• Jonathan Lippman, this year's NCSC William H. Rehnquist Award honoree, has been named the Chief Justice of the New York Court of Appeals.  More
• The Institute for Court Management will train 66 faculty candidates from seven Consortium States, along with six national program faculty candidates, in four of the ICM core certification courses. The Faculty Development Training will be held in Williamsburg Jan. 13-14. More ICM news
• NCSC staff will hold a kick-off meeting with technical and design partners on Jan. 14 to begin redesigning this Web site.
• A team from NCSC’s Court Consulting Service is conducting its first site visit for the Fulton County (GA.) Superior Court Clerk Audit Project.
• NCSC Executive Director of Program Resource Development Gene Flango will speak on "Operating Dependency Courts in Disasters" to the Conference of Social Work Researchers Jan. 16 in New Orleans.
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• Gavel to Gavel –- NCSC’s electronic newsletter that tracks legislative activity on issues affecting the courts –- marks its 3rd anniversary by debuting a free online searchable database.
  Search now | Get the newsletter
• NCSC welcomes ideas for educational presentations for our Court Technology Conference, CTC 2009. The submission deadline is Jan. 31. Submit an idea

CCJ urges High Court to clarify
judicial recusal rules

The Conference of Chief Justices has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court urging it to clarify the conditions under which the Constitution’s due process clause should prevent a state judge from presiding over a matter involving a major campaign contributor.
Read the brief

'Trailblazer' Dosal receives 2008 Burger Award

Sue K. Dosal, state court administrator of the Minnesota Judicial Branch, received the NCSC award for her transformative work with the Minnesota court system. More

State courts and gubernatorial removal: A backgrounder

Illinois is one of at least 15 states with constitutional provisions that place the power of removal of a governor, temporary or otherwise, in the hands of the state’s highest court. More

N.H. to suspend jury trials, citing budget

New Hampshire’s Superior Court system plans to halt jury trials for a month early next year because of a widening state budget crisis, the New York Times reports. More

Jury service supports civic engagement

Paula Hannaford-Agor, director of the Center for Jury Studies at the National Center, talks about the importance of jury service as part of iCitizenForum’s ongoing discussion of fundamental rights. The Web site and blog, created by Colonial Williamsburg, places the balance between rights and responsibilities in historical context. Watch the video

Free online course about data exchange

A free online training course for the NIEM user community is now available as part of an effort by the Bureau of Justice Assistance to ensure that effective information sharing remains within financial reach. Details and registration