Dr. Ryan Fortson, Justice Center faculty, and Dr. Terry Kelly, Department of Philosophy, held two joint class sessions in March of JUST/LEGL Tribal Courts & Alaska Native Rights and PHL Philosophy of Law. The first session focused on philosophy of law readings pertaining to theories of legal interpretation and how a court decides the proper outcome of a case. Session two looked at a case currently pending in the Alaska Supreme Court that deals with the jurisdiction of tribal courts and the due process requirements of tribal court proceedings; sttudents were assigned to read the legal briefs filed in the case.
The goal of this interdisciplinary process was to provide both classes with different perspectives than the ones they would ordinarily encounter in their coursework, and to demonstrate the practical application of legal theory to an actual case.
