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Participants Will Learn from Latest O.J. Simpson Trial at October 15 Course

By Gary Hengstler, Director, Reynolds National Center for Courts and Media

9/15/2008

When judges and other court personnel convene October 15 for the three-day
course Essential Court Teamwork in Dealing With the Media, they benefit from
lessons learned from the most recent national newsworthy trial – the O.J. Simpson trial in Las Vegas. One of the faculty for the course is Mike Sommermeyer, the court public information officer for the Clarke County courts, who managed all of the media issues in that case.

The "Essential Teamwork" class has proven a popular one at the NJC, not only because of its hands-on, interactive components, but also because it provides a blueprint for the courts as to when judges should handle issues and when the designated court spokesperson should deal with the media. This year's course is still open for enrollment.

This course is presented in collaboration with the Conference of Court Public Information Officers and the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, and is a blend of the former Basic Skills for Disseminating Court Public Information course and the First Amendment and Media Issues for Judges course.

Open to both judges and key court administrators, this course teaches participants how to deal with media issues, both positive and negative, and who should take the primary role in given situations to provide a coordinated approach. When media seek access to court information, the first people they will likely contact are not judges, but other court personnel. Ideally, a judge and a selected member of the court’s administration should take this course as a team to prepare them for dealing effectively with the media. Topics covered include free press and fair trial, working with the news media, restrictive orders and other impediments for the court spokesperson, having a Web presence, cameras in the courtroom and the high-profile trial.