Samuel P. Newton

Samuel Newton is a licensed attorney in Colorado, Montana, and Utah. He worked for both prosecuting and public defender organizations in Utah and Montana, where he was involved in trial and appellate advocacy as well as capital defense and post-conviction litigation. Before joining the University of Idaho College of Law, he was a professor of criminal justice at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.

Dr. Newton’s research explores the intersection of the criminal law, civil disobedience, violence, and resistance to law in American history. He is particularly interested in peace studies and the death penalty. In his most recent work, "Towering Rock," soon to be published by Oxford University Press, Dr. Newton uses early nineteenth-century Mormonism as a means to explore the emergence of civil disobedience as an acceptable form of resistance in the American mindset. His work has been cited by courts, media organizations, and respected publications, including the Harvard Law Review, Virginia Law Review, and Alabama Law Review.

Books

• Samuel P. Newton, Towering Rock: Joseph Smith, Mormon Resistance, and the Emergence of Civil Disobedience in Antebellum America, 1827-1844, Oxford University Press (forthcoming).

• 2012     Samuel P. Newton and Teresa L. Welch, Understanding Criminal Evidence: A Case-Method Approach, Wolters Kluwer

Journal Articles

• 2021     Samuel P. Newton, “Getting to Know You: An Expanded Approach to Capital Jury Selection,” Tulane Law Review.

• 2020     Samuel P. Newton, “Kidnapping Reconsidered: Courts’ Merger Tests Do Not Remedy the Inequities Which Developed From Kidnapping’s Sensationalized and Racialized History,” William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal.

• 2018     Samuel P. Newton, “Giving Teeth to State Constitutions: Using History to Argue Utah’s Constitution Affords Greater Protections to Criminal Defendants,” Utah Journal of Criminal Law.

• 2012     Samuel P. Newton, et al., “No Justice in Utah's Justice Courts: Constitutional Issues, Systemic Problems, and the Failure to Protect Defendants in Utah's Infamous Local Courts,” Utah Law Review OnLaw (cited in the Harvard Law Review and Virginia Law Review)

• Faculty Diversity and Human Rights Award, University of Idaho College of Law
• Burton Ellis Research Scholar, University of Idaho College of Law
• Peter E. Heiser Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Idaho College of Law
• Donald L. Burnett Professionalism Leadership Award, University of Idaho College of Law
• Faculty Mentor Award, University of Idaho Alumni Awards for Excellence, University of Idaho
• Jana Elliott Memorial Resource Parents of the Year (“Foster Parents of the Year”), Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and Montana Children’s Trust Fund
• Distinguished Service Award, Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Interviewed, Ryan W. Miller, "Mom of missing Idaho kids and husband seen island hopping,” USA Today.