National Judicial Education Program: Issues

The National Judicial Education Program to Promote Equality for Women and Men in the Courts (NJEP) educates judges and justice system professionals about the ways gender bias can be a factor across the spectrum of civil, criminal, family and juvenile law, and how to prevent it.  Widely recognized and highly regarded, NJEP plays a vital role in illuminating the negative impacts of gender stereotypes in the courts and provides critical resources to judges, attorneys, and other justice system professionals.

Gender Bias in the Courts: Gender bias in the courts has a negative impact on case outcomes across all areas of the law.  Through publications, curricula and training, NJEP addresses the following issues:

  • how sex stereotypes shape the admission of evidence and sentencing in rape cases;
  • how the courtroom treatment of women litigants, witnesses, lawyers and experts affects women’s credibility to jurors;
  • how bias in support awards and enforcement after divorce creates sharp economic disparities between women and men;
  • domestic violence, sexual assault and sexual harassment; 
  • how gender bias operates against both men and women in child custody disputes;
  • the devaluation of women and so-called “women’s work” in personal injury and equitable distribution cases; and
  • the bias faced by women of color in the courts at every level.

State Task Forces on Gender Bias: NJEP judicial education programs were the catalyst for a series of task forces established by state chief justices, state supreme courts and federal circuit councils to examine gender bias in their own court systems and recommend reforms. The task forces documented discriminatory court decisions, policies and practices and made numerous recommendations to eradicate these barriers to equal justice.  NJEP developed several publications describing how to establish and operate a gender bias task force, implement its recommendations, and evaluate its impact. Read a complete list of state task force reports. Learn more about developing and maintaining a state task force.

Fair Adjudication of Sexual Assault Cases: Sexual assault cases are often beset with myriad, deeply held stereotypes and misconceptions that can undermine the judicial process, especially with regard to intimate partner and non-stranger (also referred to as “acquaintance” or “date”) rape. Often these myths undermine victims’ credibility and make convictions difficult. Since its inception NJEP has developed curricula focused on providing the accurate factual information judges need to conduct a fair process and suggesting procedures to minimize victim retraumatization without undermining defendants’ rights. Learn more about NJEP’s resources related to the fair adjudication of sexual assault cases.

Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse: A particular focus of NJEP’s work on sexual assault cases in recent years is intimate partner sexual abuse. Recent research documents that sexual abuse ranging from verbal degradation to torture is widespread in the domestic violence context, and that forced sex in addition to physical violence is a leading indicator of potential lethality for victims and their children. Thus, knowing whether there is sexual abuse and forced sex in a violent relationship is a key factor in risk assessment, in decision-making in civil, criminal, family, juvenile and probation cases, and in custody and visitation determinations. NJEP’s curricula, trainings, and publications provide justice system professionals with strategies that encourage victims to disclose intimate partner sexual abuse and resources for effective offender dispositions and management. Click here to visit NJEP’s web course/resource, Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse: Adjudicating this Hidden Dimension of Domestic Violence Cases.

Child Custody and Gender Bias: There is no more vexing question for judges than how to evaluate allegations of child sexual abuse in custody and visitation disputes. NJEP’s model judicial education curriculum Adjudicating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse When Custody is in Dispute provides judges a resource to assist them in learning to adjudicate these cases in an informed and equitable manner. The resource seeks to promote the fair administration of justice by improving courts’ ability to assess child sexual abuse allegations in the particular context of custody/visitation disputes, and to make decisions about custody and visitation in these cases that reflect the best interests of the child.

Women of Color and the Courts: Women of color face discrimination at every level and in every aspect of the judicial system, as litigants, witnesses, defendants, employees, lawyers, and judges. Facing discrimination based on race as well as gender, women of color attorneys and justice system professionals are more likely to encounter a hostile and unwelcoming judicial system.  For example, judges are more likely to question an attorney’s competence if she is a woman of color, and juries are less inclined to award damages to poor women of color. NJEP’s model judicial education curriculum When Bias Compounds: Insuring Equal Justice for Women of Color in the Courts prompts judges to think about actions they can take to ensure women of color equal access to justice and equal participation in the justice system.