The Board met on April 8, 2013, to make decisions on FY 2013, 2nd quarter grant applications. A total of 14 grants were awarded during this meeting. One Project Grant was awarded to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to develop and pilot specialized jury instructions on implicit bias. Led by the NCSC and Project Implicit, this grant will support the drafting of model jury instructions on implicit bias, pilot their effectiveness using a mock jury, and disseminate the research findings to state court judges.
A total of eight (8) Technical Assistance (TA) Grants were approved, including grants to: Volusia County, Florida, Clerk of the Circuit Court to conduct an e-courtroom assessment and redesign in preparation for statewide e-filing; Massachusetts Trial Court Administrative Office of the Court (AOC) to further statewide language access improvement efforts by developing a model courthouse; New Mexico AOC to continue ensuring language access in the courts by continued delivery of training to judicial employees; 20th Circuit Court of Ottawa County, Michigan, to develop statewide juvenile justice system data sharing capabilities; Superior Court of the Virgin Islands to conduct strategic planning using the High Performance Court (HPC) Framework; 9th Judicial Circuit Court of Orange County, Florida, to ensure court compliance with Florida law regarding guardians and their LEP wards; and two grants to the NCSC for development of a model virtual courthouse setting with integrated technology, as well as the creation of resource for state courts on responding to courthouse security incidents.
Five (5) Curriculum Adaptation & Training (CAT) Grants were also approved, including grants to: Legal Momentum to enhance their online Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse course; County of York in Pennsylvania to develop a model guardianship training and community education program; Nebraska Judicial Branch Education Division of the AOC for the design and delivery of continuing education to Guardian Ad Litems; Superior Court of the Virgin Islands for judicial training, inclusive of the NCSC’s CourtTools curriculum; and, the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts (NCREFC), which will develop training on objective (race-neutral) decision-making processes for judicial officers and administrators.
SJI also welcomed National Association for Court Management (NACM) President Pam Harris and President-Elect David Slayton to the meeting. Ms. Harris and Mr. Slayton delivered a briefing on the status of SJI-funded NACM projects, and discussed the upcoming NACM Annual Conference, July 14-18, 2013 in San Antonio, Texas.