Summer/Fall 2016 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum released

The Summer/Fall 2016 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum has been released and contains the articles noted below.

Click here to read the PDF of this issue.

Articles:
"Recover Alaska: Healing Alaska's Alcohol Problems" by Marny Rivera and Tiffany Hall
"Therapeutic Courts in the Alaska Court System" by Barbara Armstrong
"Alaska Felony Sentencing Patterns: Selected Findings" by Teresa White Carns
"Teens Acting Against Violence and the 40 Developmental Assets" by Khristy Parker

UAA students in foster youth program will get a special visit from holiday elves

L to r: Amanda Metivier and Kelsie Sullivan
in front of the CWA Giving Tree.

Holiday elves will be paying a special visit to over 30 UAA students who are in the foster youth program or just transitioning out of the state foster program.  Under the auspices of the statewide UA Education and Training Voucher (ETV) Program for Foster Youth, holiday gifts have been collected and wrapped for distribution to the students.

The holiday gifts for foster youth project was started by Kelsie Sullivan in the UAA Office of Grants and Contracts.  Kelsie collaborated with Amanda Metivier, Youth Education Coordinator for the Child Welfare Academy (CWA), the office which facilitates the UA foster youth program. The holiday gifts project came to be called the CWA Giving Tree. If you would like to participate next year, contact Kelsie at 786-6460.

Each year there area about 50 foster youth statewide in the UA system, and about half are on the UAA campus.  State funds are directed through Amanda's office to the UA students to help pay for housing, books, food, transportation, and other necessities. Click here to learn more about the UA foster youth program. Or contact Amanda at almetivier@alaska.edu.

The Justice Center applauds the CWA Giving Tree holiday project and the work of the  Education and Training  Voucher Program for Foster Youth. Thanks for making the holiday season a little brighter for our students!

Criminal Justice Reform: Senate Bill 91 - Dec 8 program video and materials now online

Panelists (l to r): Dr. Troy Payne, Justice Center; Jeff Jessee and Lt. Kris Sell, ACJC Commission members;
Barbara Dunham, ACJC staff attorney; Geri Fox, AK Pretrial Services Division; and Dr. Araceli Valle, AJiC.

About 150 UAA students and members of the public attended the December 8 program, "Criminal Justice Reform: A discussion of Senate Bill 91 - Reducing the prison population while enhancing public safety," co-sponsored by the Justice Center and the UAA Justice Club.
  
Click here to view the video and materials.

The approximately 2-hour video of the program is now available on the Justice Center website and on our YouTube channel. The program PowerPoint and other publication resources are also available on the website.

Panelists were Jeff Jessee, Alaska Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC) member, Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority - Moderator; Lt. Kris Sell, Alaska Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC) member; Barbara Dunham, Alaska Criminal Justice Commission (ACJC); Geri Fox, Alaska Division of Pretrial Services; Dr. Araceli Valle, Alaska Justice Information Center (AJiC); and Dr. Troy Payne, Justice Center faculty.

Panelists and Justice Club officers pose for a photo following the event.
L to r: Justice Club officers Jonathan Gonzalez and Alex Cole; Barbara Dunham, ACJC staff attorney; Geri Fox, AK Pretrial Services Division; Dr. Troy Payne, Justice Center; Dr. Araceli Valle, AJiC; ACJC members Lt .Kris Sell and Jeff Jessee;
and Justice Club officers Austin Rogers, Bradley Foster, and Austin Otos.

Prof. Fortson's LEGL 487 students present mock oral arguments to U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Kevin McCoy

Prior to oral argument (l to r): students Sondra Smith and Taylor Lane;
Prof. Fortson; Magistrate Judge McCoy; students  Jennifer Ham, Juita Johnson,
and Madeline Rafferty. Not pictured: student Josephine Davis

Prof. Ryan Fortson, J.D., Ph.D., Justice Center Legal Studies faculty, held mock oral arguments in his Legal 487 - Trial and Advanced Litigation Processes course as the final exam of the 2016 fall semester.

Students prepared written briefs and oral arguments for three hypothetical cases for simulated trial court motion practice. Their arguments were presented before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Kevin McCoy who rendered a decision after each case was presented.

L to r: Juita Johnson and Sondra Smith present their arguments to
Magistrate Judge McCoy while Prof. Fortson observes.

Alumni update: Simona Gerdts BA Justice '14, Legal Studies Minor

Simona Gerdts, BA Justice '14, Legal Studies Minor, is Operations Support Specialist for the U.S. District Court - Northern District of Texas in Wichita Falls.  Simona is responsible for maintaining and processing case information from opening to final disposition. She also is the appeals clerk for this division, and acts as the liaison between the U.S. District Court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals whenever there is an appeal in a case.  Simona says she finds her work "as exciting as it is challenging."

She and her family are enjoying the warmer weather following her husband's transfer from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, to a more southern climate.

Simona Gerdts

Justice Center holiday closure

The Justice Center, along with the rest of the UAA campus, will be closed for the winter holiday break starting Monday, December 26, 2016.

We will reopen for our normal business hours on Wednesday, January 4, 2017.

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

Magistrate Judge Suzanne Cole speaks to Prof. Fortson's Family Law class

Magistrate Judge Cole discusses
domestic violence and protective orders.

Magistrate Judge Suzanne Cole, 3rd Judicial District/Anchorage, presented to Prof. Ryan Fortson's Family Law class on November 23 on issues of domestic violence and legal protections for its victims.

 Magistrate Judge Cole was appointed to the bench in 1997.  She discussed her extensive experience as a judge and presented information on the use and standards for issuing protective orders.

Prof. Fortson (l) introduces Magistrate Judge Suzanne Cole.

Alumni Spotlight - Miranda Strong, BA '08, MPA '11

Miranda Strong

Miranda Strong, BA Philosophy with emphasis in Legal Studies '08 and MPA '11, received her JD from the University of Washington (UW) School of Law in 2012 .  She is currently an Assistant Attorney General and Special Assistant to the Attorney General in the Alaska Department of Law - Opinions, Appeals, and Ethics Section.  Her job includes liaising with the Governor’s Office and coordinating an executive-branch working group with the Lieutenant Governor on Alaska Native legal matters, representing the Office of Children's Services in child protection appeals before the Alaska Supreme Court, and advising on and communicating Alaska Native law and policy matters to the public.

At UAA, Miranda was in the Honors College and combined her interest in philosophy with her growing desire to enter the legal profession. She relished her Philosophy of Law and Development of Law courses. Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Legal Studies faculty in the Justice Center, was a significant influence as Miranda prepared for law school.

While at UAA, Miranda was awarded a Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation scholarship for graduate work in public service. Prof. James W. Muller, Ph.D., UAA Political Science Department, the UAA Truman Scholar advisor, was enormously helpful to Miranda in applying to the Truman Foundation. The scholarship was established in honor of President Harry S. Truman and memorializes his commitment to public service and the need to foster public service leadership.  

At UW School of Law, Miranda was selected for the William H. Gates Public Service Law Program at UW and worked as a legal intern at the Disability Law Center in 2009 and at the Alaska Department of Law Human Services & Torts Section in 2010.

Miranda is a member of the Alaska Bar Association Pro Bono Service Committee, and for the past 2 years has served as a pro bono attorney for the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVSA).

In her free moments, she enjoys spending time with her two children, Calvin 2 years old, and JJ 5 years old, and her UAA alum husband, James Strong, BA Business Administration '06, who is the owner of Sweet Caribou. And you might also see Miranda on the cross-country ski trails or bike commuting to work.

Dr. Myrstol presents at UAA undergraduate research forum

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Justice Center faculty, presented at the November 30 Undergraduate Research Forum coordinated by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship, a division of the UAA University Honors College, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) BUILD EXITO Program.

The November 30 research forum was one of several scheduled during the fall semester for undergraduates. Faculty panelists presented a summary of their research interests and discussed research opportunities for undergraduates in their respective fields.

Other panelists included Dr. Heather Adams, English; Dr. Khrys Duddleston, Biological Sciences; and Dr. Gwen Lupfer, Psychology.

Alaska Native Leader Emil Notti speaks to Prof. Fortson's Tribal Courts and Alaska Native Rights class

Photo by Lisa Jaeger

Alaska Native Leader Emil Notti spoke to Prof. Ryan Fortson's Tribal Courts and Alaska Native Rights class on December 1. He discussed the changing role of leadership among Alaska Natives from the passage of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) 45 years ago to the present.  Prof. Fortson, J.D., Ph.D., is a member of the Legal Studies faculty in the Justice Center.

Mr. Notti was instrumental in the passage of ANCSA and has been a leader in Alaska Native affairs since the 1960s. He is a former Commissioner of the Department of Community and Regional Affairs, State of Alaska and former Commissioner of Commerce, State of Alaska, 2006-201; the first president of the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN); and a past senior vice president of Doyon Ltd.