PUBLISHED:September 15, 2011

Admissions process underway for new Master's in Judicial Studies

Duke Law School officially launched its new Master of Laws in Judicial Studies program with a luncheon for North Carolina state and federal judges on Wednesday, Sept. 14. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito offered remarks at the event.

The Master of Laws program was created under the auspices of the new Duke Center for Judicial Studies and is the only graduate degree program at a major law school devoted to the education of judges. The program is designed to address a need for advanced educational opportunities for judges and to support scholarly research on judicial institutions and judicial decision-making. Courses are offered over two four-week summer terms in two years, followed by a master’s thesis; the curriculum aims to help judges better understand the institution of the judiciary, judicial systems around the world, and current research on judicial decision-making.

“The program sounds absolutely fascinating,” Justice Alito said, adding that if he could attend the program “incognito,” he would. Instead, he has agreed to teach a short course on the U.S. Supreme Court and the Constitution during the program’s first term in Summer 2012. The justice is currently teaching a one-week intensive course, Current Issues in Constitutional Interpretation, to upper-class Duke Law students.

“This is an exciting opportunity for us,” said Dean David F. Levi. “We have a strong group of teachers for the first term, and we look forward to welcoming a strong group of judges. We think this program will make a significant contribution both to the judiciary and to the academic study of the judiciary.”

Applications for admission to the master’s program are now being accepted; applications received by Dec. 15, 2011, will receive priority consideration for the 2012-13 program. Application instructions may be found on the center’s website.

In addition to Justice Alito and Dean Levi, a number of Duke Law faculty and others will be teaching in the program’s first term. They include:

Curtis A. Bradley
Richard A. Horvitz Professor of Law and Professor of Public Policy Studies
Teaching International Law in U.S. Courts

Michael H. Bradley
F.M. Kirby Professor of Investment Banking and Professor of Law, Emeritus
Teaching Finance for Judges

John de Figueiredo
Professor of Law and Business
Teaching Analytic Methods

Mitu Gulati
Professor of Law
Teaching Study of the Judiciary

Laurence R. Helfer
Harry R. Chadwick, Sr. Professor of Law
Teaching International Law in U.S. Courts

Jack Knight
Frederic Cleaveland Professor of Law and Political Science
Teaching Study of the Judiciary

Margaret H. Lemos
Professor of Law
Teaching Federalism

David F. Levi
Dean and Professor of Law, Duke University
Teaching Judges' Seminar

Francis McGovern
Professor of Law
Teaching Judges' Seminar

Judge Lee H. Rosenthal
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas
Teaching Judges’ Seminar

Neil S. Siegel
Professor of Law and Political Science
Teaching Constitutional and Statutory Interpretation

Neil Vidmar
Russell M. Robinson II Professor of Law and Professor of Psychology
Participating in Scholars’ Seminar

Ernest A. Young
Alston & Bird Professor of Law
Teaching Federalism

Please see the website for more information about the program’s faculty, curriculum, and application process.