Policy Manual Table of Contents

Policy and Procedures Manual of the National Association of State Judicial Educators

Communications

July 2001

Communications
Liaison
Publications

COMMUNICATIONS

PURPOSE:
A communications policy for the Association will guide all members acting on behalf of the Association in an official capacity.

POLICY:
All officers, board members, committee chairs, members, and the Secretariat represent the interests of the Association. As such, there should be a distinction between when these members speak as an individual judicial educator and when they represent the official position of the Association.

PROCEDURE:

1. Communications regarding an official position of the Association shall be approved by the Board and distributed through the Board minutes and the President.
2. The President may delegate that responsibility to any officer, board member or committee chair if the situation so warrants.
3. All communications involving Association policy shall come from the President. In matters where the official policy of the Association is not clearly articulated in the Constitution and Bylaws or in the Board minutes, the President shall seek the advice and consent of the Board before speaking.
4. The President communicates all matters affecting the work responsibilities and contractual obligations of the Secretariat to the Secretariat's officer(s).
5. The Treasurer supervises the routine work of the Secretariat in fiscal matters and, in that role, communicates requests for information or reports on behalf of the President and the Board.
6. In dealing with an external organization's request for an official position or action of the Association, members should refer such requests to the President. However, this in no way prohibits a member from voicing a personal position or preference, as long as the member makes it clear that the member is not representing the Association's official position.

LIAISON

PURPOSE:
There are a number of projects, services, and organizations separate and apart from NASJE whose purposes are to further the professional education and growth of state judicial branch professionals and to provide products and services to the state judiciaries. The missions of some of these entities frequently complement or parallel those of NASJE. NASJE's goals include enhancing the quality of judicial branch education, attending to the professional growth of its own members, serving as a resource and clearing house for the exchange of materials, techniques, and information, and promoting research and development in the field of judicial education. The liaison concept was established by the NASJE Board to provide an opportunity for other organizations to establish and maintain a formal link to NASJE.

POLICY:
The liaison ensures that the NASJE membership is aware of emerging trends and developing areas. Similarly, NASJE liaisons, through establishing relations with other designated entities, are able to inform others about Association activities, research, and developments and foster cooperative endeavors. The liaison promotes the mutual interests of NASJE and the organization as authorized by the NASJE Board.

PROCEDURE:

1. Potential liaisons may apply for appointment with the NASJE President.
2. The President reserves the right to solicit applications from members and may, in his/her discretion, appoint any member deemed by the President as best suited to a particular assignment.
3. The President will inform specified organizations of the availability of a NASJE liaison to serve as a representative of NASJE.
4. Liaisons shall serve a three-year term and are eligible for appointment to one consecutive second term.
5. When possible, the NASJE member or the member's own state shall pay the expenses of attending the organization's conference and/or board meeting. If this is not possible, the President shall request authority from the Board to authorize the expenditure of NASJE funds for such attendance.
6. A liaison shall be the Association's primary contact with the designated organization.
7. A liaison shall attend meetings of the organization, where possible, and shall inform the organization of NASJE research, developments, and activities in areas germane to the organization's jurisdiction or function.
8. The liaison shall report at least annually to the NASJE Board on the organizations activities and developments.
9. At the direction of the NASJE Board, the liaison may represent the Association's position or intention on an issue.
10. The liaison may be empowered by the Board to negotiate with the organization on cooperative projects.
11. The liaison shall not, without NASJE Board approval, represent the Association's position or intentions, or unilaterally enter into cooperative agreements or projects with the organization on NASJE's behalf.
12. The liaison may be a member of the organization with which he/she liaisons, but, must not, during his/her tenure as NASJE liaison, serve as an officer, director, committee chair, or advisory board member for the organization.

OTHER OFFICIAL NASJE REPRESENTATIVES:

1. Some grants require that a NASJE representative serve on a planning committee for a judicial education project. An organization requiring a NASJE representative should contact the NASJE President for a recommendation.
2. The President shall contact the NASJE member he/she is recommending to alert the member to the potential invitation from the organization.
3. The NASJE member serving in that capacity shall work to further the goals of ANSJE and the interests of the profession.
4. When the grant-funded project involves a requirement that conference participants conduct follow-through educational projects after the conference, the NASJE member shall encourage the organization to make certain that state judicial educators are included in the invitation to attend the conference.

JUDICIAL EDUCATION REPRESENTATIVES:

1. While the liaison function is an official representative of the Association, a NASJE member may be approached, as an individual judicial educator, to serve on a project.
2. In this capacity, the representative functions on his/her own behalf, and not as a representative of NASJE.
3. Funding for travel of the representative to the organization's meetings will not be the responsibility of NASJE.
4. An organization may elect to contain the NASJE President for suggestions for potential judicial education representatives, but the selection of that individual will be made directly by the organization.

PUBLICATIONS

PURPOSE:
It is in the best interest of the Association that all publications of the Association represent the highest standards of professionalism.

POLICY:
Any publication produced on behalf of the Association should be of the highest professional level of scholarship and written communications. Whenever the budget permits, the printing of these publications should be through a professional printer or desktop publisher.

PROCEDURE:

Following is a current list of all NASJE publications:

1. The Constitution and Bylaws of the National Association of State Judicial Educators: first published August, 1975; last revision October, 1997.
2. The Principles and Standards of Continuing Education, 1991.
3. The NASJE homepage: http://nasje.org.
4. The National Association of State Judicial Educator's Policy and Procedures Manual, 1998.