NCSC Publishes New Future Trends in State Courts

The National Center for State Courts has published Future Trends in State Courts 2006, the latest in its long-running Report on Trends in State Courts series. This book, which is produced annually by NCSC's Knowledge and Information Service, helps to make courts more aware of important societal trends that could affect their operations -- and public trust and confidence in the justice system.

The latest Future Trends begins with a series of short essays on "Ten Trends Impacting State Courts":

• Emergency Preparedness in the State Courts
• The Impact of Technology
• Cultural Diversity: The Use of Court Interpreters
• The Impact of an Aging Population
• Privacy and Public Access to Court Records
• Judicial Independence and Selection
• State Courts and Budget Challenges
• Problem-Solving Courts
• Access to Justice: The Self-Represented Litigant
• Court Performance Measurement.

These essays provide brief, useful summaries of these key trends, which are given a closer look in the next section of articles. These articles examine issues surrounding:

• Courthouse Security (such as how courts should prepare for when disaster strikes and how to improve security for court personnel)
• Technology (such as image recognition and biometrics and IT governance)
• Special Courts and Programs (such as DWI courts and career paths for court interpreters)

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