Civil Justice
Since 1982, the Civil Justice Committee (formerly called the Court Improvements Committee) has overseen CCE’s projects related to civil law (including civil, probate, administrative) as well as improving efficiencies and effectiveness in the D.C. justice system (such as improvements to the courts’ information technology and jury systems). Notable past projects have included jury reform and modernization, probate reform, civil case delay improvement, increasing public access to electronic court records, and improving D.C.’s administrative adjudication system, among others. The projects have resulted in studies and reports recommending improvements to the District’s court and related systems. Nevertheless, there remains much work to be done in this area.
Based on research and best practices, CCE has been:
- Reviewing and advocating for reform in high-volume civil courts and probate courts serving large numbers of low-income, self-represented people;
- Researching advances in technology and court management models to support advocacy for more open government, such as increased remote online access for the public to court records;
- Researching ways in which to modernize/reform grand and petit juries; and
- Educating judges, lawyers, media, and the public about developing or complicated aspects of the law.
The Committee is co-chaired by James Hulme, ArentFox Schiff, and Elizabeth Scully, BakerHostetler. The staff liaison is Danielle Burs.
Some of the Committee’s ongoing projects in 2023 focus on:
- The Use of Technology in Courts
- Estate Administration
- Addressing D.C. Judicial Vacancies
- Expanding Legal Assistance
- Jury Service and Appreciations
Recent publications:
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- Remote Public Access to Electronic Court Records: A Cross-Jurisdictional Review for the D.C. Courts (2017)
- Administrative Justice in the District of Columbia: Recommendations to Improve D.C.'s Office of Administrative Hearings (2016)
- Jury Service Revisited: Upgrades for the 21st Century (2015)
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