Latest Posts

Reports and Recommendations, Unshelved!

Posted in Administration on Wednesday January 25 2012 @ 8:28am

What do you do after the consultants go home?

We were once upon a time involved in a study conducted by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) to find the answer. The early and mid-90s saw a frenzy of strategic planning, futures, and other forward-looking studies. What happened to these? Were the recommendations communicated? Implemented? Gathering dust on the shelf?

The correct answer turned out to be all of the above. A select few jurisdictions widely distributed reports not only to the courts but also to the community. They used the reports every single day (!!!) to guide their actions. One can easily imagine a dog-eared binder, chock full o' action steps, that at least one person in the court reached for every day.

Other jurisdictions didn't do so well. Momentum was lost when committees disbanded. Once this happened, it was difficult to get back on track -- finding new members and getting them up to speed is difficult. Duplicating work of past committees becomes the norm.

Some did not involve the community enough. The definition of community could be quite narrow -- often the usual suspect triad of courts, prosecutors, law enforcement. Where were the community leaders? Legislators? Educators? Families? Crime victims? Mental health and substance abuse professionals? Hmmm. See Charting a Course to Strategic Thought and Action: Developing Strategic Planning Capacities in State Courts, Kenneth G. Pankey, Anne Skove, and Jennifer Sheldon, NCSC (2002).

A great recent local (for us) example of a report that is being put to work comes from the Cincinnati Police Department. Not without baggage, this department has a fresh new chief. (Note: we are no longer allowed to say we would like to marry Police Chief Craig; only that we greatly admire him, which is true.)

The police department has undergone many of the same stresses as other government in recent years -- downsizing, budget cuts, low morale, etc. Acting on a recently-conducted audit, the department made a public commitment to improvement. Many of the improvements are good not only for taxpayers but for the department employees as well -- doing away with the current annual review system, sensible redistricting, and the no hats policy are simple, bold, and promising. See , Carrie Whitaker, Cincinnati Enquirer (January 23, 2012).

The chief is also notably doing away with a federal program that has been proven ineffective. This is yet another example of common sense and research guiding policy and saving money.

Can your court match this? Dust off your report and see.

Budget Fun

Posted in Administration on Monday January 23 2012 @ 7:03am

New York's state court system is on its way to budget approval by Governor Cuomo, who calls the proposed plan better and smarter.

See Cuomo Supports State Court Budget Proposal, Dan Wiessner, Thomson Reuters News & Insight (January 17, 2012).

Budgets can seem to occur in the abstract. What do the public and the legal community actually feel? Longer lines, if security is cut. Limiting hours has the obvious effect of delaying cases. In domestic relations and housing, for example, delay can be harsh on parties, translating into uncertainty in the lives of children, eviction, etc. The effects of delay on criminal cases can put defendants in constitutional jeopardy. As Sonny and Cher noted, the beat goes on.

See NY Bar Association Says Budget Cuts Slowed Courts, AP (January 18, 2012), and the New York Bar Association report, and Two Reports, One Conclusion: NY Courts Hit Hard by Budget Cuts, Joseph Ax, Thomson Reuters News & Insight (January 19, 2012).

Can mediation save courts time and money? If we had a definitive answer, we would have bought that island home by now. The shaky answer is Yes, if you do it right. New York has a solid history of mediation programs, and they are standing up to be counted in the state court budget discussion. See NYS Mediation Center Advocacy Campaign, Julie Loesch, Nyack News & Views (January 23, 2012).

Brilliant Court Coverage by Puppets

Posted in Truth Is Stranger Than (Legal) Fiction! on Thursday January 19 2012 @ 6:43pm

We have read and written quite a bit about media coverage of state court proceedings. Is it a good idea to broadcast hearings? Well, if you keep cameras out of your court, you might face something like this: The Puppet's Court, 19 Action News (2012).

Since it's Akron, we can only assume that Gilby is the mastermind behind this concept.

What's next? The Frisch Marionettes covering the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio?

Thanks to the brilliant Bill Raftery of Gavel to Gavel for sending us this link. He knew we'd be amused.

See also the oldie but goodie Hold Your Own Presidential Debate -- The Finger Puppet Solution, David Giacalone, f/k/a...the archives (September 26, 2998). This blog post is why, when I self-google-image, one of the first things that pops up is Senor Wences.

Courthouse Demolition

Posted in Courthouses on Tuesday January 17 2012 @ 6:39am

Walls came tumbling down in Seneca County, Ohio, when the historic courthouse there was demolished.

Efforts to save the building (seen in great detail in this slideshow) were unsuccessful. Wow, even the doorjambs were beautiful!

A few treasures escaped harm. See Seneca Co. Antiques Dealer Reports Heavy Demand for Courthouse Items, Jennifer Feehan, Toledo Blade (January 17, 2012).

Is your courthouse endangered? These buildings are the focal point of small cities and county seats, a piece of the history and landscape, the center of community activities. Despite the enormous cost of renovations, these are worth the trouble. How are you raising funds to pay for restoration? What plans are being made to save at-risk buildings? Or, did your courthouse go the way of the dodo? Please share!

It Ain't Over...

Posted in Hype on Monday January 02 2012 @ 4:29pm

Twelve days, right? Even though it seems like 8 weeks since our kids have been out of school...

So, not-belatedly, here are some wishes from our peeps at the Court Technology Bulletin: The Twelve Days of Court Tech!

Petit Scrooge

Posted in Jury on Monday January 02 2012 @ 3:15pm

Boo on employers who hassle employees who are called for jury service. Even more of a pox on anyone who would fire a civic-minded employee right before Christmas, via voice mail.

See Fired for Jury Duty? Woman Sues Former Employer, Aisling Swift, Naples News (January 2, 2012).

It's not just a good idea for an employer to allow employees to answer the summons -- it's the law. Sheeeeesh.

See the NCSC's Juror Information State Links, which will eventually get you to rules for employers. (There might be something better out there -- I swear I put this together once but can't find it on www.ncsc.org.)

Prediction: Mass Exodus

Posted in Administration on Sunday January 01 2012 @ 11:49pm

We ourselves are a few decades away from retirement, and honestly at this non-day-job juncture it is difficult to say exactly what we'd be retiring *from* -- but for many public employees, some form of retirement will occur in the very near future.

Is your organization prepared? See Budget, Smudget, Fudget, court-o-rama.org (November 17, 2011). (Geez, who writes those titles?) This post describes how one court lost several members over the course of a year to retirement. If this hasn't happened in your court, just wait.

Why the flight? Simple -- insecurity. Public benefits, rightfully earned, are being chipped away. People want to retire as soon as they can, before anything else disappears. See, e.g., State Employee Unions Sue NYS Over Retiree Insurance Costs Increase, North Country Public Radio (December 30, 2011).

Another reason -- exhaustion. Being asked to do more with less gets old after a while. Downsizing, not replacing employees who leave, and ever-shrinking budgets mean those who do stay are wearing out. This is true even if the cuts are more drastic in other departments or services -- the buck gets passed, but to whom? Fewer police? Fewer mental health professionals? Fewer social workers? Courts pick up the slack.

What can a court do? Prepare for the worst. Budget for the changes -- from paying pensions to training new employees. Be aware of trends, not only in your own court but in other related fields -- law enforcement, social services, etc. Think, too, of possible collateral damage -- is human resources equipped to handle the comings and goings? How will you deal with morale? Where will you find new blood? See It Is All About the People Who Work in the Courthouse, Hon. Kevin S. Burke, Future Trends 2011. TGIM, indeed!

Four More Years!

Posted in Hype on Thursday December 29 2011 @ 9:33am

Happy Birthday to us!

It was roughly 4 years ago that court-o-rama.org reared its silly, yet slightly informed head. Thanks SO much to everyone who followed us here from the Jur-E Bulletin, to those who found us on their own, to those who bail us out in various ways, to our facebook likers, etc. It's been fun, and will continue to be so.

Whiskers on Kittens

Posted in Hype on Tuesday December 27 2011 @ 4:53pm

Here are a few of our favorite things --

Simple Justice: This blog by Scott Greenfield is New York- and defender-centric, but never misses a chance to comment on the larger world of criminal justice (or lack thereof).

Justice at Stake: In these tense political times, Justice at Stake is doing excellent work. Please read before voting!

probono.net: Chock full o' content is a unique online resource for nonprofit legal providers.

Sentencing Law and Policy: One of the first and still grandaddy of all law professor blawgs, Doug Berman at OSU has remarkable drive. We got hooked on this in our Blakely days, but it is still always topical!

NIEM Misconceptions Unmisconceptualized: Mmmm, cream puffs! My kids all like this video, so even if you're a NIEMaphobe or NIEM-cluless, even if you don't own a Got NIEM? t-shirt, you will enjoy this.

National Center for State Courts: Everything you ever wanted to know about state courts but were afraid to ask!

Resources Study Innovation for Court ADR (RSI): Did you always wish there were a good online (or any) resource for ADR stuff? Here it is -- the answer to your dreams.

Gavel to Gavel: Bill Raftery has the best court blog! Shh, don't tell anyone. Certainly, don't tell us.

Enjoy!

Mythological

Posted in Criminal on Friday December 16 2011 @ 6:25am

More frightening than any mythological creatures are the myths that end up wrongfully convicting innocent people. In his book False Justice: Eight Myths that Convict the Innocent, former Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro lists the following dangerous myths:

1. Everyone in prison claims innocence

Our system almost never convicts an innocent person

3. Only the guilty confess

4. Wrongful conviction is the result of innocent human error

5. An eyewitness is the best testimony

6. Conviction errors get corrected on appeal

7. It dishonors a victim to question a conviction

8. If the justice system has problems, the pros will fix them

To illustrate, Petro refers to a recent real-life example of a union supporter whose supervisor wanted revenge. An unsolved series of rape cases was the supervisor's ticket -- together, with a lying cop, the crime-free defendant was convicted and sentenced from 22-56 years. He has since been exonerated by University of Cincinnati law students. See UC Law Students Celebrate Overturned Conviction, Janice Morse, Cincinnati Enquirer (December 15, 2011).

Next 10 Posts >>

court-o-rama.org

the least dangerous blog

Categories