Immigration and the State Courts Initiative Examines 

Use of State Criminal Court Records 

Volume 21, No. 10 July 2011 

E-SJI NEWS SJI NEWS

In this Issue 

Immigration and the 

State Courts Initiative 

1 

State Court 

Reengineering Projects 

2 

Status of FY 2012 

Appropriations 

2 

SJI Website Highlights 

SIG Program 

2 

Renton, WA Municipal 

Court 

3 

 

Page 1 

The primary purpose of this publications is to alert 

all state court officials responsible for creating and 

storing records related to criminal proceedings, including criminal court judges, clerical staff, administrative staff, bailiffs, court reporters, and others, on 

which records created in state court criminal trials 

may require special attention to clarity, completeness, and accuracy due to their potential impact on 

an immigrant defendant in subsequent immigration 

proceedings. 

The types of records routinely used in state court 

proceedings with potential immigration importance, 

which are examined in detail in the publication, include: 

 written plea agreements; 

 transcripts of plea colloquy; 

 stipulations to factual basis of plea; 

 rulings of law and findings of fact by a trial 

judge; 

 jury forms and tools including instructions, verdict forms and judgment of conviction; 

 judgment of conviction; 

 sentences; 

 restitution orders; 

 abstract of judgment; 

 police reports; 

 complaint applications; 

 charging documents; 

 complaint information or indictment; 

 presentence reports; and, 

 probation reports. 

CPPS stresses throughout the publication that federal 

immigration courts routinely use a wide range of 

records from a state criminal trial in determining 

whether a particular conviction is for a crime that 

carries immigration consequences under federal 

immigration law. In addition, individuals applying 

for naturalization may need state court records to 

establish the required good moral character. The 

number of people who are potentially affected is 

substantial. For example, there are over eight million lawful permanent resident immigrants now living in the United States, who already meet the residency requirements for naturalization, many of 

whom may need to use state court records in the 

naturalization process. 

Uses of State Criminal Court Records in Immigration Proceedings can be downloaded from the CPPS 

website. 

For additional information about the Immigration 

and the State Courts Initiative, including available 

technical assistance, contact CPPS at (303) 285-

7115, or Dr. John Martin at jamartin@indra.com. 

Did You Know? 

SJI joined Facebook and now posts important information on projects, sponsored events, and grant application deadlines. Connect to our page using the 

link below. 

The SJI-supported Center For 

Public Policy Studies (CPPS) 

Immigration and the State 

Courts: Meeting the Challenge, 

Phase III (SJI-10-P-045) project 

has released a free publication 

that examines the ways in which 

state criminal court records may 

be used in federal immigration 

court proceedings. 
SJI has long recognized that the current economic conditions require an investment in 

state court reengineering efforts to improve 

efficiency, address emerging needs, and prepare for future challenges. Through the Strategic Initiatives Grant (SIG) program, more 

than $2.5 million has been granted to state 

courts and a network of national providers, 

including the National Center for State 

Courts (NCSC) to perform analysis and provide plans, tools, and resources. In addition, 

a partnership with the Department of Justice/

Office of Justice Programs/Bureau of Justice 

Assistance (BJA) has increased these reengineering efforts. 

NCSC recently released a compilation of 

both completed and ongoing reengineering 

projects in Oregon, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Vermont. Included 

in the 11-page document is a matrix detailing 

the most versatile recommendations across 

the states for the following categories: 

1) Centralization; 2) Video Conferencing; 

3) Processes; 4) Structure; and 5) EEverything. 

NCSC lists changes and/or recommendations 

that each state is undertaking as part of their 

reengineering. Some specific examples highlighted by state include: 

 Oregon: establishing a process for intuitive self-help services for e-filing, implementing case triage, and maximizing staff 

resources by formulating procedures for 

an unbundled approach to case review. 

 Minnesota: centralizing a range of functions (including payables, jury summons, 

and probate annual reports), expanding 

the use of hearing officers, and implement e-filing for several types of cases. 

 New Hampshire: unifying the courts 

(probate, district and family division), 

restructuring judicial and management 

operations of the circuit court, and utilizing various technologies to reduce time 

and costs associated with travel. 

 New Mexico: review process, rule, and 

statutes for possible changes that will 

promote efficient case processing, expand 

the use of problem solving courts, and 

invest in technology to accomplish efiling for all case types, digital recording, 

and collections. 

 Vermont: reduce middle management 

positions and move to a single superior 

court with four divisions, improve assistance to self-represented litigants, and 

eliminate redundant appeals. 

A copy of the document can be downloaded 

from the SJI website’s new SIG program tab 

under the heading, State Court Reengineering. 

New Tab on SJI Website 

Highlights SIG Program 

The SJI website now features a new tab on its 

Strategic Initiatives Grants (SIG) program. 

The SIG program addresses national court 

issues as they occur, and develops practical 

solutions. SJI is currently focusing on State 

Court Reengineering and Immigration Issues 

in the State Courts through the SIG program. 

The tab catalogs grant products for each 

topic, links to various resources, and offers a 

comprehensive array of final reports and 

documents on these critical issues. 

NCSC Issues Compilation on State Court 

Reengineering Projects 

Status of Fiscal Year 2012 

Appropriations 

The Subcommittee included $5,121,000 for 

SJI; the same level appropriated under the FY 

2011 full-year Continuing Resolution (P.L. 

112-10). On July 13, the full House Appropriations Committee met to consider the CJS 

bill. The full Committee approved the same 

level of funding for SJI; however, an amendment was offered and approved that reduced 

all departments and agencies in the bill by 0.1 

percent (for SJI this amounted to $5,121). 

The final Committee mark for SJI was 

$5,115,879. SJI greatly appreciates the Committee’s continued support of SJI’s mission. 

On July 7, 2011, the House Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Subcommittee on Appropriations marked up the FY 2012 appropriations bill. 

E-SJI News Volume 21, No. 10 July 2011 

Page 2 
The Renton Municipal Court, situated south of 

Seattle, Washington, is a limited jurisdiction 

court facing caseload increases due to city 

annexation of surrounding communities. The 

Court requested assistance from the National 

Center for State Courts (NCSC) through an SJI

-supported Technical Assistance grant (SJI-10-

T-153) to conduct an assessment of operations 

in preparation for the expanded workload. 

NCSC consultants specifically focused the 

assessment on the following considerations: 

 Current operations in the light of a pending 

increase in city population; 

 Case management, workflow, and workload in relation to staff and judicial resources; and, 

 Services that the Court provides to the 

public and City stakeholders, primarily the 

Police Department, City Attorney, and the 

Public Defender. 

The Court’s team of 15 professionals, led by a 

Presiding Judge and a Court Services Director, 

are responsible for adjudicating a range of 

criminal cases and civil citations or ordinances 

that come before the Court. 

In 2008, the Court experienced a dramatic 

increase in cases due to the installation of 

traffic safety cameras, which added several 

thousand new cases per year, but no additional 

staff or funding to support the increased demand for services. Additionally, resource 

constraints at the county level have resulted in 

many cases that would have traditionally been 

prosecuted by the county, now being proseRenton, WA Municipal Court Completes 

Operational Assessment in Preparation for Growth 

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 

Judge 

Washington County Circuit Court 

Hillsboro, OR 

Treasurer 

Hernan D. Vera 

President & CEO 

Public Counsel 

Los Angeles, CA 

Robert A. Miller 

Chief Justice (Ret.) 

Supreme Court of South Dakota 

Pierre, SD 

Chase T. Rogers 

Chief Justice 

Supreme Court of Connecticut 

Hartford, CT 

Wilfredo Martinez 

County Judge 

9th Judicial Circuit of Florida 

Orlando, FL 

Marsha J. Rabiteau 

Policy Consultant 

Rabiteau Consulting 

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 state courts, and foster innovative, 

efficient solutions to common issues faced by 

all courts. SJI is governed by a Board of Directors appointed by the President. 

E-SJI News Volume 21, No. 10 July 2011 

cuted in the Municipal Courts. 

NCSC consultants generated a total of 38 recommendations addressing nearly every aspect 

of the court, including personnel, operations, 

communications, and resource management. 

A copy of the report is available at the NCSC 

Library and Online Digital Archive.