*EPF407 08/15/2002
Organizations Fill Need for Continuing Legal Education
(Assist both judges and court officials) (3180)

By Stuart Gorin and David Pitts
Washington File Staff Writers

(The following article by Washington File staff writers Stuart Gorin and David Pitts appears in the International Information Program Electronic Journal "Legal Education in the United States" issued in August 2002. This article and the rest of the journal may be viewed on the Web at: http//usinfo.state.gov/journals/journals.htm. No republishing restrictions.)

CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION:
THREE ORGANIZATIONS THAT FULFILL THE NEED
By Stuart Gorin and David Pitts


(A new judge wants to know how to preside properly over a courtroom trial. An experienced clerk of the court requires familiarity with the latest procedures in order to better handle his or her duties. Judges and court officials around the globe seek information on the U.S. judicial system. Every year there are thousands of requests for information on and questions about court procedures throughout the United States, in both the federal- and state-level judicial arenas. In this look at three organizations that provide the answers -- the Federal Judicial Center, the National Judicial College and the National Center for State Courts -- Contributing editors Stuart Gorin and David Pitts, examine how these and other organizations fulfill all of these legal education needs and much more.)

The continuing education aspect is critical, says Fern Smith, a U.S. district judge who serves as the Federal Judicial Center��s director. Smith points out that changes in the judicial system are vast, especially with new rulings coming continuously from the U.S. Supreme Court, and with changes in the role of federal district judges.

Established in the nation��s capital by Congress in 1967 on the recommendation of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the Federal Judicial Center (FJC) is the research and education agency of the U.S. federal judicial system. The center conducts orientation and promotes continuing education and training for federal judges and court employees. The center also conducts and promotes research on federal judicial procedures and court operations.

"We are not specialized and we handle every kind of case that comes to district court, both criminal and civil," Smith says, adding that "Judges need help in learning different areas of law and in keeping abreast of the latest developments to be on the cutting edge."

Three Divisions

Based on the tasks it performs for the federal judicial system, the Federal Judicial Center is organized into three divisions: court education, judicial education and research.

The court education division develops and administers education and training programs and services for non-judicial court personnel, such as those in clerks?offices and probation and pretrial services offices, and management training programs for court teams of judges and managers.

The judicial education division develops and administers education programs and services for judges, career court attorneys and personnel from the offices of U.S. federal defenders.

The research division undertakes empirical and exploratory research on federal judicial processes, court management and sentencing, often at the request of the Judicial Conference and its committees, the courts themselves or other groups in the federal system.

Primary Vehicles for Continuing Education

Last year, the Federal Judicial Center provided 985 educational programs for more than 48,000 U.S. judges and court staff members, and hosted seminars or briefings for 422 foreign judges and officials representing 34 countries. It also published or updated a dozen reports or reference guides and broadcast almost 2,000 hours of educational programming on the Federal Judicial Television Network.

The primary vehicles for orientation and continuing education for judges include face-to-face conferences, seminars and workshops. Court staff participate in local training events or through satellite broadcasts, on-line computer conferences and audio and video conferences.

FJC workshops cover such topics as recent developments in jurisdiction, evidence, sentencing, employment law, genetic research and international litigation. Special-topic seminars for small groups of judges have explored intellectual property, civil rights litigation, mediation techniques, federalism and bankruptcy.

Examples of television network programming have included reviews of Supreme Court terms and have examined the principles of science in the courtroom related to analyzing evidence.

Numerous educational publications produced for judges and legal staff include resource guides for managing U.S. federal death penalty trials, judicial management of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and a civil litigation management manual, as well as one on recurring problems in criminal trials. Reports and reference guides released in 2001 include International Insolvency, Liability Litigation, Redistricting Litigation and The Use of Visiting Judges in the Federal District Courts.

In addition to briefings and discussions, programs for foreign judicial officials also include bringing judicial fellows to the center to work as scholars-in-residence. Since this aspect of the program began 10 years ago, more than 30 foreign judges have conducted research in such areas as judicial independence, administration and the role of law clerks.

The National Judicial College

In 1961, the American Bar Association recognized the need for an analysis of the American justice system. Joining the American Judicature Society and the Institute of Judicial Administration, they organized the Joint Committee for the Effective Administration of Justice, chaired by then-Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark. Among the committee��s recommendations was a provision for continuing judicial education, which in 1963, became the National Judicial College.

Since that time, over 58,000 judges worldwide have been provided legal educational and professional development opportunities. Judges come to NJC from all parts of the world, usually through arrangements with the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), although some programs are arranged through the World Bank. There also are direct communications between the college and foreign governments. In addition to its staff of judges and other legal professionals, the college has representatives from other disciplines, including physicians, psychologists, and computer and communication experts. Faculty donate much of their time.

NJC��s chief objective is to improve justice through national programs of education and training directed toward judicial proficiency, competency, skills and productivity. Located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, the National Judicial College maintains affiliations with a variety of other educational institutions.


Importance of Judicial Education

Washington state Superior Court Judge Heather Van Nuys underlines the importance of judicial education not only at the state, but also at the national level. "Over the years, I��ve found the courses at the National Judicial College very helpful," she says. "They are an important supplement to state judicial education in a number of important respects. First, it affords an opportunity to confer with judges from other jurisdictions -- to discuss their approach to cases" -- based on their own state law. Those in attendance are not just Americans, either. Judges from overseas also are frequent participants in classes at the NJC.

In addition, there are a variety of professional participants, not just legal professionals. Van Nuys adds that courses at the National Judicial College also include a broad cross-section of other professionals from across the United States, for example, in medicine and science.

She also says the courses at NJC "are in greater depth than those at the state level. For example, I have just participated in a week-long course in decision-making. Such detailed courses would not be available at the state level." Non-legal issues that pertain to the courtroom also are discussed, she notes.

Model Courtroom

One feature of the National Judicial College is the model courtroom, a state-of-the-art center that allows for both print and electronic media to record court proceedings, as well as providing access to courts by witnesses, lawyers and jurors with vision or hearing deficiencies, and closed-circuit television capabilities for interviewing sensitive witnesses. Not only does the model courtroom provide hands-on training for NJC participants, but the courtroom is also used on occasion by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as well as by the court system for the state of Nevada.

Professional Certificate

The Professional Certificate in Judicial Development is an innovative program of the college designed for judges who want to concentrate their studies in a focused academic area. A masters degree and Ph.D. also are offered in the judicial studies program. In addition to judges from 150 countries who have attended regular NJC courses and those attending as observers, the college also has presented special courses for judges from emerging democracies, primarily from Latin America, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

The National Center for State Courts

In 1971, then-Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Warren Burger, founded the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), a nonprofit organization in Williamsburg, Virginia, that promotes justice through leadership and service to U.S. state courts. In this manner, the NCSC is committed to improving the administration of justice in the United States and abroad through research, education, consulting and information services.

The NCSC is made up of several divisions that conduct numerous programs. For example, the court research division promotes public confidence by helping state courts respond to policy issues of concern, anticipate societal problems that will affect courts and develop the leadership necessary to provide fair and equitable administration of justice.

The court management consulting division provides expert technical assistance in court administration, caseflow management, court technology, family law and human resources, among other court operations. The government relations division tracks national policy issues and pending legislation that could affect state courts and helps state judicial leaders make their voices heard within all branches of the federal government.

The Institute for Court Management (ICM) is directed toward every level and type of state-level court, including trial, appellate and those at the municipal level. The ICM��s flagship program, the Court Executive Development Program provides high-quality professional education to court employees pursuing careers within the judicial branch of government. It is open to American judges with management responsibilities, clerks of court and court administrators. ICM also conducts national courses in civil mediation, trial court performance stands, court financial resources and other diverse areas.

International Programs

Created in 1992 to assist courts, legislators and other justice system components outside the United States, the international programs division of the NCSC works to improve the administration of justice and the rule of law worldwide. A team of multi-disciplinary members who are well-versed in policy and program development, all aspects of court management and administration, including technology applications and system assessments related to the courts and other integral agencies, assist foreign judicial staffs.

Richard Van Duizend, executive director of international programs, says the organization provides technical assistance and training projects through long-term programs in such countries as Mexico, Nigeria, Serbia, Croatia and Mongolia. Working with the U.S. Agency for International Development and others, Van Duizend adds, the center also arranges court visits around the country for between 300-400 international visitors a year.

Opportunities for Everyone

One participant in the international training programs was Judge Ales Zaler, the vice president of the Slovenian Judges Association. "The U.S. judicial reforms fostered my understanding that judges should be service providers for citizens, rather than just servants of the state, " he says. The judge especially liked the court-annexed ADR programs, which provide citizens with the possibility of mediation, arbitration or early neutral evaluation of cases. "As a result of my U.S. training," Judge Zaler adds, "the Slovenian example of court-annexed mediation introduced in the Ljubljana District Court has proven to be a success story of a fair, efficient and cost-effective judicial system. It is a also proving to be a model program, not only for the courts outside Ljubliana, but also for courts all over southeastern Europe."

Continuing legal education is strictly voluntary. No judge or court staff anywhere are required to take further legal education training, but they do so enthusiastically. For judges and judicial staffs both in the United States and around the world, however, the opportunities for continuing judicial education provided by such organizations as the Federal Judicial Center, the National Judicial College and the National Center for State Courts can ensure that the world��s citizenry is afforded the best protection possible under the rule of law.

(Sidebar)

A Judge Talks About the Importance of Legal Education

The important point about judicial education, says Judge William Dressel, president of the National Judicial College (NJC) in Reno, Nevada, is that it is recent ?within the last four decades -- and has evolved and changed since the early programs were established.

"Forty years ago, there was nothing really in terms of judicial education," notes Dressel. When judicial education began, it tended to be formal lectures from a presenter. Now, the format tends to be informal classes in which issues are discussed and the focus is on skills acquisition, he adds.

Nowadays, there is also much more emphasis on "the judge being in control of the trial not the lawyers," says Dressel, a trend that was accentuated after the O.J. Simpson trial. "It's felt that the judge is the one who should be responsible for the trial, not the lawyers," Dressel continues. "Over the years, we have looked at the skills judges need to have to effectively case manage. There also has been much more emphasis on judicial independence, ethics, decision-making and the relationship to the community."

In addition, judges now focus "more on attitudes and problem solving," as well as law per se, remarks Dressel. This has led to "problem-solving adjunct institutions such as drug courts -- and also modern methods of problem solving such as alternate dispute resolution and mediation. Can a judge, for example, do something other than rule on a motion; can he or she solve problems?" Dressel asks. For years, the attitude was completely different. "Judges haven't abandoned their traditional roles, but they question them much more than they used to," he explains.

Dressel also says that when judicial education was first introduced, the emphasis was on the mechanics of civil and criminal law, and rules of evidence. That is still important, but now judges may talk about such matters as scientific evidence. How do you decide, for example, if someone is truly an expert? On issues such as this, you might have someone introduce the topic, but then it moves on to discussion.

"Forty years ago, most judges were in their 50s, many now are in their 30s and 40s and they might not have a broad-based judicial career," Dressel says. "This means you now need to cover a lot more of the basics, but at the same time deal with all the other issues that tend to come up in modern courtrooms." Therefore, professional development (continuing education) is much more essential than it once was, he adds.

In terms of the student body at the college, Dressel says "We have sessions for federal administrative law judges (but not federal criminal law), Native American tribal judges and state trial judges. We have some courses where we bring them all together and some that are separate. We get a fairly good mix of judges."

In addition, he says that there are courses for foreign judges at the college. "If they speak English, they can come to our regular courses. If they do not, we will put together special courses that are consistent with their culture and the systems that they have to deal with," Dressel adds.

"What we don't do is say 'this is the American justice system and this is what you should do,'" he stresses. However, some foreign judges have "a strong curiosity about the American system. You say to them: this is what we are trying to achieve here. How would you go about achieving the same goal?"

One particular problem faced by judges in many countries is lack of trust on the part of the public in the judicial system. In this respect, "community forums, mock trials" and other kinds of publicity to educate the public is important, he adds.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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