SJI NEWSLETTER SJI NEWSLETTER

In this Issue 

Page 1 

Volume 26, No. 7 

SJI Awards FY 2016 Second Quarter Grants 

SJI Awards FY 2016 

2nd Quarter Grants 

1 

D.C. Jury System 

Report 

1 - 2 

Michigan Juvenile 

Justice Vision 20/20 

Training Events 

2 

Operational 

Assessment of the 

D.C. Court of Appeals 

3 

 

The SJI Board of Directors met on April 

18, 2016, at the Supreme Court of Kentucky in Frankfort to make decisions on 

quarterly grant applications and awarded a 

total of twenty-one (21) new grants. 

Two (2) Strategic Initiatives Grants were 

awarded: support to the Conference of 

Chief Justice/Conference of State Court 

Administrators (CCJ/COSCA) for the 

National Task Force on Fines, Fees, and 

Bail Practices; and the National Center for 

State Courts (NCSC) to identify best practices in 

court privacy policy formulation. 

Fourteen (14) Technical Assistance (TA) Grants were 

approved, including: assistance to the Judiciaries in 

North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, 

Mississippi, and Hawaii to address human trafficking; support to the California Commission on Judicial 

Performance for a judicial mentoring project; strategic planning for the Pierce County, Washington District Court; and support to the Utah Administrative 

April 2016 

Office of the Courts for an innovative online dispute 

resolution program. Five (5) Curriculum Adaptation 

& Training (CAT) Grants were approved, including: 

support to the Oregon Judiciary for language access 

training and development; the National Judicial College (NJC) for judicial webcasts and online learning 

modules; and the NCSC for digital evidence training. 

With support from SJI, the Council for Court Excellence (CCE) released Jury Service Revisited: Upgrades for the 21st Century, a comprehensive review 

of the jury system in Washington, D.C., at an event 

hosted by Arnold & Porter (SJI-14-T-086). 

The report builds on the Council’s 1998 seminal 

study on jury service. At the event, Professor Continued on page 2 

The SJI Board of Directors and Chief Justice 

John Minton (center left) at the Supreme 

Court of Kentucky 

Council for Court Excellence Reviews 

Washington, D.C. Jury System 

Promoting 

Our Work

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 it! 
Page 2 

SJI Newsletter Volume 26, No. 7 April 2016 

Andrew G. Ferguson of the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law called 

the report, “a blueprint of change for jury service today.” The Washington 

Post featured the report in an editorial published on January 2, 2016, which 

noted that the report and its recommendations “must not be consigned to 

the shelves and instead should provide the basis for needed action.” 

The report’s twenty-five recommendations address how the Court can: 

improve juror care; jury pool and summoning; and trial structure in regards 

to juries. At present, CCE staff is working with its Board and various 

stakeholders to initiate the process of implementing the report’s recommendations. 

To improve the public’s access to justice and increase their understanding 

of the justice system, CCE has published and distributed over 360,000 copies of plain-language booklets and other materials explaining a wide variety 

of court and justice system issues. 

This report is available online and through the NCSC Library eCollection. 

Michigan Juvenile Justice Vision 20/20 

Continues to Offer Resources and Training 

With support from SJI and Grand Valley State University (GVSU), the 

20th Judicial Circuit Court of Michigan formed what is today known as 

Juvenile Justice Vision 20/20. 

This integrated statewide effort has been building momentum for nearly 

five years. It now offers a dynamic web presence inclusive of the mission, vision, and values shared by partners, as well as a catalog of indepth publications, links to numerous resources that guide those interested in juvenile justice, and an archive of past conferences and presentations. 

The original Strategic Plan, which was supported 

by SJI, serves as a basis for the work being advanced today through a governance board comprised of individuals from juvenile courts, the State 

Court Administrative Office, the Department of 

Human Services, GVSU, and private residential 

treatment providers. 

Juvenile Justice Vision 20/20 is hosting both Spring

and Fall 2016 training events with details regarding 

registration, agenda, and speaker information to be released in early 

May 2016. While the events benefit all partners currently engaged in 

improving outcomes for youth, families, and communities by improving the juvenile justice systems in Michigan, it also has relevant information for interested parties looking to catalyze their own local or state 

coalitions in a similar way to Juvenile Justice Vision 20/20. 

To connect with leadership of Juvenile Justice Vision 20/20, inquiries 

can be sent to Sandi Metcalf at jjvision2020@gvsu.edu. 

Continued from page 1 
Page 3 

SJI Board of Directors

Acting Chairman 

Daniel J. Becker 

State Court Administrator 

Utah AOC 

Salt Lake City, UT 

Secretary 

Gayle A. Nachtigal 

Senior Circuit Court Judge 

Washington County Circuit Court 

Hillsboro, OR 

Treasurer 

Hernan D. Vera 

Principal 

Bird Marella P.C. 

Los Angeles, CA 

Chase T. Rogers 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Connecticut 

Hartford, CT 

Jonathan Lippman 

Chief Judge of New York (ret.) 

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. 

SJI Newsletter Volume 26, No. 7 April 2016 

Operational Assessment of the 

D.C. Court of Appeals 

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals received an SJI grant to support an 

operational assessment that would help promote its commitment to fair, efficient, 

and effective administration of justice. 

As the court of last resort within the District of Columbia, the D.C. Court of Appeals has dual responsibility for reviewing individual decisions of lower tribunals 

for errors, as well as the interpretation and development of the law and its general 

application in future cases. 

Much of this report addresses a changing budget paradigm in the courts with regards to new realities surrounding budgets and non-financial resources; specifically for Court this includes special attention to staffing structure; technological 

improvements; and adoption of organizational and operational changes designed to 

maximize judicial resources and assist judges in managing their workloads. 

Recommendations include migration towards the National Center for State Court’s 

Appellate CourTools system, specifically designed for the uniqueness of appellate 

court work. The report also focuses on alternative strategies that could alleviate 

docket congestion, such as mediation. 

The final report is available through the NCSC eCollection.