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NAWJ Programs & Publications
Available Educational Materials, Publications, and
Current Outreach Programs
Our materials are available at no cost, but we do charge for shipping and handling. To
request specific titles, please send an e-mail to
nawj@nawj.org listing the titles
you want along with your mailing address.
Past Publications from the National Association of Women Judges
- Medicine, Ethics and the Law: Pre-Conception to Birth (1991)
- Fabricated Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse in Custody Litigation (1993)
- Family Violence: Effective Judicial Intervention (Ltd. Supply, 1993)
- What’s a Judge to Do? Pregnant Substance Users and the Role of the
Court (Ltd. Supply, 1993)
- Juvenile Violence: A Guide to Research (1996)
- Elder Abuse in the State Courts: Three Curricula for Judges and
Court Staff (1997)
- When Bias Compounds: Insuring Equal Justice for Women of Color in the Courts (1998)
(with and available from NJEP)
For more information or to order materials, please contact the
National Office.
THE BANKRUPTCY CARD AND HOW TO PLAY IT
(REVISED 2007)
Please log into the Members Only section for information about this program.
BEYOND BORDERS: IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN
STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS
(CURRICULUM DUE 2005)
That international law may play an important role in many seemingly unrelated
state and federal cases is a surprise to most judges. Although the domestic rule
of law observed by courts in the United States is heralded as the hallmark of
a civilized and orderly society, judges also may resolve disputes by drawing
upon international law. Most judges are unaware that international
law often can assist them in resolving legal issues that arise in their courts.
Human rights treaties and other international mandates can provide legal
relief in cases of violence or discrimination against women and children, as well
as in matters related to racism, poverty, reproductive choice, police or state
brutality and the treatment of the elderly. In all areas of the law, courts
throughout the United States can strengthen their own deliberative processes if
they broaden their responses to the legal problems they face. By looking at
decisions from other constitutional courts around the world, and by reference
to international agreements, provisions, conventions and customary law
embodying widely held and accepted principles, judges in federal,
state and local jurisdictions can enhance the delivery of justice in their
courts.
NAWJ is seeking funding to develop a curriculum to educate judges about the
scope and applicability of international law, emerging issues and trends, and
the range of approaches to considering the impact of international law in
American courts. NAWJ will present this polished curriculum to a broad audience
of state and federal judges through special seminars, by offering its curriculum
and training guide to state courts, federal courts and judicial education
organizations for use in their educational conferences, and through internet
distance learning technology.
The Hon. Leslie Alden, of the Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia,
serves as Project Chair and will head a Judicial Advisory Committee on this topic.
A GUIDE TO THE TRANSFER OF STRUCTURED
SETTLEMENTS ANNUITIES
(2004)
A Guide to the Transfer of Structured Settlements
Annuities is NAWJ’s new, first-of-its-kind guide for judges faced
with approving transfers of structured settlement annuities. NAWJ developed
the bench book in response to the increasing appearance in state
courts of petitions to transfer structured settlements. For
many judges, this is a new area of the law, and NAWJ determined that
a comprehensive bench book would be of great assistance to them and
to the parties. The bench book contains background information about
structured settlements and their transfers, an analysis of the model
act utilized by state legislators in adopting state laws, and a
step-by-step explanation of a typical structured settlement transfer,
including sample petitions and common disclosures. In addition,
the appendix of the bench book contains a CD-ROM with the full
texts of individual state laws. The Guide
has been hailed as a most informative and useful tool for judges,
and is essential to the fair and efficient dispense of justice.
The Guide is available to NAWJ members free of
charge upon request. Non-members may order a copy for $55.00
(plus shipping and handling) by clicking here.
FROM THE BAR TO THE BENCH
(2005)
From Bar to the Bench is designed to
encourage women to consider judicial careers and to make the process
of appointment and election to the bench more visible and accessible.
Various alternative program components are presented to assist
participants in understanding the process of pursuing a
judicial career based on the unique requirements of each state. Program
components address the "How" and "Why" of becoming a judge; ethical issues
faced by judges, including those involved in campaigns for elective judicial
office; gender bias in courts; minority perspectives; educational
requirements; the process for the appointment and election of judges to
various courts; and activities that will increase the chances of becoming a
judge.
The program manual is available online.
JUSTICE FOR
IMMIGRANTS: REMOVING OBSTACLES TO JUSTICE FOR IMMIGRANTS
(2002)
Immigrants, and the judges who preside in cases involving immigrants, often
face formidable challenges in the courtroom. Current immigration laws are
both controversial and confusing. Judges typically do not understand the
risks and possible consequences of their decisions in cases involving
immigrants. In particular, they are not aware that immigration law currently
provides both for the virtually automatic deportation of immigrants convicted
of certain offenses including some misdemeanors, and for the eventual
deportation of immigrants who are sentenced for certain periods of time.
Similarly, judges often are not aware of the immigration consequences of
everyday state court proceedings including domestic relations matters and
disputes involving children.
Recognizing these problems, NAWJ has created, with support from the State
Justice Institute and the Open Society Institute’s Program on Law and Society,
a judicial education curriculum that explores: cultural and language issues
that affect non-citizens in court; how criminal pleas and sentencing
impact a non-citizen’s immigration status; and how judges can assist battered
non-citizens petitioning for residency under the Violence Against Women Act.
Judges have the opportunity to apply what they are learning in small-group
adjudication clinics using a sample case study.
NAWJ is disseminating the judicial education curriculum, including a
training guide, to a broad audience of state and federal judges and is
sponsoring project seminars throughout the country. NAWJ also is making
these training materials available to state courts, federal courts, and
judicial education organizations for their educational conferences. To
ensure broad access, even in the most remote areas of the country, the
curriculum is available to judges through
internet distance learning.
A convenient bench booklet and bench card will be available soon. The Hon.
Vanessa Ruiz, Associate Judge of the D. C. Court of Appeals, serves
as Project Chair and heads a Judicial Advisory Committee on this project.
GENOME JUSTICE: THE DISPARATE IMPACT OF
GENETIC TECHNOLOGY ON WOMEN AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS
(VIDEO 2002, CURRICULUM DUE 2005)
In a 1998 address to the American Association for the Advancement of
Science (AAAS), U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer commented that
courts must aim for decisions that approximately reflect the scientific
‘state of the art.’ As technology increasingly underlies both routine
and complex litigation, he remarked that it would be helpful to develop
training to better better equip judges to understand the ways of science.
To that end, the Genome Justice Project
of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) aims to educate
judges about the growing influence of genomics in courts, and the
potential disparate impacts that it may have on gender, racial
and ethnic groups, and vulnerable populations. NAWJ
will deliver a polished judicial education curriculum to a broad audience
of state and federal judges through a series of training sessions
held across the country and through internet learning.
NAWJ completed the first step in this process in September 2001. With
support from the Einstein Institute for Science, Health, and the Courts
(EINSHAC), NAWJ convened a meeting of 20 expert judges and scientists from
across the country to develop a curriculum that will be the first to
address the disparate impact of genetic advances on women and vulnerable
populations. The participants developed curriculum goals, determined the
appropriate presentation format and presenters, and identified potential
sites.
Now the Genome Justice Project is planning
two pilot programs in 2004. The interactive training will address
behavioral genetics, the intersection of environment with genetic
predisposition in determining or predicting behavior, and the use of
such evidence in criminal, insurance, employment discrimination, privacy
and reproduction cases.
A half-day module of the full program was presented at NAWJ’s 24th Annual
Conference in Minneapolis, in October 2002, and a video of that program is
available. The Genome Justice project is co-chaired by Justice Ruth
McGregor, Arizona Supreme Court, Associate Chief Justice Christine Durham,
Supreme Court of Utah, Judge Judith McConnell, San Diego Superior Court,
and Judge Gladys Kessler, U. S. District Court for D.C.
For additional information on this program, please click on the links below.
SUCCESS INSIDE AND OUT
Success Inside and Out is a women’s conference for
female prisoners within one year of release. It provides support and inspiration
for their transition back into the community, and information on resources
available to them upon reentry back into their communities in a effort to
increase the likelihood of their success once their terms have been served.
The program also allows women judges the opportunity to participate in an activity
within the prison which affords them the opportunity to observe the prison
environment first hand and build relationships with corrections officials in a
project where they are working together toward the same goal. A unique social
innovation, Success Inside and Out additionally
provides women judges and professionals in the community an avenue
for participation in educational activities for women prisoners in a manner
which does not present ethical challenges or conflicts of interest. Women
judges may also serve as panelists and facilitators in break out sessions
during the conference. The program is consistent with the goals of NAWJ’s
Women in Prison Committee, and it is capable of being expanded to benefit young
women in youth correctional facilities as well.
The program documents are available online.
SENTENCING WOMEN OFFENDERS:
A TRAINING CURRICULUM FOR JUDGES
(2000, UPDATED 2003)
With National Institute of Corrections (NIC)
During the last decade, the women offender population has nearly tripled
in every sector of corrections. Changes in mandatory sentencing for drug
offenders at the federal and state levels have resulted in larger numbers
of women serving longer periods of time in correctional facilities.
Sentencing Women Offenders provides judges
with an opportunity to examine their own sentencing practices in relation
to women offenders. Judges are encouraged to become leaders in assessing
sentencing practices in their jurisdictions. The curriculum also offers
current information, national trends and specific programs related to
women offenders. Multidisciplinary teams including criminal justice
officials and community leaders also find the curriculum useful. Hard copies
of the curriculum are currently unavailable, but you may download it
here.
CHANGING THE FACE OF JUSTICE:
THE HISTORY OF NAWJ
(VIDEO 2001)
From NAWJ’s inception in 1979 to its Conference in 2000, NAWJ’s growth is
chronicled in an exceptional video, Changing the
Face of Justice. Directed by Hon. Carolyn Engel Temin and Hon.
Carol H. Arber, the film vividly describes how NAWJ has inspired
and lead the American judiciary in achieving fairness and equality for
women and vulnerable populations. Through the testimonies of
NAWJ’s most active members, including founders Justice Joan Dempsey
Klein and Justice Vaino Spencer, and ardent supporters Justice
Sandra Day O’Connor and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the video
highlights the progress of NAWJ’s successful efforts to provide
cutting-edge judicial education, as well as professional and personal
support for its members. Changing the Face
of Justice also reveals how NAWJ gave birth to the
International Association of Women Judges, and remains an important
influence internationally. The video is available for $18,
including postage.
THE COLOR OF JUSTICE: ENCOURAGING
STUDENTS TO CONSIDER LEGAL AND JUDICIAL CAREERS
(2001)
To encourage girls and minority high school students to consider pursuing
careers in the law and judiciary, NAWJ developed this highly effective program.
Experienced judges and lawyers discuss law school and the requirements
for admission, share their experiences including the reasons why
they chose their careers, and answer questions in small groups. Students,
judges and lawyers laud the project, and it has been reproduced simply and
successfully around the country.
The program manual and templates are
available online.
THE STORYBOOK PROJECT
(2001, ongoing outreach program)
Updated information about The Storybook Project
is currently underdevelopment. Check back soon for more information!
JUDICIAL
CONSIDERATIONS WHEN SENTENCING PREGNANT SUBSTANCE USERS
(1996)
with and available from NJEP
Please visit the
NJEP web site for more information on this program.
MOVING BEYOND BATTERED
WOMEN’S SYNDROME:
A GUIDE TO THE USE OF EXPERT TESTIMONY ON BATTERING AND ITS EFFECTS
(2001)
The purpose of Moving Beyond Battered Women’s
Syndrome: A Guide To The Use of Expert Testimony on Battering and Its
Effects is to clarify the relationship of expert testimony
to current substantive law, evidentiary provisions, and procedural
rules. In particular, it addresses the use of expert testimony
in cases in which women are coerced into crime or are charged
with failing to protect their children from an abuser’s
violence. The guide debunks the myth that there is a battered women’s
defense, rather than expert testimony used to support a battered woman’s
self-defense or duress claim. The guide includes a report,
Trend Analysis: Expert Testimony on Battering
and its Effects in Criminal Cases, which is the most
comprehensive study of its kind. This report reviews
case law nationwide (from 238 state courts and 31 federal courts)
and presents findings on the following issues: 1) admissibility of
expert testimony and its effects; 2) types of cases in which expert
testimony is admitted; 3) showing necessary to introduce expert
testimony; 4) ineffectiveness of counsel issues; 5) scope and relevancy of
expert testimony; 6) expert testimony triggering adverse examination;
and 7) case dispositions on appeal. The guide also includes relevant
law review articles, a bibliography, and overviews of state statutes
throughout the country.
UNDERSTANDING SEXUAL VIOLENCE:
THE JUDGE'S ROLE IN STRANGER AND NON-STRANGER RAPE AND SEXUAL
ASSAULT CASES: A SELF-DIRECTED VIDEO CURRICULUM
(2001)
with and available from NJEP
Please visit the
NJEP web site for more information on this program.
GENDER FAIRNESS STRATEGIES
PROJECT
(2001)
with and available from NJEP
Please visit the
NJEP web site for more information on this program.
GENDER FAIRNESS IN THE COURTS:
ACTION IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM
(2001)
With the National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) NAWJ and NJEP recently
enhanced the Gender Fairness Strategies Project
by publishing and disseminating, the Action in the
New Millennium manual. This manual
offers Gender Bias/Fairness Task Forces and Committees, and court
administrators, a clear, comprehensive and effective guide for
eliminating bias from the courts. Copies are $25 each. Workshops for
representatives of Gender Bias/Fairness Task Forces and Committees
occur in connection with NAWJ’s Annual Conferences. The next
workshop will occur in Indianapolis in October, 2004. Please visit the
NJEP web site for more information on this program.
PROMOTING GENDER FAIRNESS THROUGH
JUDICIAL EDUCATION:
A GUIDE TO THE ISSUES AND RESOURCES
(1989, 2002)
With NJEP
This 200-page guide summarizes more than 40 substantive and procedural
areas of the law, ranging from driving-while-intoxicated to forensic
psychiatry. It provides extensive resources to both students and
teachers including critical studies, videos, statistics, annotated
bibliographies and model curricula. This guide was updated in 2002.
Please visit the
NJEP web site for more information on this program.
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