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Reno Nevada

A Summer Place (Not the Movie)

July 16, 2018 by Peg Leave a Comment

I was married, had a son and was broke when I started Law School in Bloomington, Indiana in the summer of 1968. Although I was working full-time on a night stock crew at a Kroger’s grocery store and was receiving the G.I. bill for my Air Force service, our family just made it. My mission was to get out of school as quickly as possible. I.U. allowed 44 of us new law students to enroll on a new 27-month plan instead of the normal three years with three summers off. Only 6 of us completed the program where we actually started in June 1968 and took the Bar Exam in the summer of 1970 before we graduated in August.

What this did for my family and me was to allow me to become a lawyer when that would not have been possible had we had to remain in Law School another year. My G.I. Bill benefits were used up by the spring 1970 semester and we could not survive on my Kroger pay.

Now I will leave it up to my past clients and those who have appeared in front of me as judge to determine if I.U. made an error in judgment in allowing me to cram three years of education into two. But as for me it was a necessity. However, it also showed me how the summertime, when most Law Schools are not in session, could be put to use.

Another long-term association I have had as judge is with the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. While NJC does conduct summer continuing education sessions for judges from every state and many foreign countries, these courses, due to the demands of working judges’ schedules, usually are a maximum of two weeks. In two weeks judges can have existing skills more finely honed. However, the in-depth education and training one should experience before being charged with the thousands of critical judging decisions affecting our citizens requires a greatly expanded curriculum and much more time. Unfortunately, in America today all judges get their judicial education after they become judges. Such a system of on-the-job training might work well for workers on a night stock crew, but it is anathema to receiving equal justice from new judges.

In some countries, the pool of potential judges is formed in Law Schools where those who wish to someday be a judge must complete a rigorous and specially designed regimen. That is in contrast to America where if one wishes to be a judge all that is required is that he or she graduate from a law school. And in Law School not even the law professors are likely to have a clue about what a judge’s role really entails.

What I suggest is a system of developing a pool of attorneys who have a Law School specialty of Judging much as in medicine where one must be trained as a neurologist before they operate on someone’s brain. Naturally the students who want to later be considered for election or appointment as judges should have at least all the education and training of any attorney who will appear in front of the judge, so the judicial specialty must call for additional Law School time just as a medical student who wants to specialize needs extra education and time. I suggest the three summers of a Law School education are a natural fit for a Judicial Specialty. I will more fully address these issues in future columns. Try to curb your excitement.

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Filed Under: Gavel Gamut, Indiana University, Judicial, Law School, National Judicial College Tagged With: Bloomington Indiana, Indiana University, James M. Redwine, Jim Redwine, Judicial Speciality, law school, National Judicial College, Reno Nevada

Common Law Is Common Sense

February 9, 2018 by Peg Leave a Comment

There are two general categories of American law: Civil Law (statutes and other written rules), and Common Law (case decisions or judge-made law). Civil law normally comes from a legislative body such as Congress and is published in the form of statues. Common Law is derived from precedent, that is, deciding a current legal controversy by referring to how similar controversies have been resolved by judges in the past. Another way of looking at Common Law is thinking about how we all learn things from our parents, in other words, benefitting from their good and bad experiences which they share with us.

If you should be among that select few who regularly read this column you may recall a couple of weeks ago we were considering the Common Law/Common Sense guidance set forth by some of my fellow alumni and alumnae of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. I find I have learned more from the wisdom of my fellow judges than any classroom. You probably feel the same way about how you have relied on the good and bad experiences of others to help you repeat or avoid similar situations.

Following are a few more “Common Laws” taken from an article in Case In Point, the NJC 2017-2018 publication concerning, Things Judges Wish They Had Known BEFORE They Took The Bench:

“Part of a judge’s developed skill, especially a rural judge, is having a feel for whether or not a particular case will actually go to trial. This helps immensely with case scheduling, jury summoning and with the possibility of a judge getting a good night’s sleep almost every night. I finally concluded that a lesson could be learned from the occupation of circus ringmaster.”
Hon. Jess B. Clanton, Jr. (Ret.), 12th Judicial District, Oklahoma;

“How much this job would change how I view the world. I had spent 30 years as a police officer prior to being appointed, and I thought I had a good view of the world. This job made me step back and really look at everything-everything I did, everything I posted, everything I said to friends and how I acted in public and around my family. I really wanted people to look at me and respect me for the job I was doing. In doing so, I had to step up and make sure I was worthy.”
Hon. Kevin L Wilson, Justice of the Peace Court, Kent County, Delaware;

“How hard it is to be firm and uphold the values and rules when the person in front of you has been so beaten down by life that it makes it feel like you are kicking a poor wounded animal. … Somewhere in the middle you have to find justice.”
Hon. Jeanette L. Umphress, Municipal Court of Yuma County, Arizona;

“You are only as good as your worst hearing.”
Hon. Samuel A. Thumma, Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One; and,

“Never, NEVER go on the bench with a full bladder!”
Hon. Peter H. Wolf, Superior Court, District of Columbia

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Filed Under: America, Democracy, Gavel Gamut, Judicial, Law, National Judicial College Tagged With: Case In Point, Civil Law, Common Law, Common Sense, Congress, Hon. Jeanette L. Umphress, Hon. Jess B. Clanton, Hon. Kevin L. Wilson, Hon. Peter H. Wolf, Hon. Samuel A. Thumma, James M. Redwine, Jim Redwine, National Judicial College, precedent, Reno Nevada, Things Judges Wish They Had Known Before They Took The Bench

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