NCJ Number
174131
Date Published
1998
Length
41 pages
Annotation
In 1984 the U.S. Congress created the State Justice Institute, charging it with the mission of fostering innovations in judicial administration designed to improve the quality of justice in State courts across the Nation; this report focuses on the issues that presented State courts and the State Justice Institute (SJI) over the past decade (1987-97).
Abstract
Since 1987, SJI has awarded grants that total just over $100 million. This report documents how SJI spent the money in pursuit of its statutory mandate to "assure each person access to a fair and effective system of justice." Some of the challenges arose from the types of cases in the courts' dockets: family violence, drugs, and mass torts. Some challenges arose from the magnitude of the cases on the court dockets: the need for new technologies, greater efficiencies, and plans to improve the judiciaries of the future. A constant challenge was the need to educate the Nation's judges about how to respond to emerging issues in the courtroom, undertake innovative approaches to manage the courthouse, and develop both personally and professionally. The financial assistance that SJI provides enables all 50 State court systems, as well as the Federal courts, to benefit from the innovations and improvements made in any one State's court system.