Supporting the Nation's Judicial System & the Public it Serves

Strategic Planning

Courts must rely on a deliberate process to determine organizational values, mission, vision, goals, and objectives.  SJI promotes structured planning processes and organizational assessments to assist courts in setting priorities, allocating resources, and identifying areas for on-going improvements in efficiency and effectiveness.  Strategic planning includes elements of court governance, data collection, management, analysis, sharing; and sustainable court governance models that drive decision-making.  Strategic plans and outcomes should be communicated to judges, court staff, justice partners, and the public. 

California Trial Courts Caseflow Management Technical Assistance

The Judicial Council of California will leverage national experts for guidance and diagnostic support to improve caseflow management in all case types; conduct diagnostic studies in a selection of  courts to determine relationship between time to disposition and measures such as average number of hearings per case, continuances, etc.; consider the impact of court organizational strategies, such as master calendar versus direct; and produce a report, present findings, and recommend next steps for implementation.

Second Judicial District Court Caseflow Assessment

The Second Judicial District Court of Nevada, in partnership with the National Center for State Courts, will make recommendations for improving operations based on national best practices and standards. The study will focus on operations for the nine District Court judges who are supported by staff attorneys, clerks, and judicial assistants. The study would include interviews with court administration, information technology staff, and representatives from justice partner agencies.

Idaho Supreme Court Strategic Planning Initiative

The Idaho Supreme Court, in partnership with the National Center for State Courts, will develop a state-wide strategic plan and an accompanying action-oriented, time-bound operational plan. This plan will assist court leadership by providing clear and common direction, informing allocation of resources, and improving a collaborative culture in the judicial branch.

Building a Future Ready Court – Developing a Roadmap for the Future

The Riverside Superior Court (Riverside County, California) will initiate a strategic planning process.  The court’s Presiding Judge, Assistant Presiding Judge, and Court Executive Officer (CEO) are eager to build a future ready court; all are committed to this project and process. The strategic planning process will allow the court to build consensus around a future direction and improvement priorities.

Sixth Circuit Court Strategic Planning Project

The Sixth Circuit Court of Michigan will transition to a new case management system in the next five years. This transition provides an opportunity to evaluate existing operations, and business practices to maximize efficiencies and enhance access to justice. The Court seeks a strategic plan that delivers services more efficiently. The Court recognizes that it lacks the subject matter expertise to develop and implement this strategic plan internally and will retain an expert to facilitate the process.

Kansas Court Clerk Organizational Assessment

The Kansas Supreme Court, in partnership with the National Center for State Courts, will conduct an organizational assessment of the clerk’s offices in three Kansas District Courts to determine the personnel structure needed to meet the demands of current and projected workloads. The results of the assessments will be used as models to consider throughout the state.

Caseflow Management Workshop

The Alaska Court System will provide training and implementation support for trial court judges regarding caseflow management to address backlog, particularly in criminal cases. The National Center for State Courts to provide a one-day training regarding caseflow management fundamentals and best practices followed by several months of technical assistance to support implementation of new case management tools.

Strategic Planning Facilitation

The South Dakota Unified Judicial System will facilitate strategic planning sessions and examine current realities, define a vision for the future, and develop a strategic plan to focus on objectives and initiatives to promote access to justice and employee efforts and innovation.

Maryland Judiciary Strategic Planning and Court Governance Assessment

The Maryland Judiciary will create a strategic vision that engages members of the Maryland Judiciary, its justice partners, and the public to identify initiatives aligned with the Judiciary’s mission and vision. The strategic vision developed will be forward-looking (innovative and responsive), collaborative and partner based, court and court user-centered, data driven, and future workforce focused.

Workload Assessment Study for Mohave County Superior Court

The Mohave County (Arizona) Superior Court will complete a weighted caseload assessment with support from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC).   The study will include a time-and-motion review, where the judges will track their time for a three-month period.  Based on the data collected, NCSC staff will compute average case processing times for the case types handled by the court.   This information will be used by the court to help manage case assignments and to help with future budget needs.

Kansas Administrative Office of Courts Organizational Assessment

The Kansas Office of Judicial Administration is conducting an organizational assessment of the administrative office of the courts and district court administrators statewide.

Alaska Re-Engineering Management Project

The Alaska Supreme Court, in collaboration with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) will identify the most effective governance model that results in a cohesive, responsive, efficient, and data-informed administrative system for trial court operations.

Santa Barbara Superior Court Strategic Planning

The Superior Court of Santa Barbara, CA, is working with Praxis Consulting, Inc. to complete a long-term strategic plan.  The pandemic contributed to backlogs of cases in the Court, exacerbated by the concomitant isolation imposed on many of the Court’s leaders.  Necessary remote technology changes altered the way courts are conducted which increases electronic access but creates some unfortunate changes in behavior.  Through in person and remote meetings of court leaders and surveying internal and external justice system participants.

New Hampshire Judicial Branch Strategic Planning

The New Hampshire Judicial Branch is undertaking a strategic planning process by 1) reviewing court operations and priorities to identify opportunities, increase efficiency and better serve the public; and  2) supporting the role of the Supreme Court as regulator of the legal profession.

Judiciary of Guam Strategic Planning Initiative

The Judiciary of Guam’s mission is to administer justice by interpreting and upholding the laws, resolving disputes in a timely manner, and providing accessible, efficient, and effective court services. To accomplish this mission, the Judiciary will engage in strategic planning efforts to assess the current judicial environment, identify and address needs to enhance the delivery of justice and ensure the Judiciary is responsive to the changing times.

Delaware Court of Common Pleas Caseflow Management Study

The Court of Common Pleas for the State of Delaware, in partnership with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), will review, evaluate, make recommendations, and provide training regarding Court caseflow management practices in mutually agreed upon case types.  The NCSC will provide consultation services to gather information, interview system participants including judges, court coordinators and other designated stakeholders.  NCSC will prepare a report with findings and recommendations and conduct training.

Kansas Judicial Branch Strategic Planning

The Kansas Judiciary will update their vision, mission, and strategic goals and create an Operational Plan to accompany an updated Strategic Plan. They will re-visit the information and assumptions that informed the prior planning process, assess current opportunities and challenges, and chart a path forward to continue to meet the justice system’s responsibilities to Kansas citizens.

Oregon Judicial Department Strategic Planning

The Oregon Judicial Department, with assistance from the National Center for State Courts, intends to engage Oregon justice system stakeholders in a strategic evaluation of the future of the justice system, and create a four-year strategic plan.  The strategic campaign effort will include a kick-off meeting to assign roles and responsibilities, initiate focus groups, administration of high-performance court survey, convene a leadership summit, and provide a final campaign document.

Maine Judicial Branch Operational Assessment

The Maine Judicial Branch, Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC)will partner with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to conduct an assessment of the organization and operations of the AOC to consider whether changes should be made to the structure to support the future-readiness of the court system. NCSC will also review the roles of court administrative personnel and judicial officers in administrative decision-making through the lens of the high-performing courts framework and make suggestions about how to support leadership skills.

Improving Access, Justice, and Services Post Pandemic:  Taking the Court’s Performance to the Next Level

The 16th Judicial Circuit Court, Macomb Probate Court, and 42nd Judicial District Courts (42-1 and 42-2) in Macomb County, Michigan are developing a strategic direction and priorities for improving access, justice, and services in a post-pandemic world.

Planning for the Future of the Court: Resetting and Reimagining Post Pandemic

The Superior Court of California in Ventura County is embarking on a comprehensive strategic planning process that will lay out a future direction and priorities for the Court for the next few years.

Building Future Ready Courts

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) will develop, pilot, and disseminate a new strategic planning framework and an interactive web application tool that incorporates specific actions courts can take to address the key areas of vulnerability. Building a focus on the areas of vulnerability directly into court strategic plans will ensure that courts begin taking concrete steps now to enhance their long-term viability. The strategic planning framework’s interactive web application tool will also make strategic planning more doable for all courts; no such tool currently exists for courts. In addition, support is requested to build future ready courts by educating court audiences about the key areas of vulnerability, highlighting innovations occurring in each area, and encouraging learning networks through a variety of virtual and in-person events.

Criminal Caseflow & COVID Backlog Project

The Cowlitz County Superior Court (Washington), with support from the National Center for State Courts, will conduct a study of its criminal court process, particularly to address the backlog of cases and move forward in a manner that ensures a fair and timely resolution of our cases.

Delaware Judicial Branch Strategic Campaign

The Delaware Judicial Branch, with support from the National Center for State Courts, will develop and review its mission and vision statements and develop a strategic campaign for the Branch.

Caseflow Management and Scheduling Study

The 19th Judicial District Court of Louisiana will train court leaders on effective caseflow management practices; interview system participants to include judges, and justice stakeholders; evaluate, and make recommendations regarding caseflow management practices; prepare a report with findings and recommendations; evaluate the judicial resources needed in both the criminal and civil courts; and provide facilitation assistance for the court to embrace caseflow management best practices.

Strategic Campaign and Executive Coaching Project

The 21st Judicial Circuit Court of St. Louis County (Missouri) will create a strategic plan that will incorporate reforms made during the pandemic including, but not limited to using technology to enhance access to justice for the underserved, improve availability of legal information to self-represented litigants, institute a co-occurring treatment court for dual diagnosis individuals, provide coaching and training for judiciary, and administration to improve judicial arena.

Kansas Municipal Court Study

The Kansas Supreme Court will explore and evaluate the current leadership and governance structure, court management to include training, development, and fiscal responsibilities. The project will be conducted in two phases. The initial phase will focus on examining the current structure of the municipal court system in Kansas to determine the current organizational and governance structures and to determine at what level the Court is required to participate in and oversee these structures.

Re-Engineering the People’s Court

The Magistrate Court of Fulton County (Georgia) will devise a strategic plan encompassing all phases of the Court. The Court will utilize data to evaluate and assess its ability to manage heavy caseloads, properly resource our staff, and streamline processes to provide Fulton County residents and general court users a more responsive court experience.

Strategic Planning Initiative

The New Mexico Judicial Council, in partnership with the National Center for State Courts, is conducting a structured organizational strategic assessment and planning process to guide the New Mexico judiciary in setting priorities, allocating resources, and identifying areas for on-going improvements in efficiency, effectiveness, and fairness. A strategic planning process will provide a framework for our courts moving forward in a post-COVID-19 crisis climate with an unexpected, expanded state budget.

Court Governance

The Clark County (Washington) Superior Court governance improvement project builds on the work of the National Center for State Courts project team to study docketing and case management practices that are impacting the Court’s ability to standardize practices and more efficiently administer justice. The goal of the project is to make the regular meetings of judges more productive and devoted to topics that directly impact case management efficiencies.

Weighted Caseload Study

The District of Columbia (DC) Courts are conducting an independent, objective assessment of staffing needs for magistrate judges, law clerks and judicial administrative assistants.

Judicial Branch Strategic Planning Project

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is developing and implementing a statewide Judicial Branch Strategic Planning Project.  Through this project, the Supreme Court seeks to establish statewide goals and strategies for making system-wide improvements, coordinate innovative programs, increase access to justice, and prepare courts for the future.

Innovating for Effective Service Delivery

The Salt Lake County Justice Court (Utah) is partnering with the National Center for State Courts to develop and set new guideposts for ensuring the fair and efficient resolution of cases in a permanently hybrid environment as a result of practices implemented during the pandemic. The planning process will include an examination of critical court governance, management, and calendaring decisions.

Caseflow Management Project

The Oregon Court of Appeals will develop a case management process, to include screening and case weighting, toward the end of equitably distributing the workload and managing the time spent on particular cases in accordance with weight.  The project will also include the development of a transition plan to move the court from current practices to a managed workflow.

Strategic Court Facility Plan

The First Circuit Court of Hillsdale County (Michigan) will undertake a strategic court facility planning process to identify needed improvements that will help to ensure the effective, fair, and safe administration of justice for visitors and users of the Hillsdale County Courthouse.

Board of Judicial Policy and Administration Task Force

The Wyoming Supreme Court created a task force to improve governance and to implement systemic improvements in the operation of the courts. The task force focuses on attracting and retaining qualified judges; well-being of judges and court staff; dealing with self-represented litigant needs; ensuring qualified counsel exist to resolve matters; and exploring the possibility of establishing specialty courts, including a family court.  With support from the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), the Court will implement the strategic/operational plan.

Planning for the Future of Yavapai County Superior Court

The Superior Court in Yavapai County is working with Praxis Consulting to plan for the future of the Court.  The Court’s leadership, in collaboration with community and justice system partners, will reimagine and transform how court services are delivered and develop a roadmap and strategies for making continued improvements.

Wyoming Judicial Branch Compensation/Salary Study

The Wyoming Judicial Branch does not have a compensation plan with accompanying pay tables. Courts throughout the State are losing employees to higher paying jobs. In order to request additional salary funding from the Legislature, the Branch needs salary data obtained from a reliable source. The Branch is working with the National Center for State Courts to establish pay tables and develop a compensation policy and procedures for all Branch positions, excluding justices and judges.

Strategic Planning for the Future of the 16th Judicial Circuit Court and Broader Justice System

The Sixteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Kane County, Illinois, is planning for the future of the Court and justice system. By collaborating with its justice system partners, they will build consensus of priorities in order to develop and implement a strategic plan that meets their needs and that of the County Board and drives continued court and justice system improvements.  In consultation with Praxis Consulting, the Court’s leadership and justice system partners (including the Circuit Court Clerk, State’s Attorney, Public Defender, and Sheriff) will develop strategic priorities and recommendations and will present improvement requests to the County Board.

Nevada Judiciary Strategic Planning Campaign

The Nevada Judiciary is creating a strategic planning campaign with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). The project includes data gathering via survey and focus groups, developing and facilitating a strategic planning workshop, developing a strategic campaign document, and executing the campaign.

Organizational Assessment of the South Dakota Unified Judicial System

The South Dakota Unified Judicial System is assessing its current organizational structure and developing a set of recommendations that document the strengths, potential risks, and the opportunities for improvement to enhance performance.

Convening County, Court & Justice Leaders: A Framework for Cross-System Collaboration

Rulo Strategies, the National Association of Counties, and Praxis Consulting are supporting court and county leaders as they partner to establish local strategic priorities for justice and public safety and align resources. Ten communities will be selected to participate in this pilot initiative and serve as model sites. A site liaison will assist each community in identifying and prioritizing local criminal justice activities based on a shared understanding of the community’s needs and evidence-based practices. Lessons learned from the ten sites will be highlighted in a final publication, and a tool kit will be available to other communities that seek to replicate this planning effort. The ten selected sites are:

Phase 2 of this project will highlight non-traditional county or community partners that are supporting the work courts and counties are engaged in through a peer court exchange with two sites, a podcast series, and conference presentations. Additional court strategic planning tools will also be developed.

Planning for the Future and Building Unity Among Michigan Courts

The Michigan Supreme Court (MSC) is working with PRAXIS Consulting, Inc. to develop and implement a statewide, judicial strategic plan in Michigan. The plan will create a unified vision for the future, build agreement around priorities, develop innovative and comprehensive strategies for making system-wide improvements, and coordinate many innovations resulting from recent reforms. Project work includes coordinating with stakeholders and judicial partners to create a unified vision for our courts, building agreement around priorities, and developing comprehensive strategies for system-wide improvements. 

District Court Workload Assessment

The Montana Supreme Court partnered with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to conduct a comprehensive workload assessment of the district courts in Montana. The Montana Supreme Court and District Court Council have relied on the use of a weighted caseload model to establish the baseline needs of trial court judicial resources. The weighted caseload formula enables the Judiciary to not only determine how much judicial time is needed for certain types of cases but was also one of the key data sources used by the Montana Legislature. The workload study is a key component of how judicial resources are managed and the outcome of this project will recommend a final set of judicial workload standards.

Piloting the Civil Case Management Team Model

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) is partnering with the Iowa Judicial Branch and the Kansas Judicial Branch to provide an educational workshop on the implementation of the Civil Case Management Team (CCMT) staffing model for civil and family courts.  The workshop will provide an interactive experience in which courts will learn about the CCMT, implementation strategies, and develop strategic implementation plans for their respective courts.

Organizational and Management Structure Assessment

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is partnering with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to assess the following components of its business operations: 1) case flow management; 2) organizational and staffing management; 3) Committee on Admissions; 4) data collection and performance measurement; 5) use of technology; and 6) access to justice enhancements. The NCSC review and make recommendations on the simplification of forms and orders, provide a final report with recommendations, and prepare an Appellate Court Reengineering Handbook that can be shared with the broader court community.

Improve Caseflow and Calendar Management

The Stanislaus County, California, Superior Court partnered with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to review current case flow and calendaring practices as they compare to best practices by other courts within California and across the U.S. The assessment included: 1) evaluating and comparing existing case flow and calendaring processes in the context of best practices; 2) examining the Court’s specialty court calendars and explore expanding the use and number of these dockets; 3) reviewing the Court’s scheduling and assignment of cases involving mental health issues, and whether the Court should create a mental health calendar; 4) reviewing how the Court can best supervise defendants with mental health conditions who receive pre-plea diversion into a treatment program; 5) reviewing how the Court can best monitor the status of defendants evaluated for competency to stand trial; and 6) reviewing the impact on the Court of new legislation to enable the purge of marijuana convictions. The report containing final recommendations will enable the applicant to restructure its calendar and case flow practices to improve processes and reduce unnecessary delay.  

Implementing the Judicial Branch’s Strategic Agenda: An Implementation Approach to Long-Term Sustainability

The Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts is restructuring the Illinois Judicial Conference and assigning it a new and specific responsibility: formulating a strategic plan to guide the future of the Judicial Branch. The Judicial Conference has identified five strategic goals to be addressed in a three-year strategic agenda together with strategies designed to achieve each of these strategic goals. Implementation of strategies these strategies will allow judicial officers, court personnel, and justice partners to come together to think beyond day-to-day problems, allocate and use limited resources, and sustain internal and external cooperation and collaboration to improve the delivery of justice and better serve the public.

Planning for the Future of the Court

The 41B District Court of Michigan is partnering with Praxis Consulting, Inc. to conduct a strategic planning process that will enable the Court to prepare for the future and build a collective vision based on agreed upon goals and strategies. The strategic plan will include: 1) a mission and vision for the Court; 2) an analysis of current and future trends and implications for the Court; 3) an organizational readiness assessment that includes strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities; 4) strategic focus areas and short and long-term goals; and 5) first-year priorities for implementation.

Strategic Planning Project

The Berrien County, Michigan, Trial Court partnered with Praxis Consulting, Inc. to develop a strategic direction and plan to guide improvements that will enhance services, performance, and work culture.  The project provided an opportunity to think and plan strategically about the Court’s future, develop long-term goals and objectives, and enhance court performance.  The project enabled the Court to 1) work through the loss of institutional knowledge due to turnover; 2) instill creative and innovative thinking; 3) involve and engage judges and staff in making improvements; and 4) enhance buy-in to new ways of doing business and serving the public.