Volume 24, No. 10 July 2014 

E-SJI NEWS SJI NEWS

In this Issue 

SJI Celebrates 30 

Years 

1-2 

New UAC Resource 

Available 

2 

Courthouse Feasibility 

Studies Optimize 

Design & Functionality 

3 

NACM Educational 

Content Available 

4 

Page 1 

30 Years of Improving the Administration of 

Justice in Our State Courts 

Grantee Reports 

Designated with 

Hashtags on 

Facebook and 

Twitter

SJI will now use #SJIGrant to 

promote the activities, reports, 

or events of its grantees. The 

NCSC has also adopted 

#NCSCReport for select publications, which will include reports from SJI-funded projects. 

SJI recently released a 30th Anniversary Report highlighting its successes. For the past three decades, SJI 

has been dedicated to improving the quality of justice in our state courts. 

In 1984, Congress established SJI to award grants to 

the state courts, charging it with the mission of 

“assuring each person access to a fair and effective 

system of justice.” In the 1970s, the Conference of 

Chief Justices (CCJ) was the driving force behind 

the creation of SJI. CCJ recognized that there was a 

vital need to secure federal funding for the state 

courts. CCJ authorized a task force for a state improvement bill. The task force proposed that an 

independent agency, called the State Justice Institute, 

be created to administer a national discretionary 

grant program to support state courts. In 1979, the 

task force was succeeded by the CCJ State Justice 

Institute Committee to work with Congress to create 

SJI. The Committee was headed by Chief Justice 

(ret.) Robert Utter from Washington State, who during a 7-year period, flew over 100,000 miles as 

Chairman of the Committee to build support for the 

legislation. He was joined by other CCJ members 

and the Conference of State Court Administrators 

(COSCA). Senator Howell Heflin, who was a former Chief Justice of the State of Alabama, held hearings and was an original sponsor of legislation to 

establish SJI. After six years of efforts by the Committee, CCJ, COSCA, state court judges, court administrators, and other key stakeholders, the State 

Justice Institute Act was signed into law in 1984 (42 

U.S.C. 10701 et seq.). The Act created an 11-

member Board appointed by the President with the 

advice and consent of the Senate. CCJ plays an important role in this process by preparing a nomination list for the President of the Board’s judicial positions and state court administrator position. 

During the first decade (1984 to 1994), some of the 

pressing national issues that SJI addressed were family violence, drug abuse, juvenile justice, and alternative dispute resolution. In particular, SJI provided 

funding to assist state courts in dealing with family 

Continued on page 2 
E-SJI News Volume 24, No. 10 July 2014 

Page 2 

The number of Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) from Central America entering 

the United States has been dramatically increasing. 

Federal law provides a mechanism for UAC to 

seek Special Immigrant Juvenile Status 

Information Available on Unaccompanied Alien 

Children (UAC) and Dependency Filings in State 

Courts 

(SIJS). However, in order 

to obtain this status, federal 

law requires that a state 

court judge with juvenile 

jurisdiction first issue an 

order with certain required 

statutory findings that enable the juvenile to file for 

SIJS. These juveniles must 

remain in the state court’s jurisdiction until the 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

(USCIS) has made a determination on 

SIJS. The state courts are experiencing an 

increase in cases seeking an order from a state 

court with these special findings required for 

violence and drug abuse cases that were flooding court dockets. On a broader level, SJI 

supported projects that improved access to 

justice, addressed state-federal jurisdiction, 

and examined the future of the state courts. In 

the second decade (1994 to 2004), sentencing 

reform, domestic violence, and sexual assault 

were major focus areas in state courts. For 

example, the wave of sentencing reforms in 

the 1990s imposed heightened punishments. In response, SJI provided assistance to 

evaluate the effectiveness of those reforms. Also, SJI assisted in improving jury 

systems and promoting public trust and confidence in the state courts. Toward the end of 

this decade, SJI assisted the state courts in 

facing new issues, including the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Hurricane 

Katrina, and courthouse violence. 

With SJI support, the state courts were able to 

implement programs to protect against, and 

prepare for, security threats and disasters. 

In the third decade (2004 to 2014), there was 

dramatic change in both court administration 

and in SJI’s approach to the grant process. During this time period, almost every 

state in the U.S. was facing budget shortfalls, 

which threatened the administration of justice 

and forced state courts to reexamine their 

structure and available resources. In response 

to this crisis, SJI supported court reengineering 

initiatives. In addition, SJI supported projects 

that focused on improving performance measurement and court management, and reducing 

budgets while meeting service demands. Furthermore, during the last decade, issues once 

considered global became central to the state 

courts. For example, language access, immigration, and human trafficking introduced a 

new set of challenges. SJI supported a variety 

of projects that were geared towards helping 

state courts ensure access to justice for all 

litigants. 

SJI remains the only source of federal or private funding dedicated exclusively to improving the quality of justice in the state 

courts. There is a strong national interest in 

continuing to support the state courts, as there 

is with federal funding for state and local law 

enforcement, corrections, prosecution, and 

public defense. 

For 30 years, SJI has leveraged funding whenever possible to help the state courts address 

the major issues. The effectiveness of the state 

courts is critical to ensuring that the public 

experiences the justice guaranteed by the Constitution. SJI is well positioned to aid the state 

courts in meeting this challenge. 

Continued from page 1 

SIJS application. There is concern that the 

influx of cases will significantly strain state 

court budgets and resources, as these children 

are placed across the United States 

The SJI-funded Immigration and the State 

Courts Initiative just released a guidance 

memo that provides information for state juvenile judges and courts on the SIJS process. 

 
Page 3 

E-SJI News Volume 24, No. 10 July 2014 

The following are three examples of SJIsupported projects illustrating how the 

state courts can assume leadership for 

advocating courthouse planning, expansion, and redesign in their communities. 

Before the start of any courthouse design 

project, careful thinking about the court’s 

needs is necessary. Pre-design planning 

efforts may include long-term court system 

growth provision; future court service 

delivery mechanisms and impacts on 

space; court calendar management and 

judicial resource allocations; courthouse 

space standards; and facility requirements 

for supporting agencies. Given the significant costs of courthouse construction and 

the impact on long-term court operations 

and services, the court must make critical 

decisions during the planning, design, and 

construction phases of the project. This 

includes the court’s contribution to cost 

effective building solutions by informing 

and advising the building planning/design/

construction team, as well as the project 

funding authorities, about essential court 

operational requirements and quantifiable 

space needs. 

SJI continues to support court facility planning efforts, and has provided funding to 

several courts to engage the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) Facility Planning Team in determining facility needs. 

These Technical Assistance grants enable 

courts to conduct pre-design analysis, such 

as long-term court system growth analysis 

and needs projection; court operation programming; building space analysis and 

architectural programming; and/or building 

concept feasibility and cost-benefit analysis. 

Courthouse Planning and Design Initiatives 

Blend Design and Functionality 

The following are three examples of recent SJIfunded projects that addressed court facilities: 

Feasibility Analysis of the Long-term Growth 

of the Circuit Court, Multnomah County, 

Oregon (SJI-11-T-172) 

Beginning in 2012, the planning work addressed 

the growth estimate of the court system as well 

as its impact on the continued use of the existing 

historic courthouse in downtown Portland. The 

analysis included anticipated courtroom utilization and jury facility needs, in addition to other 

factors. Subsequent to the SJI grant, Multnomah 

County had decided to build a new courthouse to 

replace the 100-year old historic courthouse. 

The NCSC continues to work with the Court and 

County in developing the plans for a new courthouse. 

E-filing Courtroom Renovation Feasibility 

Study, Volusia County, Florida (SJI-13-T-083) 

The Clerk of Court engaged the NCSC to determine how new technology and e-filing requirements will impact space in existing courtrooms. 

During this project, the NCSC assessed new efiling requirements to determine how courtroom 

facilities and court work processes will be retooled to support a 21st century e-court environment. A series of courtroom layout concepts 

were developed which will serve as a guide for 

future e-courtroom renovations. 

Design Feasibility for a New Courthouse Construction and Site Planning Study, Kingman, 

Arizona (SJI-13-T-203) 

The Superior Court of Mohave County, Arizona 

recommended to the County a new courthouse 

initiative with a targeted construction budget cap. 

Building on a previous SJI grant completed in 

2007, the NCSC consultants worked with the 

Court to determine the need for new facilities, 

and develop a construction implementation plan 

that fit with budget constraints. The project resulted in a revised space occupancy plan featuring a co-located Superior Court and Justice Court 

building at the County Administrative Complex, 

with phased construction alternatives and conceptual cost estimates. 
Page 4 

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 

Senior Circuit Court Judge 

Washington County Circuit Court 

Hillsboro, OR 

Treasurer 

Hernan D. Vera 

President & CEO 

Public Counsel Law Center 

Los Angeles, CA 

Chase T. Rogers 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Connecticut 

Hartford, CT 

Jonathan Lippman 

Chief Judge of the State of New York 

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. 

E-SJI News Volume 24, No. 10 July 2014 

The National Association for Court Management (NACM) recently posted videos

of keynote speeches and educational sessions from the 2014 annual meeting, held 

NACM Educational Content 

Available Online 

July 13-17, 2014. Keynotes and educational 

sessions were also live-streamed during the annual meeting for wide distribution. Topics included the future workforce of the courts; human trafficking; women in trial court leadership; 

dependency case management; ethics; managing 

high profile trials; self-represented litigation; 

and evidence-based sentencing. 

SAVE THE DATE: The 2015 midyear meeting 

will be held February 8-10, 2015, in Austin 

Texas. 

E-SJI News 

Submissions 

SJI is always accepting submissions 

from its grantees for the E-SJI News. 

Articles of 500 words or less from 

projects that are either: 1) ongoing, 

with information to share; or, 2) have 

recently completed and are beneficial 

to a larger state court audience, are of 

greatest interest. SJI reserves the 

right to edit all submissions for any 

reason. 

Submissions, including all article 

content in Microsoft Word, images or 

logos, and any links, should be 

emailed to: 

kathryn.tuck@sji.gov by the 15th of 

each month.