SJI Newsletter

June 2018 | Volume 28, No. 9

SJI Awards FY 2018

Third Quarter Grants

The SJI Board of Directors met on June 11, 2018, at the Minnesota Judicial Center to make decisions 

on quarterly grant applications and awarded a total of 10 new grants.

A Project Grant was awarded to the Washington Administrative Office of the Courts for a statewide 

gender bias assessment. The project will identify and describe gender bias with a particular focus on 

how race, poverty, and other intersectional identities impact women when they access the courts, 

participate in proceedings, or work in the court environment, and the consequences they experience 

once they leave the courthouse. The National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) has expressed 

interest in this project, and will seek to incorporate the outcomes of the assessment into their meeting 

programming. In addition, both the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State

Court Administrators (COSCA) have expressed renewed interest in gender bias in the courts, as 

demonstrated by a recent resolution encouraging state judicial branch education on workplace
harassment, procedures for addressing harassment, and directing the National Center for State 

Courts (NCSC) to create a repository of resources on workplace harassment, including model 

policies and procedures.

Seven (7) Technical Assistance (TA) Grants were awarded: the 17th Judicial Circuit of Illinois for an

efficiency and process assessment for; the NCSC for a municipal court interactive learning and 

website revision project; the Texas Municipal Court Education Center to build trust and confidence 

through model court websites and signage; the Texas Office of Court Administration for a family 

court outcomes assessment; the Colorado Administrative Office of the Courts for a plain language 

forms project; the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts for a strategic planning initiative; and the 

Barry County, Michigan, Family Court Division for a strategic planning project. 

Two (2) Curriculum Adaptation and Training (CAT) Grants were awarded: the NAWJ for a sexual 

harassment education program; and the Institute for Continuing Judicial Education of Georgia for a 

judicial faculty development workshop.

The next deadline for grant applications is August 1, 2018 (FY 2018, 4th quarter).

National Judicial Opioid Task Force

Meets to Address the Opioid Crisis

Earlier this month, the National Judicial Opioid Task Force (NJOTF) convened in Indianapolis, 

Indiana. Presenters from national organizations with knowledge and expertise on the opioid crisis 

shared information, resources, and discussed collaboration with state courts and the NJOTF.

Content from each presentation is now available online and linked below:

1. Pregnant and Parenting Women with Opioid Use Disorders: Implications for Child Welfare

and Juvenile Dependency by Nancy Young, Executive Director, Children and Family Futures.

2. Collaboration Opportunities: Addiction Medicine, Justice and the Opioid Crisis by Penny S.

Mills, Executive Vice President/CEO, American Society of Addiction Medicine.

3. Substance Use Disorders: A Public Health and Public Safety Priority by Kathryn CatesWessel, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry
4. Opioid Addictions Outbreak: A Response to a Public Health Crisis in Erie County, New

York by Matt Chase, Executive Director, National Association of Counties and Mark

Poloncarz, County Executive, Erie County, New York.

5. Combating the Opioid Epidemic by Carrie Hill, Director, National Center for Jail Operations,

National Sheriffs Association.

6. How Governors and States Are Approaching the Opioid Epidemic by Chelsea Kelleher, Senior

Policy Analyst, Best Practices Health Division, National Governors Association.

7. Overview of State Opioid Policy and Legislation by Alison Lawrence, Program Director and

Amber Widgery, Senior Policy Specialist, Criminal Justice Program, National Conference of

State Legislatures.

8. Advancing Justice: The Opioid Crisis by Carson Fox, Chief Executive Officer, National

Association of Drug Court Professionals.

9. NAAG Efforts Against the Opioid Epidemic by Chris Toth, Executive Director, National

Association of Attorneys General.

This content builds on and expands previous NJOTF efforts. Sharing this information is consistent 

with principles developed in January 2018. SJI provided key support to launch the Task Force and 

remains a partner in these efforts.

National Center for State Courts Releases 

New Report on Jurors with Disabilities

With support from SJI, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) released a new report titled, 

Jurors With Disabilities, as well as a corresponding presentation.

Both products derive from a greater need expressed by the state court community for updated, 

comprehensive information that addresses the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other 

statutory requirements requiring accommodations.

The presentation provides an overview of ADA Title II, including exceptions, and lesser known 

Architectural Barriers Act, Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and a nod to state statues that may 

require more compliance than federal laws. It includes detailed notes for each slide to assist 

the reader.
The report delves much more deeply into accommodations for jurors with disabilities; what is 

needed and necessary; and how to conduct a reasonableness analysis if a court denies an 

accommodation. Included in the report is extensive caselaw related to the public sector, and 

specifically court accommodations for jurors. Other key elements include:

A timeline of courts and disabilities;

Assistive devices and technology to accommodate persons that are blind, Deaf-Blind, low 

vision, or have hearing impairments;

Conditions specifically excluded under ADA, and some of the more difficult determinations, 

such as alcoholism, illicit drug use, and persons receiving treatment for a substance-use 

addiction;

Service animals and the allowable information a court may obtain to make determinations; 

and,

General guidance designed to achieve a proactive program, with well-trained jury 

managers, that maintains compliance as its cornerstone.

SJI Remembers Chief Justice

Clement Clay "Bo" Torbet, Jr.

Former SJI Board Chair and Alabama Chief Justice Clement Clay "Bo" Torbert, Jr. died on Saturday, 

June 2, 2018.

In November 1976, he was elected Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court where he served 

two terms until 1988. During his tenure as Chief Justice, he was active in national and international 

judicial organizations, serving as President of the Conference of Chief Justices, Chairman of the 

National Center for State Courts, and SJI's first Board Chair, serving from 1986 to 1991. After 

leaving the court, he taught at both the University of Alabama School of Law and Cumberland 

School of Law before joining the law firm Maynard, Cooper & Gale where he practiced until his 

retirement.
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

John B. Nalbandian

Partner

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Cincinnati, OH

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

Hartford, CT

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

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

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information of interest to the entire state court community. If your organizations work

complements ours, let us know and we will share.