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February 2010 Vol. 20, No. 5 

E-SJI News    

SJI RECEIVES OVER $1 MILLION IN GRANT APPLICATIONS 

FOR THE 2nd QUARTER 

SJI received a total of $1,720,544 in grant applications for the 1st quarter of FY 2010. The amount requested 

was double the amount normally requested during a given quarter, and historically SJI receives the least amount 

of grant applications in 1st quarter of the fiscal year. For the 2nd quarter, SJI received $1,138,121 in new grant 

applications; marking the second quarter in a row that SJI has received over a million dollars in new grant 

requests. 

There may be several reasons why grant applications have increased: 1) the state courts are dealing with severe 

budget constraints, and need financial assistance in order to conduct critical projects; 2) SJI increased the 

amount available for Technical Assistance (TA) and Curriculum Adaptation and Training (CAT) grants. TA 

Grants were increased from $30,000 to $50,000, and CAT Grants were increased from $20,000 to $30,000. 

This has provided more flexibility to the state courts to conduct larger projects; and 3) SJI has increased its 

visibility with the state courts through outreach, which combined with limited federal funds for the state courts 

in general, has led to an increase in applications. 

The Board will meet on March 25, 2010, to make decisions on grant awards for the 2nd quarter. The results of 

this meeting will be available the following week. 

SJI SUBMITS FY 2011 BUDGET REQUEST TO CONGRESS 

SJI recently submitted its FY 2011 Budget request to the House and Senate Commerce, Justice, Science and 

Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittees. For FY 2011, SJI is requesting $6,273,000 to enhance 

its efforts to improve the quality of justice in the state courts. The request is $1,142,000 above the level 

provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117); and $727,000 below the level as 

authorized by the State Justice Institute Reauthorization Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-372). (continued on page 2)

Guidelines for Implementing 

Best Practices in Court Building 

Security 2, 3

SJI Submits FY 2011 Budget Request 

to Congress 1, 2

Inside

Special Announcements 3 
SJI remains the only source of federal funding dedicated exclusively to improving the quality of justice in state 

courts. There is a strong interest in continuing to support the State courts, since they handle over 97 percent of 

all the cases in the United States. The funding requested for FY 2011 will enable SJI to continue identifying 

issues that impact all courts, fostering innovative solutions, and sharing information on successful approaches 

nationwide. 

GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING 

BEST PRACTICES IN COURT BUILDING SECURITY 

In FY 2009, SJI awarded a Strategic Initiatives Grant (SJI-09-P-125) to the National Center for State Courts 

(NCSC) to develop a set of guidelines for implementing best practices for court building security. This 

document is now available on both the SJI and NCSC websites. 

Operating a court building today is by its very nature a risky business. Court buildings are visited by a large 

volume of disgruntled and even lawbreaking citizens. In addition, court buildings can be seen as an important 

symbolic target for those who wish to cause mischief or even terror. In an effort to assist the state courts in the 

development and implementation of effective measures for court building security, NCSC has developed Steps 

to Best Practices. In addition, SJI supported a companion piece that provides guidelines for implementing those 

steps, and specifically focuses on the costs and strategies for obtaining necessary funding to improving court 

building security. The companion piece includes four parts: 

Part I – identifies the estimated costs associated with implementing the recommendations contained in the 

Steps document. 

Part II – includes a framework of priorities that a court may wish to follow in deciding when and how to 

implement the recommendations contained in Steps. 

Part III – recommends strategies for seeking the funding necessary to implement the recommendations 

contained in Steps. (continued on page 3)    

Page 2 E-SJI News – Vol. 20, No. 5 
Board of Directors

Chairman

Robert A. Miller 

Chief Justice (Ret.) 

Supreme Court of South Dakota 

Pierre, SD 

Vice Chairman

Joseph F. Baca 

Chief Justice (Ret.) 

New Mexico Supreme Court 

Santa Fe, NM 

Secretary

Sandra A. O’Connor 

States Attorney of Baltimore 

County (Ret.) 

Towson, MD 

Executive Committee Member

Keith McNamara, Esq. 

McNamara & McNamara 

Columbus, OH 

Terrence B. Adamson, Esq. 

Executive Vice-President 

The National Geographic Society 

Robert N. Baldwin 

Executive Vice President and 

General Counsel 

National Center for State Courts 

Sophia H. Hall 

Administrative Presiding Judge 

Circuit Court of Cook County 

Chicago, IL 

Tommy Jewell 

Presiding Children’s Court Judge 

(Ret.) 

Second Judicial District Court 

Albuquerque, NM 

Arthur A. McGiverin 

Chief Justice (Ret.) 

Supreme Court of Iowa 

Des Moines, IA 

Janice Munsterman 

Executive Director 

Jonathan Mattiello 

Deputy 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. 

Part IV – describes performance and accountability measures that a court 

may wish to utilize in order to measure the effectiveness of implementation 

efforts, and to sustain funding for those efforts. 

Court building security is not a one-time achievement. It is a serious and 

continuous goal that requires constant vigilance. The risks involved in court 

building operations are numerous, and can never be completely eliminated. 

However, they can be minimized. Following the recommendations of the 

Steps document, along with the guidance provided by the companion piece, 

can help the state courts minimize the risks and help keep the public, judicial 

officers, court staff, and building tenants more safe and secure.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS 

3⁄4 Next grant and scholarship application deadline: May 1, 2010 (3rd

Quarter, FY 2010). 

3⁄4 The Board will meet on March 25, 2010, to make grant awards for the 

2nd Quarter. 

3⁄4 Grant and scholarship application deadlines for the remainder of the 

fiscal year: August 1, 2010 (4th Quarter). 

3⁄4 Current and future grantees and scholarship recipients can choose to 

receive payments via EFT. This is a faster method of receiving 

payment from SJI. To participate in EFT, SJI will need a completed

SF 3881-Automated Clearing House (ACH)/Miscellaneous Payment 

Enrollment Form, which is available on the SJI website under the 

Forms tab. 

Page 3 E-SJI News – Vol. 20, No. 5