Date: January 28, 2004                                               Contact: Laura Kiernan
                                                                                                Court Information Officer
                                                                                                271-2646 x359

CONCORD—Strafford County Superior Court Judge Peter H. Fauver has been awarded a scholarship by the State Justice Institute to attend a seminar in February on "Advanced Evidence" which is designed to help judges’ attain greater accuracy in their rulings on a wide range of evidentiary issues.

The seminar is sponsored by the National Judicial College, which has provided comprehensive judicial training for judges for more than 40 years.

Topics to be addressed at the seminar, which will be held in St. Petersburg, Fla., include: relevancy of evidence; balancing the probative value of evidence against its potential prejudicial impact; admissibility of evidence about a witnesses’ character; and issues related to expert testimony, impeachment of witnesses, opinion testimony and hearsay.

The non-profit State Justice Institute, headquartered in Alexandria, Va., was established by the federal government to award grants to improve the quality of justice in state courts. Institute grants are also intended to promote better communication between the state and federal courts to help resolve common problems.

More information about the Institute is available on the SJI website at http://www.statejustice.org.

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