NEWS RELEASE
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Contact:
Lorri Montgomery
The National Center for State Courts
300 Newport Avenue
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lmontgomery@ncsc.dni.us
Dwight
D. Opperman Receives
NCSC’s 2004 Distinguished Service Award
Williamsburg,
VA (Dec. 22, 2004) – Dwight D. Opperman, chairman emeritus of West
Publishing Company and chairman of Key Investment Inc., was recently
presented the 2004 Distinguished Service Award by the National Center
for State Courts (NCSC). Distinguished
Service Awards are presented annually to individuals who have a
distinguished and proven record of significant contributions to
improving the administration of justice.
Mr.
Opperman received the award November 19 at the NCSC Annual Recognition
Luncheon in Washington, D.C. attended by U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Anthony Kennedy and hosted by Chief Justice of Wisconsin Shirley
Abrahamson, chair of the NCSC Board of Directors.
Mr.
Opperman’s achievements and contributions to the justice system and
the NCSC are far-reaching. He started his career in 1951 as an editor
with West Publishing Company, and worked his way up, becoming president
in 1968, chief executive officer in 1978, and chairman in 1993. Through
the years, Mr. Opperman served on the boards of several judicial
organizations, including the NCSC’s Board of Directors from 1999 to
2003. He also is a past board member of the American Judicature Society,
which recently created an award named in his honor.
Mr.
Opperman is a member of the NCSC’s Warren E. Burger Society, which
honors individuals who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to
improving the administration of justice through extraordinary
contributions of service and support to the NCSC. Mr. Opperman also is a
longtime supporter of the Conference of Public Information Officers. He was awarded that association’s first Toni House Award,
named for the late public information officer of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The NCSC, 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 NCSC, founded in 1971 by the Conference of Chief Justices and Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, provides education, training, and technology, management, and research services to the nation’s state courts. The NCSC 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 and how complex litigation procedures can be improved. Other national initiatives being driven by the NCSC include judicial selection reform and increasing citizen participation in jury service.
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