Dealing with the Media and Effective Public Outreach

Session Presentation
61 pages | 793 kb

These materials were presented at the Spring 2006 Judicial College. Materials developed by and posted with the permission of the National Center for Courts and Media, National Judicial College.

Patterned after a National Judicial College course, this program was designed to assist judicial officers develop skills in dealing with the media and to understand the need to develop effective public outreach. Faculty discussed methods of preparing for and becoming more comfortable with the media by discussing the do's and don'ts of the media interview and general ground rules. Additional topics discussed include: the current culture of the news media, free press and fair trial issues, and effective ways to inform the public about the court's work.

Judicial Speech and Conduct in the Post White Era

Session Presentation
53 pages | 369 kb

These materials were presented at the Spring 2006 Judicial College. Materials prepared by Professor Penny J. White, University of Tennessee College of Law.

In this half day course, Professor White examined the recent decisions affecting the political speech and political activity rights of judicial officers. The program offered an opportunity for judges to discuss the relationship between their legal rights and their ethical responsibilities. After an examination of the relevant case authority, participants discussed hypothetical situations geared toward flushing out the intricacies of the legal/ethical conflict.