Members Present Justice Mary Muehlen Maring, Chair Judge DeNae Kautzmann Deborah Carlson, Juvenile Court Director via telephone Jean Lindvig, Electronic Court Recorder via telephone Kathryn Rand, Dean UND Law School
Members Absent Judge Steven McCullough Judge Sonna Anderson Judge David Reich Judge John McClintock
Staff Present Lee Ann Barnhardt, Director of Education and Communication Lana Zimmerman, scribe
Justice Maring called the meeting to order. A motion was made by Dean Rand to approve the
March 25, 2011, minutes. The motion was seconded by Judge Kautzmann, motion carried.
Old Business I. Ms. Barnhardt updated the Commission on the progress of the following conferences:
A. The Clerk of Court Conference is scheduled September 21-23, 2011, at the Canad Inn in
Grand Forks. Local presenters will be focusing on media, court rules, Odyssey debriefing, and
courtroom security.
B. The Marvin Schechter CLE at the University of North Dakota School of Law is scheduled
October 3, 2011, via IVN. The Supreme Court and SBAND are helping sponsor the CLE. This
CLE is in the criminal law area. Judges will be able to attend the CLE at no cost.
C. The Municipal Judges Conference is scheduled October 10, 2011, at the Radisson Hotel in
Bismarck. Cynthia Gray will be presenting on ethics. A session on reckless driving will be
presented in the afternoon, followed by a session on traffic defenses.
D. The Upper Midwest Drug Court Conference is scheduled October 12-14, 2011, at the
Radisson Hotel in Bismarck. As of this date, there are approximately 120 participants registered.
E. The Fall Judicial Conference is scheduled November 21-22, 2011, at the Radisson Hotel in
Bismarck. Sessions include hostile work environment, child abuse, domestic violence and high
conflict divorce.
F. The Court Reporters training is scheduled November 21- 22, 2011, at the Radisson Hotel in
Bismarck. Faculty is Larry Piaz from Texas on Case Catalyst Version 12.
G. The Court Recorder training is scheduled June 14-15, 2012, at the Radisson Hotel in
Bismarck.
II. Ms. Barnhardt reported the Domestic Violence Bench Book is complete and will be sent out
to all District Court Judges, Referees, and Supreme Court Justices in November.
III. Ms. Barnhardt provided an update on the Trial Court Bench Book. Judge Richard Geiger
will be submitting updates to the Bench Book in early November, after receiving the 2011
legislative changes.
IV. Ms. Barnhardt presented the Magistrate Bench Guide for final approval. Justice Maring
explained potential substantive changes. First, revisions to the North Dakota Code of Judicial
Conduct are currently before the Court for approval. If adopted, there will no longer be five
canons. Ms. Barnhardt suggested adding an explanatory note in the footnote and updating the
guide after a new code is adopted. Second, in reference to the right to an attorney, Justice
Maring suggested adding language to reflect the dangers of self representation. Third, it was
suggested to include a substitute affirmation on page 50 in the appendix, which magistrates
should know if people don’t want to swear. A motion was made by Judge Kautzmann to
approve the ND Magistrate Bench Guide as amended. The motion was seconded by Dean
Rand, motion carried.
New Business I. Ms. Barnhardt reported on the CJE Credit Compliance Report. District Court Judges,
Surrogate Judges, Juvenile Court Officers, Municipal Court Judges, Referees and Supreme Court
Justices have reported. The compliance report indicates that all of the District Court Judges,
Supreme Court Justices, Referees, and Juvenile Court Officers are in full compliance. Surrogate
Court Judge Backes and Judge Leclerc were not in compliance. It was noted that Judge Leclerc is
no longer a surrogate judge. The concern is with the 10 Municipal Court Judges who have not
submitted their reports. The next step is to send a letter from the Administrative Office to the
mayor or city manager stating the judge is not in compliance and giving the city a deadline to
respond.
II. Dean Kathryn Rand presented on the UND School of Law’s new curriculum mission
statement and the related curricular goals. Last fall, the faculty adopted a new curriculum
mission statement. The curricular mission indicates that the goal is to produce graduates who are
practice ready at the entry level of an attorney; who will abide by the highest standards of
professionalism and ethics; and who are able to conduct themselves effectively and ethically in
any setting in which an attorney might find themselves. Five specific goals relate to particular
substantive areas of knowledge, fundamental skills, ethics and professionalism, and service to the
profession and the community. The plan is to inform this Commission about the new curriculum
mission statement and related curricular goals and to seek input and formal indication of support.
Dean Rand said one of the strong intents that will be pursued in the immediate future is
strengthening the law school’s partnership with the state’s bench and bar. This may be an
opportunity not only for the law school to support the efforts of the Judicial Branch Education
Commission, but to also seek the experience and expertise of the judges in helping the law
school ensure that the students are graduating with the knowledge and skills and values that the
judges want to see in their courtrooms. Justice Maring asked to have the new curriculum mission
statement distributed to the Commission members for review. The topic will be added to the
December meeting agenda for discussion and a general consensus of support.
III. Ms. Carlson reported on the Juvenile Court Strategic Plan. The Juvenile Director’s have
provided a 5-point strategic plan for the Juvenile Courts. The five basic goals are:
1. To Develop and Improve Probation Programming. This goal is in response to
concerns regarding the rural urban nature of North Dakota and gaps in services for
people who live in the rural areas, to ensure everybody has the opportunity to have
access to core cognitive and restorative justice programming.
2. To Improve Access to Mental Health Screenings. This goal recognizes mental
health screenings are crucial for juveniles because many times they are chemically
dependent, suffer dual diagnoses, and have issues with depression and anxiety.
Therefore it is important to ensure uniformity and availability for all juveniles to
receive some kind of mental health screening.
3. To Improve Custodial Placements. Currently, a statewide detention screening
tool has been implemented to ensure ineligible juveniles do not enter detention.
This screening tool would allow detention centers to reject juveniles who do not
meet the criteria.
4. To Enhance Professional Development. This goal encourages staff to attend
any and all educational opportunities to ensure quality performance and practice
among juvenile court practitioners.
5. To Improve Data Capture and Analysis. This measures performance and
ensures that case flow and clearance rates are measurable to deliver the best,
fastest, and most efficient product possible. There has been an official request on
behalf of the juvenile directors to the State Court Administration to consider
acquiring an Odyssey compatible system.
IV. The Leadership Institute for Judicial Branch Education is scheduled March 27-29, 2012, at
the ND State Capitol, in Bismarck. Kathy Story will serve as faculty. The individuals invited
have been identified and registration is underway. The registration will be opened to attorneys
outside the court system if space is available.
V. Ms. Barnhardt requested the Commission consider future technology needs for providing
judicial branch education. Justice Maring stated the Court is considering live streaming of court
proceedings and asked if there were other uses for the equipment such as utilizing it for
educational purposes. Ms. Barnhardt stated webinars could be streamed with faculty teaching
from the courtroom.
VI. The Enterprise Learning Management system launch was tabled to the next meeting of the
Commission.