SJI Newsletter

January 2021 | Volume 31, No. 4

SJI Provides Resources to Assist Grant Applicants

Three grant deadlines remain for FY 2021 SJI Grant funding:

• February 1, 2021 (2nd QTR)

• May 1, 2021 (3rd QTR)

• August 1, 2021 (4th QTR)

All new SJI grant applications must be submitted via the online Grant Management

System (GMS). Refer to the Grant Application Guide for additional information.

The SJI Funding Toolkit provides support to local courts, state courts, and their justice

system partners pursue federal and philanthropic funding opportunities.

Recent additions to the toolkit include:

1. New Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) updated weekly:

https://fundingtoolkit.sji.gov/faq/

2. Updated Court ¢ents podcast addressing Formula Block Grant Opportunities for

Courts: https://anchor.fm/funding-toolkit/episodes/Formula-Block-GrantOpportunities-for-Courts-eolveu/a-a49suh9
Pandemic Rapid Response Team invites Applications for

Implementation Lab Initiative

Coined by Michigan Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack (MI), the expression “not the

disruption we wanted, but the disruption we needed” captures the ongoing impact the

pandemic has had on America’s state courts.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Conference of Chief

Justices/Conference of State Court Administrators Rapid Response Team (RRT) and the

NCSC have worked to identify and develop innovations and new practices in response to

the pandemic. To help spread innovation widely and to continue to learn from sites

implementing new practices, the RRT and NCSC are launching the 2021 Implementation

Lab. Applications are welcome from courts that would like to participate.

The goal of the Implementation Lab is to foster sustainable innovations across a large,

diverse group of courts throughout the United States, to continue to learn about the impact

of these innovations, and to share lessons learned throughout the process.

Applications are open to join the Lab in one of these areas of innovation:

1. Pre-Trial Practices

2. Remote and Virtual Hearings

3. Remote Workforce

4. Digital Divide

5. Online Dispute Resolution

6. Virtual Jury Selection and Jury Trials

7. Self-Represented Litigants

8. Language Access Technology

9. High-Volume Dockets

10. Eviction Diversion

11. Case Management
For the duration of the project, anticipated to run through 2021, NCSC and the RRT will

provide resources and technical assistance to the selected sites as they develop and

execute implementation plans, evaluate the impact of their innovations, and work to

sustain best practices. The Implementation Lab is made possible with SJI funding support.

Full details and an application package are available now. Applications are due Thursday,

Feb. 4, 2021. A first round of selections will be made in early February.

Also, in case you missed it, resources available at www.ncsc.org/pandemic continue to

grow:

• With many states extending prohibitions on in-person jury trials, we have updated our

map showing statewide jury restrictions (click on the “Statewide Jury Restrictions”

tab).

• With large urban centers sometimes enacting tougher restrictions on jury trials, we

have added a new tab called “Jury Trial Restrictions By County” that focuses on the

nation’s largest urban centers.

• The “Virtual Hearings” tab now includes links to guides to remote hearings that have

been published by state courts. Hover over a state, and if a guide is available, a link

to that state’s guide will appear.

Finally, be sure to check out the many new resources published on the RRT Pandemic

resources web page.
To participate in the next webinar, Racial Justice, please register online:

Title: Racial Justice

Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2021

Time: 3:00-4:15 p.m. EST/12:00-1:15 p.m. PST

Presenters: Chief Justice Bernette Johnson, Louisiana Supreme Court, and Barbara Arnwine, 

President & Founder, Transformative Justice Coalition

Past webinars are viewable online and will be archived for future reference:

Title: Recovery

Date held: November 18, 2020

Presenter: Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law at 

UC Berkeley School of Law

Renowned constitutional law scholar Erwin Chemerinsky discusses the legal challenges and 

constitutional issues courts will face during and after the pandemic, as well as the development 

of law in the past year. He concludes with a reflection on Associate Justice Ruth Bader 

Ginsburg and what new Justice Amy Coney Barrett means for the Supreme Court.

View Webinar Recording | Download Handout (PDF)

Title: Relief

Date held: January 15, 2021

Presenters: Hon. George Grasso, Supervising Judge of Bronx County Criminal Court (NY), and 

David Slayton, Director of the Texas Office of Court Administration

The panel discussion highlights the steps courts have taken to resume suspended in-person 

hearings and jury trials, adjust to judges and staff working remotely, and other issues.

View Webinar Recording | Download Handouts (ZIP)

AJA Free Webinar Series

The American Judges Association (AJA) is excited to announce a series of free webinars for 

judges, the court community, and the public.

AJA, with grant support from SJI, will offer and archive a series of webinars that examine the 

challenges facing the country and state courts due to the pandemic, and social unrest related to 

systemic racial inequality. Three of the four topics will echo President Franklin Roosevelt’s 

response to the Great Depression, which focused on Relief, Recovery, and Reform. The fourth 

will address the steps state courts, and especially judges, can take to ensure that the justice 

system provides equal justice to all.
Join NCJFCJ and expert faculty as they explore challenges associated with referring

children and families to services in dependency and delinquency cases, and how courts

and service providers can work together to meet their needs and improve their lives.

The upcoming webinars can be located using the links provided below for each session:

• Opioids and the Courts: Difficult Conversations Around Harm Reduction: 2/17/21

• Opioids and the Courts: Difficult Conversations Around Preventing Overdose

and Death: 3/17/21

• Opioids and the Courts: Difficult Conversations Around Recovery: 4/21/21

Please note you will need to register for each webinar separately.

For more information about materials or past archived webinars, or if you have general

questions please contact Andrew Wachter at awachter@ncjfcj.org.

Upcoming NCJFJC Webinars on Opioids and the Courts

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), with support from

SJI, is hosting a series of webinars titled, Opioids and the Courts - Difficult Conversations. 
Self-care is a critical component of wellness for professionals across all intercepts of the 

criminal justice and behavioral health systems. Within Intercepts 3-5 of the Sequential 

Intercept Model (SIM), court, reentry, and community corrections personnel may

experience stressors related to providing services and ensuring the safety of individuals

experiencing crisis, mental or substance use disorders, or withdrawal symptoms. Many

staff members face an increased exposure to stressors as they navigate additional

challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. This webinar will present information

about potential stressors faced by staff across Intercepts 3-5 and ways that agencies can

support self-care as a protective factor against harmful responses to stress. Presenters

will share best practices, resources, and supports that agencies and staff should be aware

of to build resilience and promote self-care.

You can also join the GAINS Center’s listserv and receive their eNews.

SAMHSA GAINS Center Criminal Justice Communities of

Practice Continues

In December 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services/Substance Abuse

and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) GAINS Center hosted a webinar

titled "Self-Care for Criminal Justice Professionals Across the Sequential Intercept Model

(SIM): Considerations for Intercepts 0-2." Those who were unable to attend can now

download the webinar slides and supporting documentation.

A second webinar in the series addressing SIM Intercepts 3-5 is now being offered.

Self-Care for Criminal Justice Professionals Across the Sequential Intercept Model:

Considerations for Intercepts 3-5

January 28, 2021, 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET
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

David V. Brewer

Justice

Oregon Supreme Court

Salem, OR

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

Partner

Pitney Day, LLP

Hartford, CT

Wilfredo Martinez

Senior Judge

State 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.

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