Professor Mark DeForrest, RIP

It is with great sorrow that we note the passing of our blogbrother, Mark DeForrest, who passed away at age 48 on June 2 after a brief illness. Since webpages come and go at institutions, it seems right to inter his CV, bio, and links to his most important legal scholarship here permanently at the New Reform Club, his home on the internet.

You are already missed, my friend. Already missed.

Mark DeForrest

Professor Emeritus

Education:

• J.D. Gonzaga University School of Law, magna cum laude, 1997
• B.A. History, Western Washington University, cum laude, 1992
• Associate of the Arts Skagit Valley College, 1990

Biography

Mark DeForrest grew up on a small farm outside of Anacortes, Washington, about 90 miles north of Seattle, Washington. After high school, he attended first Skagit Valley College and then Western Washington University, graduating from the latter institution with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. After living and working in the Bay Area of California and Ketchikan, Alaska, he attended Gonzaga University School of Law as a Thomas More Scholar. While in law school he was a member of the Moot Court Council and an associate editor of the Gonzaga Law Review. He was also awarded a George Washington Fellowship from the Discovery Institute, a public policy foundation located in Seattle, Washington.

After graduation from law school, Mr. DeForrest was accepted into the Washington State Bar. He then clerked for the judges of the Superior Court of the State of Washington for Chelan County. In the course of his clerkship he worked on a variety of cases across the full range of both the civil and criminal dockets. He began his academic career in 1999 when he was appointed as a full-time lecturer in the Department of Law; Justice at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. He taught criminal procedure, family law, correctional law, and legal research to undergraduate students for two years.

In the fall of 2001 Professor DeForrest returned to Gonzaga Law School and began work as a legal research; writing instructor. After a year as a visitor, he was appointed as a regular member of the legal research; writing faculty. In 2003 he was promoted from instructor to assistant professor of law in the legal research; writing program. In 2010 he was promoted from assistant professor to associate professor. He has also taught First Amendment law, professional responsibility, sentencing; corrections, and jurisprudence at the law school.

Professor DeForrest is a member of the Washington Bar.

Publications

• TAMING A DRAGON: LEGISLATIVE HISTORY IN LEGAL ANALYSIS, Dayton Law Review, Vol 39:1

• In the Groove or in a Rut? Resolving Conflicts Between the Divisions of the Washington State Court of Appeals at the Trial Court Level, cited in 2017 by Washington State Court of Appeals, in In re Pers. Restraint of Arnold

• Introducing Persuasive Legal Argument via the Letter from a Birmingham City Jail, The Journal of Legal Writing, May 2009
• The Use and Scope of Extrinsic Evidence in Evaluating Establishment Clause Cases in Light of the Lemon Test’s Secular Purpose Requirement, Regent University Law Review (2007)

• Locke v. Davey: The Connection Between the Blaine Amendment and Article I, Section 11 of the Washington State Constitution, 40 U. Tulsa L. Rev. 295 (2004)
• An Overview and Evaluation of State Blaine Amendments: Origins, Scope, and First Amendment Concerns, 26 Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy 551 (2003)
• Teaching the Origins Controversy: Science or Religion or Speech? 2000 Utah Law Review 39 (2000) Third listed author after David K. DeWolf and Stephen C. Meyer.
• Truth or Consequences, Part Two: More Jurisprudential Errors of the Militant Far-Right 35 Gonzaga Law Review 319 (1999-2000). First listed author before James M. Vache.
• Civil Disobedience: Its Nature and Role in the American Legal Landscape Comment), 33 Gonzaga Law Review 653 (1997/1998).
• Truth or Consequences: The Jurisprudential Errors of the Militant Far-Right, 32 Gonzaga Law Review 593 (1997). Second listed author after James M. Vache.
• Just War Theory and Recent U.S. Air-strikes Against Iraq 1 Gonz. Int’l L.J. 8 (1997).

Other Publications

• Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty in 1 Praegar Handbook of Religion and Education in the United States 86-88 (James C. Carper and Thomas C. Hunt, eds., 2009).
• Thomas More Law Center in 2 Praegar Handbook of Religion and Education in the United States 441-42 (James C. Carper and Thomas C. Hunt, eds., 2009).
• Religion’s Place in the Public Square, The Seattle Times, B-5 (Oct. 23, 1996).

Presentations

• There’s More Than One Way to Bake a Cake: Using Legislative and Regulatory History to Improve Rule Synthesis and Proofs in Legal Writing. Presentation at the Value of Variety Conference sponsored by the Institute for Law School Teaching, Spokane, Washington. June 25, 2012.
• Adopting the Rombauer Research Method to Small-Firm Practice. Presentation to the Western Legal Writing Conference, San Francisco, California. August 27, 2011.
• Using the Letter from a Birmingham City Jail to Teach Specific Strategies for
  Persuasive Legal Writing, Northwest Regional Legal Writing Conference, Portland, Oregon, August 29, 2009.
• The Use of Legislative History in an Internet-Driven Research Environment. Northwest Regional Legal Writing Conference, Spokane, Washington, August 10, 2007.
• Teaching Legal Analysis: the Early Years—From Deconstruction to Construction. Northwest Regional Conference of Teachers of Legal Methods, Writing, and Research, Seattle, Washington, September 9, 2005 (co-presented with Professor Cheryl Beckett, Director of Legal Research; Writing, Gonzaga University School of Law).

Law School and University Workshops

• Writing a Law Review Comment. Annual workshop for the Gonzaga Law Review held each May, 2004-2006, 2008-present. Spokane, Washington.
• Supras and Infras and Ids, Oh My! Resolving Short Form Citation Confusion Using the Bluebook. Presentation to the Gonzaga International Law Journal Associate Editors. Spokane, Washington, September 11, 2008.
• Gender, Social Norms and the Culture of the Legal Profession. Central Washington University Women’s Studies Program. Ellensburg, Washington, May 15, 2001.
• Domestic Partnership Rights of Same-Sex Couples Under Washington State Law. Panel discussion sponsored by the Central Washington University Gay and Lesbian Alliance. Ellensburg, Washington, March 8, 2001.
• The Intersection of Law and Morality in the Works of Thomas Aquinas. Whitworth College Department of Philosophy. Spokane, Washington, February 15, 2000.

Teaching Areas

• Legal Research and Writing
• First Amendment
• Professional Responsibility
• Sentencing; Corrections
• Jurisprudence