Courses & Faculty

2009 Program Courses

All four courses will be taught by Gonzaga law professors.

All students are expected to enroll in two of the four courses for a maximum of four semester hours of credit.

International Children's Rights (2 Credits)

M-Th, 9:30-11:00

The class will consider the ways in which international conventions and agreements create a platform of rights for children in the United States, Europe, South Africa, and elsewhere. We will explore practical implementation issues. The class will require students to critically analyze judicial decisions, make a formal oral presentation, and make a formal written presentation. This class will be taught by Professor Gail Hammer.

Prof. Gail Hammer

Justice and Society (2 Credits)

M-Th, 11:15-12:45

What does the just society look like? What does it mean to be committed to “social justice”? This course will examine the role that law and legal institutions play in making a society just or unjust. In particular, the role of the government in regulating economic institutions and family life will be addressed.  Readings will be drawn from contemporary as well as classical commentators, such as Aristotle, Martin Luther King, John Rawls, Friedrich Hayek, and Leo XIII. This class will be taught by Prof. David DeWolf.

Prof. David DeWolf 

Comparative Elder Law (2 Credits)

M-Th, 1:00-2:30

This course will examine aging issues on a global scale.  Issues to be covered include guardianship, incapacity, long-term care, health care, financial matters and end-of-life decisions with their human rights implications. Discussions will center on the differences in policies between countries as well as the social factors that led to the policies. Students will be expected to provide critiques and recommend changes. A prospective look will also be a part of our inquiry, as there is a huge demographic shift in the population expected over the next 20 years. This class will be taught by Professors Richard and Karen Sayre.

Richard L. Sayre is a principal in the law firm of Sayre and Sayre, P.S., Spokane, Washington. Mr. Sayre received his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in 1976, and his JD from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1979. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Gonzaga University School of Law. His practice emphasizes estate and disability planning and estate tax issues, govern¬mental benefits law for individuals with disabilities, special needs trusts and Elder Law. He has been certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, and has been designated a “Super Lawyer” by the publication Washington Law and Politics for the years 2000 through 2008, based upon a peer rating survey which selected less than five percent of Washington lawyers for this distinction.

Karen L. Sayre is a principal in the law firm of Sayre and Sayre, P.S., Spokane, Washington. Ms. Sayre received her undergraduate degree from Gonzaga University in 1980 and her JD (Cum Laude) from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1985. She is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Gonzaga University School of Law. Her practice emphasizes estate and disability planning, governmental benefits law for disabled individuals and Elder Law.  Karen currently serves as a member of the Board of Regents of Gonzaga University. She is a certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation, an American Bar Association approved board certification organization. Karen has also been designated a “Super Lawyer” by the publication Washington Law and Politics for the years 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

International Criminal Law (2 Credits)

M-W, 2:45-4:45

A survey of currently accepted and proposed substantive subjects of international criminal law and the challenges involved in the investigation and prosecution of international crimes.

Among the possible subjects to be covered are:

• the law of extradition
• jurisdictional and procedural problems presented by the establishment of international tribunals
• the roles of the United Nations and various regional organizations
• identification of the sources of substantive content of international criminal law
• consideration of the significance of such events as the post-World War II Nuremberg and Tokyo war crimes trials
• various proposals concerning terrorism, drug trafficking, and human rights violations as subjects of international criminal law

Students examine materials in the form of international agreements and proposed agreements, judicial decisions, various government pronouncements and scholarly texts. This class will be taught by Prof. Earl Martin.

Dean Earl F. Martin

Top of Page