The Fall 2011 issue of The Judges' Journal from the American Bar Association's Judicial Division features an informative and insightful conversation with NCSC President Mary C. McQueen in which she discusses the evolution of court administrators and the future of the nation's courts.
Read the article

A Nov. 27 article in the New York Times explores the continuing financial crisis in the nation's state courts and explains how deep budget cuts threaten not only the delivery of basic justice, but also "our very democracy."
Read the article

"When you apply across-the-board cuts to a branch of government that already has very scarce resources, it has an unbelievably devastating effect," NCSC President Mary C. McQueen told NPR during an Oct. 4 interview about slashed funding for court systems nationwide. Hear the interview

NCSC is cited in this article about the effect deep and sustained budget cuts are having on the nation's courts. Senior Knowledge Management Analyst Greg Hurley points out that unlike many government agencies that can cut inventory or or pare back purchases, the courts facing cuts have to quickly trim jobs, since personnel makes up such a large portion of their budgets. Read the article

"Across the country, judicial salaries are falling woefully behind what is needed to sustain a high-quality justice system," according to a July 12 New York Times editorial that cites NCSC's latest Survey of Judicial Salaries. Read the editorial

"Social media is here to stay; it is not going away," Manny Medrano, attorney, legal analyst at KNBC in L.A., and NCSC Board member, told the audience at LegalTech West Coast yesterday. "The starting point is to educate the bar — judges and lawyers — about technology." Read the article

Connecticut judges say that, after current fiscal conditions improve, it's time for a new system with annual raises that match those given to managers across state government, and they're using NCSC's Survey of Judicial Salaries to support their case. Read the article

An Ohio Supreme Court panel has issued a comprehensive set of recommendations for judges and justices who use Facebook, Twitter and other social-networking sites. The Columbus Dispatch reports that Ohio's rules are more permissive than those in many states. Read the article

In a world that is always on camera, the courtroom experience is becoming more complicated. According to The New York Times, legal experts say video evidence could lead to harsher experiences for jurors and put pressure on judges to re-examine what kind of evidence makes its way into court. Read the article

In most states, it is impossible to quickly track a ward of the court's finances and determine how family members, volunteers, or fiduciaries spend the money. Some states and counties still using pencil and paper for annual accounting, said NCSC's Brenda K. Uekert. Read the article

USA Today cites NCSC's recent survey in this article about how courts across the country are are embracing videoconferencing as a way for defendants to appear before a judge without leaving prison or jail. Read the article

Jury counseling is available in a few other states including Minnesota, Ohio and Texas, according to Greg Hurley of the National Center for State Courts. Such services are worth the investment, he said. Read the article

Los Angeles' KTLA-TV catches up with a Pasadena, Calif., classroom that is using the National Center's Justice Case Files to teach students about jury service. Watch the video

Slate.com went in search of some of the most negative judicial ads of this campaign season, including some of those in NCSC's YouTube collection.

The U.S. Judicial Conference, the policymaking arm of the judiciary, voted in September to authorize a pilot project for recording some district court civil cases. All 50 states allow some broadcast of their court proceedings, according to the National Center for State Courts. Read more

Missouri is the first state to provide judges with defendant-specific data on what particular sentences would cost the taxpayers, and on the likelihood that the person in the dock will reoffend. "We're seeing a trend where judges are asking for more evidence about best practices," said Greg Hurley, of the National Center for State Courts. "They are looking at an offender's track record and other predictive data that may show which treatments or programs may work best to cut down on recidivism." Read more

The National Center is slated to begin a comprehensive review of the Kansas court system in November. "It is the first time that anyone has tried to do a weighted study of caseloads in Kansas," said Ron Keefover, spokesman for the Kansas Supreme Court. The weighted case study will take time, one to two years, he said. Read more

Plans in Anne Arundel County call for keeping records electronically, doing business electronically and using paper only when it's requested. In all states, "the biggest problem is trying to figure out how to pay for it," said James E. McMillan, an e-courts consultant for the National Center for State Courts. Read more

An NCSC security expert says it would be difficult for officials in York County, Pa., to justify paying for the type of gates that could have prevented someone driving through the Judicial Center's parking door recently.

NCSC's Timm Fautsko, who advises courts on security issues, tells USA Today that though dress codes in courts may seem unusual, they serve a purpose.

North Carolina has prevented the state's drug and DWI treatment courts from using the ankle bracelets commonly employed to ensure that offenders don't drink. A preliminary study by the NCSC found that repeat DWI offenders who wore the bracelets for 90 days or more were less likely to drive drunk again.

Only two states paid their top judges more than the $186,450 that Pennsylvania annually pays its justices, according to a recent survey by the National Center for State Courts.