Trials of the Centuries Hall of Fame

Trials of the Centuries Hall of Fame - Ethics

Hour 1 - Scopes Monkey Trial: The Ethics of Litigating Counter-cultural cases

Hour 2 - Darwinian Awards

This webinar will be available for purchase until November 30, 2025.

Subscribers have 10 days from the date of purchase to complete the webinar. After 10 days you will no longer have access to the webinar and will not be able to claim the CLE hours.

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Credits Ethics:2.0, General:2.0

Tag(s) Ethics, 2 Free Ethics - Sustaining Members

Description

Nebraska MCLE #263378. 2.0 CLE Hours, including 2.0 Ethics Hours. (OnDemand credit)

NSBA Sustaining Members: If you have not already claimed your 2 hours of FREE Ethics for 2025, please enter the Promo Code ethics2025 when checking out in store. Be sure to click the "Apply" button to ensure the discount is applied. Please note, you will only be able to use the Two Free Ethics promo code ONCE across all registration types.

**This program has been approved for 2.0 hours of distance-learning CLE, including 2.0 hours of ethics. You may claim 2.0 hours of credit total for this program.

Hour One: Scopes Monkey Trial: The Ethics of Litigating Counter-cultural cases
Clarence Darrow. William Jennings Bryant. WGN. This case was the first true trial of the century. The law would never be the same. A high school teacher was indicted for teaching evolution at the local high school in defiance of a state law. And the entire nation listened in as WGN broadcasted the proceedings. The trial climaxed when Clarence Darrow called the opposing lawyer to the stand, a three-time democratic nominee for president. This class will analyze how to litigate counter-cultural cases and review the lasting impact of the Scopes Trial today.

Hour Two: Darwinian Awards

By reviewing the mistakes other lawyers have made, from advising clients to put a sign up in their yard announcing illegal activity was going on inside the house, to lawyers getting opposing counsel drunk just to score some points with the jury, this class hands out the Darwinian Awards. Charles Darwin had a theory that only the fittest survive. Well … you can be among the fittest by adjusting your behavior to not match these lawyers.

Joel Oster, Esq.
Joel is a seasoned litigator and regular speaker to attorneys and non-attorneys alike. He currently is in private practice in Kansas City, specializing in constitutional litigation, campaign finance, sports law and appellate advocacy. He previously served as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom at its Kansas City Regional Service Center. While at ADF, he was counsel for the Town of Greece, New York in the landmark case Galloway v. Greece. Joel argued the case before the United States District Court for the Western District of New York and the Second Circuit, and was part of the legal team presenting the case to the U.S. Supreme Court where they successfully defended the Town against a challenge to its practice of opening its sessions with an invocation.

Oster regularly litigates First Amendment issues. As lead counsel in Freedom from Religion Foundation v. Obama, Oster skillfully defended the constitutionality of the National Day of Prayer against an Establishment Clause challenge. Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit, he successfully defended the right of an organization to have a pro-life specialty license plate in Missouri in Roach v. Stouffer. In Wigg v. Sioux Falls School District, he successful represented an elementary school teacher in obtaining equal access to school facilities after contract time after she was denied that right based on the viewpoint of her speech. In addition, Oster has defended various churches based on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, against discriminatory zoning codes and regulations. Oster also has defended various individuals, corporations, and political committees against discriminatory and unconstitutional campaign finance regulations.

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If you have any questions for the presenter(s) of this webinar, please send your question via email to Allyson Felt at afelt@nebar.com. She will forward your question to the presenter(s), who will provide an answer promptly.

Active Nebraska attorneys are required to complete 10 hours of continuing legal education (CLE) each year. Two of those 10 hours must be in the field of professional responsibility (ethics). Nebraska attorneys may claim only 5 hours of distance-learning CLE per year. Webinars viewed on this portal are considered distance-learning. Under the new MCLE reporting process, the NSBA will report your attendance for this program, which will be automatically updated into your transcript. The NSBA has 30 days to report your hours to Nebraska MCLE, and your transcript may not update immediately. You are no longer able to log your own hours in your transcript; they must be reported by the sponsor.

For more information about Nebraska CLE requirements, see the MCLE Commission’s website at https://attorneys.nejudicial.gov/. For questions about CLE requirements, your own CLE transcript, or about reporting CLE credit online, contact the Nebraska Supreme Court’s Attorney Services Division at (531) 510-3641.

For questions about the OnDemand Platform or the courses therein, contact the Nebraska State Bar Association at (402) 475-7091.