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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
Tribal Advisory Board
Joint Committee
Alumni Relations Committee
Faculty
The NJC Team
Jobs & Internships
Strategic Plan
Annual Reports
Awards
Title VI
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
The NJC Shop
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
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Courses

Web Course Webinar

Effective Treatment for Substance Related Disorder

Elder Abuse and Undue Influence – What Judges Need to Know

Here’s Another Fine Mess I’ve Gotten Myself Into: Ethical Issues for Trial Level Judges

Financial Statements in the Courtroom – December

Financial Statements in the Courtroom – September

Financial Statements in the Courtroom – July

Surface Water – Groundwater Conflicts: A Case Study Of Conjunctive Administration of Water in the Upper Rio Grande Basin

Chasing the High: Motivational Strategies for Working with Substance Abusers

Web Self-Study

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

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 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 Animal Law General Jurisdiction

Special Considerations for the Rural Court Judge: Web-Based

Civil Mediation

Arbitration, Family Mediation, and Other Alternatives for Resolving Disputes

General Jurisdiction (JS 610)

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

Designing and Presenting: A Faculty Development Workshop

Ethical Issues in the Law: A Novel Approach (JS 619)

Leadership for Judges

Advanced Evidence (JS 617)

Handling Small Claims Cases Effectively: Web-Based

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

Advanced Tribal Court Management

Mindfulness for Judges

Advanced Tribal Bench Skills: Competence, Confidence and Control

Administrative Law: Fair Hearing (JS 612)

Special Court Jurisdiction: Advanced

Lessons from Tough Cases: Judging, Judicial Independence, Faithfulness to the Rule of Law

Court Management for Tribal Judges and Personnel

Mini-Course Administrative Law

Fundamentals of Evidence: Web-Based

Judicial Writing (JS 615)

2022 Judicial Academy – A Course for Aspiring Judges

Ethics for the Administrative Law Judge: Web-Based

Evidence Challenges for Administrative Law Judges: Web-Based

New Military Conversations on Racial Justice Special Courts Lecture Appellate water International Symposium Traffic

Drugged Driving Essentials

2021 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?

Bootcamp 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 (civil, criminal, family, juvenile, and probate).

Judges have to be able to manage themselves and manage juries, cases, court computer programs, and other intricacies. The program will help them outline the most common evidentiary objections they’ll face. They will learn how to handle cases involving dissolution, domestic violence (protective orders), paternity, name changes, adoptions, children in need of services, marriages (as officiant), guardianships, and other judicial matters.

The faculty members will help participants manage criminal cases and motions in limine. The participants will differentiate advocacy writing from judicial writing and locate resources for improving their writing and oral delivery of decisions. They will learn how to interact with the media, the public, attorneys, and their own families appropriately. Finally, they will learn how to oversee probate cases (involving wills, trusts, and estates).

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

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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.