News & Updates

At the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules’ meeting last week in Portland, Oregon, the Committee voted to adopt the Duke Conference “package” of amendments, as well as a last minute revised and streamlined Rule 37(e). The Committee considered and approved for adoption the package of amendments as laid out in the Agenda Book for the meeting.

Four of the seven seats on the North Carolina Supreme Court are on the ballot in November. The current ideological balance on the court is 4-3, with a Republican majority, and three of the four seats up for election are currently held by Democrats. Commentators anticipate millions of dollars in special interest spending in the coming months.

The issue of social media and juries is not a new one, but a recent study sought to identify ways courts can minimize juror-use of social media and better protect the long-standing institution of a fair and impartial jury. The study surveyed hundreds of jurors to determine whether they felt tempted to use social media during the trial and deliberation process. Based upon feedback, the authors have specific courtroom recommendations for judges.

IAALS is pleased to announce the completion of its preliminary evaluation report on the Colorado Civil Access Pilot Project (CAPP), which tests a new set of pre-trial procedures for business actions in state district court. Our initial analysis reveals that the CAPP process as a whole has succeeded in achieving many of its intended effects, including a reduced time to disposition, increased court interaction, proportional discovery and costs, and a lower level of motions practice.

The "Plain Language Movement" has been afoot for many years in the United States, seeking to make legal documents accessible to a broad swath of intended readers. In Washington, the Pro Se Project was created to improve self-represented litigant’s access to the courts by improving pattern court forms. Twenty-four other states also have extensive plain language court forms for use in family law and other areas.

IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis was interviewed recently on Divorce Source Radio, a resource for individuals and families going through divorce. According to Kourlis, the challenge for IAALS and others is to explore how we can “create a system that would nurture people through it to the extent possible . . . while still achieving the separation of legal rights and responsibilities that are associated with divorce.”

With state legislatures in session around the country and considering bills that would impact the selection and tenure of state judges, IAALS Online provides this summary of where things stand at the end of March. Developments in: Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington.

The Agenda Book for the upcoming meeting of the federal Advisory Committee on Civil Rules (April 10-11, 2014) is now available online. The Agenda Book includes reports from the Duke and Discovery Subcommittees, along with the Subcommittees' current proposed rule amendments and Committee Notes, taking into account the public hearing testimony and over 2000 comments submitted during the public comment period.

For the second year in a row, the U.S. News and World Report's 2015 law school rankings have taken advantage of the rich employment data now made public by the American Bar Association. But as the Economist noted last week, the rankings have not yet made use of an interesting piece of data the ABA has published: whether student jobs reported by schools were funded by law schools.

Access to justice is by no means a new conversation in the United States, but it has been a frequent topic of conversation over the last few months. The issue took to the international stage last Thursday and Friday when the United Nations Human Rights Committee asked the U.S. to account for its growing civil justice gap, with two worrisome trends dominating the discussion.

A proposed amendment to the South Carolina constitution purports to change the waiting period for a no-fault divorce from 365 days to 150 days. Opponents argue that shortening the waiting period will lead to an increase in divorce, while proponents believe that the one year waiting period creates financial problems for couples and unneeded stress for children.

The Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association dedicated its Winter 2014 publication to the Judiciary. As part of the WTLA’s review of the bench, IAALS Executive Director Rebecca Love Kourlis wrote an article about one way that Wyoming can enhance its selection and retention process, by conducting judicial performance evaluations.

Rhode Island's judicial nominating commission met recently to discuss potential improvements to the commission's work. Much of the discussion focused on the transparency of the process. The governor has allotted $7,500 to hire an expert to advise the commission on its procedures, with any proposed changes subject to a public hearing process.

The terms of three members of Florida's seven-member supreme court are set to expire at the same time that the next Florida governor's term expires—on January 8, 2019. Recognizing that state law is unclear as to whether the outgoing or incoming governor has the authority to fill judicial vacancies that occur on inauguration day, a Republican senator has offered a proposed constitutional amendment that would empower the outgoing governor to make these appointments.

It is undisputed that divorce can be a costly endeavor for families, but a recent study from Great Britain suggests that the economic impact of divorce extends far beyond the family unit. This month, Great Britain’s Welfare Minister released alarming statistics from a recent study by the Relationships Foundation. The study estimated that family breakdown costs the country £46 billion a year—£1,541 for every taxpayer.

The Kansas Supreme Court's long-awaited school funding decision may prevent an all-out legislative assault on the state's courts. On March 7, the high court ruled that funding disparities among the state's school districts violate the state constitution. According to Kansas' attorney general, the court adopted a middle ground.

Utah requires divorcing couples to attend a two-hour seminar, and one lawmaker has proposed splitting the seminar into separate segments, the first of which occurring earlier in the process to help remind couples that reconciliation is an option. Meanwhile, a bill in Alabama would require couples with children to take a class designed to increase parents' sensitivity to their children's needs.

Change is happening in law schools across the country. While most are evolving independently, many schools are working toward the same end: developing new teaching methods and strategies that teach students skills that will give them an edge with employers. A recent U.S. News and World Report article highlights a few of these efforts from Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers Consortium schools, which emphasize practical skills training and a more hands-on understanding of what it means to be a lawyer.

The San Diego Superior Court has implemented a new pilot program that allows couples to complete a simple divorce in just one day. The program has only a few requirements and is designed to foster collaboration between the parties so that the process can move swiftly toward less-adversarial resolution.

Over at the Talent Code, Daniel Coyle talks about a trauma surgeon who described the best training session he ever witnessed: an unexpected, staged accident, complete with chaos, fake blood, and hidden victims. In law school there might not be much use for fake blood, but there are educators asking students to role play.