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Recent Center Events
If you were unable to attend these events and would like information, please visit the Center website at:
http://www.unr.edu/justicestudies
Environmental Justice in Indian Country.
On April 22, Professor Charles Wilkerson of the University of Colorado Law School and noted expert on Native American land claims and related issues presented a keynote address entitled 'Environmental Justice in Indian country'. This was followed by responses and additional comments from Brian Wallace, Chairman, Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, Robert V. Abbey, State Director, Nevada, Bureau of Land Management, and Gregory Phillips, Project Director for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and Iowa.
The USA PATRIOT ACT: Is it patriotic?
On April 7, 4 - 6 pm a panel of speakers including William A. Douglass, Professor Emeritus, Basque Studies; Sharon Lever, Esq., Asst. U. S. Attorney, Anti-terrorism Advisory Council; Richard Siegel, Professor of Political Science, and State President of the ACLU; and Bernie Anderson, Chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, discussed the local, national and international implications of the USA Patriot Act and associated legislation. See this Newsletter for summary.
November 12th, 2003--Dr. Sarah Pike presented: "Burning Man's Postmodern Rites of Passage." Dr. Pike studies religion in America, and obtained her PhD from Indiana University. Her research has focused on New Religious Movements, about which she has written numerous articles and book reviews. Using slides of her trips as illustration, she argued that Burning Man is a religious site for many participants (last year's theme was "Beyond Belief").
October 16th, 2003--Dr. Jennifer Skeem presented: "How Accurately Can We Identify 'Superpredators' During Adolescence? The Lure of Psychopathy". After finishing her doctoral training in clinical psychology and law at the University of Utah in 1999, Dr. Skeem completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in law and psychiatry research at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Her current research focuses on understanding the construct of psychopathic personality disorder, assessing and managing violence risk, and identifying key influences on the outcomes of probationers who are required to accept psychiatric treatment. See page 2 in the Spring 2004 Newsletter for greater coverage of this presentation, (also available on the Center web site).
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The Center has strengthened its ties with the two internationally known judicial education organizations that reside on the UNR campus.
The Center worked last fall with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges on a project that assessed functioning of the Washington, D.C. family court system. That project involved only data entry and analysis. This coming summer sees the commencement of a new project evaluating various types of family courts in Utah. The Center will be involved in all aspects of this project from beginning to end.
The Center and the Judicial Studies Program did one project last fall with the National Judicial College that focused on evaluating judicial performance. The ABA retained the NJC to evaluate guidelines promulgated in 1985 to guide evaluation efforts for judges. The National Judicial College asked the Judicial Studies Program to assist, and a report was produced for the ABA assessing the impact of the guidelines and making recommendations about how to improve them. Center Director, Jim Richardson, accompanied by R.A., Alayna Jehle, attended an ABA meeting in San Antonio where the report was well received.
The Center is also beginning another project with the National Judicial College which will focus on the use of volunteers in misdemeanor courts around the country. This project will try to assess the impact of the successful efforts to develop volunteer programs that was spearheaded years ago by the National Judicial College, working with Judge Keith Leenhouts. The goal of the project is to produce a "best practices" model for use in courts where volunteer programs are needed.
Jim Richardson, Director of the Center, said, "We are delighted to be developing more research projects with the NCJFCJ and the National Judicial College. Working together we can help put UNR on the map in the area of judicial reform and improving the functioning of the judiciary."
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