News & Updates

Eight U.S. states have adopted informal domestic relations trials to simplify divorce cases, especially for self-represented litigants. These trials streamline procedures, allow direct evidence submission, and enhance fairness, reducing court backlog and improving access to justice.

Lawyers, judges, and litigants alike have all come to the conclusion that the system is too expensive, complex, and time-consuming. If we are serious about having civil justice that is indeed just, speedy, and cost-effective, we have to make changes. Big changes.

This year, Albany Law Review's annual State Constitutional Commentary Symposium features articles from IAALS Advisory Committee Members, including Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Chief Justice Ruth McGregor, Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, and Meryl Chertoff.

IAALS has released recommendations for modernizing judicial performance evaluation, including a set of reforms designed to help states strengthen judicial accountability, promote public trust, and ensure the courts meet the needs of today’s society.

In December, major changes were made to the rules regarding civil procedure in federal courts. The federal rules refocus and reaffirm the legal community’s commitment to providing a just, speedy, and inexpensive resolution for everyone who brings their case to court. The new rules lay out expectations for lawyers and judges to take this promise seriously and to keep the process moving, open, and accessible for all.

Iowans for Freedom announced plans for a statewide “NO Wiggins” bus tour that will oppose judicial activism and the retention of one of the seven justices who in 2009 recognized a right to same-sex marriage in the state’s constitution. The state bar is launching its own weeklong bus tour—the “Yes Iowa Justice Tour.”

On December 1, 2015, the long awaited amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure went into effect, including changes focused on cooperation, active judicial case management, proportionality in discovery, and preservation/sanctions. Proving…

Chief Justice Ruth V. McGregor (Ret.) served on the Arizona Supreme Court from February 1998 until June 30, 2009. She was the Court's Chief Justice from June 2005 until her retirement. As we launch IAALS Online, she joins three other former Chief Justices in the conversation about IAALS and its initiatives. "This election season will give all of us an opportunity to think about how much – or how little – we know about our state supreme court justices. Most of you can name the candidates for President, for Congress, and for your Governor. But do you know how your state supreme court justices are selected and whether any judicial candidates will appear on the November ballot in your state?"

The judicial screening and nominating process, used to select judges in two thirds of the states, is one area in which implicit bias may have a negative impact. This potential is addressed in a great new resource from the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School, which provides nominating commission members with concrete guidance on the steps they can take to promote a more diverse bench.

An ad sponsored by the Washington, D.C.-based Judicial Crisis Network criticizes a supreme court candidate for volunteering to provide free legal representation to individuals suspected of terrorism. Spending on the ad is expected to top $1 million.

On September 17, 1787, the Framers signed the United States Constitution. The day is observed by some lawyer and judge groups but, unfortunately, largely goes unnoticed by the rest of the population. Our Constitution is masterful, and deserves to be celebrated by all of us.

Speaking at the Colorado Judicial Institute’s Tenth Annual Judicial Excellence for Colorado dinner, former Iowa justices Marsha Ternus, David Baker, and Michael Streit stressed the importance to the business and legal communities of maintaining an independent judiciary. According to Justice Ternus, this is a critical factor for businesses in deciding where to locate, as they “want predictability and to know that the courts follow the facts of law, not the whims of special interest groups.”

The Deschutes County Circuit Court in Oregon recently adopted an Informal Domestic Relations Trial (IDRT) process to improve access to family court for parties who prefer and will benefit from a simpler decision-making process than a traditional trial. The process is available to parties with attorneys as well as self-represented litigants, and is gaining support as a fair and streamlined way to resolve many family law matters.

According to results of a recent Vanderbilt University poll, 44 percent of Tennessee voters want to elect supreme court justices, while 28 percent believe the governor should continue to appoint them. The legislature is expected to pursue changes to the process for selecting judges in 2013.

Douglas G. Scrivner is former General Counsel of Accenture, where he worked for 31 years, 14 of which as General Counsel. In his Voices from the Field interview, Scrivner outlines the shift in the legal profession away from providing on-the-job training, and how law schools can and should embrace this shift by changing the way they teach students. Scrivner also talks about the kinds of innovation that law schools need and that law schools deans would be wise to incorporate.

The effort to create a 21st Century system of justice is advancing. Today, IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, and the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) announced the release of a new Roadmap to guide states as they implement sweeping changes to make state courts more efficient and effective—and that five jurisdictions will serve as demonstration pilots as they follow the roadmap and implement civil justice reform. An additional three states have also received grants to support their efforts to have also been selected as demonstration pilots around the country as they work to reduce cost and delay in the legal system. These efforts are part of three-year $1 million strategic response to the call to action sounded by the Conference of Chief Justices, and supported by the State Justice Institute.

The Denver Post reports that the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hear Raymond Moore's nomination today for the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The slow pace of the judicial nomination and confirmation process, normally bogged down by partisanship, may have relented for Moore, who will be considered in the first group of confirmation hearings.

IAALS has launched a unique, national initiative to change the way law schools educate students. “Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers” provides a platform to encourage law schools in the U.S. to showcase innovative teaching to produce more practice-ready lawyers who can better meet the needs of an evolving profession

Last month, in "We Won’t See You in Court: The Era of Tort Lawsuits Is Waning," the Wall Street Journal took a look at the decline in tort lawsuit filings and the reasons fueling the decline, citing “state restrictions on litigation, the increasing cost of bringing suits, improved auto safety, and a long campaign by businesses to turn public opinion against plaintiffs and their lawyers.” At first blush, this may seem like good news: lawsuits are down, people are suing less! However, I caution that it is far from good news and, if this trend continues, the courts may be in danger of becoming irrelevant.

Despite the fact that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(g) went into effect in 1983, the first judicial opinion enforcing this provision was issued just last month. In Branhaven LLC v. Beeftek, Inc., both Plaintiff corporation and Plaintiff’s attorneys under Rule 26(g), ordering them to pay the fees and costs incurred by defense counsel as a result of Plaintiff’s “large, disorganized and last minute document production.”