LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA —In conjunction with the U.S. State Department Rule of Law Program and the University of Ljubljana Law School in Slovenia, Sullivan County Judge Frank LaBuda was a guest lecturer on the topic of Traditional Criminal Courts and Alternative Drug Courts in the United States.

The four day program centered on explaining the traditional approaches to dealing with crime and defendants in court as contrasted with the new approaches, such as Drug Court and VeTrak Court. The highlight of the program was a Moot Court for the students to resolve a criminal charge by way of plea bargain and referral to either Criminal Court or Drug Court for Resolution.

Professor Janez Kranjc, a former dean of the law dchool and currently professor emeritus, said that “The students learned so much about the American approaches to social deviancy, and we hope that Judge LaBuda will continue his programs at our law school.”

In an email sent on October 29, LaBuda said, “It is so rewarding to teach enthusiastic law students and share my experiences from the bench with them. We are currently working on similar lectures in Serbia and Macedonia for next year.”