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Advanced Evidence (JS 617) in San Francisco, CA

12/3/09

For a trial court judge, weighing the admissibility of evidence can be one of the most challenging and frustrating aspects of the role of the judge. Many judges who attend evidence courses at the NJC acknowledge that deciding evidentiary issues often pose a problem for even the most experienced judges. To help trial court judges develop and enhance the knowledge and skills they need to make evidentiary rulings, the NJC offers Advanced Evidence (JS 617) twice each year. The first 2010 Advanced Evidence course is being offered in San Francisco May 23-27.

Building on the participating judges’ law training and/or completion of other NJC courses, such as General Jurisdiction, Special Courts, and Fundamentals of Evidence, the NJC Advanced Evidence course is designed to examine the types of evidentiary issues that may be the most problematic for trial court judges. The course addresses evidentiary issues that may arise in civil, criminal, and administrative law cases, and thus both judges sitting in general jurisdiction courts and judges sitting in limited jurisdiction judges will benefit from the course material, as will administrative law judges.  

One of the topics covered in the NJC’s Advanced Evidence course that has been ranked as important by past course participants is how to understand and rule on evidentiary issues involving the Confrontation Clause and Crawford v. Washington and its progeny. Professor Stephen J. Cribari of the University of Minnesota School of Law, a recognized expert on Crawford and the Confrontation Clause, will be among the distinguished faculty for the NJC’s May 2010 offering of Advanced Evidence in San Francisco, CA. 

Professor Cribari, who has published several articles regarding Crawford and the Confrontation clause, including Is Death Different? Dying Declarations and the Confrontation Clause after Crawford, 35 WM. MITCHELL L. REV. 1542 (2009), joined the NJC faculty in February of 2009. He received excellent reviews from participants in the February 2009 Advanced Evidence Course, such as, “Professor Cribari brought back to me why I enjoyed law school,” and, “Prof. Cribari is excellent.  He is well informed, excited about his topic, interacts well with students, and combines thorough preparation with spontaneity in answering questions… He is worth the price of admission.”   Prior to teaching law, Professor Cribari practiced law for over 25 years, twice arguing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In addition to Professor Cribari, Judge Lisa Rau of the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Philadelphia, and Commander John Maksym, a judge on the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals in Washington, D.C., are scheduled as faculty members for the May 2010 NJC Advanced Evidence course. 

Advanced Evidence (JS 617) qualifies for 2 credits toward the Judicial Studies degree. Registration is now open for the course and scholarships are available to eligible judges. The cost is $1,195, with an additional conference fee of $370 also required. Participants in Advanced Evidence must have a law degree or have completed NJC’s Fundamentals of Evidence course (formerly known as Basic Evidence) or an equivalent or the two-week Special Court Jurisdiction course.

For more information about the May 2010 Advanced Evidence course, contact John Newell, NJC Program Attorney at (800) 255-8343, or by e-mail at newell@judges.org. A second Advanced Evidence course will be offered in Reno, NV from October 11 to October 14, 2010.