San Luis Obispo College of Law recently announced that the law school’s annual moot court program is being named in honor of the late Justice Kenneth Andreen. The inaugural Andreen Moot Court program will be held Saturday, September 15, 2018, 6:30 p.m. at the SLO Veterans Hall, 801 Grand Ave, San Luis Obispo.
The program will be open to the public at no charge and will feature four San Luis Obispo College of Law students arguing a fictional constitutional law case before a panel of local judges. “The case may be fictional, but the legal issues will be very real and will focus on public policy questions that are likely to reflect future US Supreme Court cases,” said Professor Stephen Wagner who is serving as the faculty director of the Andreen Moot Court program.
“We are honored to name this prestigious program after Justice Andreen,” said Mitchel L. Winick, President and Dean of the law school. “His career and reputation reflect the type of role model that we want our law students to follow,” said Winick. At the age of 35, Andreen was appointed by Governor Pat Brown to the trial court in Fresno. His judicial career spanned more than fifty years, including the Fresno Municipal and Superior Courts, as well as the Fifth District Court of Appeal, where he served until his retirement. After retirement from the appellate bench, Andreen served as an assigned judge in various counties including San Luis Obispo, where he lived for more than 25 years.
During his early career as an attorney, Andreen was a civil rights activist who proudly marched with Dr. Martin Luther King. He worked with the Hon. Hugh Goodwin to integrate the Fresno downtown business community. Judge Goodwin was the first black lawyer and judge in Fresno County and served as Fresno County’s assistant public defender from 1967 until 1976 when Governor Jerry Brown appointed him to the Fresno Municipal Court bench.
During a 2006 interview, Justice Andreen was asked what advice he would give to someone starting out as a lawyer. His answer was, “Not to cut corners. I think a case worth trying is worth trying well.” Asked what he would most like the community to remember about his work as a judge, Andreen answered, “ . . . he always tried to be fair . . . I’d be happy with that.”
Andreen passed away on October 6, 2017 at the age of 92. He graduated from UC Berkeley and Hastings College of Law. His wife Patty Andreen, an attorney formerly with the law firm of Lozano Smith, served as the campus dean for San Luis Obispo College of Law from 2016-2018 and continues to serve on the law school faculty. Their daughter Alexandra Andreen Baca is an attorney with the Riverside law firm of Best, Best & Krieger LLP.
San Luis Obispo College of Law is an accredited branch of Monterey College of Law. The program provides evening classes leading to a J.D. and/or Masters of Legal Studies degree. Applications are currently being accepted for summer and fall semesters. For general information please go to: http://www.slolaw.org or contact Wendy LaRiviere, Dean of Admissions, at wlariviere@slolaw.org or 831-582-4000, ext. 1012.