Posted by David Bernstein:
More on the Judicial Education Bill:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_12_16-2007_12_22.shtml#1198193000
First, two corrections. The GMU Law and Economics Center used to keep
its donor list confidential, but now [1]discloses its donors to comply
with a rule passed by the Judicial Conference of the United States in
2005. Also, I quoted John Fund as stating that the bill provided a
flat ban on attending private judicial education seminars. Now that
Orin has located the text of the bill, it seems clear that judges can
attend any seminar they want, so long as the pay their own way.
Finally, I thought it would be worth more specifically noting what the
bill would be protecting judges from, at least with regard to George
Mason's LEC. [2]Here is a list of the judicial education seminars
(those not co-sponsored with circuit or state court orgainzations)
planned for 2008:
Civil Society
Thucydides
Lincoln as President
Culture and Markets
Happiness
Mill On Liberty
The Federalist Papers
Economic Analysis of Law
Science in the Courts
According to the LEC website, "LEC programs are either five-day
institutes or two-day colloquia. Our institutes feature 21 hours of
lectures or seminars over five full days, with about 500-700 pages of
readings. LEC colloquia are conducted seminar style, with 7.5 hours of
class time and about 250-300 pages of readings." [3]Furthermore,
Our curriculum, faculty, invitation list and acceptance policy are
determined solely by full time professors at George Mason
University School of Law. Our contract letter with lecturers
enjoins them to stay away from hot-button topics such as
affirmative action. As well, our lecturers do not talk about
tobacco, asbestos litigation, environmental issues or the like.
When we discovered that a corporate donor had asserted in 1999 that
they viewed us as key allies, we returned its contribution (about
0.003 of our support).
Our reimbursement policy covers only reasonable expenses. We assume
the costs of lodging and meals at the conference site (on average
about $350 per diem), and also reimburse for travel expenses up to
a maximum of $500. Spouses are welcome as auditors, but we do not
reimburse for any of their expenses. We do not sponsor or subsidize
any entertainment or recreational events at our programs, which are
academically intensive and demanding. Shortly after each program,
we send to all participating judges a statement of the dollar value
of the hotel and meals expenses.
References
1. http://www.law.gmu.edu/lawecon/donations.php
2. http://www.law.gmu.edu/lawecon/programs.php
3. http://www.law.gmu.edu/lawecon/index.php
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