NCJ Number
70415
Date Published
1980
Length
25 pages
Annotation
A technical training needs assessment was made of the Northwest Intertribal Court System (NICS), located on the Swinomish Indian Reservation near LaConner, Wash., in order to assist tribal court clerks in becoming more proficient in their jobs.
Abstract
One of the stated purposes of NICS is to train tribal court clerks in court procedures, court records, filing systems, and basic clerical skills. Data for the assessment were gathered through a site visit to the NICS offices and three of the tribal courts using NICS services, interviews with appropriate personnel, and review of several of the tribes' legal codes, as well as a tour of courtroom facilities. The report recommends that training of court clerks should be considered an ongoing process rather than as a singular event, due to the unique organizational characteristics of tribal courts. Furthermore, the turnover of court clerk positions and the part-time aspect of some of the involved positions dictate that a structured approach to training be taken, where a procedures manual and an ongoing training capability among NICS staff compose the major features of the training program. Specifically, NICS staff (administrator, judges, prosecutor, and defender) should document their perceptions of how a tribal court clerk's office should function and what functions should be performed uniformly among the clerk's offices. Technical assistance should be given to NICS after this documentation is completed to develop a procedures manual. Finally, a training session should be held to introduce and begin implementation of a structured training program. The report notes that training of tribal court clerks is critical to adminsistrative improvement in NICS; a structured, programmatic approach to training is considered indispensable to the effectiveness of a training effort. Footnotes are provided. Excerpts from grant material and court rules pertaining to court clerk job duties are appended.