SJI Board Awards Grants for the First 

Quarter of FY 2012 

Volume 22, No. 2 November 2011 

E-SJI NEWS SJI NEWS

In this Issue 

Priority Investment 

Areas 

1 

FY 2012 1st Quarter 

Grant Awards 

2 - 3 

FY 2012 

Appropriations 

2 

Model Time Standards 

for Trial Courts 

2 

New Guardianship 

Monitoring Handbooks 

3 

On November 30, 2011, the SJI Board of Directors 

announced SJI’s new Priority Investment Areas. SJI 

will allocate significant financial resources through 

grant-making for these following Priority Investment 

Areas (in no ranking order): 

Self-Represented Litigation - e.g., self-help cen 

ters, online services, training. 

Limited English Proficiency (LEP) - e.g., interpretation service plans, remote interpretation (outside 

the courtroom), interpreter certification, courtroom 

services (plain language forms, websites, etc.). 

Reengineering in Response to Budget Reductions - e.g., the process of reengineering, regionalization or centralization of services, structural changes, 

the electronic record. 

Immigration Issues in the State Courts - e.g., 

impact of federal and state immigration law and policies, juvenile and family issues, training. 

Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Elder 

Issues - e.g., visitor programs, electronic reporting, 

reports, training. 

The Priority Investment Areas replace the former 

Special Interest Categories for Project Grants in 

many ways - most importantly in that they apply to 

ALL grant types (with the exception of the Education 

Support Program). SJI strongly encourages potential 

grant applicants to consider projects addressing one 

or more of these Priority Investment Areas. More 

information about the Priority Investment Areas will 

be provided in the future. 

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. 

Four (4) Technical Assistance (TA) Grants were 

awarded, including: a grant to the Arkansas Supreme 

Court to develop time standards, which will build on 

the recently released, Model Time Standards for State 

Trial Courts (SJI-09-N-127); an evaluation project 

for the Utah’s Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, which will establish and pilot an evaluation 

process for part-time judges throughout the state; a 

website improvement project for the Council of Chief 

Judges of State Courts of Appeal (CCJSCA); and 

development of a centralized training, testing, and 

interpreter service provider for the Vermont Supreme 

Court’s Language Access Program. 

Five (5) Curriculum Adaptation & Training (CAT) 

Grants were awarded, including: the online adaptation of the NCSC’s Institute for Court Management 

SJI Announces New Priority Investment Areas 

SJI received 18 grant applications requesting a total 

of $1,662,598 for the 1st quarter of FY 2012. The 

Board met on November 28, 2011, to make decisions 

on quarterly grant awards. 

Five (5) Project Grants were awarded, including: 

curriculum development support for the National 

Association of Court Management (NACM); a grant 

to the Connecticut Judicial Branch to evaluate their 

foreclosure mediation program; Phase II support of 

the Maryland Judiciary’s analysis of alternative dispute resolution programs in the state; and two grants 

to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to 

support Phase II of the Center for Elders and the 

Courts (CEC), and a collaborative project with the 

American Judges Association (AJA), to improve the 

quality of judicial decision-making. 

Continued on Page 2 
Revised Model Time Standards for Trial Courts 

With SJI support, the National Center for 

State Courts (NCSC), in conjunction with the 

Conference of State Court Administrators 

(COSCA) and Conference of Chief Justices 

(CCJ) recently completed a two-year evaluation and revision of model time standards for 

trial courts (SJI-09-N-127). NCSC has released a publication, Model Time Standards 

for State Trial Courts that details the revision 

to the COSCA Delay Reduction Time Standards, which were first developed and adopted 

in 1982. The project also compared the COSCA standards with those of the American 

Bar Association (ABA), which were last 

modified in 1992. 

NCSC worked with other stakeholders to 

provide an overall objective and qualitative 

analysis of current standards, and revise the 

COSCA Delay Reduction Time Standards. A 

nine person steering committee provided project oversight, and were responsible for reviewing data on current standards, with additional input from other experts in the field . 

The committee, based on their wealth of experience with state courts across the nation, 

established a reasonable set of expectations that 

would benefit the courts, attorneys, and the 

public. 

The revised model time standards attempt to 

unify the current sets of disparate national time 

standards. The model standards are designed 

for use by the judicial branch of each state as a 

basis for establishing their own time standards 

for general and limited jurisdiction courts. 

Currently, two-thirds of state courts follow 

time standards. Courts can look to the time 

standards for guidance on developing achievable goals, whereas attorneys and the public 

E-SJI News Volume 22, No. 2 November 2011 

Page 2 

will find value in the standards when preparing for court and assessing expectations for 

reasonableness. 

In addition to data by case type and an explanations of the model standards, readers will 

also find valuable information on the prior 

national standards (where available) and recommendations for seeking technical assistance, achieving compliance with the model 

standards, and details on how to use the new 

standards and measure progress on timely 

case processing. 

The model time standards were recently approved by CCJ, COSCA, ABA’s House of 

Delegates, and the National Association for 

Court Management (NACM). The project 

was critical to many of the partners involved, 

since an objective and thorough review of 

existing time standards had not been performed for nearly two decades. 

The model time standards are available online 

in the NCSC Library and Digital Archive. 

Hard copies are available from the NCSC by 

request. 

SJI Receives Final Appropriation for FY 2012 

On November 17, 2011, the House and Senate agreed to a funding level for SJI totaling $5,121,000 

for FY 2012 - the same amount appropriated for FY 2011. 

H.R. 2112 was signed by the President on November 18, 2011; therefore, SJI has its full appropriation for FY 2012. SJI greatly appreciates the continued support of Congress and the President. 

The funding provided in FY 2012 will enable SJI to continue supporting critical projects that will 

improve the administration of justice in the state courts. 

Continued from Page 1 

(ICM) Purposes & Responsibilities of Courts 

course; curriculum development support for 

the National Association of State Judicial 

Educators (NASJE); on-site presentation of 

the National Judicial College’s (NJC) Faculty 

Development Program for the Nebraska Judicial Branch; delivery of an immigration issues 

training program for trial court judges in 

Texas by the NJC and Texas Center for the 

Judiciary; and support for the development of 

a Statewide Children’s Summit for the Nebraska Supreme Court, in partnership with the 

National Center for Juvenile and Family 

Court Judges (NCJFCJ). 

SJI also approved a Strategic Initiatives 

Grants(SIG) to the NCSC for a National Summit on Language Access in the Courts. The 

Summit, which is endorsed by the Conference of 

Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State 

Court Administrators (COSCA), will engage 

state court leadership to address issues surrounding language access planning, and ensure access 

to justice for people with limited English proficiency (LEP). States will work to develop LEP 

action plans and formulate strategies for implementation of these plans. 
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. 2 November 2011 

The American Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Law and Aging received a grant 

(SJI-10-N-085) from SJI to update and revise 

the 1991 American Association of Retired 

Persons (AARP) Handbook for Courts on 

Volunteer Guardianship Monitoring and Assistance Programs. The draft version was reviewed by an advisory committee, two pilot 

courts, and several additional volunteer 

guardianship monitoring program coordinators 

in October 2011. A final PDF version is now 

available, with hard copies to follow in 2012. 

The ABA adapted and developed a series of 

three handbooks and a primer. The Volunteer 

Guardianship Monitoring and Assistance: 

Serving the Court and the Community, is a 

practical hands-on guide to help courts establish volunteer programs. It is based on the 

extensive experience of AARP, as well as 

existing court volunteer guardianship review 

New Volunteer Guardianship Monitoring Handbooks 

Are Now Available Online 

programs. In addition to the Introduction, the 

guide includes three handbooks: 

The Program Coordinator’s Handbook sets out 

basic steps for planning a program, as well as 

recruiting and managing volunteers. Judges 

and/or court administrators considering initiating a volunteer program are encouraged to 

review the manual, particularly the sections on 

adapting the program to a specific court and 

the key planning factors. 

Program coordinators are encouraged 

to review the entire manual and use it as a 

guide for tailoring the program for the court. 

The Trainer’s Handbook offers materials 

needed to plan comprehensive training for 

volunteers, including training tips, a model 

training agenda, and a complete outline of 

lectures and exercises for a two-day curriculum for “volunteer court visitors.” The 

Trainer’s Handbook also includes a one-day 

training for “volunteer auditors.” 

The Volunteer’s Handbook is a separate text 

designed as a take-home reference for volunteers. It includes background information, 

local resources, fact sheets, forms, and other 

materials that volunteers need to function effectively in the program. Courts can adapt the 

handbook to the state guardianship statutes 

and other relevant state laws, local court procedures, and community resources.