Education Seminar

Overview

This seminar involved a range of topics related to substantive law, courtroom and trial management, and the ethics and role of the judiciary.

Objectives

The objectives of this course were to improve the participants’ substantive knowledge and skills with regard to civil jury trials, credibility assessments, and the review of warrants and wiretaps in criminal trials; to better develop the judges’ understanding of the relationship between the media, the courts and counsels in high profile cases; and to provide participants with tools to assess and improve their physical and mental well-being.

Summary

Led by senior judges, experienced practitioners, legal academics, psychologists and medical experts, and presented through a combination of presentations and interactive discussions, the program addressed: civil jury trials including managing self-represented litigants, jury selection, counsel misconduct in openings and closings, evidentiary issues, charges to the jury, questions from the jury and post-deliberation issues; media and the courts, including the relationship between the media, the courts and counsel in high-profile cases; wiretap authorizations; credibility assessments, with particular emphasis on understanding and taking social context into account when assessing evidence; and effective options and strategies in the judicial context to improve physical and mental health.