Order in the Court! Demystifying the Judicial System

Regular and lottery registration open on January 8, 2026.
Dates: March 9, 2026
Meets: M from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
 Location: Bozeman, MT - Museum of the Rockies
Cost:  $0.00

There are still openings remaining at this time.

Date Day Time
03/09/2026Monday3 PM to 5 PM

OR

Please note: This course program requires membership in a 2025-2026 OLLI at MSU Membership

Description

Court decisions are in the news constantly, but how courts actually operate can seem mysterious. This presentation seeks to explain how the judicial system works, addressing questions such as how local, state and federal courts co-exist, the differences between criminal and civil cases, how trials work, how appeals work and how judicial decisions are enforced. We may even have time to discuss how one becomes a judge and how judicial ethics are enforced.

Course Takeaways

Participants in this program will come away with a deeper understanding of:

  • The context of the daily news about judicial actions and decisions.
  • The structure of our judicial system.
  • Why do legal cases take so long?
  • Some current challenges to our judicial system.

Image by Phil Roeder - Flickr: Supreme Court of the United States, CC BY 2.0, Link

Fee:  $0.00

Bozeman, MT - Museum of the Rockies

600 West Kagy Blvd
Bozeman, Montana 59717

Susan Dana

Susan Dana is Professor Emerita at MSU. During her 25-year career at MSU, she taught a variety of law-related courses and has also taught several OLLI programs, including on the U.S. Supreme Court, free speech, the law of privacy and Greek mythology. She is the past president of the OLLI Advisory Council. She holds a B.A. in Classics from Brown University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.