By Ashley A. Moise, Education Staff Attorney | Office of Court Services
One of the realities of COVID-19 is that education doesn’t quite look the same. Across the nation, schools and universities have transitioned to distance learning. Indiana Judges have also transitioned to distance learning to obtain their mandatory continuing judicial education, also known as CJEs. State-level judicial officers must complete at least 15 hours of CJE each year and 54 hours in a three-year period.
The Indiana Supreme Court announced on September 23, 2020, that until further notice, any continuing legal education taken by attorneys, judges, and other state-level judicial officers will not count toward distance education credit-hour limits in Admission and Discipline Rules 28 and 29. Bradley Skolnik, Executive Director of Admissions and Continuing Education, noted, “as a result of the pandemic, we have witnessed a dramatic surge in the amount of distance education programming for attorneys and judicial officers.” Skolnik further explained, “I have been very impressed with the quality and breadth of the distance education courses offered by the Indiana Courts Education Network.”
The Education Division of the Indiana Office of Court Services is tasked with hosting conferences and trainings for Indiana judicial officers and other court staff. Most of the conferences and trainings are typically in-person events, often with many sessions, including plenary speakers as well as breakout sessions.
It became abundantly clear in early 2020 that in-person conferences weren’t an option. The IOCS staff worked on transitioning in-person conferences to webinars and on-demand courses offered on the Indiana Courts Education Network learning management system. This virtual platform houses educational courses for judicial officers and other court staff. The Indiana Courts Education Network went live in November 2018, but the demand and use increased drastically due to the pandemic. The number of Indiana Courts Education Network users nearly doubled in 2020 compared to 2019. Vicki Davis, IOCS Deputy Director notes, “The Indiana Courts Education Network provides the opportunity for judicial officers to learn remotely and earn their mandatory continuing judicial education in a safe virtual environment. It’s wonderful that more people are making use of this excellent resource.”