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    Since its founding more than 50 years ago, The National Judicial College has been the nation’s premier judicial education institution.

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About
History
President
Board of Trustees
Faculty Council
Board of Visitors
Joint Committee
Alumni Relations Committee
Faculty
The NJC Team
Jobs & Internships
Strategic Plan
Annual Reports
Awards
Title VI
60th Anniversary
Courses & Degrees
Course Catalog
NJC On-Demand
Request Custom Course
Judicial Academy
Scholarships
Professional Certificate Program
Enrollment FAQs
Master’s and Ph.D. Degrees
Artificial Intelligence and the Rule of Law
Traveling to Reno
Collaborations
National Tribal Judicial Center
Dividing the Waters
Reading & Robes
Appellate Judges Education Institute
Our Partners
Reynolds Center for Courts & Media
International Programs
Judicial Resilience Alliance
Past Programs
Democracy’s Last Line of Defense
News & Info
The Latest
Judicial Edge Today
Reflections from the Bench
Question of the Month
Welcome to the Bench
Ask the Model Code
Press Releases
The NJC Podcast
Faculty Forum
NJC in the News
President's Update
Judicial Heroes & Legends
Resources
NJC On-Demand
Bench Books & Cards
Articles & Reports
Useful Judicial Links
Case in Point Magazine
Annual Reports
Commercial Driver's Licensing Laws
Racial Justice
Drug-Impaired Driving Resources
COVID-19
Donate
Giving Opportunities
Donor Honor Roll
Annual Reports
Endowments
Legacy Giving
Scholarship Fund
About the NJC
Contact
All News & Info
Courses

Lightning Course

Judge-Led Education: Curriculum Development for Subject Matter Experts – A Lightning Course

Crafting Effective Learning Objectives – A Lightning Course

Are Per Se Standards for Enforcing Marijuana-Impaired Driving Scientifically Legitimate? A Lightning Course

An Overview of Afrocentric Facial Feature and Skin Tone Bias in Criminal Law – A Lightning Course

Evidence-Based Practices: A Judge’s Guide to Pretrial Detention for Non-Violent Offenders – A Lightning Course

Tribal Online Self-Study Across the Country

Restorative Justice

Advanced Evidence (JS 617)

The Anti-Racist Courtroom: Theory and Practice

Environmental Law Essentials for the Judiciary

Animal Law General Jurisdiction

Special Considerations for the Rural Court Judge: Web-Based

Judicial Writing (JS 615)

Managing Cases Involving Commercial Driver’s Licenses

Impaired Driving Case Essentials

Civil Mediation

General Jurisdiction (JS 610)

Best Practices in Handling Cases with Self-Represented Litigants

Evidence in a Courtroom Setting (JS 633)

Fourth Amendment: Comprehensive Search and Seizure (JS 645)

Civil Mediation: An Online 40-Hour Workshop

General Jurisdiction (JS 610)

Ethics, Fairness, and Security in Your Courtroom and Community

Ethics and Judging: Reaching Higher Ground (JS 601): Web-Based

Handling Capital Cases (JS 623)

Judicial Ethics and Social Media: A Lightning Course

Handling Inquiries from the Media: A Primer for Judges

An Ethical Approach to the Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986

When Science Comes to Court: Self-Study Course on Forensic Evidence

Judicial Academy Tribal

Virtual Hearing Effective Practices for Tribal Courts

Ethics, Fairness, and Security in Your Courtroom and Community – ONLINE

Writing for Tribal Judges

Administrative Law: Fair Hearing (JS 612)

Special Court Jurisdiction

Strengthening the Foundation of a Tribal Court: A Self-Study Course for Court Administrators

Special Court Jurisdiction: Advanced (JS 611)

Essential Skills for Tribal Court Judges

Strengthening the Foundation of a Tribal Court: A Self-Study Course for Court Clerks

Mini-Course Administrative Law

Administrative Law: Advanced (JS 649) – ONLINE

Evidence Challenges for Administrative Law Judges: Web-Based

Fundamentals of Evidence: Web-Based

Judicial Academy – A Course for Aspiring Judges

Ethics for the Administrative Law Judge: Web-Based

Administrative Law: Advanced (JS 649)

Advanced Bench Skills: Procedural Fairness

New Military

Mindfulness for Judges

Enhancing Judicial Bench Skills (JS 624)

Conversations on Racial Justice Special Courts

The Traffic Case: A Course for Nonlawyer Judges

Judicial Writing (JS 615) – ONLINE

Decision Making (JS 618)

Lecture Appellate

Advanced Skills for Appellate Judges

Designing and Presenting: A Faculty Development Workshop

water International Symposium Traffic

Self-Represented Litigant Issues in CMV Cases (Part 2)

Self-Represented Litigant Issues in CMV Cases (Part I)

Search and Seizure in Drug Impaired Driving Adjudication

Fundamentals of “Masking” and Suspensions for CDL Holders in Traffic and Criminal Courts

Designing and Presenting Effective CDL Courses: A Faculty Development Workshop

60th Web Course

Taking the Bench: An Interactive, Online Course for New Judges

Handling Small Claims Cases Effectively: Web-Based

Webinar

Plaintiffs, Prosecutors, & Pronouns: Judges Ensuring Equal Access for The LGBTQ+ Community

Rising Seas and Litigation: What Judges Need to Know about Warming-Driven Sea-Level Rise

Financial Statements in the Courtroom – April

Impaired Driving 2023: Where Are We?

Web Self-Study

The Examination of a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) Violation from Roadside to Docket

Effectively Communicating with Families That Have Missing or Abducted Children Self-Study Course

A Thoughtful Approach to Racially Impartial, Research-Based Sentencing

DWI Court Enhancement: A Self-Study Web Course

Probate Matters: A Self-Study Online Course

Free

Tech-Enabled Abuse and Domestic Violence: What Judges Need to Know Part I

Compassionate Leadership: Judges in their Communities

Will state constitutions become the primary source of individual rights?

Mitchell v. Wisconsin: The Unanswered Question of Implied Consent

Administrative Law: Advanced (JS 649) - ONLINE

Evidence Challenges for Administrative Law Judges: Web-Based

Fundamentals of Evidence: Web-Based

Judicial Academy – A Course for Aspiring Judges

Ethics for the Administrative Law Judge: Web-Based

Administrative Law: Advanced (JS 649)

Advanced Bench Skills: Procedural Fairness

Judicial Academy – A Course for Aspiring Judges

The NJC is presenting this 4.5-day program to 40 selected participants who want to be trial judges. The NJC will endeavor to select a diverse participant class (age, race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and national or ethnic origin.) to help in the national effort to ensure a diverse judiciary.

Intended Outcomes

The program will answer the following questions for judicial candidates:

  • How should the candidates prepare themselves and their families for the journey to becoming judges?
  • What substantive content knowledge do candidates need to master?
  • How should candidates conduct themselves on social media and in public?
  • What judicial ethical rules are candidates bound by?
  • How will those ethics rules impact their behavior and the behavior of their families?

Course Structure

The Academy will emphasize a “learn by doing” dynamic featuring judges, judicial selection professionals, and other experts who will help the participating lawyers discover ways to seek judicial positions and to build strong foundations for serving in the role. The Academy will also feature a panel of supreme court justices speaking about their experiences.

Participant Qualifications and Future Expectations

Judicial candidates should have the essential qualities to be good judges: integrity; knowledge of the law; intelligence; knowledge of implicit biases; the ability to apply the law fairly; the capacity to make timely decisions; the courage to make difficult decisions; compassion; humility; patience; and the personal skills to preside over a courtroom with appropriate demeanor and courtesy to all participants. Judges must be non-political arbiters of the law. Society expects them to be impartial and, perhaps just as importantly, appear to be impartial.

Society also expects judges to serve as leaders in their communities. The Model Code of Judicial Conduct encourages judges to educate the public about the administration of justice, ways to improve it, and about the legal system in general.

Preparation for the Role

During the program, expert faculty and participating attorneys will engage in discussions about their own judicial philosophies after examining legal and judicial history, theory and philosophy. Participants will learn about the types of pressures judges’ face that differ from their current roles and how those pressures can impact their families. They will receive a behind-the-scenes look at what judges do that most trial lawyers are not aware of. They will also discover resources in all areas of the law that will help them to master their work.

Participants will learn about when they can and cannot engage on social media and whether they should. They will be able to define how to manage difficult persons in their courtrooms. They will engage with the faculty about managing public pressure and making decisions in sometimes difficult situations. They will gain an understanding of how implicit biases can impact their decision-making and recognize that all human beings have biases that require confrontation. The faculty will address how the role of the judge differs from advocacy and effective methods for transitioning. Some court cases are emotionally difficult. The participants will learn strategies for keeping themselves emotionally healthy. During the Chief Justices’ Panel, they will be able to engage with current and former chief justices to learn from leaders in the judiciary. They will examine the ethical rules that judges are bound by, and recognize how the judicial role will change their lives. They will learn from a security expert about methods for keeping themselves and their families safe. Finally, they will assess their own decision-making styles and interpret how their styles differ from their fellow participants.

Intended Outcomes

After participating in the 4.5-day intensive academy, judicial candidates will be able to:

  • Outline ways to prepare for, and participate in, judicial selection processes effectively (for states in which judges are appointed);
  • Outline ways to run an effective election campaign (for election states);
  • Define “dark money” and assess how candidates can avoid this and other ethical traps in judicial elections;
  • Summarize what judges can expect regarding judicial compensation (both salary and benefits);
  • Describe the political landscape for trial court judges in the United States;
  • Identify judicial selection trends across the country;
  • Define how they should conduct themselves on social media and in public as they prepare to enter the judiciary;
  • Differentiate between the perceptions of the judicial role and reality;
  • Describe the responsibilities of judges (e.g., interpreting the law, assessing the evidence presented, controlling hearings and trials, deciding impartially, mediating and settling disputes, leading court improvement projects, sentencing criminal defendants, terminating parental rights, using good temperament);
  • Identify the emotional issues that judges confront (e.g., sentencing defendants; terminating parental rights; deciding difficult cases; being in the public eye during controversial cases; security concerns);
  • Summarize the impact of the judicial role on their personal and professional lives;
  • Outline the benefits and drawbacks of taking the bench;
  • Define their roles in court administration and court committees;
  • Identify the ethical rules that judges are bound by;
  • Apply judicial ethics rules to their circumstances (e.g., restrictions on investments, fundraising, exclusive memberships, professional associations, friendships, bar association activity, family members, gifts, writing recommendation letters, running a campaign, seeking appointment);
  • Manage difficult people, including judicial peers, lawyers, self-represented litigants, jurors, court staff;
  • Manage public pressure to decide in certain ways;
  • Summarize the importance of judicial security and methods for keeping safe in courthouses and in their homes; and
  • Serve as trial judges with confidence.

DUI in Indian Country

Best Practices in Handling Cases with Self

Represented Litigants
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The National Judicial College is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action, ADA organization, and admits participants of any age, race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, disability or limited English proficiency.