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Category Archives: Court Awards

March 15, 2022 Two district court judges honored as trailblazers by state bar

Judge Nancy Allf and Judge Gloria Sturman have both been selected for the 2022 Bryan K. Scott Trailblazer Award by the State Bar of Nevada. The Trailblazer Award was established last year, to be given to members who exemplify the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal community of Nevada. Recipients are selected for their work to dismantle institutional bias, create a welcoming and and inclusive professional community by promoting awareness of diverse values, creating or supporting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, or leading by example.

Judge Sturman served as president of the State Bar of Nevada from 2002-03. Judge Allf, who is the presiding civil judge in district court, served as president of the state bar from 2007-08. Both judges are extremely active in programs to improve access to justice, legal education and in programs that improve communication with the bar. They have been active in hosting Civil Bench-Bar meetings and brown bag luncheons. Both have also been very active in community outreach including mock trial competitions, mock trials for students at the courthouse and mentorship programs.

In addition to Judge Allf’s service as the president of the Nevada Bar Association, she also served as president of the Clark County Bar Association in 1999. In 2000, she served as president of the board of directors of the Clark County Law Foundation. She is currently an active member in the American Bar Association, the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys, and the Southern Nevada Association of Bankruptcy Attorneys. She is active in the ABA’s Business Law Section and regularly hosts law students with diverse backgrounds during summer breaks, for a program called Diversity Clerkships.

In addition to serving as the as president of the Clark County Bar Association (1994-1995), Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys (President 1988-1989),  Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, Board of Trustees  (President 1996-1998). Judge Sturman was also a member of the boards of  the Frontier Girl Scout Council Board of Trustees (1991-1994), Las Vegas Art Museum Board of Directors (1999-2001), National Conference of Bar Presidents, Board (2003-2006, and chair of the Diversity Task Force 2005-2006).

Recognizing the work of Judge Allf and Judge Sturman to further diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal community of Nevada is particularly notable this month, because March is Women’s History Month. Women’s History Month commemorates and encourages the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. Judge Sturman and Judge Allf are building and enriching that history.

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August 9, 2016 District Court Guide And File Website Recognized As One Of Nation’s Top 10 Court Technology Solutions

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The Nevada Eighth Judicial District Court Guide and File system made the list of the top-10 court technology solutions as named by the National Association for Court Management (NACM). The honor was announced for Guide and File at this year’s Top 10 Court Technology Solutions Award, during the organization’s annual conference in Pittsburg, PA. The awards are given each year to courts that make the best use of web technology to improve court services and access to public records.

Guide and File offers an online portal at the Self-Help Centers that guides self-represented litigants through the filing process with a tailored menu of questions and through automated court forms generated based on their responses. Completed forms get filed into the court case management systems. Guide and File simplifies what can be a challenging process.

“I commend the work of our court staff and the legal service organizations that helped to develop and fine-tune the Guide and File system,” said District Court Chief Judge David Barker.” Getting national recognition for this system is affirmation that our focus on technology is paying dividends in enhanced service to those who access the court.”

The system incorporates electronic, interactive interviews for a variety of case types – including several types of divorce, fee waiver, name change, protection order, and petition to disburse money. The online interviews were developed by court staff in conjunction with local legal services organizations (Civil Law Self Help Center and the Family Law Self Help Center). The technology platform is Tyler’s Odyssey® Guide and File product, which makes it easy to author interviews and to customize interviews created by other jurisdictions that conform to the rules of our court. This system can be accessed by self-represented litigants via the Self-Help Center websites and kiosks.

“I’m really excited about the future of this technology. We’re only touching the tip of the iceberg on the opportunities to provide this level of interaction and access to the court, “said District Court Chief Executive Officer Steve Grierson.

The National Association for Court Management, housed in Williamsburg, Va., at the National Center for State Courts, is a membership organization formed in 1985 to help court managers improve their proficiency while working with colleagues to improve the administration of justice. With more than 1,700 members in the United States and several other countries, NACM is the largest organization of court management professionals in the world. Entries are considered by a six-judge panel composed of court officials with a varying range of experience. In groups of three, the judges independently evaluate each website on a scale of 1 to 10. Criteria include such measures as access to public records, ease of navigation, use of multimedia, and interactive capabilities. Scores are then combined, and the top ten scorers become the award winners.

 

 

 

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June 21, 2016 Cooperative Justice Project That Saves $1.6 Million Dollars In First Year Gets National Award

Project 48 has been selected by the National Association of Counties for their 2016 Achievement Award in the category of Court Administration and Management. The project was initiated by the Nevada Eighth Judicial District Court (EJDC) to ease stress on the Clark County Detention Center by cutting criminal bind-overs from Justice Court to District Court down to 48 hours. Project 48 has produced nearly $1.6 million in direct savings in just one year alone from 11,888 jail days saved. With a lack of resources to cover incarceration costs, growing with each new inmate ($135 per-day per-inmate), and escalating safety and security issues for the inmates and officers, the EJDC looked for ways to work with the Detention Center to safely reduce the jail population. That was the genesis of Project 48.

“It is gratifying to get national recognition for the cooperative effort of Project 48, which has significantly improved the transfer of jurisdiction from Justice Court to District Court for cases in the criminal system. Project 48 has resulted in multiple benefits including significant cost savings. I want to commend the agencies and individuals who played a role in making this project a success,” said District Court Chief Judge David Barker.

District Court examined areas where efficiencies could reduce the average length of stay. The transition of a case from the limited jurisdiction (Las Vegas Justice Court) to the felony trial court (EJDC), the “criminal bind-over,” was identified as an area to use technology to streamline case-flow processing. In February of 2015, District Court brought together a consortium of justice professionals to make the process work including: The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept., District Attorney’s Office, Public Defenders’ Office, Justice Court, District Court, and the Nevada Criminal Defense Lawyers. Each entity participated in the planning, shared insights and ideas, and made adjustments to their work models to achieve success. The EJDC Information Technology division put technology to work to shorten the bind-over process. EJDC IT worked with Justice Court IT to integrate the Justice Court and EJDC case management systems and integrate with the jail. The technology was shared with all the justice courts in Clark County. Project 48 not only impacts the average length of time in custody, it gets those who have been jailed back to their families and their lives quicker, reducing the potential for disruption to their professional and home life, and the potential residual fallout that results from unnecessary confinement. Prior to Project 48, standard setting times for criminal bind-overs to arraignment court were 10-15 days. Project 48 cut criminal bind-overs from 10-15 days to 48 hours. Nearly 11,888 jail days were saved in the first year alone. Project 48, eases stress on the overcrowded jail and reduces unnecessary confinement. Since April 2015, the program is estimated to have already saved more than $1.6 million.

 

The Nevada Eighth Judicial District Court judges and staff continuously work to develop new ideas, maximize efficiencies and improve access to justice. For more information about the District Court, please visit our website at clarkcountycourts.us, Facebook at Clark County Courts, Twitter at

M Price@LasVegasCourts or blog at https://eighthjdcourt.wordpress.com.

 

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