September 1st 2004 • Printer version

Weekly News and Events of the University of Oregon School of Law

 

LIFE@LAW June, 2004

THIS MONTH:  Law Faculty Hits the High Notes Tops in Teaching, Service and Scholarship;Portland AALS Meeting Ends with Columbia Treaty Rights Tour, Domestic Violence and Oregon Law, Same Sex Marriage CLE

Wednesday, June 2 University Libraries Book Sale

Week of June 13-18 PORTLAND : AALS Mid-Year Meeting

Three professional development programs on racial justice, environmental law and property law will be offered at the Association of American Law Schools midyear meeting in Portland . The law school will host a Wednesday evening reception and the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program will lead a one-day field trip along the Columbia River on Saturday.

CONFERENCE WEBSITE: http://aalsweb.aals.org/midyear2004/index.html

Wednesday, June 16 LAW SCHOOL RECEPTION: AALS Portland Meeting

5:15 P.M.-7:00 P.M., Hilton Portland & Executive Tower Hotel, 921 SW Sixth Ave. Join AALS mid-year meeting attendees and faculty at a reception hosted by the law school. INFO:

mailto:mroberts@law.uoregon.edu

Thursday, June 17 CLE: Same Sex Marriage in Oregon and Elsewhere

9:00 A.M. Noon, Oregon Convention Center ,

. UO law professors Garrett Epps and Leslie Harris will discuss the constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage, the federal Defense of Marriage Act, and will compare the laws in other states and nations at 10:30 A.M. as part of this Oregon State Bar CLE. INFO: 800-452-8260.

Saturday, June 19 Columbia River Treaty Rights Educational Tour

At the end of the AALS meeting, the law schoolís Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program will lead a one-day field trip following the Lewis and Clark expedition along the Columbia River . They will focus on native interpretations of that journey and on the treaty rights held by Columbia River basin tribes. Up to 50 lawyers, judges and law professors will visit Woodís Landing, Fort Raines , Lyle Point , and The Dalles ending with a salmon dinner at the Celilo Falls Longhouse. Led by UO law professors Richard Hildreth and Mary Wood and featuring speakers from a number of Oregon tribes, commissions and agencies. Planned in cooperation with Oregon Inter-tribal Fish Commission. INFO: mailto:jmanton@law.uoregon.edu.

NEWS

 

THE TRIFECTA

 

Teaching, Scholarship and Service: The law faculty hit the trifecta this spring, winning top recognition in all three areas. Assistant Professor Michael Moffitt won the UOís highest award for teaching, Professor Ibrahim Gassama received a top UO award for his international human rights work, Assistant Professor Robert Tsai was selected for one of the most prestigious national law scholarship forums, and UO law librarian Dennis Hyatt received the Wayne Westling Award for leadership and service.

A SHIELD NOT A SWORD

The Eugene Register-Guard called it a local epidemic a spate of brutal crimes linked to domestic violence. Law professor Tom Lininger, acting chair of the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, believes Oregon law is partly at fault because it makes it difficult for victims to testify safely when threatened by their abusers.

When batterers threaten retaliation if their victims testify, many victims decline to assist the government at all, he said. The Supreme Court's recent decision in Crawford v. Washington excluding certain out-of court statements in criminal trials -heightens the importance of in-court testimony by victims of domestic violence. We need to make clear that batterers cannot escape punishment by silencing their victims.

He uses the last Februaryís murder of Springfield resident Paula Benitez as an example: Her ex-husband murdered her during a lunch break when she was testifying against him at his sentencing hearing. This example shows that victims of domestic violence sometimes suffer reprisals when they testify against their abusers in court.

Lininger will testify in Salem at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, June 9 before the Legislatureís Interim Judiciary Committee on a proposal to revise Oregon 's hearsay rules to allow the use of victims' statements in certain prosecutions of domestic violence and child abuse.

The Sixth Amendment should be a shield, not a sword, Lininger says. Oregon needs an evidence code that strikes a proper balance between the protection of defendant's rights and the effective prosecution of criminals.

KUDOS

 

OREGON LAW REVIEW SALUTES NANCY FARMER

 

Nancy Farmer, who retires this month after 20 years at the law school, will not be forgotten by the budding law review editors whose help and solace she has been. Assistant dean Jamie Moffitt writes, At the 2004 Oregon Law Review banquet, it was announced that the OLR Distinguished Service Award had been renamed the Nancy Farmer Distinguished Service Award. This is a great tribute to the work and dedication of our law journals office manager. Farmer said in last winterís Oregon Lawyer, Iím lucky I didnít miss out on a great job! UO law students are lucky they didnít miss out on Nancy .

RULES TO LIVE BY

 

Just before school ended, Kurt Hansen 84 from Schwabe and Anne Foster 99 from Dunn Carney gave excellent advice to about 20 students such good advice itís worth repeating here. The following is gleaned from their experience of working with law clerks who did NOT receive offers or recommendations: Itís easier to make a good first impression than recover from a bad one; review LRW before your first day on the job; ask careful, detailed questions about your assignments before you leave the attorneyís office; meet deadlines; think (cutting and pasting from Westlaw is not thinking); be dependable; take pride in your work (edit! edit! edit!); arrive by 9 a.m. and donít leave before 6 p.m.; make an effort to talk to everyone at the firm; even when youíre at dinner or a cocktail party act professional; andif youíre not sure ask!

COMING UP

 

Thursday, July 1 Time to Buy Your Laptops!

New students IT Director Dennis Bishop welcomes you to a friendly and tight-knit community with superior technology support. Nowís the time to purchase your laptop package through the law schoolís technology department. Why now and not sooner? Because you want your three-year warranty to last through the bar exam (Yes, that day will come.) INFO: mailto:dbishop@law.uoregon.edu.

Tuesday, July 20 DEDICATION: Pierre Daura Gift

11:00 A.M., Third-floor reception area. Knight Law Center . Dedication of a gift of oil, watercolors and engravings by 20^th century Catalan-American expressionist painter Pierre Daura. They were donated by former faculty member Tom Mapp and Martha Daura in memory of the late Chapin Clark, former law school dean and longtime professor of law. A number of the paintings will be on permanent display at the law school. Invited guests will lunch with Martha Daura and University President Dave Frohnmayer in the Lewis Lounge after the ceremony. INFO: mailto:colleen@law.uoregon.edu .

July 27, 28 and 29 Portland : Bar Examination

Taking the bar exam in July? The law school supports test takers with lunches, chocolate, aspirin and a shoulder to cry on says alumni relations director Connie Tapp. All events at the Holiday Inn-Portland Airport. Tuesday lunch: 12:35 P.M.-1:50 P.M. Wednesday lunch: Noon-1:45 P.M.

Thursday celebration reception and party: 5:00 P.M.-6:30 P.M. INFO: mailto:ctapp@law.uoregon.edu