ABA President to Address CWSL Grads

CLICK HERE to get directions to The Pavilion

SAN DIEGO, March 28, 2007– California Western School of Law will hold its spring commencement ceremonies Friday, April 27, 2007, 10 a.m., at the Organ Pavilion in San Diego’s Balboa Park. American Bar Association (ABA) President Karen J. Mathis will address California Western graduates.

“Karen’s dedication to improving the legal profession is a great example to all our graduates,” said California Western Dean Steven R. Smith. “She is committed to the highest values of our profession, including the importance of attorneys doing pro bono work to improve the quality of justice in our society.”

A total of 188 degrees will be awarded, with 169 candidates receiving the Juris Doctor (J.D.), 13 receiving the Master of Comparative Law/Master of Laws in Comparative Law (M.C.L./LL.M.), 1 obtaining a dual Juris Doctor and Masters in Business Administration, and 5 receiving a LL.M. in Trial Advocacy. In addition, Mathis will receive an honorary degree.

Mathis is a business, commercial, and estate planning lawyer with more than 30 years experience and has been an active member of the ABA for almost 30 years. She is the third woman to serve as an ABA president and the first president from Colorado. She has served as a member of the ABA House of Delegates since 1982.

Mathis’ extensive ABA involvement includes leadership of numerous entities. She served as chair of the 30,000-member General Practice, Solo, and Small Firm Section from 2002-03; chair of the Commission on Women in the Profession from 1997-2000; and chair of the Standing Committee on Membership from 1994-97.

As a member of the Colorado and International Women’s Forums, she has been honored as an outstanding lawyer by the Denver and Colorado Bar Associations, the University of Colorado, and the University of Albany School of Law.

Mathis received her law degree from the University of Colorado School of Law and her Bachelor’s from the University of Denver. She has honorary degrees from Siena College, the University of Denver, Michigan State University College of Law, and Southwestern Law School.###

California Western trial teams win three National Regional Competitions in three weeks

Revamped mock trial program leads to national exposure for California Western teams

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SAN DIEGO, March 8, 2007 – California Western’s revamped mock trial program has led to three National Regional trial tournament wins in the past three weeks. California Western teams finished first in the Texas Young Lawyers Association Regional Competition, the Jessup International Law Pacific Regional, and the American Association for Justice Competition.

“All the work our students, coaches, and professors have put into our trial teams is paying off in a big way,” said California Western Dean Steven R. Smith. “I am so proud that California Western will be represented in the finals of such prestigious national competitions, and I wish all our teams luck.”

Professor Mario Conte, former executive director of the Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc., took on the role of the Moot Court Honors Board faculty advisor in 2005, shortly after coming to California Western. He has recruited new coaches, and worked to raise funds for the teams.This year the Moot Court Honors Board is led by its executive director, Gen Suzuki, and trial team coordinator, Cody Mounteer – both second-year students at California Western – who are in charge of coordinating all the school’s trial teams.

Texas Young Lawyers Association Regional Competition   

Two California Western trial teams were very successful at the Texas Young Lawyers Association Regional Competition in Salt Lake City, Utah, Feb. 14, both advancing to the semi-final round.  The teams were Shannon Kitten and Mike Romney and David Silldorf and Molly Hale.  Kitten and Romney then went to the final round and won first place for the whole regional competition.  They will now go on to Houston for the national finals March 29-31. 

Jessup International Law Moot Court Pacific Regional

California Western’s Jessup International Law Moot Court Team won the Pacific Regional Competition at UCLA, Feb. 17.  The team beat Arizona in the semi-final round and top-ranked Loyola in the final round.  “California Western has developed a reputation at the Jessup Regional Competitions as a team to watch and a team other schools expect to see at the top when the competition ends,” said Professor Roberta Thyfault, who coaches the Jessup team along with Professor William Aceves.  

The Jessup team members are 3L Amy Cordova, and 2Ls Emily Bartholomew, Laurie Hauf, Christina Rovira, and Matt Tucker.  The team’s written memorials (briefs) placed third in the competition and individual oralist awards were given to Hauf (4^th place) and Bartholomew (honorable mention).  The team now will be traveling to Washington, D.C., for the international rounds of the Jessup Competition March 25-31, where they will compete against law students from around the world. 

American Association for Justice Competition

Both of California Western’s teams made the final round of the American Association for Justice Competition, March 3.  The team of Megan Meacham, David Skilling, Ingrid Patin, and Solomon Chang won it all.  They were coached by Marion Gaston (graduate assistant Distinguished Advocate) and Paul Parisi ’06 (graduate assistant Distinguished Advocate).  The other team was Kristin Buie, Lorenda Stern, Rosie Montoto, and Jessica Morrissey.  They were coached by Bob Semnar and Amir Alavi ’06 (graduate assistant Distinguished Advocate). They will be going to the finals in New Orleans March 29. 

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MEDIA CONTACT: Franki Fitterer
                           (619) 515-1545

California Innocence Project Frees Fifth Innocent Man

Los Angeles judge reverses 20-year-old murder conviction

CLICK HERE to read the story about Atkins’ release in the Los Angeles Times

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22, 2007– After serving more than 20 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, Timothy Atkins’ conviction was overturned by Los Angeles Judge Michael Tynan who declared that “the State has no interest in upholding a conviction obtained by false testimony.” Attorneys with the California Innocence Project presented new evidence in a Los Angeles courtroom, including a witness who recanted her trial testimony, proving Atkins’ innocence. He was released from the L.A. County Jail Friday, Feb. 9, 2007.

“This is the pinnacle of our existence,” Professor Justin Brooks, California Innocence Project director, told the Los Angeles Times after Atkins’ walked out of prison. “This is the whole goal: freeing the innocent.”

“Although it has taken way too long and Tim can never get the years back, we are thrilled that the court has recognized that Timothy Atkins’ conviction cannot stand,” said California Western Professor Jan Stiglitz, co-director of the California Innocence Project. “We really appreciate that Judge Tynan was willing to give Atkins a hearing. Sadly, in many cases we cannot even get that far.”

Atkins was convicted of one count of murder and two counts of robbery on July 28, 1987, after being identified by a frightened woman who witnessed her husband being shot in the chest during an attempted carjacking. The police were led to Atkins when a woman named Denise Powell told police that Atkins had confessed to being an accomplice in the killing.In the hearing last fall, Denise Powell testified that she fabricated the story of Atkins’ confession. Powell recanted the testimony that helped convict Atkins, saying that she made the confession up and was afraid of changing her story after lying to police.

In his decision Tynan stated that Powell’s recantation, together with the “unreliable and changing [eye-witness] identification causes this court to find that absent Powell’s testimony, no reasonable judge or jury would have convicted Atkins.”

To get Powell’s recantation Wendy Koen, then a second-year law student at California Western, worked tirelessly to track her down and get a signed declaration. Koen is now a California Western graduate and LL.M. student – she represented Atkins in court and celebrated his release with his entire family on friday.

“Tim’s case has been quite an education. It is a blueprint for what is wrong with the American criminal justice system,” said Koen. “Though we celebrate at this moment, I know that tomorrow we will be fighting battles – most of them losing battles – for other inmates who are actually innocent and deserve justice.”

Of more than 300 documented cases of wrongful conviction in the U.S., nearly two-thirds are the result of erroneous identification. Brooks calls the witness identification in Atkins’ case a “highly suggestive, cross-racial identification, in a situation where the person saw the attacker for less than a minute on a dark street. Studies over the past 20 years have shown that these types of identifications are not valid.”Atkins is the fifth inmate that has been released by the work of the California Innocence Project. For more information please visit the project Web site at www.CaliforniaInnocenceProject.org.

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ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA INNOCENCE PROJECT – California Western School of Law is home to the California and Hawaii Innocence Projects. Students at California Western work to free wrongfully convicted inmates by reviewing more than 1,000 claims of innocence each year, and focusing on cases where there is evidence of actual innocence. Innocence Project attorneys and students then investigate cases by tracking down and re-interviewing witnesses, examining new evidence, filling motions, securing expert witnesses, and advocating for their clients during evidentiary hearings and trials. Four California Innocence Project clients have been released since the project’s inception in 2000.

ABOUT CALIFORNIA WESTERN SCHOOL OF LAW - California Western School of Law is the independent, ABA/AALS-accredited San Diego law school that advances multi-dimensional lawyering by educating lawyers-to-be as creative problem solvers and principled advocates who frame the practice of law as a helping, collaborative profession. California Western is home to several innovative centers and institutes including the California Innocence Project, the Center for Creative Problem Solving, the Institute of Health Law Studies, and the Institute for Criminal Defense Advocacy. In addition to a J.D. program, the law school offers several dual degree programs in conjunction with local universities; an LL.M. in Federal Criminal Law; and an M.C.L./LL.M. for foreign law graduates.

Mayor of San Diego to Speak at California Western Graduation Dec. 18
Jerry Sanders and his wife Rana Sampson will address new law graduates

CLICK HERE to get directions to the Manchester Grand Hyatt

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 22, 2006 – Mayor Jerry Sanders and his wife Rana Sampson will address new graduates at California Western School of Law’s fall commencement, Monday, Dec. 18, 10 a.m. at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in downtown San Diego.

“We’re honored to have Mayor Sanders and Rana Sampson as our winter commencement speakers,” said Dean Steven R. Smith. “They both represent the commitment to solving problems and to public service and are role models for our graduates.”A total of 92 degrees will be awarded, with 85 candidates receiving the Juris Doctor (J.D.), 6 receiving the Master of Comparative Law/Master of Laws in Comparative Law (M.C.L./LL.M.) and 1 receiving a dual Juris Doctor and Master’s in Social Work degree (J.D./M.S.W.). In addition, both Sanders and Sampson will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree from California Western.

Sanders was sworn in as mayor of San Diego in 2005. He served as chief of police from 1993 until 1999, gaining national recognition for a 40 percent decrease in crime during the period he led the department.

In 1999, Sanders became president and CEO of the United Way of San Diego County. In 2002, he served as the United Way Campaign Chair and was appointed to the board of the American Red Cross, San Diego and Imperial Counties Chapters.

Sanders has also been active in the private sector, serving as founding partner and consultant for local high-tech start-ups involved with homeland security and infrastructure assessment.

Sampson is an international crime consultant, attorney, and is a member of California Western’s Council of Visitors. She holds a law degree from Harvard and is a judge for the Herman Goldstein International Award for Problem-Solving Excellence. Sampson is one of the main organizers of the annual International Problem-Oriented Policing Conference and is a former judge for the police Fulbright awards and a former commissioner with California’s Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

Sampson was previously a White House Fellow, National Institute of Justice Fellow, crime researcher and trainer at the Police Executive Research Forum, and a patrol officer. She was also an undercover narcotics officer and patrol sergeant with the New York City Police Department for which she was awarded the National Improvement of Justice Award.

Sampson is author of numerous problem-solving publications focused on reducing specific crime and misbehavior problems, including Drug Dealing in Privately Owned Apartment Complexes, Acquaintance Rape of College Students, Bullying in Schools, and co-author with Mike Scott of Tackling Crime and Other Public Safety Problems.

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California Western Innocence Project Takes 20-year-old Case Back to Court

Original defense attorney, now a judge, has doubts about decades old trial

More than 20 years ago, Timothy Atkins was convicted of murder after he was identified by a frightened woman who witnessed her husband being shot in the chest during an attempted carjacking. Now California Innocence Project attorneys are back in court, claiming new evidence proves this identification was faulty and Atkins is innocent. The crime occurred in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 1985, when Maria and Vincente Gonzalez were picking up their children from a babysitter.  Two young African-American males approached the Gonzalez’s car from behind and pointed guns at the couple.  Mr. Gonzalez was shot in the chest by one assailant and the second assailant took a necklace from Mrs. Gonzalez. The police were led to Atkins when a woman named Denise Powell told police that Atkins had confessed to being an accomplice in the killing. 

Recently, in a Los Angeles courtroom, Denise Powell told a different story.  She testified in a habeas action brought by the California Innocence Project of California Western School of Law that she fabricated the story of Atkins’ confession and that she has had trouble living with that lie. “Timothy Atkins would not have been convicted without Denise Powell’s testimony,” states California Western Professor Justin Brooks, director of the California Innocence Project and Atkins’ lead attorney.  “There was no physical evidence, confession, or weapon linking him to the crime.” The courtroom where she testified in the habeas action is presided over by Judge Michael Tynan, the original trial judge in the case.  The original defense attorney, David Wesley, also appeared to testify, but in the time since the trial, he has gone on to become a presiding judge in Los Angeles.   Judge Wesley was actually called as a witness for the prosecution, but when he took the stand in September he testified to Atkins innocence.  “Mr. Atkins case was one of those cases you remember for a long time,” Wesley said.  “I had some real doubts about whether he was guilty or not.  And in fact, when I represented him, I was convinced that he was not guilty.  And that doubt stayed with me.” 

The Innocence Project is also challenging the validity of the identification made by Mrs. Gonzalez.  “This was a highly suggestive, cross-racial identification, in a situation where the person saw the attacker for less than a minute on a dark street,” says Brooks.  “Studies over the past 20 years have shown that these types of identifications are not valid.” Timothy Atkins was convicted of one count of murder and two counts of robbery on July 28, 1987.  He is currently serving a sentence of 32 years to life.  The Innocence Project argued for the reversal of Atkins’ conviction during the hearing’sfFinal arguments Nov. 1. Judge Tynan announced that he will give his decision on Dec. 22.  ### 

ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA INNOCENCE PROJECT – California Western School of Law is home to the California and Hawaii Innocence Projects. Students at California Western work to free wrongfully convicted inmates by reviewing more than 1,000 claims of innocence each year, and focusing on cases where there is evidence of actual innocence. Innocence Project attorneys and students then investigate cases by tracking down and re-interviewing witnesses, examining new evidence, filling motions, securing expert witnesses, and advocating for their clients during evidentiary hearings and trials. Four California Innocence Project clients have been released since the project’s inception in 2000.

California Western targets prospective students through new technology

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 16, 2006 – California Western is in the midst of a “recruiting revolution.” To appeal to a new generation of prospective law students, law professors discuss current events on a weekly podcast and first-year law students blog their experiences of studying law and living life in San Diego.  

“Although new to California Western, many of these technologies are not new to prospective students,” said Traci Howard, assistant dean of admissions. “We are evolving with technology and the way students seek information. We are stepping into a new wave of recruiting.”

Multi-blog tells the life of law students

California Western also recently entered the blogosphere. Four students – three of them first-year law students – are blogging their experiences at California Western in San Diego.

“Prospective students are always asking me what they should expect from the first year of law school – these blogs will give undergraduates considering law school a good idea of what being a 1L is like,” said Howard. “They can provide prospective students some answers straight from current law students who are just like them, in a ‘real-world’ medium they are familiar with.”

The new California Western bloggers come from very different backgrounds, places, and experiences. Each offers a unique perspective into the life of a law student: Josh, a first-year student from the University of Hawaii at Manoa; Andrea, a first-year student from the University of Wyoming; Bianca, a first-year student from the University of Miami; and Solomon, a second-year and California Innocence Project student from the University of Texas at Austin.  

“I am so excited to begin this journey,” said Andrea in her first blog post. “I think this blog will be great for me, because I will get a chance to reflect on my law school experience. Furthermore, I hope this blog will give everyone an idea of what a first-year in law school is like and how fun San Diego is!” 

In addition to student bloggers, California Western plans to have four law professors blog about their specialty areas in the near future.  

“One in six Americans read blogs and our target age group reads them twice as often as others,” said Franki Fitterer, associate director for marketing and communications. “By adding the student blog to our family of marketing materials we are appealing to the next generation of California Western students.” 

California Western in your music library

On Law in 10, California Western’s weekly podcast, professors are taking their expertise from the classroom to the iPod, providing legal analysis on current news topics, all in 10 minutes. Each week the show features different legal experts and topics of interest.“Although a handful of other law schools use podcasts for lectures and speaker events, we believe California Western is the first law school to offer a weekly news commentary,” said David Bowers, assistant dean for external affairs. “Our purpose in launching this effort is to introduce our faculty members to ‘Gen iPod,’ the 19-24 year old college student with an interest in legal issues. We believe others will develop an interest in what our faculty have to say as well.”

The first podcast debuted on Aug. 24, 2006 and featured criminal law Professor Justin Brooks and constitutional law Professor Marilyn Ireland. Brooks – also director of the California Innocence Project – discussed media coverage, false confessions, and DNA testing concerning the 10-year-old JonBenet Ramsey murder. Ireland – a long-time San Diego resident and First Amendment specialist – talked about the ongoing San Diego Mt. Soledad Cross controversy.

CLICK HERE to go to the Law in 10 Web site.
CLICK HERE to view California Western’s bloggers.

New Joint Master’s in Health Law with UCSD

UC San Diego and California Western Launch Joint Master’s in Health Law
New Degree Takes Innovative Approach to Emerging Field of Practice

Official Program Web Site

LA JOLLA, Calif., Oct. 16, 2006—Combining the academic strengths of UC San Diego and California Western School of Law, the two schools are launching a joint master’s degree in Health Law. The only program of its kind the western U.S., the program equips graduates with a more complete understanding of the best scientific, ethical, regulatory, and management practices in both professions, with a goal of establishing compatible solutions in policy and practice. Information from individuals interested in applying to the 2007 program is now being accepted.
 
“This joint degree with UCSD will bring lawyers and doctors together to evaluate, and help resolve, some of the most important questions in health care delivery, bioethics, and health law,” said Dean Steven R. Smith of California Western School of Law.  “A better understanding between lawyers and the medical field can only improve the quality of services we provide.”  
 
Led by faculty from the School of Medicine at UC San Diego and California Western School of Law, the rigorous graduate-level curriculum is designed to orient professionals to the common activities, philosophy of practice, and challenges of the companion discipline in healthcare or law. The program focuses on training practitioners in both fields to become leaders in providing integrated, sensitive solutions to every-day practice.
 
“Graduates with a MAS degree in Health Law will be better able deal with and solve the complicated medical issues that are arising in our global environment, ” said Bryan Liang, associate professor of anesthesiology at UCSD and professor of law at California Western. “Coursework will delve into the controversy around issues such as the U.S. drug supply and safety, online pharmacies, medical malpractice, and access to Medicare—everywhere medicine and law interface.”

The Master of Advanced Studies (MAS) is a fully accredited, 36-unit master’s degree conferred jointly by UCSD and California Western School of Law. A third partner is UCSD Extended Studies and Public Programs, which administers the program and provides student advising. For more information including graduate admission requirements and application procedures, visit hlaw.ucsd.edu or call 858-964-1313.

Media Contacts: Jackie Carr jcarr@ucsd.edu (858) 822-2029
                          Franki Fitterer fjf@cwsl.edu (619) 515-1545