San Joaquin College of Law

San Joaquin College of Law (SJCL) is a private, non-profit law school in Clovis, California, US. It was founded in Fresno in 1969 by Fresno County Municipal Court Judge Dan Eyman, U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger, and attorney John Loomis.^[2][3] The school began instruction in 1970.

In 1996, SJCL relocated to the original Clovis High School building, following a multi-million dollar renovation. The structure was built in 1920,^[4] but had deteriorated to the point where a coyote was living in the basement. The renovation, including a new courtroom, lecture hall, and enlarged library, allowed the Law School to expand, while still maintaining the historic character of the building.^[5][6] There remains no comparable institution for 120 miles (190 km) in any direction in the central San Joaquin Valley.^{[nb 1]}

More than 25% of the total practicing lawyers in the Fresno area are SJCL graduates, including 48% of women and 35% of minority lawyers.^[7]

Accreditation and bar passage rate

San Joaquin College of Law is not an American Bar Association (ABA) approved law school,^[8] but it is now seeking to obtain ABA accreditation. SJCL is accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners^[9] of the State Bar of California and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).^[10] During the ten-year period from 2002-2010, its first-time passage rate reached a high of 62% in 2010.

San Joaquin Agricultural Law Review

The San Joaquin Agricultural Law Review (SJALR),^[12] published by SJCL students since 1991,^[13] circulates nationwide.^{[nb 2]} It is the oldest^[14] and one of only three law reviews in the United States focusing on agriculture law.^[15][16][17]

Family Law Mediation Clinic

Students and faculty of San Joaquin College of Law provide alternative dispute resolution services in a free family law mediation clinic.^[18] They meet with husband and wife in the mediation setting to help them negotiate a legal agreement while avoiding the time and expense of going to court. In their role as mediators, they do not represent either party, nor do they represent the parties jointly.^[19]

Notable people

Notable faculty

• Anthony P. Capozzi (1974-1978) Criminal law
• Superior Court Judge Hilary Chittick^[20]
• Superior Court Judge Jonathan B. Conklin^[20]
• Superior Court Judge Kimberly Nystrom-Geist^[20]
• U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Joseph O'Neill (1986-1992)
• U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger (1970-1991)

Notable alumni

• State officials
  • Diana Dooley (J.D. 1995) Secretary, California Health and Human Services Agency^[21][22]
• United States Bankruptcy Court Judge
  • W. Richard Lee, Eastern District of California^[23][22]
• United States Magistrate Judge
  • Gary S. Austin, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California^[24][22]
• California Superior Court Judges
  • James Aaron (retired), Fresno County^[25][26][22]
  • Brian Alvarez, Fresno County^[27][28][22]
  • Mark Bacciarini, Merced County^[29][22]
  • Eric Helgesen (retired), Riverside County^[30][31][22]
  • Efren N. Iglesia, Monterey County^[32][33][22]
  • Rosemary T. McGuire, Fresno County^[34][22]
  • Kimberly Nystrom-Geist, Fresno County^[35][22][36]
  • Don Penner, Fresno County^[37][38][22]
  • James Petrucelli, Fresno County^[39][40][22]
  • R. I. "Chip" Putnam (retired), Fresno County^[41][38][22]
  • Angus Saint-Evens (retired), Glenn County^[42][43][22]
  • Houry Sanderson, Fresno County^[44][45][22]
  • Alan Simpson, Fresno County^[46][47][22]
  • Donna Tarter, Kings County^[48][22]
  • Charles Wieland, Madera County^[49][50][22]
• Federal and State Administrative Law Judges
  • Jose Banuelos^[51][22]
  • Catherine Benko^[52][22]
  • Eileen Deimerly^[53][22]
  • James Donabed^[54][22]
  • Sharon Madsen^[55][56][22]
  • Elizabeth Parker^[57][58]
  • Nancy Smith (retired)^[59][22]
  • Barbara St. Louis (retired)^[60][22]
  • Georgia York (retired)^[38][22]

Notes

1. ^ The next nearest CBE law school in the California Central Valley is the Humphreys College Laurence Drivon School of Law, located in Stockton, California. See: Law Schools in California Accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE)
2. ^ SJALR articles have been cited by the California Supreme Court (Gerawan Farming, Inc. v. Lyons (2000), 24 Cal.4th 468 (101 Cal.Rptr.2d 470; 12 P.3d 720), citing "Comment, The Effect of Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliott, Inc. on Nongeneric Commodities: A Narrow Focus on a Broad Rule", 9 San Joaquin Agr. L.Rev. 95 (1999)); the California Courts of Appeal (County of Humboldt v. McKee (2008), 165 Cal.App.4th 1476, citing Will, "The Land Conservation Act at the 32 Year Mark: Enforcement, Reform, and Innovation", 9 San Joaquin Agr. L.Rev. 1, 8 (1999)); the US District Court for the Eastern District of California (Horne v. USDA, No. CV-F-08-1549 LJO SMS, 2009 WL 4895362 (2009)); the New Mexico Court of Appeals (Jicarilla Apache Nation v. Rio Arriba County Assessor (2004), 135 N.M. 630, 92 P.3d 642), citing Robert Luedeman & Darla Mondou, "Meet the New Meat: Legal Aspects of Ratite Bird Production", 8 San Joaquin Agr. L.Rev. 1 (1998)); the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (Overton Distributors Inc. v. Heritage Bank, 179 F.Supp.2d 818 (2002)); and the Minnesota Supreme Court (Anderson v. State Department of Natural Resources (Minn. 2005), 693 N.W.2d 181 Footnote 3, citing Theodore A. Feitshans, "An Analysis of State Pesticide Drift Laws", 9 San Joaquin Agr. L.Rev. 37, 70-78 (1999)).

References

External links

• San Joaquin College of Law Official website