| Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC March 5, 2001 U.S. Judicial System: "The Rule of Law and the Administration of Justice"The U.S. Department of State is conducting an International Visitor Regional Project for the Western Hemisphere and Equatorial Guinea entitled "The Rule of Law and the Administration of Justice" from February 26 to March 16, 2001. The program is sponsored by the department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Office of International Visitors and is coordinated by Delphi International. The 24 participants include judges, lawyers, constitutional scholars, ministry officials, senior law enforcement officials and journalists from Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. Five Spanish-language interpreters are accompanying them, and a sixth will join them when the group splits into two teams during their travels. The project examines the underlying principles of the judicial and legal systems and the culture of lawfulness in the United States; deepen understanding of the U.S. criminal justice system; and examine the administration of courts, case management, the trial by jury process, and alternative dispute resolution in the United States. The visitors began their tour in Washington, DC (February 26-March 3). Judge Nan R. Shuker, an Associate Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, spoke to them about the principles underlying the U.S. judicial and legal systems, and Dr. Gary Weaver, a professor from the International Communications Program in American University’s School of International Service, gave them an overview of U.S. society, culture, and the system of federalism. The participants also met with representatives from the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Next the international visitors traveled to Williamsburg and Richmond, Virginia (March 3-7) where they are learning about variations among state court systems, historical roots of the U.S. legal and judicial systems, and developments in court technology. Williamsburg is home to the National Center for State Courts, which is one of the best training facilities in the country. The group will then split into two teams (March 7-10) and travel to Phoenix, Arizona (Team A) and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Team B). Each team will explore the judiciary system at the state level, the purpose of the state bar association, and the roles of non-governmental organizations and the media in monitoring the judiciary system. The two teams will meet at the Grand Canyon on March 10. The program participants will travel to San Francisco, California (March 11-14) to examine the municipal court system, including jury selection and the function of prosecutors and public defenders. The three-week tour will conclude in San Juan, Puerto Rico (March 14-16) where they will observe criminal and civil trials. The visitors will also learn about the U.S. judicial system as it applies to Puerto Rico and the differences between U.S. and Latin American legal systems. For more information, including a list of participants, contact: Catherine L. Stearns Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs U.S. Department of State Washington, D.C. Phone: 202-619-5053 The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State fosters mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through international educational and training programs. The bureau does so by promoting personal, professional, and institutional ties between private citizens and organizations in the United States and abroad, as well as by presenting U.S. history, society, art and culture in all its diversity to overseas audiences. Further information is available at The Bureau administers the International Visitor Program, operating under authority of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (Fulbright-Hays Act), to increase mutual understanding through communication at the personal and professional levels. The International Visitor Program brings participants to the United States from all over the world each year to meet and confer with their professional counterparts and to experience the United States firsthand. The visitors, who are current or potential leaders in government, politics, the media, education, and other fields, are selected by American Foreign Service Officers overseas. More than 186 current and former heads of state, 1,500 cabinet-level ministers, and many other distinguished world leaders in government and the private sector have participated in the program. [end] Released on March 5, 2001 |
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