More from the UH at Manoa 1975-1976 School of Law Catalog:

An important underlying premise of the third-year program is that heavy concentration in one subject-matter area not only can provide knowledge and skills that are transferable to other areas but also is necessary for the development of advanced lawyering competence. Another premise is that students should be able to begin functioning effectively as lawyers immediately upon graduation—or following a short period of apprenticeship—and thereafter to grow in competence with little supervision. To this end, third-year students are encouraged to accept more responsibility and exercise more initiative and discretion than in their second year. Clinical work involving client representation or counselling, however, is closely supervised by qualified practitioners—usually faculty.

Workshops are designed to provide intensive first-hand experience in complex client problem-solving—experience which obligates the student to perform a wide range of lawyering tasks in depth and at a high level of competence, in an actual or realistically simulated lawyering situation. Each Workshop is supervised by a member of the faculty, assisted in some instances by other faculty members and/or qualified persons from outside the Law School. The workshops are weighted six credit hours. The Trial Practice Seminar will meet once a week and is weighted two credit hours.

A few students may be permitted to serve a one-semester "externship" with a law firm, government agency, or research organization. Others may undertake directed or independent research."

Criminal Justice Workshop (Czapanskiy with Bowman)

This clinical workshop endeavors to provide advanced training in criminal trial advocacy, criminal law and procedure, trial evidence, and professional responsibility aspects of the practice of criminal law and to "bridge the gap" between the classroom and the practice of criminal law by prosecution and defense counsel.

The academic component of the clinic will consist of seminars, meeting for two or four hours per week, and examining in depth various aspects of the criminal justice system and the criminal trial practice. Students will be placed in simulated trial settings, and will perform the functions of prosecution and defense counsel in client and witness interviews, motions practice, and trial situations including direct and cross-examination of witnesses, opening statement and final summation to the jury. Student performance will be videotaped and critiqued.

The clinic fieldwork component will include some or all of the following programs:

1. Student misdemeanor practice. Student practice rules will permit the limited practice of law by qualified third-year students in the state and federal trial courts in Hawaii under appropriate supervision. The clinic thus becomes directly involved in the delivery of legal services to indigent accused.

2. Student prosecution. Efforts will be made to place students in the state and federal prosecutors' offices to prosecute misdemeanor cases under supervision.

3. Prison legal assistance program. The Hawaii Bar Association is developing a prison program which could involve prison legal assistance by third-year law students. Such assistance may take the form of prisoner counselling, representation of prisoners before the parole board and the prison disciplinary boards, and assistance to private attorneys representing prisoners on a volunteer basis.

4. Externships in the public defender and prosecutor offices. Students could be assigned to attorneys engaged in the trial of felony cases.

The course in evidence is a prerequisite. The interviewing and counseling course is highly recommended.

Civil Law Workshop (Corey Park)

This clinical course is designed to provide students with some of the basic skills involved in civil litigation by representing people who would otherwise go unrepresented. While the program will mainly involve a poverty practice, probably in conjunction with the Legal Aid Society, the skills involved transcend the poverty area and are basic to a general civil practice.

A portion of the workshop will place students in an area of the law, such as landlord-tenant relations, welfare or mental health, that has a high turnover of clients. This will allow students to have frequent client contact and to represent these clients in court and administrative hearings. A second portion of the workshop will have students working on law reform or impact litigation. This will give students a greater opportunity to assist in ongoing discovery processes, research and memo writing, and trials. Finally, there will be an academic component consisting of weekly meetings to discuss the cases being handled and the problems, strategies and theoretical principles which they have in common. The course in poverty law is a prerequisite. The evidence and the interviewing and counseling courses are highly recommended.

Environmental and Land Use Law Workshop (Gresser)

The purpose of this workshop is to provide the student with a varied clinical experience in environmental law. Although the focus of the course will be on domestic environmental and land use problems, transnational cases of an environmental concern to Hawaii will also be considered. Under the workshop instructor's direction, students will assist local lawyers in current environmental and land use litigation, prepare draft legislation for interested State legislators, and seek to develop with local businessmen environmental and energy conservation measures which are also economically profitable.

Commercial Practice Workshop (Staff)

Intended for the student who plans to enter a commercial or corporate law practice, this workshop will present a series of business law problems of substantial complexity which will expose students to various aspects of interviewing, factual investigation, legal research and analysis, drafting, business planning, client counselling, negotiations, and the like. The emphasis will be on the experience of office practice, but continuing attention will be given to the impact of potential litigation upon business planning. The course in business organizations is a prerequisite. Recommended courses include corporate tax, securities regulations and legal accounting.

Trial Practice Seminar (Staff)

Members of the faculty will join with members of the trial bar to examine, in a problem setting, sequential stages of pre-trial and trial practice. Topics will include investigation, pleadings, motions, discovery, voir dire examination, opening statements, direct and cross examination, closing argument, selected evidentiary problems, post-trial motions and appellate practice. The course in evidence is a prerequisite.

Special Projects (Staff)

Third year students may apply to have academic credit awarded in either semester for an externship, or in either or both semesters for directed research or independent research.

Such proposals will ordinarily be limited to six credit-hours per semester. They may be for less or—in rare instances—more. Approval will be given if the faculty determines that the proposal is sufficiently specific, that it is likely to be completed according to its terms, and that it offers significant academic benefit which is proportionate to the credit sought.

Among the factors which will influence the faculty in approving or disapproving written proposals for third-year academic work which is not contained in the regular curriculum are:

1. The number, nature and complexity of the lawyering tasks to be performed;

2. The mode and degree of supervision to be provided;

3. The qualifications of the person(s) proposed to supervise the applicant's work;

4. Indications of the supervisor's(s') commitment to supervise the applicant's work and to provide feedback;

5. The validity and strength of the justification put forth by the applicant for undertaking the project instead of a clinical workshop;

6. Indications of the manner in which the applicant's work will be supervised and critiqued;

7. Agreement to submit significant samples of applicant's work to the law faculty for appraisal;

8. Degree of detail included in the outline of the proposal and the inclusion of a preliminary bibliography, if applicable; and

9. Other indications that the proposal is a serious one likely to enhance relevant skills and capabilities of the applicant.

What Really Happened  

Each third-year student signed up for four of the elective courses in each semester and a Workshop, Seminar or special Project in one semester.  Because questions on Torts and Evidence would be on the Bar Exam, these were VERY popular.  As noted above, each course was limited to 85 students - second year students could also take these classes - space permitting.

Because there were 25 electives from which we could chose, this was the first time our class was not together with a single schedule. Therefore the history of our third year will be incomplete until other classmates relate their experiences with the other 17 electives not described below.  Also, the list of casebooks for all the electives is incomplete.

Fall Semester - 1975

Administrative Law  Although the catalog listed "Staff" as the instructor for this course, Prof. Ruth Hood was assigned  to the course.  "Administrative Law, Cases and Comments" by Gellhorn & Byse was the casebook.  In December, the remaining students filed a Complaint, stating that this casebook was not available until October.  There were 24 copied handouts. On the surface, this should have been a "normal" law school experience.  However, the December  "Complaint for a Formal Hearing" noted the Prof. Hood had been given insufficient time to prepare for the class, was a full time employee of the Honolulu Corporation Counsel and had declined meetings with the students.  The Complaint also noted that only 15 third-year students remained enrolled in this course of the 45 who started - all because they needed the credits to graduate on time. Preliminary to the complaint was a request to not grade Administrative Law, but rather make it "credit/no credit".  Classes were paused for a time - a November 10 memo from Dean Selinger stated classes would resume on November 12.  There was a two-question, three-hour final exam on December 16.  Grades were given to the students who remained in the class.

Land Use and Planning  Prof. William Eads was assigned to this course.  All was normal during September; however an October 1 memo from Associate Dean Carl Selinger stated that "...Professor Eads will not be able to continue to teach the course in Land Use and Planning."  Another memo a day later (10/2) from Dean Selinger offered four options:  drop the course, register for a similar course, e.g. Environmental Law or Real Estate Development and Financing, register for any other elective course or develop a research paper in a similar area of law with the approval of Prof. Conahan.  

Real Estate Development and Financing As taught by Prof. James Conahan, the casebook was "Land Transfer and Finance: Cases and Materials", by A. Axelrod, C. Berger, and Q. Johnstone (1971).  The casebook was supplemented by 24 handouts, all focused on Hawaii forms, laws and cases.  The final exam was on December 18.

Corporate Taxation   This was another very conventional course taught by Prof. Clifford Spradlin.  There was a casebook and very few copied handouts.  The final exam on December 15 allowed three hours to answer three questions.

Spring Semester - 1976  

We were in the home stretch - looking forward to graduation, employment - and the bar exam!  

Commercial Transactions  Prof. John Chanin taught this course primarily from the casebook, with a single handout on Commercial Paper.  The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) was emphasized.  The three-hour final exam on May 7 had six essay questions.  A practical and useful course.

Antitrust  Prof. Wayne Pitluck assigned a casebook "Business Organizations: Antitrust Laws and Regulations" by J.  Von Kalinowski, the "CCH Trade Regulations Reporter" and the ABA "Anti-Trust Developments" as the course material.  There were only two introductory hand-outs.  The final exam on May 12 consisted of four questions over three hours.  No complaints.

Wills & Trusts  Prof. David Larsen assigned a casebook for this course and also provided seven useful handouts.  There was a 3-hour, six-question mid-term examination in March.  Prof. Larsen later provided a 8-page commentary on the mid-term.  The final exam on May 14 consisted of 100 multiple choice and true/false questions to be answered over a 3-hour period.  This was the FINAL final exam for our class.

Ocean Law Seminar  Prof. Choon-ho Park conducted this seminar.  The initial reading was his paper "Marine Resource Conflicts in the North Pacific".  There were 15 significant handouts, probably because this topic of law was new and there was no relevant casebook.  Areas of resource conflict included fisheries and seabed resources.  It was an outstanding class and met one of the law school goals to offer courses relevant to Hawaii as a state surrounded by the Pacific Ocean.

A Lesser Burden

This was a typical load, except for the casebooks, for both the fall and spring semesters:

From the left: Administrative Law, Wills & Trusts, Commercial Transactions, Antitrust Law, Real Estate Development and Financing, Corporate Taxation, Land Use and Planning, Ocean Law Seminar

Graduation  

Planning began early in 1976 for our (inevitable) graduation.  Hayden Burgess was the head of  the Student Convocation Committee. His memo on March 1, 1976 identified three related, but distinct tasks:

- The University of Hawaii graduation ceremony would be held at the Blaisdell Center in the afternoon of May 16.   Law school graduates were expected to attend this cap-and-gown event to show respect for the UH community, state legislators and the Chief Justice. Most of the class went to this event, as evidenced by photos.

- The Law School planned a separate graduation ceremony for 10:30 am on the same Sunday at Andrews Outdoor Theater, on the UH campus.

- Wayson Wong, Lani Nakazawa and Frank Hayashida joined Hayden for further planning.  The final April 2 memo updated the planning and requested $5.00 from each graduate to pay for a Hawaiian Graduation Certificate, invitations and a maile lei.

- Frank  assumed responsibility for a luau, an event that would be independent of UH or the law school. "Frank Totalitarian" issued memos on the luau status and collected $15/ person for this May 15 celebration to be held in Lanikai.  It was a great success!

The Graduation/Convocation at Andrews was well-attended and enjoyed by all!

A Farewell Dinner

The "Faculty of the Law School" sent an invitation to the law school community for an Aloha Dinner on May 7, 1976 at the Sheraton Waikiki to honor David Hood.  My copy of the enclosed RSVP with the invitation was not returned.  Who went to this?

Prescient 1976 Commentary?

Here are twelve memos I wrote in May, 1976.

The Dean's Resignation

"Hood & the U.H." (Honolulu Advertiser editorial, November 14, 1975)  One of several stories on Hood's resignation.

 "Judging Law School" (Honolulu Advertiser Letter to the Editors, November 28, 1975)  Bob Schmitt, a third-year student,  replies to the foregoing "Hood & the U.H."