Foreword

The pandemic created an opportunity for the National Center for State Courts to re-examine how we’re upholding our mission to promote the rule of law and improve the administration of justice in state courts. During that process, we examined how we provide all of our services – not just today but into the future. As part of that review, we are re-conceptualizing our work in many areas, and the Justice System Journal is one of those. While our work on the Journal is ending, we remain committed to conducting and disseminating research on state courts and helping courts implement that research.

In this final edition of JSJ, I want to take a moment to elaborate on the legacy of this publication. There have been few academic journals with a stronger commitment to the scholarship surrounding not just the federal courts and the Supreme Court but to the work of the state courts. At NCSC, we shamelessly remind the world that state courts are where the action is – with more than 95% of all cases filed in the state courts. The JSJ has given a platform to scholars who sought to shine a light on state courts and state constitutions, which is no easy feat in a media, and I dare say, academic environment perpetually fixated on the jurisprudence of the federal courts.

It has been a great pleasure for NCSC to provide this venue for scholarly commentary on state courts. Now we move forward with a renewed focus on improving the administration of justice in the state courts in an era of rapidly evolving change. In the coming weeks and months, you will hear much more about the many projects our team of talented researchers and consultants is embarking on in state courts across the country. In early 2023, we will be announcing bold plans to assist courts in advancing access to justice through hybrid hearings (in which one party is virtual and another is in the courtroom); to protect court records and data systems from malicious attacks; and to launch a “census” of state courts, to systematically document the work of state courts in America.

Mary Campbell McQueen
President and CEO
National Center for State [email protected]