Volume 24, No. 8 May 2014 

E-SJI NEWS SJI NEWS

In this Issue 

New Executive 

Session Paper 

1 

Online Language 

Access Training 

2 

Missouri Improves 

Language Access 

3 

 

Page 1 

Executive Session for State Court Leaders 

Releases New Paper on Judicial Leadership 

Find Exclusive 

SJI Content on 

Facebook and 

Twitter

For more content from the recent SJI Board meeting, important national resource announcements, and partner updates, look 

no further than the SJI Facebook

and Twitter pages. 

The recent release of The Politics of Restraint: State 

Judicial Leadership in the 21st Century, authored by 

Chief Justice (ret.) Jeff Amestoy of the Vermont 

Supreme Court marks the 11th paper in the Harvard 

Executive Session series. 

The author discusses how judicial leaders should 

understand their role as extending beyond protecting 

and enhancing the budgetary and other needs of the 

state courts. Rather, using a voice that is both restrained and persistent, judicial leaders should articulate the importance of the judiciary in democratic 

society. 

The paper emphasizes how judicial independence is 

maintained through carefully crafted messages. 

Beginning in 2008, SJI, the National Center for State 

Courts (NCSC), and the U.S. Department of Justice, 

Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) collaborated to 

fund and support the Executive Session for State 

Court Leaders in the 21st Century, hosted by Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. The Executive Session brought together over thirty leaders at 

all levels of the state courts, academia, media, private counsel, and national court support organizations, to define, discuss, and decipher state court 

issues and solutions. Their work concluded in late 

2011, and has continued on through the authorship of 

these papers. Each paper has addressed an emerging 

or existing area of need presented during the Executive Session. 

Upcoming papers include: maintaining judicial independence during a funding crisis; and improving 

court access and ensuring fair treatment to all who 

access the courts. 

The entire series is available on the SJI website, and 

print copies have been distributed to the members of 

Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and Conference 

of State Court Administrators (COSCA), and to the 

boards of directors of major court-related organizations. In an effort o reach the widest possible audience of judges, court administrators, and criminal 

justice professionals, the NCSC serves as a repository for all published Executive Session products and 

videos. 
E-SJI News Volume 24, No. 8 May 2014 

Page 2 

The Language Access Basic Training (LABT) 

is a downloadable interactive training, which 

serves as an introduction to language access 

for all court employees. It is a collaborative 

project of the New Mexico Administrative 

Office of the Courts (AOC) through the New 

Mexico Center for Language Access 

(NMCLA), funded by SJI and supported by 

the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) 

and the Language Access Advisory Committee 

of the Council of State Court Administrators 

(COSCA). The project’s Advisory Board 

consisted of stakeholders from 7 states including: Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon and Texas. 

The purpose of the training is to ensure that all 

court employees have a basic understanding of 

their ethical and legal obligations, as well as 

current best practices in serving limited English proficient and non-English speaking individuals. Available in language neutral and 

Spanish, LABT also provides a training module for bilingual court employees as well as an 

optional skills assessment module. The training will be administered by NCSC. Customization services are available through the 

NMCLA.

The training program consists of three 

modules: 1) Fundamentals; 2) Bilingual 

Skills Building; and 3) Bilingual Skills Assessment.

The Fundamentals Module is intended to 

train both monolingual and bilingual staff in 

state courts. The module is divided into four 

sections: 

1) Overview describes the legal basis for language access services; 

2) Professional Standards explores best practices in language access; 

3) Roles of Court Staff details the differing 

roles of interpreters, bilingual staff, and monoNew Mexico Finalizes 

Online Language Access Training Module 

lingual staff in the provision of language access services; and 

4) Cultural Competency and Customer Service examines the importance of cultural differences in providing good customer service. 

The module is designed to be a rich learning 

experience, using video, graphics, scenarios, 

and expert commentary to make topics engaging, accessible, and easy to understand. 

Expert commentary is provided by professionals in the field with varying perspectives, including judges, language access specialists, 

court administrators, clerks, and representatives from the NCSC and COSCA. 

The Bilingual Skills Building Module is 

specific to bilingual court staff. The module is 

available in language neutral and Spanish and 

includes three main sections: 

1) Terminology Acquisition covers theory and 

exercises on how to effectively research legal 

terminology in both languages; 

2) Language Access Facilitation includes 

lessons and exercises in consecutive interpreting and sight-translation; 

3) Guidelines for Practice challenges trainees 

to apply concepts and techniques in an interactive environment. 

The self-paced practice module includes lessons, quizzes and exercises as well as selfevaluation tools. This way, trainees can effectively learn, evaluate their performance and 

keep track of their progress. 

The Bilingual Skills Assessment Module is 

also specific to bilingual court staff. The module evaluates trainees’ comprehension of 

LABT content and skills in their language 

pair. Trainees complete the skills assessment 

module online and submit it for rating or feedback. 

Two pilots were conducted to test the technologies and content of the program. The first 

pilot took place in New Mexico, with a focus 

group. The second was comprehensive – with 

a total login count of one hundred and thirtysix (136) trainees from seven states and 

served as a collaborative effort between the 

AOC, NCSC, and the advisory board states; 

feedback collected was overall very positive. 

The program will be available this summer 

online through the NCSC. 
Page 3 

SJI Board of Directors

Chairman 

James R. Hannah 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Arkansas 

Little Rock, AR 

Vice 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 

President & CEO 

Public Counsel Law Center 

Los Angeles, CA 

Chase T. Rogers 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Connecticut 

Hartford, CT 

Jonathan Lippman 

Chief Judge of the State of New York 

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. 

E-SJI News Volume 24, No. 8 May 2014 

Through a grant from SJI, the Missouri 

Office of the State Court Administrator 

(OSCA) has recently completed much of 

the work necessary to make the Representing Yourself in Missouri Courts website more accessible to limited English 

proficient (LEP) litigants (SJI-13-T-147). 

With a diverse population rivaling many 

urban areas across the country, Missouri 

Missouri Nears Completion of 

Language Access Project 

realized a need to enhance services by increasing language access. Through this project, the 

Judiciary is aligning online resources with the 

needs of LEP individuals involved in family law 

matters. 

Six emerging languages that the OSCA targeted 

for this project included: Bosnian, French, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. 

While forms still require completion in English, 

the litigant is able to fully understand the forms 

and seek further assistance as needed. 

Currently, litigants may choose to view the website in English or Spanish. Additional languages 

will be deployed in the future to complement the 

forms translation and available court staff assistance. The updated site is live and can be 

viewed here. 

SJI continues to support projects of local, state, 

and national scope through its Priority Investment Areas, which emphasize both language 

access and self-represented litigation. 

The next deadline for grant applications is August 1, 2014.