National Association for Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers

National Judicial Outreach Week: March 4-10, 2018

Over the past few years, the American Bar Association’s Judicial Division has developed a new community education program about the work courts do every day called “Preserving the Rule of Law.” In 2018, the ABA has designated the week of March 4-10 as National Judicial Outreach Week and encourages all active and retired judges to invite their communities to their courthouses or go out into their communities to meet with the public and talk about the importance of the justice system, courts, and the Rule of Law.

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2018 Trial Court Leadership Conference

The Trial Court Leadership Conference will be held October 14-17, 2018, in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. This three-day conference features team and competency skills building for local and state court leaders, and a series of workshops on current and emerging issues impacting courts. Leadership judges and court administrators are encouraged to attend as teams. Judges and administrators attending on their own are also welcome.

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Change is Happening in St Louis County Missouri, Home to Ferguson

Three years after the death of Michael Brown Jr. in Ferguson, long-overdue systemic reform of St. Louis County’s municipal court system is underway. With new state law, new Missouri Supreme Court minimum operating standards and new local court rules in place to compel reform, the hard work of change is moving forward.

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Jury Duty seen as Good Citizenship by Most Americans

According to a recent Pew Research Survey, the chances of serving on a jury in any given year are small, but most Americans still see it as part of being a good citizen. 67% of U.S, adults said serving on a jury “is part of what it means to be a good citizen.” Only 31% took the opposite view and said jury duty service “does not have much to do with being a good citizen.”

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How do we deal with the manmade hurricane of racial bigotry?

Natural hurricanes bring humane responses. But how do we deal with the manmade hurricane of racial bigotry? Our nation has seen the horror that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma caused. What happened was not simply the loss of life, but the ravaging and destruction of communities that at best will take years to rebuild. There is no silver lining in this tragedy. Yes, we came together. Yes, the traditionally broken Congress acted swiftly to fund a response, but if you are a victim it will take a long time to heal. Or, is there a silver lining?

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2017 Conference Speakers

HON. ROXANNE BAILIN is a former District Court Judge. Roxanne Bailin was Chief Judge of the 20th Judicial District (Boulder County) from 1998 to 2013. She was named to the county bench in 1983 and to the district court bench in 1987. Prior to being appointed County Judge, Judge Bailin was a Clinical Professor and… Continue Reading 2017 Conference Speakers

Grand Juries and Police Use-of-Force Cases

Associate Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich of the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law published an article titled Restoring the Independence to the Grand Jury: A Victim Advocate for Police Use of Force Cases in the most recent edition of the Cleveland State Law Review. His article is an effort to address the recent mistrust of the grand jury process by some members of the public.

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