First Monday - December 1, 2003

In this issue:

• Professor Retires, Takes on New Challenge
• Associate Dean Helps Write International Law on Electronic Commerce
• Professor Puts Idaho on Map of European Union Law
• Law Library Reaches New Threshold
• Students Hear from Nationally Renowned Civil Rights Lawyer

Professor Retires, Takes on New Challenge

Professor Neil Franklin, who has served with distinction for a quarter-century as a professor, associate dean and acting dean, recently announced that this would be his last academic year. Those familiar with Neil never expected him to settle into a sedentary retirement, however. Consequently, they were not surprised when Neil further announced that he will spend his next two years in Cambodia, under sponsorship of USAID and the ABA, working to create a legal infrastructure for protection of human rights. Undertaking this challenge in the country once known for its "killing fields" is just another example of Neil's willingness to take risks for a good cause. Twenty-five years ago, he left a salaried job to start the College's legal aid clinic on grant funding that could evaporate at any time. After he succeeded in making the clinic a permanent part of the College of Law, he assisted legal reformers in South Africa -- at a time when legal reform still could be hazardous to one's health -- in establishing clinical programs at racially integrated law schools. He later provided similar assistance to the war-torn Balkan countries, focusing especially upon Macedonia. Neil's contributions to legal education and to the legal profession in Idaho were lauded and recounted last month at a farewell-but-not-goodbye dinner in Moscow. In addition to faculty and professional colleagues from the University of Idaho and elsewhere, the event attracted the Commissioners of the Idaho State Bar. At the conclusion of his Cambodian project, Neil is expected to return to Idaho and to enjoy emeritus status on the faculty.

Associate Dean Helps Write International Law on Electronic Commerce

Professor and Associate Dean Ben Beard has been appointed by the ABA as a representative to the Working Group on Electronic Commerce of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. Dean Beard participated in the Working Group's meeting on November 17-21 in Vienna, Austria. The Working Group, which meets each year at U.N. headquarters in New York City and at the U.N. complex in Vienna, is comprised of delegates from approximately 25 member states, 25 observer states and 10 observer organizations. The Working Group is preparing a draft Convention on Electronic Contracting, a document that proponents hope will lead to a treaty validating and effectuating the use of electronic media in the formation and performance of international contracts for the sale and provision of goods and services. Although many countries, including the United States, have domestic legislation validating electronic commerce, an international treaty would provide a framework for additional countries to enact their own enabling legislation. Further information is available from Dean Beard at beardb@uidaho.edu.

Professor Puts Idaho on Map of European Union Law

When not teaching constitutional law, criminal procedure, or international law to his students at the University of Idaho, Professor Russell Miller is busy publishing one of the preeminent journals on European Union law. His German Law Journal has attracted wide international readership, largely because of the German Federal Constitutional Court's ascendancy on issues of constitutional law and jurisprudence. The Journal covers subjects ranging from international trade law to the law governing transnational armed conflict. Professor Miller produces the on-line journal from his office in Moscow, utilizing the assistance of Idaho law students, in collaboration with Dr. Peer Zumbansen of the Institute of Commercial Law at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University in Frankfurt (Main), Germany. An Idaho native, Professor Miller joined the College of Law faculty in 2002, after spending a year as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute and serving as legal advisor and translator for the German Federal Constitutional Court. For more information about the Journal, contact Professor Miller at ramiller@uidaho.edu. To see the Journal itself, visit the German Law Journal Website.

Law Library Reaches New Threshold

Each fall, the ABA conducts a survey of key elements of the educational programs and facilities at accredited law schools. This year's survey, completed by Professor and Law Library Director John Hasko, shows that the University of Idaho Law Library has reached a milestone of 200,000 volumes or "volume equivalents" (mostly microfiche). The exact number, 200,322, represents an 18% increase over the library's collection in 1997 of 169,770 volumes and equivalents. Even more remarkable has been the growth of titles in the collection, which have increased 34%, from 24,179 to 32,382, during the same period. These increases reflect a prioritized investment in the law library, despite difficult fiscal times. The library's collection budget has risen from $365,804 in 1997 to $659,385 in 2003. Additional information is available from Professor Hasko at jhasko@uidaho.edu.

Students Hear from Nationally Renowned Civil Rights Lawyer

Alvin Bronstein, whose five-decade legal career includes representing civil rights workers in the deep South during "Freedom Summer" of 1964, came to the College of Law in November as a guest of the Legal Aid Clinic and the student ACLU organization. Bronstein's remarks ranged from historic voting rights cases to current public interest litigation directed at prison reform. Having been appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court in more civil rights appeals than any other American lawyer, Bronstein challenged students to dedicate part of their lives to the representation of powerless people. "I hope each of you will try to be one person who makes a difference," he said. Additional information is available from Visiting Professor Pat Costello at costello@uidaho.edu.