E-SJI News

SJI received 21 grant applications requesting a total of $1,279,262 for the 1st quarter of FY 2011. The Board 

will meet on December 10, 2011, to make decisions on grant awards for the 1st quarter. The results of this 

Board meeting will be available the following week. Approved grant applications will not be awarded until SJI 

has its final appropriation from Congress for FY 2011. 

The high numbers of grant applications are attributed to a variety of reasons, including: 1) ongoing state court 

budget constraints and declining revenues from state, county, and municipal governments; 2) greater visibility 

of SJI via national outreach and the support of educational programming at court and judicial conferences; and 

3) alignment of SJI’s Special Interest Program Categories with the emerging needs of the state courts. 

Because of the significant demand for SJI grants, potential applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their 

grant applications as soon as possible, since SJI is on a first-come, first-served, basis for grant applications 

that merit funding. Deadlines for the remainder of FY 2011 are as follows: 2nd quarter – February 1, 2011; 3rd

quarter – May 1, 2011; and 4th quarter – August 1, 2011.

SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE APPROVES

THREE NEW BOARD NOMINEES

On November 18, 2010, the Senate Judiciary approved three new nominees for the SJI Board of Directors: 1) 

Chief Justice Chase Rogers; 2) Judge Wilfredo Martinez; and 3) Ms. Isabel Framer. All three are pending a 

final confirmation vote by the Senate. 

Chase Rogers has been the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court since 2007. Prior to that, she served 

as a judge in the Connecticut Appellate Court from 2006 to 2007, and as a judge in Connecticut Superior Court 

from 1998 to 2006. (continued on page 2)

1st QUARTER GRANT APPLICATIONS FOR FY 2011

Inside

Senate Judiciary Committee 

Approves Three New Board 

Nominees 1, 2

November 2010 Vol. 21, No. 2

Arizona Training Addresses Impact of 

Immigration in the State Courts 2, 3

New Videoconferencing Survey 

Results Now Available 3
Wilfredo Martinez is currently a County Court Judge in the 9th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. He was 

initially appointed to the Court in 1998. Previously, Judge Martinez was a sole practitioner in Orlando, 

focusing on real estate and business law.

Ms. Framer is the founder and principal partner of Language Access Consultants, LLC. Since 1998, Ms. 

Framer has worked as a consultant to defense attorneys, prosecutors, law enforcement, state and federal 

government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, and advocacy firms on language access for 

limited English proficient communities in the court system.

The Senate previously confirmed six new Board members on June 22, 2010. By law, SJI is supervised by a 

Board of Directors consisting of 11 members appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the 

Senate. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 10703, the President appoints 6 judges and 1 state court administrator from a list 

of candidates submitted to the President by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ). In addition, the President 

also appoints 4 public member positions, no more than 2 of whom can be from the same political party.

ARIZONA TRAINING ADDRESSES IMPACT OF IMMIGRATION 

IN THE STATE COURTS

As the impact of Padilla v. Kentucky and the role that state court judges assume with respect to immigration 

becomes clearer, additional training continues to be a priority for the state courts. Recently, 40 Arizona trial 

court judges, court managers, and staff from the Arizona Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) 

participated in a training seminar presented by the Center for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) and the National 

Center for State Courts (NCSC) on the connections between state court case processing and the federal 

immigration system. The seminar was conducted as part of the ongoing SJI-supported Strategic Initiatives 

Grants (SIG) program focusing on Immigration and the State Courts.

The morning session served as a primer on how the federal immigration system works and established the key 

connections shared between the federal system and the state courts. Three separate afternoon tracks focused on 

the specific needs of: 1) criminal court judges; 2) family, juvenile, and dependency court judges; and 3) court 

administrators. Presentations during these sessions targeted a range of topics within each track, and explored 

the inherent complexities and potential consequences of state court cases involving immigrants. 

The sessions offered participants the opportunity to learn from distinguished faculty, including a federal 

immigration judge, immigration lawyers, and university professors, as well as state court practitioners and staff 

from the CPPS immigration project team. (continued on page 3) 

Page 2 E-SJI News – Vol. 21, No. 2
More information about training and a variety of publications related to 

emerging immigration issues faced by state courts are available at 

http://www.centerforpublicpolicy.org/. SJI remains committed to supporting 

innovation and the special needs of state courts in this area. 

NEW VIDEOCONFERENCING SURVEY RESULTS 

NOW AVAILABLE

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) recently released the results 

from a 2010 Videoconferencing Survey (SJI-10-N-002), which was supported 

by SJI. Responses from state courts across the United States, including the 

District of Columbia were received, and NCSC staff reviewed over 700 state 

court statutes and rules related to videoconferencing. 

Videoconferencing gradually emerged as a staple of courtroom technology 

since its first use nearly 30 years ago. However, there is a lack of consensus

on how the state courts should incorporate this rapidly evolving technology in 

their operations and budgets. Analysis from the survey is designed to assist 

judges and court managers with technology planning and budgeting, as well as 

improve the understanding of varied uses of videoconferencing in criminal 

proceedings on a state-by-state basis.

Full results of the NCSC Videoconferencing Survey, including interactive 

graphics, responses by state, and a Resource Guide are available online.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS 

 For Project Grants, grantees are required to send three (3) hard copies 

of the grant product and final report to SJI for library/reference 

purposes. One electronic copy in PDF of the final grant report should 

also be sent to SJI. 

 Next Grant and Scholarship application deadline for the 2nd quarter of 

FY 2011: February 1, 2011.

Board of Directors

Chairman

Robert A. Miller

Chief Justice (Ret.)

Supreme Court of South Dakota

Pierre, SD

Arthur A. McGiverin

Chief Justice (Ret.)

Supreme Court of Iowa

Ottumwa, IA

James R. Hannah

Chief Justice

Supreme Court of Arkansas

Little Rock, AR

Tommy E. Jewell

Presiding Children’s Court Judge 

(Ret.)

Second Judicial District Court

Albuquerque, NM

Gayle A. Nachtigal

Judge

Washington County Circuit Court

Hillsboro, OR

Daniel J. Becker

State Court Administrator

Utah AOC

Salt Lake City, UT

John B. Nalbandian

Partner

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

Cincinnati, OH

Marsha J. Rabiteau

Policy Consultant

Rabiteau Consulting

Bloomfield, CT

Hernan D. Vera

President & CEO

Public Counsel

Los Angeles, CA

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 state courts, and foster 

innovative, efficient solutions to 

common issues faced by all courts. 

SJI is governed by a Board of 

Directors appointed by the 

President and confirmed by the 

Senate.

Page 3 E-SJI News – Vol. 21, No. 2