The Good Judge-ment Podcast is an educational, web-based podcast for judges, lawyers, students and nerds of all kinds. The podcast started in 2016 as a supplement to ongoing educational programming for Georgia Superior Court judges. From that beginning, it has grown to a bi-weekly program with hundreds of subscribers and over 125 episodes. The hosts, Judge Wade Padgett (Columbia County Judicial Circuit) and Judge Tain Kell (retired judge formerly in the Cobb County Judicial Circuit) developed the program in response to a request by the Council of Superior Court Judges to supplement the annual Superior Court new judge training program Padgett and Kell had created in 2014. Though initially tailored for Superior Court (i.e., trial court) judges, over time it has gained popularity with judges of all classes of court and has expanded its range of topics to include subjects of interest to other courts. Topics for the podcast range the spectrum of subjects of general interest to judges and others curious about Georgia law. Guests to the program have included many other judges, the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, and even the First Lady of Georgia. Kell and Padgett incorporate humor into the potentially dry topics for the sake of their audience. They also post outlines for the podcasts at their website, goodjudgepod.com, containing case citations, statutory citations and helpful information to supplement the podcast. Topic suggestions are solicited form the audience. The podcast is available on most internet podcast platforms.
“I want to tell you how much I enjoy the podcast. I have already learned so much and I have totally stolen some of the material for the topics I teach…”
Quinn Kasper, Magistrate Judge
“I am a faithful listener to your podcasts. I have listened to many of them more than once. I particularly enjoyed the episodes on evidence, attorney’s fees, pet peeves, merger in criminal cases, and the latest motions to withdraw a guilty plea. Thank you for the good, and educational service you both do for the citizens of Georgia and beyond. Your humor, professionalism, and vast knowledge keep me listening week after week.”
A listener from South Carolina
“Your podcast(s) are AWESOME. Thank you for your dedication to improving the educational level of judges in our state. You have unlimited energy and knowledge that raises the bar at your expense. I find the podcast very useful.”
Jim Blanchard, Superior Court Judge
“I’m a big fan of the podcast!”
David Sawyer, Attorney
May 1, 2023
With the certification of 64 resource judges and four court resource attorneys’ mid-summer 2022, the National Courts and Sciences Institute (NCSI) completed Phase 1 of a SJI-supported strategic initiative to discover ways to train judges and court personnel to cope with novel, changing, Covid Science in the Courtroom. Judges from 12 jurisdictions in coordinator-facilitated teams …
April 1, 2023
During the past two years, Neighborhood Preservation, Inc. worked with the City of Memphis and Shelby County to launch the local Emergency Rental Assistance program, a $90 million program with a strong eviction prevention and legal services component. The SJI grant supported the development of court data tools to identify ERA applicants facing upcoming court …
March 1, 2023
To improve guardianship case management, the National Center for State Courts is leading two SJI-funded projects to help guide courts through guardianship monitoring. Developing a Judicial Response Protocol to Address Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation in Guardianship Cases features an interactive tool designed to help judges respond to allegations of harm to individuals subject to guardianship. …
February 1, 2023
DV AWARE stands for Domestic Violence Analysis, Warning, Action, Recovery, and Engagement. Perpetrators of domestic violence can threaten the safety and well-being not only of their intimate partners and children, but also courts and communities. Beginning with a grant from SJI in 2021, the DV AWARE Project sought to support juvenile and family court systems …
January 1, 2023
On March 30, 2020, the Boards of Directors of the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators took action to establish National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts Response to Mental Illness to assist state courts in their efforts to more effectively respond to the needs of court-involved individuals with serious mental illness. …
December 1, 2022
During the pandemic, the Puerto Rico Office of Courts Administration (OCA) created an email account through which self-represented litigants (SRLs) seeking an emergency restraining order, a temporary detention or an involuntary admission order related to the Mental Health Code could file their petition to the Municipal Court. SRLs could download, complete, and submit the applicable …