Utah Law faculty updates: March 2025

Apr 01, 2025 | Faculty

Each month, we share notable updates—including presentations, publications, panels, and other accomplishments—from Utah Law faculty members.

A portrait of Associate Professor Daniel AaronAssociate Professor Daniel Aaron

  • Publications
    • “Ending DEI in health care runs risk of lawsuits, diminished care,” Bloomberg Law (Mar. 7, 2025) with Jonathan Feingold and Quang-Tuyen Nguyen.
  • Presentations/panels
    • “Law-Policy Interpolation,” Brigham Young University J. Reuben Clark Law School, Provo, UT (Mar. 13, 2025).

Professor Paul CassellA portrait of Professor Paul Cassell

  • Legislative/judicial
    • Filed amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Smith v. The Boeing Company, regarding admiralty jurisdiction over Deaths on the High Seas Act claims (Mar. 17, 2025).
    • Testified before the House Judiciary Committee (Utah) supporting the admissibility of prior sex crimes evidence in criminal cases (Mar. 3, 2025).
    • Victim’s family’s amicus brief cited in majority and dissenting opinions in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Glossip v. Oklahoma.
  • Media appearances
    • Quoted in KSL, “Lawmakers want to let prior allegations be used as evidence in sexual assault cases” (March 4, 2025). 
    • Quoted in ABC News, Wall St. Journal, and other media on the Boeing plea agreement negotiations (March 24/25, 2025).
    • Quoted in the Wall St. Journal and other media on the Supreme Court decision in Glossip v. Oklahoma.

Professor Jorge ContrerasA portrait of Professor Jorge Contreras

  • Presentations/panels
    • “The Genome Defense: Inside the Epic Battle to Determine Who Owns Your DNA” (keynote address), IP Day in Montana, Missoula, MT (Mar. 2025).
  • Legislative/judicial
    • Filed Brief of Amicus Curiae with the Texas Sixth Court of Appeals in Samsung v. KPN (No. 06-24-00059-CV).
  • Awards

Professor Leslie FrancisProfessor Leslie Francis, an older white woman with long silver hair wearing a silver medallion necklace

  • Publications
    • Leslie P. Francis, “Non-ideal Theory and Protecting Freedom of Thought,” in THE CAMBRIDGE HANDBOOK OF THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF THOUGHT 377-390 (Patrick O’Callaghan & Bethany Shiner eds., 2025) with John Francis.
    • Leslie Francis, “Feminist Philosophy of Law,” in THE STANFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY (Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman eds., forthcoming 2025).
  • Presentations/panels
    • “Supported Decision Making,” Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, Stanford, CA (Mar. 11, 2025).
    • “Models of Supported Decision-Making,” University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, Baltimore, MD (Mar. 10, 2025).
  • Awards

Professor Amos Guiora

Lecturer Professor Amos Guiora

  • Presentations/panels
    • “Revisiting Oslo: How Extremists Sabotaged the Road Map to Peace” (panelist), Program on Extremism at The George Washington University Law School, online (Mar. 2025).
    • “Holding Bystanders Accountable,” Sorbonne University, Paris, Fra. (Mar. 14, 2025).
    • “Bystanders, Enablers, and the Holocaust,” Eisenhower Junior High, Taylorsville, UT (Mar. 21, 2025).
  • Appointments
    • Non-Resident Fellow, George Washington University’s Program on Extremism.
    • Consultation Group for Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference).
  • Media appearances
    • Quoted in The Deseret News, “How these Jewish genealogists are repairing Nazi ‘dirty deeds’’ (Mar. 12, 2025).
    • Interviewed by KSL, “Did culture at Grantsville High and the community hinder sexual abuse reporting from students?” (Mar. 16, 2025).
    • Interviewed by Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News, “Amos Guiora on a recent federal ruling ordering Provo police to return psychedelic mushrooms they confiscated from a local religious group” (Mar. 21, 2025).
    • Referenced by Dr. Nir Barak (Ben Gurion University) for my research on enablers at a demonstration calling for release of Israelis held hostage.
    • The Bystander Initiative referenced in testimony before the Nebraska Legislature (Mar. 26, 2025).

A portrait of Associate Professor Ruhan NagraAssociate Professor Ruhan Nagra

  • Media appearances
    • Quoted in Scientific American, “What Is Chloroprene, the Cancer-Causing Chemical at the Center of a Federal Lawsuit?” (Mar. 7, 2025).

 

A portrait of Professor Chris PetersonProfessor Chris Peterson

  • Media appearances
    • Quoted in Fox 13, “Consumer agency drops lawsuit against Utah business” (Mar. 7, 2025).
    • Quoted in Gephardt Daily, “Trump CFPB cuts raise concern about financial crises, conflict of interest; U of U law professor, a former CFPB officer, shares concerns” (Mar. 19, 2025).

 

Professor Clifford RoskyClifford Rosky, a balding middle-aged man wearing a grey suit over a shirt and purple tie

  • Publications
    • Clifford Rosky, “Measuring Lawyer Mental Illness: Evidence from Two National Surveys,” 22 J. Empirical Legal Stud. __ (2025).
  • Media appearances
    • Quoted in Salt Lake Tribune, “Southern Utah county’s latest answer for severe drought: fasting and prayer (Jan. 27, 2025).
  • Awards
    • Received Equality Utah Allies Award, 2024.

A portrait of Professor John RupleProfessor John Ruple

  • Publications
  • Legislative/judicial
    • Co-author of rulemaking comments submitted by 28 Environmental Law Professors: Council on Environmental Quality, Docket # CEQ-2025-0002, Interim Final Rule, National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations, RIN 0331-AA10 (Mar. 27, 2025).
  • Media appearances
    • Quoted in Clean Technica, “Trump assault on NEPA will sow chaos and is doomed to fail” (Mar. 7, 2025).
    • Quoted in Inside Climate News, “As Americans Protest Attacks on Public Lands, Trump Signals National Monuments May be Shrunk or Eliminated” (March 18, 2025);
    • Quoted in Oil & Gas Watch News, “Trump’s move to shortcut bedrock environmental law will lead to more delays, experts say,” (Mar. 6, 2025).

A portrait of Professor Matthew ToksonProfessor Matthew Tokson


OTHER NEWS