National Association for Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers

Dethroning Loyalty

Isn’t it a virtue to display steadfast allegiance to something or someone other than oneself? After all, loyalty has been celebrated as a virtue across many cultures for millennia. As economic headwinds and a tough job market appear to be empowering more authoritarian styles of leadership, it’s a good time to look more closely at loyalty. We must ask whether good leaders can fairly demand it of their followers and whether it’s an idea that modern management should finally discard.

Liability Law Will Not Tame AI

The question of how to regulate artificial intelligence has acquainted strange bedfellows, but few odder than Jensen Huang, the billionaire boss of Nvidia, and Lina Khan, a left-wing trustbuster who served as Joe Biden’s chair of the Federal Trade Commission. As debate over restraining large language models becomes more frenzied, both Mr. Huang and MS Khan maintain that rules already on the books can deal with most risks. Existing law is sufficient, Mr. Huang maintained recently, “Apply it.”

How to End Things Well

Most leadership advice is written for beginnings — how to launch initiatives, build momentum, scale ideas, and manage new projects. Far less attention is given to the work of ending something well. Yet endings are everywhere in organizational life. Ending well does not mean making everyone feel good about the decision. Some endings are painful or contested. But leaders can still shape how people experience them. The following practices can help.

Judicial Ethics and Immigration Issues in Today’s Courts

For judges in the judicial branch, whether federal or state, ethics issues arise in indirect ways. This article focuses on how to avoid adhere to fundamental Rule of Law concepts that include acknowledging the proper scope of law enforcement in a courthouse.

A Test of Time: The Enduring Meaning of the Declaration of Independence

I worry that the many celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence will commemorate the historical moment but fail to appreciate the enduring meaning of the extraordinary statement approved on July 4, 1776. A reading of the Declaration of Independence reveals its ongoing relevance.

AI in the Criminal Courts: Balancing Innovation and Justice

Artificial Intelligence is not a distant technological concept emerging at the edges of the justice system. It is already an integrated part of that system, embedded in the daily work of policing, prosecution, defense, judging, and supervision. Judges are facing AI-related evidentiary questions, and both judges and probation staff increasingly encounter algorithmic risk scores attached to bail decisions or sentencing recommendations. AI systems are not theoretical. They shape real outcomes in real courtrooms today.

New Guidance Helps Court Leaders Address Recruitment & Retention Challenges

Recruiting and retaining qualified court staff has become one of the most pressing challenges facing court leaders today. What began around 2020 with the COVID-19 pandemic and the “great resignation” has become a lasting shift in the workforce, driven by generational change, rising employee expectations, and increasing competition for talent.