On July 20, 2012, one of the deadliest mass shootings occurred at the Century 16 movie theatre in Aurora, CO. Twelve were killed and 70 were injured in what was then the shooting incident with the largest number of casualties in U.S. history. The subsequent trial proceedings were broadcast not only nationally, but internationally, and received pervasive media coverage.
In the Colorado Court Services training unit, new trainers undergo “Training Boot Camp” to learn and master training delivery skills and methodologies. From there, they graduate to “Special Ops,” where they continue to refine their development techniques, as well as identify new approaches, with their fellow specialists.
Walking into a conference as a new member can be intimidating, so the Membership and Mentor Committee wants to take a little of that fear away by offering new members or first-time attendees a conference buddy for the 2019 Annual Conference in Denver.
Performance coaching, executive coaching, skills coaching, life coaching. What do courts need in the realm of coaching, and why should judicial educators consider adding coaching to their courts’ repertoire of training? In their session, “A Coach Approach: Sustainable Change for Judicial Branch Leadership,” NASJE members Leslie Gross and Nancy Smith will make the case for implementing a coach approach for court leaders involved in personnel management and other leadership arenas. Smith and Gross are trainers, coaches, and owners of Sustainable Change Coaching, which they founded this year in the hopes of helping court leaders become better people managers and leaders.
At the annual conference in October, NASJE’s newest Board members will be sworn into office. Candidates are recommended by the membership to NASJE’s Nominating Committee, chaired by Past President Lee Ann Barnhardt. Other committee members (representatives from each region) include Allison Gallo (Delaware), Ben Barham (Arkansas), Tom Langhorne (Utah), and Margaret Allen (Ohio). Ms. Barnhardt also serves on the Diversity, Fairness and Access Committee, and all committee members are tasked with promoting diversity of the slate of candidates. The committee will be reaching out to the membership requesting recommendations for individuals who might serve in NASJE leadership positions.
On July 17 and July 30, 2019, NASJE’s International and Diversity, Fairness, and Access committees are sponsoring webinars available to all NASJE members. Information on the webinars is below, registration is available on the members only page.
Judges are the guardians of our system of justice, but forensic developments in the last 50 years have made their jobs significantly harder. However, judges do not need to become scientists in order to make appropriate evidentiary decisions about scientific evidence. Rather, they need to have a detailed understanding of their role in admitting scientific evidence. To achieve this, the National Judicial College and the Justice Speakers Institute are pleased to present a new online resource, Science Bench Book for Judges, to assist judges in making their rulings.
WELCOME TO THE MILE HIGH CITY! Registration is now open for NASJE’s Annual Conference, which will be held in Denver, Colorado, on October 18-21, 2019. The conference will be held at Ralph Carr Judicial Center with pre-conference events and lodging…
When I took office last year, I was asked repeatedly about my agenda as President of NASJE and what I hoped to accomplish. I struggled to provide an answer. My initial inclination was to say, “Continue the great work and follow the lead of the talented people who came before me.” My second reaction was even shorter and less impressive: “Try not to screw anything up.” But the more I thought about it, the more an answer began to materialize. I wanted to work to ensure that NASJE would continue to be the resource to others that it has been to me.
Registration for NASJE 2019 opens in early June. Click through to the video for some great reasons to attend.
Nikiesha Cosby, an association manager with the National Center for State Courts and the secretariat for NASJE, recently received the Florence McConnell Award from the National Center. The award honors former employee Florence McConnell and goes to the employee whose interaction with the courts and with fellow employees creates an atmosphere of trust and respect. The recipient not only maintains a high level of professional performance but also is supportive of colleagues in their personal challenges.
Richard Rothstein’s thesis is that local, state, and federal laws, rules and policies deliberately caused segregation in public housing, beginning primarily around World War II when severe housing shortages for war workers caused the government to build public housing in large numbers where war industries existed. While the common supposition is that housing segregation is a result of people choosing to live in segregated neighborhoods, Mr. Rothstein argues that segregation in housing is in fact a result of laws and policies of the government. His arguments are compelling and are a lesson for everyone in the court system, in fact for all citizens, about why housing segregation really happened, and what might be done about it.
The National Association of State Judicial Educators is launching its Vision 2020 Campaign with a membership survey developed by the organization’s Membership and Mentor Committee. The goal is to collect data on ways NASJE can better meet the evolving needs of its members. Once compiled, the board and NASJE’s committee chairs will use the data to improve the organization and the services it provides. A full report will be made available to members at the 2019 Annual Conference in Denver.
The road to becoming a judge is paved with years of training, preparation, and the endless acquisition of knowledge. Curiously, much of the curriculum for judicial education is developed without judicial input. Oftentimes, judges are not afforded the opportunity to help shape the very learning experience they rely on for their development. Jim Sullivan plans to change that. And he wants your help.
Online learning is no longer just an occasional component of our job – in many cases, it’s fast becoming the primary focus! Join us for a panel discussion hosted by the Midwestern region with NASJE members who have facilitated the growth of online learning in their states and jobs. We will discuss how online learning changes your educational strategic plan, what’s happening in other states, and what’s on the horizon for court education and NASJE.
By Cecilia Low-Weiner, Research Analyst at the Data Collaborative for Justice and Ed Spillane, Presiding Judge of College Station Municipal Court, Texas With increasing public scrutiny and calls for reform throughout the criminal justice system, a judge’s role as an…
