State of the Judiciary Address

Good morning, everyone. Thank you, Kevin, and congratulations again on your installation as Bar President last night. We look forward to working together on a number of projects this coming year.

Chief Judge Simandle, colleagues in the Judiciary, colleagues in the Bar. Thank you for welcoming Chief Judge Simandle and me to this year’s convention. It’s wonderful to see the large number of attorneys and judges in attendance, as well as hundreds of law clerks for the third straight year.

Aside from being able to attend a variety of courses and get CLE credit, this conference affords everyone a chance to catch up with colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere, which is also a very important part of the practice of law.

This morning, I’m pleased to be able to report on the state of the Judiciary and speak about some recent accomplishments as well as certain challenges that lie ahead.

It’s fitting that we gather in Atlantic City today, just three weeks after the completion of a remarkably successful Fugitive Safe Surrender Program right here. For four days late last month, 3,029 individuals with outstanding warrants surrendered as part of the fourth and final Fugitive Safe Surrender project that New Jersey has conducted since 2008.

This project was part of a national effort that the U.S. Marshal’s Service originally coordinated in cities throughout the United States. In four locations in New Jersey, working in conjunction with the Attorney General’s Office, the Public Defender’s Office, law enforcement agencies, faith-based community members, and volunteers from the private bar, our court system has now adjudicated cases involving more than 13,200 people.

The most recent effort was organized by the Atlantic/Cape May Vicinage and the Vicinage for Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties. As in the past, individuals surrendered at a church, were transported to a secular site -- the Atlantic City Convention Center -- and cases were adjudicated in twelve courtrooms that operated continuously with different shifts of judges, court staff and attorneys. They resolved 8,447 warrants, most from Municipal Court and a good number from the Superior Court as well.

At the prior three sites in New Jersey, 2,245 individuals surrendered in Camden in November 2008, more than 4,100 in Newark the following year, and more than 3,900 in Central New Jersey the year after. Those four programs were the third, fourth, fifth and sixth highest turnouts among cities nationwide, and the overall total of more than 13,000 individuals was by far the largest and most successful effort throughout the United States.

Why are those efforts and results so important? Because in addition to reducing a backlog of outstanding warrants and doing so in a way that posed minimal risk to law enforcement officials, the project has enabled thousands of individuals to come out from living under the shadows. They can take responsibility for their actions and resume building normal lives out in the open, in their communities, without the specter of a warrant and eventual arrest hanging over them.

That would not have happened without the participation of the many organizations that I referred to earlier. I am especially proud and want to acknowledge the role of our judges and court staff who worked from 7 a.m. until past midnight each day in order to ensure that things proceeded as smoothly as they did. That is just one example of the extraordinary commitment of judges and staff who serve the public not only by handling the more than one million filings resolved in courtrooms each year, but also by creatively addressing other needs as they arise.

As the Judiciary continues to serve the public and works to further the cause of justice, it is also important for us to recognize the need to educate the public about what we do day in and day out. Almost everyone in this room lives and breathes in the world of the law and the Judiciary, which is not the case everywhere.

In a recent Harris Poll that was conducted in Florida, more than sixty percent of adults could not identify the three branches of government. Nearly one in five said local, state and federal. One in six said Republican, Democrat and Independent. And more than half could not define the concept of separation of powers.

I hope that we would fare a little better in New Jersey, but I’m not sure how much of a command our citizens have of the role of an independent and impartial court system, which we take for granted.

What did they do in Florida? The courts and the Bar together embarked on a broad program of civics education -- not limited to students but for adults as well. In Florida, with a Bar that is roughly 90,000 members strong, compared to more than 70,000 here in New Jersey, 4,500 lawyers and judges speak regularly in the schools. In addition, in the past two plus years, more than 400 lawyers have been trained as volunteers to speak about the courts to local community groups and educate them about the legal system. Twelve other states have begun working on similar programs.

To that end, I spoke with Bar President Sue Feeney six months ago about working together to develop a sensible strategy for the Bar and the courts to implement a broad-based program of civics education here in New Jersey. I’m so pleased by Kevin’s remarks last night and again this morning announcing the Benchmarks Program. The State Bar will help train volunteers, who will in turn address various community and service groups throughout the State about how government and the courts work, to foster a better understanding of the role of the courts and the rule of law.

Attorneys will be able to earn CLE credits for training sessions and for their presentations in the field. I want to thank Judge Bookbinder and Richard Levenstein -- who is from Florida and helped inspire this project -- among others who will be leading the very first training session right after this program.

I thank the Bar for its impressive leadership on this important subject. Together, we’ve embarked on this project because our system of government depends on having educated and informed citizens. The Benchmarks Program is an important step in that direction.

Let’s talk a bit about another subject: ongoing efforts to integrate technology into the operation of our courts. As part of an innovative project that began in the Passaic Vicinage, victims of domestic violence being treated in an emergency room, or who may be seeking refuge in a safe house, can now appear before judges by videoconferencing and seek a TRO. This started in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Paterson and has spread to five other counties, as well as to safe houses in ten counties. Our intention is to continue expanding this sensible and beneficial project in other places throughout the State.

We’ve also used technology in a number of other ways this past year. Last month, the Judiciary added to its website a searchable index of civil judgments. Instead of having to travel to clerks’ offices from county to county, users can now go online and check for liens against real property from various sources.

There’s also another new feature available on the Judiciary’s website: an attorney index. Members of the public can go online and check the status of the more than 70,000 attorneys licensed in New Jersey. The public can find out when lawyers were admitted to the Bar, verify that they’re still eligible to practice, and get other relevant information.

Those same attorneys can complete their annual registration form, pay the annual fee, and report compliance with the CLE requirement online. It is simple to do even if your computer skills don’t measure up to your children’s. As of the end of last month, about 50,000 attorneys had registered online -- more than double the number from the year before at around that time.

Just two weeks ago, the Judiciary posted a new searchable catalogue of CLE courses online so that attorneys can go to a single website and learn about upcoming courses offered by more than 200 providers.

Those are all useful developments for the public and practicing attorneys. The new uses of technology are also consistent with efforts at electronic filing in the Special Civil Part, which has been ongoing for many years, and more recently for mortgage foreclosure cases.

But make no mistake, as we continue to move forward in the 21st century, we need to expand beyond those areas and have a more broad-based system of electronic filing and electronic case management. That cannot happen on the scale that is required without a stable source of funding. Many of you may have read or heard about proposed legislation

to provide that funding, along with critically needed support for Legal Services of New Jersey. Legal Services has suffered greatly from the loss of IOLTA funding and has had to let go of hundreds of employees at a time when their services are needed more than ever.

The proposed source of funding is an increase in certain filing fees -- the first increase in a decade. No one, of course, likes the sound of a fee increase, but that’s only part of the story. Increases in fees would be offset by the ability of attorneys to file documents with the court from an iPad or desktop computer, whenever and wherever it’s convenient to do so. That means attorneys and firms would not have to incur copying costs or pay for messenger services to get documents to the courthouse by a certain hour. The approach would also result in substantial savings to county governments that would no longer have to store large amounts of paper filings. I’m very pleased that we have been working with the Bar on this subject as we continue to try to improve how we practice law.

This past year also marked the tenth anniversary of the Drug Court Program in our State. What began in 1996 as a pilot project in Camden and Essex Counties was operational statewide in April 2002. The program has been a remarkable success. Indeed, it’s one of the most widely supported programs throughout state government, and one of the most widely discussed as well.

Why is it that Drug Court has captured the public’s attention? It’s not only an amazing success story. It is also a sign of hope for participants and the public, as we see people re-enter society as productive citizens.

Let’s spend a moment looking at the statistics, which are uplifting. As of last month, the ten-year mark, 1,930 individuals had graduated from Drug Court since April 1, 2002. It would have been enough if they had graduated drug-free and broken out of the cycle of addiction, but there’s more. There is so much more.

Only one quarter of participants had full-time jobs when they entered Drug Court; 84 percent were employed full-time when they graduated. One out of six had healthcare benefits when they entered the program; more than one out of two had them upon graduation. One of six had valid driver’s licenses, which are so essential to maintaining a job here in our State; 55 percent had licenses upon graduation. Thirty percent improved their level of education and vocational skills. Also, the rate of re-arrest for indictable offenses three years out was 16 percent as compared to more than 50 percent for those who did not participate in Drug Court.

Let’s talk about the human element. Two hundred and twenty-eight babies were born drug-free to participants who had previously been addicted to drugs. One hundred twenty-six parents regained custody of their children.

And perhaps the most important statistic: the 1,930 graduates are parents of more than 2,600 minor children -- children who today have every reason to be proud of their parents and who will lead richer, fuller, better lives.

What accounts for those remarkable outcomes? The determination of the participants -- the graduates themselves -- and the Drug Court teams comprised of probation officers, rehabilitation and treatment providers, prosecutors and defense attorneys,

and others. And, of course, judges -- many sitting here today -- who may not have anticipated this role when they went to law school or were appointed to the bench, but who have embraced the role. The collective efforts of all of those involved have made a difference in the lives of many people.

Much work lies ahead. As you know, the Governor has spoken about expanding the program to no longer rely on defendants who volunteer for Drug Court and make it mandatory for certain offenses. The Legislature is at work on various proposals right now. We, in the Judiciary, look forward to working together with our partners in the Executive and Legislature branches to expand Drug Court and make that expanded program a success.

Success depends on a number of things including having enough treatment providers and slots for treatment, and enough money for more Drug Court teams to provide the intensive supervision the program requires for a much larger number of participants.

We remain committed to this important program and will do everything that we can to support its expansion because our collective hope, with our partners, is to see more people break free of addiction and reclaim their lives.

It’s worth noting, as we talk about some accomplishments of the recent past and look at challenges that lie ahead, that they tie in directly to the Judiciary’s core mission: to make sure that justice is done in each and every case, and to resolve those disputes fairly and efficiently for the citizens of our State.

As we think about that mission, a special individual comes to mind: someone who served as a leader in the legal community, has served with distinction in various positions, and has been a member of the Judiciary for 33 years, the Honorable Virginia Long.

As you know, Justice Long retired from the court a few months ago and left behind a legacy of achievement. She was the author of more than 3,000 opinions that reveal her powerful intellect, the depth of knowledge that she possesses in so many areas of law, and her elegant and gifted writing style. Add to that a sense of grace, her upbeat, optimistic, positive spirit, and her faith in lawyers and the legal profession, and you will understand why she exemplifies the qualities that we as lawyers strive to achieve.

Our system of justice has benefitted greatly from her contributions over the course of a lifetime, and we wish her all the best on this most recent chapter in her career.

As the conference draws to a close later today, I hope you enjoy the balance of the programs and take advantage of the warm camaraderie that this gathering fosters. Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to speak with you this morning.