First Monday - August 7, 2006

In this issue:

• Bellwood Programs to Focus on National Security Issues
• Menard Law Building Gets a Functional Facelift
• College Welcomes New Faculty

Bellwood Programs to Focus on National Security Issues

The 2006 Sherman J. Bellwood Memorial Lecture and two related panel discussions will examine the legal dimensions of national security in an age of international terrorism. The Bellwood Lecture, to be held on Thursday afternoon, October 12, will feature a dialogue between two former United States Senators: Gary Hart of Colorado and Alan Simpson of Wyoming. Their dialogue, entitled “National Security and the Constitution,” will be moderated by UI law professor and associate dean Richard Seamon.

Senator Hart, a Democrat, served from 1975 to 1987 in the Senate, where he was a member of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities ("Church Committee"). He later co-chaired the U.S. Commission on National Security for the 21st Century (a bipartisan commission chartered by the Department of Defense) and the Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on Homeland Security. He holds the Wirth Chair in the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado/Denver.

Senator Simpson, a Republican, served from 1979 to 1997 in the Senate, where he was the party whip and chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs as well as the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration. He has served as a visiting lecturer at the Shorenstein Center in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and as the director of the Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics. He is a member of the American Battle Monuments Commission and a visiting lecturer in political science at the University of Wyoming.

The Bellwood Lecture will be preceded by two scholarly panel discussions addressing related issues of national security and the law.

The first panel, on Wednesday afternoon, October 11, will discuss “Democracy and National Security: Contemporary Issues.” The panel will include Senator Simpson; Idaho State University professor of political science David Adler; UI law faculty members Elizabeth Brandt (associate dean), Russell Miller, Monica Schurtman, and Alan Williams; and UI law library faculty member Michael Greenlee.

The second panel, on Thursday morning, October 12, will discuss “The Idaho Connection: The Church Committee and Its Relevance Today,” focusing on the Select Committee chaired by the late Senator Frank Church of Idaho. The panel will include Senator Hart; Katherine Aiken, professor of history and dean of the UI College of Letters, Arts & Social Sciences; LeRoy Ashby, professor of history at Washington State University; Loch Johnson, professor of public and international affairs at the University of Georgia; UI law professor Russell Miller; and attorney Frederick A. O. Schwarz, Jr., affiliated with the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.

Further information about the 2006 Bellwood Lecture and panel discussions may be obtained from Dean Burnett (dburnett@uidaho.edu).

Menard Law Building Gets a Functional Facelift

Known to many older alumni and friends as the “new” College of Law, the Menard Law Building, constructed in 1972-73, is now undergoing renovation to improve student services, the law library, and the legal aid clinic. The offices of admissions, career services and academic support are being consolidated into a new professional suite that will be “open for business” in August. During August and September, a new ceiling, new lighting, and new carpet will be installed in the first level of the law library, creating a quiet and more attractive study atmosphere. Later in the fall, the clinic space will be expanded and improved in order to enhance the professional work setting of our clinical faculty and students. In order to accommodate the clinic expansion, the law review offices have been moved to newly remodeled space on the building’s top floor.

Classrooms and the courtroom are receiving attention as well. Students arriving in August will notice that entirely new seating has been installed in the major classrooms. During the 2006-07 academic year and the following summer, the College will undertake renovations necessary to install state-of-the art instructional technology in the major classrooms. The courtroom, already one of the most attractive facilities of its kind in legal education, will receive trial and appellate-related technology together with other improvements fulfilling the recommendations of a “Courtroom 21” national consultant.

Further information about these renovation projects may be obtained from Professor Richard Seamon, Associate Dean for Administration and Students (richard@uidaho.edu), or from Dean Burnett (dburnett@uidaho.edu).

College Welcomes New Faculty

As noted previously in “First Monday,” the College has proudly announced – and is now pleased to welcome -- two new associate professors: Michael Satz, who will teach commercial law subjects, and Alan Williams, who will teach litigation-related subjects. Their academic background and professional experience are set forth at the faculty page of the College website.

The College also is pleased to announce the appointment and arrival of our new legal research and writing instructor, Mark Friendshuh. Mark received his J.D. degree from the University of Washington in 2001, worked in the office of legal counsel at Boise Cascade Corporation until 2004, and practiced law in Coeur d’Alene before accepting the College’s offer to join the faculty in 2006-07. Mark will work with legal research and writing instructors Deborah McIntosh and Laurie O’Neal in developing our students’ skills in legal analysis and effective communication.

Further information about the new faculty may be obtained from Professor Elizabeth Brandt, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (ebrandt@uidaho.edu), or from Dean Burnett (dburnett@uidaho.edu).