2021 Judicial Conference Program

Court Operations Committee Hon. Brett W. Wilson, Chair

PURPOSE

The Court Operations Committee addresses matters related to the efficient operations of the courts and assists in the development of consistent statewide operations, policies, and best practices

MEMBERS

Mary Abrams, Hon. Anne K. Albright, Hon. James A. Bonifant, Hon. Susan Braniecki, Hon. Matthew Fader, Marina Fevola, Gregory Hilton, Joy Keller, Hon. Glenn L. Klavans, Hon. Kathy Smith, Sandra Smith, and Hon. Alan M. Wilner. Dominique Johnigan and Jamie Walter, Staff.

SUBCOMMITTEES AND WORK GROUPS

Case Management Subcommittee – Hon. Kathleen Beckstead, Chair Forms Subcommittee – Hon. Norman Stone, Chair Joint Subcommittee on Communication and Access to Judicial Information – Hon. Thurman Rhodes, Chair Jury Use and Management Subcommittee – Hon. Lawrence Fletcher-Hill, Chair

Court Reporting Work Group – Matthew Barrett, Chair Expungement Work Group – Hon. Glenn Klavans, Chair Legislative Review Work Group – Hon. Alan Wilner, Chair Reserved Case Report Work Group – Hon. Kathleen Cox, Chair Data and Statistical Reporting Work Group – Jamie Walter, Chair Grant-Funded Positions Work Group – Melissa Batie and Lou Gieszl, Co-Chairs

(Reporting Period – October 1, 2019 – September 30, 2020)

COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The Court Operations Committee met four times during the reporting period: December 9, 2019, March 2, 2020, June 2, 2020, and September 15, 2020. The highlights from this year’s work by the committee includes continued progress on its objectives and mission during a global pandemic. The Joint Communications and Access Subcommittee is nearing completion of the data dashboard to be made available on the Maryland Courts website. The Jury Finance Manual Work Group finalized its best practices manual and it was distributed to the various jury offices for immediate implementation. The Jury Use and Management Subcommittee created, finalized, and produced a handout entitled Tips for Coping with Stress . These brochures were sent out to jury offices to be distributed to jurors, at the judge’s discretion, just as the courts were reopening statewide. The committee reviewed information presented by the Court Reporting Work Group regarding more than 70 pages of survey data received from the various jurisdictions. Three specific questions were submitted to the Office of the Attorney General for clarification. The work group’s recommendations on this matter are forthcoming. The committee heard an extensive update from the Grant-Funded Positions Work Group to cover the accomplishments of all the grant-funding departments of the Judiciary in times of COVID-19 and an update on the work group’s continued attempts to improve communications and to develop recommendations regarding grant-funded employee compensation and equity.

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