Ashley Moise, Education Attorney | Office of Court Services
The 2021 Annual Meeting of the Judicial Conference of Indiana took place September 1-3 at the French Lick Springs Hotel in French Lick, Indiana. The meeting, traditionally held in person, was virtual in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Those eligible to attend in 2021 included appellate judges, trial court judges, magistrates, full-time referees and commissioners, senior judges, and Marion County Small Claims Court judges. The meeting is typically mandatory, but some sessions were recorded for those unable to attend in person this year.
The meeting featured three days of education covering topics such as case law updates, court technology, ethics, self-represented litigants, and behavioral health. In addition, several sessions emphasized judicial wellness and offered judges an opportunity to participate in a run/walk or attend a yoga class with their colleagues.
While attendees appreciated the educational content and other activities, meeting in person provided Indiana’s judicial officers opportunities to network and, in some cases, meet each other for the first time. Vicki Davis, IOCS Deputy Director of the Education Division, noted, “I’m proud of all the distance education resources my division provided during COVID and will continue to provide, but in-person conferences have intangible benefits that cannot be replicated in Zoom.”
