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Judicature

PUBLISHED BY:
Bolch Judicial Institute
Duke Law School

Archive: January 2026

Illustrated landscape of layered mountain peaks and evergreen forests at sunrise, evoking the remote and majestic national parks where U.S. magistrate judges preside over federal court proceedings.

Courts in the Wild: Magistrate Judges in U.S. National Parks

As any lawyer in the federal courts knows, magistrate judges fulfill many critical roles. One unique and lesser known of those roles is the work of magistrate judges in our […]

Illustration of overlapping surveillance cameras pointing in different directions, symbolizing how video evidence can be interpreted differently by judges and appellate courts.

Challenges in Appellate Review of Video- and Audio-Recorded Trial Evidence

Video and audio don’t always speak for themselves. In appellate courts, the significance and weight of recorded evidence often will turn on perception as much as precedent. The proliferation of […]

Stylized illustration of six women in profile with diverse skin tones, hairstyles, and clothing, symbolizing racial and gender diversity and shared professional experience.

‘Never the Attorney’: Race, Gender, and Misattribution in the Legal Profession

Women attorneys, especially women of color, are often mistaken for nonlawyer staff — a routine misidentification that signals who is seen as belonging in the profession. “I don’t know if they just see […]

Illustration showing a judge, legal documents, digital records, security symbols, and a computer interface connected by lines, representing the use of generative artificial intelligence and technology in court systems while emphasizing oversight, research, and safeguards.

Judging AI: How U.S. Judges Can Harness Generative AI Without Compromising Justice

In a voting-rights trial with thousands of pages of evidence, generative AI tools offered a glimpse of how technology might ease the judiciary’s heaviest burdens. E-discovery tools that harness the power […]

Minimalist illustration of a serene landscape with soft, layered hills in shades of teal and green. A large pale yellow sun rises or sets against a pastel pink and peach sky, creating a calm and peaceful atmosphere. The image evokes themes of nature, tranquility, and renewal.

Judicial Well-Being: From an ‘Unmentionable Topic’ to a Global Conversation

On March 4, 2025, the United Nations General Assembly voted to declare July 25 as the International Day for Judicial Well-being. The day joins a calendar of just over 200 […]

Illustration of a diverse crowd of human profiles in shades of pink, mauve, and brown. The overlapping silhouettes feature varied hairstyles, textures, and facial features, symbolizing diversity, unity, and community.

Asking All the Right Questions: Benefits of Juror Questionnaires and Attorney-Conducted Voir Dire

The Seventh Amendment guarantees litigants a right to trial by jury, and, for more than 200 years, the voir dire process has been used in the United States to ensure […]

Abstract illustration of a human profile formed by layered, wavy contour lines in shades of pink and magenta. The silhouette emerges from the left side of the image, gradually blending into a solid magenta background on the right, symbolizing depth and introspection.

The State of Science in the Courtroom: A Scientist’s Reflections From Conversations With Federal Judges

Rebekah Petroff, a scientist who worked at the Federal Judicial Center, examines how judges frequently grapple with making definitive decisions based on uncertain scientific evidence. In September 2023, I entered […]

Illustration of classical white Ionic columns with scroll-like capitals supporting a white entablature. The columns cast deep blue shadows against a gradient blue background, symbolizing stability, justice, and institutional strength.

Mobilizing the Legal Profession to Defend the Judiciary

In fall 2024, the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School hosted a conference as part of its Defending the Judiciary initiative, which aims to mobilize the legal profession to defend […]

Image of the cover of "Felon" with partially obscured faces

Felon: A Poetic Travelogue of Post-Incarceration

Reading Felon feels like witnessing a fountain pen bleed — its ink spreading indiscriminately, leaving indelible marks wherever it touches, yet there’s a haunting beauty in its uncontrolled flow. Reginald Dwayne Betts pens […]

Judge J.H. Corpening

This Superhero Wears a Robe: Chief Judge J.H. Corpening II

An unmistakable glow emanates from the top floor of the Department of Juvenile Justice building in Wilmington, N.C. In Chief Judge J.H. “J.” Corpening’s office, a yellow neon sign illuminates the […]