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 

NCSC’s New State Court Trends Report Looks Farther into Future

Williamsburg, VA (Jan. 29, 2003) – The National Center for State Courts recently released its annual 2002 Report on Trends in the State Courts, which for the first time includes An Environmental Scan for State Courts, 2002, as a way to provide a longer-range look to the future to help courts better anticipate and manage change. These two documents were printed in one publication, which is available on the National Center’s Web site at www.ncsconline.org.

For many years, the National Center has published the Trends Report, which profiles recent issues and developments, explains how they are relevant to the courts, and offers examples of how the courts can best deal with them. As significant as this information is, the Trends Report alone was not sufficient to assist courts in anticipating change and making strategic plans. Another resource was needed that would look farther into the future and assist courts in thinking and acting strategically before trends become a reality. Therefore, the National Center, with Futurist.com, prepared an environmental scan to complement the Trends Report. An environmental scan can help to recognize and to possibly influence trends before they affect the courts.

Environmental scanning primarily involves trying to understand what issues might take a court beyond its current ways of doing things. A good scan gives the court a wider angle and longer-range view of the future. By looking out farther and anticipating the opportunities or threats that trends might pose, the courts will have greater leverage in shaping their own future.

In this edition of the Trends Report, the National Center offers the latest take on what is happening and what the courts need to know. Following are just a few examples of topics included in this year’s report:

• Introduction to Biometrics
• Budget Woes and Resourceful Thinking
• The Paperless Law Practice
• Diversity in the Courts
• The Ethics of Problem Solving
• Teen Courts – A Juvenile Justice Diversion Program

The National Center for State Courts, founded with the encouragement of Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership, service, and education to the state courts. The National Center carries out this mission through its offices in Williamsburg, Va., Washington, D.C., and Denver, Colo.

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