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Jan. 31, 2005.
Kristy Moon, editor.
Judge William L. Dwyer: A Distinguished Alumnus
--Camilla Tubbs
The Honorable William L. Dwyer is perhaps one of the most beloved alumni
of the University of Washington. In June 2001, the UW School of Law
established the William L. Dwyer Endowed Chair in Law. This chair serves as
a grateful acknowledgment of Judge Dwyer’s legal career which spanned more
than forty years. And when Judge Dwyer died in 2002, the Federal Bar
Association of the Western District of Washington and the UW established the
William L. Dwyer Jury Project Award, an annual writing competition on the
American jury system, for the UW law students.
Judge Dwyer, who grew up on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, received his
bachelor's degree from the UW, and attended the UW School of Law before
earning his law degree from New York University. Before being appointed a
U.S. District Court judge in 1987, Dwyer was a vigorous trial lawyer. In
1963, at the height of the "Red Scares" during the Cold War, Dwyer
represented Democratic state legislator John Goldmark in a libel suit
against political opponents who had falsely accused him of communist
sympathies. For both Goldmark and Dwyer, the case was a tremendous victory.
Not only did Goldmark receive a $40,000 defamation verdict in his favor, the
case marked the first successful libel challenge by a plaintiff accused of
communist affiliations. Dwyer wrote a book about his experience working on
the case in The Goldmark Case: An American Libel Trial(KF228.G65
D85 1984 at Classified Stacks).
Dwyer also represented the City of Seattle and King County in their
antitrust suit against major league baseball's American League, when that
League moved the one-year-old Seattle Pilots franchise to Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. So relentless was Dwyer, the case settled mid-trial and the
Mariners baseball team was established in Seattle.
But perhaps Dwyer will be most remembered for his work as a U.S. District
Court judge. In 1991, he rendered a controversial decision that ordered the
U.S. Forest Service to adopt a conservation plan to ensure the survival of
the spotted owl, much to the chagrin of the Northwest timber loggers.
If you would like to learn more about Judge Dwyer, take a look at his two
books, The Goldmark Case: An American Libel Trial (KF228.G65 D85 1984
at Classified Stacks), and In the Hands of the People: The Trial
Jury's Origins, Triumphs, Troubles, and Future in American Democracy (KF9680
.D89 2002 at Classified Stacks). Furthermore, a video recording,
Upholding the Promise: Profiles in Judicial Courage, which documents
Judge Dwyer’s controversial "spotted owl decision," is available (KF8775.U64
1996 at Classified Stacks). And if you are really curious, Pegeen
Mulhern, a law librarianship student and an intern at the Gallagher Law
Library, clerked for Judge Dwyer during the 1990’s and is more than happy to
share her experience with this distinguished legal figure.
Copy Center – New Hours
The Copy Center on L2 has permanently reduced its hours. It is now open
Mon-Fri, 8:30am-12:30pm. Their phone number is 685-2623.
Do You Know About JURIST?
How do you keep up with the latest legal news? How do you hear the newest
buzz on what’s happening in law schools?
JURIST, http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/, is a legal news web site and a law
school news weblog run by a team of law students and law professor Bernard
Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. It is ad-free,
non-commercial, and the only site maintained entirely by a legally-trained
staff reporting in real-time. As a public service site, it focuses on
substantive legal issues with significant social and jurisprudential
implications, rather than sensational legal news about crimes, trials, and
celebrities that have mass-market appeal. JURIST also attempts to provide a
more even balance of U.S. and international legal news than is common in
traditional media. Originally launched in 1996, JURIST has been featured in
stories in the Wall Street Journal, Law.com, the National Law
Journal, the Chronicle of High Education, and won "the wonderful
legal education mega-site" recognition from the New York Times in
2000.
To access the law school news weblog, click on the Legal Education tab or
go to http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/lawschoolnews/.
Book of the Week: Winning Every Time
-- Kristy Moon
Lis Wiehl, Winning Every Time: How to Use the Skills of a Lawyer in
the Trials of Your Life (New York: Ballantine Books, 2004) (KF5481.W54
2004 at Classified Stacks).
We all go through life negotiating and advocating for ourselves in our
workplace, personal relationships, and everyday activities. And although we
may be trained in tackling legal problems, many of us can use some help in
tackling life’s other trials. Lis Wiehl, a member of our faculty, takes the
lessons learned from trial advocacy and translates them into tools that
ordinary people can use to deal with challenges in their lives such as
buying a car, getting a raise, or standing up to an unhelpful salesclerk.
This book is not about turning everyone into argumentative lawyers, but
about teaching people how to advocate for themselves on things that are too
important to let slide. The book is light, fun, and filled with useful
advice that is illustrated with many personal anecdotes.
Part I explains in detail the eight steps to effectively making your case
in all types of situations:
- Know What You Want: The Theory of the Case – articulate a
central thesis and establish your final objective.
- Choose and Cultivate Your Audience: Voir Dire – bring your
case to the person who "calls the shots" and know the best time and the
place to do so.
- Marshal Your Evidence: Discovery – systematically gather all
the information that supports your case as well as challenges what
you’re trying to achieve.
- Advocate with Confidence: Making the Case – with confidence
and not emotion, know what you’re going to say, how you’re going to say
it, and what you’ll say to your opponent’s challenges.
- Counter the Claims: Cross-examination – challenge your
opponent’s allegations gently but consistently.
- Stay True to Your Case: Avoid the Seven Deadly Spins – keep
your argument authentic and avoid reacting with inappropriate emotion.
- Advocate with Heart: Let Me Tell You a Story – humanize your
case by shaping it into a personal story.
- Sum It Up: The Closing Argument – close the deal by restating
your theory of the case, referring to the key supporting evidence,
reminding the decision maker of the story you’ve told, and asking for
the outcome you’re seeking.
Part II is dedicated to special topics such as Wining at Work, Winning in
Business and Consumer Negotiations, A Woman’s Voice, Advocacy with Loved
Ones, and Eight Steps to Effective Parenting.
Lis Wiehl is an associate professor at the UW School of law, "of counsel"
at Perkins Coie, a legal analyst on Fox News channel, a co-host of daily
radio show, The Radio Factor, and a legal commentator on National
Public Radio’s All Things Considered. |
