E-SJI News

From left to right: Mr. John Nalbandian; Mr. Daniel Becker; Judge Gayle Nachtigal; Ms. Marsha Rabiteau; 

Chief Justice Jim Hannah; and Mr. Hernan Vera. 

On October 18, 2010, SJI Board Chairman Robert Miller (Chief Justice (Ret.), South Dakota) administered the 

oath of office to six new Board members. (continued on page 2)

NEW SJI BOARD MEMBERS SWORN IN

Inside

New Presidential Nominee for the 

SJI Board 2

October 2010 Vol. 21, No. 1

Minnesota Launches & Expands 

Innovative Case Management Program for 

Family Courts 3

FY 2011 Grant Guideline Now 

Available 3, 4
Hon. James R. Hannah – Chief Justice, Arkansas Supreme Court. 

Daniel J. Becker – State Court Administrator, Utah Administrative Office of the Courts.

Hon. Gayle A. Nachtigal – Judge, Circuit Court of Washington County, Oregon.

John B. Nalbandian – Partner, Litigation Department of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. 

Marsha J. Rabiteau – Policy Consultant, Rabiteau Consulting, where she works on a number of policy, 

legislative, and court rules issues.

Hernan D. Vera – President & Chief Executive Officer of Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro bono, public 

interest law firm.

By law, SJI is supervised by a Board of Directors consisting of 11 members appointed by the President with the 

advice and consent of the Senate. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 10703, the President appoints 6 judges and 1 state 

court administrator from a list of candidates submitted by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ). In addition, 

the President also appoints 4 public member positions, no more than 2 of whom can be from the same political 

party.

NEW PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE FOR THE SJI BOARD

On September 29, 2010, the President nominated Isabel Framer to serve as a public member on the SJI Board. 

She is currently pending consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee and full Senate confirmation. 

Ms. Framer is the founder and principal partner of Language Access Consultants, LLC. Since 1998, Ms. 

Framer has worked as a consultant to defense attorneys, prosecutors, law enforcement, state and federal 

government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, and advocacy firms on language access for 

Limited English Proficient communities in the court system. She is a state court-certified judiciary interpreter 

and has been qualified as an expert witness in court proceedings regarding language access and interpreter 

standards. Ms. Framer is also a lead consultant for the Asian and Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic 

Violence, helping to train attorneys and advocates on interpretation for domestic violence victims. She has 

served on several boards and advisory committees, including the Supreme Court of Ohio's Advisory Committee 

on Interpreter Services, the Ohio Judicial Appointments Recommendation Panel, the Ohio Commission on 

Latino Affairs, and the Racial Fairness Project in Cleveland. Ms. Framer was also a board member of the 

National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators from 2003 to 2009, serving as chair from 2007 to 

2009.

The Senate previously confirmed six new Board members on June 22, 2010. Since then, the President has 

announced four additional nominees: Chief Justice Chase Rogers (Connecticut); Chief Justice Marsha Ternus 

(Iowa); Judge Wilfredo Martinez (Florida); and most recently, Ms. Isabel Framer (Ohio). 

Page 2 E-SJI News – Vol. 21, No. 1
MINNESOTA LAUNCHES AND EXPANDS INNOVATIVE CASE 

MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR FAMILY COURTS

In an effort to find an alternative to expensive, time-consuming traditional custody evaluations in family court 

cases, Hennepin County, Minnesota (Minneapolis), piloted a program called Early Case Management/Early 

Neutral Evaluation (ECM/ENE) in 2001. Based on the early success of the program and interest by other 

judicial officers in counties across the state, the Minnesota Judicial Council requested and received SJI support

to expand the pilot program (SJI-07-N-012). The Minnesota State Court Administrator’s Office: expanded from 

one pilot site in the originating county to seven additional Judicial Districts; developed and utilized a Steering 

Committee for addressing oversight of ECM/ENE efforts as a statewide ADR solution; and supported training, 

data collection, and experiential practice dissemination across pilot sites. 

ECM is a five-prong model used in family courts that requires intensive judicial involvement early in the case to 

tailor a case management plan and, in many cases, facilitate an expedited settlement. The five prongs are: 1) 

Initial Case Management Conference (ICMC), 2) Preliminary Data Sheets, 3) Judicial Presentation, 4) 

Stipulated, Tailored Case Management Plans, and 5) Ensuring Continued Case Management. At the conclusion 

of the ICMC, the next court contact is scheduled, usually within 45 to 60 days after the ICMC; the judge is 

available to triage case plan implementation disputes that may arise during the first 30 to 120 days following the 

ICMC. ENE is a voluntary, confidential, high quality, affordable, prompt, evaluative alternative dispute 

resolution (ADR) process focused on generating durable settlements.

The ECM/ENE program was developed to serve divorcing or never-married parents who are disputing custody, 

visitation access, or parenting plans for their minor children. Only parties who agree to participate in the 

program with their attorneys’ consent are referred to the process. The pilot sites in nearly every county 

experienced a reduction in need for full custody evaluations and trials, and a reduction in overall time from 

filing to judgment. In addition, the program emphasized the parent’s responsibility in resolving family disputes, 

which translated to earlier resolution, stability and security for children involved, and fewer appeals or post 

judgment motions.

This project is one example of a non-traditional strategy state courts are implementing to improve the timely 

resolution of divisive family court matters with limited financial resources; by relying on programming, 

partnerships, and a locally adaptable statewide vision. For more information on the project, a website is 

available at: http://www.mncourts.gov/?page=4145. The final report is also available on the SJI website.

FY 2011 GRANT GUIDELINE NOW AVAILABLE 

The FY 2011 SJI Grant Guideline was published in the Federal Register on September 29, 2010. The Guideline 

sets forth the administrative, programmatic, and financial requirements for FY 2011 grants and scholarships. 

A PDF version of the Guideline is available for download on the SJI website: 

http://www.sji.gov/PDF/Grant_Guideline_FY_2011.pdf.

Page 3 E-SJI News – Vol. 21, No. 1
The new SJI Grant Guideline for FY 2011 provides applicants and grantees 

comprehensive guidance on the pre and post-award process. The most 

significant update to the Guideline was the Special Interest Program 

Categories for Project Grants.

Section III. A.1.(a-d) of the Grant Guideline (describing Project Grants) 

provides detailed criteria on the SJI Board-approved Special Interest Program 

Categories. These categories include: Immigration Issues in the State Courts, 

Courts and the Media, Elder Issues, and Court Budgeting and Reengineering. 

The amendment to these categories from previous years reflects the emerging 

trends from applications SJI received over the past year, and the observed 

needs of the state courts. Applicants may continue to submit Project Grants 

for consideration that fall outside of these categories; however those 

applications will not receive the additional points during the review process 

that are awarded to applications covering a special interest category. 

Potential grant applicants are strongly encouraged to contact SJI prior to 

submitting applications if there are questions about the Grant Guideline.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS 

 For Project Grants, grantees are required to send three (3) hard copies 

of the grant product and final report to SJI for library/reference 

purposes. One electronic copy in PDF of the final grant report should 

also be sent to SJI. 

 Next Grant and Scholarship application deadline for the 2nd quarter of 

FY 2011: February 1, 2011.

Board of Directors

Chairman

Robert A. Miller

Chief Justice (Ret.)

Supreme Court of South Dakota

Pierre, SD

Arthur A. McGiverin

Chief Justice (Ret.)

Supreme Court of Iowa

Ottumwa, IA

James R. Hannah

Chief Justice

Supreme Court of Arkansas

Little Rock, AR

Tommy E. Jewell

Presiding Children’s Court Judge 

(Ret.)

Second Judicial District Court

Albuquerque, NM

Gayle A. Nachtigal

Judge

Washington County Circuit Court

Hillsboro, OR

Daniel J. Becker

State Court Administrator

Utah AOC

Salt Lake City, UT

John B. Nalbandian

Partner

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Cincinnati, OH

Marsha J. Rabiteau

Policy Consultant

Rabiteau Consulting

Bloomfield, CT

Hernan D. Vera

President & CEO

Public Counsel

Los Angeles, CA

Jonathan D. Mattiello

Executive Director

The State Justice Institute is a 

private, non-profit corporation 

established by federal law in 1984 

to improve the quality of justice in 

state courts, and foster innovative,

efficient solutions to common 

issues faced by all courts. SJI is 

governed by a Board of Directors 

appointed by the President and 

confirmed by the Senate.

Page 4 E-SJI News – Vol. 21, No. 1