SJI Newsletter

May 2020 | Volume 30, No. 8

SJI Awards FY 2020 Second Quarter Grants

The SJI Board of Directors met virtually on April 27, 2020 to make decisions on

quarterly grant applications, and approved a total of 21 new grants.

Four (4) Strategic Initiatives Grants were awarded: the National Center for State

Courts (NCSC) to support Phase II of the Conference of Chief Justices/Conference of State Court 

Administrators Mental Health Initiative; the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

(NCJFJC) to develop a National Bench Card Resource Center; and two SIG grants to the Utah 

Supreme Court to pilot the innovative Legal Services Oversight project, and in partnership with Pew, 

to assess the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform. 

Four (4) Project Grants were awarded: The National Disability Rights Network, on behalf of the 

National Guardianship Network, to support the 4th National Guardianship Summit; the D.C. Court of

Appeals for an organizational and management structure assessment; The Center for Court 

Innovation (CCI) for the Harlem Community Justice Center – Housing Help Center Community 

Project; and the NCSC to assist the Iowa and Kansas courts in planning for implementation of the 

Civil Case Management Team (CCMT) model.
 

Rapid Response Team: Pandemic

Roadmap to Guide State Courts Forward

The Pandemic Rapid Response Team (RRT), a group of chief justices and state court administrators 

established in March 2020, has created a roadmap to help state courts move forward during the 

pandemic—and after it ends. The plan will be developed by a series of working groups that will 

determine what courts have learned, how to resume court operations as the curve flattens, and what 

they can do beyond to build a stronger judiciary.

The working groups will focus on court management, technology, and communications and funding 

issues. Recommendations will be completed within 90 days, though component parts may be 

delivered sooner. The RRT was created by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the 

Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) and is supported by National Center for State 

Courts (NCSC). The State Justice Institute (SJI) is providing funding for this initiative.

Texas Chief Justice and CCJ President Nathan Hecht said the RRT has provided critical guidance to 

courts that had to quickly adapt to new business practices, while maintaining essential court 

functions. “Since the onset of the pandemic, courts throughout the country have determined to stay

open to deliver justice without faltering, no matter the adjustments and sacrifices demanded, but also 

to protect staff, security, lawyers, parties, jurors, judges, and the public from the risks of disease...
We are learning new technology and practices together. Now, our Rapid Response Team is helping 

us shift attention to what’s next for courts as we begin to dig out.”

New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, whose court system is at the epicenter of the COVID-19 

pandemic, said her courts “pivoted quickly to create a virtual court system...As we improve and 

expand our virtual model, we must also begin planning ahead for a safe return to normal court 

operations. I am grateful that the CCJ/COSCA RRT is exploring the many difficult public health and 

operational challenges that will need to be overcome for our state court systems to resume delivering 

justice safely in what is undoubtedly going to be a ‘new normal.’”

The working groups—composed of court leaders from all levels of courts—will be tasked with 

identifying what the “new normal” is going to look like, and how to get there.

• Four working groups will be formed to study court management issues in the areas of:

civil; criminal; children, families, and elders; and appellate.

• A technology working group will focus on ways that online dispute resolution,

videoconferencing, electronic filing, and other tools that have allowed courts to conduct

business during the pandemic can be used more in the future.

• A communications working group will provide guidance on how best to communicate

with lawmakers, the executive branch, and the public

Have information to share on how your court is responding to the pandemic? Submit it to 

pandemic@ncsc.org.

Pandemic Rapid Response Team

Webinar on Resuming Court Operations

As states begin to issue partial restart orders, more than 3,200 people from state, federal, and 

international courts recently attended the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) / Conference of State 

Court Administrators (COSCA) Pandemic Rapid Recovery Team’s webinar on planning for 

resuming normal court operations – the first of several to help courts as the coronavirus pandemic 

curve flattens and courts expand their services. At this point, there are more questions than 

answers, but it’s clear to court leaders that the pandemic will lead to changes—some known and 

some unknown.

The webinar focused on nine factors that courts should consider to help them decide when and how 

to expand services, and webinar attendees received this document, which outlined the factors.
They include the health of court employees, scheduling, criteria for in-person hearings, vulnerable 

populations, social distancing, hygiene supplies, health screenings, face coverings, and cleaning 

courthouses. During the webinar, three topics surfaced more than others: 1) screening the public; 2) 

resuming jury trials; and 3) collaborating with local health officials

SJI continues to provide support for the RRT as an important resource to state courts. In addition, 

the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has a pandemic website available that is cataloging 

state court actions to address the pandemic.

With over 500 million LinkedIn users and 100 million different companies and organizations

registered, the State Justice Institute (SJI) has joined the ranks of those engaging with the platform 

to disseminate knowledge, provide informational leads, and share news of our organization’s 

development.

The SJI page on LinkedIn is now live, and aims to distinguish itself as something different than our 

social media presence on Facebook and Twitter, which are both accessible to the public. 

Currently, we’re sharing our SJI Toolkit Q&A, and will feature links to our forthcoming podcast, 

Court Cents. 

If you have suggestions of what you would like to see on our LinkedIn page, please let us know by 

e-mailing contact@sji.gov and sharing those ideas.

SJI Launches LinkedIn Presence
NACM Podcasts Address the Coronavirus

The National Association for Court Management (NACM) regular podcast series, Court Leader’s 

Advantage, which focuses on innovations, thought-provoking trends, and questions that matter to 

the court community, has been temporarily suspended in order to bring you weekly episodes on 

how courts are coping with the coronavirus crisis.

Court Leader’s Advantage podcast series, began as a forum by court professionals for court 

professionals to share experiences and lessons learned. Episodes typically air the third Thursday 

of each month. Currently, the podcast is examining how the crisis is like nothing we’ve seen 

before, and the impact this has had on state courts. Throughout the crisis, the weekly podcast

episodes will feature a “rotating panel” of guests that answer the question, “How are courts and 

court administrators dealing with the coronavirus on a daily basis?”

Do you have questions or comments about Court Leader’s Advantage Podcasts?Contact 

clapodcast@nacmnet.org

Once the crisis subsides, NACM will return to their regular monthly schedule.
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

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.

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.