Trends in State Courts 2021 highlights how courts have responded to important social issues. These include the COVID pandemic, social justice, and cybersecurity.
- NCSC's Anniversary: 50 Years and Trending
National Center for State Courts
The National Center for State Courts was fostered by the vision and determination of court leadership 50 years ago. It will continue to work with courts at all levels to improve access to justice for all and protect the rule of law.
- A Court System's Guide to Increasing Diversity and Fostering Inclusion
Patrick J. Carrington
Diversity and inclusion are two of the most popular words in society today, but how do we put them into action? How do we carry them out in today's court systems?.
- COVID-19, Zoom, and the Future of Appellate Oral Argument
Hon. Pierre H. Bergeron
With a background of declining oral arguments in appellate courts nationwide, most courts experimented with "Zoom" arguments during the pandemic. This technological innovation can provide broader access to justice, transparency, and training opportunities, and appellate courts should consider how to benefit from this medium even after the pandemic.
- Using Court Data to Inform Pandemic Planning
Nathan Jensen and Monica Allen
Using data available to the courts is essential to planning for continuity of operations (COOP) during a pandemic. Courts have an opportunity to lead by creating a data-driven approach to what has been described as a "crisis in slow motion."
- Pathways Through the Pandemic: An Application of Family Justice Pathways in Three Courts
Alicia Davis and Michael Saini
COVID-19 has demonstrated the need for adaptable, flexible court initiatives to respond to changing demands, pressures, and climates. More courts are focusing on differential approaches, proportionality of services, and the use of "Pathways" to enhance the timing, individualization, and efficiency of court services.
- A Whole Society Approach (WOSA): Looking Outward Beyond the Courthouse
Ingo Keilitz
In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, society and the courts face an array of existential challenges, such as inequality and economic turmoil. If courts are to face these challenges, they must look both outward at the community and inward at their own practices.
- Delivering Court Training Virtually
Matthew Estes
In addition to the practical challenges of taking in-person instruction virtual, court educators have encountered some resistance to the virtual classroom. In this article, the process of diagnosing, alleviating, and evaluating resistance to virtual training will be discussed using data acquired by by the Court Leadership Institute of Arizona.
- From the Doghouse to the Courthouse: Facility Dogs at Trial Aids for Vulnerable Witnesses
Christine M. McDermott, Shawn C. Marsh, Monica K. Miller, and Taylor Forte
Different types of support dogs are becoming a common sight in courtrooms. What do judges and court staff need to know about using support animals to aid witnesses during trials?
- Improving Court Statistics by Exploring the Shape of Data
Adam S. Cohen and Wesley Nakamoto
Courts rely on data to make well-informed decisions, but the shape of that data can vary, dramatically changing their interpretation. Distinguished bell-shaped curves from "power law" curves can improve statistics and assist judges and court administrators grappling with important questions in need of evidence-based answers.
- Justice in the New Digital Era: The Pitfalls and Benefits of Rapid Technology Adoption Courts
Anne Skove, Colleen M. Berryessa, Lonnie Schaible, and Ibrahim Aissam
The pandemic forced courts to quickly adapt and adopt new technologies. Courts and other governmental entities are overcoming hurdles to meet this challenge.
- How to Mitigate Cybersecurity Risks When You Don't Fully Control Your IT
Paul Embley
The time to assess your court's cybersecurity position within a larger state, county, or municipal IT ecosystem is before an attack occurs. What you don't know CAN hurt you.
- Actionable Cybersecurity Risk Management
Sajed Naseem and Ian Conklin
Cyberattacks have become increasingly common in the public sector, including in courts. Actionable cybersecurity risk management is increasingly relevant to courts due to the nexus between the global pandemic, a remote workforce, and increasing vulnerabilities in technology.
- Usability and Court Dispute Resolution Platforms
Lise Embley, Hon. Constandinos Himonas, and Stacy Butler
Online dispute resolution (ODR) is becoming more common in U.S. courts and around the world, but is ODR usable and accessible to litigants? The Utah Courts offer an example of how to measure the usability of ODR platforms.