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Impeach Justice Douglas!

Total Credits: 3 including 3 Ethics

Average Rating:
   59
Credit Type:
Legal Ethics
Faculty:
Graham Thatcher |  Anna Marie Thatcher |  John Dorsey, Esq. |  James Fleming |  Alicia Garcia, Esq. |  Honorable Jeffrey L. Viken, Esq.
Course Levels:
Intermediate
Duration:
3:03
License:
Access for 60 day(s) after purchase.
View Demo Save for Later  Add to Cart »

Tags: CLE Theater Program Legal Ethics Professionalism

Description

When Justice William O. Douglas retired from the United States Supreme Court in 1975, he had served for thirty-six years, longer than any other justice its history, and had helped to decide some of the most important cases in the nation’s history. He was an inveterate traveler, prolific writer, and popular speaker, who used his position to espouse his ideas on environmentalism and the Bill of Rights. His public visibility and open criticism won him friends in some places and more than a few enemies in the Congress and the White House, some of whom actively, though unsuccessfully, sought his impeachment.

Impeach Justice Douglas! explores some of the most explosive issues of William O. Douglas’s long tenure on the Supreme Court. He wrestles with balancing “wilderness mind” with the often-hostile adversarial conflicts created by his controversial opinions and his active public life. He addresses the issues about which he was most passionate . . . civil rights, freedom of speech, environmentalism, and the right of the individual to non-conformity and dissent . . . as he reflects on Brown v. The Board of Education, the “McCarthy Era,” and the Vietnam War. Although Douglas’ life spanned the early and middle part of the 20th century, the issues of his day remain major social and legal concerns of current times.

William O. Douglas left a legacy that calls for vigilance to protect human rights and action to protect the earth’s environment. The movie explores that legacy, provokes thought about our responsibilities as citizens, not only of the United States, but of the global community.

The goal of the program is to use the cases and causes in which Justice William O. Douglas was involved as a basis for attorneys today to facilitate discussion and explore specific rules of professional conduct in contemporary legal and judicial practice. The specific rules that might apply in these cases are included in the materials and attendees are asked to focus on the issues in the movie as they relate to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the ABA Code of Judicial Conduct, as well as the Rules in their own jurisdictions. Interactivity is provided through a Chat Room with a Moderator in which all attendees can participate in a live discussion about ethical concerns and questions raised in the movie.

Handouts

DOUGLAS CLE MATERIALS (Webcasts and VOD 2024) (862.1 KB) 39 Pages Available after Purchase

Faculty

Graham Thatcher's Profile

Graham Thatcher Related Seminars and Products

Periaktos Productions

GRAHAM THATCHER was the Artistic Director and primary performer for Periaktos Productions. Over his lifetime he performed in or directed over 250 community, university and professional theatre productions. He co-authored Clarence Darrow:  Crimes, Causes and the Courtroom, Maxims, Monarchy and Sir Thomas More and Impeach Justice Douglas! and performed in the leading roles in those CLE Theatre programs. He also coauthored and directed Thurgood Marshall’s Coming!


Graham Thatcher also served as a workshop facilitator and consultant in communications and was the creator and facilitator of “Word of Mouth: A Workshop in the Art and Ethics of Oral Communication for Lawyers” and “The Art of the Law:  A Workshop in Professionalism for Lawyers,” which he presented for numerous law schools and bar associations. He held a B.A. from San Francisco State University, an M.A. in Theatre from the University of South Dakota and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Minnesota.

 

He was listed in Who's Who in American Education and Outstanding American Educators and was a recipient of the Governor's Award from the Minnesota Council on Quality.  Graham was named "National Presenter of the Year for 2006" by the New Mexico Bar Foundation and received the Rushmore Honors Award in the Arts from the Rapid City Area Chamber of Commerce in 2007. 

 

He passed away in May of 2018, leaving a decades long legacy in both the performing arts and Continuing Legal Education.

Anna Marie Thatcher's Profile

Anna Marie Thatcher Related Seminars and Products

ANNA MARIE THATCHER is the Owner and Managing Producer for Periaktos Productions and is the producer of all of their CLE Theatre programs and movies.  She is an attorney and has worked for forty-five years with artists and visual and performing arts organizations as an arts consultant, producer and director.  She is the co-author, producer and director of Clarence Darrow:  Crimes, Causes and the Courtroom, Maxims, Monarchy and Sir Thomas More and Impeach Justice Douglas!, the live CLE Theatre programs and CLE movies of the same titles presented by Periaktos Productions. She is the co-author of the script for their stage production and movie version of Thurgood Marshall’s Coming!
 
Anna Marie is a licensed member of the Minnesota Bar and continues to work with artists and nonprofit arts organizations  She holds a B.A. from Dakota Wesleyan University (Mitchell, SD), an M.A. in Theatre from the University of South Dakota, and a J.D. from Hamline University School of Law (St. Paul, Minnesota).  She is a member of the ABA, the Minnesota Bar Association and ACLEA (Association of Continuing Legal Education) and is listed in Who's Who in American Law. Anna Marie also serves as volunteer for non-profit organizations with formation and tax exemption issues and serves on the Advisory Board of the Black Hills Film Festival.  She served for 20 years on the Board of the Black Hills Playhouse Alumni Association as its president, initiating and managing several major projects over that time to raise funds for the Playhouse. She continues to produce independent CLE programs and theatrical productions and makes her home in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

John Dorsey, Esq.'s Profile

John Dorsey, Esq. Related Seminars and Products

JOHN S. DORSEY was born and raised in Redfield, South Dakota. He earned his B.A. and J.D. from at the University of South Dakota (Vermillion). His firm, Whiting, Hagg & Dorsey, LLP, serves clients from its location at “Old City Hall” in downtown Rapid City, SD.  He is admitted to practice in all South Dakota courts, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. His practice focuses on helping those who have been wronged, harmed, or injured, including personal injury litigation, workers’ compensation claims, hearings, and appeals. John has appeared in courtrooms throughout the state, successfully litigating contract cases, will contests, exploitation of protected persons, breach of fiduciary duty, and others. He has defended criminal cases in both state and federal courts.     

John is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), the American Association for Justice (AAJ), and the South Dakota Trial Lawyers. He has maintained his board certification in Civil Trial Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 2000. In 2002, John received an “AV” rating from Martindale-Hubbell, affirming his high professional and ethical standards and his preeminent legal ability.
 

James Fleming's Profile

James Fleming Related Seminars and Products

JAMES “JIM” FLEMING has almost 40 years of experience as a prosecutor and public defender. He served for eleven years as Chief Public Defender in Minnesota – in the 5th Judicial District (Mankato) from 2001 to 2007 and in the 2nd Judicial District (St. Paul) from 2016 to 2022.  Prior to that he was a partner in Maschka, Riedy & Ries Law Firm for almost ten years with a focus on personal injury and criminal defense.

Now retired, his trial experience includes more than 100 trial-to-verdict jury cases. He was named Minnesota Attorney of the Year in 2012 and 2019 and was chosen as a Super Lawyer by Minnesota Law & Politics. Fleming is a certified Criminal Law Specialist and has taught trial advocacy in Minnesota and several other states.

He holds a B.B.A. from St. Norbert College (De Pere, WI) and a J.D. from William Mitchell School of Law (now Mitchell Hamline School of Law.)  He is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and Minnesota Association for Justice.

Alicia Garcia, Esq.'s Profile

Alicia Garcia, Esq. Related Seminars and Products

ALICIA GARCIA grew up in Los Angeles, California and holds a B.A. in Communications from California State University Northridge.  She graduated from Stanford Law School in 1990 and went to work with CBS Television in Los Angeles.  After living and working in Southern California for most of her life, she decided that she wanted to make a life and raise a family somewhere outside of urban L.A.  She then spent several months living in London and, upon her returned to the United States, spent three months on a coast-to-coast road trip in search of the ideal place to live.  She found the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota and in the spring of 1994, Alicia packed up and moved.  That summer she passed the South Dakota Bar examination and in 1995 began her legal practice with the Abourezk & Garcia Law Firm in Rapid City, SD.
 
Alicia soon joined the KOTA Territory Television news team and, in addition to practicing law, anchors the KOTA News at 10:00 p.m. She also produces KOTA’s Consumer Report, which airs three times a week.  She loves discovering, uncovering and delivering the news to the Black Hills region and her legal experience provides a basis for reporting on issues that are especially useful to consumers.
 
Most of Alicia’s legal practice involves representing plaintiffs in cases of insurance bad faith and corporate fraud, as well personal injury as a result of negligence and/or medical malpractice.  She and Mike Abourezk have presented many seminars on insurance bad faith to attorneys around the country.  In 2009 the South Dakota Trial Lawyers Association presented them with the “Toast of the Trial Lawyers Award” for their pro bono work to secure insurance payments denied to patients for high dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant treatment.
 
In 2006 Alicia Garcia’s story of success as both a trial lawyer and television anchorwoman was the subject of a feature article, “Two Careers, Four Kids and a New Life in the Black Hills” in Lawyers Weekly.  Alicia loves to travel, particularly to Costa Rica, where her family originated, and enjoys participation in the Black Hills Community Theatre.  She is the proud mother of two sons and two daughters.

Honorable Jeffrey L. Viken, Esq.'s Profile

Honorable Jeffrey L. Viken, Esq. Related Seminars and Products

JEFFREY L. VIKEN (Moderator) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. Born in Huron, South Dakota, Viken earned a B.A. and a J.D. from the University of South Dakota (Vermillion). He was admitted to the South Dakota bar under the diploma privilege, which, prior to 1983, allowed law graduates in the state to practice law without passing a bar exam.

From 1977 to 1981, Viken served as an assistant United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota and in 1981 became the Acting United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota. From 1981 to 1982, Viken was a partner in the Rapid City, South Dakota law firm of Finch, Viken & Viken, and then from 1981 to 1992, Viken was a partner in the Rapid City firm of Finch, Viken, Viken & Pechota. From 1992 to 2003, Viken served as a partner in the Rapid City law firm of Viken, Viken, Pechota, Leach & Dewell, LLP. 

In 2003, Viken was appointed the federal public defender for the District of South Dakota by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. In 2005, the Eighth Circuit appointed Viken the Federal Public Defender for the District of North Dakota and he led a combined-district organization for both North Dakota and South Dakota. 

In President Barack Obama nominated Viken to a vacant seat on the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota and he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 29, 2009. He served as Chief Judge from 2013 to 2019.  He assumed senior status on October 1, 2021 and retired from active service on October 1, 2023.
 

Reviews

5
4
3
2
1

Overall:      4.4

Total Reviews: 59

Comments

Katherine F - Andover, Massachusetts

"Trying to remember that every client including corporations are individuals deserving of zealous representation."

John W - Farmington, New Mexico

"Look at other parties position before going to court."

Stephen B - Portland, Oregon

"There were great concepts in the presentation about the role of rules of law to remedy imbalances of power between groups in society. This is a concept I will put to use both in looking at cases and clients to accept and in presenting arguments to the court."

Jeffrey P - Hampden, Maine

"Not sure. "

Richard S - Portland, Maine

"Try to use the law to protect individuals and constitutional norms when they are threatened as they are now."

Bruce M - Farmington, New Mexico

"Listening to other points of view."

Alan S - Overland Park, Kansas

"Critically analyzing positions in light of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights before adopting a position. "

Daniel H - Atlanta, Georgia

"I really appreciate the historic approach and feel reinspired in the practice of law."

Dane F - Overland Park, Kansas

"More pro bono work"

David N - Shawnee, Kansas

"a refocus on the rights of the minority to be protected from the majority"

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