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| NEW HAMPSHIRE TO VOLOGDA |
| Date: |
Nov 18 - Nov 20, 2009 |
| Location: |
VOLOGDA |
| Summary: |
As part of the Year Two RLPP USAID project, RAROLC is continuing its work with its Russian partners in the regions of Rostov Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, Archangelsk, Pskov, Novgorod, Karelia and Vologda in the following areas: (1) judicial ethics training for qualifying commissions, ethics committees, and council of judges members; (2) assistance in the implementation of bench-bar meetings; (3) training on substantive law for advocates, lawyers, and judges.
Meetings and seminars took place in Vologda from November 16- 20, 2009. The events included a Judicial Ethics seminar for qualifying commission, ethics committee, and council of judges members; a Bench Bar Meeting; and a Courts and the Mass Media Seminar. In addition, the delegation from New Hampshire visited Vologda courts to observe various court proceedings; met with Vologda judges to plan a pilot court bench bar initiative; and met with the Vologda Council of Judges, the Vologda Steering Committee, and the Vologda Defense Chamber to plan future joint programs. The American delegation included a judge, clerk of court, federal public defender, director of judicial branch communications and a reporter from New Hampshire.
The Judicial Ethics Seminar took place on November 18th in cooperation with Judicial Qualifying Collegium of Vologda Region and discussed following topics: (1) Role of the Council of Judges of RF in Improving Judicial Ethics; (2) Judicial Discipline and Investigation of Judicial Ethics Violations; (3) Judicial Advisory Commissions; and (4) Financial Disclosure;
The program also included presentations and discussion of hypothetical situations on such issues as bias or prejudice on the bench, ex parte communications, rulings of the court constituting lack of competency, disciplinary responsibilities re: other judges and staff, using prestige of office for private gain, and disclosure of nonpublic information acquired in a judicial capacity.
Judge Gary Cassavechia and Attorney Dana Zucker presented from the New Hampshire delegation. Vologda presenters included; Hon. Igor Trofimov, Chair of Vologda Judicial Qualifying Collegium; Judge Irina Osipova, Chair of Vologda Council of Judges; Olga Baraeva, Deputy Director of Vologda Branch of Moscow State Law Academy; and Hon. Svetlana Poluektova, Deputy Chair of Vologda Council of Judges and Chair of Vologda Judicial Ethics Committee. Participants included judges from the Vologda Oblast Court including Chief Judge Vladimir Shepel; Cherepovets District Court judges; Vladimir Sakharov, Head of Vologda Court Department; other court department representatives; advocates; and law professors and students from Moscow State Legal Academy (Vologda Branch).
The Courts and the Mass Media Seminar took place on November 19th and brought together judges from different courts of the Vologda Oblast, representatives of Judicial Department of Vologda Oblast, advocates, journalists and law faculty students of Moscow Law Academy (Vologda Branch). Seminar participants included judges from Vologda Oblast Court including Chief Judge Vladimir Shepel and Vladimir Kasyanov; Deputy Governor of Vologda Oblast, Vladimir Sakharov; Head of Vologda Court Department and other Court Department representatives; Cherepovets District Court judges; advocates; Head of the department of the Attorney's General office of Vologda Oblast; law professors; and students from Moscow State Legal Academy (Vologda Branch).
Presenters included Vladimir Kasyanov, Deputy Governor of Vologda Oblast; Lubov Ovtsina, Deputy Head of the Court Department of Vologda Oblast; Hon. Alexander Kostylev, Chief Judge of Cherepovets City Court; Peter Mukhin, Director of IEF "Fest" (The newspaper "Krasny Sever", "Vologdskaya Nedelya", TV channel REN-TV); Larisa Novolodskaya, Press secretary of Court Department of Vologda Oblast; Guest speaker form Petrozavodsk Andrey Vorobyov (assistant of Karelia Supreme Court Chief Judge); Guest speaker from Arkhangelsk, Ksenya Solovyova, press secretary of Arkhangelsk Oblast Court; Laura Kiernan (Judicial Branch Communications Director at the New Hampshire Supreme Court); and Annmarie Timmins (Reporter for the Concord Monitor).
The following topics were covered during the seminar: (1) theory and practice of interaction between the courts and the media in Russia; (2) media and prosecution; (3) courts’ operation coverage in the US, the judicial system and public opinion; (4) the features of the interaction of courts and regional media; (5) “law school for journalists” in the US, (6) the problem of interaction between the judiciary and the media in the concept of regional and Contemporary Russia’s development. The local TV company REN-TV (Vologda) reported on the event, which was shown in local news.
Finally, the Bench Bar Meeting took place on Nov 20th and allowed judges, attorneys and prosecutors to discuss interrelations of judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys during the trial and a variety of current legal ethics and other issues and consider Bench Bar meetings as a forum for ongoing discussion of such matters. The chair of the Vologda Chamber of Advocates Sergey Ivanov; Hon. Irina Kochina, Deputy Chair of Vologda Oblast Court; and head of the department at the Attorney General office of Vologda Oblast spoke at the bench-bar meeting. Advocates and judges form Cherepovets District Court also actively participated in the discussion.
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| Topics: |
JUDICIAL ETHICS
COURTS AND THE MEDIA
BENCH-BAR MEETING |
| Participants: |  Hon. Gary Cassevechia - Strafford Probate Court Judge
Laura Kiernan - Special Assistant to the Chief Justice, Director of Communications State of New Hampshire, Judicial Branch, New Hampshire Supreme Court
Bjorn Lange - Federal Public Defender
Annmarie Timmins - Journalist, Reporter for the Concord Monitor
Dana Zucker - Clerk of Superior Court, New Hampshire Superior Court
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(L-R)Opening of the program, Nov. 18: Vladimir Sakharov, Head of Vologda Oblast Court Department; Vladimir Shepel, Vologda Oblast Court CJ; Judge Gary Cassavechia, Strafford Probate Court; Hon. Svetlana Poluektova, Deputy Chair of Vologda Council of Judg
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