March 6, 2017 - First Monday
Our faculty and students were busy this month providing community outreach, including hosting talks and panels on immigration law, constitutional interpretation and Supreme Court nominees, and donating to needy communities through the Othello Project. Our students will continue applying what they learned in the classroom while serving our community during spring break with the Native American Law Student Association (NALSA). NALSA is hosting an alternative spring break program, taking students to help residents on local reservations prepare their income taxes.
State Board of Education Approval
If you haven’t already heard the good news, last month the Idaho State Board of Education approved the opening of a first-year law program in Boise for the University of Idaho College of Law. The addition of first-year classes in Boise will make a Juris Doctor degree fully available at either location. The expanded College of Law program can accept up to 60 first-year students in Boise; current applications indicate expected classes of similar sizes in both locations. The next step will be final ABA approval, which is expected this upcoming week. Thank you to all those who have supported us so far; this is an exciting time at the College of Law.
Idaho Law Review Symposium
Livestock grazing on Western public lands is a complicated, and often hotly contested subject that deeply influences the economies of rural western places. The Idaho Law Review is addressing this issue head on in this year’s symposium, Livestock Grazing on Public Lands: Law, Policy & Rebellion, on March 31 in Boise.
The daylong event will feature expert speakers, including a solicitor’s panel with John Leshy, Emeritus Harry D. Sunderland Distinguished Professor of Real Property Law, U.C. Hastings College of the Law, formerly solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior during the Clinton administration; William Myers III, partner, Holland & Hart, formerly solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior under George W. Bush; and Bret Birdsong, professor of law, UNLV William S. Boyd School of Law, formerly deputy solicitor, U.S. Department of Interior under Barack Obama.
The keynote will be debate-style featuring Leshy and University of Idaho’s Professor Richard Seamon. Each will have the opportunity to discuss their professional perspective on Utah’s reclaim of federal lands. Learn more and register here.
Women in the Judiciary
We are excited to host a Women in the Judiciary event from 3:30-5:45 p.m. on April 6 in Moscow. The keynote speaker is Idaho Supreme Court Justice Robyn Brody who is the newest member of the Idaho Supreme Court and third female to serve. A panel discussion will follow that so far includes U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale and Lewis County Magistrate Judge Vicki Olds. We hope this event will inspire and guide law students in their next steps.
Summary of Idaho Employment Termination Law
Professor Monique C. Lillard has completed her e-book, “Summary of Idaho Employment Termination Law.” She discusses employment at will and constraints in firing, including contract claims, public policy actions, whistleblower protection and discrimination cases. The book is available in e-book format from the Idaho State Bar, and can be ordered online. All proceeds go to the Labor and Employment Section of the bar.
Immigration Outreach
Both locations had full rooms last month when we streamed live the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals oral argument on State of Washington and State of Minnesota vs Trump. It was a great opportunity for students to take what they learn in the classroom and listen as it was applied to this oral argument.
The University of Idaho College of Law Legal Aid Clinic and the Multicultural Law Caucus hosted a panel discussion examining immigration law and issues facing immigrants under the Trump administration. Associate professor and director of the Immigration Clinic, Kate Evans moderated the panel. Other panelists included Ritchie Eppink, legal director of ACLU of Idaho; Maria Andrade, founder of Andrade Legal; Carolina Silva, student advisor, and Maria Yepez, UndocuQueer representative, of the Crimson Group, a Washington State University organization that supports undocumented students and students protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
The Latino/a Law Caucus in collaboration with the Northwest Justice Project (NJP), and the University of Idaho College of Law’s Immigration Clinic organized the Othello Project which brought legal awareness to the rural community of Othello, Washington on immigration, labor, employment, and housing law in conjunction with food and clothing donations. Over twenty students participated in the all-day event with cash donations totaling over $1,500 and five full vehicles worth of donations going to the community of Othello.
Professor Evans has also been selected to present on immigration law at the Idaho State Bar Annual Meeting that will be held in Moscow this year on July 12 - 14.
Denton Darrington Lecture
We were honored to host along with the Idaho Supreme Court, and the Idaho State Bar and Law Foundation, New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles W. Daniels for the Darrington Lecture. If you missed it, you can still watch it on Idaho Public Television. The lecture addressed criminal justice reform initiatives under discussion in Idaho and nationwide related to pre-trial release and detention decision-making based on risk and the impact these pre-trial decisions have on case disposition, sentencing and public safety. The lecture was well attended in both Moscow and Boise.
Dale Goble Retirement Reception
Dale Goble, University Distinguished Professor and the Margaret Wilson Schimke Distinguished Professor of Law, is retiring at the end of this semester after 35 years at UI College of Law. Please join us at a reception for Professor Goble on April 18 from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. PST at the 1912 Center in Moscow. Please RSVP to join us.
Q & A with American Bar Association President Linda Klein
On March 8 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. MST in Room 313, the College of Law will host the current American Bar Association President, Linda Klein, at the Idaho Law and Justice Learning Center in Boise. In addition to her ABA work, President Klein is a senior managing shareholder at Baker Donelson and focuses her practice on business dispute resolution (including in areas of contract law, employment law, and professional liability). I’m excited to introduce President Klein and am delighted our students will have this opportunity. Professor Wendy Couture will moderate the Q & A. Attendees in Moscow can view the talk from the Courtroom at 12:30 p.m. PST and we will have someone available to communicate questions to the moderator in Boise.
Have a great March,
Mark Adams
Dean
University of Idaho College of Law
Upcoming Events
2017 Spring Break
March 13-17
Spring Law Advisory Council Meeting
April 21, 2017
Boise, Idaho
Idaho Law and Justice Learning Center