SJI NEWSLETTER SJI NEWSLETTER

In this Issue 

Page 1 

Volume 27, No. 4 

Third Courting Justice 

Town Hall 

1 

“Honoring Gault” 

Information Card 

1 

2016 State of the State 

Courts Survey 

2 

NJC Pilots Web-Based 

Course 

2 

Adult Guardianship 

Initiative Strategic Plan 

3 

January 2017 

Share the 

News

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 

The most recent episode was taped in Cleveland, 

Ohio, on December 8, 2016, and is now available 

online. Panelists included: Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor; Cleveland Municipal Court Judge 

Ronald Adrine; Lakewood Judge Patrick Carroll; and, 

Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee. 

Courting Justice follows a town hall format that 

invites state supreme, appellate, and trial court judges 

to step down from the bench and listen to new perspectives on how the state courts can better deliver 

justice for all. 

Supported by SJI and the National Center for State 

Courts (NCSC), airing on PBS and hosted by acclaimed journalist Tavis Smiley, Courting Justice is 

on a cross-country tour, engaging the public and 

judges in a conversation about the courts. 

From litigants to public defenders, families of the 

incarcerated to prosecutors, multiple voices have 

shared their concerns and real-world solutions on 

how to rebuild the public trust in our judiciary. 

Third Courting Justice Town Hall 

Delinquency Proceedings,” is named 

after the 1964 case against Gerald 

Francis Gault, aged fifteen, who was 

sentenced to the state youth correctional facility until his twenty-first 

birthday for making an annoying 

phone call. It was later determined by 

the U.S. Supreme Court that, no matter the age, the accused should receive 

meaningful access to counsel. 

Included in the card are four key elements to ensuring meaningful access 

to counsel for juveniles, and ethical 

standards for consideration by the 

parties involved in the proceedings. 

New Information Card on 

Access to Counsel for Juveniles 

With support from SJI and in 

partnership with the National 

Juvenile Defender Center, 

and the National Council of 

Juvenile and Family Court 

Judges (NCJFCJ), a new 

juvenile delinquency information card is now available 

that highlights the key elements of ensuring meaningful access to counsel for 

juveniles at initial appointment. 

The card, titled “Honoring Gault: Ensuring Access to Counsel in 
Page 2 

SJI Newsletter Volume 27, No. 4 January 2017 

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has released its annual 

State of the State Courts survey 

results. The survey results 

yielded valuable information on 

public trust, procedural fairness, 

and other critical areas. This 

year’s survey results showed an 

increase in the public’s trust in 

the courts, with four in five people having direct interaction with 

the court system expressing satisfaction in procedural fairness. 

The survey was conducted 

among 1,000 respondents by 

telephone between November 14 

- 17, 2016. Survey findings are 

considered accurate 19 times out 

of 20. 

Key findings of the survey include: 

2016 State of the State Courts 

Survey Results 

There are signs of positive momentum in public trust -- but innovation and technology concerns 

persist; 

A glaring lack of understanding about court funding is reflective 

of misperceptions about government spending generally; 

If courts lead on fines and fees 

reform, the public will follow; 

The public believes that the 

ethnicity of a judge may impact 

fairness. 

For more detail on the survey findings, read this six-page summary

from the pollster, or download the 

presentation slides. 

The NCSC also surveyed public opinion in previous years, and has 

archived the 2015 and 2014 survey results. 

NJC Offers Pilot Course for New Trial Court Judges 

With support from SJI, the National Judicial College (NJC) developed 

and delivered an interactive, web-based course for newly elected or 

appointed trial court judges. 

Tuition-free for pilot participants, the course was offered online between November 7 – December 9, 2016. Judges averaged four hours 

per week on assignments and engaged in a weekly web conference with 

faculty and fellow participants. Adapted from content offered at an inclass weekly seminar for new judges, the course guided participants 

through 25 key points regarding new responsibilities, essential justice 

system knowledge for judges, and the role of the judge in administrative matters beyond the courtroom. 

Depending on availability and interest, the NJC hopes to offer additional sessions of the course in the fall of 2017. Those wishing to learn 

more about the course and its content are encouraged to reference the 

NJC’s course website, or contact the NJC by phone, at 800-255-8343 

and ask for more information about,“Taking the Bench - An Interactive 

Web-Based Course for New Trial Judges.” 
Page 3 

SJI Board of Directors

Chair 

Chase T. Rogers 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Connecticut 

Hartford, CT 

Vice Chair

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 

Jonathan Lippman 

Chief Judge of New York (ret.) 

Of Counsel 

Latham @ Watkins, LLP 

New York, NY 

John D. Minton 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Kentucky 

Frankfort, KY 

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 27, No. 4 January 2017 

Adult Guardianship Initiative 

Strategic Action Plan 

The Conference of 

Chief Justices and Conference of State Court 

Administrators Joint 

Committee on Elders 

and the Courts has approved the Strategic 

Action Plan – 2016 for 

the Adult Guardianship 

Initiative. 

With support from SJI

and the Retirement Research Foundation 

(RRF), the Center for 

Elders and the Courts is 

addressing guardianship and conservatorship issues in the state courts 

through the initiative. 

The plan comprises a multi-year response that targets four key goals 

including: 

Develop and maintain a partnership of key stakeholders; 

Prioritize the protection and enhancement of individual rights; 

Promote modernization and transparency in the guardianship process; and, 

Enhance guardianship/conservatorship court processes and oversight. 

A recent survey by the NCSC shows an estimated $50 billion in assets 

are currently under state courts’ watch in conservatorship cases across 

the country. This number is based on projections from data from a 

handful of states. Some 176,000 new conservatorship or guardianship 

cases were filed in state courts nationally in 2015, and there were an 

estimated 1.3 million open cases. These statistics provide valuable 

insight to a growing national problem and how courts recognize and 

deal with the financial exploitation of people under a conservatorship.