ALWAYS CONSTANT, EVER CHANGING

The always changing judicial landscape presents a critical challenge for the UNC School of Government. With increasingly complex legal issues to address and social shifts to be aware of, it’s imperative that our state’s judges, magistrates, and clerks of court are educated in both the broad duties of their positions and emerging topics. The School’s Judicial College is making sure of just that.

The Judicial College is a rare entity, one offered by no other state. Its training for new officials, continuing education seminars, and online programs provide guidance and real-world information on a multitude of court-centered issues. Additional value is derived from the network of professionals we nurture. Each cohort of students brings its own distinct experiences and perspectives to our courses, adding to the already expansive instruction. This forum of great minds is invaluable for the highly-esteemed judges we prepare for courts. As we expand our curriculum and offerings in the Judicial College, we can foster more successful and effective judicial careers.

A COMPREHENSIVE STRENGTH

In 2015, W. R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor Jessica Smith was the appointed reporter for the Criminal Investigation and Adjudication Committee of Chief Justice Mark Martin’s North Carolina Commission on the Administration of Law and Justice. Her role was to support the independent, multidisciplinary commission’s evaluation of the North Carolina judicial system and to make recommendations for improvement. Professor Smith’s research and analysis was critically important to legislative enactment of the “Raise the Age” bill, which raised the age of criminal responsibility to 18, thereby assuring that teenagers under age 18 can no longer proceed to adult criminal court without parental involvement