Please join the Seventh District Bar and the Idaho Falls Rotary Club for an online program featuring Idaho Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger S. Burdick TOMORROW, MAY 6, 2020 at 12:20 p.m. (MT). Chief Justice Burdick will be discussing COVID-19 and its effect on the Idaho courts and the legal system.

Please submit any questions you would like addressed by messaging them via Facebook in advance to @iflunchin. Grab your lunch and join us using the following links:
Facebook Live
Youtube Channel with IE Productions

We hope you can tune in. If you miss it live, watch for replay links.

The Idaho Law Foundation’s Law Related Education Program is proud to announce that three Idaho students were selected for prizes in the Foundation’s annual Law Day Podcast Contest. Student podcasts explored the 2020 Law Day theme celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the 19^th Amendment. Podcasts focused on a quote from Susan B. Anthony: “Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it.” The prompt asked students to examine the importance of voting rights.

The top three student entries include:

• First Place: Elinor Smith, Borah High School, Boise. Elinor is a senior. Her podcast focused on the importance of youth voting. She said she spent over 3 months working on her podcast and that “the best thing about making a podcast or doing any sort of journalism is that you don’t have to know anything about anything. The host puts themselves in the place of the listener and learns new things to share with listeners.” Next year Elinor will attend the University of Montana where she plans to study journalism.
• Second Place: Sophia Willmorth, One Stone, Boise. Sophia is a ninth grader. Her podcast explored what voters’ rights have looked like throughout the history of the United States. She said, “I decided that I wanted to answer the prompt by retelling the stories of some of the original suffragettes that I felt were integral to the passing of the 19th Amendment.”
• Third Place: Marilla Story, Logos School, Moscow. Marilla is a tenth grader. She decided to create her podcast because her history class was studying voting rights and she found the topic fascinating and important. She also loved being able to incorporate music from the time period into her submission.

The Law Day Podcast Contest is open to Idaho high school students. Entrants submitted 5 to 10-minute audio podcasts and could create their podcast individually or in groups of 2 or 3. The contest was sponsored by the Richard C. Fields American Inn of Court. Their sponsorship allowed the Foundation to award the top three entries prizes of $1,000, $500, and $250, respectively.

Podcasts were critiqued by a panel of judges that included educators and attorneys. The judges scored the submissions on content, delivery, and production. One of the judges, Cindy Wilson said, “Creative educational activities like this contest provide the best opportunities for young people to learn how to have their voices heard in their communities. That’s exactly what we saw in the excellent entries we judged; our future is in good hands with these students.”

The Idaho Law Foundation would like to thank our sponsors and judges for their support of the Podcast Contest. We appreciate their dedication to advancing civic education in our state.

The entries can be accessed by click the link below. For more information about the Law Day Podcast Contest, contact Carey Shoufler, Idaho Law Foundation Law Related Education Director, at cshoufler@isb.idaho.gov.

About Law Day: Established in 1958 by President Eisenhower, Law Day is celebrated each year on May 1 to help Americans better understand the law and our legal system. Each year, Law Day is centered on a different theme to spotlight an important aspect of the law.

About the Idaho Law Foundation’s Law Related Education Program: Founded in 1974, the Idaho Law Foundation serves as the charitable arm of the Idaho State Bar. As a program of the Idaho Law Foundation, Law Related Education is a civic education program that works to educate the public about the role of law in a democratic society.

The Idaho State Bar Attorney Well-Being Task Force invites you to celebrate Lawyer Well-Being Week, May 4th through May 8th. Join other members of the profession, the courts and support staff by participating in these free remote-friendly activities.

We will focus on a different aspect of well-being Monday through Friday. Every day you will have at least three different suggestions for activities and education. This “well- rounded” wheel shows the well-being emphasis for each day of the week. There is something for everyone!

Click on the days of the week for specific activities including something to watch, something to read and something to do that is focused on an element of well-being for each day.

Thank you to the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being for leading the effort to raise awareness of the importance of well-being for all. For additional information, resources, and activities, please visit the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being website.  

Member of ISB’s Attorney Well-Being Task Force wish all of you continued health and well-being, especially in these challenging times.  If you are in need of any particular assistance, the Idaho Lawyer’s Assistance Program and its website offers resources in a wide range of areas—please do not hesitate to reach out.

If you are interested in more comprehensive workouts and nutrition information, please also visit our 21 Day Idaho Strong Challenge page. You can sign up to take the challenge and help the Idaho Volunteer Lawyers Program at the same time.

The Mindfulness in the Law Society has a series of weekly chats entitled: Pandemic Life:  Weekly Chats for Lawyers and the Legal Profession. The series is designed to help lawyers, judges, law students and other legal professionals deal with challenges related to life and practice during COVID-19. Each half hour session will focus on a pressing topic. They are live at 5:30 p.m. MDT on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in their private Facebook group. For more information or to register, visit their website HERE.

The American Bar Association also has a series of webinars this week on on well-being that are free to ABA members, but available for anyone. Please click HERE for a list.

If you have suggestions for activities for the Attorney Well-Being Task Force, please feel free to email the chair Julie Stomper at julie@beardstclair.com.

The Idaho Supreme Court has issued an Order establishing how court proceedings and facilities will be operated as of May 1, 2020. Please read the full Order linked below:

In Re: Emergency Reduction in Court Services and Limitation of Access to Court Facilities

The Idaho Supreme Court has issued an Order regarding the further extension of emergency reduction in court services and limitation of access to court facilities through April 30, 2020. Please read the full Order linked below:

In Re: Extension of Emergency Reduction in Court Services and Limitation of Access to Court Facilities

The Idaho State Bar Board of Commissioners is now soliciting nominations for professional awards. These awards were initiated by the Board of Commissioners to highlight members who demonstrate exemplary leadership, direction, and commitment in their profession.

• Distinguished Lawyer – This award is given to an attorney (or attorneys) each year who has distinguished the profession through exemplary conduct and many years of dedicated service to the profession and to Idaho citizens.
• Distinguished Jurist Award – This award recognizes excellence, integrity, and independence by a member of the judiciary. Nominees are selected for their competence, fairness, goodwill, and professionalism.
• Professionalism Awards – These awards are given to at least one attorney in each of Idaho’s seven judicial districts who has engaged in extraordinary activity in his or her community, in the state, or in the profession, which reflects the highest standards of professionalism.
• Pro Bono Awards – Pro bono awards are presented to attorneys from each of the judicial districts that have donated extraordinary time and effort to help clients who are unable to pay for services.
• Service Awards – Service awards are given each year to lawyers and non-lawyers for exemplary service to the Bar and/or Idaho Law Foundation.
• Outstanding Young Lawyer – The purpose of this award is to recognize a young lawyer who has provided service to the profession, the Idaho State Bar, Idaho Law Foundation, the community and who exhibits professional excellence.
• Section of the Year – The Practice Section of the Year Award is presented in recognition of a Section’s outstanding contribution to the Idaho State Bar, to their area of practice, to the legal profession, and to the community. Recipients of the awards will be announced in May.

Award nominations should include the following:

• Name of the award
• Name, address, phone, and email of the person(s) you are nominating
• A short description of the nominee’s activity in your community or in the state, which you believe brings credit to the legal profession and qualifies him or her for the award you have indicated
• Any supporting documents or letters you want to be included with the nomination
• Your name, along with your address, phone, and email

You can nominate a person for more than one award. Nominations are accepted throughout the year. Submit nominations to: Executive Director, Idaho State Bar, PO Box 895, Boise ID 83701 or email Diane Minnich.

The United States District and Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Idaho have issued a General Order regarding continued court operations in response to coronavirus (COVID-19). Please read the full Order linked below:

In Re: Continued Court Operations in Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Voting opened on Monday, April 20 and will conclude at 5:00 p.m. (MT) on Tuesday, May 5.

The candidate for Commissioner to represent the Third and Fifth Districts is:

Laird B. Stone

The candidates for Commissioners to represent the Fourth District are:

Kristin Bjorkman Dunn
Mark H. Manweiler

Candidate bios are available HERE.

Ballot information was sent to you on Monday morning from vote@electionsonline.com. It will contain a link to the voting page, your personal login information, and password.

If you did not receive a message with your personalized ballot information, please check your spam or junk folder. If you are still unable to find the ballot, or if you prefer a paper ballot, please contact Shay Beckwith. A reminder email will be sent to individuals who have not voted by May 1.

We encourage your participation in this election.