investigations, and white-collar defense. Prior to private practice, she served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas, where she represented the United States in criminal prosecutions and civil litigation. Before becoming a prosecutor, she worked at the White House as Deputy Associate Counsel to the President, and at the Department of Justice as a Counsel in the Civil Rights Division and Counsel in the Office of Legal Policy. She is the recipient of several awards for her service, including the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas’s Dedicated Service Award. She has also been appointed by the judges of the Eastern District of Texas to serve on the district’s Magistrate Judge Merit Selection Panel. Ms. Shah is a graduate of The King’s College and Northwestern University School of Law. After law school, she clerked for the Honorable Edith H. Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The SJI Board of Directors will be meeting on Monday, June 3, 2024, at 1:00 PM ET. The purpose of this meeting is to consider grant applications for the 3rd quarter of FY 2024, and other business.
ADDRESS: Michigan Hall of Justice, 925 West Ottawa Street, Lansing, Michigan.
