Members Present Justice Mary Muehlen Maring, Chair Cory Pedersen, Juvenile Court Director Judge Sonna Anderson Judge DeNae Kautzmann Judge John McClintock Jean Lindvig, Electronic Court Recorder
Members Absent Kathryn Rand, Dean UND Law School Judge Steven McCullough Judge David Reich
Guests Wanda Knutson, Mercer County Clerk of Court Chris Iverson, Unit 2 Asst. Trial Court Administrator Larry Zubke, I.T. Director
Staff Present Lee Ann Barnhardt, Director of Education and Communication Louie Hentzen, Asst. State Court Administrator Lana Zimmerman, scribe
Justice Maring called the meeting to order. A motion was made by Judge Kautzmann to
approve the June 1, 2012, minutes. The motion was seconded by Judge Anderson, motion
carried.
Old Business
I. Conference Updates - Ms. Barnhardt updated the Commission on the progress of the following
conferences:
A. The ND Conference on Caseflow Management and High Performance Courts Framework is
scheduled November 1-2, 2012, at the Ramkota Hotel in Bismarck. John Greacen with Greacen
Associates, LLC; The Honorable William Dressel, (retired) with The National Judicial College;
and the Honorable Kevin Burke with the Hennepin County Court in Minnesota will be
presenting.
The conference topics are Timeliness of Case Disposition, Principles of Caseflow Management,
and how to develop an action plan using North Dakota case management system. Participants
registered are from North Dakota, South Dakota and Idaho court systems.
B. The Fall 2012 Judicial Conference is scheduled November 19-20, 2012, at the Seven Seas in
Mandan. Patti Alleva, a Professor at the UND School of Law, will facilitate the Law and
Literature session of the conference. Proposed education topics include the following: a session
on human trafficking provided by the National Judicial College; a session on the new treatment
plansimplemented by the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; and a
session on interviewing children in chambers, as well as open court.
C. The Court Reporter Conference is scheduled November 19-20, 2012, at the Radisson Hotel in
Bismarck. Faculty is Larry Paiz from Texas on Case Catalyst Version 13.
D. The ICWA Conference is scheduled February 20-22, 2013, at the Seven Seas in Mandan. An
agenda will be sent out in the near future.
E. The 2013 Judicial Institute is scheduled May 20-22, 2013, at the UND School of Law in
Grand Forks. Ms. Barnhardt has spoken with Gary Merchant on emerging technologies and the
impact on courts, Judge Ash on self-represented litigants, Jim Morrow on foundations of digital
evidence, and Janice Martin on elder abuse and the law. There will also be a session offered on
veteran’s issues.
IV. The on-line Odyssey training launch for the clerks offices was June 14, 2012. The live on-line courses every third Thursday and Friday of each month. The course instructors thus far have
been Jody Bachmeier, Jordan Hammargren, Cammie Schock, Becky Absey, and Kari Landsem.
There have been requests for specialized trainings for municipal court clerks and district court
judges. Staff will explore the possibility of expanding the training during the next year.
V. The 5-year Strategic Plan for the Judicial Branch Education Commission was discussed.
Goal III. Maintain and promote orientation programs for judicial branch personnel. A motion
was made by Judge Anderson to approve Goal III. The motion was seconded by Cory
Pedersen, motion carried.
Goal IV. Review all policies and rules associated with judicial branch education to ensure they
support the goals and vision of the Judicial Branch Education Commission. After discussion,
this commission has suggested development of a sub-committee to look at the commission goals,
vision and policies, to clarify areas of change and bring back suggestions for further discussion
by the commission.
A motion was made by Judge Anderson to otherwise approve Goal IV. The motion was
seconded by Judge Kautzmann, motion carried.
Goal V. Request the resources necessary to provide quality judicial branch education. A
motion was made by Judge Kautzmann to approve Goal V. The motion was seconded by
Cory Pedersen, motion carried.
Goal VI.Develop a judicial branch education training center in Bismarck. A motion was made
by Judge Anderson to approve Goal VI. The motion was seconded by Judge Kautzmann,
motion carried.
Goal VII. Public Education. After extensive discussion, it was determined by consensus to
remove Goal VII from the plan at this time because the current authority of the Judicial Branc
Education Commission does not extend to public education efforts by the courts.
New Business
I. Conference Evaluations were not discussed and will be added to the next commission meeting
agenda. Evaluations are available to Commission members upon request.
II. The commission discussed awarding continuing education credits for Web-based courses. It
was determined that the education sub-committee will discuss approving credits for web based
training and how to handle the approval process. They will also draft a policy on web-based
learning and provide their recommendations at the next commission meeting.
The role of Court Administration staff in applying for continuing education credit approval for
court employees from agencies such as P.O.S.T. Board and the North Dakota Social Work Board
was discussed. Past practice was to apply for credit for training offered by the court system upon
request of the employee. Due to new guidelines with some of these agencies, it has become a bit
more intensive and time consuming for staff to complete the application process. A motion was
made by Judge Anderson to draft a policy that states court administration staff will not
seek continuing education credits from other entities for individual employees unless the
education or certification is required by the individual’s job description with the court. The
motion was seconded by Jean Lindvig, motion carried. After extensive discussion, it was
decided by consensus for Ms. Barnhardt to draft a policy and bring it back to the next meeting for
further review.
The next meeting is scheduled February 8, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. in Bismarck.