National Association for Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers

WEBINAR: The Delicate Dynamics of Challenging Court Leaders

The act of challenging higher-ranking court leaders within the judicial branch necessitates more than just raising one’s voice; it involves understanding, navigating, and engaging in the subtle yet complex dance of power dynamics, diplomacy, and mutual respect. Wise leaders understand that a free exchange of ideas is invaluable since it often leads to more innovative, workable solutions. Approaching a superior in the professional hierarchy requires a delicate balance and deep understanding of both the person and the situation.

Illinois First State to Abandon Cash Bail

In a 5-to-2 decision, the Illinois Supreme Court recently concluded monetary bail as a condition of pretrial release for criminal defendants in all courts of the state would end. The special action that sparked this decision was brought to the Court by the Illinois Attorney General and the State’s Attorney of Kankakee County challenging Public Acts 101-652 and 102-1104, adopted a few years ago by the legislature, which eliminated cash bail effective January 1, 2023. The Supreme Court subsequently concluded the Acts did not violate the Illinois Constitution nor damage the separation of powers doctrine and ordered trial courts to cease ordering monetary bail as of September 18.

2023 Top Likely Court Futures to Watch

Twelve surveys conducted over ten years have sought to answer the question: What is the most likely future for courts? By assessing the probability of various scenarios occurring within the next ten years, then averaging those results, we have developed estimates of what the future might hold for courts.

Why We Need to Learn to Fail Better

For most people, failure is pretty simple: it’s bad, even shameful. Life is going well if you’re not experiencing failures, and we think that avoiding failure is obviously the right goal. We worry about what it says about us when we get something wrong (we’re not good enough!). The social stigma of failure exacerbates that spontaneous reaction. The instinct is so strong that we can ﬁnd ourselves upset about the smallest missteps – the comment that falls ﬂat in a meeting, the stumble on an uneven sidewalk that has us furtively glancing around to see if anyone noticed.

How to Get the Most out of Mentoring

Workplace mentoring has long been an informal aﬀair, disguised as a chat by the coﬀee machine or a trip to a bar with a longer-serving and more senior colleague. Even the most successful ﬁnd having a receptive ear a useful addition to the organization armory. For over 30 years Bill Gates has turned to another billionaire, Warren Buﬀett, for advice. Mark Zuckerberg, another tech baron, credits Steve Jobs, an American business magnet, inventor, and digital pioneer as one of his greatest inspirations.

Inaugural NAPCO Leadership Award Presented at 2023 Conference

Much to the surprise of Gordon Griller, NAPCO’s executive director, he was presented with the Association’s inaugural trial court leadership award for excellence at the recent 2023 Annual Leadership Academy and Conference in Boston.

Sentencing Summit to be held in October

NAPCO members have been invited to attend a special two-day summit entitled Rewriting the Sentence II summit presented by the Center for Justice and Human Dignity (CJHD) in collaboration with George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC. The event will be held October 16-17, 2023, from 9 AM to 6 PM each day in the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre on the GW campus and will feature a stellar lineup of speakers, sessions, interactive roundtables, and discussions.

Get Involved

NAPCO 2026