NEWS RELEASE
The National
Center for State Courts
300 Newport Avenue · Williamsburg, Virginia 23185
Contact:
Lorri Montgomery
Communications Manager
The National Center for State Courts
757.259.1525 or lmontgomery@ncsc.dni.us
President
of the National Center
for State Courts
Plans to Resign in 2004
Williamsburg, VA
(Dec. 2, 2003) – Roger K. Warren, president of the National Center
for State Courts, announced on Nov. 22 that he plans to resign as
president and chief executive officer effective August 2004. Warren
announced his plans to the National Center’s Board of Directors during
a meeting in Washington, D.C.
“It has been a great
honor to serve as president of the National Center. It is a truly
remarkable organization doing so many important things to improve the
American justice system,” Warren said. “When I accepted the position
eight years ago, I assured the NCSC Board that I would serve as
president for at least five years. Now, the time has come for a change
– both for me and for the organization.”
Ronald M. George, chief justice of the California Supreme Court and chair of the National Center’s Board of Directors, expressed regret over Warren’s decision to resign. “Roger has established a new watermark in providing leadership not only to the Center, but also to the cause of improving the administration of justice in state courts throughout the nation. It will be a challenge to replace him.”
George said the Board
of Directors has formed a search committee, chaired by Wisconsin Chief
Justice Shirley Abrahamson, the Board’s chair-elect, and plans to have
a new president by August when Warren’s resignation is effective.
Warren was appointed
NCSC president in 1996 after serving for more than 20 years as a judge
in Sacramento, Ca. In 1993, he was elected the first-ever presiding
judge of Sacramento’s consolidated superior and municipal courts. He
also served as presiding judge of the Sacramento superior court,
Sacramento municipal court, juvenile court and appellate department.
Before being appointed to the California bench in 1976, Warren was
executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Sacramento and Yolo
counties.
The National Center,
headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., is a non-profit court reform
organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by
providing leadership and service to the state courts. The National
Center, founded in 1971 by the Conference of State Chief Justices and
supported by Chief Justice of the United States William H. Rehnquist and
his predecessor Warren E. Burger, provides education, training, and
technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state
courts. The National Center also is taking the lead on several key
issues facing the justice system. For example, it has established a
major civil justice initiative, a multi-year project that is examining
best practices in civil case management, electronic discovery, and how
complex litigation procedures can be improved. Other national
initiatives being driven by the National Center include judicial
selection reform and increasing citizen participation in jury service.
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