PROVO -- Fourth District Judge Ray M. Harding Sr., is the first judge in Utah to earn the prestigious Diploma of Judicial Skills from the American Academy of Judicial Education.
He completed 130 hours of on-site intensive course work at Harvard Law School and the University of Virginia School of Law to secure the diploma.Nine other Utah judges are working to complete the course requirements for the degree.
Nationwide, 141 state court judges from 25 states have earned the honor. To receive the diploma, a law-trained judge must attend and complete four fundamental and interrelated courses within six years.
The courses Harding completed include: Philosophy of Law and Judging, The Judge as Fact Finder and Decision Maker, Constitutional Criminal Law and Procedure and Domestic Relations: Philosophical Ethics and Decision Making.
The academy applauded Harding's achievement.
"The Utah judiciary can be justly proud of its role in supporting the concept of competence before judgment," it said in a press release.