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The Idaho Legal History Society (ILHS) was organized in 2005 by Chief Judge B. Lynn Winmill and then State District Judge and retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush, United States District Court, District of Idaho. Its founding members are Byron Johnson, former Idaho Supreme Court Justice; The Honorable Ronald J. Wilper, retired Fourth Judicial District, State of Idaho; Rita Ryan, Judith Austin, Tom McCabe, Boise attorney; Betty Richardson, former United States Attorney; Russ Heller, Boise Public Schools and Susie Boring-Headlee, Parsons, Behle & Latimer.
The group discovered that many people have been quietly preserving Idaho's legal history on their own, and many more wanted to be part of the effort. From these efforts, the ILHS was born.
ILHS MISSION STATEMENT
To preserve Idaho’s history by:
(1) fostering and promoting public knowledge of and interest in Idaho's legal history;
(2) promoting and encouraging research on Idaho's legal history;
(3) collecting and preserving records, relics, oral histories and other things of interest to Idaho's legal history, and making the same accessible for public examination;
(4) encouraging interest in Idaho's legal history through meetings, presentations, lectures and other public forums; and
(5) procuring or publishing and distributing historical material for educational purposes, and proceeds, if any, are to be used exclusively for the express purposes of the ILHS.
An important component of the Idaho Legal History Society is the Oral History Project.
From territorial days until current times, Idaho's justice system has been peopled with extraordinary and colorful figures who exhibit great intellect, erudition and legendary exploits. Their stories -- and the knowledge that they have about the great moments and occasional foibles of our lawyers, judges, clerks and others -- deserve to be gathered and saved for the future.
The process of taking an oral history is not only interesting, but also educational. It offers an opportunity for lawyers to learn from other lawyers and judges who have made a career and a life in the law.
The Society has purchased high-quality video and audio equipment. The Idaho Historian has trained more than twenty interviewers in various locations in the state, and there are opportunities for further training for lawyers and judges interested in participating in this worthwhile project.
With the support of their national organization, the Idaho Court Reporters have graciously agreed to transcribe oral history interviews to gain continuing education credit. Boise State University students and graduates of the legal secretary program, and, in the future, other university legal secretary students and graduates, have also agreed to transcribe oral history interviews.
The Society board has appointed a committee dedicated to the oral history project. Their job is to organize and implement a process that will appear "seamless" to volunteer interviewers who need advice and support as they plan and carry out their interviews. The committee has also identified over 50 Idaho lawyers and judges --those "narrators" whose compelling stories must be captured soon for the enlightenment, education and enjoyment of future generations.
Persons interested in participating in the Oral History Project, as an interviewer, narrator (story teller), or transcriber, may contact any of the following committee members:
Oral History Committee Members:
Dianne Cromwell dcromwell@cableone.net
Ernest Hoidal eahoidal@hoidallaw.com
Stephen W. Kenyon, Clerk of Court clerk@id.uscourts.gov
Christopher J. Cuneo ccuneo@parsonsbehle.com
Idaho Legal History Society’s Byron J. Johnson Award
In 2007, the Idaho Legal History Society created the Byron J. Johnson Award to recognize individuals whose contributions have significantly advanced the purposes of the Idaho Legal History Society in fostering understanding and appreciation for Idaho's legal history.
The award, named after Idaho Supreme Court Justice Byron J. Johnson, who passed away in December 2012, is in recognition of the many years of service that he provided in collecting, preserving and disseminating information regarding Idaho's rich legal history.
Award Recipients:
2007 – Rita Ryan, Founding Chair of ILHS Oral History Project
Mike Silva, Spontaneous Productions, Inc.; Writer/Director, The Gate on 16th Avenue
Susie Boring-Headlee, Founding ILHS Secretary/Treasurer Producer, The Gate on 16th Avenue
2008 – Dave Metcalf, Author and Presenter of Historical Presentation of Diamondfield Jack
2009 – Scott W. Reed, Barry McHugh and Teresa McHugh, Historical Art Committee, U.S. Federal Courthouse, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
2010 – Gary Stallones, Original Developer and Webmaster of ILHS Website
2011 – Claudia Druss, Debora K. Kristensen and Eric White
2012 and 2013 No Recipients
2016 - J. Walt Sinclair and Nancy Hammond
2017- Honorable Ronald J. Wilper
Below is a listing of the transcripts of the proceedings of the Idaho State Bar. The documents are scanned images and may be very large in size. Please be patient as they download after you select one.
1923 – Mandatory Integrated Bar Statute passed, but subject to challenge. Revised and enacted in 1925.
Volume II (1926) and Volume III (1927) of the Proceedings of the Idaho State Bar were bound together in one volume and contain one Index, located at the back of Volume III.
The Advocate is the Official Publication of the Idaho State Bar. Below is a list of the issues of the Advocate that were sponsored by the Idaho Legal History Society.
