National Association for Presiding Judges and Court Executive Officers

The new SCOTUS term looks to reshape America’s constitution

THE PHRASE “checks and balances” does not appear anywhere in the United States constitution; and yet in a manual for Martians on how America governs itself it would be on page one. Those three words are a reminder that the country has an unwritten constitution, which resides in beliefs, behavior and legal precedents, to go alongside its more celebrated written constitution. They describe how the branches of government compete for power—a contest where, the founding fathers wrote, “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.” The question for the Supreme Court’s new term, which starts October 1, is: how much ambition do the justices have?

WEBINAR: The Art of Leading Leaders in Trial Courts

Join us for a 75-minute discussion about what high-powered, talented, influential people, both inside and outside the justice system, expect of court leaders when those leaders have limited authority over the persons they are supposed to lead. This online seminar is the fourth installment in NAPCO’s series on research-based leadership advice for trial court leaders.

NAPCO Newsletter (October 2025)

Read the latest issue of the NAPCO quarterly newsletter, including the annual conference recap, a new purpose statement, and a message from the NAPCO Chair & Executive Director.

Will AI help or hurt democracy? We have a user manual for that

You probably haven’t thought about philosophers John Locke or Thomas Hobbes since high school, or that required college class. They died centuries before personal computing was invented, let alone the artificial intelligence technologies that now infuse many parts of our daily life. What could they possibly teach Americans about living in a world with AI?

2026 NAPCO Conference – Wilmington, Delaware

The 2026 NAPCO Trial Court Leadership Academy and Conference will be held in Wilmington, Delaware, August 23-26, 2026. More details coming soon.

ABA releases final report of its Task Force for American Democracy

The American Bar Association on Wednesday announced the release of the final report of the ABA Task Force for American Democracy, a two-year, bipartisan effort to address the most pressing threats to the rule of law and democratic institutions in the United States.

Trump’s plan to penalize states using cashless bail is unconstitutional and unnecessary, critics say

Critics are raising questions about the constitutionality and wisdom of President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to pressure states to require cash bail for defendants charged with a variety of crimes.

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NAPCO 2026