FACULTY COUNCIL

NJC Faculty Council members help ensure that quality teaching standards are maintained and that the curricula offered are relevant, challenging and invigorating to the College’s participants. There are ten members on the Faculty Council who serve on staggered three year terms. The members of the Faculty Council continue to recognize the outstanding efforts of the College's volunteer faculty through hosted faculty receptions and dinners, commemorative awards, faculty development workshops for in-person and distance education programs, and special recognition for NJC outreach efforts.

- Hon. David Gersten, Chair
  Miami, FL
  Judge David Gersten is currently a partner at Bilzen Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP in Miami, Florida. He is recently retired from the Third District of Appeal, Miami, Florida. Prior to that he served as a trial judge for the 11th Judicial Circuit and for the Dade County Court. Judge Gersten received his bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor from the University of Florida. He is an appellate faculty member of the Florida College of Advanced Judicial Studies and served as the appellate division’s associate dean. He serves as an adjunct professor at St. Thomas University School of Law and Ave Maria School of Law, and has served as member of the Florida Court Education Council. He is admitted to the Florida Bar, United States District Court, Southern District of Florida, and the Colorado Bar. He has been a member of the Miami Beach, North Dade, Florida and American Bar Associations, and of the Legislative Committee of District Court of Appeal Judges. Judge Gersten is an alumnus of The National Judicial College and joined its faculty in 1997. He is Chair of The National Judicial College Faculty Council representing Specialty Courses.
- Hon. Thomas E. Cheffins, Immediate Past Chair
  Harrisburg, PA
  Judge Thomas Cheffins was appointed as a Federal Administrative Law Judge with the Social Security Administration’s Office of Disability Adjudication and Review in 2010. Prior to this appointment, Judge Cheffins was the Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Department of Public Welfare Bureau of Hearings and Appeals in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; a hearing officer for the Cumberland County Domestic Relations Office; and Court Administrator for the Cumberland Court of Common Pleas. Judge Cheffins received his bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University, his master’s degree from Shippensburg University, and his Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law where he graduated cum laude. Judge Cheffins has taught for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary, and several other state associations. He is a member of the National Association of Hearing Officials. He has authored numerous publications. Judge Cheffins was awarded The National Judicial College’s professional certificate in judicial development in both Dispute Resolution Skills and Administrative Law Adjudication Skills. He has also received the National Association of Hearing Officials Administrative Law Judge Certification. Judge Cheffins is an alumnus of The National Judicial College and joined its faculty in 2001. He was elected to The National Judicial College Faculty Council in 2007 and is Immediate Past Chair representing Administrative Law Jurisdiction.
- Hon. Anita M. Fogle, Chair-Elect
  Columbus, OH
  Judge Anita Fogle has served as hearing authority for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Columbus, Ohio, since December 1998. As a hearing authority, she supervised hearing officers and reviewed and approved or rejected recommended decisions. As of April 2010, she chose to return to her favorite job conducting administrative hearings for the same department. Judge Fogle attended Ohio University and majored in accounting. She has taught administrative law/due process, adjudicative hearing practices and procedures, research methods, federal and state laws, and other subjects for the Department of Job and Family Services, as well as at various conferences. Judge Fogle has been awarded The National Judicial College’s professional certificate in judicial development in both Administrative Law Adjudication Skills and Dispute Resolution Skills. She is a member of and received certification through the National Association of Hearing Officials. Judge Fogle is an alumna of The National Judicial College and joined its faculty in 2004. She was elected to The National Judicial College Faculty Council in 2008 and is Chair-Elect representing Administrative Law Jurisdiction.
- Hon. Andre M. Davis, Secretary
  Baltimore, MD
  Judge Andre Davis became a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit, on November 10, 2009, after being nominated April 2, 2009, by President Barack Obama. Prior to serving as a U.S. Court of Appeals judge, Judge Davis served on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, having been appointed by President Clinton in 1995. Prior to serving as a federal judge, Judge Davis had eight years’ experience as a state judge on the circuit court for Baltimore City and the District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City. He also served as an appellate attorney for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and as an assistant U.S. attorney for the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland. He received his bachelor's degree in American history from the University of Pennsylvania and his Juris Doctor with honors from the University of Maryland School of Law. He has been both an instructor and an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Law. Judge Davis is a former president of the Executive Committee of the Maryland Judicial Conference, a former member of the board of directors of the Judicial Institute of Maryland, where he is also an instructor, a member of the District Court Commissioner Education Committee and of the Maryland, Baltimore City and Monumental City Bar Associations. He has also traveled to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to teach economic criminal law for The National Judicial College, and to Russia to lecture on plea bargaining. Judge Davis joined the faculty of The National Judicial College in 1994 and was elected to The National Judicial College Faculty Council in 2011 where he serves as Secretary representing Specialty Courses.
- Hon. Karen Arnold-Burger
  Topeka, KS
  Judge Karen Arnold-Burger currently sits on the Kansas Court of Appeals. Prior to her appointment in January 2011, she served for 20 years as presiding judge at the Overland Park Municipal Court in Overland, Kansas. Previously, she practiced law for 10 years specializing in criminal prosecution and federal litigation, and served as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas. She received her bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas. She has been teaching topics such as judicial ethics, municipal court practice, drivers license law, records management, racial profiling, disproportionate minority confinement, collateral consequences of convictions, and traffic law to the Kansas Bar Association, the Kansas Municipal Judges Association, and the American Bar Association Judicial Division. In 2000, she received the Barbara Award for Excellence in Judicial Education from the Kansas Municipal Judges Association. She is a graduate and faculty member of the Institute for Faculty Excellence in Judicial Education at the University of Memphis. Judge Arnold-Burger joined the faculty of the National Judicial College in 2000 and serves on The National Judicial College Faculty Council representing Special Court Jurisdiction.
- Hon. Elbridge Coochise (Ret.)
  Phoenix, AZ
  Chief Justice Elbridge Coochise is an enrolled member of the Hopi Tribe in Arizona. After having been on the bench for 32 years, he retired in 1997. He is the owner and operator of Coochise Consulting, LLC, which provides services to tribes and tribal organizations, including lobbying, training, pro-tem judge, judicial services, administrative services, court evaluations, and setting up tribal courts. In senior judge status, Judge Coochise sits on the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa Tribal Court, the Cabazon Court of Appeals, and the Intertribal Court of California. He served on the San Carlos Tribal Court as a special judge and helped start and sat on the Mohegan Tribal Court from 2000-2005. Prior to retirement, he served as the chief justice of the Northwest Regional Tribal Supreme Court from 1988-1997 and served as the administrator/chief judge of the Northwest Intertribal Court System (NICS) (a circuit court system) in western Washington state from 1981-1997. He was associate judge in the Hopi Tribal Court from 1976-1981. Judge Coochise served four terms as president of the National American Indian Court Judges Association from 1988-1996 and served three terms as president of the Northwest Tribal Court Judges Association from 1988-1994. He serves on the Board of Directors of the National Indian Justice Center (NIJC) in Santa Rosa, CA, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) in Boulder, CO, the National American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA), and is a member of the Advisory Council to The National Tribal Judicial Center at The National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. He was Chairman of the Tribal Governance Committee of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (a regional tribal government organization) from 1987-1997. A recognized leader in his field, Justice Coochise received the Who’s Who Worldwide Award for Leadership and Achievement in his profession for 1992-1993, the Who’s Who Global Business Leader award for 1993-1994, and in November 1994 he received the Who’s Who Among Outstanding Americans award. He served as a member of the National Indian Policy Center’s task force on Law and Administration of Justice. He currently is a member of the BIA/Tribal Budget Advisory Committee’s Judicial Subgroup. He has had the honor of serving on several national committees and panels, taught for various tribes on American Indian issues in the U.S. and Canada, and was the key proponent in the passage of the Indian Tribal Justice Act, PL 103-176 which was passed on December 3, 1993. Judge Coochise is an alumnus of The National Judicial College and joined the faculty of the National Tribal Judicial Center in 1999. He serves on the Advisory Council of the NTJC and the Faculty Council of the NJC representing Tribal Courses.
- Hon. Peter M. Evans
  West Palm Beach, FL
  Judge Peter Evans has been a judge at the Palm Beach County Court in West Palm Beach, Florida since 1988. Previously he had a civil trial practice for 12 years specializing in domestic, construction, and commercial issues. Judge Evans received his bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from Ohio University and his Juris Doctor from Georgetown University. He has been teaching civil procedure for 20 years at Palm Beach Community College and is a frequent presenter at the Florida Bar and Florida Judicial Education Program. He is a member of the Florida Bar’s Education Committee and the Florida Conference of County Court Judges. Judge Evans is an alumnus of The National Judicial College and joined its faculty in 2000. He also serves on the NJC Faculty Council.
- Prof. Ronald R. Hofer
  Brookfield, WI
  Professor Ronald Hofer is a freelance writing consultant. He recently retired as the senior district staff attorney for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District II, in Waukesha, Wisconsin after 27 years with the court. He previously taught appellate law and various writing courses at Marquette University Law School for 21 years. Before attending law school, he was a lecturer and instructor in English at Marquette University and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he taught composition and American literature. Professor Hofer received his bachelor’s degree and Juris Doctor from Marquette University and a master’s from the University of Virginia where he was a Danforth Fellow. He has taught writing to lawyers, judges, and laypeople in more than 35 states, as well as in the Ukraine, the Russian Republic, the Czech Republic, Guam, Jamaica, and the Federated States of Micronesia. He was co-chair of the Writing Style Subcommittee of the Appellate Style Manual Drafting Committee, Appellate Judges Conference, Judicial Administration Division, American Bar Association, and contributed to the writing of the American Bar Association Judicial Opinion Writing Manual (West, 1991). Among his other publications is "Standards of Review—Looking Beyond the Labels," 74 MARQ. L. REV. 231 (1991). Professor Hofer is an alumnus of The National Judicial College and joined its faculty in 1994. He serves on The National Judicial College Faculty Council representing General Jurisdiction.
- Hon. William G. Kelly
  Kentwood, MI
  Judge William G. Kelly has served as judge of the 62-B District Court in Kentwood, Michigan since 1979. He is a graduate of the University of Detroit and the University of Detroit School of Law. He has been a faculty member of the Michigan Judicial Institute since 1985. He teaches criminal pretrial issues and trial process at the New Judges Seminar. Judge Kelly has taught several other courses for the Michigan Judicial Institute and for various organizations. He is very active in judicial associations in Michigan and nationally and has served as Chair of the National Conference of the Special Court Judges of the ABA, Chair of the Traffic Court Program of the ABA Judicial Division, President of the Michigan District Judges Association, and as Chair of the Judicial Conference of the State Bar of Michigan. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Center for State Courts. In addition, he edited the Judicial Division Record of the Judicial Division of the ABA for four years. Judge Kelly is an alumnus of The National Judicial College and joined its faculty in 2001. He serves on The National Judicial College Faculty Council representing Special Courts.
- Hon. Steve L. Smith
  Bryan, TX
  Judge Steve Smith has served as a judge for more than 20 years and presently serves as judge of the 361st District Court in Bryan, Texas. Judge Smith received his undergraduate degree from Abilene Christian University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law. He is board certified in Civil Trial Law, a member of the American Bar Association, American Judges Association, State Bar of Texas, and a Texas Bar Foundation Sustaining Life Fellow and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Judge Smith is Past Chair of the ABA Judicial Division’s National Conference of Specialized Court Judges, a member of the faculty for the Texas Center for the Judiciary and the Texas Justice Courts Training Center, as well as Past Chair of the Judicial Section of the State Bar of Texas. Along with Don Tomlinson, former journalism professor at Texas A & M University, he presents Dealing with the Media: Right, Wrong & Otherwise. This program assists judges in learning to deal professionally with the media within the bounds of the Code of Judicial Conduct. Judge Smith is an alumnus of The National Judicial College and joined its faculty in 2003. He currently serves on The National Judicial College Faculty Council representing General Jurisdiction.