E-SJI News

The SJI Board of Directors met on June 17, 2010, to award grants for the 3rd quarter of FY 2010. Fifteen (15) 

new grants were awarded, totaling $702,005. Three (3) Project Grants were awarded, including: support to the 

Maryland Judiciary for a comprehensive cost/benefit analysis of alternative dispute resolution in Maryland; 

funding to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) for a project that will inform the public and media 

about state supreme court cases; and assistance to NCSC for the second phase of the Jury Manager’s Toolbox. 

Nine (9) Technical Assistance (TA) Projects were awarded, including: court case analysis and performance 

metrics for the 12th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida; evaluation and cost/benefit analysis of appellate court 

staffing for the Council of Chief Judges for the State Courts of Appeal; a juvenile probation capacity building 

project for the Superior Court of Maricopa County, Arizona, Juvenile Court; and a courthouse security 

assessment for the Hawaii Judiciary. In addition, SJI supported operational assessments in several jurisdictions: 

Cleveland, Ohio, Municipal Court; Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Criminal District Court; Fulton County, Georgia, 

Juvenile Court; Renton, Washington, Municipal Court; and the Muscogee County, Georgia, Courts.

Three (3) Curriculum Adaptation & Training (CAT) Grants were awarded, including: professional 

development and training for the Missouri Office of the State Courts Administrator; an online managing human 

resources course for NCSC’s Institute for Court Management; and distance learning content development for 

the National Association for Court Management.

SENATE CONFIRMS NEW BOARD MEMBERS

On June 22, 2010, the Senate confirmed the President’s nominations for the SJI Board of Directors:

Hon. James Hannah – Chief Justice, Arkansas Supreme Court. 

Daniel Becker – State Court Administrator, Utah Administrative Office of the Courts. (continued on page 2) 

BOARD AWARDS GRANTS FOR THE 3rd QUARTER

Inside

Senate Confirms New Board 

Members 1, 2

June 2010 Vol. 20, No. 9

Status of FY 2011 

Appropriations 2

SJI Scholarship Program 3 Special Announcements 3
Hon. Gayle Nachtigal – Judge, Circuit Court of Washington County, Oregon.

John Nalbandian – Partner, Litigation Department of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP. 

Marsha J. Rabiteau – Policy Consultant, Rabiteau Consulting, where she works on a number of policy, 

legislative, and court rules issues.

Hernán D. Vera – President & Chief Executive Officer of Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro bono, public 

interest law firm.

By law, SJI is supervised by a Board of Directors consisting of 11 members appointed by the President with the 

advice and consent of the Senate. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 10703, the President appoints 6 judges and 1 state 

court administrator from a list of candidates submitted by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ). In addition, 

the President also appoints 4 public member positions, no more than 2 of whom can be from the same political 

party.

STATUS OF FY 2011 APPROPRIATIONS

On June 30, 2010, the House Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Subcommittee on Appropriations marked up 

the CJS Bill for FY 2011. The mark included SJI’s full request of $6,273,000; an increase of $1,142,000 over 

the FY 2010 enacted budget. These funding levels will enable SJI to support more grants to the state courts, in 

addition to increasing our efforts to address national court issues, such as state court re-engineering in response 

to budget reductions.

The Subcommittee published a summary table of the Bill, which is available on the House Appropriations 

website. 

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SJI SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

The Scholarship Program is on a “first-come, first-served” basis, with a 

limited budget each fiscal year. For FY 2010, the amount available for 

scholarships was $175,000. As of June 28, 2010, SJI has awarded the full 

amount available; therefore, no scholarship funding is available for the 

remainder of the fiscal year. The next deadline for scholarship applications is 

November 1, 2010, for courses that begin after January 1, 2011. The 

Scholarship Program is very popular with judges and court managers, so 

potential applicants are encouraged to apply for scholarships as soon as 

possible after the beginning of the fiscal year (October 1st).

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

 SJI has recently posted a job announcement on the SJI website for a 

Program Analyst. Those interested are encouraged to apply via email 

to jobs@sji.gov. 

 Grant application deadline for the remainder of the fiscal year: August 

1, 2010 (4th Quarter).

 Grant and scholarship application deadline for the 1st quarter of 

FY 2011: November 1, 2010.

 Current grantees are reminded that Quarterly Status Reports (QSRs) 

and Financial Status Reports (FSRs) should be mailed to SJI. The FSR 

must also include an original signature.

 Current grantees who require grant adjustments to allow more time to 

complete their projects, need budget realignments, other changes to 

their projects that require SJI approval, must submit a letter to SJI 

requesting the adjustment. The letter should clearly describe why the 

change is necessary. 

 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.

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.

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