Davidson County Chancellor Claudia C. Bonnyman has been awarded a State Justice Institute (SJI) scholarship to attend a 10-day General Jurisdiction course at the National Judicial College in Nevada.
The award will cover tuition, transportation and lodging. Bonnyman and judges from across the country will share ideas on courtroom and case management, including those involving self-represented, or pro se, litigants. Topics included in the General Jurisdiction course include jury and non-jury trials, docket management, judicial discretion and judicial ethics.
Bonnyman, formerly clerk and master for the 20th Judicial District Chancery Court, was appointed to the bench in September 2003. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Vanderbilt University School of Law, Nashville.
Federal law created SJI in 1984 to award grants to improve the quality of justice in state courts. The institute has awarded more than $100 million supporting more than 1,000 projects.
The National Judicial College was founded in 1963 and averages 85 courses a year with more than 2,700 judges enrolling from across the nation. It is located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, and includes technology-enhanced classrooms, a 75,000-volume law library, state-of-the-art model courtroom, modern seminar rooms, distance education facilities, computer lab and offices of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Courts and Media.