Utah Law faculty updates: January 2025


Feb 02, 2025 | Faculty

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

Associate Professor Daniel Aaron, a young man with olive skin and dark brown hair and a beardAssociate Professor Daniel Aaron

a middle-aged man with light hair and light eyes wearing a tie and blue collared shirt beneath a dark sweater.Professor Jonas Anderson

Professor Teneille Brown, a white woman with long, light-brown hairAssociate Dean for Research and Faculty Development Teneille Brown

  • Publications
  • Presentations/panels
    • “Predicting Mental States,” 2025 AALS Annual Meeting: Evidence, San Francisco, CA, (Jan. 2025).
    • “When Doctors Become Cops,” Utah State Bar CLE. 
  • Other Accomplishments
    • Named to Austrian advisory board focusing on negligence and mental state ascription.
    • Included on grant with University of Utah Assistant Psychology Professor Jackie Chen focusing on social identity as represented in Supreme Court cases.

Professor Jorge ContrerasProfessor Jorge Contreras, a Hispanic man with short black hair and glasses

  • Publications
  • Other accomplishments
    • Named as consultant for European Commission – Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG-GROW), selected implementing aspects of the draft Regulation on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) (EC-GROW/2024/OP/0054) (Jan. 2025).

Professor Amos Guiora, a white man with grey hair wearing round-rimmed glasses and a blue-and-white-striped button-up and navy blazer

Lecturer Professor Amos Guiora

  • Presentations/panels
    • “Enablers Across the Ages,” The Milatin Group, Tel Aviv, Israel (Dec. 2024). 
    • “Holding Enablers Accountable,” Denver University Sturm College of Law, Denver, CO (Jan. 2025). 
    • “Legitimate Targets/Collateral Damage Post October 7th,” St. Thomas University College of Law, Miami Gardens, FL (Jan. 2025). 
    • “Holding Enablers Accountable: Lessons Learned from Letter from Birmingham Jail” (keynote speaker), The NAACP Salt Lake Branch, Salt Lake City, UT (Jan. 2025). 
    • “The Power of Finding Your Passion,” Eisenhower Junior High, Taylorsville, UT (Jan. 2025).
    • “Israel After October 7th,” Kol Ami Congregation, Salt Lake City, UT (Jan. 2025).
  • Media appearances

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Louisa HeinyDean Louisa Heiny, a white woman with short grey-brown hair

  • Presentations/Panels
    • CLE presentation on Utah Rule of Evidence 617 regarding admissibility of eyewitness identification testimony at trial, Utah District Court Judges.

Professor RonNell Andersen JonesProfessor RonNell Andersen Jones, a white woman with long, wavy red hair wearing glasses and a black blazer

  • Media appearances
    • Quoted in AP News, “CNN defamation trial comes at a rough time for legacy media—and for the struggling network” (Jan. 8, 2025).
    • Quoted in MSNBC, “Appeals court rules Fox must face Smartmatic’s defamation lawsuit” (Jan. 10, 2025).

 

Chris Peterson, a young white man with short dark-brown hair and glasses wearing a navy blue suitProfessor Chris Peterson

  • Media appearances
    • Quoted in KSL, “Hundreds call law firms after Vail Resorts strike disrupts vacations” (Jan. 14, 2025).

 

 

Research Professor John RupleProfessor John Ruple, a middle-aged white man with dark blonde hair, and short grey beard with dark spectacles

  • Publications
  • Presentations/panels
    • “State Control Over Federal Public Lands: Utah v. United States & SUWA v. Cox,” University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, Tucson, AZ.
  • Media appearances
    • Quoted in KSL, “Supreme Court declines to hear Utah’s lawsuit over public lands” (Jan. 13, 2025).
    • Quoted in Greenwire, “Leading Republican takes aim at Biden’s California monuments” (Jan. 7, 2025).
    • Quoted in Inside Climate News, “Conservation won big under Biden. Environmentalists and tribal leaders fear Trump will undo those gains” (Jan. 24, 2025).
    • Quoted in Vox, “Trump rescinded a half-century of environmental rules. Here’s what that could mean” (Jan. 27, 2025).

Professor Clifford Rosky head shotProfessor Cliff Rosky

  • Media appearances
    • Quoted in The Salt Lake Tribune, “Southern Utah county’s latest answer for severe drought: fasting and prayer” (Jan. 27, 2025).

 

a middle-aged man with short brown hair wearing a brown blazer over a dark blue collared shirtProfessor Matthew Tokson

  • Publications
  • Media appearances
    • Quoted in KPCW, “Legal expert explains self-defense argument in road rage fatal shooting near Hideout” (Jan. 20, 2025).

OTHER NEWS