SJI NEWSLETTER 

In this Issue 

Page 1 

Volume 27, No. 12 

National Opioid Task 

Force 

1 

SJI Awards 4th Quarter 

Grants 

1-2 

Civil Case Management 

White Paper 

2 

Inspired by Peacemaking 

Guide Now Available 

3 

September 2017 

The misuse of opioids such as heroin, morphine, and 

prescription pain medicines is not only a devastating 

public health crisis, it is critically affecting the administration of justice in courthouses throughout the 

United States. The number of children in foster care 

because of parental substance abuse has nearly tripled 

since 2012, and drug overdose deaths are at record 

highs. In response to this national crisis, SJI is funding a new Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ)/

Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) 

National Opioid Task Force to examine current efforts, develop solutions, and make recommendations 

to address the opioid epidemic’s ongoing impact on 

the justice system. 

The work plan for the judicial branch task force includes the following strategies: 

Convening representatives from state and federal 

government and key national organizations to 

share existing strategies and identify unmet 

needs. 

Creating partnerships with entities addressing the 

impact of opioids on children, with specific emSJI Supports National Opioid Task Force 

SJI Awards FY 2017 

Fourth Quarter Grants 

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. 

phasis on foster care, assisting state courts in 

developing opioid task forces, and working with 

existing state task forces to make recommendations for local response efforts. 

Developing guiding principles that state courts 

can use for successful collaboration among 

treatment providers, criminal justice systems, 

and child welfare agencies. 

Creating a checklist of state legislation, policy, 

and court rules that aid or inhibit response efforts. 

The SJI Board of Directors met on September 11, 2017, in Raleigh, 

North Carolina, to make decisions on quarterly grant applications, and 

awarded a total of four new grants. 

A Strategic Initiatives Grant (SIG) was awarded to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), in partnership with the Conference of 

Chief Justices (CCJ), the Conference of State Court AdministraContinued on page 2 
Page 2 

SJI Newsletter Volume 27, No. 12 September 2017

NCSC Releases Civil Justice Initiative White Paper 

tors (COSCA) to too support the CCJ/COSCA National Opioid Task 

Force. The initiative will pursue short and long-term objectives that: 1) 

highlight the landscape of current responses and effective practices; 2) 

establish a mechanism to engage justice system partners in collaborative efforts; and 3) provide immediate tools for state courts in addressing the opioid crisis. A SIG was also awarded to the NCSC, the Institute for the Advancement of 

the American Legal System

(IAALS), and the National 

Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCFJCJ), in 

partnership with the CCJ/

COSCA Courts, Children, and 

Families Subcommittee, to 

assess the current landscape of 

domestic relations cases, and 

promulgate recommendations 

to improve proceedings, rules, 

and practices. 

A Technical Assistance (TA) Grant was awarded to the National Judicial 

College (NJC), the Center for Court Innovation (CCI), and NCJFCJ to 

build an online judicial education self-study course on human trafficking. Additional funding and support for this project is being provided by 

the Center for Human Trafficking Court Solutions (CHTCS). 

A Curriculum Adaptation 

and Training (CAT) Grant 

was awarded to the Missouri Office of the State 

Court Administrator to 

support statewide Institute 

for Court Management 

training programs. 

The next deadline for 

grant applications is November 1, 2017 (FY 2018, 

1st quarter). 

A white paper is now available from the Civil Justice Initiative that 

explores the feasibility of using data elements that are routinely collected in court case management systems to triage cases into the most 

appropriate pathway for civil case processing. 

The study is based on actual case complexity as measured by the degree 

of judicial involvement in resolving more than 500,000 fully disposed 

civil cases in Arizona, Missouri, and Palm Beach County, Florida. Using information collected from case pleadings (complaint and 

answer), the algorithms included in the final triage model assigned civil 

cases to the correct pathway in 93 percent of cases filed in limited jurisdiction courts/divisions and 74 percent of cases filed in general jurisdiction courts/divisions. The paper concludes with geographical and structural considerations for automated civil case triage, and implementation 

recommendations. 

This project gained momentum when the Conference of Chief Justices 

(CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) 

endorsed the work of the CCJ Civil Justice Committee, inclusive of 

recommendations that called for maximizing the efficiencies of court 

processes to minimize civil caseload delay. 

Continued from page 1 
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 

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 

John D. Minton, Jr. 

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 

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 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. 12 September 2017

Syracuse, New York; and, Cook County, Illinois. Some of the programs 

discussed in the guide have been inspired by Native peacemaking and 

employ traditional Native peacemakers in their training and implementation. They represent a sincere attempt to learn from Native American 

traditions to improve the resolution of controversies in state court systems. In this guide, courts are offered concrete elements necessary to 

continue to build bridges across their own communities and promote 

wellness and healing for all, including: 1) planning, case types, MOUs, 

referrals, and peacemaker qualifications; 2) recruitment of peacemakers, 

and training operations staff and peacemakers; and, 3) sustainability, 

long-term funding, and evaluation. 

In using this guide, state courts are encouraged to be mindful of the 

history, traditions, and culture that underlie the concepts and their significance to their home communities. Whenever possible, people interested in learning more should reach out to neighboring Native communities as well as Native American organizations that specialize in peacemaking processes. 

State Courts Explore Peacemaking Practices 

and Generate Implementation Guide 

Inspired by indigenous 

practices that focus on healing and restoration, as opposed to conventional adversarial models of justice, 

four state courts were selected to participate as 

Peacemaking Courts. Their 

journeys have now been 

incorporated in an implementation guide. This 

project was a collaboration 

between the Center for 

Court Innovation (CCI) and 

the National Center for 

State Courts (NCSC). 

Courts and communities are starting to explore whether and how to 

use lessons from Native peacemaking to improve processes. This 

guide focuses on stories and findings specifically from peacemaking 

state courts in Red Hook, New York; Washtenaw County, Michigan;