2008 Annual Report - Superior Court of California - County of Los ...

Faculty training includes a variety of teaching methods, including the use of video clips, roleplaying
activities, hypothetical situations and case law. The teaching methods are interactive,
drawing on the experiences of each student.
The program features small classes and peer-to-peer teaching by teams of judicial officers
who have completed a week of training on the latest adult education methods.
The wide range of classes held this year includes:
Advanced Evidence: Expert Issues in Complex Criminal Cases,
Writs of Habeas Corpus,
Family Law Seminar,
Introduction to Search Warrants,
Disruptive Defendants and Problem Pro Pers,
Civil Case Management,
A Criminal Judge’s Guide to Dealing with Difficult Attorneys,
Mastering Proven Techniques for Successful Settlements,
Large Issues in Small Claims,
Civil Expert Witnesses, and
Discovery Issues
Besides JES, we also provide numerous other educational events and opportunities for judicial
officers, including the Diversity Summit, the Family Law Annual Seminar, probate classes,
computer software training, the judicial leadership class and the Legislative Staff Seminar.
‘Crash’ Course
Courtesy of Lionsgate
A“ ‘Crash’ Course on Fairness in the Courts” is an innovative judicial
fairness education course that uses thought-provoking clips from the
Academy Award-winning movie “Crash” to raise issues and stimulate
discussion.
The Paul Haggis-directed film, which explores race relations in modern-day
Los Angeles, follows roughly a dozen L.A. residents from a variety of races and
social classes as they intersect — in effect, crash into one another — over a 36-
hour period.
The class, which has been two years in the making, was first developed as a
project of the Judicial Fairness Education Subcommittee of the Los Angeles
Superior Court’s Access and Fairness Committee.
The course, which is conducted as a small group seminar, is team-taught by judicial officers and
focuses on judicial ethics as they apply to the many fairness issues that may arise in the
courtroom. The judicial officers taking the course learn to recognize access and fairness issues in
their courtrooms and how to implement practical solutions and strategies for dealing with them.
An intensive, full-day faculty development program was held in August. A pilot session of
the “Crash” course was held on Oct. 30, where it received positive responses from participants.
It will be offered twice in the spring of 2008 as part of the regular JES course offerings. It is
expected to be eligible for two hours of Judicial Elective Ethics credit.
42 Delivering Justice to a Changing Community