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Dick Carelli, 202-502-2600
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December 19, 2006 — As of January 2, 2007, many non-government providers of educational programs attended by federal judges must publicly disclose certain information about their programs and their sources of funding.

Program providers are required to post those disclosures online if they reimburse judges' expenses or provide in-kind benefits of more than $305 in value for attending -- as speakers, panelists or students -- any program that has the education of American judges as a significant purpose.

The new policy was adopted by the Judicial Conference of the United States last September to provide greater transparency, which should enhance public confidence in federal judicial ethics.

For their part, judges are barred from accepting reimbursements unless they first ascertain that a program provider has made the required disclosures. Judges also must report on their court's web site their attendance within 30 days of a covered program's conclusion.

Program providers are required to disclose:

• the name of the program's sponsor;
• the name or title of the program;
• the program's dates and location;
• the various presentation topics and the speakers expected respectively to address each topic; and
• all the program provider's sources of support, financial or otherwise.

Program providers will have to create an account via the judiciary's web site, and post all required information by completing an online form. When a federal judge reports having attended a particular program, the disclosure report will be posted on the judge's local court web site. The information will remain on that web site for three years.

Not all non-government organizations are subject to the new requirements. State, local, and subject matter bar associations, judicial associations, the National Judicial College, and the Judicial Division of the American Bar Association are exempt.

Educational program providers who have questions about the new policy can find some answers at www.uscourts.gov/library/faq_eduproviders.pdf, or can e-mail queries to disclosurepolicy@ao.uscourts.gov.

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