Volume 22, No. 8 May 2012 

E-SJI NEWS SJI NEWS

In this Issue 

3rd Quarter Grant 

Applications 

1 

Wisconsin Justice 

Initiative 

1 

New Mexico AOC 

Court Officer Online 

Training Program 

2 

CCE Video Available 

for Download 

2 

Mahoning County, OH 

Court Consolidation 

3 

Page 1 

SJI received 15 grant applications requesting a total 

of $756,684 for the 3rd quarter of FY 2012. The 

Board will meet on June 18, 2012 to award new 

grants for the 3rd quarter. The results of this Board 

meeting will be available the following week. 

The final grant deadline for FY 2012 (4th quarter) is: 

August, 1, 2012. 

SJI staff are available to help interpret the Grant 

Guideline, and offer assistance on other matters related to grant applications. All future applicants are 

reminded that they are required to describe how their 

proposed project addresses one or more of SJI's new 

SJI Receives FY 2012 3rd Quarter 

Grant Applications

Priority Investment Areas. In addition, applicants 

must delineate specific performance outcomes and 

define how success will be measured. 

Several applications submitted this quarter were 

developed from SJI’s previous Strategic Initiatives 

Grants (SIG) program solicitation on SelfRepresented Litigation and the state courts. Increases in self-represented litigants continue to challenge state courts, as they seek innovative methods 

to address the issue despite limited resources. In 

addition to the other Priority Investment Areas, SJI 

remains committed to assisting the state courts in 

assuring access to justice for these litigants. 

Wisconsin Justice Initiative Identifies 

Promising Sentencing Alternatives

With support from SJI (SJI-10-N-004), the Wisconsin Justice Initiative, comprised of the 

Wisconsin Supreme Court, Director of State Courts, and the Planning and Policy Advisory 

Committee (PPAC), recently released findings and recommendations from an assessment 

conducted by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) on three promising alternatives 

public safety, reduced recidivism, and reduced costs 

associated with incarceration. 

The partners of the Wisconsin Justice Initiative requested SJI assistance in December 2009. The final 

report, Effective Justice Strategies in Wisconsin/A 

Report of Findings and Recommendations, was two 

years in the making. NCSC visited 15 counties 

across the state and also surveyed numerous justice 

system stakeholders to assess the value of a range of 

strategies developed in Wisconsin to improve public 

safety. 

The report provides recommendations on developing 

a statewide strategy and plan of action for expansion 

to other counties throughout Wisconsin. 

to incarceration. The report includes a thorough analysis of current initiatives in several counties including, 

the risk-and-needs pilot project, Assess, Inform, and 

Measure (AIM); problem-solving courts; and criminal 

justice collaborating committees. It also details best 

practices for each of these initiatives and how the Initiative has leveraged local support for breaking with 

traditional processes to improve the justice system and 

outcomes for offenders. These improvements are 

marked by common measurements of success, including increased 
SJI awarded the New Mexico Administrative 

Office of the Courts (AOC) a grant (SJI-11-E153) in June 2011 after the AOC experienced 

inconsistencies with state and county probation compliance programs. In New Mexico, 

probation duties are the constitutional responsibility of the executive branch, housed within 

the New Mexico Corrections Department 

(NMCD). Because of limited resources, the 

probation department observes a policy that 

prioritizes surveillance efforts on felony offenders. Per the State’s statute, county officers 

and the programs they administer must follow 

the misdemeanor guidelines of the AOC. 

The New Mexico Judiciary did not have an 

internal training program for officers, and 

instead had often depended on applicants’ 

prior training in law enforcement or as NMCD 

probation officers as qualifying background 

for their positions. The AOC and county affiliates did team up to host two training sessions. However, the State’s budget reductions 

resulted in a 13 percent cut to the Judiciary. 

Courts no longer had funding available for 

training and travel, since that funding was 

reallocated to cover basic operational costs. 

The New Mexico Judiciary recognized the 

need to establish a training regimen for its own 

On March 27, 2012, the Council for Court 

Excellence (CCE) held a program titled, The 

Technology and Law of Cameras in the Courtroom, in Washington, D.C. A video of that 

program is now available online. 

Made possible through an SJI grant (SJI-11-E176), this program explores the implications of 

the media presence in the courtroom. 

CCE Releases Video from 

Bench-Bar-Media Dialogue Project 

E-SJI News Volume 22, No. 8 May 2012 

Page 2 

New Mexico Releases Online 

Court Officer Basic Training Program 

court probation/surveillance officers. Given 

the Judiciary’s funding and staff issues, the 

AOC determined the most efficient method to 

train officers was to provide the classroom 

portion of the training via web-enabled online 

modules. Some components of the training, 

such as CPR/First Aid and self-defense are 

still required to be in a classroom setting; however, most of this type of training is available 

through various agencies throughout the state. 

The Judiciary did not want to delay cursory 

training for the officers because they would be 

performing their duties without 

statutory knowledge or awareness of best practices. This could lead to significant safety 

issues for the officers. 

The Judiciary worked with a contractor to turn 

the existing training footage into web-based 

learning modules through the use of a multimedia software program called QuidPro®. 

QuidPro® e-Learning Software is a revolutionary product that allows organizations to develop innovative, interactive, educational programs. The completed programs are considered cross platforms and can either be burned 

to CD or DVD, posted on the internet, or used 

with a local network. The court officer basic 

training includes the following modules: 1) 

Ethics; 2) Report Writing Basics and Documentation; 3) Office Safety; 4) Introduction to 

Controlled Substances and Drug Testing; 5) 

Field Safety; 6) Law Block; and 7) Stress 

Management. 

The New Mexico Judiciary reports there will 

be approximately $943 in cost savings per 

officer trained using the online training. The 

savings is realized not only in staff time, but in 

other expenses associated with costly travel. 

The module is available to the public and can 

be viewed at http://www.nmcobt.com. 

For technical assistance with the video download process or questions regarding the content of 

the video, please contact Peter Willner at willner@courtexcellence.org. 
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 Law Center 

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 

David V. Brewer 

Chief Judge 

Oregon Court of Appeals 

Salem, OR 

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 the state courts. 

E-SJI News Volume 22, No. 8 May 2012 

Mahoning County, Ohio 

Completes Study of Court Consolidation 

The Mahoning County Bar Association 

(MCBA), on behalf of its four local courts, 

received a grant in FY 2010 (SJI-10-T-090) 

from SJI to contract with the National Center 

for State Courts (NCSC) on a study of potential court consolidation for all courts in the 

county. This included a municipal (limited 

jurisdiction) court system based in Youngstown, Ohio. 

Prior to the project, the Ohio Supreme Court 

and State Court Administrator’s Office had 

been encouraging courts and counties to move 

towards greater efficiencies, and identified 

court consolidation as one of the methods of 

achieving those goals. With the support of the 

Judiciary and AOC, as well as the Mahoning 

County Board of Commissioners, the MCBA 

began coordinating with the NCSC to submit 

an application to SJI for further support and 

funding of the analysis. 

With one of the more robust municipal courts 

systems in the country, Ohio’s courts of limited jurisdiction have responsibilities that go 

beyond standard municipal court case proceedings. Mahoning County has a strong bar association who, along with other stakeholders, 

observed the difficulties of the current court 

system. Of particular interest to the MCBA, 

County Commissioners, and courts, were the 

following considerations: 1) constitutional and 

statutory framework for limited jurisdiction 

courts in Ohio; 2) statutes explicitly dealing 

with limited jurisdiction courts in Mahoning 

County; 3) potential governance and management structure required to consolidate and 

operate the courts post-consolidation; and 4) 

consolidated court system facilities. 

The project recently concluded, and a final 

report was released detailing the advantages 

and disadvantages of consolidating the limited 

jurisdiction courts in Mahoning County below 

the Court of Common Pleas, including four 

County-area courts, the Youngstown Municipal Court, two additional municipal courts, 

and three mayor courts. Ultimately, the report

concludes that there are a number of benefits 

to court consolidation in Mahoning County 

and provides a 3-phase plan to complete the 

process.