The Montana Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), Montana Legal Services Association (MLSA), Montana State Bar, and the Montana State Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission have collectively undertaken a Community Justice Worker (CJW) Project to address the legal needs of rural Montanans seeking access to competent legal advocacy throughout the state.
This project is part of a national movement to democratize the judicial system through the training of lay legal advocates who are authorized to perform limited scope legal representation and advice in select civil matters. The CJW Project in Montana focuses on housing, orders of protection and consumer matters within the Courts of Limited Jurisdiction. Across the Big Sky State, the Courts of Limited Jurisdiction weave throughout small towns with populations of less than 5,000 as well as metropolitan areas containing over 150,000 residents. Big or small alike, a persistent issue facing all Montanans, is equal access to justice. While the Courts of Limited Jurisdiction help to offer justice in rural Montana, access to representation is sparse and well beyond the financial resources of Montana’s low-income residents.
To allow for such advocacy through amending the current Montana rules, a working group was convened by the Montana Supreme Court including representative members of the allied organizations. This group worked together over a 45-day period to collaboratively flush out the proposed rule change and anticipated framework of the project. The state’s sole civil legal aid provider, MLSA, will house and build the program with the support, resources, and input from all of the partners. Funded by the State Justice Institute, Montana will build a program that is culturally responsive to the rich individual character of Montana communities and expands justice through lay advocacy.
February 1, 2023
DV AWARE stands for Domestic Violence Analysis, Warning, Action, Recovery, and Engagement. Perpetrators of domestic violence can threaten the safety and well-being not only of their intimate partners and children, but also courts and communities. Beginning with a grant from SJI in 2021, the DV AWARE Project sought to support juvenile and family court systems …
January 1, 2023
On March 30, 2020, the Boards of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators took action to establish National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts Response to Mental Illness to assist state courts in their efforts to more effectively respond to the needs of court-involved individuals with serious mental illness. …
December 1, 2022
During the pandemic, the Puerto Rico Office of Courts Administration (OCA) created an email account through which self-represented litigants (SRLs) seeking an emergency restraining order, a temporary detention or an involuntary admission order related to the Mental Health Code could file their petition to the Municipal Court. SRLs could download, complete, and submit the applicable …
November 1, 2022
In January 2022, the National Association of Counties, Rulo Strategies, and Praxis Consulting launched a new initiative to support justice-oriented strategic planning co-led by judges and elected county leaders. This timely project leveraged the renewed interest many courts have, coming out of the pandemic, in partnering with local stakeholders to expand the resources available to …
October 1, 2022
In 2020, the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) received a SJI grant to assess the court’s access to and use of mental health and substance use recovery services within the community. Funding allowed the Crime and Justice Institute (CJI) to conduct an assessment of strengths, opportunities and challenges that judges, court personnel and …
September 1, 2022
The emergence of COVID-19 has had widespread effects throughout the court system and quarantine orders slowed operations. The Supreme Court of Ohio anticipated an influx of evictions and foreclosure filings in Ohio’s trial courts, as well as a backlog of civil cases. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor directed the Office of Court Services to convene stakeholders …