NJC staff will provide office-based technical assistance to judges around the country. This TA will be responsive to inquiries through phone, email, or in person. Additionally, NJC staff may provide technical assistance and outreach by participating as a content expert at events hosted by allied organizations of BJA.
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NJC staff will provide office-based technical assistance to judges around the country as they strive to improve their handling of criminal cases. We will respond to inquiries from judges over the telephone, via e-mail, and/or in person while the judge is attending a course. NJC may provide publications or other informational material, or introduce the judge to the resources of an allied organization, or connect the judge with a faculty member willing to provide technical assistance on a topic relating to criminal justice improvement.
We have created a spreadsheet in order to track all technical assistance inquiries we receive. The spreadsheet chronicles the caller name/organization, the date of the call, the caller's inquiry, as well as the assistance provided. During this reporting period, January-June 2017, we received five (5) technical assistance requests.
The requests include the following:
1. Director of Learning Innovations, Pretrial Justice Institute, requested assistance with an educational program - they wish to do mock-trial court scenarios on first appearance in court (what to present, multi-disciplinary audience). Also how to do "preventive hearings" - a team event with prosecutor, defense, pretrial services, and judge. We provided samples of scripts as well as instructions to the "actors" who are volunteers from the course. We will also review the draft and participate in prep calls.
2. Nancy Crean, Analyst, Oregon Judicial Department sought assistance with courtroom technology; how to hold remote hearings. She spoke with Joseph Sawyer about options and provided telephonic consultation on options.
3. Bruce Anderson, Circuit Judge in Jacksonville, FL inquired about examples of juror questionnaires (ie death qualification questions) used during a capital case. A law school professor who was assisting in the presentation he attended suggested that other states such as Virginia routinely use individual written juror questionnaires in capital cases and that your organization may have some to share or could direct me to where I can locate examples. We sent him an example from Ohio and also introduced him to with Judge Jenifer Harris, faculty for the NJC Handling Capital Cases course.
4. A participant from the Handling Capital Cases course had a question arise from the jury sessions about courthouse dogs. Staff contacted Dr. Cindy VanSchooten, faculty in other NJC courses and knowledgeable about the topic, for assistance. Dr. VS turned staff on to https://courthousedogs.org/legal/appellate-case-law/, a synopsis of appellate case law on court dogs and juries.
5. Ray Clary, Judge, Spokane County Superior Court wrote: “I chair my court’s local rules committee. Can you refer me to someone with NJC that might have research or a sample local rule for control and limitations of use of cell phones, video and cameras in the courtroom. We have a rule for main stream press, but not individuals who purport to be fee lance journalists or otherwise. Any resource you may suggest would be appreciated.” We sent links to NJC's 3-hour self-study course and the new Notorious Cases website. Lots of samples there.
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