New center for Judicial Studies created

The School of Law recently announced the creation of a new Center for Judicial Studies, as well as a newly offered master’s program.
The School of Law recently announced the creation of a new Center for Judicial Studies, as well as a newly offered master’s program.

The Duke School of Law aims to get judges off the bench and back to school.

The school announced last week the creation of a new Center for Judicial Studies and a master’s degree in judicial studies. The center and new program will build on the School of Law’s strong faculty expertise in judges and judicial studies. Jack Knight, professor of political science and law, and law professor Mitu Gulati, also a professor of law, will serve as co-directors of the center.

“I believe that the new center will draw attention and interest to the law school,” Knight said. “We’ve all done a lot of work in the area of judicial institutions.”

One of the main selling points of the center will be the faculty, Knight said. He added that the center is unique in its synthesis of scholarship and practical judicial knowledge.

“The center will bring together research and scholarship on judges and judicial research with judges who actually do the active work as well as people who are doing reform of judicial institutions,” Knight said. “It will be a mix of scholarship, education and policy reform.”

The idea for the center came from Law School Dean David Levi, who worked as chief U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of California before his appointment as dean in 2007.

“As a former judge who is now part of a great academic law school, I see tremendous benefits in bringing together thoughtful judges and scholars to study judicial institutions in the light of academic research considered through the lens of day-to-day experience,” Levi said in a news release. “Whether it is judicial independence, efficiency, bias, the selection process for judges, the use of judges or juries to decide certain cases, the use of specialized courts or the attainment of justice—these are topics of great national and international interest.”

The Center for Judicial Studies has already begun to take shape. In 2009, the School of Law has held two conferences at Duke about judicial behavior and decision-making that were well attended, Knight said. The first conference offered by the center is scheduled for Spring 2012.

He added that the master’s program in judicial studies is unique in that no other major law schools or universities offer an educational experience for judges.

Knight noted that the University of Virginia School of Law offered a similar master’s degree in judicial studies but ceased the program a few years ago.

The master’s degree in judicial studies—which will enroll its inaugural class of 10 to 15 judges in Summer 2012—will be offered during two four-week sessions over the course of two summers.

The program was designed to be flexible so judges can hopefully make time to attend the programs, Knight said. Judges will be encouraged to return to Duke throughout the year between the two summers for other events and programming.

According to the center’s website, tuition for the master’s program is currently set at $16,750, but some financial assistance based on merit and need will be available for judges. The curriculum will include classes specializing in judicial writing and a historical study of the judiciary. Students must also complete a thesis based on original research.

Although the program is in its developmental phases, Tia Barnes, assistant dean for academic affairs, said the program’s marketing strategy will include targeting members of the American Bar Association, state bar associations and other organizations with divisions specifically for judges.

The master’s program’s application for American Bar Association approval is pending, according to a news release.

Discussion

Share and discuss “New center for Judicial Studies created” on social media.