Seeking legal counsel – Deputy General Counsel candidates address students” legal issues

Three finalists presented their values at open forums this week for the deputy general counsel position, whose role it is to assist the university”s general counsel in all legal matters. The three candidates who spoke were James Craig, April Smith and Amy Clemmons.

James Craig

At the first forum on Tuesday, candidate James Craig, a University of Idaho alumnus and former employee of the Latah County prosecutor”s office, presented to an audience of mostly faculty members in the Bruce Pitman Center.

“My entire career has been in public service,” Craig said. “I love the university, so I jumped at the chance to apply for this position.”

Craig said one of the issues he would like to focus on is due process and student discipline versus victim rights and campus community safety.

“Before the allegation arises, the university counsel should be actively involved with forging good relations with law enforcement and the community,” Craig said of investigations. “You don”t want to be having turf wars with the police department and the university.”

Craig said the most important time for the university to get involved is before the allegation is brought up.

“University Counsel should educate the community about sexual misconduct, sexual misconduct policies, and how to report sexual misconduct,” Craig said.

Craig said there should also be an emphasis placed on training faculty to handle emergency situations to fully prepare them for investigations.

The second issue Craig said he was asked to talk about was First Amendment rights versus victim rights and campus safety. An example would be LGBT students who may be offended by religious expression that is anti-gay, Craig said.

“When you”re talking about sensitive issues like this it is important to foster a respectful environment, it”s important to respect each individual simply because they”re a human being deserving the respect as a fellow human being,” Craig said.

April Smith

At the open forum Wednesday, April Smith had the opportunity to share her ideas on the same topics for the deputy general counsel position.

Smith said she was born in Moscow and received her bachelor”s degree and law degree at UI, and currently works as the Chief Deputy for Nez Perce County prosecutor”s office and lives a family-oriented lifestyle.

“Due process is fairness in investigating sexual assault allegations,” Smith said. “Fairness is important because the investigator and hearing board need to have the best information in front of them.”

Smith said the rights of the person accused and the victim are crucial in due process. Being aware of the outcome, knowledge of evidence used and the opportunity to contest the findings of the investigations are all rights Smith said the person accused should have.

“The same is true for victims” rights because they need to be treated with fairness and respect as well,” Smith said. “Having to describe what happened to them with many strangers many times just adds to the trauma.”

Smith said victims also have the right to accommodations in a sexual assault case.

“This can be changes in class schedule or changes in housing to make sure they feel safe obtaining their degree,” Smith said. “Counseling is also a huge part in helping them obtain coping skills to continue pursuing their education here.”

Concerning the First Amendment and offensive language, Smith said having open discussions without hateful or discriminatory language is the goal.

“In the university”s strategic plan, goal No. 4 is really what we”re talking about,” Smith said. “Promoting civil and respectful dialect and debate in and out of the classroom.”

Amy Clemmons

Amy Clemmons spoke at the final open forum Thursday in the Idaho Commons.

Clemmons is also a law school graduate and has worked at the Office of Attorney General in Washington.

“I”m interested in this job because it”s student-oriented,” Clemmons said. “The law and rights of students is not always clear and my role as deputy general counsel would be to advocate what is and isn”t provided in the law.”

Clemmons said there are many clashes between the First Amendment and religious expression or practices. The university has to act as a “referee” in these conflicts to promote a safe environment and ensure students feel accepted, Clemmons said.

“When you”re in a school where there has been behavior that has been incited before, then the school has the right to restrict it using reasonable judgment,” Clemmons said.

As for sexual harassment, Clemmons said it is crucial to establish whether or not the action was severe and pervasive in each case.

“One touching incident is not necessarily sexual harassment just like five inappropriate jokes may not be enough to be severe and pervasive,” Clemmons said. “You have to look at the circumstances it was done under, how frequently it was, how severe it was and if it is severe and pervasive.”

Clemmons said there is no perfect process for investigations, but it is the university”s responsibility to find the best one.

“These are never easy decisions and I think establishing the best process available is important,” Clemmons said. “My hope as deputy general counsel would be to provide the clearest parameters we can and review the process to make it as fair as possible.”

Jessica Gee can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JessicaC_Gee

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