This unique resource that shines a light on each state and its specific methods for selecting and retaining judges. Only available from IAALS, these easy-to-read charts break down how judges reach the bench, and how they stay there, across all three court levels.
Since 2007, IAALS and the American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery and Civil Justice have partnered to study cost and delay in America’s civil justice system, and propose solutions. The report is a re-evaluation of their original proposed Principles in light of the pilot project and rule reform experiences around the country, and includes 24 new proposed Principles to guide future innovation.
IAALS conducted an evaluation of the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program at the University of New Hampshire School of Law to analyze the program's outcomes. The program is a collaboration between the law school, the state supreme court, and the state board of bar examiners, and provides a combination of experiential training and ongoing assessment.
Family court judges make significant decisions affecting our nation's families, yet these judges are often undervalued—even by their peers on the bench. And, there is insufficient acknowledgement of the broad expertise required to do the job well. This publication aims to change this by drawing attention to the special knowledge, qualities, and skills that these judges need to be successful.
This report details IAALS' final findings on the Colorado Civil Access Pilot Project (CAPP), the state's experiment with new court procedures intended to secure the fundamental promise of our civil justice system: a just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action.
Understanding how the courts and rulemakers have addressed the costs of discovery, including their allocation between the parties, provides important background and context for future recommendations. This report reviews the laws in the United States and other countries and provides examples of, and analogies to, various cost allocation models.
This report details the judicial nominating commissions used to select supreme court justices in 30 states and the District of Columbia. The report examines why judicial nominating commissions are established in the first place, how their structure and operation differ across the nation, and what some of the best practices might be in building public trust in the process.
IAALS has a deep and abiding interest in protecting the quality and integrity of the judiciary. With the assistance of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Ret.), and based upon IAALS’ independent research and compilation of existing research, IAALS and Justice O’Connor have identified a model for judicial selection that we believe best balances the dual goals of impartiality and accountability.
This publication answers many common questions about the court systems and judges in the United States, such as why we have both state and federal courts and how the differ, what types of state courts there are, how a state judge reaches the bench, and what qualifications state judges have.
In 2011, the Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers initiative at IAALS conducted a survey, gathering data about new programs from 118 law schools. The survey intended to determine whether external factors were catalysts for institutional changes or whether schools acted following the Carnegie Report. This publication contains IAALS blog posts spanning four years, addressing the results and impact of the survey.
This publication provides a synthesis of the relevant empirical research on the civil justice process released from 2008 to 2013. In addition to IAALS research, it contains studies conducted by a variety of organizations and individuals, including the Federal Judicial Center, the National Center for State Courts, the RAND Corporation, and others.
IAALS drafted this report coming out of its Forum for Understanding and Comment on the Federal Rules Amendments, which was held in December 2013. The Report provides additional background and a summary of the discussion.
IAALS and the American College of Trial Lawyers Task Force on Discovery and Civil Justice submitted comments on the proposed Federal Rule Amendments. The comment provides a summary of the pilot project and rules reform activity around the country, at both the state and federal level, as much of this activity parallels the current proposed amendments.
This report involved interviews with nearly 30 state and federal trial court judges, from diverse jurisdictions nationwide, who were identified as being outstanding and efficient case managers and documents their recommendations and key practices. In their own words, these judges share their strategies.
Recognizing that appellate Judicial Performance Evaluation programs have largely been patterned after programs for trial judges, IAALS offers recommendations and tools for evaluating the performance of appellate judges that are tailored to those judges’ unique role and responsibilities.
