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 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 high-profile 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.