SJI Newsletter

August 2021 | Volume 31, No. 11

Court Voices Project

As courts continue to adapt in response to the pandemic, some court leaders are 

taking the extra step to ask their most impacted users what they think: court staff and 

court users. Giving voice is an evidence-based component of improving trust and 

confidence in the courts, not to mention a way to get insights that will improve 

cooperation and implementation. Unfortunately, most courts have limited 

mechanisms to get regular input from court users beyond the occasional paper or 

web-based survey that takes weeks to amass feedback and even longer to analyze 

the results.

With support from SJI, LaGratta Consulting, partners, and 12 pilot courts nationally 

have started the Court Voices Project. Pilot courts—rural and urban, limited and 

general jurisdiction—are collecting real-time, brief feedback from their staff and court 

users about pandemic responses. What percentage of court users prefer virtual 

hearings and why? Have court users found new communication channels like phone 

banks and online chat features to be more convenient and accessible? What ideas 

do line staff have for improving upon these practices? Pilot courts will collect 
feedback through November 2021, after which findings and lessons will be captured 

in a national toolkit and webinar series. In the meantime, court professionals are 

invited to join the national conversation by answering this live poll question about 

your court’s recent user feedback efforts, then bookmark the project webpage for 

ongoing updates. You can also learn more about the project at the Court Technology 

Conference on September 28-29, 2021; register here to attend in-person or online.

Paths to Justice Summit Series

This month, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System

(IAALS), is launching a virtual summit series, Paths to Justice. The series is 

comprised of multiple invite-only virtual convenings, as well as a series of 

webinars focusing on the paths of the pandemic, the paths to access, and the 

paths to racial justice that our system must walk in this new normal.

The past year has emphasized that our system often falls short of the promise 

of equal justice, and there is much work to be done to realize justice for all. It is 

clear that now, more than ever, we need transformative change on a broad 

scale.

Registration is now open and free. To register click here.
National Cybersecurity Survey Announcement

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) is conducting a cybersecurity 

survey to get a snapshot of where courts are with their cybersecurity readiness 

and planning. The results of the survey will help inform future cybersecurity 

priorities and policy recommendations. With the increase in the number and 

complexity of cyber-attacks, it is important for courts to measure their 

cybersecurity posture.

NCSC is requesting a response to the survey by September 1, 2021. The 

survey takes approximately 15 minutes or less to complete. To access the 

survey click here.

Training Increases Judges’ Understanding of

Opioid Use Disorder
Judges who received opioid use disorder (OUD) training are more likely to view OUD as a 

chronic disease and a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a 

recently released report.

The training also led more judges to conclude that funding should be increased for those 

who benefit from court-ordered OUD services.

The NCSC-directed Appalachian/Midwest Regional Judicial Opioid Initiative (RJOI) 

administered the training through a learning model called the Extension for Community 

Healthcare Outcomes, or Project ECHO.

Judge Geno Salomone of the Michigan 23rd District Court praised the training, the first time 

ECHO was used by the courts. “I can speak for all of the panel members in Michigan...We 

loved using the ECHO model. Its brief-time limits are strictly adhered to, but informative. It 

allows a limited group of attendees access to a number of experts on the topic at hand, and 

it utilizes real cases. Equally as important, because of the strict scheduling, it avoids Zoom 

fatigue.”

More than 75 judges in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and West 

Virginia completed a survey before the opioid training, and 54 did so afterward.

The surveys, conducted by Wayne State University’s Center for Behavioral Health and 

Justice, show:

• Ninety-two percent of the judges strongly agreed, post-training, that recovery is 

possible after a substance abuse relapse, compared with 75 percent pre-training.

• Eighty-five percent strongly agreed that addressing OUD should be a goal of the 

justice system, compared with 76 percent before the training.

• Seventy-five percent strongly agreed after training that funding should be increased 

for OUD services, compared with 67 percent before the training.

• Sixty-six percent strongly agreed post-training that judges should rely on experts to 

determine how to use medicine to treat those who abuse opioids, compared with 56 

percent pre-training.
• Sixty-four percent of judges strongly agreed, post-training, that OUD is a disability 

under the American with Disabilities Act, compared with 21 percent before training.

• Seventy percent strongly agreed that OUD is a chronic disease after training, 

compared with 55 percent pre-training.

International Overdose Awareness Day

August 31st is #InternationalOverdoseAwarenessDay. The world's largest annual 

campaign to end overdose, acknowledge the grief felt by family and friends of lost loved 

ones, raise awareness of overdose deaths and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death.

For more information visit https://www.overdoseday.com/ or the Substance Abuse and 

Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) latest article

at https://www.samhsa.gov/blog/overdose-cry-help.
The State Justice Institute is a federally-funded, non-profit corporation established by federal law in 1984 

to improve the quality of justice in the state courts.

SJI Board of Directors

Chair

John D. Minton, Jr.

Chief Justice

Supreme Court of Kentucky

Frankfort, KY

Vice Chair

Daniel J. Becker

State Court Administrator (ret.)

Utah AOC

Salt Lake City, UT

Secretary

Gayle A. Nachtigal

Senior Circuit Court Judge

Washington County Circuit Court

Hillsboro, OR

Treasurer

David V. Brewer

Justice

Oregon Supreme Court

Salem, OR

Jonathan Lippman

Chief Judge of New York (ret.)

of Counsel

Latham & Watkins, LLP

New York, NY

Chase T. Rogers

Chief Justice (ret.)

Supreme Court of Connecticut

Partner

Pitney Day, LLP

Hartford, CT

Wilfredo Martinez

Senior Judge

State of Florida

Orlando, FL

Marsha J. Rabiteau

Executive Director

Center for Human Trafficking Court 

Solutions

Bloomfield, CT

Hernan D. Vera

Judge

Superior Court

Los Angeles, CA

Isabel Framer

President

Language Access Consultants, 

LLC

Copley, OH

Jonathan D. Mattiello

Executive Director

Share the News

SJI uses Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to promote the work of its grantees and also 

shares information of interest to the entire state court community. If your organization’s 

work complements ours, let us know and we will share.