SJI NEWSLETTER SJI NEWSLETTER

In this Issue 

Page 1 

Volume 27, No. 6 

NCCALG Presents Final 

Report 

1 

Pretrial Justice Reform and 

the State Courts 

2 

Montana Juvenile Probation 

Workload Assessment 

2 

Kansas Judicial Branch 

Examines Compensation 

3 

 

March 2017 

Accepting 

Submissions

SJI is accepting submissions 

from its grantees for the May 

and June issues of the 

SJI Newsletter. 

Articles of fewer than 300 words 

are preferred and should report 

on the culminating work of single grant or significant progress 

of a multi-year project. 

Please email articles to: 

kathryn.tuck@sji.gov 

ship was 

divided into 

five Committees corresponding to 

five areas of 

inquiry: 1) 

Civil Justice; 

2) Criminal 

Investigation 

and Adjudication; 3) 

Legal Professionalism; 4) 

Public Trust 

and Confidence; and 5) Technology. 

The committees conducted research, consulted with 

numerous experts and court officials, and engaged in 

collaborative discussions to identify areas for improvement in North Carolina’s court system. This 

past summer, the Commission produced interim reports and gathered public input through online comments and four public meetings held across the state. 

“The Commission’s recommendations create a framework for dramatic, systemic improvement in the administration of justice in North Carolina,” said Chief 

Justice Martin. “The work of this blue-ribbon Commission will help ensure that North Carolina’s Judicial 

Branch meets the needs and expectations that the 

people of North Carolina have for fair, modern and 

impartial courts.” 

The Administrative Office of the Courts, along with 

other component parts of the Judicial Branch, will 

implement the Commission’s recommendations.

With support from SJI, Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation , and the North Carolina Governor’s Crime 

Commission, the North Carolina Commission on the 

Administration of Law and Justice (NCCALJ) presented its final report to Chief Justice Mark Martin 

earlier this month during a ceremony at the Supreme 

Court of North Carolina. The report includes recommendations to strengthen the state’s court system 

to best meet institutional needs and 21st century public expectations. 

Convened by Chief Justice Martin in September 

2015, NCCALJ is an independent, multidisciplinary 

study group created to undertake a comprehensive 

evaluation of the judicial system and make recommendations for strengthening our courts within the 

existing administrative framework. Recommendations featured in the report include: 

implementing a strategic technology plan for 

paperless courthouses; 

raising the juvenile age; 

reducing case delays and improving efficiency; 

and, 

assisting the growing number of selfrepresented litigants. 

These recommendations reflect the understanding 

that public trust and confidence in the courts is at its 

highest when the courts are seen as fair, accessible, 

and effectively managed. 

NCCALJ is an independent, multidisciplinary commission comprised of leaders from business, academia, the Judicial Branch, the Legislative Branch, the 

Executive Branch, the legal profession, and the nonprofit sector. The Commission’s diverse memberNorth Carolina Commission on the Administration 

of Law and Justice Presents Final Report 
Page 2 

SJI Newsletter Volume 27, No. 6 March 2017 

During the last decade, research on practices to improve pretrial release 

decisions has increased dramatically. This clearly demonstrates the 

need to move to a risk-based system, relying on actuarial instruments to 

inform decisions regarding the likelihood the defendant will appear in 

court or pose a danger to the community. The research also has much 

to say about the short-term and long-term harms that accrue to defendants who remain in detention pending their trial, as well as potential 

threats to public safety when high risk defendants are able to pay for 

their release. In recognition of this research, the Conference of Chief 

Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators 

(COSCA) have joined multiple national criminal justice stakeholder 

organizations to promote system change. In 2015, both organizations 

provided educational programs on pretrial justice reform issues to their 

members, and are now engaged in convening a series of regional summits of multi-stakeholder teams to craft action plans for improving state 

court pretrial justice practices. 

SJI recently awarded a Strategic Initiative Grant to support a national 

Pretrial Justice Reform and the State Courts Initiative. The Initiative 

will build on the momentum generated by CCJ and COSCA, and help 

courts implement legal and evidence-based pretrial practices through 

the development of national resources and the provision of technical 

assistance (TA) targeted specifically to state courts. The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and the Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI), the 

Pretrial Justice Reform 

and the State Courts Initiative 

leading organizations in judicial and pretrial reform, will partner to 

implement the Initiative. In consultation with an Advisory Committee 

of judicial and pretrial reform leaders, NCSC and PJI will produce and 

widely disseminate a court pretrial organizational assessment tool, 

online educational tools, written policy papers, and provide TA for 

jurisdictions seeking expertise in specific pretrial areas. 

The Initiative will be informed by the CCJ and COSCA National Task 

Force on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices, the action plans developed by 

states participating in the regional Pretrial Justice Reform Summits, and 

efforts by state courts working with the NCSC and PJI. 

As a result of this Initiative, state courts will have access to resources to 

facilitate implementation of their specific pretrial system improvements, 

as well as enhance the success of their reform efforts. NCSC and PJI 

will highlight individual jurisdictions’ achievements electronically and 

in presentations to encourage knowledge-sharing and peer-to-peer 

learning across the state court community. By supporting court systems 

implementing legal and evidence-based pretrial practices, the Initiative 

ultimately will help reduce unnecessary confinement of defendants 

based solely on their inability to pay, and ensure that dangerous defendants are appropriately detained. The Initiative also will assist state and 

local courts in their efforts to ensure equal justice and due process for 

all. 

MT Completes Probation Workload Assessment 

Through an SJI grant, the Montana Office of Court Administration has successfully completed a 

juvenile probation workload assessment study. The final report 

documents the challenges associated with providing quality supervision to Montana youth, while 

balancing caseloads, pretrial assessments, and essential probation 

department functions. 

This report is the culmination of a 

collaborative effort between staff at the National Center for State 

Courts (NCSC) and the Workload Guidance Committee, which was 

comprised of 14 leaders from 12 judicial districts and the Office of 

Court Administration. Guidance Committee members focused their 

efforts on ensuring the quality of this assessment by assisting juvenile 

probation staff with tracking time, and arranging for stakeholders to 

share their views, experiences, and insights at the focus groups. 

States are encouraged to determine local workloads based on carefully 

conducted time studies. The final report notes, “Juveniles usually enter 

the juvenile justice system through contact with law enforcement, although they may be referred to juvenile probation by other agencies and 

parents. The juvenile justice system is designed to keep youth out of the 

deep end of the criminal justice system. It also is effective in helping the 

District/Youth Courts from becoming over-burdened with relatively 

minor offenses that can be handled more swiftly by juvenile probation 

through the informal process.” 

Included in the final report are workload essentials and measurements, as 

well as findings and next steps. 
Page 3 

SJI Board of Directors

Chair 

Chase T. Rogers 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Connecticut 

Hartford, CT 

Vice Chair

Daniel J. Becker 

State Court Administrator 

Utah AOC 

Salt Lake City, UT 

Secretary 

Gayle A. Nachtigal 

Senior Circuit Court Judge 

Washington County Circuit Court 

Hillsboro, OR 

Treasurer 

Hernan D. Vera 

Principal 

Bird Marella P.C. 

Los Angeles, CA 

Jonathan Lippman 

Chief Judge of New York (ret.) 

Of Counsel 

Latham @ Watkins, LLP 

New York, NY 

John D. Minton, Jr. 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Kentucky 

Frankfort, KY 

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 

Legal Policy Strategies Group 

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. 

SJI Newsletter Volume 27, No. 6 March 2017 

Kansas Judicial Branch Examines Compensation 

Completed late last year with SJI 

support, the Kansas judicial 

branch has made its final report, 

titled, Appellate and District 

Court Classification and Compensation Study, available 

through the NCSC Digital Library’s eCollection. 

With TA provided by the NCSC, 

the appellate and district court 

study report and its companion 

report focusing on magistrates, 

show that pay for every single 

job classification within the Judicial Branch is below market levels by 

at least 4.6 percent and as much as 22.2 percent. 

"It's well documented by the National Center for State Courts that pay 

for Kansas district judges ranks a dismal 50th in the nation and 45th 

when adjusted for cost of living," said Lawton Nuss, Chief Justice of 

the Supreme Court. "What had not been studied was the pay earned by 

court employees and district magistrate judges." 

The Appellate and District Court Classification and Compensation 

Study, found that: 

More than a one-quarter of judicial branch employee positions 

have starting salaries below the federal poverty level for a family 

of four. 

Nearly one-third of judicial branch employees work more than one 

job, a rate 24 percent higher than the Kansas state average reported 

in a 2014 USA TODAY article, States Where the Most People 

Work Two Jobs. 

Trial Court Clerk II and Court Services Officer I classifications, 

entry-level jobs representing approximately 700 current employees, are paid 17.8 percent under the market rate. 

"It's been about eight years since court employees received a pay increase, with the exception of a 2 percent cost of living adjustment a 

couple of years ago that was quickly eaten up by increased employee 

contributions to benefits," Chief Justice Nuss said. "Because pay is not 

keeping pace with the market, Kansas courts are experiencing higher 

rates of employee turnover and are finding it more difficult to recruit 

new employees." 

Both studies, fact sheets about judicial branch salaries, its budget, and 

operations are available online.