Volume 23, No. 12 September 2013 

E-SJI NEWS SJI NEWS

In this Issue 

4th Quarter Grant 

Awards 

1 

Civil Justice Initiative 1 

New Priority 

Investment Area 

NCSC Library 2 

2 

NACM Conference 

Content Available 

Online 

3 

FY 2014 Grant 

Deadlines 

3 

Page 1 

SJI Awards FY 2013 4th Quarter Grants 

The Board met on September 9, 2013, to make decisions on quarterly grant applications and awarded a 

total of 12 grants. 

Eight (8) Technical Assistance (TA) Grants were 

approved, including: an operational improvement 

initiative for the 3rd Judicial District Court of Kansas; 

a review of probate and guardianship procedures for 

the 2nd Judicial District Court of Nevada; a criminal 

caseflow assessment for the Alameda County Superior Court in California; development of a court facility plan for the Mohave County Superior Court in 

Arizona; an organizational assessment for the District 

of Columbia Court of Appeals; a communications 

reengineering and probation service integration project for the Pierce County District Court in Washington; and, update of the Virginia Court facility guidelines for the Virginia Supreme Court. 

Four (4) Curriculum Adaptation & Training (CAT) 

Grants were approved, including: delivery of the 

During the September 9, 2013 meeting, the Board 

awarded a Strategic Initiatives Grant (SIG) to the 

National Center for State Courts (NCSC), in partnership with the Institute for the Advancement of the 

American Legal System (IAALS) to support the Civil 

Justice Initiative. At its 2013 Midyear Meeting, the 

Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) passed a resolution calling for the creation of a Civil Justice Initiative 

to address the impact of excessive costs and delays in 

civil litigation on access to justice, public trust and 

confidence in the courts, and the constitutional role of 

the courts. The project will develop guidelines and 

best practices for civil litigation based on best practices in various states, and other applicable informaJoin SJI on 

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For the latest information on 

projects, grant application deadlines, and updates. Connect 

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tion. The project will focus on a wide variety of issues such as civil case processing including variations for pleading standards, discovery procedures, 

summary judgment and other dispositive motions, 

business court programs, and managing mass tort 

litigation. The project will result in: 1) a written 

report presented to CCJ summarizing the project’s 

findings and recommendations including evidencebased practices, best practices, and templates for civil 

rules and operational practices for CCJ members to 

consider adopting in their respective states; and 2) a 

series of briefing papers on the current landscape of 

civil litigation in state courts and other issues addressed by the project. 

curriculum, Improving Access to Justice for Immigrant Crime Victims: The Important Role of Legally 

Correct Information, to four additional jurisdictions 

and via webinar by American University; cultural 

diversity training in the 15th Judicial Circuit of Florida; development and pilot testing of the nationallyrecognized curriculum, Preventing and Addressing 

Internet-Related Juror Misconduct, by the National 

Center for State Courts; and, court facilities training 

for the Idaho Supreme Court. 

Civil Justice Initiative 
E-SJI News Volume 23, No. 12 September 2013 

Page 2 

Each fiscal year, SJI allocates significant financial resources to support its Priority Investment Areas. In FY 2014, the Priority Investment Areas will be (in no ranking order): 1) 

Language Access and the State Courts; 2) Self

-Represented Litigation; 3) Reengineering in 

Response to Budget Reductions; 4) Human 

Trafficking and the State Courts; 5) Immigration Issues in the State Courts; 6) Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Elder Issues; and 7) 

a new Priority Investment Area on Remote 

Technology – e.g., innovative use of technology to improve the business operations of 

courts and provide enhanced services outside 

the courtroom (videoconferencing, online 

access, educational services, remote court 

proceedings, the electronic record, centralization/regionalization of court services, etc.). 

the study found the three Teen Court programs 

offer an alternative to traditional case processing with lower recidivism rates while garnering support from youth and parents. The full 

report details the programs, methodology, 

metrics, and offers more conclusions regarding 

the success of this diversion effort in terms of 

recidivism, efficiency, and effectiveness. 

Language Access Planning for New Mexico 

State Courts, (SJI-10-TA-179) 

As part of the larger New Mexico Justice System Interpreter Resource Partnership 

(NMJSIRP), this project enabled the New Mexico Judiciary to prepare 13 judicial districts for 

the development of language access plans 

(LAPs) that were tailored to the unique needs of 

their communities. Plans developed through 

this project were designed to achieve compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

1964 and Executive Order 13166. With the 

support of this project, 100 percent of district 

courts and 87 percent of magistrate courts have 

created LAPs. The full report contains valuable 

stakeholder, timeline, and data needs to consider before beginning the LAP process. Additionally, several plans are also featured. 

New Titles Available via the NCSC Library 

eCollection 

delivery of court services and/or willingness to 

embrace new technologies. Technological 

advancements such as the electronic record, 

digital recording, and videoconferencing require courts to not only reassess current business processes, but also create new rules and 

procedures that support access outside the 

traditional courthouse/courtroom context. 

SJI is interested in innovative approaches to 

promoting awareness of the ease and benefits 

of embracing remote technology to improve 

access to justice, enhance court operations, 

and reduce costs. 

Please note that SJI will not support the operational costs associated with the development 

or enhancement of case management and electronic record systems, in addition to any other 

equipment costs that support these systems. 

Two new SJI-supported titles were recently 

added to the NCSC Library eCollection. Each 

grant focused on a past or current SJI’s Priority Investment area. 

Multijurisdictional Teen Court Evaluation: A 

Comparative Evaluation of Three Teen Court 

Models, (SJI-09-N-156) 

The Maryland Administrative Office of the 

Courts worked with the University of Maryland School of Social Work to evaluate three 

of the ten existing Teen Court models currently operating in Maryland. Teen, or Youth/

Peer Courts, are a diversion program utilized 

by the juvenile justice system in cases where 

youth have minor offenses and no history of 

violence. The conditions under which a teen 

or youth would be considered for participation 

in the court program varied by court, which 

included: Baltimore City (urban), Charles 

County (rural), and Montgomery County 

(suburban, Metro Washington, D.C.). Overall, 

New Priority Investment Area for 2014 

The state courts have been increasing their use 

of technology to enhance services, become 

more efficient, and reduce costs. However, 

much of this work has been fragmented across 

and within states, and often depends on various factors such as awareness of how remote 

technology can be harnessed to improve the 
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 

Senior 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 23, No. 12 September 2013 

NACM 

2013 Annual Conference 

Content Available Online 

During its 2013 annual conference, the National Association for Court 

Management (NACM) recorded educational sessions. This content 

can be accessed online without being a NACM member, and features 

all of the keynote presentations covering topics including, court leadership, self-represented Litigants, protecting vulnerable persons while 

court-involved, procedural fairness, and court technology. The website 

also provides contact information for exhibitors and general interest 

resources. 

You can access all of this information online at: https://nacmnet.org/

educational-opportunities/nacm-annual-2013-conference-video.html 

REMINDER: FY 2014 SJI 

Grant Deadlines 

Dates for the FY 2014 SJI grant cycle are as follows: 

First Quarter - applications due on November 

1, 2013, with grant awards by December 

2013; 

Second Quarter – applications due on February 1, 2014, with grant awards by April 2014; 

Third Quarter – applications due on May 1, 

2014, with grant awards by July 2014; and, 

Fourth Quarter – applications due on August 

1, 2014, with grant awards by September 

2014.