SJI NEWSLETTER SJI NEWSLETTER

In this Issue 

Page 1 

Volume 27, No. 8 

New High Profile Cases 

Website 

1 

Improving Access to Justice for Native Peoples 1-2 

Final Report on Public 

Access to Court Records 

2 

NCSC 2016 Annual 

Report 

2 

NACM Annual Meeting 3 

May 2017 

Accepting 

Submissions

SJI is accepting submissions 

from its grantees for the summer 

issues of the 

SJI Newsletter. 

Articles of fewer than 300 words 

are preferred and should report 

on the culminating work of single grant year or significant 

progress of multi-year project. 

Please send articles via e-mail to 

kathryn.tuck@sji.gov 

crowd issues, especially in a rapidly evolving technological environment.” 

Judges and court professionals now have online access to the tools necessary to plan and manage highprofile cases in their courts. The new website offers 

best practices, techniques, and tools that have proven 

useful to courts that have experienced high-profile 

trials, in addition to checklists to help the trial judge, 

administrative officer, security personnel, jury managers, and others provide public access while ensuring a 

fair trial. The website also features the top six considerations for courts confronted with a high-profile trial, 

and helps provide answers to these issues and questions. 

Made possible through an SJI grant, the 

new Managing High-Profile Cases for the 21st Century website is a joint project of the National Center 

for State Courts (NCSC), the Conference of Court 

Public Information Officers (CCPIO), and the National Judicial College (NJC). 

“The vast majority of cases in our state courts are 

resolved with little or no fanfare,” NCSC President 

Mary McQueen said. “But when public scrutiny 

focuses on a particular trial – whether it involves a 

heinous crime, a celebrity, or a societal issue – 

judges and other court leaders need effective tools to 

help them manage intense media, security, and 

New Website Provides Resources for 

Managing High Profile Cases 

Improving Access to Justice for 

Native Peoples in State Courts 

The New Mexico Center for Language Access

(NMCLA) at the New Mexico Administrative Office 

of the Courts, with support from the New Mexico 

Judiciary, and in collaboration with the University of 

New Mexico School of Law and Judicial Education 

Center has recently completed their grant to improve 

access to justice for native peoples in the courts (SJI14-N-153). 

Continued on page 2 
Page 2 

SJI Newsletter Volume 27, No. 8 May 2017 

The report is presented in a 30-minute online video format, which takes 

the viewer through the design and intent of the project, introduces key 

partners, and includes perspectives from the Native American community. Courts embarking on work with language access, interpretation, 

and mediation projects involving the Native American community are 

encouraged to review the video and contact the NMCLA if they have 

questions. 

District of Columbia Court of Appeals and CCE 

Publish Final Report on Public Access 

The video is available online: http://bit.ly/2renRlN

Improving language access in the state courts through remote interpretation (outside the courtroom), interpreter certification, courtroom services (plain language forms, websites, etc.) remains a Priority Investment Area for SJI in FY 2017. 

NCSC 2016 Report Highlights SJI Projects 

Released this spring, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) 2016 

Annual Report features a wide array of accomplishments related to 

current court issues, ongoing court education, and milestone events, 

This year, several SJI grant-funded projects 

were featured in the report. They include: 

NATIONAL INITIATIVES

National Task Force on Fines, Fees and 

Bail Practices: pages 6 – 7; 

Civil Justice Initiative: pages 8 – 9; 

Courts and Community Engagement – 

Listening Tour: page 14; and, 

The National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness’s Town 

Hall; page 15. 

STATE COURT SPECIFIC PROJECTS

 State courts strengthen guardianship oversight: page 11; and, 

Kentucky courts’ pretrial services program tour: page 11. 

The report also includes mention of the posthumous induction of former Arkansas Chief Justice 

James Hannah to the Burger Society. At the time 

of his passing, in January 2016 at the age of 71, 

he served as Chair of the NCSC Board of Directors, President of the Conference of Chief Justices, and Chair of the State Justice Institute 

(SJI). 

Continued from page 1 

The Remote Public Access to Electronic Court Records: A CrossJurisdictional Review for the D.C. Courts report, prepared by the Remote Access to Court Electronic Records (RACER) Committee of the 

Council for Court Excellence, identifies best practices from across the 

nation on public access to electronic court case files. 

Completed at the request of former Chief Judge Eric Washington of the 

D.C. Court of Appeals, this report outlines practices intended to inform 

the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, which has recently implemented electronic filing. Additionally, the report will help enhance 

public access to the D.C. Court of Appeals, which has begun gradually 

implementing an electronic case filing system on a voluntary basis 

which will augment the operation of its automated case-flow management system. 

Included in the report are: 

Key findings related to the following areas - scope of access; bulk 

data availability; privacy; governance structures; fees; maintenance; and usability; 

Best practices related to each of the aforementioned areas; 

Evaluation of other state court systems relative to each area, inclusive of policy considerations that the D.C.-based courts may face; 

and, 

Appendices that delve deeper in to the other approaches adopted 

by states creating a public access legal framework. 

State courts were surveyed to acquire the necessary benchmarking information and state court data regarding level of access to the public via 

online or in-house systems. Overall, results continue to show a marked 

increase in jurisdictions utilizing technology to “e-file” and adopting a 

broad movement towards online access to court records. 
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.) 

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 

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 27, No. 8 May 2017 

NACM/IACA Will Foster Professional Development 

on a Global Scale 

The National Association for Court Management (NACM) has 

secured support from SJI to curate and stream content online during its annual meeting, July 9 – 13, 2017, at the Hyatt Regency 

Crystal City, Arlington VA (Washington D.C.). 

As always, court professionals are encouraged to attend professional development opportunities like these in person, as they are 

enriched by networking. This year is a joint meeting with the 

International Association for Court Administration (IACA), with 

court colleagues from around the world. 

The annual meeting is expected to sell out, so early registration is 

encouraged. Early bird registration (available until June 15) is: 

$585 for NACM and IACA Members, and $710 for non-members. 

A daily rate is also available if you are unable to make the entire 

meeting. Special rates for groups of ten or more are available — 

contact conferences@ncsc.org