In July 2016, the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) approved a resolution endorsing the Recommendations of its Civil Justice Improvements Committee. The Committee’s report, Call to Action: Achieving Justice for All, encourages the state courts to improve their civil justice systems by providing 13 recommendations. Since then, the Call to Action and supporting materials have been accessed, …
Read MoreFormer SJI Board Chair Chief Justice Jim Hannah was posthumously inducted into the Warren E. Burger Society during the National Center for State Court’s (NCSC) Annual Recognition Luncheon on November 17, 2016. Chief Justice Hannah, who passed away in January 2016 at the age of 71, had served as SJI Board Chair since 2010, and …
Read MoreWith support from SJI, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and the Texas Office of Court Administration partnered to evaluate the impact of the Texas Expedited Actions Rules, which were enacted in 2013 to reduce expense and delay in civil litigation. The rules are mandatory for almost all civil cases involving monetary damages of …
Read MoreThe SJI Board of Directors has established Priority Investment Areas for FY 2017 grant funding. SJI will allocate significant financial resources through grant-making for these Priority Investment Areas (in no ranking order): Self-Represented Litigation – Promoting court-based self-help centers, online services, and increasing use of court-based volunteer attorney programs. Language Access – Improving language access …
Read MoreThe Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), released its 2015-2016 policy paper recommending specific policies and practices that courts can adopt to minimize the negative impact of legal financial obligations (LFOs) and end so-called “debtors’ prisons,” while ensuring accountability for individuals violating the law. This paper examines the growth of debt imposed by legislative bodies …
Read MoreCourting Justice is an unprecedented multi-city town hall series that invites state supreme, appellate and trial court judges to step down from the bench and listen to new perspectives on how the United States court system can better deliver justice for all. With support from SJI, these town halls have enabled the public to voice their …
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