Join NAPCO in Bellevue, Washington August 17-20, 2025
Read more →NAPCO membership is open to presiding, chief and leadership judges, court executives and others …
Read more →A combination of COVID-19 and plunging oil prices have caused states’ tax revenues to drop more than 6% during the six months from the first pandemic shutdowns in March through the end of August.
Continue Reading Shortfalls in tax revenues leave states facing layoffs and service cuts
It is no wonder court leadership teams are experiencing “disruption fatigue.” The past seven months of COVID-19 and the many other persistent and looming uncertainties triggered by the pandemic have been challenging and exhausting. Admittedly, it’s hard to refocus on creating a better tomorrow when in the throes of surviving and adapting to immediate issues. Nevertheless, it is exactly what resilient organizations and leaders do. Courts are no exception.
Donald Trump asked Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s emails during the 2016 election, and special counsel Robert Mueller alleged Russians began attempting to gain access to Clinton campaign email accounts shortly thereafter. The ultimately successful email hacking was one element of wide-ranging Russian efforts to interfere in the last American presidential race, and the U.S. intelligence community has warned that Russia is reportedly meddling in the current election cycle as well. But national security lawyers say the Kremlin also is using both social and state-sponsored media to spread disinformation about the justice system with the goal of weakening American confidence in the rule of law.
Tyler Technologies, a major provider of software to state and local courts, reported last week that an unknown intruder broke into its phone and information technology systems. Tyler Odyssey Courts & Justice Solutions™ provides web-based, configurable software serving courts in more than 24 states, including 14 statewide implementations in the United States. According to Tyler marketing information, Odyssey software not only focuses on court case and scheduling management concerning such applications as party information, events, warrants, and fees/fines processing but also facilitates e-filing, online dispute resolution, jury selection and access to self-represented litigant processes.
This is the third in a series of webinars on combating systemic racism in trial courts. It was held on September 24, 2020. It centers on action plans and lessons learned by two court systems – Massachusetts and Oregon – in their efforts to tackle racism in their justice systems. Both states are at different points in their work and each brings a distinctive perspective to the challenge.
Continue Reading WEBINAR: Meaningful Strategies to Combat Systemic Racism in Trial Courts – Part III
Most of the news about the postal service today is related to voting, but the reorganization of the postal service by the federal administration presents potential problems for trial courts, too. Recently, the National Center for State Courts’ Tiny Chat series, an array of bite-sized annotated videos touching on specific access to justice topics and overall court operations, presented a chat on how post office changes can negatively affect trial courts.
Continue Reading U.S. Postal Service reorg could spark delays and service problems for courts
Research indicates that most U.S. organizations, including trial courts, have imbedded policies and procedures that produce inequities and disparities for people of color. This insight is not an accusation that all those in a system are racist. It means that regardless of the intentions of those who work within them, organization norms discriminate and cause racially unfair outcomes. This webinar focuses on how to identify, tackle, and remove those problems.
Continue Reading WEBINAR: Addressing Systemic Racism in Trial Courts – Part Two
