Winter holiday closure

The Justice Center, along with the rest of the UAA campus, will be closed for the winter holiday break starting on Friday, December 23, 2011 due to heavy snow and road conditions. We will reopen for our normal business hours on Wednesday, January 4, 2012.

All of us at the Justice Center wish you a festive holiday season, with all best wishes as we enter a new year.

Justice grad publishes article in journal of American Society of Criminology

G. Matthew Snodgrass, B.A. Justice with Research Honors '06, and currently a Ph.D. candidate in Public Policy and Management at the H. John Heinz III College at Carnegie Mellon University, has co-authored an article, "Does the Time Cause the Crime? An Examination of the Relationship Between Time Served and Reoffending in the Netherlands," which appears in the November 2011 issue of Criminology: An Interdisciplinary Journal, a publication of the American Society of Criminology. The article, which uses a sample of Dutch offenders serving an average of 6.7 months confinement to examine the relationship between time served in prison and future criminality, appears online.

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 Center faculty and staff meet with College of Health Dean

L to r: College of Health Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Russ Pressley, Interim Dean Bill Hogan,
and Associate Dean Susan Kaplan check last minute details before the meeting begins.

Justice Center faculty and staff met with College of Health Interim Dean Bill Hogan, Associate Dean Susan Kaplan, and Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Russ Pressley on December 19 to share information about the Justice Center's mission and accomplishments, and to discuss the new College of Health programs. Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director,  made a presentation highlighting the Center's current projects, research, and publications, and outlining the return on investment made by the Center during the year. The Justice Center is under the newly re-organized College of Health.

Justice Center Director André Rosay and Statistical Analysis Center Director Alan McKelvie listen to comments
by Dean Hogan.

College of Health Interim Dean Bill Hogan discusses transdisciplinary work in the college.

Associate Dean of Student Affairs Russ Pressley outlines the new "one stop shopping" center that will
be set up for academic counseling and advising of  College of Health students.

L to r: Interim Dean Bill Hogan and Justice Center Director André Rosay pause after the meeting.

Dr. Chamard interviewed for tent cities report by National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty and Yale Law School project

Dr. Sharon Chamard, Justice Center faculty, was recently interviewed by Julie Hunter of the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School, for a report about tent cities in the U.S. The report is being done in partnership with the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.

Dr. Sharon Chamard authored a monograph entitled, "Homeless Encampments," for the Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Problem-Specific Guides Series, and was asked to give her perspective on this topic for the upcoming report.

The goal of the report is to document the rise of tent cities in this country since the beginning of the economic downturn and will look at:

• benefits and disadvantages of tent cities, 
• practical obstacles faced by tent city managers and residents, 
• local government responses, and 
• legal and practical resources available to ameliorate and support the situation of tent city residents.

Dr. Chamard's monograph was released as part of the series published by the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice.

The monograph describes the problem of homeless encampments (also known as transient camps) and reviews contributing factors. It identifies a series of questions to help police and other decision-makers analyze their local problems with homeless encampments, and then presents a review of responses to the problem and what is known about them from evaluative research and police practice.

Dr. Rivera represents Justice Center at UA Behavioral Health Alliance meeting

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, represented the Justice Center at the December 2 meeting of the University of Alaska Behavioral Health Alliance.

The Behavioral Health Alliance is a statewide University of Alaska inter-disciplinary task group formed to identify issues concerning behavioral health programs in the UA system, and to work to enhance communication, coordination, and collaboration between and within academic disciplines.  The Alliance works with behavioral health industry providers in seeking ways to meet needs in behavioral health professional education across the state.

The Alliance was formed in 2007 with a focus on "the need to train people in behavioral health occupations where they live."   Among recent accomplishments, the task group has integrated cross-cultural knowledge and understanding across behavioral health disciplines, and increased capacity for effective distance education in behavioral health programs. All 3 major academic units - UAA, UAF, and UAS - rely on distance education to make courses available statewide.

The next meeting will be February 24, 2012 at UAA.

Alaska State Troopers Director Col. Mallard speaks to students about Trooper career opportunities

Alaska State Troopers Director Col. Keith Mallard talks to students about career options.

Col. Keith Mallard, Director of the Alaska State Troopers (AST), spoke to students on December 2 about AST career opportunities and the current need for Village Public Safety Officers (VPSOs) in rural Alaska.  He gave a brief outline of the history of the Troopers in Alaska, and highlighted the variety of sworn and non-sworn positions in the Troopers, including fiscal techs, recruitment, IT techs, Wildlife Troopers, K-9 handler Troopers, VPSOs, and Court Services Officers.

There are 5 Alaska State Troopers detachments statewide.  The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is also under the command of Col. Mallard and encompasses the Major Crimes Unit, the Technical Crimes Unit, the Financial Crimes Unit, and the Statewide Drug Unit.

More information on applying for a position with the Troopers is on their website.

Alaska State Troopers personnel, UAA Justice Center faculty, and Alpha Phi Sigma President pose after the event. L to r back row: Jennifer Gordon, AST Recruitment; Laura Spire, AST Recruitment, Dr. Troy Payne, Justice Club Faculty Advisor.  L to r front row: Dr. Marny Rivera, Alpha Phi Sigma Faculty Advisor; Col. Keith Mallard, Alaska State Troopers Director; Heather MacAlpine, President, Alpha Phi Sigma. Not pictured, Dr. Brad Myrstol, Alpha Phi Sigma  Faculty Advisor and Dr. Jason Brandeis, Justice Club Faculty Advisor.

This event was sponsored by Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society - Omega Xi Chapter, the Justice Club, and UAA Native Student Services. The event was held at the UAA Native Student Services Center.

Steven Barnes, wrongly imprisoned for 20 years, podcast on KSKA Addressing Alaskans

Steven Barnes speaking at UAA to an overflow crowd on November 2, 2011

The November 2, 2011 presentation at UAA by Steven Barnes, wrongfully imprisoned for 20 years, was podcast on December 8 by KSKA Addressing Alaskans.

Mr. Barnes was convicted of rape and murder based on questionable eyewitness identification and evidence in 1989 and was finally exonerated in 2009 through DNA testing obtained by the Innocence Project.

He told the story of his life in prison and his ultimate exoneration at an event cosponsored by the Alaska Innocence Project and the UAA Justice Center.

Dr. Rosay invited to USDOJ Office on Violence against Women Section 904 Task Force Meeting

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, is an invited speaker to the Section 904 Task Force Meeting of the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women scheduled for December 14, 2011 in New Mexico.  Dr. Rosay will provide an overview of the Alaska Victimization Survey and its impact on policy and practice in Alaska.

The Section 904 Task Force was established by Title IX of the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 to assist the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to develop and implement a program of research on violence against Indian women, including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and murder.  The goals of this effort are to evaluate the effectiveness of the Federal, state, and tribal response to violence against Indian women, and to propose recommendations to improve the government response.

The 904 Task Force Meeting is held during the Interdepartmental Tribal Justice, Safety, & Wellness Session on the Santa Ana Pueblo in New Mexico.  This session provides government-to-government consultation, training, and technical assistance in the areas of justice, safety, and wellness.

Last round of mock oral arguments held in Prof. Brandeis' courts and civil liberties class

Prof. Jason Brandeis, J.D., Justice faculty, held the last round of mock trial arguments in his Justice 344 "Courts and Civil Liberties" course on Monday, December 5. A moot court is a mock appellate court proceeding which involves the presentation of oral argument before a panel of judges. Students are divided into teams and prepare arguments for hypothetical cases.  Their arguments are then presented before a panel of  judges (including Prof. Brandeis) composed of lawyer volunteers. All of the volunteer lawyers for this session were from the Alaska Public Defender Agency, Appeals Office: Kelly Taylor, Michael Schwaiger, and Tracey Wollenberg, Supervisor of the Appeals Office.

Front row l to r:: Shawdean Hutchison, Leonee May, volunteer lawyer Tracey Wollenberg, Heather MacAlpine, Kristen Crain Robinson, and Jasen Johansen. Back row l to r: Prof. Jason Brandeis, Spencer Raidme, Michael Batch, volunteer lawyer Kelly Taylor, volunteer lawyer Michael Schwaiger, and Coleman Alguire.

The judges pose questions to the students and evaluate their presentation. The hypothetical cases address such issues as alternative criminal sentencing, the establishment clause (separation of church and state), student free speech rights, second amendment right to bear arms, privacy and technology issues, free speech and political protest, and equal rights and protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Student Heather MacAlpine presents her oral argument.

Student Michael Batch responds to a question from the panel.

L to r: Volunteer lawyers Tracey Wollenberg and Kelly Taylor, Prof. Jason Brandeis, and volunteer lawyer Michael Schwaiger discuss the cases prior to the mock oral arguments.

Forum author interviewed by KSKA about immigrants in Alaska

Antonia Moras, former editor of the Alaska Justice Forum and author of  "Immigrants in Alaska: Authorized and Unauthorized," which appears in the Summer/Fall issue of the Alaska Justice Forum, was interviewed by KSKA's Len Anderson as part of  the station's  "Changing Faces" series.

Ms. Moras' article describes how our immigrant population is lower and place of origin of immigrants differs from other states, and the comparatively few unauthorized immigrants in Alaska .  She also discusses immigration court proceedings and the increasing length of time to adjudicate cases both here and in the rest of the U.S.
 
Listen for the full story:
"State's Immigrant Population Lower than Average" (by Len Anderson, KSKA, December 1, 2011)





The Anchorage Daily News also carried a story about this article:
"Alaska has few than average immigrants, higher percentage Asian" (December 2, 2011)

Alaska State Troopers Director Col. Mallard speaks about Trooper career opps and need for Village Public Safety Officers on Dec 2

Col. Keith Mallard, Director of the  Alaska State Troopers (AST), will discuss AST career opportunities and the current need for Village Public Safety Officers (VPSOs) in rural Alaska on Friday, December 2, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. in Rasmuson Hall 108, Native Student Services Center.  Captain Steven Arlow was originally scheduled to speak, but is unable to attend.

This event is sponsored by Alpha Phi Sigma Honor Society - Omega Xi Chapter, the Justice Club, and UAA Native Student Services.

For more information, call the Justice Center at 786-1810.

2nd round of mock oral arguments in Prof. Brandeis' courts and civil liberties class

Front row l to r: Doanh Tran, Tonia Glen, Joelle Davis, Amber Evans, Rebecca Noblin (volunteer lawyer), Robbin Smith. Back row l to r: Carina Uraiqat (volunteer lawyer), B.J. Lapham, Lauren Nelson, Marika Athens (volunteer lawyer), Phillip Parmenter, Prof. Jason Brandeis.

Prof. Jason Brandeis, J.D., Justice faculty, held the second session of mock trial arguments in his Justice 344 "Courts and Civil Liberties" course on Wednesday, November 30. A moot court is a mock appellate court proceeding which involves the presentation of oral argument before a panel of judges. Students are divided into teams and prepare arguments for hypothetical cases.  Their arguments are then presented before a panel of  judges (including Prof. Brandeis) composed of lawyer volunteers. Rebecca Noblin, Alaska Director, Center for Biological Diversity; Carina Uraiqat, Assistant District Attorney, Alaska Department of Law; and Marika Athens, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals - Special Prosecutions Unit, Alaska Department of Law, participated as judges for this session.

The judges pose questions to the students and evaluate their presentation. The hypothetical cases address such issues as alternative criminal sentencing, the establishment clause (separation of church and state), student free speech rights, second amendment right to bear arms, privacy and technology issues, free speech and political protest, and equal rights and protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Mock oral arguments will continue next week with different lawyer volunteers as judges.

Student Amber Evans presents her argument.

L to r: Prof. Brandeis and volunteer lawyers Marika Athens, Rebecca Noblin, and Carina Uraiqat share some judicial humor before the mock oral arguments begin.