The Rodrigo Lara Bonilla Judicial Training School in Bogotá, Colombia.
The
Building Better Justice: Strengthening Judicial Training in Colombia program is a series of judicial educational courses focused on criminal justice challenges such as money laundering, corruption, and narcotics trafficking. ABA ROLI developed the courses in collaboration with the Rodrigo Lara Bonilla Judicial Training School (JTS) in Bogotá, Colombia.
In June 2021, the initial courses were launched and they will continue to be released until the end of September 2021. The first series of courses addressed legal principles and standards, but the second series explored alternative sentencing for drug crimes, as well as the indictment stage for corruption, anti-money laundering, and associated acts. The third series analyzed the challenges in investigating and adjudicating these crimes. Lastly, the fourth series is on the type of evidence presented in these complex crime hearings.
The courses review guiding principles of general criminal procedure code, and identify relevant legal discussions on the application of legislation against these complex crimes. As they analyze crimes, Colombian criminal judges and magistrates can apply material from the courses to their work. ABA ROLI invited both Colombian and U.S. judges to be a part of the design and implementation process to enrich the content of the courses based on their experience and expertise in these areas.
ABA ROLI is currently collaborating with the following judges:
Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney served as a reviewer for the first narcotics trafficking micro-course. She was sworn in as a U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of California in 2011. Judge Delaney came to the bench from the U.S. Attorney’s Office where she served as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney, among other positions. Additionally, she was previously a deputy attorney general in the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. She also worked as the U.S. Department of Justice’s Resident Legal Advisor in the American Embassy in Ankara, Turkey from 2008 to 2009. Judge Delaney is a 1988 graduate of Stanford Law School.
Hermens Darío Lara Acuña was a reviewer and co-facilitator for the first anti-corruption micro-course. He serves as a magistrate in the Criminal Chamber of the Superior Tribunal of Bogotá. He has experience as a judicial police investigator for the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia and as a sectional and specialized prosecutor. He has done postgraduate work in criminal law, administrative law, public financing, constitutional law, and has a master's degree in criminal law and criminology. He completed a doctorate course on the topic of Legal and Economic Aspects of Corruption. He is a professor of under-graduate and post-graduate studies, as well as a trainer of judges at the Rodrigo Lara Bonilla Judicial Training School.
Judge Michael Bagge-Hernandez was a reviewer of the narcotics trafficking micro-course, advised on the course design, and was a co-facilitator in the synchronous sessions. He serves as a County Court Judge in Hillsborough County, Florida. Prior to taking the bench, Judge Baggé-Hernández served for 10 years as an Assistant United States Attorney, five years in the District of Puerto Rico and five years in the Middle District of Florida. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice Organized Crime and Gang Section selected Judge Baggé-Hernández to be a Resident Legal Advisor to the U.S. Embassy in San Salvador, El Salvador. Judge Baggé-Hernández earned his J.D. in 2007 from the Stetson University College of Law.
Fabio David Bernal Suárez served as a reviewer of the anti-money laundering micro-course. He is a current magistrate of the Criminal Chamber of the Superior Tribunal of Bogotá, and has worked as a former municipal criminal judge, circuit judge, deputy prosecutor before the Bogotá Superior Tribunal, and deputy prosecutor before the Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia. He is a graduate of the law program of La Gran Colombia University, where he specialized in criminal law and criminology. He received his master’s degree in criminal law and law enforcement and a diploma in public law from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He is a law professor at the Universidad Libre de Colombia, currently teaching in the master's program of human rights and due process.
Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove supported the anti-money laundering micro-course. He has been the U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky since his confirmation in 2005. His career includes service as a federal judicial law clerk and Department of Justice Trial Attorney (Honors Program). He also served as a Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell. Judge Van Tatenhove has travelled to Jordan, Liberia, Tanzania, Botswana, Nepal, South Africa and Jamaica training judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers to improve human trafficking enforcement. In recent years he has also hosted judicial delegations from Albania and Turkey. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he is an Adjunct Professor of Law.
The participation of these judges was invaluable to the development and implementation of the micro-courses. Their assistance has made these micro-courses a much richer experience for all involved, and ABA ROLI and the JTS hope to continue working with them and others with similar experience on programs in the future.
To learn more about ABA ROLI’s work in Colombia, please go
here.
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