The Honorable Judge Franklin D. Burgess A Legend on Two Courts Each month, Chastek Library creates a new display highlighting distinguished alumni, historical events, or legal culture. In February, for Black History Month, Chastek Library’s display recognized the Honorable Franklin D. Burgess. Judge Burgess was an accomplished attorney and a proud Gonzaga alumnus. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after attending Eudora Colored High School. After, he went on to attend Gonzaga University and Gonzaga University School of Law. While here, he was a class officer, student body representative and class president. In 1995, he received the Gonzaga Law School Distinguished Judicial Service Award. Judge Burgess was known for being a legend on two courts. In undergrad, Judge Burgess was a basketball All-American at Gonzaga, leading the nation in scoring in 1961. He is a member of Gonzaga's Basketball Hall of Fame, the state of Washington sports Hall of Fame, the Inla...
Hearsay, Hearsay! by Josh Simmons, J.D. Candidate, Class of 2023 On June 28th, the House Judiciary GOP tweeted out “It’s literally all hearsay evidence. What a joke” —in reference to the recent hearings held by the House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack. House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOPD), Twitter (June 28, 2022, 10:19 AM), https://twitter.com/JudiciaryGOP/status/1541833774966636544 . The tweet raises eyebrows among those familiar with the concept of hearsay evidence. For one, House Rules state that “the committee is the sole judge of the pertinence of testimony and evidence adduced at its hearing.” House Rule XI cl. 2(k)(8). Therefore, hearsay and other evidentiary rules found in the Federal Rules of Evidence do not apply to the Committee. See also Co-Equal, Guide to Oversight Procedural Rules in the U.S. House of Representatives, RESOURCES, https://www.co-equal.org/guide-to-oversight#guideIntro (last visited June 29, 2022). It is unclear, then, why the House GOP woul...
Myra Bradwell Opening the Door for Women in Law For March's Women’s History Month, Chastek Library’s display recognized Myra Bradwell. Myra was a publisher, political activist, and supporter of women’s rights. Most notably, she was one of America’s first female lawyers , creating a space for women in the legal field and making it possible for women to pursue law careers and beyond. In 1831, Myra was born in Vermont. Colleges did not allow women to enroll at that time, so she graduated from an all-women monastery in Illinois and became a teacher. Shortly after, she met and married aspiring lawyer James Bradwell . James was studying to be a lawyer, but because there were very few formal law schools at the time, he had to study law on his own. Myra learned the basics of the legal field by studying alongside her husband. She saw her marriage as a “partnership,” in which she used her own legal knowledge to help her husband in his career. In the mid-1850s,...