The National Judicial College

Advanced Evidence (JS 617) - Online
2025-12-01 - 2025-12-04 | Online
PREREQUISITE: A law degree or completion of one of the following courses is required to attend: Fundamentals of Evidence (or its equivalent), Special Court Jurisdiction, or Special Court Jurisdiction: Advanced.

Why should I take this course?Consistently rated as one of the top courses at NJC, Advanced Evidence is a must for judges who want to improve their evidentiary rulings. This course gives you the opportunity to analyze rules of criminal and civil evidence in a setting where you can debate the rules with other judges from around the country. The expert faculty will not only lead you through the quagmire of the Federal Rules of Evidence, but will also compare and contrast the common law rules of evidence. The course is “advanced” in the sense that you have the opportunity to examine the various rules of evidence in depth. It is helpful if you can bring your state’s evidence rules with you, so you can compare and contrast those rules with the federal rules.

Who should attend?This course has been specially developed for general jurisdiction judges or special court judges who hear criminal and/or civil cases. If you are a legally trained administrative law judge, you certainly are welcome; however, some of your practical concerns may not be specifically addressed. Appellate judges are encouraged to enroll not only for an update on evidence, but to hear the practicalities of applying evidentiary rules from a trial court judge’s perspective.

Who are the members of the faculty?Faculty members are judges recognized as experts in the field of evidence, as well as law professors who understand the real-life concerns that judges face.

How is this course taught?The faculty uses a number of adult education techniques including lecture, audio-visual aids, question and answer, debate, and class problems. Participants will also be directly involved in solving hypotheticals in your small group discussions.

What should I tell my presiding judge or funding agency so that my attendance will be approved?Judges must have a good understanding of the rules of evidence to make appropriate decisions in their courtrooms. This course gives the participant judge the rare opportunity to contrast their state rules of evidence with those of their colleagues from around the country. Each participant will also be given in-class problems that they must present to their colleagues. Ultimately, the judge participant will come away with a greater grasp of the rules of evidence and the reasons underlying those rules.

Whom should I contact for more information?For more information, please contact the Registrar’s Office at (800) 255-8343 or registrar@judges.org.

Judicial Writing (JS 615) - ONLINE
2026-03-09 - 2026-03-12 | Online
Who should attend?

Any judge, judicial officer, law clerk, or court-affiliated
staffperson who writes briefs, opinions, findings of fact, conclusions
of law, jury instructions, or correspondences can benefit from this
course.

Who are the members of the faculty?

This course is team-taught by Professor Elizabeth Francis (University of Nevada, Reno). Since 1992, this team has developed the writing of over 1,200 judges in the Judicial Writing course.

How is this course taught?

The course combines lecture presentations and writing exercises. The
lectures engage you in exercises of rewording sentences and paragraphs
as well as critiquing opinions and other legal documents. The writing
exercises culminate with one-on-one consultations between you and a
faculty member.

What should I tell my presiding judge or funding agency so that my attendance will be approved?

By improving your writing ability, you will enhance both your
productivity and efficiency. You will also be able to share many of the
concepts and techniques learned through the course with your colleagues.

Who should I contact for more information?

Please contact our Registrar’s Office with any questions.

Advanced Evidence (JS 617)
2026-09-28 - 2026-10-01 | BurlingtonVT
PREREQUISITE: A law degree or completion of one of the following courses is required to attend: Fundamentals of Evidence (or its equivalent), Special Court Jurisdiction, or Special Court Jurisdiction: Advanced.

Why should I take this course?Consistently rated as one of the top courses at NJC, Advanced Evidence is a must for judges who want to improve their evidentiary rulings. This course gives you the opportunity to analyze rules of criminal and civil evidence in a setting where you can debate the rules with other judges from around the country. The expert faculty will not only lead you through the quagmire of the Federal Rules of Evidence, but will also compare and contrast the common law rules of evidence. The course is “advanced” in the sense that you have the opportunity to examine the various rules of evidence in depth. It is helpful if you can bring your state’s evidence rules with you, so you can compare and contrast those rules with the federal rules.

Who should attend?This course has been specially developed for general jurisdiction judges or special court judges who hear criminal and/or civil cases. If you are a legally trained administrative law judge, you certainly are welcome; however, some of your practical concerns may not be specifically addressed. Appellate judges are encouraged to enroll not only for an update on evidence, but to hear the practicalities of applying evidentiary rules from a trial court judge’s perspective.

Who are the members of the faculty?Faculty members are judges recognized as experts in the field of evidence, as well as law professors who understand the real-life concerns that judges face.

How is this course taught?The faculty uses a number of adult education techniques including lecture, audio-visual aids, question and answer, debate, and class problems. Participants will also be directly involved in solving hypotheticals in your small group discussions.

What should I tell my presiding judge or funding agency so that my attendance will be approved?Judges must have a good understanding of the rules of evidence to make appropriate decisions in their courtrooms. This course gives the participant judge the rare opportunity to contrast their state rules of evidence with those of their colleagues from around the country. Each participant will also be given in-class problems that they must present to their colleagues. Ultimately, the judge participant will come away with a greater grasp of the rules of evidence and the reasons underlying those rules.

Whom should I contact for more information?For more information, please contact the Registrar’s Office at (800) 255-8343 or registrar@judges.org.

Class MaterialsAn electronic version of the binder will be shared a week before the class. Hard copies will not be provided. Participants are most welcome to print their binders.

AttireBusiness casual: most participants wear jeans, comfortable pants, sneakers, or tennis shoes
