Committee of Bar Examiners Approve Distance Learning at CDTA

So you think you want to be a lawyer?

 

On Friday, January 20, 2017, the Committee of Bar Examiners met and approved the California Desert Trial Academy to begin Distance Learning in Fall 2017.  With Committee approval, CDTA will offer its classes at both its fixed-facility campus in Indio, and, using distance-learning technology, to students living within 100 miles of Indio.  This novel proposal was designed to offer the law school's legal education in remote communities in California to those who would be otherwise unable to physically attend classes at CDTA's campus three nights a week.

For more information or to visit a class, contact our Registrar at 760-342-0900.  Fall classes commence Tuesday, September 5, 2017. Open enrollment for fall classes begins February 1, 2017.

Project #180 

Mock Trial / Pathway Program at Amistad High School

The idea of Project #180 was born when Criminal Defense Attorney and Dean of the California Desert Trial Academy College of Law, John Patrick Dolan read an article that was published in The Wall Street Journal in October of 2015 about an "Inmate Debate Team who had won against The Harvard Debate Team". 

The showdown took place at the Eastern New York Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison where convicts can take courses taught by faculty from the nearby college, and where inmates have formed a popular debate team.  After a long impressive debate, the inmates prevailed in a very tough competition...And the beginning of Project #180 was underway.  

Our number one priority - to keep at-risk teens from committing crimes and subsequently entering the juvenile justice system.  

Project #180 offers academic enrichment aligned with the judicial system, evidenced-based life skills training, Mock Trial, student advocacy and community outreach services.

Each week the students travel to CDTA College of Law for a speakers series. A big thank you to Judge Dale Wells for visiting the Project #180 teens and sharing his story.

Should you want to make a donation to Project #180, please contact Alanna at [email protected]