SJI NEWSLETTER SJI NEWSLETTER

In this Issue 

Page 1 

Volume 26, No. 11 

A Call to Action: 

Improving Civil Justice 

1 

Cost/Benefit Analysis 

of Civil Justice Reform 

2 

NACM Annual Meeting 2 

Chief Judge Lippman 

Receives McQueen 

Award 

3 

August 2016 

Upcoming 

Grant 

Deadlines

SJI uses Facebook and Twitter

to update #SJIGrant award recipients, partners, and grant 

seekers. For FY 2017, grant 

applications are due on November 1, 2016; February 1, 2017; 

May 1, 2017; and, August 1, 

2017. 

A recently released report, titled Call to Action: 

Achieving Civil Justice for All, is the result of more 

than two years worth of research and discussion by a 

blue-ribbon group of legal and judicial leaders. The 

committee included state chief justices, trial court 

judges, court administrators, attorneys, and academics, and was supported by an SJI grant to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal 

System (IAALS) at the University of Denver (SJI-13

-P-201). It recently received the endorsement of the 

Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA). 

“This is a call to action for state court leaders across 

the country,” said Chief Justice Thomas Balmer of 

Oregon, who chaired the committee that produced 

the report. “Our courts need to resolve disputes 

fairly—but also at lower cost and with less delay. “ 

The recommendations are designed to meet the challenges of contemporary civil caseloads by taking 

advantage of modern technologies and highly trained 

court staff to provide effective oversight and timely 

intervention to move civil cases to resolution. 

The report provides a comprehensive framework that 

features: 

Procedural reforms implemented in a variety of 

state courts that have been empirically tested 

and shown to substantially improve civil case 

processing; 

A right-sized staffing model for civil case processing that delegates substantial responsibility 

for routine caseflow management to specially 

trained professional staff, supported by effective case automation, permitting judges to focus 

on tasks that require their unique training and 

expertise; 

A Pathway Approach to caseflow management 

that assigns cases at filing based on the expected amount of court involvement needed to 

resolve the case, but offers sufficient flexibility 

for reassignment as the needs of the case 

change over time; and 

A renewed focus on high-volume calendars that 

comprise the vast majority of contemporary 

civil caseloads, improved access for selfrepresented litigants, and greater attention to 

uncontested cases and greater scrutiny of claims 

to ensure procedural fairness for litigants. 

“We need a legal process that can fairly and 

promptly resolve disputes for all Americans,” said 

Mary McQueen, president of the NCSC. “These 

recommendations, when implemented, will enhance 

public confidence in our system of civil justice.” 

“The civil justice system is mired in misperceptions 

and inefficiencies,” said IAALS Executive Director 

and former Colorado Supreme Court Justice Rebecca 

Love Kourlis. 

The full report is available online. Both the NCSC 

and IAALS have committed to working with state 

courts to implement the recommendations. 

New Report Provides Recommendations for 

Improving Civil Justice 
Page 2 

SJI Newsletter Volume 26, No. 11 August 2016 

Cost/Benefit Analysis of Civil Justice Reform 

Across Multiple Jurisdictions 

Excessive cost and 

delay have been a 

chronic complaint 

about the American civil justice 

system for more 

than a century. Recently, 

some jurisdictions 

have implemented 

procedural reforms and improved civil case 

automation and 

staffing that show 

significant improvements in 

civil case processing. 

The NCSC report summarizes the impact of reform efforts in four jurisdictions and estimates the potential impact in terms of litigant costs for 

attorneys and expert witness fees. The four reform projects include: a 

case management system with specially trained court staff implemented in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court (Miami-Dade County) 

to manage the 2008-2009 mortgage foreclosure crisis; amendments to 

pleading and discovery requirements implemented on a pilot basis in 

New Hampshire; amendments to discovery procedures statewide in 

Utah; and a comprehensive expedited civil case processing track for 

cases under $100,000 statewide in Texas. 

The precise impact of these reforms varied from jurisdiction to jurisdiction; however, all of them ultimately had some impact on the settlement rate, time to disposition, or other key case processing measures. As settlement rates increased and settlement occurred earlier in 

the litigation process, litigants avoided costs associated with expensive 

court proceedings such as summary judgment hearings and bench or 

jury trials. 

The paper concludes with a brief discussion on whether reduced litigation costs will result in increased litigant satisfaction, and whether 

litigation tasks undertaken on their behalf are worthwhile. 

NACM Annual Meeting Content Now Available 

With support from SJI, the National Association for Court Management (NACM) live-streamed educational sessions and keynote 

speeches from the 2016 annual meeting. 

In the event you were not able to join your state court colleagues in 

Pittsburgh, plenary and workshop videos, recorded live from the 

event, are now available online. NACM encourages you to share 

these educational sessions with others using the #NACM2016 hashtag and by forwarding the link. 

NACM recorded plenary sessions, workshops, and other proceedings each day of the conference. 

Over 500 attendees, vendors, and state court subject matter experts 

from across the country attended the annual meeting, and are great 

resources for follow-up. Hundreds attended keynotes and breakout 

sessions that were live-streamed. Where possible, presenter information is also included for your reference. 

Mark your calendars—the NACM Midyear Conference will be held in 

Portland, Oregon, February 5-7, 2017. 
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.) 

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. 11 August 2016

SJI Board Member Receives Inaugural Award 

Retired New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman is the recipient of the 

first-ever Mary C. McQueen Award for Excellence and Leadership in 

Justice System Improvement, presented by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ), the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), the 

National Association for Court Management (NACM), and the National 

Association for Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers 

(NAPCO).

The award was presented to Chief Judge Lippman in July, as part of the 

annual joint conference of CCJ and COSCA. Named after Mary 

McQueen, the current NCSC President, the award recognizes an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to improving the administration of justice at the local, state, or national level. The award will be 

presented biennially in future, during even numbered years. 

Chief Judge Lippman, who retired from the bench in December 2015, 

has previously been recognized for his numerous contributions to improving the justice system. He spent his entire legal career in the New 

York State court system, serving for 40 years in a variety of roles. 

He is a former member of the CCJ Board of Directors, former President of COSCA, and former Vice Chair of the NCSC Board. He has 

served on the SJI Board of Directors since 2013.