Following are three profiles of judicial training institutions in the United States. Please note that USIA assumes no responsibility for the content and availability of those non-USIA websites listed below, which reside solely with the providers.

The National Judicial College
University of Nevada, Reno/358
Reno, NV 89557
USA


The National Judicial College (NJC) was established in 1963 by the American Bar Association, as a private, non-profit educational institution, offering a variety of courses to more than 2,000 judges and other court officials each year, at both the campus in Reno and at other sites across the United States. Participants include state trial judges, special court judges and magistrates, federal and appellate judges and administrative law, military, and Native American tribal court judges.

The NJC curriculum concentrates on the art and skill of judging, and on new trends in the law. Some of the current topics for discussion include judicial ethics, relationships with communities and the media, good caseflow management, alternate-dispute resolution techniques and management skills. Courses are taught by individual experts, primarily active judges and law professors, who conduct a specific seminar.

The National Judicial College welcomes participants and observers from around the world. Some English-speaking jurists have elected to participate in regular course activities, while others have come principally to observe the NJC classroom techniques and methods. There are one- and two-week intensive courses for non- English speaking judges, which include specific issues of comparative law, as well as the universal aspects of being a good judge. Jurists from Russia, South and Central America, and Southern Africa have attended NJC courses.

For information on NJC international programs, contact:
Ms. Peggy Vidal, Academic Coordinator
fax 703-784-1253
e-mail [email protected]

The NJC homepage contains basic information about NJC and its curriculum.


Federal Judicial Center
Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building
One Columbus Circle, NE
Washington, DC 20002
USA

Four years after the founding of the National Judicial College, the U.S. Congress in 1967, enacted legislation to create the Federal Judicial Center (FJC), an independent education and research agency within the judicial branch of the U.S. government. The FJC receives government funding to conduct education and training programs for federal judges and federal court employees; to conduct research on issues of court administration; and to explore new technology for the federal court system.

The FJC conducts over 50 seminars and conferences for some 2,000 federal judges, and 2,000 officers of the court. In order to reach as many of the nation's 27,000 federal court employees as possible, the FJC augments its seminar series with special educational programs designed to "train the trainers." These officers carry their FJC training back to their district court and develop local programs for their colleagues.

The FJC also administers a Visiting Foreign Judicial Fellows Program in which an international judge or legal scholar may be in residence at the Center for up to six months to study some aspect of the American legal system. Applicants from countries with which the U.S. maintains diplomatic relations are eligible.

For information, contact:
Mr. James Apple, Chief, Interjudicial Affairs Office
fax 202-273-4019
e-mail [email protected]

The FJC homepage contains more basic information about the FJC and its publications, and links to other websites.


National Center for State Courts
300 Newport Avenue
P.O. Box 8798
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8798
USA

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) was established in 1971 as a central resource to improve the ability of U.S. state courts to dispense justice in a fair and efficient manner. This is accomplished primarily through direct expert assistance, national conferences, education and training courses, and information exchange. The NCSC library in Williamsburg, Virginia, is the largest international lending library on court administration in the world.

Among the training courses offered through the NCSC's Institute for Court Management are: caseflow, jury and management; records management; planning and budgeting; court security; and computer automation. Participants include judges, court administrators, and other judicial employees. Foreign judges and court officials can participate in the core NCSC education programs. The NCSC also has developed a 3-week extended study tour for international jurists, which first establishes the framework for analyzing judicial administration, and then provides participants with first-hand experience of the U.S. court system.

For information, contact:
Ms. Karen Heroy, Director
International Visitors Training Program
fax 757-220-0449
e-mail "[email protected]"

The NCSC homepage contains more information about the NCSC and on special topics like court technology, as well as links to other websites.

Issues of Democracy
USIA Electronic Journals, Vol. 1, No. 18, December 1996