As I wind down my presidential year, I find myself reflecting on the strategic priorities that were set last July and the meaningful progress we have made. It has been rewarding to see so many of these initiatives take shape,… Read more »
Posts By: Kelly Hutton
A Question of Ethics
The Disappearing Line: What are the New Ethics in an Era Where Nothing is Neutral This episode of the Question of Ethics Conversation examines a fundamental ethical challenge facing court professionals today: How are their ethical responsibilities evolving in the… Read more »
Management Musings
The art of influencing people has been examined from a wide range of intellectual and creative domains. Aristotle identified three modes of persuasion: ethos (credibility), pathos (emotion), and logos (reason). He contended that influencing others requires all three; rational arguments… Read more »
Courtside Conversation
Konstantina VagenasNACM Member and President/Co-Founder of the Judicial Branch Education Academy How do you support judges and court professionals to enhance their job knowledge? Our motto at the Judicial Branch Education Academy (JBEA) is “Lifelong Learning & Leadership,” to truly… Read more »
What Are the Leadership Skills Needed Now for Court Leaders to Succeed?
Introduction Much is always afoot in the leadership of courts: staffing, budgets, technology, relationships, and perceptions of courts. This article offers reflections, admittedly from my perspective, about the skills needed for today’s court leader. Using select sources, the landscape faced… Read more »
Finding the Balance: Tribal Involvement in Minnesota Children in Need of Protective Services Cases
“For years, Native child welfare practitioners and advocates have been forced by limited resources and draining challenges to operate in the short term: What can be done this year or in this moment? Systems transformation requires long-mindedness. Our most pressing… Read more »
America 250: Preserving the Rule of Law and Judicial Independence
The 2026 NACM Midyear Conference took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from March 15 to March 17. Over 450 attendees gathered at the Albuquerque Convention Center for the first of two 2026 conferences celebrating the 250th birthday of the United… Read more »
In Memoriam: Ernest Clare Friesen, Jr. 1928–2025
From Jude Del Preore There is a quote attributed to Sir Isaac Newton: “If I have seen further than others, it is because I stand on the Shoulders of Giants.” One of the true giants and “fathers” of court administration… Read more »
President’s Message
As we begin a new year, we open the door to new opportunities — to engage, to contribute, and to strengthen the work of the National Association for Court Management (NACM). While the start of a new year invites reflection,… Read more »
A Question of Ethics
Courts stand at a crossroads between tradition and necessity. On the one hand, we are guardians of legal boundaries, carefully distinguishing who may practice law and what constitutes legal advice. On the other hand, we are confronted with an undeniable… Read more »
Management Musings
I can distinctly recall when I first arrived at college during the early 1990s and seeing posters of Salvador Dali’s “The Persistence of Memory” hanging in the dormitories of students (several students evidently picked up a copy of the same… Read more »
Courtside Conversation
Nicole GarciaCriminal Department Administrator Court Circuit: Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa CountyNumber of Judges: 165Year of NACM Membership: 2013 What led you to a career in court management and then to membership in NACM, eventually joining the Board of… Read more »
Courts Honor Employees
As the first week of May approaches, courts across the country are preparing to celebrate their dedicated employees in recognition of Court Employee Appreciation Week. Court Employee Appreciation Week coincides annually with Public Service Recognition Week and highlights the invaluable contributions of court staff who work… Read more »
Safeguarding Court Personnel and the Rule of Law: The Intersection of State and Federal Legislation
Introduction The senseless 2015 ambush of Travis County Judge Julie Kocurek — stalked and shot after an attacker lured her son into moving a car — underscores how local security failures can have catastrophic consequences. A tip that the assailant… Read more »
Beyond the Building — Three Ways Today’s Courts are Building Trust
I’ve spent a good part of my career working on courthouses — some of the most complex, high-stakes public buildings you can design. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that trust isn’t something you can draw into a set… Read more »
Investing in the Future of Court Administration – NACM’s 2025 End-of-Year Giving Campaign
As 2025 drew to a close, NACM’s End-of-Year Giving Campaign sought to bring the court community together around the shared commitment of empowering court professionals and strengthening the future of court leadership. Gifts made as part of this campaign directly support… Read more »
Handling High-Profile Trials
The term “high-profile trial,” as most court professionals use it, seems a bit understated in the modern context. It fails to convey the attention, pressure, and chaos that is unleashed when a court finds itself at the center of a case… Read more »
Performance Previews, NOT Reviews!
Court staff are our most important resource, and their performance is at the heart of all court work. In this article, I explore how to create a high-performance work culture and environment by transforming traditional, backward-looking performance management into practices… Read more »
President’s Message
In my remarks at the Annual Conference in July, I shared my journey into NACM — starting with my first conference, when I wasn’t sure where I fit in, to finding my people, joining committees, and eventually serving on the… Read more »
A Question of Ethics
Across America, many communities are in what scholars call “legal deserts,” areas with few, if any, available attorneys to meet the legal needs of local citizens. Rural towns and poor urban neighborhoods often lack affordable access to lawyers, leaving residents… Read more »
