Future Trends for State Courts

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has published its annual report on things to watch out for in state courts.

[PDF] copy here and [HTML] index here.

The report includes:

Court records and privacy. [PDF] How do courts make information available, especially online, without disclosing sensitive information such as Social Security numbers?
Problem-Solving Courts. [PDF] Rather than the "lock 'em up and throw away the key" approach, courts increasingly are trying to solve the core issues that land people there in the first place. Drug courts, family courts and environmental courts are all examples.

The report draws comparisons to show how things used to be handled and how they are now.

Source: Poynter Online News

Poynter also reported on guardianship:

A flood of guardianship monitoring cases is coming. [PDF] These involve the court, or somebody appointed by the court, to look after the welfare of seniors who cannot manage their own affairs. Consider these facts from the report:
The number of people age 65 and older numbered 35.9 million in 2003. As the baby boomers come of age, this older population will more than double, reaching more than 71 million by 2030. The number of people aged 85 and older is expected to triple by 2040 to 15 million.Alzheimer's disease and related dementias are becoming more prevalent. In 2007 there are now more than 5 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer's disease, 4.9 million of whom are over the age of 65. This is a 10 percent increase from the previous nationwide estimate of 4.5 million. In addition, guardianships include an increasing number of younger adults with developmental disabilities and mental illness. Intellectual disabilities affect about one in ten families in the U.S.At the same time, incidents of elder abuse are rising. Between 1986 and 1996, reports of abuse and neglect of seniors age 60 and older to state adult protective services agencies increased 150 percent, from 117,000 to 293,000.

So judges will be increasingly involved in managing these lives. Courts have never managed as many guardianship cases as they do now -- and many more are on the way. How will courts, especially in retirement communities, handle the flood?