Justice lecture with George Mason University Prof. Jon Gould

Prof. Jon Gould, Director of the Center for Justice, Law and Society at George Mason University, spoke to a packed room of UAA students and the public about "Studying Racial Fairness in the Civil Justice System" on November 18 at the UAA campus.

Prof. Deb Periman, Justice faculty, opened the program and introduced Alaska Supreme Court Justice Dan Winfree, Co-chair of the Court's Fairness & Access Initiatives Committee. Justice Winfree addressed the group briefly and then turned the program over to Prof. Gould. Prof. Gould discussed the data on racial fairness that is currently available, his research for several courts, various research models, and he outlined the areas requiring further investigation. The event closed with a lively question and answer session with the audience.

The program was sponsored by the Alaska Bar Association, the Alaska Supreme Court's Fairness & Access Initiatives Committee, and the UAA Justice Center.

Pictured: Prof. Gould addressing the attendees.

Photo by Barbara Hood, Alaska Court System.

Dr. Chamard assists with community conversations about homelessness

Dr. Sharon Chamard, Justice Center faculty, will be assisting on a project funded by the Alaska Humanities Forum called “Strengthening Community through Conversation: Difficult Dialogues about Homelessness in Anchorage.” Dr. Susan Bomalaski, the Executive Director of Catholic Social Services, will lead the project which entails convening a series of five community dialogues around the issue of homelessness in Anchorage.

Dr. Chamard’s role, as the Humanities Scholar, will be to identify and invite prospective participants from the community, and review the questions that will be asked at the dialogues.

The goals of the project are to “honor the human connection, create a community where all are valued, and provide a forum where people with divergent views are given the opportunity to move towards seeing the ‘Other’ as self.”

The project will begin in 2011 and continue through the year. A final report will be issued which includes a compilation of survey results from the participants in the five dialogues. The events for this project are planned to be held on the UAA Campus.

Justice Center exhibits at recent Majors Fair

The Justice Center participated in the UAA Majors Fair held November 15, 2010 in the Student Union. The sponsor of the event, the Advising & Testing Center, reported that nearly 200 students visited the 35 different UAA colleges and departments providing information on various majors.

Pictured at the event (left to right) are Justice faculty member Dr. Brad Myrstol and student Andrew Haines.

Prof. Brandeis speaks to Anchorage young lawyers

Prof. Jason Brandeis, Justice faculty, was a panel member for the Anchorage Bar Association Young Lawyers Section November 2, 2010 meeting on utilizing a law degree in non-traditional ways.

A panel of attorneys engaged in work other than private or public law practice discussed the variety of career paths open to holders of a J.D. degree. Prof. Brandeis outlined the opportunities for an attorney in an academic environment.

Dr. Rosay presents to district attorneys conference

Dr. André Rosay of the Justice Center presented the results of the Alaska Victimization Survey to the Alaska District Attorneys Conference in Anchorage in early October. District Attorneys from each of the four state judicial districts and Assistant Attorneys General from the Department of Law were in attendance.

The data from the Victimization Survey includes lifetime and past year measures on the number of adult women in Alaska who experienced intimate partner violence and sexual violence.

Justice lectures with George Mason University Prof. Jon Gould

Prof. Jon Gould, Director of the Center for Justice, Law and Society at George Mason University, presents two free justice lectures in Anchorage.

On Thursday, November 18 at UAA in Social Sciences Building Room 118, Prof. Gould presents "Studying Racial Fairness in the Civil Justice System" from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

"Diversifying State Courts" will be the topic of his lecture on November 19 from 12:00 noon - 1:30 p.m. at the Snowden Training Center, 820 W. 4th Avenue. This program is a brown bag lunch.

These events are sponsored by the Alaska Bar Association, the Alaska Supreme Court's Fairness & Access Initiatives Committee, and the UAA Justice Center.

For more information contact Prof. Deb Periman at 786-1125.

Prof. Periman announces Diversity Committee film showing

Prof. Deb Periman, Justice faculty and chair of the College of Health and Social Welfare (CHSW) Diversity Committee announces the Committee's annual movie night event on Friday, November 12, from 5:00-7:00 in RH 101. The film, "Amreeka,"will be shown, followed by discussion. Admission is free and snacks will be provided.

"Amreeka" is the story of a Palestinian single mom and her teenage son who leave their country and move to the U.S. in an attempt to escape their life of oppression. However, instead of escape, they find themselves greatly affected by the war on Iraq.

Justice Center welcomes new affiliate faculty member – Dr. Darryl Wood

Dr. Darryl Wood, Assistant Professor in the Criminal Justice Department at Washington State University Vancouver, has recently been appointed an affiliate faculty member of the Justice Center. He served on the Justice Center faculty from 1995 to 2007 prior to his move to Washington, and he has been co-author of a number of Justice Center research reports and Alaska Justice Forum articles. While at the Justice Center, he completed the first comprehensive study of turnover in the Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) program in the largely Alaska Native villages of rural Alaska.

Dr. Wood has conducted research both at the Justice Center and at Washington State University Vancouver on alcohol consumption and prohibition, crime, and policing in the indigenous communities of Alaska and the Canadian Arctic, and on violence against women in rural and urban Alaska. He received his Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University.

Women in Law Enforcement Recruitment Fair a great success

Mary Dombroski talks with U.S. Customs &
Border Protection Chief Officer Kymberly Fernandez.

The October 27, 2010 Women in Law Enforcement Recruitment Fair sponsored by the Women Police of Alaska (WPA) attracted numerous UAA students and non-students interested in law enforcement career opportunities. Women, and also a number of men, attended the fair to talk to federal and state law enforcement agency representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI, U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Alaska Air National Guard Security Forces, Fairbanks Police Department, Alaska State Troopers, University Police Department, and the Women Police of Alaska.

The event was presented with the support of the Alaska State Troopers, the Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police, and the UAA Justice Center.

Anchorage Police Department Detective Michele Logan (left), President of the Women Police of Alaska (WPA), and Maxine Andrews, Program Manager for the Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police, and WPA web master.

Zahkia Jones and Moria Washington discuss career options with Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Maurice Hughes

Prof. Brandeis lectures via Skype to Brooklyn high school class

Prof. Jason Brandeis, Justice faculty, was invited to lecture on free speech and the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case via Skype to a Brooklyn, New York high school class on October 8, 2010. City Polytechnic High School teacher Allegra Felter knew that Prof. Brandeis had been one of the attorneys who represented Joseph Frederick in Morse v. Frederick, a student free speech case argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2007. Frederick was a student at Juneau-Douglas High School in Juneau.

Ms. Felter contacted Prof. Brandeis and arranged for him to speak to her class of 55 students via Skype. Students were very curious about the case and asked a number of questions. They were excited to interact and find out more about this pivotal free expression case, especially because it concerns the rights of students in schools. Prof. Brandeis hopes to continue this kind of technology outreach to high school students about constitutional and other legal issues.

Pictured above left: City Polytechnic High School students ask questions of Prof. Brandeis on the screen.

Dr. Rosay awarded contract from Office of the Governor

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, was recently awarded a contract from the Office of the Governor to provide research services to support the Governor’s Initiative to end the epidemic of domestic violence and sexual assault in Alaska. Dr. Rosay will partner with the Office of the Governor and the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault to establish baselines in case outcomes and recidivism.

In addition, he will build research and evaluation capacity to monitor the effectiveness of the Initiative. During this contract period of fall 2010, Dr. Rosay will still be employed by UAA, but Dr. Allan Barnes will serve as Acting Director for the Justice Center.

Justice faculty speak at 2010 American Society of Criminology conference

Justice faculty will be presenting on several topics at the 2010 American Society of Criminology conference in San Francisco November 17-20.

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, is presenting a poster session describing the "Alaska Victimization Survey: From Research to Policy and Practice" on November 18.

Dr. Rivera is also participating in a thematic panel session on November 17 and presenting her paper on "Promoting Reunification through Family Focused Collaborative Treatment Services and System Change" related to the Permanency Project offered in southern Oregon.

Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty, will discuss his paper, "Does Changing Ownership Change Crime? An Analysis of Apartment Ownership and Crime in Cincinnati"on November 19. He will present a poster session, "Section 8 Housing and Crime: Screwed or Skewed?" with his co-authors from the University of Cincinnati School of Criminal Justice on November 18.

The American Society of Criminology is an international organization whose members pursue scholarly, scientific, and professional knowledge concerning the measurement, etiology, consequences, prevention, control, and treatment of crime and delinquency.

Justice Club bake sale raises funds for projects

The Justice Club bake sale fund-raiser held October 28, 2010 brought in money for club projects including shuttle bus transportation for field trips to correctional facilities and other justice agencies. Home-baked and retail goodies were available for purchase.

Pictured left to right in the spirit of Halloween are Kristen Doughty, president, in orange prison garb and Rae Posey, vice-president, in police attire. Also pictured is student-customer, Rebecca Coolidge.

Prof. Periman presents to paralegals

Prof. Deb Periman, Justice faculty, recently made two presentations to paralegal groups. She addressed Alaska Department of Law paralegals at an in-house staff development program on October 8, 2010 on the topic of legal citations and common mistakes in legal writing. On October 22, 2010, Prof. Periman discussed legal writing and grammar at a workshop for the Alaska Association of Paralegals.

Prof. Brandeis interviewed for UA Press book, "Bong Hits 4 Jesus"

Prof. Jason Brandeis, Justice faculty, was interviewed for the recently published University of Alaska Press book, "Bong Hits 4 Jesus: A Perfect Constitutional Storm in Alaska's Capital." Author James C. Foster consulted with Prof. Brandeis, who was one of the attorneys who represented Joseph Frederick in Morse v. Frederick, a student free speech case argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in 2007.

Dr. Myrstol completes Northwest Arkansas Community Survey

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Justice faculty, recently completed the Northwest Arkansas Community Survey 2010: Final Report for the University of Arkansas Community and Family Institute. This report is part of the ongoing Northwest Arkansas Community Indicators Project which Dr. Myrstol participated in while a faculty member of the University of Arkansas. The 2010 report was a collaborative effort between the University of Arkansas Community and Family Institute and the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center.