Tech Interns for Courts: Some Ideas

Over the years I have had some excellent interns that worked for me in Arizona, on international projects, and here at the NCSC.   It seems that, not surprisingly, all of them went on to good careers.  In this week's post, I will share some project ideas for your potential interns and second, some tips to make their experience a rewarding one.

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It is important to try to engage smart young people to support justice programs.  I have been inspired by the presentations at our NCSC Court Hack events (http://www.courthack.org/) and Innovating Justice (https://www.hiil.org/) conferences.  So here are some ideas that you might use interns for in your court in the near future?

1. Fix the court’s online Microsoft Word forms.  I wrote about this in April.
2. Build an Access to Justice A2J author guided interview – read about this free tool at https://www.a2jauthor.org/
3. Conduct a survey?  When I was in graduate school we surveyed jurors and compiled the statistics for our court administration one semester.  What do you want to know?  The interns can set this up as an online survey using one of the cloud systems like Survey Monkey or Confirmit.  And of course, you know… paper?
4. Do that statistical analysis project you have always wanted?  You can have the interns dive into the CMS and/or case files to count data and find trends in the court filings or pending caseload?
5. Create or update that user manual.  I really like the idea of using Wiki software for this kind of document.  You can read about some online cloud systems in this article: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-best-tool-for-creating-free-online-private-Wikis
6. Young people know (and live) social media.  Maybe they can take a look at what your court is doing and can create a plan or test that would benefit the public and the court?

Now for some intern related tips:

Please treat your interns well.  Hold orientation sessions, tours, and interviews.  Don’t assume that they know things about the court, justice system, or the law.

Also, look for opportunities to include your interns in training classes and, debrief sessions.  It is great to have a good "give and take" conversation as they are interning in your court with fresh eyes.

And at the end of the internship, you should perform exit interviews and/or survey them to help you to create an even better program.

Last, if you can, please pay them for their work.

Good luck.  I hope you are as successful with your internships as I have been.