Network Groups:
UCMN RCIN TCRIC
Trial Court Research and Improvement Consortium
Convened by: Greacen Associates, LLC; The Justice Management Institute; The National Center for State Courts Engaging in Research About the Operation of Trial Courts What is TCRIC?Origin of the Group
TCRIC Methodology
Products and Results
Membership and Participation
Governance
Obligations of Participation; Payment of Meeting Costs
Meetings
Who to Contact for More Information
What is TCRIC? The Trial Court Research and Improvement Consortium (TCRIC) is a group of state trial courts, state administrative offices of courts, court consulting and academic organizations, and three convening organizations (The Justice Management Institute (JMI), Greacen Associates LLC, and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC)) who are engaged in collaborative research focused on improving the operations and performance of trial courts. The initial work of the Consortium was funded in part by a grant from the National Institute (NIJ) of Justice of the U.S. Department of Justice. Subsequent efforts have been funded from a variety of sources, including the participating jurisdictions. The Consortium’s purpose and mission are as follows:
Working together with facilitating organizations, a group of trial courts can conceive, sponsor, and conduct research in areas of critical importance so as to further the accumulation of knowledge about the operation of state trial courts. The participating courts can use that knowledge to develop their own research capabilities, improve their operations, and stimulate the improvement of trial courts nationwide.Origin of the Group During the last ten years there has been very little coordinated research that can assist judges and court managers in the operation of trial courts in America. While part of this is attributable to a lack of funding for research, it is also exacerbated by the lack of a forum or structure to prioritize and coordinate the research. In response to the concern about a lack of current research on trial courts a focus group meeting on Assessing Court Research Needs was convened by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in 1999. Among the authors of papers presented at the meeting were the leaders of all three organizations (JMI, NCSC, Greacen and Associates) that subsequently organized TCRIC. Several of the attendees at that meeting subsequently participated in the formative meeting of the Consortium. Interest in research on trial court issues was also expressed at several meetings of the Urban Court Managers Network (UCMN), a group of trial court executives and presiding judges from major urban jurisdictions around the country. To better articulate the research needs UCMN conducted a focus group on trial court research issues in March 2001. The meeting produced a National Agenda on Urban Trial Court Research which was subsequently endorsed by NACM. Recognizing the importance of re-invigorating interest in trial court research the leaders of JMI, Greacen Associates, and the National Center for State Courts met at the NACM annual meeting in 2001 and agreed to create a group devoted to this issue. Support by NIJ was immediately forthcoming and the strong assistance of that federal institute allowed the group to conduct a formative meeting and later provided the first funding to conduct a series of meetings and commence one priority research project. The Trial Court Research and Improvement Consortium (TCRIC) was established in the fall of 2001 as a culmination of these efforts. To date, the Consortium has met eight times in various locations across the country. At the initial meeting of the Consortium, held in San Jose, California in 2001, those in attendance identified a number of priority topics where trial court research was needed. The six topics given the highest priority were: 1. Self represented litigants
2. Performance measures
3. Problem solving/specialty courts
4. Multi-cultural justice 5. Family courts, and
6. Trial court governance
Initially the Consortium members concentrated on the first three of the six priority topics: self-represented litigants, problem solving/specialty courts, and performance measures. On the topic of self-represented litigants the Consortium has essentially completed an initial phase of work on a series of evaluation instruments that a self–help program can use to assess its effectiveness. These instruments have been tested in several jurisdictions in several states. Reports of the research have been produced and are available. This effort has been coordinated by Greacen and Associates, funded by an SJI grant, working in conjunction with the California AOC. On the topic of problem solving/specialty courts, the Consortium has also been studying the collateral costs of operating an adult drug court. This effort is being coordinated by JMI and is funded by an NIJ grant. Established drug courts across the country have been surveyed to identify the existence and magnitude of cost incurred in operating a drug court beyond the treatment and other costs directly associated with participants. The surveys are now being analyzed and a report will be prepared that will be reviewed by the Consortium and published under the auspices of NIJ. NCSC has developed a set of performance measures, referred to as CourTools, designed to form a core set of measures that courts can use to assess their performance, over time and compared to other courts. NCSC is seeking courts and states that will begin to collect and report data using the measures. TCRIC Methodology One of the key characteristics of the research conducted by the Consortium is the active involvement of court practitioners in all phases of the traditional research process. At the initial meeting the group agreed on a methodology that would govern research efforts conducted under Consortium sponsorship. The significance of the method agreed upon is that it places the participating jurisdictions and researchers in a position to not only participate in but guide the focus of any research effort undertaken under the auspices of TCRIC. Research projects are not initiated by the convening organizations or other researchers and presented to the TCRIC participants. Rather, participating jurisdictions and researchers become and remain partners and collaborators throughout the process, from identification of research priorities, through developing research questions to interpreting research findings. The basic TCRIC methodology includes the following steps:
- The Consortium participants define the most significant research questions associated with the issue under consideration and begin the process of defining measures from the perspective of trial court operation and management.
- The facilitating organizations or a researcher summarizes existing knowledge concerning those research questions, including a literature review of existing research, for presentation at a Consortium meeting.
- Courts interested in this topic are invited to participate in reviewing the summary and in developing common understandings of the courts’ desired purposes and outcomes for the research effort.
- Courts with a particular interest in the research topic elect to work with the researcher to develop a research methodology specific to the questions and the realities of the available data.
- Courts then volunteer to serve as sites for the research, gathering data, participating in the analysis of the data, and reviewing and commenting on the findings resulting from the research. The participating courts and the researcher work together to insure the completion, integrity, and utility of the research undertaken.
- The researcher and participating courts present the research findings at a TCRIC meeting. The Consortium will discuss the implications of the findings and decide on any appropriate next steps for further developing knowledge concerning the topic, thus beginning the research cycle again. The group also discusses distribution of the findings and results to the field.