Shanghai to Madison.

Byline: Jack Zemlicka

Picture a perfectly square room layered with marble from four countries, century-old mahogany furniture and detailed murals, housed in perhaps the most recognizable building in Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin State Supreme Court inside the state Capitol was the perfect location for a select group of judges from Shanghai, China, to begin their study of the American courts system. That journey began on July 17.

After several months of intense English-language training and testing, 20 carefully selected Shanghai judges became the 2006 class of the Fourth Annual Seminar on Judicial Skills Development, an honor which included a three-week stay in Madison.

The program is a joint venture of the Shanghai People's Court and the University of Wisconsin's East Asian Legal Studies Center, in close conjunction with the state and federal judiciary.

Designed to enhance understanding of foreign judicial systems, the initiative has grown into a solid partnership between the United States and China and afforded representatives the opportunity to travel abroad.

"This program has been excellent," stated Shirley S. Abrahamson, chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court who spoke to the judges during their visit to the Capitol. "It's important for Shanghai judges to learn about different court systems, but it's also important for our judges to learn about different court systems."

With about 3,000 active judges in Shanghai, the decision to determine which would participate in this year's program was a difficult one according to Charles R. Irish, Director of the East Asian Legal Studies Center at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

"I think the senior judges, many of whom are not law trained or proficient in English, serve in supervisory capacities to nominate the younger judges who show promise as judges and as representatives of China," stated Irish. "There is an initial selection of 40 and then 20 are carefully selected by the senior judges in Shanghai. Participating in this program is a plum, so there is certainly haggling among the decision-makers."

Prior to their visit, a trio of Wisconsin representatives traveled to Shanghai in June for a week-long orientation with the judges. Program veterans John Ohnesorge, assistant professor of law at the UW and Gail Ebele, English as a second language instructor at UW, along with Dane County Circuit Court Judge Diane Nicks helped prepare the Chinese judges with lectures and discussions on the U.S...