Judicial Academy

The Judicial Academy helps lawyers who are interested in becoming judges learn about the profession and improve their chances of appointment or election to the bench.

As of early 2025, 37 alumni of the first Judicial Academy classes had made it to the bench. See below for the full list.

“I absolutely loved the Judicial Academy, and I highly recommend that anyone aspiring to a judicial career  invest in this course,” said Presiding Judge Lorrie Sinclair Taylor of the 20th Judicial District Court in Loudoun County, Virginia. She became the first African-American judge in the history of Loudoun County.

Participants in the weeklong course learn from veteran judges about a judge’s responsibilities, including:

• Interpreting the law
• Assessing evidence
• Controlling hearings and trials
• Deciding impartially
• Sentencing criminal defendants
• Terminating parental rights

The instructors also include professionals in charge of judicial selection and experts on judicial election campaigns.

The next Judicial Academy course is scheduled for October 2025. View the course description.

• Judge Olga Álvarez ’19, Superior Court of San Diego County, California
• Associate Justice José Scher Castillo ’19, California Court of Appeal
• Judge Jaime Hawk ’19, Superior Court of King County, Washington
• Magistrate Craig Moore ’19, Travis County (Texas) Criminal District Court
• Judge Marie Avery Moses ’19, 2nd Judicial District Court of Denver, Colorado
• Judge Patrice “Patti” W. Oppenheim ’19, 22nd Judicial District Court for St. Tammany and Washington Parishes, Louisiana
• Judge Rania Rampersad ’19, Northeast District Court, King County, Washington
• Associate Judge Jeffrey L. Phillips ’19, Nez Perce Tribe, Nez Perce County, Idaho 
• Judge Lorrie Sinclair Taylor ’19, General District Court, Loudoun County, Virginia
• Judge Thanh H. Tran ’19, Circuit Court of Clackamas County, Oregon
• Judge Tsering D. Cornell ’21, Superior Court of Clark County, Washington
• Judge Christine J. Gonong ’21, Superior Court of Los Angeles, California
• Judge Amyra Cobb-Hampton ’21, Superior Court of Solano County, California
• Judge Andrew Luxen ’21, 2nd Judicial District Court of Denver, Colorado  
• Judge Josh Patrick ’21, U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
• Judge Chris Sease ’21, District Court, Rowan County, North Carolina 
• Judge Catherine Taylor ’21, Los Alamos County Magistrate Court, New Mexico 
• Judge Sherry Thompson-Taylor ’21, Superior Court of San Diego County, California
• Chief Judge Natasha K. Anderson ’22, Nez Perce Tribal Court, Idaho  
• Judge B. Ashley Andrews ’22, North Carolina, District Court, 27th Judicial District
• Judge Latrice A.G. Byrdsong ’22, Superior Court of Los Angeles, California
• Judge Travis Fliehman ’22, Darke County Court of Common Pleas, Ohio
• Judge Robert Lara ’22, Division 2, 3rd Judicial District Court of New Mexico 
• Judge Elizabeth R. Martinez ’22, 73rd District Court, Bexar County, Texas
• Judge Danna W. Nicholas ’22, Superior Court of San Diego County, California
• Associate Judge Amy K. Peterman ’22, 17th Judicial Circuit Court, Illinois 
• Administrative Law Judge Amrit Vaani Chawla ’23, In-Home Support Services Unit, California Department of Social Services
• Judge Bryan F. Clavecilla ’23, Superior Court of Orange County, California
• Administrative Law Judge Heather Daly ’23, Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
• Judge-Elect Nikole Hecklinger ’23, King County Washington
• Judge S. Kerene Moore ’23, 15th District Court, Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Associate Judge Ciara Parks ’23, City of Manor, Texas
• Judge-Elect Selina Saenz ’23, 65th Judicial District Court of Texas (El Paso) 
• Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Smith-Tingle ’23, Virginia District 19
• Special Justice Kiah D. Spinks ’23, 31st District Court of Virginia
• Magistrate Judge Venetia Harvey Velazquez ’23, Superior Court of the Virgin Islands
• Judge Sandra Wu Gluvna ’24, Office of Hearings and Appeals, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development