SJI Newsletter

December 2020 | Volume 31, No. 3

SJI Approves FY 2021 First Quarter Grants

The SJI Board of Directors met virtually on December 7, 2020 to make decisions on quarterly 

grant applications, and approved a total of ten new grants. 

Two Strategic Initiatives Grants were approved in support of SJI’s Pandemic Response and 

Recovery Request for Applications (RFA); the Texas Office of Court Administration to assess the 

impact of remote hearings on judicial workload; and, the National Courts and Sciences Institute

(NCSI) to provide sustainable case and evidentiary support for state court cases emanating from 

the pandemic. Three Project Grants were approved: the Supreme Court of Appeals of West 

Virginia for an appellate e-filing project; the Franklin County, Ohio, Municipal Court for a self-help 

resource center project; and the National Association for Court Management (NACM) to support 

educational programming for court managers and judges, including the impact of the pandemic on 

court operations. Three Technical Assistance Grants were approved: the Administrative Office of 

the Pennsylvania Courts for a translation implementation project; the 5th Judicial District of

Colorado for a mental health improvement initiative; and the District of Columbia Courts to assess 

high volume calendars. Two Curriculum Adaptation and Training Grants were approved: Lubbock 

County, Texas, for an educational program on mental health for mediators; and, the National 

Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) for a National Justice and Fairness Training program. 

The next deadline for grant applications is February 1, 2021 (FY 2021, 2nd Quarter). 
SJI Awards Grants to Support

Pandemic Response and Recovery

Through a Request for Applications (RFA) process launched in FY 2020, SJI

funded multiple projects that will assist state courts in their response to, and recovery 

from, COVID-19, with a look towards the future of court operations. SJI gave priority

consideration for RFA funding to projects that focused on institutionalizing and/or

replicating practices that have been implemented during the pandemic.

SJI supported projects that planned a system change approach (as opposed to the

replication of narrowly focused programs or projects), and emphasized the use of case

triage to match cases and parties to appropriate resources and services both within and

outside the courthouse. This also includes the use of technology for innovations such as

online dispute resolution (ODR), portal development, virtual hearings, and other efforts 

to allow court business to be conducted outside of the courthouse. These projects will 

also take into account access and fairness, and costs/benefits, not only to the courts, 

but also to court users. 

A summary of these projects is available on the SJI website.
New Resources to Address

Guardianship and Conservatorship Cases

“A man who became comatose after a fall counted on his daughter, who was assigned to

be his guardian, to oversee his finances. However, she withdrew $10,000 from her 

father’s savings account and made $20,000 in cash advances from another account. 

When questioned, she said that her father always gave her generous gifts and would 

wish to continue to do so.” As the population of older Americans grows, so does the risk 

of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of the elderly. Courts are charged with protecting the 

well-being and assets of persons who are placed under a guardianship or

conservatorship. Because many judges only see a few guardianship cases, special 

resources to help them prevent and address problems are necessary. With support from 

SJI, NCSC has recently developed several such tools.

To guide judicial considerations when establishing a guardianship, the Pre-appointment

Protocol provides examples and directs court staff to the next step at each stage in the

process. The Guardianship/Conservatorship Judicial Response Protocol serves as an

interactive tool to advise judges on steps to take and options to consider when 

allegations of wrong-doing have been made.

Courts cannot effectively monitor guardianship and conservatorship cases unless they

have good information, yet the ability of state courts to provide basic data on these 

cases, let alone track those in which allegations of abuse or exploitation arise, is often 

inadequate. That is where the Guardianship/Conservatorship Monitoring: Recommended 

Data Elements come into play. They provide guidance on what data courts should collect 

and how to define it and use it to monitor cases. The need for judicial guardianship 

protocols, adequate data collection and tracking systems has become a priority for many 

state court leaders. NCSC’s newest resources contribute to reaching that goal. They can 

be found, along with other information and training resources, on the website for the

Center for Elders and the Courts.
SAMHSA GAINS Center Announces Criminal Justice

Communities of Practice

The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), with support from SJI, is 

hosting a series of five webinars titled, “Opioids and the Courts - Difficult Conversations.” 

Join NCJFCJ and expert faculty as they explore challenges associated with referring children and 

families to services in dependency and delinquency cases and how courts and service providers 

can work together to meet their needs and improve their lives. The five-part series will include 

conversations on prevention, intervention, harm reduction, reducing overdose and death, and 

recovery.

The remaining webinars can be located using the links provided below for each session:

Opioids and the Courts: Difficult Conversations Around Intervention and Treatment: 1/20/21

Opioids and the Courts: Difficult Conversations Around Harm Reduction: 2/17/21

Opioids and the Courts: Difficult Conversations Around Preventing Overdose and Death: 3/17/21

Opioids and the Courts: Difficult Conversations Around Recovery: 4/21/21

Please note you will need to register for each webinar separately.
NJC Releases 2021 Course Catalog

The National Judicial College (NJC) announced its 2021 courses with a fully interactive

catalog that links directly to registration information.

Courses include web-based offerings, in-person learning, and summit-style multi day

sessions in the U.S. and abroad. Highlighted are the NJC Tribal Judicial Center, Judicial

Academy for Aspiring Judges, and the Appellate Judges Education Institute.

The NJC remains an SJI Education Support Program (ESP) partner in 2021. ESP funds

supports full-time state court judges and court managers to attend courses that enhance

their knowledge, skills, and abilities which they could not otherwise attend because of

limited state, local, and personal budgets. NJC and the National Center for State

Courts/Institute for Court Management (ICM) administer the ESP program separately, in

partnership and with funding from SJI.

To seek an ESP to attend an NJC course, simply find the course you wish to attend on the

NJC website: www.judges.org/courses, and click “register.” During the registration

process, the website will ask whether you need a scholarship to attend. Simply follow the

online instructions to request tuition assistance. If you have any questions about this

process, you may contact NJC Scholarship Coordinator Brenda Pardini, at 

chrystn@judges.org or 800-255-8343. The NJC reserves the right to apply additional

selection criteria.
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.

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