Monday, April 18, 2005
Page 3
Los Angeles Superior Court Wins Kleps Award for Online New Judge Orientation Programs
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Superior Court will receive an award from the Judicial Council of California for its online New Judge Orientation Program, the Administrative Office of the Courts announced Friday.
The program is one of 11 winners of the 2005 Ralph N. Kleps Awards for Improvement in Administration of the Courts, which are to be presented Sept. 7 at a statewide judicial conference in San Diego.
The honored orientation program is available on CD-ROM or on the Web, the AOC explained, and “features one-on-one video discussions in which experienced judges share insights, practical information, and advice with-newly elected or appointed colleagues to help them make a fluid transition from lawyer to judge.”
The Kleps Awards, given in categories corresponding to trial courts of various sizes, are named for the first administrative director of the California courts and have been given annually since 1991.
The other winners in the category of courts of 40 or more judges were:
•The Alameda Superior Court’s Elder Abuse Protection Court, which edicated calendars and immediate access for protection orders to insure the safety and protection of abused elders;
•The Orange Superior Court’s Complex Civil Electronic Filing Pilot Project, which allows litigants to file and track documents online; and
•The San Bernardino Superior Court’s Automated File Management system, which tracks more than 3 million files and records from 15 court locations under one roof.
•The San Francisco Superior Court’s Assisting Court Customers with Education and Self-Help Services, or ACCESS, program, which permits users to obtain in-person court information in English, Spanish, Cantonese, Russian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
Winning programs in courts of 11 to 39 judges were the Santa Barbara Superior Court’s web site for high profile cases, which has been used to provide instant online access to documents in the Michael Jackson case, and the Yolo Superior Court’s Gaining Education through Determination, or G.E.D., program, which provides delinquent and dependent minors one-on-one tutoring, books, support, and encouragement to enable them to pass the GED exam and complete high school.
The Kleps Awards for courts of fewer than 11 judges went to the Calaveras Superior Court for its legal assistance center, which provides computer access to legal help and forms as well as in-person access to a small claims advisor, court clerk, and family law facilitator, and to the Siskiyou and Modoc superior courts for their joint court program that allows users from both counties to be served by a single judge.
In addition to the usual categories, the council this year gave special awards for two collaborative projects involving multiple courts.
The Butte, Glenn, and Tehama superior courts will be honored for their use of videoconferencing to extend services to remote areas, while the Monterey, Santa Cruz,San Benito and Santa Clara superior courts will receive an award recognizing the success of their regional training program for employees.
Copyright 2005, Metropolitan News Company