Justice Center closes for winter break on December 24 at 12 noon

The Justice Center, along with the rest of the UAA campus, will be closed for the winter holiday break starting at 12 noon on Tuesday, December 24, 2013. We will reopen for our normal business hours on Monday, January 6, 2014.

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

Two of our Justice Center staff get in the holiday spirit.

Dr. Lepage's JUST 374 class on courts participates in mock jury selection

At podium: JUST 374 student Tahnee Conte-Seccareccia, acting as
defense attorney, begins her questioning of prospective jurors.

Dr. Cory Lepage's JUST 374 class, The Courts, recently participated in a mock jury selection.  Students playing the role of prosecutors and defense attorneys practiced voir dire - asking questions of potential jurors -  during class.  Students from JUST 110 Intro to Justice classes taught by Dr. Allan Barnes, Dr. Troy Payne, and Dr. Lepage volunteered to play the role of prospective jurors.

Students who were playing the role of lawyers were given a hypothetical domestic violence case two weeks earlier and had to prepare legally permissible questions to ask of each juror.  In this class exercise to demonstrate the voir dire process, attorneys for the prosecution and defense questioned potential jurors, and could request that a potential juror be removed from consideration as a juror for the case.  The questioning of the potential jurors continued until the required number of jurors was selected. Dr. Lepage acted as the judge in the mock jury selection.

At podium: JUST 374 student Joshua Resseguie, acting as the prosecutor,
prepares to question prospective jurors.

Student "jurors" listen to the description of the case.

Dr. Rosay interviewed by Catholic Anchor about high rate of violence against women in Alaska

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, was interviewed by the Catholic Anchor, the newspaper of the Anchorage Archdiocese, regarding data from the Alaska Victimization Survey.

The article, "Amid Alaska's high domestic violence rates Clare House offers hope," by Mary Lochner, appears in the December 2013 issue and was published online November 23, 2013. The piece highlights outreach by the archdiocese to women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

Prof. Fortson's JUST 487 students present mock oral arguments to Alaska Court of Appeals Judge Allard

 Prof. Ryan Fortson, J.D., Justice faculty, held mock oral arguments in his Justice 487 - Trial and Advanced Litigation Processes course on December 11 as the final project of the semester.  Students participated in a  moot court  - a mock appellate court proceeding which involves the presentation of oral argument before a judge or a panel of judges.

L to r: Students Kaeli Braden, Marta Matthews Klingebiel, April Gehring; Alaska Court of Appeals Judge Marjorie Allard; students Lisa Akerelrea, Leslie Erdman; and Prof. Deb Periman, J.D.

Students prepared arguments for two hypothetical cases.  Their arguments were presented before Alaska Court of Appeals Judge Marjorie Allard who rendered a decision after each case was presented.  Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., monitored the students' arguments.

Prior to the oral arguments, students prepared briefs on their cases and submitted them to their opposing counsel team and to Prof. Fortson and Judge Allard. Earlier in the semester, the students also participated in a simulated trial, conducting opening statements, direct and cross examinations, and closing arguments.

Dr. Rosay discusses data collection at Violence Prevention Summit in Juneau

L to r: Michelle DeWitt and Dr. André Rosay at the Summit.

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, and Michelle DeWitt, Executive Director of the Bethel Community Services Foundation, made a presentation on "Introduction to Data Collection" at the  2013 Violence Prevention Summit:  Putting Prevention to Work—Alaskan Communities in Action in Juneau on December 3.

The conference focused on the prevention of domestic and sexual violence.

Click here for the PowerPoint presentation, "Introduction to Data Collection."

The goal of the 2013 Prevention Summit is to support the growth of local community primary prevention work.  Summit topics included:

• Building blocks for prevention
• Assessing capacity for prevention within your agency, coalition and community
• Implementing your prevention efforts
• Evaluation to measure the impact of your work
• Prevention programming currently underway in Alaska

Dr. Myrstol talks to first graders about justice careers and college

L to r: Mrs. Julie Thatch and Dr. Myrstol. Mrs. Thatch
holds one of the Legal Studies gavel pencils that each
student received.

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center Director, recently visited Mrs. Julie Thatch's first grade class at Inlet View Elementary School to talk about UAA, careers in Justice, and why school is important. 

About a dozen first graders enjoyed the UAA green and gold beads and gavel pencils Dr. Myrstol distributed, and listened attentively as he talked about his work as a Justice researcher and what it means.  Students asked questions and were astounded to learn that Dr. Myrstol had been in school for 22 years to earn his Ph.D.

Dr. Myrstol stressed the importance of school and going to college, explained the difference between a Ph.D., M.D., and J.D., and described Nanooks and Seawolves.  The children are looking forward to his return - he promised that on his next visit he would teach them the Seawolf Howl. Dr. Myrstol's son is a member of Mrs. Thatch's class.


This community outreach to students in the Anchorage School District helps to underscore the importance of a college education and career choices, and acquaints students with the opportunities at UAA.

Prof. Periman joins colleagues in presenting on mindfulness in higher education

Dr. Elizabeth Predeger, School of Nursing; Dr. Mary Dallas Allen, School of Social Work; and Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Justice faculty, co-presented a session titled "Mindfulness in Higher Education?" on Friday, November 15, 2013 for the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE).

Faculty are on a treadmill of constant activity---with meetings to attend, papers to read (write), rubrics to create, courses to develop, curriculum to revise, and scholarship projects to complete. Is there time for contemplation as well?

Dr. Predeger, Dr.  Allen, and Prof. Periman facilitated a dialogue on how to integrate mindfulness into higher education and provided evidence-based resources on mindfulness and cognition.

Video of press conference on Officer-Involved Shootings report

The UAA Justice Center and the Anchorage Police Department (APD)  released a report, Officer-Involved Shootings in Anchorage 1993-2013, at a joint press conference held December 11 on the UAA campus. The report was authored by Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty.

See the video of the press conference below.

Our earlier blog post has more information about the report, which can be read here.

Media stories on the report include:

• "Study Investigates Two Decades of APD Officer-Involved Shootings" (audio included) by Daysha Eaton.  KSKA-FM Anchorage Public Radio, 11 Dec 2013.
• "With 45 Anchorage Police Shootings in Two Decades, Researchers Crunch the Numbers"  by Casey Grove.  Anchorage Daily News, 11 Dec 2013. 
• "UAA Justice Center Study Looks for Answers Behind Police Shootings" by Suzanna Caldwell.  Alaska Dispatch, 11 Dec 2013.
• "UAA Study Examines Officer-Involved Shootings: In 45 Cases in the Past Two Decades, Every Suspect Had a Weapon; 40 Percent of the Time It Was a Vehicle" (video included) by Heather Hintze.  KTVA Channel 11 News, 11 Dec 2013. 
• "Police Shootings Usually Preceded by Driving, Threats: In 40 Percent of Anchorage Police-Involved Shootings, Car Was the Weapon Used"  by Dan Carpenter.  KTUU Channel 2 News, 11 Dec 2013.
• "UAA Study of Anchorage Police Shootings Released"  by the Associated Press. SeattlePI.com, 12 Dec 2013. This AP story has also been published by the San Francisco Chronicle, Beaumont  Enterprise (TX), GreenwichTime.com (CT), and Franklin Daily Journal (IN).

Contacts
 Dr. Troy Payne, UAA Justice Center, 786-1816  or tpayne9@uaa.alaska.edu
Jennifer Castro, APD, 786-8571 or  jcastro@muni.org

Justice Center and Anchorage Police Dept release report on officer-involved shootings

The UAA Justice Center and the Anchorage Police Department (APD) have released a report, Officer-Involved Shootings in Anchorage 1993-2013. The report was released today, December 11, at a joint press conference held on the UAA campus. The report was authored by Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty.

The report is part of a cooperative project with the UAA Justice Center and the Anchorage Municipal Attorney's Office.  The project began in July and includes the creation of a database cataloging officer-involved shootings for the past 20 years in Anchorage.

Purpose
The purpose of the project is three-fold. First, to identify and understand the important characteristics and trends, so that APD can implement properly focused strategies and techniques to avoid the use of lethal force when possible, but still effectively protect the public. Second, to educate community leaders about APD’s history with these particular events, and build a strong working relationship with them and policymakers to find effective ways to reduce criminal behaviors that lead to violent interactions with police. Third, to be sure that APD meets the local community’s expectations for safety and trust in the police department. Transparent, open access to the data will help meet this goal. It is anticipated that the project will be ongoing with the Justice Center regularly reporting and analyzing data.

The Report
This report describes situational, officer, and citizen characteristics of the 45 officer-involved shootings in Anchorage for the period 1 Jan 1993 through 11 May 2013 as recorded in Anchorage Police Department criminal investigation files. An “officer-involved shooting” is defined as an incident in which a sworn employee of the Anchorage Police Department purposefully discharged a firearm at a human being.

Data for this report was derived from investigation case files produced by the Anchorage Police Department at the time of the incident. The report has three limitations:
1. The data can be used to describe, but not to explain, officer-involved shootings;
2. The data reflect the views of officers involved or near the scene of the shooting,
with no independent investigation completed by project staff for this report;
3. The report describes rare events, the patterns of which are difficult (or impossible)
to distinguish from random chance.

The report is intended to provide an overall picture of the officer-involved shootings during the past two decades. While it cannot explain such events given the limitations of the data source, there is no other comprehensive source of aggregate officer-involved shooting data in Anchorage. This report is therefore a first step toward a better understanding of officer use of force in Anchorage.

Contacts
 Dr. Troy Payne, UAA Justice Center, 786-1816  or tpayne9@uaa.alaska.edu
Jennifer Castro, APD, 786-8571 or  jcastro@muni.org

A link to the video of the press conference will be provided shortly.

Justice Center and Anchorage Police Dept press conference, December 11, re APD Officer-Involved Shootings report

WHAT
This press conference will introduce the results of a report on Anchorage Police Department (APD) officer-involved shootings from 1993–2013. The UAA Justice Center prepared this report for APD. A brief overview of the report will be followed by a presentation of the data.

WHO
UAA Justice Center
Anchorage Police Department

WHEN
11:00 a.m., Wednesday, December 11, 2013

WHERE
UAA Gorsuch Commons, Room 107
The Gorsuch Commons is located on UAA’s campus, next to student housing off Elmore Road. Parking will be free in the adjacent Spruce Lot and Willow Lot during this event.
Campus Map: http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/map/

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES
Dr. Troy Payne, UAA Justice Center (Report Author)
Chief Mark Mew, Anchorage Police Department
Lt. Kevin Vandergriff, Anchorage Police Department, Internal Affairs

MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about UAA’s Justice Center, visit http://justice.uaa.alaska.edu.

CONTACTS
UAA: Barbara Armstrong, editor@uaa.alaska.edu, 786-1815
APD: Jennifer Castro, jcastro@muni.org, 786-8571

Pre-Law, Justice, & Legal Studies students - special event Friday, December 13!

Nesbett Courthouses, Anchorage

 What: Observe a custody hearing with attorneys from the law firm of Aglietti, Offret & Woofter – then join Anchorage attorney Robert Woofter for donuts and beverages and a discussion of the case
Open to: Pre-Law Society members, Justice, and Legal Studies students
Date: Friday, December 13
Meeting Time: 9:30 a.m. – meet in lobby of courthouse – need to go through security
Event Start Time: 10:00 a.m. (hearing may go til 1:00 or 1:30 p.m.)
Where: Nesbett Courthouse, 825 W. 4th Avenue
Transportation: On your own - but ride sharing may be available - ask about this in your RSVP email
RSVP Deadline: Wednesday, December 11, 8:00 p.m. email almarquez@alaska.edu

Limited to 10 participants.

Sponsored by the Pre-Law Society

CCEL task force works on renewal of UAA classification as a Carnegie Foundation community engaged institution

Logo: Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of
Teaching

The Center for Community Engagement and Learning (CCEL) is in the process of applying for the the renewal of the Carnegie Foundation classification of the UAA campus as a Community Engaged Institution. Since 2006, UAA has been recognized as a Community Engaged Institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

The CCEL task force is responsible for presenting documentation of institutionalized practices, curricular engagement, outreach, and partnerships with the community, as part of the renewal application process.

Educational institutions voluntarily apply for the Carnegie Foundation community engagement classification. The purpose of community engagement is the partnership of college and university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good.

Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Justice faculty, is a member of the CCEL task force.

Justice Center participates in UA Scholars Night at UAA

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director,
at the Justice Center exhibit table.

UA Scholars Night at UAA was held on Friday, November 1, 2013 at the Student Union for high school students who are eligible to receive the UA Scholars award. UA Scholars Night is a special reception hosted by Recruitment, Honors College, UA Scholars @ UAA, and the Statewide Office.

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, and Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice Undergraduate Program Coordinator,  were among the UAA faculty and staff in attendance to talk to students and their parents about opportunities, programs, and services at the UAA campus. The Justice Center provided materials on the Justice and Legal Studies options available to students.

The UA Scholars Program supports excellence in Alaska’s high schools by offering a 4-year, $11,000 scholarship to the top 10 percent of students in each qualified high school graduating class. The qualified high schools determine which students are ranked in the top 10 percent.  Scholars may attend any University of Alaska campuses: University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), or University of Alaska Southeast (UAS). 

Dr. Rosay invited to speak on intimate partner violence at UAA Master of Public Health Student Symposium December 9

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center director, has been invited to speak on the justice perspective on intimate partner violence (IPV)  at the UAA Master of Public Health Student Symposium on December 9.

The panel on intimate partner violence will be from 11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel.

The Master of  Public Health degree is a distance-delivered program.  The student symposium is  mandatory event for degree candidates to meet face-to-face with faculty, advisors, and alumni. Candidates from all over Alaska, from the lower 48, as well as Japan, Saipan, and Denmark are coming to Anchorage for the symposium

The program is coordinated by Dr. Nancy Nix, UAA Department of Health Sciences. Contact her at nanix@uaa.alaska.edu for more information on this event.

Dr. Chamard talks about crime and business on KRUA 88.1 FM on Thursday, December 5 at 5 pm

Dr. Sharon Chamard's interview on "Informania" KRUA 88.1 The Edge  with program host, Deb the Librarian, airs on Thursday, December 5 at 5:00 p.m.

During the interview, Dr. Chamard discusses:

• how she developed an interest in the criminal victimization of business
• forms of crime against business
• her upcoming “Business and Crime” class in the Spring 2014 semester
• her plans to do a business victimization survey in downtown Anchorage

Deb the Librarian, aka Professor Deborah Mole, is the Liaison Librarian to the Journalism & Public Communications Department. "Informania" is a weekly interview show that helps satisfy the need for information. Prof. Mole also selects music to match the theme of the program. Get more information and an archive of past interviews on her blog - "Deb's Informania Radio Show."

Tribal Court Judge David Voluck discusses Indian Country, tribal courts, and Native law

Tribal Judge Voluck (at podium) presents a context for tribal courts and Native law.

Tribal Judge David Voluck spoke on November 18 about "The Resurgence of Tribal Courts: A Tribal Judge's Perspective" at the UAA/APU Consortium Library.

Judge Voluck is an attorney in Sitka, and in 2008 was appointed Chief Judge of the Sitka Tribal Court. In 2010, he was appointed Magistrate/Judge for the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes. Judge Voluck was appointed Presiding Judge Pro Tem in 2012 for the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island Tribal Government.  His legal experience includes work for the Sitka Tribe of Alaska and as a member of the law firm of Landye, Bennett, and Blumstein, LLP.  Judge Voluck is the co-author with David Case of the legal treatise, Alaska Natives and American Laws. He is a noted lecturer on a variety of topics related to Indian law, tribal courts, Native culture, and their interplay with religion.

Judges from Kenaitze Indian Tribe Tribal Court also attended the event and participated in the question and answer session.

• Click here for podcast of the presentation (1 hr. 38 mins.)
• Click here for the PowerPoint presentation.

Prof. Ryan Fortson, J.D., Ph.D., was the faculty coordinator for this event.

L to r: Kenaitze Tribal Court Judge Rusty Swan, Tribal Court Judge David Voluck,
Kenaitze Chief Tribal Court Judge Kim Sweet, Kenaitze Tribal Court Judge Susan Wells, and Prof Ryan Fortson.

UAA Justice grad from Mongolia now working for Mongolia Ministry of Justice

Munkh in his office at the Ministry of Justice in Ulaanbaatar.

Munkh-Erdene Tsend-Ochir, Justice '13/Paralegal Certificate '13, came to UAA from Mongolia where he had earned a Bachelor's of Law degree in 2003 and worked as a defense lawyer.  He journeyed to the U.S. to improve his English and to expand his experience and knowledge in the field of justice - with the goal of putting his skills to use in his home country.

After receiving his Justice degree, Munkh returned to Mongolia and is now serving as the Officer of Foreign Relations and Cooperation for the Ministry of Justice. He is in charge of legal assistance and extradition and transfer of convicts, which includes the transfer of foreign convicts from Mongolia to their own countries, and the return of Mongolian convicts from overseas.

Munkh was born in Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city in Mongolia. He practiced law there as a criminal defense attorney for a juvenile justice project, a defense lawyer for human trafficking victims, and later as a public defender at the Legal Aid Center for Indigent People. Ulaanbaatar is growing quickly as Mongolians move from rural areas to the city to find work, and most of Munkh's indigent clients were from this population.

He recently wrote to his former faculty advisor, Dr. Allan Barnes, Justice faculty, expressing his gratitude for all he learned while at UAA, and wishing Happy Holidays to the UAA community.

Dr. Steve Langdon speaks about recent developments in Dena'ina recognition to Dr. Fortson's Tribal Courts class

Dr. Langdon talks about the efforts to recognize Dena'ina place names and events in Southcentral Alaska.

Dr. Steve Langdon, UAA Anthropology Dept. Chair, spoke to Dr. Ryan Fortson's JUST/LEGL A485 Tribal Courts class on November 1 about the history of the Dena'ina people in Southcentral Alaska and the continuing efforts to recognize Dena'ina place names and events.

L to r: Dr. Ryan Forston, Tenaya Stanton (student), and Dr. Langdon
discuss the future of the project.

Dr. Langdon provided an overview of some of the major laws and legislation affecting Alaska Natives, as well as the significant events in Alaska's history that have impacted the culture and traditions of the Cook Inlet Dena'ina, especially since the establishment of Anchorage in 1915.

Working with James Fall and UAA graduate Aaron Leggett (Dena'ina tribal member), Dr. Langdon has sought to establish recognition of Dena'ina place names and events.  Stimulated by collaborative student projects at UAA, coordinated with the Eklutna village tribe, and supported by the Cook Inlet Historical Society, new signage depicting Dena'ina cultural heritage has been erected in the Anchorage area over the past four years.  Dr. Langdon began working on this project in 2005.

For more information on the project, contact Dr. Steve Langdon, 786-6848 or email him at sjlangdon@uaa.alaska.edu 

Justice faculty podcasts from Campus Bookstore events now on iTunesU!

Podcasts of presentations by Dr. Troy Payne, Prof. Jason Brandeis, J.D., and Prof. Kristin Knudsen, J.D. that were made at UAA Campus Bookstore events are now available on iTunesU.

Podcasts are under the categories below.  Click here for a link to the bookstore iTunes podcast page or go to the iTunes Store and search under "UAA" or "UAA Campus Bookstore."

 You can listen to these podcasts in iTunes software on your PC or Mac, or in the iTunes or iTunesU apps on any mobile device. iTunes is downloadable for free.

About Alaska
"The Life of Small Businesses in Alaska: A Look at Employee Relations and Working Conditions" - Prof. Kristin Knudsen, J.D.; Rhonda Gerharz, Alaska Division of Workers' Compensation; Grant Larsen, Alaska Small Business Development Center; Jeremy Applegate, Alaska Wage and Hour Administration - March 18, 2013.

History, Thought and Community
"Force and Law Enforcement: A Panel Discussion" - Dr. Troy Payne; UAA Student Support Director Kim Patterson, and ADN reporter Casey Grove - October 2, 2013

"The Social Contract Today" - Prof. Jason Brandeis, J.D.; Dr. Alan Borass, Dept. of Anthropology; Dr. Scott Gavorsky, Dept. of History, and Prof. Paola Banchero, Chair, Dept. of Journalism and Public Communications - February 27, 2012

Dr. Rosay invited to present at 2013 Violence Prevention Summit in Juneau

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, has been invited to present at the upcoming  2013 Prevention Summit:  Putting Prevention to Work—Alaskan Communities in Action in Juneau on December 3 -5. The program focuses on the prevention of domestic and sexual violence and is sponsored by the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA). 

Dr. Rosay and Michelle DeWitt,  Executive Director of Bethel Community Services Foundation, will be presenting, "Introduction to Data Collection."

The goal of the 2013 Prevention Summit is to support the growth of local community primary prevention work.  Summit topics include:

• Building blocks for prevention
• Assessing capacity for prevention within your agency, coalition and community
• Implementing your prevention efforts
• Evaluation to measure the impact of your work
• Prevention programming currently underway in Alaska

For questions about the summit, please contact:
Emily Fairbanks
Visions Meeting and Event Management
907.334.4515
emily.fairbanks@visionsus.com