Kline Center for Judicial Education
The Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University supports the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in its ongoing efforts to enhance the administration of justice through high quality continuing education for judges of the Commonwealth.
In addition to its core mission in Pennsylvania, the Kline Center also offers select judicial education programs to judges nationwide, broadening its reach to meet the evolving educational needs of the judiciary across the country.
Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University alumnus Thomas R. Kline gave $7.5 million in 2017 to establish the innovative center at his alma mater. Most recently, Kline committed $50 million to provide transformational support to Duquesne's 111-year-old law school. His gift constitutes the single largest commitment to Duquesne in its 144-year history. Kline is a 1978 Duquesne Law graduate, founding partner of the firm Kline & Specter, PC, in Philadelphia, and one of Pennsylvania's most successful trial attorneys.
"The best program in my 26 years of being a judge."
Let our judges be judges, and not servants of the politicians.
Upcoming Programs
Mental Health and the Courts: Course 2
Registration is available through the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts Judicial Education Department.
A Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of Pennsylvania's Constitution
Join us for A Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of Pennsylvania’s First Constitution on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Duquesne University’s Power Center Ballroom. The program will feature a keynote address by Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton. Panel discussions will follow, led by the Justices of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania with distinguished academic experts. Together, they will explore our Commonwealth’s Charter, its meaning, and its continuing impact after 250 years. Lunch and refreshments will be provided, with a cocktail reception to follow. The event is free to attend and is approved for 4.5 credits of Pennsylvania Continuing Judicial Education and 4.5 credits of Pennsylvania Continuing Legal Education.
Judicial Writing and Artificial Intelligence: Ethics, Disclosure, and Voice
This course addresses the implications of using AI tools in judicial writing. Judges will consider the ethics of incorporating AI-generated text into judicial orders and opinions, as well as issues of authorship, disclosure, and automation bias. Faculty will offer strategies to preserve the integrity and voice of judicial reasoning while addressing the limitations of generative tools. The session concludes with a discussion of transparency, judicial discretion, and maintaining public trust. This course will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. over Zoom on December 3, 2026.
Recent Program Highlights
Book Talk with Author Brad Snyder
In May 2026, the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education hosted its forth annual Book Talk Continuing Judicial Education Program. This year's featured author was Professor Brad Snyder, St. Thomas More Professor in Law and History at Georgetown Law, who discussed his acclaimed book, You Can’t Kill a Man Because of the Books He Reads: Angelo Herndon’s Fight for Free Speech.
Bob Dylan: Music, Lyrics, and the Law
In April 2025, the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education hosted Bob Dylan: Music, Lyrics, and the Law, an innovative Continuing Judicial and Legal Education program attended by over 250 judges and lawyers. Led by Thomas R. Kline (L'78) and his son Zac Kline, a playwright and lawyer, the session analyzed Dylan's lyrics through ethical and legal lenses. The Klines, who have attended more than 100 Dylan concerts across six countries and three continents, shared their expertise alongside a live band featuring two Duquesne Mary Pappert School of Music graduates, who performed Dylan's music throughout the event.
Featured National Collaboration
Nearly 100 judges and attorneys from across the globe convened at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University from December 2-5, 2024, for a four-day conference entitled “Artificial Intelligence for Judges and Lawyers: A Comprehensive Course.” The innovative and informative conference outlined the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the law. It was a collaboration between the Thomas R. Kline Center for Judicial Education and the National Judicial College.
Past Program Highlights
Distinguished Speaker Series
“America's Constitutional Conversation Over the Centuries: Making and Remaking the
Law of the Land"September 25, 2025
Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale UniversityLearn More
“Justice Robert H. Jackson and the U.S. Supreme Court's Path to Brown v. Board of
Education"Benjamin N. Cardozo Professor of Law at St. John's University
Elizabeth S. Lenna Fellow at the Robert H. Jackson CenterSee It In Action
“The Supreme Court and the Protection of American Democracy"
September 18, 2023
Pamela S. Karlan
Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law
Co-Director, Supreme Court Litigation Clinic
Stanford Law School
“Role of State Courts and State Constitutions in Our American Legal System"
October 25, 2022
Chief Judge Sutton
Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
AI Focus
May 8 & 15, 2025
Professor Sharona Hoffman, Joseph P. McMenamin, Maulik Shah, Professor Kelsey Schweiberger,
Professor Michelle M. Mello, Adjunct Professor Peter D. Giglione
April 10, 2024
Dean April Barton, Professor Ryan Williams, Matthew Ferraro, Professor Jacqueline
Lipton
March 12, 2024
Professor Wes Oliver, Adjunct Professor Morgan Gray
November 9 & 16, 2021
Matthew Ferraro, Professor Riana Pfefferkorn, Professor Paweł Koros
Book Talk Series
You Can't Kill a Man Because of the Books He Reads: Angelo Herndon's Fight for Free Speech by Brad Snyder
by Brad Snyder
April 29, 2025
The PURSUIT of HAPPINESS: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the
Founders and Defined America
by Jeffrey Rosen
May 9, 2024
The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind – and Changed the History
of Free Speech in America
by Thomas Healy
May 16, 2023
Democratic Justice: Felix Frankfurter, the Supreme Court, and the Making of the Liberal
Agenda
by Brad Snyder
Gallery of Events
Distinguished Speaker Series 2025
Professor Akhil Reed Amar
Distinguished Speaker Series 2025
Distinguished Speaker Series 2024
Professor John Q. Barrett
Distinguished Speaker Series 2024
Distinguished Speaker Series 2024
Chief Justice Emeritus Tom Saylor
Distinguished Speaker Series 2024
Dean April M. Barton, Executive Director Erin Karsman, Chief Justice Emeritus Tom Saylor
Distinguished Speaker Series 2023
Professor Pamela Karlan
Distinguished Speaker Series 2023
Distinguished Speakers Series 2022
President Ken Gormley, Tom Kline, Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton, and Chief Justice Emeritus Tom Saylor
Distinguished Speakers Series 2022
Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton
