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News Release
April 16, 2007
Boise State's May Fettuccine Forum Focuses on the 'Trial of the
Century'
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Byron Johnson |
Local historian and former Supreme Court Justice Byron Johnson will speak
on “The Trial of Big Bill Haywood in Boise, 1907: The Trial of the Century,”
at the May 3 Fettuccine Forum, co-sponsored by Boise State University. The
free lecture series is in the Rose Room in the historic Union Block, 718 W.
Idaho Street. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the presentation begins at 5:30 p.m.
Free appetizers will be served and fettuccine will be available for $5.
Johnson will explain how Idaho’s 1907 “trial of the century” shaped the
future of American law. The eyes of the nation were on Boise when “Big Bill”
Haywood was tried for the murder of former Gov. Frank Steunenberg.
Steunenberg was killed by a bomb just outside his Caldwell home in December
1905, purportedly at the direction of the Western Federation of Miners.
Former Idaho Supreme Court Justice Wayne Kidwell will also offer a companion
workshop titled, “Personal Rights and the U.S. Constitution.” Students may
receive graduate or undergraduate credit by registering for the workshop
online through BroncoWeb. In addition, the Boise Tour Train will take
interested Forum attendees on a narrated ride to the Old Pen and to the
Idanha Hotel, which housed members of the press during the trial. Cost is
$10 per person.
Johnson was justice of the Idaho Supreme Court from 1988-1999, serving as
vice chief justice from 1993-1997. A Boise native, he graduated from Boise
High School, where he was on the debate team. He went on to earn a history
degree and later a law degree from Harvard, where he pitched for the varsity
baseball team. A member of the Idaho Legal History Society, Johnson is in
charge of efforts to commemorate the centennial of the trial that caught the
attention of the world and involved such luminaries as famed Pinkerton
detective James McParland and attorneys William Borah and Clarence Darrow.
The forum is co-sponsored by Boise State’s Center for Idaho History and
Politics and the Boise City Office of the Mayor. The Fettuccine Forum is an
educational forum about the history and cultural life of Boise and the
Treasure Valley. Lively and informal, the monthly event invites the public
to interact with politicians, artists, historians, activists, advocates and
professionals who treasure life in our booming valley and strive to make it
a better place.
Additional forum sponsors include the Idaho Legal History Society, Suzi
Boyle of American Family Mortgage, Grape Escape, and the College of Social
Sciences and Public Affairs at Boise State.
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Contact: Todd Shallat, Center for Idaho History and Politics, (208)
426-3701, tshalla@boisestate.edu
Media Contact: Kathleen Craven, University Communications, (208)
426-3275, kcraven@boisestate.edu
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The Office of Communications and Marketing
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Boise State University
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Boise Idaho 83725-1030
Located in Capitol Village, 2225 W. University Drive
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(fax)208-426-4001
email
communications@boisestate.edu
Last reviewed on
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
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