NEWS RELEASE
www.ncsconline.org

Contact: 
Lorri Montgomery, Communications Manager
The National Center for State Courts
300 Newport Avenue
Williamsburg, VA 23185-4147
757.259.1525
 lmontgomery@ncsc.dni.us 

Nation's Chief Justices and State Court Administrators 
Examine How Technology Is Changing the Court System

July 31 – August 3, 2005
Charleston, S.C.
The Charleston Place Hotel

Williamsburg, VA (July 20, 2005) –  How technological advances are affecting the judicial process is a major theme of this year’s annual meeting of the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), July 31 – August 3 in Charleston, S.C. The media is invited to attend. Due to security concerns, members of the media are asked to register on site at the press desk. 

CCJ brings together the highest judicial officers, and COSCA brings together the highest administrative officers, from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The National Center for State Courts (NCSC), headquartered in Williamsburg, Va., serves as executive staff for CCJ and COSCA, and coordinates their meetings. CCJ and COSCA work to improve the nation’s state courts by tackling issues that affect procedures, rules, and operations of the courts, and by making recommendations to improve them. 

CCJ/COSCA has long been active in helping courts improve and adapt to changes brought on by advances in technology. This year’s meeting, titled “A Court Odyssey From Palmetto Trees to Palm Pilots,” features several education sessions centered around technology’s impact on the courts. CCJ President Shirley Abrahamson, Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, will preside over the conference. Daniel Becker, COCSA president and state court administrator of Utah, will preside over COSCA’s portion of the meetings. Chief Justice of South Carolina Jean Hoefer Toal is hosting the conference, along with Rosalyn Woodson Frierson, director of South Carolina Court Administration. On Aug. 1, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford will address the conference at 8:45 a.m.

Conference highlights:

  • Jean Hoefer Toal, South Carolina Chief Justice, will present the keynote address Aug. 1 at 9 a.m. She will discuss “Setting the Vision: Integrating Technology with the Judicial Process.” 

  • An educational session on Aug. 1 titled “Election Law: An Overview of Legal Issues, Remedies and Voting Technology Trends,” is two-fold. The first half of the session will be interactive and will familiarize participants with the major characteristics of election law disputes being adjudicated in the state courts; in the second half, the session will examine possible changes in voting technology that is likely to shape the nature and resolution of election law issues in the state courts. 

  • An education session on Aug. 2 titled “Legal Issues Resulting from Technology,” will discuss the impact that the increase of cases that deal with information security, digital evidence and electronic discovery, copyright infringements, jurisdictional questions, electronic filings, and electronic signatures, have on state courts.  

  • At the conference’s conclusion, Chief Justice Randall Shepard of Indiana will be named the new president of CCJ, at which time he also becomes chair of the NCSC’s Board of Directors. Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman of New York becomes COSCA’s president and vice chair of NCSC’s Board. COSCA is also celebrating its 50th anniversary at the meeting.  

The National Center for State Courts, founded by Chief Justice of the United States Warren E. Burger, is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the administration of justice by providing leadership and service to the state courts. The National Center carries out this mission through its offices in Williamsburg, Washington, D.C. and Denver, Colo., which provide research, education, and hands-on consulting services to the nation’s state courts.

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