Rural Court Network Seminars
Key Issues | Promising Approaches | Network Seminars | Resources
The Rural Court Improvement Network initiative is designed to address the issues facing rural court practitioners, emphasizing the sharing of information and ideas about promising approaches and practices, and fostering peer-to-peer learning among court system leaders at the state and local levels.
The basic approach to developing the network is to conduct a series of seminars for teams from states in a geographic region of country. The teams consist of a mix of state-level court leaders and trial court judges and administrators in each of the participating states.
The seminars are structured to enable participants to learn from each other and to use the seminar experience to shape improvements in operations in their own jurisdictions. Innovative practices and promising approaches to addressing problems faced by rural courts are discussed at the seminars and summarized on this web page.
Seminars are hosted in locations where there is a rural court that has developed especially promising practices or programs that can be adapted by other jurisdictions. A portion of the seminar is devoted to visiting, observing, and discussing these practices or programs.
Previous Seminars
Syracuse, New York - November 16-19, 2008
Topics included: Tribal Justice Issues, Problem-Solving Courts, and Technology in the Courts
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho - June 1-4, 2008
Topics included: Managing Limited Resources; Courthouse Security And Disaster Preparedness; Court Delay/Caseflow Management; Court Staff Recruitment and Training; Support Services for Problem-Solving Courts; Overcoming Language Barriers; Assisting Pro Se Litigants; Providing Effective Indigent Defense Services; and Potential Role(s) Of State-Level Court System Leaders
Atlanta, Georgia - June 23-26, 2009
Topics included: Managing Low-Level, High-Volume Cases; Managing Offenders with Mental Illness and/or Substance Addictions, Problem-Solving Courts; Applications of Technology in Rural Courts; Impact of Budget Cutbacks on Court Operations and Caseloads; Ensuring Access for Indigent Defendants and Pro Se Litigants
Austin, Texas - August 2-5, 2010
Topics included: Court Culture and Organizational Change; Interpreter Services; Statewide Support for Rural Courts; Court Security: Reduce the Risk; Applying Technology to Expand Access to Justice and Manage Court Operations
Columbia, Missouri – September 11-14, 2011
Topics included: Evidence Based Decision Making (EBDM) In Rural Courts, Blended Learning for Judges and Court Staff, ASTAR (Advanced Science & Technology Adjudication Resource Center) Judge Training Program; Use of Video Hearings for Respondents and Defendants at Mental Health Facilities, VA Hospitals, Jails and Prisons; Modern Technology Courtroom Tour; and Managing Budget Cuts Through Use of Data Analysis and Stakeholder Input
Napa, California – October 23-26, 2011
Topics included: Self-Help Assistance and Referral Programs, Court-Community Collaboration Initiatives, Court Clerk Career Progression, Child Support Night Court, Applying EBDM in California Courts and Immigration 101: Criminal Case Implications for Lawful Permanent Residents
