The Flaschner Judicial Institute Board of Trustees adopted the following Mission Statement and Academic Philosophy in the early 1990s:
The mission of the Franklin N. Flaschner Judicial Institute, Inc. is to assist both new and experienced judges throughout their judicial careers in their overall professional development, broadly defined. The overriding objective is to promote the highest possible standards of judicial professionalism for the benefit of the public and the administration of justice.
Toward this end and in consideration of judges’ diverse duties and responsibilities, the Flaschner Institute annually provides a balanced academic agenda with traditional and innovative educational offerings in the following areas:
• Substantive/Procedural Law
• Skills Training
• Sensitivity Awareness
• Judicial Ethics
• Judicial Orientation
• Community Relations
Click on any of the links below to learn more about the areas in which the Flaschner Judicial Institute regularly produces educational programming for Massachusetts judges:
Sensitivity Awareness- Do Differences Matter? Becoming Culturally Competent
- Mind Bugs: The Science of Ordinary Prejudice
- Immigrants in the Courtroom: A Practical Guide for Judges
- Racial Profiling
- Exploring Racial and Ethnic Issues
Recent Developments Series
With ongoing developments in the law, the “Recent Development Series” offers presentations on these changes by experts to our state’s judiciary. Some of the programs offered in the past have covered the following areas:
- Employment Law Litigation
- Tort and Insurance Law
- Family Law
- Real Estate Law
- Massachusetts Commercial Law
Series on Judicial Ethics
- Reaching Out or Overreaching: Judicial Ethics and the Self-Represented Litigants
- When Judges Speak Up: Ethics, the Public, and the Media
- Judicial Ethics: Living a Life of Impartiality
- Exploring Complex Social, Moral, and Ethical Issues
Flaschner Publications Series
Skills Trainings
- Computer Skills
- Legal Research
- Judicial Opinion Writing
- Listening Skills
- Non-Verbal Communication
Programs for Superior Court Judges
- ADR, Settlement, and Plea Bargaining
- Contempt
- Courtroom Security
- Employment Litigation
- Damage Assessment and Settlement Approval
- Judicial Involvement in Civil Settlement and Criminal Plea Discussions
- Judges and the Media
- Jury Management Issues
- Mental Health Issues in Criminal Cases
- Prisoner Pro Se Litigation
- Sentencing Workshop for Superior Court Judges
- Summary Judgment in the Superior Court
- Zoning, Affordable Housing, and Subdivision Cases
Hon. Haskell C. Freedman Two-Day Educational Retreat for Probate and Family Court Judges
FJI Author Series for Judges and Flaschner Judicial Institute/Social Law Library Bench/Bar Reading Discussions
Jerome S. Berg
Eli Bortman
Ulrich Boser
Benjamin L. Carp
Kenneth C. Edelin, M.D.
Michael Frederickson
Jack L. Goldsmith
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Hon. Julian Houston
Paul Kendrick
Stephen Kendrick
Eve LaPlante
Dick Lehr
Anthony Lewis
Brian MacQuarrie
Pauline Maier
Kevin Merida
Steven Pinker
Stephen Puleo
Cristina Rathbone
Leonard L. Richards
Frederick Schauer
Stephanie Schorow
Ilyon Woo
Gordon S. Wood
Mitchell Zuckoff
Literature and the Law Series
Bench/Bar Programming
- Affording Justice: Preserving and Expanding Legal Representation for Individual Citizens
- Assisted Reproductive Technology Cases
- Best Practices in Guardianship Cases
- Confronting Crawford: Understanding Its Meaning and Impact
- Finding and Interpreting the Science in Forensic Evidence: Impact of the NAS Report on the Justice System
- Mastering the Science in Operating Under the Influence (OUI) Cases
- Reconnecting Self-Represented Litigants with the Private Bar
- View from the Bar (and Rejoinder from the Bench)
- Wrongful Convictions
Tours for Judges
- State Police Crime Labs
- MCI – Cedar Junction
- MCI – Framingham
- Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center
- Bridgewater State Hospital
- Massachusetts Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center
- Massachusetts Treatment Center
- Old Colony Correctional Center
- Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME)
- AG’s Office Computer Forensics Lab