IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Judges Program will no longer be offered. If you have any questions, please contact the director, Professor Earl Dudley.
This unique degree program prepares the American judiciary
to confront the unprecedented rise in the volume of litigation
and even more significant problems thrust upon the courts by
technological and social change. For the rule of law to be preserved,
and the courts to continue serving the American people soundly
and fairly, judges must have a sophisticated understanding of
the interplay of law and other disciplines.
The challenges of volume and complexity have raised the value
of judicial education. Short courses, conferences, and seminars
developed over the last quarter century are valuable, but generally
do not permit the sustained intellectual investigation possible
in university graduate study.
U.Va.'s Graduate Program for Judges differs from any other
program of judicial education in duration, academic orientation
and rigor of instruction. Designed primarily for judges of state
and federal appellate courts in the United States, it leads
to the degree of Master of Laws (LL.M.) in the Judicial Process.
Still the only such law school program in the country, the degree
was established by the University in 1980, in cooperation with
the Appellate Judges Conference of the American Bar Association.
Since then many judges have completed the program while remaining
current with their caseloads. The program demands are great
but attainable, and so are the benefits. A judge from a recent
class described the program as "one of the most stimulating
and enjoyable experiences of our lives. We are better, much
better, for the journey."