NJC will improve the functioning of the criminal justice system by ensuring that the judges who handle criminal cases have the knowledge, skills and abilities they need adjudicate fairly and effectively. To this end, NJC will develop a curriculum for judges on advanced concepts in criminal justice. The curriculum development process will include a thorough needs assessment, a curriculum development meeting, and drafting and delivering a curriculum. The curriculum will be delivered to judges through two regional pilot in-person courses and through distance learning opportunities (webinars).
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NJC will improve the functioning of the criminal justice system by ensuring that the judges who handle criminal cases have the knowledge, skills and abilities they need adjudicate fairly and effectively. To this end, NJC will develop a curriculum for judges on advanced concepts in criminal justice. The curriculum development process will include a thorough needs assessment, a curriculum development meeting, and drafting and delivering a curriculum. The curriculum will be delivered to judges through two regional pilot in-person courses and through distance learning opportunities (webinars).
Our webinar topics relate to the pilot curriculum and have been approved. Webinars will be scheduled approximately every-other month. NJC will alert judges to their availability through its list of alumni and through its electronic publications. NJC is currently identifying faculty and potential topics to present in a webinar mode to judges in the field.
Webcasts:
Title: ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Brain Science and Adolescents
Faculty: Carl Dawson
Date of Webcast: 20 April 2017
Time: 10:30 am PST, 11:30 am MST, 12:30 pm CST, 1:30 pm EST
Length: 90 minutes
At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Define major terms used in neuroscience, and identify anatomically important locations of
the human brain;
2. Describe the “Fetal Origin of Adult Diseases” and how early neglect impacts the
developing brain; and
3. List a few of the rapid changes that predictably occur in the adolescent brain.
Developments in neuroscience imaging allow us to understand much more about the adolescent brain and developmental psychology. Should this growing knowledge affect your decisions on the bench? This webcast will cover the latest science and help you determine what research you should be taking into account.
Title: ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Implicit Bias and Ferguson
Faculty: Judge Joe Charter
Date of Webcast: 2 May 2017
Time: 10:00 am PST, 11:00 am MST, 12:00 pm CST, 1:00 pm EST
Length: 75 minutes
At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Discuss the intersection between law enforcement, bias and crime;
2. Discuss how legal financial obligations place an undue burden on minority and indigent populations; and
3. Recognize the components of procedural fairness.
This 75-minute webcast will examine how events influence culture and provoke changes in social policy or laws, how the people in a given environment interpret related events, and the effect court fines and fees have on disadvantaged populations.
Title: ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Brain Science and Addiction
Faculty: Carl Dawson
Date of Webcast: 4 May 2017
Time: 10:30 am PST, 11:30 am MST, 12:30 pm CST, 1:30 pm EST
Length: 90 minutes
At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Explore basic facts regarding the human brain;
2. Discuss the neurological process involved in addiction; and
3. Describe the Two (2) Stages of the addiction process.
This 90-minute webcast will explore the genesis of addiction and how to more effectively handle defendants or litigants presenting with addiction in your court.
Title: ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Risk-Needs-Responsivity and Assessment Tools
Faculty: Franklin Cruz
Date of Webcast: 13 June 2017
Time: 10:00 am PST, 11:00 am MST, 12:00 pm CST, 1:00 pm EST
Length: 75 minutes
At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Explain the cutting edge knowledge of Risk, Needs, and Responsivity in criminal justice;
2. Identify how these principles (re)shape not only judicial practice but system practices; and
3. Articulate when and how risk and needs tools can be used to inform judicial decision-making.
This 75-minute webcast will help you to evaluate the effective translation of RNR information into evidence-based actions that will change behavior and improve outcomes while you recognize how risk, needs, and responsivity must be considered holistically to inform effective responses.
Title: ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Implicit Bias
Faculty: Joseph Sawyer
Date of Webcast: 21 June 2017
Time: 10:00 am PST, 11:00 am MST, 12:00 pm CST, 1:00 pm EST
Length: 75 minutes
At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Recognize the way the human brain processes give meaning to identify cues;
2. Define implicit bias and implicit association;
3. Explain the impact of implicit bias in decision-making; and
4. Apply strategies to mitigate implicit bias.
This 75-minute webcast will investigate how implicit bias can be addressed in the courts in order to reduce its impact on judicial decision making.
Scheduled after June 2017:
Title: ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Judicial Independence
Faculty: Judge Efrain Alvarado
Date of Webcast: 10 August 2017
10:00 am PST, 11:00 am MST, 12:00 pm CST, 1:00 pm EST
Length: 75 minutes
At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Discuss the history and meaning of judicial independence.
2. Identify factors which support or impede judicial independence; and
3. Identify strategies for working with executive, legislative, and other sources of funding for operations and enhancements.
This 75-minute webcast will examine the concept of judicial independence and how judges can manage the challenges they might encounter by politics, elections, and media attention to cases.
Unscheduled Webcasts:
Title: ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Jury
Faculty: TBD
Date of Webcast: TBD
Title: ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Emerging Trends in Forensic Science
Faculty: Christine Funk
Date of Webcast: TBD
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