CHIEF JUSTICE CHRISTINE DURHAM CALLS FOR LEGAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE OF FUNDING STATE COURTS AT NAWJ CAUCUS MEETING, ABA MIDYEAR MEETING

The National Association of Women Judges held its fifth meeting with the Congressional Caucus on Women's Issues on March 11th on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Among the 30 judges who greeted and discussed issues with Caucus members was the President of the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham and National Center for State Courts Executive Director Mary McQueen. The Meeting's chairs included NAWJ President Dana Fabe Justice on the Alaska Supreme Court, D.C. Court of Appeals Judge Vanessa Ruiz and Nicole Erb, Esq. of White & Case.

"Lawyers and judges properly understand their roles in society and their institutions as an integral part of the constitutional experiment that is the American system of justice," a heartened Durham told the audience of American Bar Association House of Delegates on February 8th in Orlando, Florida.

And, as she told every Congressional Caucus member who joined NAWJ's meeting the vast majority of justice is administered by our states courts. "Institutional independence includes the ability to manage resources, develop procedures, and establish policies and priorities for the essential functions of the courts: access to justice, prompt resolution of disputes, effective use of and accountability for public resources, alternatives to litigation, and a whole host of other concerns that are part of the administration of the courts." In Orlando, Chief Justice Durham called on the ABA support increase in the State Justice Institute's appropriation which has been shrinking in recent years. The State Judicial Institute was created and is funded by Congress for the purpose of supporting the work of the state courts.

As NAWJ's Capitol Hill meeting focused on domestic violence, elder abuse and access to court interpreters, Representatives were reminded that despite Violence Against Women's Act's (VAWA) reauthorization federal funding to support state and local programming initiatives to support case coordinators and developing domestic violence courts and tracking systems were outstanding needs; the House approval of HR 448 and the Senate's companion bill S1821 would significantly impact court resources and abilities to require background checks on persons providing direct patient care, provide grants to develop forensic expertise and establish stationary and mobile forensic centers, and provided increased services relating to elder abuse; and support Senate sponsored bill S1329 that would authorize a grant program to support court interpreter efforts in the states through the Department of Justice, the highest court in each state, and through state application.

Though the Caucus Meeting turnout was heavily impacted by health care legislation, and concurrent hearings, Caucus Chair Jan Schakowsky, having arrived directly from a meeting at the State Department, challenged NAWJ to unite in 'sisterhood' to fight injustice globally. In her remarks to the ABA Chief Justice Durham mentioned she appointed a special CCJ task force "to focus on issues raised by the globalization of the practice of law, which has already benefitted greatly by the work done by the section on International Law and the section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar."

You can view Chief Justice Durham's full speech in the clip below:

NAWJ has been meeting on Capitol Hill with members of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues for the past five years to discuss areas of mutual concern.

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The National Association of Women Judges' mission is to promote the judicial role of protecting the rights of individuals under the rule of law through strong, committed, diverse judicial leadership; fairness and equality in the courts; and equal access to justice. NAWJ is a non partisan, non-profit organization of more than 1,200 federal, state, administrative, tribal and military judges from across the country. For more information contact Marie Komisar at NAWJ, Tel: 202-393-0222.

The Conference of Chief Justices overall mission is to improve the administration of justice in the states and territories of the United States. They address this mission by:

• promoting the vitality, independence and effectiveness of state judicial systems
• developing and advancing policies supporting our common interests and values
• educating leaders to become effective managers of state judicial systems
• supporting the provision of adequate resources for the operation of state courts.

For more information contact the Conference of Chief Justices at the National Center for State Courts, Tel: 757-259-1841.

The State Justice Institute (SJI) was established by Federal law in 1984 to award grants to improve the quality of justice in State courts, facilitate better coordination between State and Federal courts, and foster innovative, efficient solutions to common issues faced by all courts. SJI is unique both in its mission and how it seeks to fulfill it. SJI carries out its mission in a variety of ways that maximize the impact of its funding, including:

• Placing practical products in the hands of the judges and court staff who can most benefit from them;
• Maintaining information clearinghouses to assure that effective new judicial approaches in one State are quickly and economically shared with other courts nationwide;
• Establishing national resource centers where judges and court staff obtain expert guidance, test new technologies, and learn from each other;
• Convening national, regional, and in-State educational programs to speed the transfer of solutions to issues shared by courts across the nation; and,
• Delivering national technical assistance targeted at specific jurisdictions' specific problems.

For more information, contact the State Justice Institute, tel: 703-684-6100.