Upcoming Events
How do judges seeking evaluation get honest feedback?
Join Berkeley Judicial Institute for a discussion of ideas and techniques judges seeking feedback might consider.
Our moderator, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William J. Lafferty III (ND/CA), will be joined by this panel:
—MN District Court Judge Kevin Burke (retired)
—CA Associate Justice Carin T. Fujisaki
and
—Federal Judicial Center Director of Research Beth Wiggins
Your ideas, concerns and questions are welcome!
Resources:
Rebecca Love Kourlis and Jordan M. Singer, Using Judicial Performance Evaluations to Promote Judicial Accountability JUDICATURE Volume 90, Number 5 March-April 2007
If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) to fully participate in this event, please contact Nathalie Coletta at natcoletta@berkeley.edu or 510-643-5518 with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 business days in advance of the event.
Past Events
Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr. Judicial Clerkship Institute/Federal Judicial Center
March 2021
No Courts, No Law: The Many Futures of Trial Courts
Daily Journal (posted with permission)
February 24, 2021
Friday, January 29, 2021
9:00 A.M. PST
75 minutes
Thursday, January 14, 2021
Noon P.T.
75 minutes
- How do I recognize my temperamental traits as a judge?
- What is my temperamental “envelope of possibility” for change, and how can I make the most of it?
- How can I use this knowledge to change the temperature of an interaction in court?
- What techniques for regulating emotion do judicial colleagues find particularly effective?
Join Judge Jeremy Fogel, BJI’s Executive Director, and Professor Terry Maroney as they devote an entire program to YOUR questions about judicial temperament. Submit your questions in advance here, bji@law.berkeley.edu, or ask them during the program.
CLE credit offered.
Resources:
Emotional Regulation and Judicial Behavior
Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Noon P.T.
75 minutes
How do parties, lawyers and the public hope that judges will behave in court? How can judges sharpen their understanding of their emotional responses to their often difficult jobs and regulate those responses in a way that supports an appropriate judicial demeanor? Join Judge Jeremy Fogel, BJI’s Executive Director, and Professor Terry Maroney as they discuss Professor Maroney’s work and consider how her study and observation can help judges in the courtroom.
CLE credit offered.
Resources:
Please Proceed – Speaking with the Media with Judge Jeremy Fogel (ret.), N.D. Cal.
Posted: Nov 19, 2020
Judge Jeremy Fogel, Executive Director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute and former director of the Federal Judicial Center, shares tips on speaking with the media based on his experience as a district judge, as well as his experience with the press in his current academic capacity. Recorded October 28, 2020 (Episode 11).
Staying Well and Managing Stress in Difficult Times
Monday, November 16, 3:00 P.M. PT
With Dr. Dacher Keltner and Judge Jeremy Fogel. Special thanks to Administrative Presiding Justice of the Sixth District Court of Appeal— Justice Mary Greenwood.
- Event recording
- Wellness resources:
Systemic Inequality and the Courts: Part Two
Monday, November 16, 12:00 P.M. PT
75 minutes
BJI’s October 28 program will consider the framework and theoretical issues of how judges are involved in the conversation on systemic inequality; join us Monday, November 16, for a follow up session considering the practical implications of that discussion for judges and the courts.
Berkeley Judicial Institute Executive Director Judge Jeremy Fogel will be joined by California Supreme Court Associate Justice Goodwin Liu and Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Holly Thomas.
Open to all, including law students, this program aims to provide better understanding of
· how courts operate and
· how key issues arise in court
The program will be of particular interest to those contemplating applying for law clerk positions.
CLE credit will be offered.
Resources:
- Courts Had an Ethical Obligation to Speak Out After George Floyd’s Death
- Jamison v McClendon
- Racism’s Hidden Toll
Managing Health and Wellness During Covid-19 and Beyond
October 28, 2020
Federal Judicial Center’s Jennifer Richter interviews Berkeley Judicial Institute’s Judge Jeremy Fogel and Greater Good’s Dacher Keltner.
Systemic Inequality and the Courts: Part One
75 minutes
It is a judge’s role to be fair and impartial, to decide only the issues and facts brought to court. Judges are also devoted citizens. Can judges be part of the conversation on systemic inequality?
Join us Wednesday, October 28, noon pacific, for a discussion of the judge’s role in that conversation, featuring Berkeley Judicial Institute’s Executive Director Judge Jeremy Fogel, Second Circuit Judge Raymond Lohier and Professor Avani Mehta Sood.
Open to all, including law students, this program aims to provide a better understanding of
· how courts operate and
· how key issues arise in court
The program will be of particular interest to those contemplating applying for law clerk positions.
CLE credit will be offered.
Resources:
- ‘Disappointing Display of Judicial Immodesty’: Fourth Circuit’s En Banc Bench Brawls Over Trump Claims
- Modern Courts Commentary Series: Applying Empirical Psychology to Inform Courtroom Adjudication — Potential Contributions and Challenges
- Attempted Justice: Misunderstanding and Bias in Psychological Constructions of Criminal Attempt
- Racism in America: A Reader
- Racism’s Hidden Toll
Contemporary Lessons on Judging and Justice from the Holocaust
Thursday, October 22, 12:00 P.M. PT
90 minutes
Join us for a program exploring the role of judges and the courts during the Holocaust and the relevance that experience has for judges today.
Judges were among those inside Germany who might have effectively challenged Hitler’s authority, the legitimacy of the Nazi regime, the hundreds of laws that restricted political freedoms and civil rights, and the guarantees of property and security. And yet the overwhelming majority did not.
What lessons does that experience provide for judges and courts today?
Open to all, and of particular interest to judges, the program will consider:
- key historical context and lessons
- current relevance for judges
BJI Executive Director Judge Jeremy Fogel will be joined by Dr. Will Meinecke of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to discuss the history of the judiciary during the Holocaust; Judge Fogel and United States District Judge Rya Zobel will discuss the relevance of that history for judges today.
CLE credit will be offered.
Resources:
- Law, Justice, and the Holocaust – USHMM Encyclopedia
- Law, Justice, and the Holocaust – USHMMBooklet
- Professor Meinecke’s Slides
Berkeley Law Alumni Reunion
Best Practices in Court Administration: What We’ve Learned from COVID-19
Friday, October 2
9:00 A.M. PT
Courts, lawyers and judges are accustomed to moving deliberately. The pandemic has challenged courts to do things in ways that are unfamiliar and the effects of which often are uncertain. Judge Jeremy Fogel will moderate a discussion about those challenges with leading alumni judges of both state and federal courts.
COVID-19 AND THE COURTS
Thursday, October 1
https://www.rand.org/events/2020/10/01.html
This all-day virtual symposium co-hosted with the RAND Corporation will feature discussions among practitioners, scholars, and judges on some of the key issues that have arisen during the pandemic in regard to resolving civil disputes, such as meeting the challenges of civil jury trials and pre-trial management in the era of social distancing, developing effective court rules to address a rapidly changing legal environment, and preparing for what the future may hold. This event is supported by a generous gift from the Robert L. Habush Endowment.
The schedule is as follows:
8:45 AM: Welcome and Introductions
9:00 AM: Panel: Implications for Civil Juries
10:30 AM: Break
10:45 AM: Panel: Implications for Pre-Trial Case Management
12:15 PM: Lunch Break
1:15 PM: Panel: Implications for Federal and State Civil Rules
2:45 PM: Break
3:00 PM: Panel: Implications for Civil Litigation and the Courts in a Post-Pandemic World
4:30 PM: Concluding Remarks
**The same invitation link can be used to access each of the sessions.**
If you require accommodation for effective communication for this event, please contact esu@law.berkeley.edu.
How to Become a Federal District Judge
Rainmaker Podcast
Friday, September 18th
We interview Hon. Jeremy D. Fogel (Ret.), Executive Director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute at UC Berkeley Law School, former federal judge for the Northern District of California and immediate past Director of the Federal Judicial Center.
Judge Fogel recounts how his first judicial appointment came about, shares what makes being a judge both burdensome and gratifying, and reflects on how the concept of mindfulness has guided his judicial career.
The Elements of Judicial Temperament (Part Two)
Wednesday, September 9, 12:00 P.M. PT
BJI’s July 15 presentation on judicial temperament introduced Professor Terry Maroney’s groundbreaking analysis of the elements of judicial temperament, the constellation of psychological traits that predict how judges will respond to the challenges of their work. Professor Maroney explained that while a person’s temperament is largely stable by adulthood, every judge has an “envelope of possibility” in which they can adapt their temperament to the professional requirements and public expectations of judges.
At the conclusion of the presentation, many judges in the audience suggested a follow up program to examine the ways in which judges may understand their own temperamental traits and use that understanding to improve their judicial performance. This is that follow-up program. Once again, Judge Jeremy Fogel, BJI’s Executive Director, and Professor Terry Maroney will discuss Professor Maroney’s cutting edge research.
1.0 hour of CLE credit offered.
(We strongly encourage you to watch the first program before participating in the second.)
Resources:
Court Web: A Discussion of Implicit Bias
Federal Judicial Center
August 19, 2020
Host Brenda Baldwin-White, Senior Judicial Education Attorney, talks with Judge Bernice Donald, Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, Professor Jennifer Eberhardt, department of psychology at Stanford University, and Judge Jeremy Fogel (ret.), Executive Director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute and former Director of the Federal Judicial Center, about how the dynamics of implicit bias and social context affect decision making. In this ninety- minute presentation, Brenda and her guests will discuss how unconscious assumptions can influence the ways in which people perceive facts and draw inferences notwithstanding their genuine commitment to fairness.
Judicial Temperament
Wednesday, July 15, 12:00 P.M. PT
“Sober as a judge” is a trope for good reason, but there has been little serious study about the elements of judicial temperament. Most people who have spent time in court can think of both positive and negative examples of judicial behavior, but developing a psychological framework for understanding that behavior is surprisingly difficult. As virtual proceedings provide more transparency, judges are on public view to a greater extent than ever before. What should viewers be looking for?
Judge Jeremy Fogel, BJI Executive Director, and Professor Terry Maroney will discuss Professor Maroney’s cutting edge research on this topic.
Access Professor Maroney’s Article: (What We Talk About When We Talk About) Judicial Temperament
Testimony of Hon. Jeremy Fogel (ret.), Executive Director of Berkeley Judicial Institute, to the United States House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Courts.
Thursday, June 25
“Expanding Electronic Access to the Federal Courts: The Unexpected Opportunity Presented by the COVID-19 Pandemic”
Event recording – Judge Fogel’s testimony starts at 26:20.
Best Practices in Court Administration: What We’ve Learned from COVID
Wednesday, June 24, 12:00 P.M. PT
Courts, lawyer and judges move deliberately. The pandemic has challenged courts to do things in ways that are uncomfortable. Judge Jeremy Fogel, BJI Executive Director, will moderate a discussion about those challenges with key court players. Participants are IAALS Executive Director Justice Scott Bales and U.S. District Court Judge Julie Robinson.
Best Practices in Judicial Administration: What We’ve Learned During COVID
Wednesday, June 3, 12:00 P.M. PT
Good realized during a crisis would be awful to waste. Judge Jeremy Fogel, BJI Executive Director, will moderate a discussion of some of the positive impact for the courts during the pandemic, with some key players creating that positive impact. Participants are Michigan Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack and Professor Caitlin Moon.
Mindful Judging: Thinking Fast and Slow
May 12, 2020
Professor Scott Rogers interviews Judge Jeremy Fogel. They explore the elegant portions of Judge Fogel’s 2016 article “Mindfulness and Judging,” this time focusing on his reference to Daniel Kahneman’s book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow.”
Judicial Panel: PTAB’s LEAP Initiative for NextGen Lawyers
Friday, May 29
12:00 P.M.PST, 2:00 P.M. CST, 3:00 P.M. EST)
Sponsors: Federal Circuit Bar Association; Berkeley Center for Law & Technology; ChIPs
Please join the Federal Circuit Bar Association, Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, the Berkeley Judicial Institute, & ChIPs for a discussion on the USPTO’s Legal Experience and Advancement Program (LEAP), which launched earlier this month. The LEAP initiative is designed to encourage the professional development of patent attorneys and agents appearing before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) through increased opportunities for oral advocacy.
Panelists:
Deputy Chief Judge Jackie Bonilla
Judge Bonilla currently serves as the Deputy Chief Judge at the PTAB at the USPTO. Since her appointment as an Administrative Patent Judge in January 2012, she has conducted numerous post-grant patent trials under the America Invents Act, heard appeals from adverse examiner decisions in patent applications and reexamination proceedings, and rendered decisions in interferences. Previously, she worked for twelve years in private practice, including as a partner at Foley & Lardner, LLP. She also served as a judicial law clerk to the now-retired Chief Judge Randall Rader at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Judge Bonilla graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law, and holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Virginia, and a B.A. in Biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.
Vice Chief Judge Janet Gongola
Janet Gongola manages internal and external engagement on behalf of the PTAB, including development of educational programs and PTAB procedures and rules. She was appointed to the PTAB in October 2016. Before joining the Board, Judge Gongola was the Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary and Director of the USPTO where she advised on all matters of law and policy. Before joining the USPTO, Judge Gongola served as a law clerk for the Honorable Paul R. Michel at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and for the Honorable Judge Sue L. Robinson at the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. In addition, Judge Gongola worked as a patent attorney, patent agent, and research chemist at Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. Judge Gongola graduated from Indiana University School of Law, and she received B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Mathematics from Muskingum University.
Judge Christa Zado
Judge Zado serves as an Administrative Patent Judge at the USPTO.
The Panel will be introduced by:
Kathi Vidal. Kathi is managing partner of Winston & Strawn’s Silicon Valley office and one of the leading patent litigators and Federal Circuit advocates in the country. Kathi founded the ChIPs Next Gen effort and advises tribunals on Next Gen issues and orders.
The Panel will be moderated by Winston & Strawn Associates and PTAB advocates who qualify for the LEAP program:
Claire Fundakowski. Claire is a former Federal Circuit clerk for Judge Kimberly Moore and registered pharmacist with a Pharm.D. She represents clients in patent litigation with a focus on Hatch-Waxman litigation and appeals.
Noori Torabi. Noori is a registered patent attorney with a B.S. and M.S. in Biotechnology and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology. She litigates patent disputes in district court and in the PTAB.
11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M. PT
Three of this country’s busiest judges – Federal District Court Judges Alan D. Albright (TXWD), Rodney Gilstrap (TXED), and Maryellen Noreika (DED) – will provide insight on how they are proceeding with cases while courts across the country are shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Topics of discussion may include:
What are the ramifications of COVID-19 on dockets?
How are hearings conducted? What works well? What can be improved? What can litigants do better?
What kinds of requests are coming in from litigants? How are they being handled?
What lessons are being learned from this time? Will the way cases are managed or tried change after COVID-19?
Has the new format of hearings impacted public access to hearings? Has there been any innovation in that area?
Has moving to virtual hearings provided more opportunities for junior lawyers to argue?
24th Annual BCLT/BTLJ Symposium
2019
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 95 7th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103
140 Law Building, UC Berkeley School of Law
The Human Side of Judging
June 19, 2019, 6:00-7:30pm
Booth Auditorium (175 Law Building), UC Berkeley School of Law
More information here
In One Sitting
June 17, 2019
Keynote Address: In One Sitting: Reflections on 37 Years on the Bench. Hon Jeremy Fogel, First Executive Director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute and former Director of the Federal Judicial Center, delivering keynote address @ Aleph Institute’s Rewriting the Sentence Summit, June 17th. New York, New York (June 17-18, 2019): The Aleph Institute held the Rewriting the Sentence 2019 summit at Columbia Law School, convening hundreds of judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, probation and pretrial officers, individuals directly affected by incarceration, and other key stakeholders in the criminal justice system to discuss the massive culture change taking place in the alternatives to incarceration arena.
The Rewriting the Sentence summit highlighted a vast array of innovative alternative approaches to criminal justice currently isolated in pockets throughout the country.
Continue this critical dialogue online. Follow @AlephInstitute on Twitter and post your thoughts & comments using #RewritingTheSentence.
More information here
Event recording
Democracy and Justice in the Age of Disinformation
May 1, 2019
Center for Strategic & International Studies
Event recording
Spring 2019 Symposium: Charting a Path for Federal Judiciary Reform
April 12, 2019, 8:30am-5:30pm
Chevron Auditorium, International House, UC Berkeley
More information here
Women at the Court
April 11, 2019, 6:00-8:30pm
Warren Room, Boalt Hall, UC Berkeley School of Law
More information here
2017
On Topic: Federal Judicial Center Marks 50th Anniversary
December 20, 2017
In this interview program, we talk with Senior Judge Jeremy Fogel, Director of the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, DC. Judge Fogel explains why the FJC was created, and how the agency’s mission has developed over half a century. The FJC was established by Congress in 1967 with just two employees, but now the Center provides education and training for judges and employees of the federal courts. It also conducts empirical studies and exploratory research into different aspects of judicial administration, such as case management, alternative dispute resolution, and proposed amendments to the federal rules of procedure. The Center also documents the history of the federal courts.
Event recording
Diversity of Experience: The Path to Becoming Chief (Inter-Court Conference 2016: The Future of Courts)
Published on April 6, 2017
This is an edited version of a panel discussion that took place at the regional Inter-Court Conference in Asheville, North Carolina, in September 2016. The discussion, moderated by Judge Jeremy D. Fogel, Director of the Federal Judicial Center, looks at the careers of four African-American jurists: three chief judges of the U.S. courts of appeals and the chief justice of a state supreme court. The judges appearing in the video are Chief Judge R. Guy Cole, Jr. (Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals), Chief Judge Roger Gregory (Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals), Chief Justice Bernette Johnson (Louisiana Supreme Court), and Chief Judge Carl Stewart (Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals). The discussion focuses on how the judges overcame hardship and discrimination in their early lives and careers to reach their current positions.
Event recording
2015
Aula Magna – Mediação e Conciliação (Lecture Hall—Mediation and Conciliation)
June 10, 2015
Judge Fogel talking about mediation and learning the skill of listening.
Event recording
2014
Federal judges to recharge at Vanderbilt Law School, by Jim Patterson
March 14, 2014
This video features Professor Terry Maroney talking about Vanderbilt’s efforts to interact with the judiciary, and about the Federal Judicial Center’s midcareer program for district judges.
Event recording