Category: Announcements

Learn guidelines and steps courts can take to combat disinformation – before an incident develops – in this second installment in our disinformation series. We’ll discuss the work of Arizona’s Task Force on Countering Disinformation and a recently adopted resolution from the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators. We’ll also hear from an industry expert with deep knowledge of national security and disinformation and learn about NCSC’s “Combating Disinformation” playbook for courts.

Thursday, October 6th 3:00 PM ET.

Moderator:

• Marcia Meis | Director, Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts

Panelists:

• Preston Golson | Director, Brunswick Group, Washington, D.C.
• Aaron Nash | Director, Certification & Licensing Division, Arizona Supreme Court

Register here

Thursday, September 29th. 4:00-5:00 PM ET.

During this webinar, hear experts discuss why appearance rates matter, low-cost interventions courts can implement to improve appearance rates, and what broad-scale reform to improve court appearance rates can look like. NCSC will also convene interested judges, court administrators, and practitioners from around the country to share their experiences and brainstorm new ways to help court users overcome barriers to accessing court.

Moderator:

• Shelly Cern | Principal Court Management Consultant, National Center for State Courts

Panelists:

• Alissa Fishbane | Managing Director, ideas42
• Pamerson Ifill |  Deputy Commissioner of Pretrial, State of Massachusetts
• Martha Wright | Judicial Council of California
• Judge Milas “Butch” Hale | District Court of Arkansas, Sherwood 

Register here

NIWAP Upcoming Webinars

1. Webinar: Naturalization of VAWA, SIJS, U, and T Visa Recipient Survivors: TTA from USCIS and NIWAP (September 23, 2022)
2. Webinar: New Regulation Policies and Court Rulings’ Impact on State Courts Issuing Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) Orders (October 4, 2022)
3. Webinar: What Judges, Attorneys, and Prosecutors Need to Know About How VAWA Confidentiality Impacts Discovery in Cases Involving Immigrant Survivors (October 14, 2022)

Naturalization of VAWA, SIJS, U, and T Visa Recipient Survivors: TTA from USCIS and NIWAP

 Friday, September 23, 2022, 12:00-1:30 pm EST

Description

This webinar will provide participants with an overview of the naturalization process of VAWA, SIJS, U, and T visa recipients.  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will discuss their work to remove barriers to citizenship and promote naturalization under  Executive Order 14012 and the Interagency Strategy for Promoting Naturalization, as well as review the naturalization application process and address the particular circumstances, needs, and concerns of lawful permanent residents who were VAWA self-petitioners, T and U visa holders, and Special Immigrant Juveniles.

Information regarding the training and technical assistance NIWAP can provide on immigrant survivors’ naturalization, and other Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) immigration matters will also be shared during the webinar.

Faculty

1. Leslye E. Orloff,  Director,NIWAP, American University, Washington College of Law
2. Kelly Ryan,  USCIS, Senior Advisor USCIS
3. Mary Flores,  USCIS, Chief of Citizenship Education Branch
4. Colleen Zengotitabengoa,  Chief of the Refugee and Asylum Law Division in the USCIS Office of Chief Counsel
5. Edna Yang, Co-Executive Director, American Gateways

Target Audience

This FREE webinar is designed for victim advocates, attorneys, and law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, OVW grantees, other victim service providers who would like up-to-date information on how NIWAP can support their work, as well as how to aid noncitizen survivors in attaining naturalization.

New Regulation Policies and Court Rulings’ Impact on State Courts Issuing Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) Orders

 Tuesday, October 4, 2022, 3:00-4:00 PM EST

Description

In 2022, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services issued new Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) regulations and policy guidance (March 2022) and an updated SIJS policy manual (May 2022).  In August 2022 the California Supreme Court issued a ruling In Re Guardianship of Saul H. that provides helpful direction to state courts issuing SIJS predicate orders. 

This webinar will provide updates, answer questions, and describe the impact of these new regulations, policies, and court rulings for state juvenile and family court judges issuing predicate orders that SIJS eligible children need to file for SIJS immigration relief.

Faculty will provide practice tips for judges and lawyers in addition to discussing best practices for drafting state court orders.  Faculty will also describe the impact these new policies and rulings have for state court practice in SIJ S cases and how these policies benefit the vulnerable immigrant children seeking help from state courts and through SIJS immigration protections. 

Faculty 

1. David B. Thronson,  Director, Talsky Center for Human Rights of Women and Children, Michigan State University College of Law
2. Hon. Victor Reyes (Ret.), Judge-In-Residence, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ)
3. Leslye E. Orloff, Director, National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project (NIWAP), Washington College of Law

Target Audience 

This webinar is designed for state court judges and the attorneys who represent immigrant children seeking SIJS orders from state family and juvenile courts.

What Judges, Attorneys, and Prosecutors Need to Know About How VAWA Confidentiality Impacts Discovery in Cases Involving Immigrant Survivors

Friday, October 14, 2022, 1:00-2:30 pm EST

Description
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) confidentiality offers federal immigration law protections enacted to prevent perpetrators from learning about, interfering with, and obtaining information contained in survivors’ victim-based applications for immigration relief (VAWA, Battered Spouse Waiver, U and T visa cases). The faculty (judge, former prosecutor, family lawyer) will discuss how courts, prosecutors and attorneys should respond when offenders seek discovery of VAWA confidentiality protected information in criminal, family, and civil court cases. Best practices for anticipating, preparing for, and addressing VAWA confidentiality discovery issues in a manner that promotes and protects victim safety and offender accountability will be highlighted.  Attendees will receive up-to-date VAWA confidentiality case law; DHS policies, and practice pointers.

Faculty

1. Hon. Mary Weir, Jackson County, Missouri, Associate Circuit Judge
2. Jane Anderson, Attorney Advisor, AEquitas
3. Leslye Orloff, Director, NIWAP

Target Audience

This webinar is designed for judges, prosecutors, victims’ family and civil lawyers, victim advocates, and OVW grantees. 

This webinar will review key considerations identified through NCSC’s critical conversations with court stakeholders across the country related to portals and e-filing systems for domestic violence cases, such as addressing safety and confidentiality/privacy concerns, challenges to accessibility, support strategies to help petitioners navigate technology, and court processes and collaborations necessary to build a robust framework.

1:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, September 27

As a result of this program, participants will be better able to:

• Explain the benefits and challenges, especially for users, of e-filing systems for domestic violence protection orders
• Identify the specific obstacles and strategies to overcome them, regarding user safety, confidentiality/privacy, and accessibility of e-filing systems
• Describe the challenges petitioners face in navigating the e-filing process and how to address them by providing necessary support through access to advocates and other strategies
• Effectively collaborate with key stakeholders to develop, implement, and assess the effectiveness of e-filing systems

Facilitators:

• Alicia Davis | Principal Court Management Consultant, National Center for State Courts
• Kathryn Genthon | Senior Court Research Associate, National Center for State Courts

Panelists:

• Darren Mitchell | Consultant, National Center for State Courts
• Ayyoub Ajmi | Director of Technology at University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law; Founder CiviLaw.Tech
• Staci Pratt | Head of Student Services and Outreach, Assistant Professor of Teaching, William A. Wise Law Library, University of Colorado Law School, Boulder
• Kay Radwanski | Senior Court Policy Analyst, Arizona Administrative Office of the Courts

Register here

Disinformation and misinformation campaigns undermine public confidence in our country’s institutions, including courts. These campaigns can cause a crisis of confidence that can affect the ability of courts to do their duty and potentially harm the people who depend on court services. We will kick off a two-part webinar series by exploring “Today’s Disinformation Threats.” Featuring nationally recognized subject-matter experts, this webinar will highlight the current disinformation landscape, forecast disinformation trends on the horizon, and detail why courts should be concerned.

3 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 22

Moderator:
• Anna Blackburne-Rigsby | Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals

Panelists:
• Jennifer Rubin | Opinion Columnist Covering Policy and Politics, Washington Post
• Suzanne Spaulding | Senior Adviser for Homeland Security and Director of the Defending Democratic Institutions Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

Register here