U.S. FEDERAL DISTRICT JUDGE GIVES COURSES FOR REPRESENTATIVES OF RA

LEGAL BODIES YEREVAN, JUNE 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The Honorable Richard G.
Stearns, a U.S. Federal Judge, accompanied by U.S. Department of
Justice Prosecutor Michael Yoon, visited Armenia June 17 through
23. As Noyan Tapan was informed by the U.S. Embassy, in Armenia at the
invitation of the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Department of Justice,
Judge Stearns met with several of Armenia’s leading judges and with
Justice Minister David Harutunian, who chairs Armenia’s Judicial
Reform Council.

Judge Stearns also conducted training sessions for Armenian
judges, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the Armenian Police
Department. The training sessions focused on trafficking in persons
issues, and specifically on victims’ rights and the protection of
witnesses. The Honorable Richard G. Stearns has been a United States
District Judge at the Massachusetts Federal District Court since
1994. Previously, he served as an Associate Justice on the Superior
Court of Massachusetts. Judge Stearns received his B.A. from Stanford
University, M. Litt. from Oxford University (where he was a Rhodes
Scholar), and J.D. from Harvard Law School.