SJI Newsletter

March 2019 | Volume 29, No. 6

SJI Funds National Initiative to Address

Mental Illness and the State Courts

The state courts are experiencing increasing complexity in handling individuals who have mental

illness, and oftentimes a co-occurring substance use issue. System-wide, mental illness has placed

a strain on many communities and their resources, and jails are being used to detain those who need

mental health treatment. The problem is exacerbated by the lack of a coordinated national, state,

and community effort involving all three branches of government. In addition, lack of resources,

empirically-based data, and a clearinghouse for state court leaders to learn the practical steps they

can take to address the problem in their court systems also contribute to the problem.

To address this issue on a national level, SJI has awarded a major grant to the National

Center for State Courts (NCSC), which will work in partnership with the Conference of Chief

Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administers (COSCA) on a mental illness in 

the courts initiative that will: 

• Develop resources, best practices and recommend standards to address mental

illness and the state courts response.

• Expand the NCSC website to create a centralized repository for state courts

interested in improving court and community responses.

• Provide resources to improve caseflow management of civil commitment cases as

well as felony and misdemeanor cases involving persons with mental illness.

• Provide education by developing national, regional, and statewide training and

education opportunities for judges and court practitioners.
• Develop guides and resources on the Sequential Intercept Model, and adapt the SJIfunded Arizona Presiding Judge Guide titled, Fair Justice for Persons with Mental

Illness: Improving the Courts Response for use nationally.

• Build capacity of state and national court leader to lead and implement reforms.

This national initiative will be based on the 2016-2017 COSCA policy paper, Decriminalization of 

Mental Illness: Fixing a Broken System. Additionally, CCJ/COSCA Court Management

Committee working group has identified four areas for further action in addressing mental health:

1. Developing resources, best practices, and recommended standards in state court

responses to mental health issues;

2. Improving caseflow management by examining civil commitment and criminal cases

involving persons with mental illness to identify barriers to, and opportunities for,

timely and effective case processing;

3. Promoting education; and

4. Building capacity to implement reforms

This new Initiative will support a resolution passed at the CCJ/COSCA 2018 annual meeting in support 

of improving the justice system response to mental illness. Promising approaches are currently being 

explored to address this problem, including the Sequential Intercept Model, which identifies where to 

intercept individuals with mental illness as they move through the criminal justice system, suggests 

which populations might be targeted at each point of interception, and highlights the decision-makers 

who can authorize movement away from or through the criminal justice system. Mental health codes 

require modification to permit timely, appropriately-targeted, court-ordered treatment for persons with 

mental illness, before and after contact with the justice system. It has also been acknowledged that 

individuals who are intercepted by the criminal justice system often have co-occurring mental health 

and substance abuse issues. 

As the initiative moves forward, more updates will be provided.

NJC Catalog Sortable by

Elements of Judicial Excellence

The Elements of Judicial Excellence (EJE) are a set of knowledge, skills, abilities and other 

characteristics of being a great judge that emerged from lengthy consultations with Illinois judges.

The EJE framework was developed with support from SJI and the National Center for State Courts

(NCSC). In the NJC's 2019 printed catalog, courses are aligned with the Elements of Judicial

Excellence. A graphic representation of the framework is on page 22.
To view which NJC courses align with which Elements of Judicial Excellence:

1. Go to the 2019 online catalog page.

2. Click on any of the three major development categories from the Elements of Judicial

Excellence: Citizen of the Court Community, Informed and Impartial Decision-Maker, or

Leader of the Court Process.

3. View the resulting list of 2019 courses designed to support that element.

4. Click "Read more" for a detailed description and the link to enroll.

New Web Page Provide Resources

on Workplace Conduct In the Courts

To address the issue of gender bias and sexual harassment in the workplace, the National Center

for State Courts (NCSC) created a web page for court employees and others with information

specific to the courts work environment. This project is supported with grant funding from SJI.

The web page includes information such as the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and 

American Bar Association (ABA) resolutions on sexual harassment and gender bias, judicial 

codes of conduct, and the ABA's conduct code. It also lists additional resources from the ABA, 

the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the National Women's Law Center, and the 

National Association of Women Judges.
NACM Wraps Successful

Midyear Meeting - Looks Ahead

to Annual Event

The National Association for Court Management (NACM) Midyear meeting was recently held for over 

500 court professionals and stakeholders in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The theme, Advancing Today's Courts to Meet the Challenges of Tomorrow showcased a number of 

exceptional educational programs, while offering networking opportunities for national and 

international guests. With support from SJI, portions of the conference content were streamed and 

archived online. NACM is happy to share it all on their Midyear Highlights. All past NACM 

conference videos can be accessed in their Video Gallery.

NACM is dedicated to educating court professionals, providing community, sharing information, and 

advocating on important court and justice system topics. Early registration is now open through April

12th for the 2019 annual meeting, July 21-25, 2019. The theme is Courts and Society: Creating 

Public Trust Through Engagement and Innovation. Courts have a responsibility to serve the citizenry 

and in fact, society depends and expects the courts to provide an impartial judicial process as the 

third branch of government. This Annual Meeting will focus on improving the public's trust in courts 

through active engagement and innovation in the areas of:

• access and fairness;

• community engagement;

• indigent legal representation;

• problem-solving courts;

• mental health and substance use;

• civil justice improvement initiatives;

• workforce management; and

• technology

Members are also encouraged to apply for one of a limited number of scholarships - due by April 12th.
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

County Judge

9th Judicial Circuit of Florida

Orlando, FL

Marsha J. Rabiteau

Executive Director

Center for Human Trafficking

Court Solutions

Bloomfield, CT

Hernan D. Vera

Principal

Bird Marella P.C.

Los Angeles, CA

Isabel Framer

President

Language Access Consultants, LLC 

Copley, OH

Jonathan D. Mattiello

Executive Director

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.

Products and Resources

Since 2011, SJI has designated the library at the National Center for State Courts as the

official repository of published work related to SJI-supported grant projects. You can

search the ecollection online by using the term, State Justice Institute.

Share the News

SJI uses Facebook and Twitter 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.