SJI Newsletter

July 2018 | Volume 28, No. 10

SJI Honors Judge John Nalbandian

for His Service on the Board of Directors

On July 11, 2018, Judge John Nalbandian stepped down from the SJI Board of Directors, after 

serving since 2010. 

He was confirmed by the Senate as a Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth 

Circuit on May 15th and assumed office on May 25th. Judge Nalbandian previously was a partner

in the Litigation Department of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP, where he concentrated on appellate 

and complex litigation in state and federal courts and was a member of the firm's Appellate Practice 

group. He represented clients in a wide range of areas including antitrust, class actions, products 

liability, intellectual property, and white-collar crime. He also served on the Ohio State Bar 

Association's Appellate Practice Specialty Board; was a member of the Greater Cincinnati Minority 

Counsel Program's Board of Directors; and was a Life Member of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals

and served on the Life Member Committee. He served as a Board member of the 

Telecommunications Board of Northern Kentucky and the Northern Kentucky Tri-Ed Board of 

Directors, and had been recognized annually since 2007 by The Best Lawyers in America for his 

work in Appellate Law.
During his time on the SJI Board of Directors, Judge Nalbandian was a strong advocate for the 

state courts - consistently seeking to improve the administration of justice in state courts and 

enhance access to justice. He took special interest in promoting the work of national state court 

associations and organizations, including the National Association for Court Management (NACM). 

Judge Nalbandian viewed these associations and organizations as critical to the wide 

dissemination of best practices and promotion of SJI's Priority Investment Areas. He also served 

on the SJI Board Executive Committee as Treasurer, and the Board's Education Support Program 

Committee.

Pretrial Justice and the State Courts

Initiative Announces Two New Resources

The Pretrial Justice and the State Court Initiative is a collaboration between the National Center for 

State Courts (NCSC) and the Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI), with grant support provided by SJI. 

Two new resources are now available that provide valuable insights on successful pretrial

programs administered by state courts:

1. Estimating the Costs of Implementing Pretrial Assessment and Monitoring Services: This

brief highlights how courts and their criminal justice system partners can collaborate to

estimate the costs of using an evidenced-based pretrial assessment and monitoring tools

(both supervision-based and remote/electronic). Examples from California, Kentucky, New

Jersey, Yakima County in Washington, and St. Mary's County in Maryland, are presented to

show how both uniform statewide and jurisdiction-based programs have been planned,

implemented, and reviewed. The brief walks the reader through considerations to explore

with stakeholders before moving forward in light of shared outcomes, efficiencies, and costbenefit analysis.

2. Pretrial Justice Planning Guide for Courts: This guide provides an in-depth analysis of the

pretrial planning process that jurisdictions have or should embark on when working with

partners using a multi-phase approach. By breaking down the process into: 1) Guiding

Questions; 2) Tasks and Worksheets; and, 3) Online Resources, the guide is meant to

actively support the planning process after agreement that some pretrial program and

service is needed, or a situation where the court is positioned as the lead to guide the

process to redesign and improve the existing pretrial program. 
Update on the National Judicial Opioid Task Force

The National Judicial Opioid Task Force (NJOTF) was established by the Conference of Chief Justices 

(CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), with funding from SJI, in August 2017 

to address the issue of opioid-related cases and promote solutions nationwide.

Recently, the NJOTF released a summary update detailing the activities over the past year, which 

includes the accomplishments of NJOTF work groups (Children and Families, Civil and Criminal Justice, 

and Collaboration and Education). Presented in a clear manner, using infographics, a timeline, and 

summarized content, the NJOTF has centered their efforts on addressing critical topics and producing 

practical materials such as fact sheets, webinars, videos, "TedTalk" style events, bench cards, interactive 

maps, and other resources for judges, court personnel, and justice system stakeholders.

As these resources become available, SJI will continue to share them and updates are also available on 

the NJOTF website, hosted by the National Center for State Courts.

NCSC Releases Trends in State Courts 2018

Trends in State Courts 2018 examines how courts are meeting the changing needs of society. Articles on 

human trafficking, opioid abuse, and other topics discuss how courts can address these important issues.

SJI-supported projects featured in Trends 2018 include:

Peacemaking Programs Offer State Courts an Alternative Path (page 23); and,

Promoting Access to Justice for Immigrant Crime Victims and Children: Findings of a 

National Judicial Survey and Recommendations (page 53).
SJI Board of Directors

Chair

John D. Minton, Jr.

Chief Justice

Supreme Court of Kentucky

Frankfort, KY

Vice Chair

Daniel J. Becker

State Court Administrator (ret.)

Utah AOC

Salt Lake City, UT

Secretary

Gayle A. Nachtigal

Senior Circuit Court Judge

Washington County Circuit Court

Hillsboro, OR

Treasurer

John B. Nalbandian

Partner

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Cincinnati, OH

Jonathan Lippman

Chief Judge of New York (ret.)

of Counsel Latham

Watkins, LLP

New York, NY

Chase T. Rogers

Chief Justice (ret.)

Supreme Court of Connecticut

Hartford, CT

David V. Brewer

Justice

Oregon Supreme Court

Salem, OR

Wilfredo Martinez

County Judge

9th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Orlando, FL

Marsha J. Rabiteau

Executive Director

Center for Human Trafficking Court 

Solutions Bloomfield, CT

Hernan D. Vera

Principal

Bird Marella P.C.

Los Angeles, CA

Isabel Framer

President

Language Access Consultants, LLC 

Copley, OH

Jonathan D. Mattiello

Executive Director

The State Justice Institute is a

federally-funded, non-profit

corporation established by federal 

law in 1984 to improve the quality of 

justice in the state courts.

Products and Resources

Since 2011, SJI has designated the library at the National Center for State Courts as

the official repository of published work related to SJI-supported grant projects. You

can search the ecollection online by using the term, State Justice Institute.

Share the News

SJI uses Facebook and Twitter to promote the work of its grantees and also shares 

information of interest to the entire state court community. If your organizations work

complements ours, let us know and we will share.