February 2019 - First Monday

Dear Alumni & Friends,

As an integral part of Idaho’s land-grant university, we are committed to fulfilling our mission of providing education, research, and outreach to address Idaho’s needs, whether in our smallest towns or largest cities. As we plan for our future, both for Idaho and Idaho’s College of Law, we must continue to work with Idaho’s business community and state and local governments, as well as the state’s other universities and colleges. Together, we can achieve far more than we might independently, and these relationships will allow us to continue to serve the state and provide an affordable legal education in Moscow and Boise, and throughout the state.

This month’s First Monday is dedicated to some of the work we’ve done recently to fulfill that land-grant mission and, in turn, serve the state of Idaho.

Expanded 3+3 Program Increases Access

On January 7, the College of Law announced a partnership with yet another of Idaho’s four-year institutions, expanding our accelerated law degree program and increasing access to an affordable legal education for Idahoans. Lewis-Clark State College students can now take part in our 3+3 Program under the new agreement. The 3+3 Program allows undergraduate students to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctor in six years instead of seven. Upon completion of an LCSC student’s third year of pre-law study, that student can begin their first year at the U of I College of Law. This fourth year serves simultaneously as their last year of undergraduate studies and their first year of law school.

We’re honored to provide this opportunity to North Idaho residents and students and look forward to welcoming LCSC undergraduates to law school. In addition to our existing partnerships with the largest universities across the state, the new LCSC partnership extends our 3+3 Program to almost all of the bachelor degree-granting institutions in Idaho, including the College of Idaho, Boise State University, Brigham Young University – Idaho, and, of course, the University of Idaho.

Growing Curriculum Serves Idaho's Needs

Agriculture is the largest single contributor to Idaho’s economy, with nearly 25,000 farms and ranches producing over 185 commodities and employing tens of thousands of Idahoans. The law affects every part of an agricultural operation—from commodities contracts to labor and employment to immigration to natural resources management to estate planning and beyond. To help our students prepare for this diverse practice, we have added a new course to the spring semester roster: Food and Agriculture Law, taught by Professor Rich Seamon.

Originally requested by the Agricultural Law Society student organization, “Ag Law” is for students who expect to handle legal matters involving our agricultural community. It introduces them not only to the laws that might be of particular concern to farmers, ranchers, or dairy operators, but also considers how those laws might apply differently in an agricultural context. Our students will learn about, for example, laws regulating animal welfare on farms or dairies, laws regulating pesticides, and laws authorizing grazing of livestock on public lands.

Agricultural Law is not the only new addition to our curriculum. A great benefit of our location in Boise is our proximity to the cathedrals of Idaho law. Students who join the Dean for Frisbee Friday might see their errant throws land on the lawns of the Idaho State Capitol or Idaho Supreme Court, or bounce off the front door of the Idaho State Bar (which I’ve been assured will not affect their character and fitness evaluation). Our ability to simply walk across the street and meet with lawmakers creates the perfect opportunity to educate Idaho’s next generation of lawyers and advocates on the operations of the Idaho Legislature.

Team taught by Professors Katie Ball, Kristina Running, and Stephen Miller, and supplemented by guest lecturers, Introduction to the Idaho Legislature is a new course focused on the inner workings of the Idaho Legislature. The course moves beyond the basic understanding of the legislative process and procedure, and the other factors that contribute to the enactment or rejection of a bill, and provides the students a more in-depth look at how and why laws are enacted. It includes not only the finer details of Idaho’s legislative processes, but also the larger political dynamics and internal and external factors and forces that might affect the current legislative session.

Darrington Lecture Topic Engages All Citizens

The one factor that perhaps best defines the land-grant university is our obligation to engage in outreach to the community, to share the knowledge, expertise, and new discoveries of the faculty and students with the people who can put those ideas to work. At the College of Law, we take our obligations to the state seriously, working hard to help further society’s understanding of, and commitment to, justice and the rule of law. The annual Denton Darrington Lecture on Law and Government is a prime example. The Darrington Lecture, co-sponsored with the Idaho Supreme Court and the Idaho State Bar and Law Foundation, invites speakers to address Idaho’s citizens, students, and officials from all three branches of government on a wide range of topics related to the improved administration of justice.

This year, Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice, and former Florida state and U.S. representative, Charles Canady will give the lecture “Civility, Humility, and Interbranch Relations.” Justice Canady describes the lecture as follows:

“Interbranch comity flows from interbranch understanding. Whenever one branch lacks an awareness and appreciation of the needs and challenges confronting another branch, the door is opened to a rupture in civility among the branches. Although each branch must act vigilantly to vindicate its own interests, that must always be done with due regard for the legitimate institutional interests of the other branches.”

The lecture begins at 5 p.m. Mountain time at the Lincoln Auditorium in the Idaho State Capitol. For those who are unable to attend the lecture in Boise, it will also be broadcast live by Idaho Public Television, and the U of I College of Law will host a livestream viewing at 4 p.m. Pacific time in the Menard Building courtroom in Moscow.

Either live in Boise or livestreamed in Moscow, we’d love to see you there!

Thank you all for your continued support of the College of Law. And thank you for the work you do to help us continue the Idaho tradition of producing lawyers who are problem solvers, who believe that collegiality and zealous advocacy can co-exist, and who know that we should all aspire to be good people as well as good lawyers.

Sincerely,

Jerrold A. Long
Dean
College of Law

Upcoming Events

Darrington Lecture
5 p.m. MT
February 27, 2019
Lincoln Auditorium, Boise

Bringing History to Life: Creating the U.S. Constitution
5:15 – 7 p.m. MT
February 28, 2019
Lincoln Auditorium, Boise

Idaho Critical Legal Studies Symposium
March 29, 2019
TBD – Boise

Idaho Law Review Symposium
April 5, 2019
University of Idaho Boise
322 E. Front Street
Legacy Point Room
 
Law Advisory Council Meeting
April 26, 2019
Idaho Law Justice & Learning Center
Boise