National Center for State Courts Publishes 20th Anniversary Edition of Future Trends

Williamsburg, VA (October 27, 2008) – The National Center for State Courts has published Future Trends in State Courts 2008, the latest edition in its long-running "Report on Trends in State Courts" series. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Future Trends, a series dedicated to making courts more aware of key trends in both society and judicial administration that will affect their operations.

In honor of this milestone, Future Trends 2008 opens with a "20th Anniversary Perspective," which examines six important facets of court operations: Jury Systems, Caseflow Management, Judicial Selection, Judicial Compensation, State Budgets, and Technology. Each section provides the historical background for its topic, along with current issues, innovative practices, and a look ahead at the future. Timelines illustrate key events in the development of each topic, including legislation, innovative court programs, and NCSC projects.

The Trends Articles following the perspective take "A Closer Look" at five key areas: Technology, Access to Justice, Financial Issues, Problem-Solving Issues, and Judicial Administration. Articles were contributed not only by NCSC staff, but also by consultants and state court officials at all levels. For example, Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard discusses how Indiana uses court technology to improve service to the public; NCSC’s Wanda Romberger shows how language access centers can improve service not only to non-English-speaking litigants in courts, but also to other state agencies; Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer outlines the Ohio courts’ response to the current foreclosure crisis; David J. Wallace discusses measuring the performance of DWI courts; and John M. Greacen examines the role of "procedural justice" and social-science research in court administration.

Other topics include information technology and privacy, provision of indigent defense, delivery of judicial services in hard economic times, the impact of an aging population on the courts, and the effect of federal policy on state courts.

Copies of Future Trends in State Courts 2008 can be obtained by contacting Knowledge and Information Services at (800) 616-6164. The new Future Trends, as well as past entries in the series, can also be found on the Web at www.ncsconline.org.