Dr. Rosay Appointed to 2017 Program Committee for American Society of Criminology

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director was appointed to serve as Chair of the Sexual Violence sub-area for the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Society ofCriminology.  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.  The theme of the 2017 Annual Meeting is “Crime, Legitimacy and Reform: Fifty Years after the President’s Commission.”  The 2017 Annual Meeting marks the 50th Anniversary of the publication of the report by President Johnson’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice titled “The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society.”

Justice Center faculty present at American Society of Criminology 2016 Annual Meeting in New Orleans

Drs.  André Rosay, Troy Payne, Marny Rivera, Brad Myrstol, Sharon Chamard, Allan Barnes, Cory R. Lepage, and Lindsey Blumenstein made presentations at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology in New Orleans in November. This year's conference theme was "The Many Colors of Crime & Justice."

Justice Center faculty made 10 presentations on a range of topics: data from the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) -- including elder abuse and polyvictimization, homeless young adults in Anchorage, civil legal needs of crime victims in Alaska,  data centers for criminal justice research, police referrals for prosecution in sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor cases, public inebriates, and classroom teaching methods.

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.

L to r: Dr. Cory R. Lepage and Dr. Marny Rivera at
their ASC presentation.

Paper by Prof. Payne and Prof. Fortson presented by Prof. Fortson at Law and Society meeting

Prof. Ryan Fortson, J.D., Ph.D., and Prof. Troy C. Payne, Ph.D., Justice Center faculty, recently co-authored a paper which Prof. Fortson presented at the 2016 Law and Society Association Annual Meeting. 

The paper is titled, "The Effect of Legal Counsel on Outcomes of Custody Determinations." The paper discusses results from the study of child custody cases in family law court in Palmer, Alaska involving represented and unrepresented parties.

The Law and Society Association is an interdisciplinary scholarly organization committed to social scientific, interpretive, and historical analyses of  law across multiple social contexts.

Drs. Rivera and Blumenstein present at March 2016 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting

Dr. Marny Rivera and Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein, Justice faculty, presented at the 2016 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) annual meeting in Denver in March.

Dr. Rivera presented for the panel, In-depth Examinations of Substance Abuse. Her topic was titled, "Under the Influence: Parents' Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors Regarding Youth Substance Abuse."

Dr. Blumenstein was the chair of the panel, Understanding College Student Attitudes Toward Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Violence. Her presentation was titled,"Sexual Victimization on College Campuses: How Do Students Define and Identify Sexual Misconduct?"

The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences is an international association founded in 1963 to promote criminal justice education, research, and policy analysis. Members include educators, scholars, and professionals from all sectors of the criminal justice system, as well as criminal justice students.

Justice Center faculty present at American Society of Criminology 2015 Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.

Drs. Allan Barnes, Cory Lepage, André Rosay, Troy Payne, Jason Brandeis, Brad Myrstol, and Lindsey Blumenstein made presentations at the 71st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology in Washington, DC in November.  Daniel Reinhard (Justice BA ‘14) also presented with Dr. Payne about problem complexity in urban areas.  This year's conference theme was "The Politics of Crime & Justice."

Justice Center faculty made nine presentations on topics including violence against American Indian and Alaska Native women and men, Village Public Safety Office (VPSO) involvement in sexual assault investigations, Alaska Victimization Survey data related to sexual violence and negative health outcomes for Alaska Native and American Indian women, Town Square Park and problem complexity in urban areas, spatial patterns of crime, pre-trial diversion, domestic violence, marijuana legalization in Alaska, and classroom teaching methods.

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.

L to r: Justice faculty - Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein, Dr. André Rosay, Dr. Brad Myrstol,
and Ingrid Johnson, UAF alum, now a doctoral student at Temple University
Criminal Justice Program, at the conference.

Justice major/UAA Honors College student presents at Law & Society Conference

Ruddy Abam at her presentation.

Ruddy Abam, Justice BA '15, presented at the Law & Society Conference in Seattle in May.  Ruddy received a UAA Honors College Discovery Grant to assist with her travel for the presentation. Dr. Cory Lepage, Justice faculty, was her Honors College advisor.

Ruddy discussed "Preventing Neighborhood Factors of Crime and Delinquency: The Efficacy of Early Childhood Community Intervention Programs." The panel theme was Instability, Change and Contingency in Crime and Deviance.


Dr. Lepage, as well Prof. Kristin Knudsen, J.D., and Prof. Ryan Fortson, J.D., Ph.D., also presented at the conference.

Justice faculty present at Law & Society Conference

Dr. Cory R. Lepage, Prof. Kristin Knudsen, J.D., and Prof. Ryan Fortson, J.D., Ph.D., presented at the 2015 Law & Society Annual Conference in Seattle in May.

Presentations:

Prof. Fortson  (center) and other presenters on his panel:
(l to r) Veronica Flynn, Australian National University, and
Sonia Lawrence, Osgoode Hall Law School of York University.

"The Effectiveness of Tribal Courts in Alaska in Reducing Recidivism: Researching the Potential and Efficacy of Alternate Forms of Adjudication and Sentencing"
Prof. Ryan Fortson, J.D., Ph.D., and Dr. Cory R. Lepage
(Panel theme: Indigenous Responses to the Promise and Pathos of "Protecting the Vulnerable")




"The Role of Justices in Rural Courts: An Explanation of How the Self-Perception of Professionalism and Legitimacy Influences Their Future"
Dr. Cory R. Lepage
(Panel theme:  The Future of Judging)

Dr. Lepage discussed reform efforts in rural courts.

 
"Talking Judges: Framing a Political Debate Over a Judicial Nominating Commission"
Prof. Kristin Knudsen, J.D. and Dr. Cory R. Lepage 
(Panel Theme: The Composition of Judicial Institutions)

L to r: Dr. Lepage and Prof. Knudsen outside their session room.

 














Topic Chairs:
Going Beyond Judicial Decisions
Prof. Kristin Knudsen

Prof. Knudsen moderates a session on judicial decisions.

The Law and Society Association, founded in 1964, is a group of scholars from many fields and countries, interested in the place of law in social, political, economic and cultural life. Members bring training in law, sociology, political science, psychology, anthropology, economics, and history as well as in other related areas to the study of sociolegal phenomena.

Justice major Daniel Reinhard presents paper at 2015 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

Daniel Reinhard, a senior and Justice major, presented a paper at the recent Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual conference in March.  His presentation, "Observations of Crime and Disorder at an Urban Park," is related to the research he has been doing with Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty, in collaboration with the Anchorage Police Department and the Anchorage Downtown Partnership.

Daniel Reinhard observed activities in the park over a number
of days and during different time periods.

The paper reports on criminal and delinquent behavior as observed in Town Square Park - a downtown urban park in Anchorage, Alaska. Town Square Park is source of local controversy and has attracted the attention of the local police department and the Anchorage Downtown Partnership, an organization charged with providing services to the downtown district of Anchorage. In response to these agencies having a lack of recorded data on what occurs in the park Daniel conducted observations in the park. This research notes observed park activities, hypothesizes the park's role as a crime attractor and lists physical characteristics of the park that may facilitate criminality.

Dr. Blumenstein presents paper co-authored with Dr. Rivera at Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences conference

Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein and Dr. Mary Rivera, Justice Center faculty,  recently co-authored the paper, "IPV and Negative Health Outcomes Using the Alaska Victimization Survey." Dr. Blumenstein presented this paper at the March 2015 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual conference. 

In this paper, the authors note that the literature on intimate partner violence and health outcomes has found significant associations between negative health outcomes and IPV victimization. However, there is a lack of research on how specific types of abuse may affect physical and mental health. In particular the effects of psychological aggression and coercive controlling violence remain understudied. This study attempts to assess the impact of several different types of abuse, including psychological aggression, coercive control and entrapment, and physical and sexual violence on physical and mental health outcomes. The data for the study relies on the Alaska Victimization Survey.

The paper was part of the track on Emerging Research in Domestic Violence.

Justice Center faculty make presentations at 70th Annual American Society of Criminology Conference

Justice and Legal Studies faculty presented on a variety of topics at the recent American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting in San Francisco, November 19-22, 2014. The theme for 2014 was "Criminology at the Intersection of Oppression."

Faculty presentations included:

Dr. André B. Rosay
Dr. Brad A. Myrstol
Roundtable on The National Institute of Justice’s Program of Research Examining Violence Against Indian Women

Dr. Allan Barnes
"Adapting Team-Based POGIL Techniques to Justice Classes: Is the Lecture Dead?"

Dr. Sharon Chamard
"Late Night Safety in Downtown Anchorage"

Dr. Marny Rivera
"The Impact of Early Exposure to Violence and Adversities on Youth Development and Offending"
and
Roundtable on Tackling False Impressions and Bias: Teaching the Tough Stuff in Criminal Justice

Dr. Troy Payne
Prof. Jason Brandeis, J.D.
"Marijuana Legalization in Alaska: Assessing the Potential Criminal Justice Impact"

Dr. Cory R. Lepage
"Conceptualizations of Justice from the Inside Looking Out: A Rationalization for the Perceptions and Satisfaction by Justices in Rural Courts"
and
Roundtable honorary session for Austin T. Turk, Department of Sociology, University of California Riverside  – discussion of Dr. Turk’s work including his conflict theory in criminology. Dr. Turk died in 2013.

Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein
"Arrest Decision-Making of Intimate Partner Violence: A Comparison of Same-Sex versus Heterosexual Partners Using the National Incidence-Based Reporting System"

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.

L to r: Dr. Allan Barnes, Justice faculty, and
Dr. Christian Pfeiffer, Director,
Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony,
Germany, one of the many international attendees.
Dr. Barnes presents research by Dr. Pfeiffer on traits
of judges and probation officers as part of his courses.

 

Justice Center participates in Alaska Court System and Alaska Bar program for Anchorage secondary school social studies teachers

Alaska Supreme Court Justice Dana Fabe (seated center) with secondary school teachers and
volunteer attorneys in the Alaska Supreme Court courtroom at the close of the day's program.

Prof. Ryan Fortson, J.D.,  and Prof. Kristen Knudsen, J.D.,  Justice Center Legal Studies faculty, participated in the "Justice for All Social Studies Secondary Field Trip" on August 15. About 40 secondary school social studies teachers from Anchorage toured the Supreme Court courtroom, met and heard from Supreme Court Chief Justice Dana Fabe, and listened to a panel of judges including Presiding Judge William Morse, Judge Patrick McKay, and Judge Leslie Dickson.  The group also observed Wellness Court where Judge David Wallace presided, and met with volunteer attorneys as part of the Attorney Connect program.

Prof. Knudsen (r) talks with teachers and another volunteer
attorney, Sue Urig, about the Attorney Connect program.

The Attorney Connect program is a new project of the Alaska Bar's Law Related Education (LRE) Committee. The goal is to create a liaison between the schools and attorneys who are interested in legal education for their students. The volunteer attorneys will support teachers who have a legal question, need a presenter for a class, want to check their facts or law, or who otherwise need legal assistance in educating students on law-related subjects. The teachers were introduced to this new program and volunteer attorneys assigned to schools.  Prof. Kristen Knudsen will be the liaison to alternative schools in the Anchorage School District.

Prof. Fortson (standing) listens for questions from secondary school
teachers about the Alaska Youth Law Guide .

As part of the Attorney Connect agenda, Prof. Fortson made a presentation to the teachers about the Alaska Youth Law Guide -  a project of the LRE Committee of the Bar Association. The online guide helps teens and young adults understand the law and how it may affect them. It includes general information about many of the legal issues youth are likely to encounter, and some resources for getting more information or assistance.

The event was sponsored by the Alaska Bar Law Related Education Committee, the Alaska Court System, and the Anchorage School District.

Dr. Lepage and Prof. Knudsen speak at Law and Society Conference

L to r: Prof. Knudsen, J.D. and Dr. Lepage at the conference.

Dr. Cory Lepage and Prof. Kristin Knudsen, J.D., Justice Center faculty, made presentations at the 2014 Law & Society Conference in Minneapolis on May 28 - June 1:

• "The Strength of the Ox: Self-Perceptions of Professionalism and Legitimacy among Lay Judges in the Rural U.S." Prof. Kristin Knudsen, M.J.S., J.D., and Dr. Cory Lepage, co-authors.  Presented by Prof. Kristin Knudsen.

• "Conceptualizations of Justice by Adjudicators: An Examination of Perceptions and Satisfaction by Justices in Rural Courts."   Presented by Dr. Cory Lepage, author.
  

• Panel: Exploring Methods in the Study of Access to Justice. Dr. Cory Lepage, Chair

The Law and Society Association, founded in 1964, is a group of scholars from many fields and countries, interested in the place of law in social, political, economic and cultural life. Members bring training in law, sociology, political science, psychology, anthropology, economics, and history as well as in other related areas to the study of sociolegal phenomena.  

Prof. Fortson volunteers at statewide mock trial competition for high school students

L to r: Volunteer evaluators Sharon Marshall, D.A.'s Office
and Prof. Fortson listen to opening argument.

Prof. Ryan Fortson, J.D., Justice faculty, is the State Coordinator for the Alaska High School Mock Trial Competition. At this year's 25th annual competition, he was one of 70 judges, lawyers, and non-lawyer volunteers for the event held in Anchorage at the Boney Courthouse on February 27 - March 1.  The competition is sponsored by the Young Lawyers Section of the Anchorage Bar Association, the Law Related Education Committee of the Alaska Bar Association, and the Alaska Court System.

Judge Jennifer Stuart Henderson, District Court, swears in witnesses.

The Alaska High School Mock Trial Competition consists of teams of 6 to 9 high school students competing in simulated trials based on a fictional problem drafted by the competition organizers. Nearly 50 students from 7 schools in Anchorage, Sitka, North Pole, and Wasilla participated. The West Anchorage High School team prevailed over Sitka High School in the finals and will go on to compete in the National High School Mock Trial Competition in Wisconsin in May.

Magistrate Judge Suzanne Cole waits for the cross-examination of a witness.

Each year, the preliminary rounds are judged by attorneys from the Anchorage legal community, and the semifinals and finals are judged by sitting and retired judges from the Alaska and Federal Court Systems.

In addition to volunteers at the event, high school teachers and lawyers volunteered to coach teams in preparation for the competition. Volunteer lawyer coaches included Florina Altshiler, District Attorney's Office, Anchorage and Jude Pate, Public Defender Agency, Sitka.

Organizers for the competition included Lars Johnson, Alaska Public Defender Agency; Kimberly Tsaousis, Office of Public Advocacy; Brittany Goodnight, Alaska Public Defender Agency; and Bonnie Calhoun, Alaska District Court Law Clerk.

L to r: Organizers - Brittany Goodnight, Public Defender Agency;
Bonnie Calhoun, District Court Law Clerk; Kimberly Tsaousis,
Office of Public Advocacy; Lars Johnson, Public Defender Agency

Dr. Barnes presents at Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences

Dr. Allan Barnes, Justice faculty, presented at the recent Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences annual meeting in Philadelphia.

He discussed "Justice Student Perceptions of POGIL Techniques." Dr. Barnes presented student feedback on Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) techniques as applied in upper division justice courses. POGIL techniques are part of the increasing movement towards a team-based interactive classroom experience for students. These strategies can improve discussion and retention of material.

The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS) is an international association founded in 1963 to promote criminal justice education, research, and policy analysis.  Members include educators, scholars, and professionals from all sectors of the criminal justice system, and students. 

Justice major Kimberly Del Frate presents at Western Society of Criminology Conference

Kimberly Del Frate, Justice major and a member of the University Honors College, made a presentation at the recent Western Society of Criminology Conference (WSC) on "The Arizona Issue: Racial Profiling and Civil Rights in Immigration Law Enforcement." The conference was held February 6-8 in Honolulu.

The presentation is based on her honors thesis.  Dr. Cory R. Lepage is her thesis advisor, and Prof. Jason Brandeis, J.D., is her thesis reader.  Her paper examines the questions in constitutionality  and civil rights concerns that arise with enforcement of Arizona's SB 1070 - Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act - also known as the "Show Your Papers" law. A major focus of her work is whether or not implementation of the SB1070 constitutes racial profiling by law enforcement.

The Western Society of Criminology is a regional professional society devoted to the scientific study of crime. The society attracts scholars, students, government officials, and practitioners from both the public and private sectors from around the world.

Funding for Kimberly's conference participation and presentation was from the UAA Justice Center and a competitive UAA Honors College Discovery Grant.

Justice faculty present at Western Society of Criminology Conference

 Dr. Sharon Chamard; Prof. Jason Brandeis, J.D.; and Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty,
 recently presented on the following topics at the Western Society of Criminology Conference (WSC) in Honolulu, February 6 - 8:

Lto r: Dr. Payne  and Dr. Chamard at their presentation.

• "Super Controllers in Context: Fees for Excess Police Services Ordinance in Anchorage" - Dr. Chamard and Dr. Payne

• "The Impact of Shifting State and Federal Marijuana Policies on Alaska's Unique Recreational Marijuana Laws" - Prof. Brandeis

• "Policing and Place: Managing Locations, Controllers and Police Presence" - Dr. Payne, Panel Chair

The Western Society of Criminology is a regional professional society devoted to the scientific study of crime. The society attracts scholars, students, government officials, and practitioners from both the public and private sectors from around the world.

Prof. Brandeis teaches courses on American government, constitutional law and civil liberties, and is a frequent speaker on constitutional law and other legal issues. Prof. Brandeis also maintains a private law practice through which, subsequent to the date of this conference, he provided legal representation in administrative agency proceedings for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska. 

Justice faculty present at the American Society of Criminology annual meeting in Atlanta

Justice faculty presented on a variety of topics at the recent American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting in Atlanta, November 20-23, 2013. The theme for 2013 is "Expanding the Core: Neglected Crimes, Groups, Causes and Policy Approaches."

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 presentations included:

Estimates of Violence Against Alaska Native Women
Dr. André Rosay, UAA Justice Center Director 

Deflection of Offenders During "Bar Break" in Downtown Anchorage
Dr. Sharon Chamard, Justice faculty

Identifying and Addressing the Civil Legal Needs of Crime Victims in Alaska
Dr. Marny Rivera and Dr. Cory R. Lepage, Justice faculty

The Path Shaw and McKay Did Not Take: The Policy Consequences of People versus Place Responses 
Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty; Kathleen Gallagher (Ph.D. candidate), Dr. John Eck, and Dr. James Frank, University of Cincinnati

Crime Analysts & Criminologists: Partnering for Crime Reduction - A Roundtable
Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty 

Prof. Periman presents at American Association for Paralegal Education 32nd Annual Conference

Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Justice faculty and Legal Studies Program Coordinator, recently presented at the 32nd Annual American Association for Paralegal Education (AAfPE) Conference this fall in Phoenix.

Prof. Periman presented "Legal Research Reconsidered: Legal Analysis Challenges in Digital Research" which examined the brain connection with print resources, analytic challenges in digital research, and teaching strategies for replicating in digital research the analytic advantages of print research.  She was part of a panel which addressed the topic, "Legal Research Reconsidered: Print vs. Digital."

AAfPE's membership includes hundreds of universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher learning throughout the United States and in Canada. Since 1981, AAfPE's member schools have trained thousands of paralegal students each year to help increase, improve, and support access to the legal system in their communities. 

Justice faculty invited to Law and Society retreat

Prof. Jason Brandeis, J.D. and Dr. Cory R. Lepage, Justice faculty, were among the law and society scholars affiliated with West Coast U.S. and Canadian institutions invited to attend the Fifth West Coast Law and Society Retreat at the University of Washington in Seattle in September. 

The purpose of the retreat was to discuss: (1) substantive questions emerging at the leading edges of the law and society field, (2) the state of the field as an academic discipline, and (3) the role of law and society scholarship in identifying and shaping dialogue around new legal challenges. 

Justice faculty present at Law and Society Conference in Boston

Prof. Jason Brandeis, J.D., and Dr. Cory Lepage presented at the 2013 Law and Society Conference in Boston in May 30 - June 2.  Dr. Lepage discussed "The Future of Justice Courts" and the continuing need for justice of the peace and magistrate courts. His presentation focused on research on courts in the state of New York.

Prof. Brandeis discussed "Marijuana, Privacy, and the Alaska Constitution: The Continuing Validity of Ravin v. State" for the session on Controversies in American Constitutional Law.

Prof. Brandeis teaches courses on American government, constitutional law and civil liberties, and is a frequent speaker on constitutional law and other legal issues. Prof. Brandeis also maintains a private law practice through which, subsequent to the date of this conference, he provided legal representation in administrative agency proceedings for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska.


Dr. Lepage also chaired two session on international courts, and he presented a book review on Workplace Resolution by Elizabeth Hoffman, University of Pennsylvania.

The Law and Society Association, founded in 1964, is a group of scholars from many fields and countries, interested in the place of law in social, political, economic and cultural life. Members bring training in law, sociology, political science, psychology, anthropology, economics, and history as well as in other related areas to the study of sociolegal phenomena.