The National Judicial College has received a $1 million grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to prepare state-court judges to handle cases in which the death penalty is a possibility.

The grant will fund a two-year project to educate judges about best practices in trying capital cases. The death penalty is currently legal in 24 states.

The NJC in Reno, Nev, has offered a course on “Handling Capital Cases” 35 times since 1976 with 1,097 judges completing it.