SJI NEWSLETTER SJI NEWSLETTER

In this Issue 

Page 1 

Volume 26, No. 8 

SJI Support for Language Access 

In the State Courts 

SJI Grants for 

Language Access 

1 

NCJFCJ Military 

Families and the 

Courts Summit Report 

2 

NCSC Virtual 

Courthouse Planning 

2 

King County, WA, 

Strategic Agenda 

3 

 

Since the mid-1990s, state courts have implemented 

various strategies in an effort to ensure access to 

justice for limited English proficiency (LEP) individuals. Most state courts provide foreign language 

interpreters in criminal cases, and more are providing 

interpreters in civil, domestic relations, and other 

court proceedings. Several factors have pushed state 

courts to establish policies and standards for serving 

LEP individuals, including recognition that there 

should at least be a common agreement that every 

court aspire to provide these services as a matter of 

fairness. 

Since FY 2006, SJI has invested approximately $2.7 

million in grants on this issue. These include projects on interpreter training, remote interpreting, and 

forms translation. In addition, the SJI Board established Language Access as a Priority Investment 

Area for grant funding in November 2011. 

In FY 2012, SJI awarded a grant to the NCSC, in 

collaboration with CCJ and COSCA, to host 

a National Summit on Language Access in the 

Courts. This Summit, which was held October 2012, 

enabled state courts to share successful strategies and 

evidence-based practices, and propose implementation strategies that are consistent among the 

states. Each state team that attended the Summit is 

working to develop or improve statewide plans to 

address the problem of serving LEP individuals. A National Call to Action report documenting 

the Summit’s outcomes and strategies for implementation of language access plans was widely disseminated. 

May 2016 

In FY 2013, SJI awarded a grant to the NCSC’s Language Access Services Section to provides direct 

technical assistance on this critical issue. In FY 

2014, SJI provided support for the National Virtual 

Remote Interpreting (VRI) Capability. State courts 

are now able to use the VRI to provide interpreters 

remotely, thereby increasing access and reducing 

costs. 

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of interest to the entire state 

court community. 

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complements ours, let us know 

and we will share it! 

Hosted by the National Center for 

State Courts (NCSC), the Council of 

Language Access Coordinators held 

its fourth annual conference this 

month. 

Conference information including registration, program agenda, schedule, 

presenter information, and resources 

are available online. 
Page 2 

SJI Newsletter Volume 26, No. 8 May 2016 

With SJI support, the National Council for Juvenile and Family Court 

Judges (NCJFCJ) recently published a report from its first-ever National 

Summit on Courts and Military. Convened in March 2015 at Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, the goal of the Summit was to create the 

groundwork for a collaborative relationship between the courts and the 

many military institutions, civilian agencies, and government departments that assist military families when they access the state courts. 

The Summit represented years of planning efforts culminating in the 

engaged presence of nearly 100 individuals representing all branches of 

government and the military, specifically including: 

state court judicial leaders from across the country; 

armed forces personnel including former commanding officers; 

federal executive departments of Office of the Secretary of Defense 

and Veterans Affairs; 

federal and state legislators; 

various service organizations for military families, together with 

Virtual Courthouse Planning Guide 

A new addition to the National Center for State Courts 

(NCSC) website includes the compilation of a near exhaustive list of resources for state courts and their stakeholders 

when designing new, renovating existing, or significantly 

updating facilities. 

With grant support from SJI, the NCSC was able to create 

an online portal, titled The Virtual Courthouse: A Guide to 

Planning and Design. The NCSC still maintains experts in 

the field, who assist with these projects; however this site 

provides the early planning efforts that should be considered regardless of whether the court has engaged outside 

resources. 

Among the processes emphasized as essential to launching 

the first-stage of courthouse planning efforts are: 

Needs Assessment – Evaluation of the deficiencies of current facility and quantifying existing conditions. 

Master Planning – Engage architectural and site 

selection teams, inclusive of building occupants. 

Project Budgeting – List and evaluate funding 

options; obtain realistic expectations for total costs. 

Facility Planning – Ensure that planning and 

design standards are set. 

Each process is linked to resources that further define 

the core components required of successful new, or 

redesigned, court facilities. Also included is special 

attention to the uniqueness of the courthouse structure, 

and its particular needs, including, security, accessibility, compliance, 

and technology. 

NCJFCJ Publishes Final Report From National 

Summit on Courts and the Military 

academic, research, and policy groups interested in the welfare of the 

military family. 

The summit report covers the following considerations: 

1. Education and training in a more comprehensive, consistent, and 

widespread manner than currently exists. 

2. Resources and services for military-connected families. 

3. Judicial and Command collaboration. 

4. Judicial and Command [co-] leadership. 

5. Assessing the needs and risks of the military-connected family 

members. 

The NCJFCJ also outlined eight specific ways in which it could leverage national support of military families and courts, based on shared 

insights from participants, some of which included: increasing membership on its Military Issues Committee; keeping participants connected 

and engaged in the discussion virtually; fostering support for local and 

state-level court and command collaborative; and development of training curricula for key stakeholders within the collaborative. With ongoing information sharing and a demand for more resources to move the 

discussion forward, the NCJFCJ maintains an active Military Families 

portal on their website. 

The full 10-page final report is available from the NCJFCJ. 
Page 3 

SJI Board of Directors

Acting Chairman 

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 

Chase T. Rogers 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Connecticut 

Hartford, CT 

Jonathan Lippman 

Chief Judge of New York (ret.) 

New York Court of Appeals 

New York, NY 

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 26, No. 8 May 2016 

King County, WA, Implements Strategic Agenda 

Just added to the National Center for State Court (NCSC) Library’s eCollection, is 

the final report, titled, King County Superior Court’s Strategic Agenda (2014-

2018), which was developed under an SJI Technical Assistance grant last year. 

The grant from SJI made it possible for the Court to receive assistance from 

PRAXIS Consulting, Inc. Consultants serving the project were familiar with the 

strategic focus areas that were most salient to the entire Court, including the 

Clerk’s Office, judicial officers, and staff. These large, encompassing issues that 

are fundamentally important in both the short and long-term included: 

1. Access, Services, and Programs that Promote Justice 

2. Case Management and Caseflow 

3. Public Understanding and Intergovernmental Relations 

4. Operational Infrastructure 

5. Work Environment and Workforce Development 

The report is approximately 15 pages, including the cover and a comprehensive list 

of the key stakeholders responsible for leading the project. 

Courts and their partners accessing the report online will want to note that the strategic agenda relates to the long-range goals of the Court extending beyond 2018, 

and that the next agenda will be formulated while this effort is still active.