Representing a Client in a Defense of Guardianship Case (Webinar) – September 10

Presented by the National Center on Law & Elder Rights

September 10, 2019

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. (MDT)

Live Webinar via GoToWebinar via the NCLER

Lawyers serve an essential role in protecting the due process rights of every defendant or respondent in an adult guardianship case. This can include presenting evidence that no guardian is needed or that a limited guardianship is sufficient to provide the protections that are needed. This webcast will focus on the role of an attorney who represents the interests and wishes of a client who is the subject of a guardianship action.

Presenters will share:

• How to protect the client’s due process rights;

• Options for when a guardian / conservator is not needed;

• How to respond when the filing asks for more protection than is needed; and

• Actions to take when a guardianship order is no longer needed, or a less restrictive order will protect the client.

This training will explore common due process concerns and substantive defenses in adult guardianship cases. Presenters will discuss how to develop and present evidence advocating for the least restrictive alternatives in an adult guardianship case.

Previous NCLER trainings on this topic can be found here.

Closed captioning will be available on this webcast. A link with access to the captions will be shared through GoToWebinar’s chat box shortly before the webcast start time.

Presenters:

• David Godfrey, Senior Attorney, ABA Commission on Law and Aging

• Catherine Seal, Senior Partner, Kirtland & Seal, L.L.C.

For more information, including registration, click HERE.

1st District Bar Golfing for Ethics Golf Tournament & CLE (Coeur d’Alene) – September 20

All members of the First District Bar legal community are invited to participate in the First District Bar Association 2019 Golf Tournament. The tournament is scramble format with a shotgun start at 12:00 p.m. Sign up as a group or individually.  Smaller groups will be put into foursomes.  Prizes will be awarded.

2.0 Ethics CLE Credits

11:00 a.m.  Lunch & 12:00 p.m. Shotgun Start

Coeur d’Alene Public Golf Course

Cost:  Includes lunch – $60/person with cart or $45/person without cart

Your entry form and payment must be received by Monday, September 16.

Please click HERE for the registration form.

6th District Bar and Court Reception with the Idaho Supreme Court (Pocatello) – September 10

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

6:00 P.M. (MT)

Rosewood Reception Center

1499 Bannock Hwy, Pocatello, ID 83204

The Sixth District Bar Association jointly with the Sixth District Court are hosting the Idaho Supreme Court for an evening reception. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from and mingle with our Idaho Supreme Court Justices.  Hors d’oeuvres will be served.

The event is free of charge.

Please RSVP to hayley@racineolson.com by Friday September 6, 2019

5th District Bar and Inns of Court Joint Meeting Featuring the Idaho Supreme Court (Twin Falls) – September 12

Thursday, September 12, 2019

6:00 pm Social – 7:00 p.m. Program

Milner’s Gate – 205 Shoshone Street North, Twin Falls

Please join the 5th District Bar and the Inns of Court as they welcome the Idaho Supreme Court to the Magic/Wood River Valley.  The evening will begin with a social hour and the program will follow. 

Please RSVP to 5th District Treasurer, Katie Franklin at krf@lawsonlaski.com or (208) 725-0055 by Monday, September 9th.

Idaho Criminal Rule 4 Amendment – Telephonic Arrest Warrants

The Idaho Supreme Court has amended Idaho Criminal Rule 4 to allow an application for an arrest warrant by telephone or other electronic means similar to the process set out in I.C.R. 41 for search warrants.  The rule was effective immediately when signed on August 23, 2019, so the rule has already been updated and can be found on the Court’s website at https://isc.idaho.gov/icr4.

2019 Idaho Indian Child Welfare Conference- October 29-30

Idaho Students Awarded at National Mock Trial Championship

By Carey A. Shoufler

Idaho was well represented at the recent National High School Mock Trial Championship in Athens, Georgia. Idaho’s courtroom artist, Mikayla Dougherty, placed third in the National Courtroom Artist Contest and Laina Wyrick from Idaho’s national mock trial team was one of only 10 students chosen as an Outstanding Witness. One note of interest: Mikayla’s award-winning drawing includes Laina on the witness stand.

Laina Wyrick

Laina Wyrick from The Logos School, chosen as an Outstanding Witness at the National Mock Trial Championship. Photos courtesy of Carey A. Shoufler.

More than 140 students play witness roles at the National Mock Trial Championship and only 10 of those students receive an Outstanding Witness award, as determined by the judging panels over four rounds of competition. This year, Laina Wyrick from the Logos School in Moscow was one of those students.

Laina participated in mock trial for three years. During that time she took on both attorney and witness roles for her team and always played the role of expert witness. Her coach, Chris Schlect, indicated that she has a superior technical mind, which made her a formidable expert witness. Chris said, “She knew the case better than the opposing attorneys and could not be touched in cross-examination. She parried tough questions with refined distinctions while holding her ground when she needed to, all the while maintaining an air of scientific objectivity that is the hallmark of a strong expert witness.”

Laina recently graduated from Logos and will be attending Washington State University in the fall, where she will be studying physics and mathematics.

Mikayla Dougherty

Mikayla Dougherty from Lewiston High School represented Idaho in the National Courtroom Artist Contest. Her task was to observe trials with an eye toward finding the most interesting or newsworthy action and accurately depicting a chosen scene in a sketch that was completed during a two-hour round of competition. The National Courtroom Artist Contest was piloted in Boise in 2016 and follows a similar format to Idaho’s contest, with the top three entries acknowledged at an awards ceremony at the end of the competition weekend.

Mikayla Dougherty from Lewiston High School placed third in the National Courtroom Artist Contest.

This was Mikayla’s first year participating as a courtroom artist. As someone who is interested in art, (in fact, Mikayla will begin her studies next year at University of Nevada Las Vegas in fine art, with a focus on drawing, painting, and printmaking) she was excited when she heard an announcement saying that one of the ways she could participate in mock trial was as a courtroom artist. She says it ended up being a really good experience for her. “I was so excited when they called my name. There were so many talented artists who participated and it’s was an honor to place in the top three.”

Mikayla traveled to Athens with her teacher and mock trial coach, Shannon VanBuren, who believes that courtroom art is a great opportunity for student-artists to improve their skills and present their work to others. “It has been such a wonderful experience to have the courtroom artists as part of the mock trial program. They bring a vibrant spirit to the competition and it has always been great seeing their work.” Ms. VanBuren was proud of what Mikayla accomplished at the national competition in Athens. “She had an opportunity to experience new ways to portray scenes and better her art.”

The Idaho Law Foundation and the Law Related Education Program congratulate Mikayla and Laina for their well-deserved awards. We are proud to count them among our mock trial participants and wish them success in their college careers.

For more information about Idaho’s Mock Trial Program, contact Carey Shoufler at cshoufler@isb.idaho.gov or visit the Mock Trial website at idahomocktrial.org.


Carey A. Shoufler has served as the Development and Law Related Education Director for the Idaho Law Foundation for over 13 years.

Hon. Jesse Walters Exemplifies Passion for Learning

By Lindsey M. Welfley

Hon. Jesse R. Walters, Jr. – 2019 Idaho State Bar Distinguished Jurist

An Idaho native through and through, Justice Walters was born in Rexburg in 1938 and graduated from Idaho Falls High School in 1957. The path to law school began early for Walters; since his junior high days and into high school, the suggestion to go into the legal profession was ever-present – classmates had made it known they would be attending law school, Walters’ ninth grade speech teacher encouraged the legal profession as a great choice, and on senior day before graduation local attorney Eugene Bush came to speak to the seniors interested in law. Walters recalled it was at that point “I knew I was headed to law school.” He transferred to the University of Idaho receiving his L.L.B. in 1963 and later his Juris Doctorate. Justice Walters considers himself a lifelong learner and his subsequent academic achievements are a testament to that quality – Walters received an L.L.M. degree from the University of Virginia and has spent his career attending courses at the University of Washington Law School, New York University Law School, the University of Kansas School of Law, and the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada.

Justice Walters was admitted to the Idaho State Bar in 1963, alongside admission to the United States District Court for the District of Idaho and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Walters served as a law clerk to the Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court from 1963 to 1964 and then as an attorney for the Idaho Senate during the 1965 legislative session. It was at this time that he entered the private practice in Boise, practicing from 1964 until 1977 when then-Governor John Evans appointed him to the bench as District Judge for the Fourth Judicial District. Walters served in that capacity from 1977 to 1982 and served as Administrative District Judge of the Fourth Judicial District from 1981 to 1982.

In the early 80s, the Idaho Court of Appeals was in its formative stage. When the Court was officially created in 1981 Governor Evans named Walters as one of the three original members. Walters was then selected by the Chief Justice of the Idaho Supreme Court to serve as Chief Appellate Judge and was reappointed to that position on the bench through seven two-year terms, from 1982 to 1997. By the late 90s, Walters had built a reputable tenure on the bench – in preparation for his next judicial appointment. In 1997, Walters was appointed by then-Governor Phil Batt as the 50th Justice to serve on the Idaho Supreme Court. Walters was elected in May 1998 to a six-year term on the Court. He retired in July 2003 but continued to work for many years as a senior justice.

While holding onto his Idaho roots, Justice Walters’ career took him all over the country for leadership and educational opportunities alike. Walters was a member of the American Bar Association for over 25 years and served on the Board of Directors for both the American Judicature Society and the Idaho Law Foundation, Inc. Walters served as an officer and president of the Council of Chief Judges of the State Intermediate Courts of Appeals, and during his tenure developed lifelong friendships among judges at the trial court and appellate court levels nationwide. For over 20 years, both before and after retirement, Walters served as a visiting judge for the International Law and Technology Moot Court competition each fall at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois – an experience he mentions was “great fun, meeting contacts from all over the country who are just true, great friends.”

Back in Idaho, Walters chaired the Idaho Supreme Court’s Criminal Rules Committee, the Jury Reform Committee, and the pattern Criminal Jury Instructions Committee. He was active in many community affairs, serving as President of the Vista Lions and of the Boise Jaycees and as an instructor for numerous continuing legal and judicial education programs with the Idaho State Bar and at the University of Idaho College of Law. During his tenure on the Idaho Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and the District Court, Justice Walters participated in over 4,200 appeals. At the time of his retirement, he had been the author of 1,372 appellate opinions. Following his retirement in 2003, Justice Walters continued to serve in the judiciary as a Senior Judge, sitting as a judge pro tem with the Idaho Supreme Court and the Idaho Court of Appeals, continuing to write opinions for both courts and serving as an Appellate Settlement Conference mediator and Idaho State Bar discipline investigator.

Aside from strictly law-related volunteer commitments, after retirement, Walters served for 10 years as a trustee with the Idaho State Historical Society and in 2018 received the Society’s Esto Perpetua Award for his contributions to the preservation of Idaho history. He volunteers as a tour guide at the Old Idaho Penitentiary and as a docent at the Idaho State Historical Museum.

In 2015, Walters received the prestigious George G. Granata, Jr. Professionalism Award from the Idaho Judiciary for his contributions and service as a motivating and inspirational role model to his colleagues on the bench. He and his wife, Harriet, have been married for 60 years and have three children: Craig, Robyn and Scott, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, expecting another in August 2019.


Lindsey M. Welfley is the Communications Director for the Idaho State Bar and the Idaho Law Foundation, Inc. She has worked for the Idaho State Bar since 2015. Lindsey received her B.A. in History from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona and is a certified social media marketer. In her free time, Lindsey enjoys cooking international cuisines, reading classic literature, and playing with her two pets.

Community Commitment Drives Bill Gigray

By Lindsey M. Welfley

William (Bill) Gigray is a Caldwell native and has been a longstanding positive force in his local community for decades. Bill grew up around the legal profession; his late father, William Gigray, Jr., was a member of the Idaho State Bar for over 60 years and instilled the importance of family, faith, community service and giving back. After Bill graduated from Caldwell High School, he followed in his father’s footsteps and decided a career in the legal profession was the right fit for him.

William F. Gigray III – 2019 Idaho State Bar Distinguished Lawyer

Bill is a two-time Vandal, having attended the University of Idaho for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees. Bill received his B.A. from the University of Idaho in 1969. Immediately thereafter, he attended the University of Idaho College of Law. Bill met his wife during their time at the University of Idaho together and in 1971, Bill married Barbara Anderson. Bill graduated with his Juris Doctorate one year later, in 1972, and together Bill and Barbara moved from Moscow to Boise, then Portland before finally settling in Caldwell. Bill was admitted to the Idaho State Bar in 1973 and is also admitted to the Federal Courts, United States Supreme Court, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Upon graduation from law school and admittance to the Bar, Bill began in private practice in Caldwell with the Gigray Miller firm until 1990 and subsequently continuing as a shareholder of the law firm of White Peterson in Nampa. He practices municipal law, business law, estate planning, governmental law, probate, and real estate. As part of his distinguished career, Bill has served in several leadership capacities both Bar-related and otherwise. Bill served as Third District Bar Association President early on in his career, from 1978 through 1979. He held a position on the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association Board of Directors from 1998 through 2003, serving as the President of ITLA from 2001 through 2002.

Additionally, Bill is a member of several reputable organizations and committees. In Idaho, he is a member of both the Idaho Supreme Court Civil Rules Committee and the Idaho Supreme Court Civil Rules Ad Hoc Committee. On the national scale, Bill is a member of Trial Lawyers of America and the National School Boards Associations’ Council of School Attorneys.

In 2006, Bill was awarded the Idaho State Bar Professionalism Award for his admirable embodiment of professional courtesy throughout the duration of his career. When interviewed for that award over a decade ago, Bill expressed his belief that professionalism as a virtue is grounded in respect for each other and for the rule of law that he and his legal peers serve. Those sentiments, and his beliefs, have not changed. He states: “How we conduct ourselves in this practice toward our clients, with the people we deal with on behalf of our clients and with each other matters a great deal.” He goes on to say, “Without professionalism, there is no profession.”

Bill is equally committed to community engagement outside the legal world and is heavily involved in both his church and civic groups. Over the years he has served as president of the Jaycees, Optimist Club, Greenbelt Civic League of Caldwell, Inc., the Caldwell Foundation for Education Opportunity, Inc., the Foundation for Ada/Canyon Trails Systems, Inc. (FACTS), and is currently the Moderator of the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the Pacific of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. He has spent countless hours doing school board work and municipal work; both of which have made marked positive impacts on the communities in which he’s worked.

Just as Bill’s father left a legacy by way of another generation of Gigray attorneys, so too has Bill. He and his late wife, Barbara, have three children; Anne, William IV, and Mary. Their daughter, Mary Gigray of Caldwell, is also an Idaho attorney. Mary continues the Gigray legacy in the legal profession and is a public defender in Canyon County. She is known by her colleagues as a noteworthy lawyer and another great member of her community and of the Bar – virtues instilled by her father. After Bill’s wife passed away, she relocated to Canyon County.


Lindsey M. Welfley is the Communications Director for the Idaho State Bar and the Idaho Law Foundation, Inc. She has worked for the Idaho State Bar since 2015. Lindsey received her B.A. in History from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona and is a certified social media marketer. In her free time, Lindsey enjoys cooking international cuisines, reading classic literature, and playing with her two pets.

Idaho’s Great Outdoors Inspire Jeff Fereday

By Lindsey M. Welfley

Jeffrey C. Fereday – 2019 Idaho State Bar Distinguished Lawyer

Over nearly 40 years in law practice, Jeffrey Fereday has fashioned a distinguished career in water rights, natural resources, and environmental law. Growing up in Boise, he developed an appreciation for public lands and often experienced the out of doors while hunting, fishing, and backpacking. These interests helped lead him into his areas of legal specialty later on. Fereday graduated from Borah High School in 1968 and attended Columbia University in New York City, graduating in 1972.

During his college years and for a while after, Jeff supported himself by fighting wildland fires for the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. For six years he was a smokejumper, first in Idaho and later in Alaska. From 1973 to 1977 Fereday worked for the Idaho Conservation League, beginning as a volunteer and ending up as its Executive Director. He entered Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon in 1977, attracted there by the law school’s then-fledgling environmental law program. At Lewis and Clark, Jeff was associate editor of the law review, Environmental Law, the nation’s first law review devoted to this subject. Years later, the Law School recognized Jeff as a Distinguished Environmental Law graduate.

In 1980, Fereday graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School, was admitted to the Washington State Bar, and took his first job in Washington D.C. in the Honors Program at the Solicitor’s Office at the Department of the Interior. The following year, he married Kay Hummel, also a Boise native, and was admitted to the Idaho State Bar. In 1981, due to the change in administration after the 1980 election, the Honors Program was eliminated, leaving Fereday and his 13 fellow program attorneys without employment. The young lawyers sued, claiming the new administration violated Federal Employment Rules, in a case entitled Fereday et al v. Watt. Although the suit failed, Interior’s former Solicitor, Clyde Martz, offered Jeff and one of his fellow plaintiffs a new opportunity as attorneys at his Denver firm, Davis, Graham & Stubbs. It was at Davis Graham where Jeff built his foundation in water law, representing water conservation districts, farmers, and cities in water rights transfers, mitigation plans, and in disputes between ground and surface water users. Jeff maintains lasting friendships with several colleagues from the Colorado water bar.

In 1985, Jeff and Kay moved back to their hometown after Jeff was offered the opportunity to start a water rights and environmental practice at Givens Pursley, then primarily a boutique real estate firm run by Ken Pursley, one of Jeff’s early mentors at the Idaho Conservation League. Jeff’s efforts to build that practice eventually led him back to his Colorado colleagues in search of legal talent. Both Mike Creamer and Chris Meyer joined Givens Pursley through those efforts. Fereday was made partner in 1987. He and Kay welcomed their first son, Wyatt, in 1988, followed by their second son, Charlie, in 1992.

Fereday has argued several cases in the Idaho Supreme Court, worked on cases which resulted in landmark precedents for water rights in Idaho and has served as Arbitrator in disputes before the United States Supreme Court related to apportionment of the waters of the Republican River, an interstate waterway. One of his more rewarding projects, Fereday recalled, was his work, pro bono, that resulted in the preservation of Box Canyon in the Hagerman Valley. On the other side of the environmental divide, Fereday singles out a successful defense of a mining claim in wilderness, in litigation that established new federal law pertaining to the Equal Access to Justice Act. That controversial mining claim was ultimately patented and then promptly purchased by the Forest Service, another result of Fereday’s efforts in this case.

Fereday cites several professional relationships as having a marked impact on his career. Bill Hillhouse, Greg Hobbs, and the late Clyde Martz were Fereday’s primary mentors at Davis Graham & Stubbs. During his time at Interior, Fereday cites John Leshy as a significant influence. As to his colleagues in Idaho, Fereday singles out Michael Creamer, Chris Meyer, Deb Nelson and Michael Lawrence, all attorneys in practice at Givens Pursley, as trusted and valuable colleagues in his areas of practice. “I have had the pleasure of working with some brilliant lawyers.”

Outside of the legal profession, Fereday says his main passion is playing guitar. “It’s the best kind of meditation,” says Fereday. Fereday also enjoys Nordic skiing with his wife and sons – both of whom have been national-level competitors – and trekking through Idaho’s great outdoors, whether hiking, road biking, or mountain biking.


Lindsey M. Welfley is the Communications Director for the Idaho State Bar and the Idaho Law Foundation, Inc. She has worked for the Idaho State Bar since 2015. Lindsey received her B.A. in History from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona and is a certified social media marketer. In her free time, Lindsey enjoys cooking international cuisines, reading classic literature, and playing with her two pets.