National Association for Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers

Juror Questioning during Criminal Trials Common in Arizona

The lawyer’s were done asking the questions, and it was the jury’s turn. Steven Jones sat nervously in the witness box Friday morning as his trial on murder and assault charges raced toward a close with jurors posing their own queries to him. Sometimes jury questions can show which way a jury is leaning. Friday morning’s questions showed mostly that jurors had been paying attention. And they offered insights into areas where the lawyers didn’t go. Jones’ extensive gun training, for example, and his knowledge of first aid.

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New website offers resources for high-profile trials

A high-profile case can land in your court with little or no warning. If unprepared, such cases can create chaos, absorb resources, and place your court at the center of an intense media spotlight. Judges and court professionals now have instant online access to the tools necessary to plan and manage high-profile cases in their courts. The new Managing High-Profile Cases for the 21st Century website is a joint project of the National Center for State Courts, the Conference of Court Public Information Officers, and the National Judicial College. The project was made possible through a State Justice Institute grant.

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New ABA Book published on Improving Administration of Justice in U.S. Courts

Recently, the ABA’s Lawyers’ Conference announced the availability of the eighth edition of The Improvement of the Administration of Justice, the Conference’s periodic treatise on various elements of the judicial system and how things have been improved over the last 15 years since the previous edition hit the streets in 2002. Articles are written by academics, practitioners, judges and court executives. The book is divided into six sections: The Judicial System, Judicial Officers, Court Operations, Case Presentation, Specialized Courts, and Serving the Community. While these topics can be being quite broad, with each section possibly standing as a volume of its own, the new edition brings the focus back to the administration of justice and how it can be improved.

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2017 Court Leadership Conference Agenda

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR PRESIDING JUDGES AND COURT EXECUTIVE OFFICERS in partnership with THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR STATE COURTS presents the Second Annual Court Leadership Academy and Leadership Conference“Becoming Champions of Change – Presiding Judges and Court Executives”September 24-27, 2017 at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton at Paradise Valley in Scottsdale, Arizona Sunday, September 24, 2017 Monday, September 25,… Continue Reading 2017 Court Leadership Conference Agenda

National Judicial College Presidential Search Underway

A search has commenced for the next president and chief executive officer of The National Judicial College, one of the nation’s most influential institutes for the continued education of judges. The next CEO will succeed President Chad C. Schmucker, who announced his intention to retire last September.

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Election 2016 and the State Courts

With so much attention being paid to the 2016 presidential election, down-ballot items tend to be forgotten. However, ballot items in four states this November will have a direct impact on state courts. These proposals represent not just questions for voters in a particular year, but also broader discussions about how state courts operate, ranging from judicial age and capacity to the role of independently elected clerks of court.

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Could Atticus Finch get elected today?

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch and Brock Peters as Tom Robinson in the 1962 film adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird” Atticus Finch, the fictional lawyer in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” passionately believed in justice. He didn’t like criminal law, yet he accepted the appointment to represent Tom Robinson, an African-American man charged with raping a young white girl. The story, set in Maycomb County, Alabama, in the early 1930s, portrays a lawyer who felt that the justice system should be colorblind. Had Atticus Finch run for office after the trial, could he have been elected?

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