| Conference draws judges from
region - Department of Interior in cahoots with 9th circuit court?
September 17, 2003 By Theresa Merto Pacific Daily News (Guam) P.O. Box DN Hagatna, Guam 96932 671-472-1PDN (1736) Fax: 671-472-1512 To submit a Letter to the Editor: dgeorge@guampdn.com Dozens of judges from throughout the region are participating in a judicial conference this week aimed at providing education and training about the judicial system. Judges from areas including Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia are taking part in the Pacific Judicial Conference, which began Monday and is scheduled to end Friday. "The purpose of this is for us to further educate, train our judges and try to keep abreast the changes of the law and how we can relate and exchange our experiences," said Supreme Court of Guam Chief Justice F. Philip Carbullido. "We are coming together to really strengthen our skills in the judicial-making process." He said in addition to the 50 appellate, trial and municipal court judges, court employees are also participating in the conference being held at the Hotel Nikko Guam in Tumon. "We have staff out here because also part of the presentation is regarding administrative matters that are meant for the administrators and the clerk of courts," Carbullido said. "We are trying to get as much as we can for all personnel in the court system." The conference is being funded, in large part, by the Department of Interior through the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Carbullido said. The presenters are from the National Judicial College in Reno, Nev., and include judges and law professors. "The program is very well-organized and we have some very high-powered speakers that are here to train our judges," Carbullido said. The topics of discussion include opinion writing, judicial decision making, search and seizure. Presenter Judge Brent Adams, from Reno, Nevada, discussed relationships between the presiding judge and the court administrator, rendering oral decisions, and the role of the judge and conduct of trial. Adams is scheduled to talk about alternative dispute resolution tomorrow. "Our legal system costs way too much and lasts far too long, and we need to come up with a better, cheaper way to resolve people's problems," Adams said. "We've found that many courts throughout the United States, ... when judges get actively involved in helping people settle cases, they can be successful over 75 percent of the time. This saves a fortune in court costs and time." Adams said he has taught at the judicial college for the past 14 years and has traveled throughout the world taking part in similar conferences. Carbullido said he hopes that a conference can be held on Guam annually, saying that a similar event was lasted hosted here in 1997. Copyright 2003 Pacific Daily News http://www.guampdn.com/news/stories/20030917/localnews/270180.html |