Projects and Initiatives

The Berkeley Judicial Institute (“BJI”) is in the process of convening focus groups of stakeholders, including judges, lawyers, and scholars drawn from a range of disciplines, to address three pressing issues:

Law Clerk Hiring: In November 2022, BJI (authors Jeremy Fogel, Mary Hoopes and Goodwin Liu) published LAW CLERK SELECTION AND DIVERSITY: INSIGHTS FROM FIFTY SITTING JUDGES OF THE FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEALS, examining why, despite good faith efforts, there is a persistent lack of diversity in law clerk hiring in the federal courts, particularly at the appellate level. The authors engaged in dialogue with judges, law school clerkship advisors and researchers on how to improve outcomes in this area. The report addresses factors that may narrow the pool of competitive applicants, such as inadequate mentorship or potential applicants not being sufficiently aware of the range of opportunities available to them.
Social Context and Unconscious Assumptions: BJI will study the effectiveness of current efforts to engage judges in thinking about how their life experience can play a role in their decision-making, and will seek to develop pedagogy that respects judges’ commitment to fairness while at the same time encouraging judges to consider ways to broaden their perspective.
Creating and Maintaining a Respectful Judicial Workplace: BJI will consider the imbalance of power within the judicial workplace and its effect on working relationships, and develop best practices to create and sustain appropriate and healthy workplace environments for judges, law clerks, and court staff.

The Institute’s future work will include a broad range of other potential initiatives, for example:

Addressing Judicial Conduct and Public Criticism: In November 2022, BJI (authors Jeremy Fogel, Mary Hoopes and Goodwin Liu) published LAW CLERK SELECTION AND DIVERSITY: INSIGHTS FROM FIFTY SITTING JUDGES OF THE FEDERAL COURTS OF APPEALS, examining why, despite good faith efforts, there is a persistent lack of diversity in law clerk hiring in the federal courts, particularly at the appellate level. The authors engaged in dialogue with judges, law school clerkship advisors and researchers on how to improve outcomes in this area. The report addresses factors that may narrow the pool of competitive applicants, such as inadequate mentorship or potential applicants not being sufficiently aware of the range of opportunities available to them.

Educational Programs and Resources for the Judiciary: Building on ongoing projects at Berkeley Law, such as the intellectual property programs and resources described above, BJI will select other salient areas, such as criminal law, immigration law, and anti-corruption law, for advanced judicial education and research. It will identify academic, practitioner, and judicial expert teams to develop in-person seminars, webinars, tutorials, case management guides, and other resources that will enable judges, law clerks, and practitioners to deal effectively with case management and litigation challenges. BJI also will seek to address the personal challenges of judging by educating jurists about communication skills, stress management and self- care, emotion regulation, and the effects of unconscious assumptions on procedural fairness. These programs and publications will complement and expand upon those already offered by the FJC, the National Center for State Courts, and similar organizations.

Academic Research: BJI will work with Berkeley Law scholars, as well as scholars and practitioners from across the nation and the world, to identify research projects focused on managing scarce judicial resources, improving comprehension of the law and complex subject matter by judges and juries, addressing cultural and psychological dynamics that may affect decision-making, preserving and promoting judicial independence, and related areas. BJI will support these efforts through research grants and dissemination of research.

Conferences, Working Groups, and Webinars: BJI will convene events in appropriate locations—Berkeley, Washington, D.C., other locales, and online—to promote the exchange of ideas about improving the administration of justice, judicial integrity, and judicial independence.

Activities and Work Product

Innovative Programs and Publications