Podcast moderated by Peter C. Kiefer, Consultant, JPK Ventures, Inc., and Alyce Roberts, retired Special Projects Coordinator for the Alaskan Court System. Podcasts can be accessed through hnacmnet.org/podcasts. Virtual Panel Barbara Marcille, Trial Court Administrator in the Circuit Court for… Read more »
Online dispute resolution (ODR) systems are more relevant and less risky, allowing courts to provide more access to justice. Technology Needs When COVID-19 hit, there were strict safety protocols and quarantine restrictions in effect in many places. Some courts, especially… Read more »
Courts were working on ways for litigants to engage remotely before COVID-19, though it may be that we just took notice because of COVID-19. It may also be that before COVID-19, court conversations on remote engagement were insular. One of… Read more »
The Rural Justice Collaborative (RJC) Advisory Council, composed of rural judges along with additional stakeholders in the justice, child welfare, behavioral health, and public health systems, has selected nine of the country’s most innovative rural justice programs to serve as… Read more »
It didn’t take long to figure out that a lot of the organizing and engagement that resulted in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol had its roots online through social media platforms—some niche, others very mainstream. The horrifying… Read more »
Having previously considered the difficulties most courts have in achieving and sustaining high performance and the ways to realistically approach performance improvements, we now focus on building human capital. Developing the individual and collective competencies of those who work in… Read more »
COVID-19 and Court Reponses The novel coronavirus created many changes in court operations. A variety of sources have observed operational responses taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A sampling of the changes is noted below. The Hague Institute for Innovation… Read more »
How fair is your court? Take a moment to think about it before you read on. My guess is that most court professionals would be inclined to answer, “Pretty fair!” After all, you know the hard work and good intentions… Read more »
We have summarized the best thinking of over 1,500 court professionals who have reviewed 201 different scenarios of possible futures. This report highlights the 2020 assessments and focuses on the responses of NACM members, comparing their assessments with those of the overall group.
Developing self-help information for pro se litigants can increase efficiency in courts, improve the public opinion of the civil justice system, and increase access to justice. Legal professionals sometimes can struggle to interpret legal information so that it is easy for lay people to understand and inspires confidence.
The education of court professionals is a key component of the mission of the National Association for Court Management (NACM). To that end, NACM has had a long and successful history of identifying competencies needed by court leaders.
Caseflow management is a court responsibility, which benefits from ongoing attentiveness. Caseflow management practices involve efforts for monitoring and overseeing case progress while managing any case backlogs. Monitoring steps occur (optimally) from case initiation through trial, adjudicatory actions, and final… Read more »
The Surveys We have summarized the best thinking of nearly 1,400 court professionals who reviewed 186 different scenarios of possible futures.1 This report highlights 2019 assessments and focuses on the responses of NACM members, comparing their assessments with those of… Read more »
Courts must get ready for a riskier world today. We and, therefore, they face unprecedented threats to our safety, security, and welfare, including natural disasters, pandemics, terrorist attacks, biological and chemical attacks, and cyberattacks by increasingly sophisticated adversaries using not… Read more »
The more things change, the more they seem to stay the same. In judicial administration, we recognize the significant growth in our knowledge of what constitutes high performance and the operational improvements that technology has made possible. Nevertheless, courts still… Read more »
Even as social-distancing guidelines change, the reality is that many of us will continue to conduct large portions of our jobs remotely. While you’ve probably already been on many video calls, it’s worth reevaluating your options and considering adjustments that… Read more »
The Challenge For most court managers, the saying “Justice for All” is more than a T-shirt slogan. It is at the core of what the court system does every day. Court managers oversee and support complex services and activities, which… Read more »
The field of court administration has learned much about the policies, practices, and technologies that characterize high performance. Nevertheless, courts continue to struggle with improvement, and we have speculated that the difficulty may lie in not knowing how to go… Read more »
For 42 years, Kevin Bowling has had a career in courts, and he is a people person. So, it was a surprise when nobody tipped him off about his receiving the highest honor from the National Association for Court Management… Read more »
All courts are candidates for higher performance, and the High Performance Court Framework (HPCF, or the “Framework”) advocates concepts and processes by which any court can improve. In our two previous articles, we contended that the continuing difficulties that so… Read more »
© 2025 NACM – Court Manager; printed in the United States. Court Manager is published quarterly by the National Association for Court Management. Opinions expressed and procedures explained in the articles are not necessarily those of NACM or of the National Center for State Courts. Publication of advertising in the Court Manager does not imply NACM or NCSC endorsement or approval of the product or service. The association encourages submission of material that will interest or benefi t its members. Address correspondence to either the editor or the managing editor; inquiries about advertising should be directed to the managing editor. All rights are reserved to reject, condense, or edit any article or advertisement submitted for publication.