In Support of Increased Federal Funding for the State Justice Institute
Resolution 3: In Support of Increased Federal Funding for the State Justice Institute
WHEREAS, the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators consist of the chief justice and the state court administrator or equivalent officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and territories that make up the United States; and
WHEREAS, the State Justice Institute (SJI) was established by Congress in 1984, at the urging of the Conferences to ensure federal support and assistance for state court initiatives that promote national policies and interests in improving the fair and effective administration of justice; and
WHEREAS, strong, effective state judicial systems are the backbone of the American system of justice, resolving over 98% of all litigation in this country; and
WHEREAS, since its creation SJI has assisted state courts in implementing national policies on a host of issues including: (1) supporting a comprehensive strategy for responding to the challenges of the opioid epidemic; (2) addressing the impact of federal and state human trafficking laws; (3) improving court oversight and responses to guardianship, conservatorship, and elder abuse cases; (4) facilitating juvenile justice reform innovations; (5) reviewing fines, fees, and bail practices to ensure court processes are fair and access to justice is assured; (6) focusing on civil justice reforms to make courts more user-friendly to individuals and businesses and to fairly and promptly resolve disputes; (7) promoting court-based solutions to address the increases in self-represented litigants; (8) increasing access to courts by improving language interpreter services; and (9) reengineering to improve state court operations and use technology innovations; and
WHEREAS, SJI assistance is, in the majority of cases, matched by the expenditure of equal or larger sums by state and local sources; and
WHEREAS, the Conferences support the mission of SJI to promote the federal interest in improving the fair and effective administration of justice in the state courts;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators strongly urge Congress to increase funding for SJI from its FY 2018 level of $5,121,000 to $6,921,000. This increase provides $1,800,000 to address the opioid epidemic including its impact on children.
Approved as proposed by the CCJ/COSCA Joint Committee on Government Affairs at the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators 2018 Annual Meeting on August 22, 2018.