State Justice Institute

SJI Awards FY 2016 Second Quarter Grants

The SJI Board of Directors met on April 18, 2016, at the Supreme Court of Kentucky in Frankfort to make decisions on quarterly grant applications and awarded a total of twenty-one (21) new grants.

Two (2) Strategic Initiatives Grants were awarded: support to the Conference of Chief Justice/Conference of State Court Administrators (CCJ/COSCA) for the National Task Force on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices; and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to identify best practices in court privacy policy formulation.

Fourteen (14) Technical Assistance (TA) Grants were approved, including: assistance to the Judiciaries in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Hawaii to address human trafficking; support to the California Commission on Judicial Performance for a judicial mentoring project; strategic planning for the Pierce County, Washington District Court; and support to the Utah Administrative Office of the Courts for an innovative online dispute resolution program.

Five (5) Curriculum Adaptation & Training (CAT) Grants were approved, including: support to the Oregon Judiciary for language access training and development; the National Judicial College (NJC) for judicial webcasts and online learning modules; and the NCSC for digital evidence training.

D.C. Jury System Report

With support from SJI, the Council for Court Excellence (CCE) released Jury Service Revisited: Upgrades for the 21^st Century, a comprehensive review of the jury system in Washington, D.C., at an event hosted by Arnold & Porter (SJI-14-T-086).

The report builds on the Council’s 1998 seminal study on jury service. At the event, Professor Andrew Fergusson of the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law called the report, “a blueprint of change for jury service today.” The Washington Post featured the report in an editorial published on January 2, 2016, which noted that the report and its recommendations “must not be consigned to the shelves and instead should provide the basis for needed action.”

The report’s twenty-five recommendations address how the Court can: improve juror care; jury pool and summoning; and trial structure in regards to juries. At present, CCE staff is working with its Board and various stakeholders to initiate the process of implementing the report’s recommendations.

To improve the public’s access to justice and increase their understanding of the justice system, CCE has published and distributed over 360,000 copies of plain-language booklets and other materials explaining a wide variety of court and justice system issues.

This report is available online and through the NCSC Library eCollection.

National Summit on Human Trafficking and The State Courts: Videos Available Online

On October 8 and 9, 2015, teams from around the country came together in New York City for the National Summit on Human Trafficking and the State Courts hosted by then-Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, with key support from SJI (SJI-15-P-029).

The teams were made up of chief justices, court administrators, prosecutors, defense attorneys, advocates, and others with an interest or involvement in efforts to address human trafficking at the state level. There were teams from 46 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories in attendance.

The summit included panel discussions on Day 1 focusing on a variety of subjects related to the work of the state courts, along with their justice system and community partners, in responding to trafficking cases and victims. On Day 2, state teams began developing action plans. The plans incorporated the information and approaches presented on Day 1.

In order to make the expertise and knowledge shared at the Summit more widely available, video of the panel discussions is now available on the Summit website. Panel Videos from the National Summit included a range of topics discussed by experts in the field, including:

Human Trafficking from a Judicial Perspective
Labor Trafficking and Promising Programs
Working Together -Reaching Out to Our Justice Partners
Innovative Strategies to Address HT by Courts and Communities
State Courts Taking Action

The Human Trafficking and the States Courts Collaborative, played a major role in the National Summit, along with the New York Unified Court System. SJI began focusing on human trafficking and the state courts over three years ago by supporting the HT Collaborative and their work. This National Summit was a culmination of several years of work on this critical issue. Post-Summit, the HT Collaborative continues to provide technical assistance and training to the state courts on human trafficking.

NACM Midyear Meeting Content Available Online

SJI continued its grant support to the National Association for Court Management (NACM) in 2016, which ensured that the educational sessions of NACM’s Midyear and Annual meetings would be available online (SJI-15-N-030).

New this year was the inclusion of live streaming, in addition to post-conference content being available through the NACM website. Live streaming is a popular way for NACM members and non-members to receive educational content and learn more about NACM. Anyone interested may view online or download the Midyear Meeting content at their convenience. Included are high-impact sessions that address existing and emerging challenges for court professionals:

NACM also maintains an archive of past conference content and highlights accessible via their website.

NACM continues to provide education on SJI’s Priority Investment Areas including immigration issues, self-represented litigation, improving language access, remote technology, and human trafficking. The 2016 Annual Meeting will be held July 10 – 14, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Early Bird registration, available through June 3^rd, is already underway. The Annual Meeting Digital Agenda is available online including plenary topics, breakout session titles, and meetings of several state court stakeholder groups. SJI’s Executive Director, Jonathan Mattiello, will present with Jesse Rutledge of the NCSC and Stephanie Elliott Hess, NACM President, on July 11^th regarding the State of the State Courts 2015 Poll. This breakout session, like others, will explore the provision of justice, court performance, and the court manager’s role in maintaining accountability and transparency in order to ensure public trust and confidence in the judicial branch.

CCJ/COSCA National Task Force on Fines, Fees, and Bail Practices

With support from SJI, the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA) have formed a National Task Force on Fines, Fees and Bail Practices to address the ongoing impact that court fines and fees and bail practices have on communities. One of the aims of the nationally–led initiative is to understand and address how fines, fees, and bail disproportionately impact the economically disadvantaged across the United States.

The Task Force is comprised of national judicial and legal leaders, legal advocates, policy makers from state, county and municipal government, academics, and the public interest community. Several CCJ and COSCA members attended a two-day White House hearing in December led by DOJ that outlined the severity of this issue and the critical need to find solutions.

The Task Force co-chairs have formed three working groups:

Access to Justice and Fairness
Transparency, Governance & Structural Reform
Accountability, Judicial Performance and Qualifications, and Oversight

Among other responsibilities, the Task Force will:

Draft model statutes, court rules, written policies, processes and procedures for setting, collecting and waiving court-imposed payments;
Compile and create suggested best practices for setting, processing and codifying the collection of fines and fees and bail/bonds;
Review and revise suggested guidelines for qualifications and oversight of judges in courts created by local governments or traffic courts, including reviewing and updating state codes of judicial conduct and the jurisdiction of judicial conduct commissions to ensure their applicability to all judges;
Sponsor a court “hackathon” designed to develop innovative technological solutions that ensure courts are providing 21st century customer service through mobile applications and software platforms; and
Develop an online clearinghouse of information containing resources and best practices.

The project draws on how court functions ensure that the judiciary can fulfill its obligation of upholding the Constitution and protecting the individual rights of all citizens.

Body Worn Cameras and the Courts

With assistance from SJI, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) completed a comprehensive review of issues relating to body-worn cameras (BWC), and the collection, publication, testing, and use of video evidence generated during state court proceedings.

Following the April of 2015 release of the Body-Worn Cameras for Law Enforcement Assessment Report by U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which detailed a number of different BWC devices and capacities of the technology, questions began to surface related to recorded material, particularly as it is used in criminal and civil cases. The NCSC report titled, Body-Worn Cameras and the Courts, addresses a series of considerations state courts may want to explore in anticipation of more widespread adoption by law enforcement of BWCs and their continued presence in legal proceedings, such as:

Video and Lost or Destroyed Evidence;
Law Enforcement and BWC Policies;
Authentication and Publication of Video Evidence;
Relevant Case Law, including: Arizona v. Youngblood, Asherman, Merriman, and Durnwald Cases;
Statutory Issues;
Negative-Inference Instructions to the Jury; and,
Freedom-of-Information/Open-Records Statutes.

The appendices include comprehensive information regarding states that follow and do not follow the Youngblood standard, as well as a resource list for additional reports and collections related to current and pending BWC issues. The conclusion acknowledges BWCs for their ability to improve public trust, but also suggests that state courts need to implement practices and judicial education programs that account for the impacts on criminal cases during pretrial proceedings where video is lost.

SJI Board Appoints Acting Chairman

The Board of Directors has appointed Vice Chairman Daniel Becker to serve as Acting Chairman until June 2016. He has served as State Court Administrator at the Administrative Office of the Courts for the State of Utah since 1995. In that capacity, he is responsible to the Utah Supreme Court and Utah Judicial Council for the administration of the state court system. From 1984 to 1995, Mr. Becker worked for the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts serving in the positions of: Deputy Director (1993-1995); Court Services Administrator (1986-1993); and Assistant to the Director (1984-1986). He also held the position of Trial Court Administrator for the Fourteenth Judicial District of North Carolina, and Assistant Director of Operations for the Georgia Administrative Office of the Courts. From 2004 to 2005, he served as President of the Conference of State Court Administrators and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts. Mr. Becker was the recipient of the 2006 Warren E. Burger Award for Excellence in Judicial Administration. He was initially appointed to the SJI Board of Directors in 2010. He holds a B.A. and M.P.A. from Florida Atlantic University, and attended the Executive Session for State Court Leaders in the 21st Century at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Council for Court Excellence Releases Report on Jury Service in D.C.

With assistance from SJI, the Council for Court Excellence (CCE) embarked on a new comprehensive study of issues relating to jury service in D.C. from the perspective of jurors, judges, and lawyers (SJI-14-T-086).

Working out of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia over a 12-month period, a CCE Project Committee reexamined the jury system in the District of Columbia, as a follow up to CCE’s initial study of jury service in 1998. The Committee was comprised of subject matter experts, staff, and local stakeholders. The results of their reexamination are available in the final report: Jury Service Revisited: Upgrades for the 21st Century.

Included in the summary of recommendations are lists related to Juror Care; Jury Pool and Summoning; and Trial Structure. The report includes exhibits that feature items in use by the D.C. Courts including forms, pamphlets, and letters.

In addition to the collection of data and metrics provided by the Courts on jury trials and protocols used in selecting jurors, a total of 24 trials were observed; Voir Dire information evaluated in selected cases; and juror survey experiences analyzed. The report provides updated information relative to the jury experience that did not exist as a concern in 1988, namely social media-related policies for jurors, greater real-time access to information, and technology advancements in court systems allowing for greater automation of the process.

The Committee acknowledged that their overall goal is to support citizens in their roles as jurors and improve the effective administration of justice through juries. Beyond assembling and analyzing the requisite data, as well as generating findings for this report, the Committee is exploring the following next steps:

Encourage and support testing of proposed improvements through pilot projects in courtrooms of the D.C. Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for DC.
Support implementation of recommendations contained in the D.C. Jury Project Report.
Suggest educational programs for the bench, the bar, jurors, and the public concerning any prospective jury reforms.
Establish methods to periodically examine the utilization of any newly adopted rules and procedures to determine their effects, and suggest modifications when necessary.

STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF CHIEF JUSTICE JIM HANNAH

SJI is sad to announce the passing of our Board Chairman, and former Chief Justice of Arkansas, Jim Hannah.

Jim Hannah served as the Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court from 2005 to 2015, and successfully ran statewide contested elections for Chief Justice (2004) and Associate Justice (2000). At the time of his retirement, he was the longest serving judge in the state of Arkansas. He was appointed by Chief Justice Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court Judicial Conference Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction, and by President Obama to SJI, where he served as Chairman from 2010 until his death. He also served as President of the Conference of Chief Justices; Chairman of the National Center for State Courts Board of Directors; and former President and Board Member, Arkansas Judicial Council.

Chief Justice Hannah served as a Juvenile Judge for White County, Arkansas from 1976-1978, and was elected as a Chancery/Probate Judge in the 17^th Judicial District, 1979-2000. His previous work in the legal profession included serving as the Searcy City Attorney; Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Woodruff County; City Judge for Kensett and Rosebud; City Attorney for Augusta, Bradford, Des Arc, Garner, Kensett and Rosebud; and Private Attorney, Lightle, Tedder, Hannah & Beebe Law Firm, Searcy, Arkansas.

His many accolades and accomplishments include the establishment of the White County Juvenile Court and Juvenile Probation Office; former Chair, Arkansas Judicial Council’s Judicial Resources Assessment, Legislative, and Retirement committees; Member, Arkansas Supreme Court Committees for Access to Justice, Client Security Fund, Technology, Child Support and District Court Resources Board; Chair, Drug Court Advisory Committee; Faculty Advisor, National Judicial College; Member, Arkansas Board of Pardons and Paroles, 1972-79; former legislative assistant to then-Governor Dale Bumpers; former Chairman and past member of the Arkansas Court Reporters Examiners Board; and Member, Arkansas Bar Association.

Chief Justice Hannah graduated from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1968, and held a BSBA (Accounting) from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

2015 State of State Courts Survey Results

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) recently released the results of the 2015 State of State Courts Survey.

The results show that courts remain the most trusted branch of government, and Americans recognize their unique role in protecting individual rights. However, persistent concerns about customer service, inefficiency, and bias are undermining the public’s confidence in the courts. Key findings from this year’s survey show that concerns about inefficiency and unfairness are deep-seated and real, and African Americans express significantly less faith in the courts than the population as a whole.

The survey is based on telephone interviews with 1,000 registered voters nationwide. The interviews were completed between October 26-29, 2015 by GBA Strategies.