Naval Justice School Curriculum
Prospective Students
Incoming students who have questions about their courses or about the Naval Justice School should contact their course coordinator or the NJS registrar at (401) 841-3800, ext. 131.
Course Descriptions
Quota announcements and detailed descriptions of courses offered at NJS can be found on Navy Knowledge Online. Search for “NJS course descriptions” to find the spreadsheet containing this information.
Course Schedule
Download the FY13 Course Schedule
Curriculum
Staffed with officer, enlisted and civilian administrative personnel from each of the sea services, NJS offers many instruction courses each year.
As the mission of NJS has expanded, additional offices have been established to serve commands in different geographical areas. These offices include a detachment in San Diego, Calif., launched in 1991 to conduct training on the West Coast and in the Pacific region; a branch office at the Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School (U.S. Army) in Charlottesville, Va., established in 1991; and a detachment at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., added in 1995 to provide waterfront legal training at the largest naval base in the world.
Course Offerings
Basic Lawyer Course
The 10-week course trains Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard judge advocates in the fundamentals of military justice and relevant civil law, with particular attention to administrative law, investigations, legal assistance and military justice. Furthermore, NJS emphasizes trial advocacy skills required for new military attorneys to serve as counsel at courts-martial. Navy and Marine Corps judge advocates also receive training on basic operational law in conjunction with the Basic Lawyer Course curriculum. Graduates often return to NJS from the fleet for further training as staff judge advocates and for specialized schooling in trial advocacy, computer crimes, legal assistance, the law of military operations, and prosecuting and defending complex cases.
For Service Members Who Are Not Lawyers
NJS detachments offer many courses to service members who are not lawyers:
- Legal Officer Course: Three-week course trains junior officers and senior enlisted personnel in the basic administration of military justice, and prepares them for duty as unit, battalion or squadron legal officers.
- Senior Officer Course: One-week course, offered at locations worldwide, provides commanding and executive officers with training on the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and other matters relating to their legal responsibilities.
- Senior Enlisted Course: Three-day course supplies legal training on topics commonly encountered by senior enlisted leaders.
For Enlisted Personnel Performing Legal Duties
NJS also provides extensive training for enlisted personnel performing legal duties:
- Legalman Accession Course: 11-week course offers intensive paralegal training to Sailors selected for the Legalman rating.
- Marine Corps Legal Services Specialist Course: Nine-week course designed to provide junior enlisted Marines the skills and training necessary to support legal offices throughout the Marine Corps. Select graduates from the Specialist Course receive additional training in the preparation of verbatim records of trial.
- Coast Guard Legal Technician Course: Trains selected personnel in the basic military justice and civil law issues encountered in the Coast Guard.
- Legal Clerk Course: Two-week course for enlisted personnel not in a legal rating or Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) on preparing report chits, service record entries and other administrative matters associated with minor disciplinary infractions.
In addition, NJS offers ongoing legal training to enlisted legal professionals, including courses in court reporting and legal research and writing, plus specialized training for senior legalmen, command judge advocate personnel and mid-career enlisted personnel.
Continuing Education & Training
NJS trains Navy and Marine Corps reserve component officers and enlisted legal professionals with the support of NJS Reserve Unit 101 and the USMC Individual Mobilization Activity Detachment. This vital training includes annual reserve legal update symposia, reserve refresher courses in administrative law, military justice, operational law and focused enlisted paralegal training.
NJS provides extensive training for commands in the local area, including an elective semester-long course at the Naval War College, Newport, R.I., and regular lectures at the Naval Chaplains School, Officer Indoctrination School, Officer Development School, Senior Enlisted Academy, Surface Warfare Officers School, Command Leadership School and the Naval Submarine School.
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