First Monday - February 7, 2011

In this issue:

• Third-Year Program in Boise Receives Confirmation from American Bar Association
• Plans Move Ahead for Integrated Management of State Law Library
• Native American Law Conference in Moscow Will Focus on Economic Development

Third-Year Program in Boise Receives Confirmation from American Bar Association

As reported previously in “First Monday,” the third-year program in Boise was thoroughly reviewed by the ABA before the program commenced operation in August, 2010. The review process -- known as “acquiescence” because it relates to a major programmatic change at a law school already approved by the ABA -- included a site inspection in Idaho and a detailed report to the ABA’s Accreditation Committee. The Committee recommended a grant of acquiescence, and the ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education & Admissions to the Bar concurred, enabling the third-year Boise program to get started at the University of Idaho Boise Center (the “Idaho Water Center” building). Under ABA rules, the program then became subject to a second review and site inspection – this time in order to assure that the pre-acquiescence expectations for the program were being fulfilled. On January 26, 2011, the College of Law received a letter confirming the ABA’s continuing acquiescence.

The letter, which will be posted in its entirety on the College of Law website, states that “[t]he University of Idaho College of Law, by having an increased presence in Boise, has already realized many of the benefits of the major change, having extended its statewide mission; increased its presence in the state’s center of government, commerce, and law; and taken a substantial step towards establishing a planned three-year program in Boise.” Further information about the third-year program can be obtained from Lee Dillion, Associate Dean for Boise Programs.

Plans Move Ahead for Integrated Management of State Law Library

The College of Law and the Idaho Supreme Court are moving forward with plans to integrate the management of the Idaho State Law Library and the College’s library assets in Boise, under a memorandum of agreement. The plans provide for the most frequently used components of the State Law Library collection, currently housed at the Key Bank Building in downtown Boise, to be relocated to space on the fifth floor of the Idaho Water Center contiguous to the third-year program of the College of Law. The relocation is expected to occur during the spring of 2011. At the Water Center location, near the “new” Ada County Courthouse, the College of Law will incorporate the management of the library with administration of the College’s collections in Boise and Moscow. The College will add staff in Boise, including a professional law librarian with both J.D. and Master of Library Science degrees, and will furnish efficient, professional supervision of the integrated library. The College will augment the collection and the operating hours of the library, making it a more useful facility for the legal profession, the courts, and the public. The College also will promote and conduct civic outreach programs from the library.

Ultimately, the collaborative plans of the Supreme Court and the College of Law provide for the integrated library and the College’s legal education program to reside in a permanent home at the historic old Ada County Courthouse, when that building’s renovation as the “Idaho Law Learning Center” is complete. Further information about plans for relocating and improving the State Law Library can be obtained from Professor John Hasko, the College’s Law Library Director.

Native American Law Conference in Moscow Will Focus on Economic Development

On March 25, 2011, the College of Law will conduct its annual Native American Law Conference, addressing issues of economic development in Indian Country. The conference, titled “Reconnecting Economies: Indigenous Networks and Commerce,” will be held at the Menard Law Building in Moscow. Organized by Professor Angelique EagleWoman, the conference will feature speakers from Idaho’s principal tribes as well as Debora Juarez, partner and chair of the tribal practice group at the Williams Kastner law firm in Seattle; Carl Ullman, director of the Water Adjudication Project for the Klamath Tribes of Oregon; and Tonya Gonnella Frichner, North American Regional Representative to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Further information about the conference is available from Professor EagleWoman. A conference brochure and registration information can be found by clicking the link.