National Association for Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers

Mexico: A constitutional challenge looms on judicial independence

Mexico held presidential and parliamentary elections in June which the ruling coalition won by a landslide, in effect giving it a supermajority in Congress. It was clear back then that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador would try to use this supermajority to ram through a series of constitutional changes in the month during which his presidency overlaps with the new Congress. It appears clear that many of these changes would profoundly damage Mexico’s democracy and economy.

Strengthening Democracy One Election at a Time

An Arizona county official who fought off threats and defended election results will take on a new role to preserve democracy from the nation’s epicenter of election denialism. Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates will take charge of a new laboratory at Arizona State University this fall, training students in election administration and offering support and resources for tenured election officials.

Tom Brady on the Art of Teambuilding

A newly released article in the Harvard Business Review (Sep-Oct 2024 edition) on teambuilding presents some interesting advice from a novel expert on the subject, football superstar Tom Brady. HBR editors feel Mr. Brady’s views provide sound insights into the importance and power of teambuilding within all organizations. NAPCO editors agree.

Moons, Fire and Pigs: Emojis can be confusing in court

Sometimes an eggplant is just an eggplant, although in the emoji world, it’s usually not. But is sending someone an eggplant emoji or a winky face proof of sexual harassment? When does a gun emoji mean someone is threatening another person with death? Does a thumbs-up emoji mean acceptance of a contract?

What the latest data says about immigrants in the U.S.

The United States has long had more immigrants than any other country. In fact, the U.S. is home to one-fifth of the world’s international migrants. These immigrants have come from just about every country in the world. Pew Research Center regularly publishes research on U.S. immigrants. Based on this research, here are answers to some key questions about the U.S. immigrant population that NAPCO website editors felt trial court leaders may be interested in knowing.

Supreme Court’s Trump immunity ruling poses risk for democracy, scholars say

In its immunity decision Monday, the Supreme Court emphasized the long-cherished ideal that no one in America is above the law, not even the president. The court’s dissenters and a chorus of critics said the majority had undercut that notion, elevating the president to a king who can easily avoid prosecution.

Building Culture From the Middle Out

Middle managers often assume that the best approach for ensuring a strong workplace culture is frequent messaging from top leaders promoting the mission, purpose, vision, ethos, and values of the organization. This assumption allows managers to see C-suite executives or specialists in human resources as primarily responsible for fostering culture. This deference can make sense, because employees typically want and expect top leaders to deﬁne and articulate overarching visions and values. But it leaves leaders lower in the hierarchy thinking that their job is to uphold and endorse the culture as is.