SJI Newsletter

March 2018 | Volume 28, No. 6

Principles On Fines, Fees,

and Bail Practices

The Conference of Chief Justices/Conference of State Court Administrators (CCJ/COSCA) National 

Task Force on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices recently released an 8-page report titled, Principles 

on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices. 

The principles each fall into one of the following seven categories:

Structural and Policy-Related Principles 

Governance Principles

Transparency Principles

Fundamental Fairness Principles

Pretrial Release and Bail Reform Principles 

Fines, Fees and Alternative Sanctions 

Principles; and, Accountability Principles

1
Categories and principles are expected to be refined as the Task Force and its stakeholders work 

through existing and emerging issues on court fines, fees, and bail practices, including pending 

legislation and cases in individual states.

The Task Force originated in 2016 from the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of

State Court Administrators. Collaboration at the time identified a need to: develop recommendations 

and tools to promote the fair and efficient enforcement of the law; ensure no person is denied access 

to the justice system based on lack of economic resources; and, develop policies relating to legal 

financial obligations that promote access, fairness, and transparency. SJI, along with the DOJ/

Bureau of Justice Assistance, has provided grant funding to support the work of the Task Force.

 

2
Applicants are limited to one ESP award every other fiscal year (i.e. if awarded an ESP in FY 2018, 

the applicant will remain ineligible until FY 2020), unless the course specifically assumes multi-year 

participation as part of a certificate program.

ELIGIBLE COURSES

Awards are only for courses presented by the NJC and ICM in a U.S. jurisdiction to participants in 

the U.S. or U.S. Territories. These courses are designed to enhance the skills of new or experienced 

judges and court managers. Participation during annual or mid-year conferences or meetings of a 

state or national organization does not qualify for ESP purposes, even though the conference may 

include workshops or other training sessions.

HOW AND WHEN TO APPLY

For NJC courses:

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 Rebecca Bluemer, at bluemer@judges.org or 800-255-8343. The NJC reserves the 

right to apply additional selection criteria.

For ICM courses:

To seek an ESP to participate in the ICM Fellows Program, submit a completed application to ICM 

Education Program Manager Amy McDowell, at amcdowell@ncsc.org. If you have any questions 

about this process, you may contact her at 757-259-1552 or via email. To seek an ESP to participate 

in an ICM course, find the course you wish to attend on the ICM website: www.courses.ncsc.org, and 

click register. During the registration process, the website will ask if you need a scholarship to 

participate. Follow the online instructions to request tuition assistance. If you have any questions 

about this process, you may contact, ICM Director of National Programs Margaret Allen, at 

mallen@ncsc.org or 757-259-1581. ICM reserves the right to apply additional selection criteria.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF ESP AWARD RECIPIENTS

Recipients are responsible for disseminating the information received from the course, when 

possible, to their court colleagues locally and, if possible, throughout the state. The NJC and ICM 

may impose additional requirements on recipients.

3
The Intersection Between Prostitution,

Human Trafficking, and Victimization

Among Justice-Involved Women

The Human Trafficking and the State Courts Collaborative recently added a new resource a 

webinar by the National Resource Center on Justice Involved Women and the Center for Court 

Innovation that explores the nexus between prostitution, human trafficking, and victimization among 

justice involved women. Over 200 participants registered for the original webinar, and it continues 

to be shared weekly. 

Content included:

Strategies that justice system stakeholders can take to identify women who may be victims 

of exploitation and human trafficking;

Tools to address their needs; and,

Ways the justice system and its partners can collectively improve their response to these 

women.

The full webinar is available online as are the materials and additional resources.

NACM Annual Meeting 

Registration Now Open

Registration for the National Association for Court Management (NACM) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, 

Georgia, July 22-26, 2018, is now open.

Early Bird registration (available through May 15th) is advised as recent meetings have generally 

filled, resulting in a waitlist. For this meeting, attendees will need to register for the event first, 

before reserving their accommodations.

4
SJI has committed to supporting specific tracks at the meeting, including those educational

sessions that support SJIs Priority Investment Areas.

The Mind the Gap theme will help attendees engage in the practical application of mindfulness in

order to anticipate and respond to gaps while addressing the challenges that face courts.

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.

5
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

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 organizations work 

complements ours, let us know and we will share.

6