Volume 22, No. 3 December 2011 

E-SJI NEWS SJI NEWS

In this Issue 

New Mexico 

Reengineering 

1 

NJEP Intimate Partner 

Training Online 

2 

NACM Advances 

Judicial Education 

2 

Michigan Judicial 

Workload Study 

3 

 

Through SJI’s Strategic Initiatives Grants (SIG) program, the New Mexico Judiciary began the process 

of state court reengineering in FY 2011. The judiciary recognized this as an opportunity to achieve operational efficiencies, meet service delivery goals, 

and address systemic change. The process closely 

followed the New Mexico Supreme Court’s multiyear development of a strategic plan in 2009 that 

called for a New Mexico Reengineering Commission 

to represent the diverse statewide interests of the 

judiciary and Administrative Office of the Courts. 

During January and February 2011, the National 

Center for State Courts (NCSC) assisted the Commission in conducting a statewide survey on how to 

operate courts more effectively and efficiently. 

There were more than 1,800 responses to the survey, 

covering a broad range of topics and ideas. A condensed summary of the survey results is included in 

Exhibit C of the report. The complete survey results 

are available on the New Mexico Judiciary’s website

under the, “What’s New” link on the New Mexico 

Reengineering Commission front page. 

The Commission and NCSC consultants observed 

that the priorities reflected through the survey results 

addressed challenges present in everyday operations, 

and in long range projects. Beyond the traditional 

concern on lack of financial resources was how to 

maximize existing resources, especially information 

technology. Contained within the report are planned 

IT projects, some of which are already underway, 

that have the capacity to reengineer court processes 

and practices. These included: 

Statewide implementation of the Odyssey Case 

Management System in all courts; 

E-filing for general jurisdiction courts, e-payment 

options for court fines and fees, and electronic citations for limited jurisdiction courts; 

Appellate Court electronic case management; 

Expansion of judicial video records within the 

district courts, as well as a series of electronic data 

management and civil access to justice initiatives. 

The report further breaks down a series of nine initiatives that the Commission is exploring or actively 

pursuing through reengineering as a result of the 

survey. Some of these initiatives are being pilot 

tested before statewide launch, and some are being 

implemented in jurisdictions where the need is highest. 

SJI support has enabled NCSC to collect information 

on state court reengineering projects, and maintain an 

updated map of reengineering efforts from across the 

country on the NCSC Budget Resource Center website. The website provides information about the 

process and links to the final reengineering reports 

for a number of states. 

The full report from the New Mexico Reengineering 

Commission, including four appendices can be 

downloaded from the NCSC Library and Digital 

Archive. 

Page 1 

Follow SJI on 

Facebook and 

Twitter 

For the latest information on 

projects, grant application deadlines, and updates. Connect with 

us on both forums by visiting 

our Facebook and Twitter pages. 

New Mexico Reengineering Commission Releases 

Report to Address Judicial Challenges 
NACM Continues to Advance Education 

Through Increased Accessibility 

As the largest association of court professionals, the National Association for Court Management (NACM) works to serve a dedicated 

audience of court managers, staff, and judges 

through its training, development of core 

competencies, conference events, and member

-related programming. 

The NACM Core Competencies were developed in the 1990s by its members. Years of 

refining by the NACM Professional Development Advisory Committee culminated in 2003 

with the publication of the 10 Core Competencies. NACM began the process of developing online distance learning for the Core 

Competencies Modules and promote their use 

in court administration to make educational 

opportunities more readily accessible to the 

courts (SJI-10-E-159). 

In addition to distance learning, NACM’s upLegal Momentum’s National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) received a grant (SJI-11-

E-154) from SJI to update, maintain, and disseminate the 2004 distance-learning curriculum titled, Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse: 

Adjudicating this Hidden Dimension of Domestic Violence Cases. The curriculum was 

originally developed with the assistance of SJI 

(SJI-N-04-170) and Department of Justice/ 

Office on Violence Against Women. 

The course features 13 modules and case studies to assist distance learners in gaining a full 

comprehension of intimate partner violence 

and the implications it can have during court 

proceedings, particularly risk assessment. 

Originally structured for the judicial learner, 

the course has translated well with other criminal justice stakeholders, and is now routinely 

used by prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation and police officers. Most recently, NJEP 

Judicial Curriculum on Intimate Partner Domestic 

Violence Statewide Expands to Law Enforcement 

E-SJI News Volume 22, No. 3 December 2011 

Page 2 

coming mid-year conference (February 5-7, 

2012) will provide educational sessions on 

transformative governance and leadership. 

More information about the upcoming conference is available on the NACM conference 

page. 

NACM continues to extend the availability of 

the educational content, and learning modules, 

free of charge, on the NACM website. 

learned of Kentucky’s decision to offer the 

course to 5,000 police officers throughout the 

state. 

The curriculum includes the most up-to-date 

interdisciplinary research on the impact of 

intimate partner sexual abuse. The curriculum 

addresses issues of victim safety, creating a 

court environment that encourages victims to 

disclose the extent to which they were abused, 

responding to cultural issues which affect 

disclosure, improving risk assessment procedures, and how to evaluate batterer and sex 

offender treatment programs. Among other 

perspectives, the course encourages justice 

systems to work proactively together with 

community stakeholders, advocates, and other 

resources in decision-making for civil, criminal, family, juvenile and probate cases; and in 

custody and visitation determinations. 

The web course was developed and written by 

the NJEP, a project of Legal Momentum in 

cooperation with the National Association of 

Women Judges (NAWJ). Instructional design 

and technical assistance were provided by the 

Judicial Education Center of the New Mexico 

Institute of Public Law at the University of 

New Mexico Law School. 

The course can be accessed online, free of 

charge at www.njep-ipsacourse.org. 
Page 3 

SJI Board of Directors

Chairman 

James R. Hannah 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Arkansas 

Little Rock, AR 

Vice Chairman 

Daniel J. Becker 

State Court Administrator 

Utah AOC 

Salt Lake City, UT 

Secretary 

Gayle A. Nachtigal 

Judge 

Washington County Circuit Court 

Hillsboro, OR 

Treasurer 

Hernan D. Vera 

President & CEO 

Public Counsel Law Center 

Los Angeles, CA 

Robert A. Miller 

Chief Justice (Ret.) 

Supreme Court of South Dakota 

Pierre, SD 

Chase T. Rogers 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Connecticut 

Hartford, CT 

David V. Brewer 

Chief Judge 

Oregon Court of Appeals 

Salem, OR 

Wilfredo Martinez 

County Judge 

9th Judicial Circuit of Florida 

Orlando, FL 

Marsha J. Rabiteau 

Policy Consultant 

Rabiteau Consulting 

Bloomfield, CT 

John B. Nalbandian 

Partner 

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP 

Cincinnati, OH 

Isabel Framer 

President 

Language Access Consultants, LLC 

Copley, OH

Jonathan D. Mattiello 

Executive Director 

The State Justice Institute is a federallyfunded, non-profit corporation established by 

federal law in 1984 to improve the quality of 

justice in the state courts. 

E-SJI News Volume 22, No. 3 December 2011 

Michigan’s Workload Study and Assessment of 

Operations and Technology Results in Second Phase 

In response to difficult fiscal challenges, declining case filings, and an observable decrease in the statewide population, the State 

Court Administrative Office (SCAO) obtained 

SJI assistance to evaluate trial and appellate 

court workload and statewide court operations.

With oversight and technical assistance provided by the Michigan Judicial Needs Assessment Committee and the National Center for 

State Courts (NCSC), the state began the process of reviewing trial and appellate courts 

using separate workload and case filing surveys. This study resulted in an updated statistical methodology that included weighted 

caseload evaluations. The results of these 

evaluations led to the formulation of recommendations to the Committee, Judiciary, and 

Legislature. 

mentation of concurrent jurisdictions, and 

Appellate Court technology planning are also 

anticipated. 

Michigan will continue to proceed with the 

judicial restructuring and matching technological improvements in both the Court of Appeals 

and in the trial courts with actual needs. This 

second phase of the project will provide the 

courts with the expertise they need to support 

many aspects of court reengineering. 

The final report for the Michigan Court of 

Appeals can be downloaded from the NCSC 

Library and Digital Archive. The JRR report 

that the State Court Administrative Office 

compiled for FY 2011 is available online. 

Suggestions to improve operations and balance 

judicial workload throughout the state were 

issued in the Judicial Resources Recommendation (JRR) report, and included the following: 

Elimination of 45 trial court judgeships, 

and four Court of Appeals judgeships by attrition; 

Redistribute certain judgeships to fill the 

judicial needs of neighboring communities; 

Begin concurrent jurisdictional planning to 

permit more equitable assignment of judges 

within a circuit; and 

Consolidation of some judicial districts. 

It is estimated that this combination of recommendations will save the state over $8 million 

in judicial staffing costs. Additional savings 

through balance of the workload and imple-