By Aaron Nash (AZ) It’s budget season and your court wants months’ worth of statistics and projections in the next week. Has anyone else successfully navigated a request like this? Or perhaps you’re seeing double-digit increases in self-represented filings, but those filings are getting rejected in your office, so the chambers don’t see on their…
by John Tomasino (FL) Like many appellate clerk offices, we rely heavily on Tableau to report on case data drawn from our case management systems. These reports are often shared in PDF format with judges and court leadership, where presentation matters as much as accuracy. Recently, I encountered a familiar problem: a table-based Tableau report…
by Scott Mitchell (AL) Spring has finally arrived! With longer days and warmer temperatures, evenings hold the promise of dinners on the patio, a walk through the neighborhood, some much needed yardwork, or watching a kid’s soccer match or baseball game. And for the NCACC, spring means it is time for the Executive Committee to convene. As I…
By Mary Beth Kuenzel (FL) “Nothing is certain but death and taxes,” wrote Benjamin Franklin. If he were writing today, I’m certain he would add email as another constant. For many of us, email can feel less like a tool and more like a fire hose. The good news is that with a few intentional…
by John Tomasino (FL) For this issue’s technology article, I thought I’d give a quick behind-the-scenes look at how I used AI—specifically ChatGPT—to help prepare my presentation of the Morgan Thomas Award, draft the article you just read about Steve Circeo winning it, and, now, write this very article. So if you’re keeping track: I asked AI…
by John Tomasino (FL) After years of faithful service, our old listserv will officially be retired on December 31, 2025. At that point, all NCACC communication will move fully to Groups.io, which now serves as our centralized space for questions, collaboration, announcements, and the occasional procedural gripe. If you haven’t made the switch yet, now’s the time.…
by Daniel Brubaker (MI) Professor Rubenstein began by explaining that the adoption of AI in the workplace is evolving from a personal choice to a professional necessity—and it may soon become unavoidable. He reminded us that AI primarily functions as a statistical pattern identifier – it is essentially a predictive tool that anticipates the next…
by John Tomasino (FL) The NCACC has always thrived on connection—sharing ideas, questions, solutions, and the occasional chuckle over the daily realities of appellate court life. For years, we’ve relied on tools like the Washingtonlaw.edu listserv and, more recently, Microsoft Teams to stay in touch. But let’s be honest: neither has quite hit the sweet…
Mary Beth Kuenzel, Clerk (FL) At a meeting of the National Association for Court Management, I was inspired by a talk about onboarding new employees. I had a new case management system on the way, and this provided a framework for rolling it out. While we had incorporated enhancements to our existing CMS during my time as…
By Scott Mitchell (AL) In October, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) hosted its annual Data Specialists’ Roundtable at its headquarters in Williamsburg, Virginia. This two-day, invitation-only summit gathered 29 participants from 24 states and territories. Each year, the NCSC invites the National Conference of Appellate Court Clerks (NCACC) to send a representative, and…