CV
David E. Merrell
Asian & Comparative Law PhD Program, University of Washington School of Law
merrelld@uw.edu
Education
Doctor of Philosophy, University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, WA, expected 2013 (3.95 GPA, fieldwork in Kyrgyzstan)
Master of Laws, University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, WA, May 2009 (3.96 GPA, best academic record in class)
Juris Doctorate, University of Idaho College of Law, Moscow, Idaho, May 2002 (studied comparative & Islamic law in Cairo, Egypt)
Bachelor of Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, August 1997 (Intensive Arabic student at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies)
Academic & Professional Experience
Fulbright Scholar, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, 2005-2006
The Kyrgyz State Academy of Law
The Kyrgyz State University of Architecture, Construction, & Transportation
Visiting Professor, Brigham Young University–Idaho, Rexburg, Idaho, 2004-2005
Adjunct Professor
International University of Central Asia, Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan, Spring 2012
University of Washington, Seattle, WA, summer 2010
Associate Attorney
Babcock Scott Babcock, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2006-2009
Meuleman & Miller, Boise, Idaho, 2002-2004
Chapters and Entries
“Islam and Politics in Central Asia and the Caucasus” with John Schoeberlein. In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Politics, edited by Emad Shahin. New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2012.
“Central Asia.” In The Oxford Encyclopedia of Islam and Law, edited by Jonathan Brown. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.
“Islam in Central Asia.” In Islam in Asia: People, Practices, Traditions. Seattle: Newspapers In Education, The Seattle Times, and The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies (2012), http://services.nwsource.com/nie/times/index.asp.
“Chapter 47: Utah,” with Robert F. Babcock and Cody W. Wilson. In State-by-State Guide to Construction Contracts and Claims: Cumulative Supplement, edited by Michael Dodd and J. Duncan Findlay, 649-668. Frederick, MD: Aspen Publishers, 2007-2009.
Other Publications
“Kyrgyzstan’s Constitution and Islam.” In Oxford Islamic Studies Online, edited by John L. Esposito. New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming Spring 2012.
“Tajikistan’s Constitution and Islam.” In Oxford Islamic Studies Online, edited by John L. Esposito. New York: Oxford University Press, forthcoming Spring 2012.
“Islam and Dispute Resolution in Central Asia: the case of women Muslim leaders.” New Middle Eastern Studies, 1 (2011), http://www.brismes.ac.uk/nmes/.
“State Engagement with Non-State Justice: How the Experience in Kyrgyzstan can Reinforce the Need for Legitimacy in Afghanistan.” Central Asian Survey 29, no. 2 (2010): 205-217 (Best Graduate Student Paper, CESS, 2009).
“The Post-Tulip Revolution Moment of Constitutional Reform: Will Kyrgyzstan Ever Get a Good Tsar?” University of Washington Ghallager Law Library, 2009.
“Civil Fines up to $32,500 Per Day for Storm Water Pollution.” The Advocate, Official Publication of the Idaho State Bar 50, no. 6/7 (2007): 15-16 (reprinted with permission as “Storm Water Pollution: Civil Fines up to $32,500 Per Day.” Architecture & Engineering Quarterly, Intermountain Contractor, Summer (2007): 50-52).
“Central Asian Law: A Bibliography of Law in Central Asia.” http://www.centralasianlaw.com/.
Academic Conferences
“Islam and Law in Central Asian: The Case of Kyrgyzstan.” Paper presented at Тенденции развития исламского права в современном мире (Trends in the Development of Islamic law in the Modern World). Kyrgyz State Academy of Law, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, April 25, 2012.
“Using State Institutions to Facilitate Minority Systems of Justice.” Presentation at Central Asian Studies Institute: First Annual Conference, Twenty Years of Central Asian Independence: Shared Past, Separate Paths? American University of Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, October 14-16, 2011.
“Research on Resolving Inter-Ethnic Conflict in Central Asia.” Presentation at Interaction Between State and Civil Society to Prevent Inter-Ethnic Conflict in Kyrgyzstan. International University of Central Asia, Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan, June 9, 2011.
“The Need for Empirical Research to Guide Legal Development in Kyrgyzstan.” Paper presented at Development of Central Asian States: Perspectives and Risks: Socio-political challenges in Central Asian States. International University of Central Asia, Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan, June 4, 2011.
“A View of Islam in Central Asia through Modern Turkic Literature.” Paper presented at Time and Transition: Reflecting on the Past 20 Years in Russia, East Europe and Central Asia, Sixteenth Annual Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Northwest Conference, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, April 17, 2010.
“Alcohol and Islam in Central Asia: Should Muslims be Judged by Normative Interpretations of Islamic Law?” Paper presented at the 2010 California Eurasian Studies Kurultai, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, April 10, 2010.
“How do Uzbek Councils of Elders Resolve Disputes as Minorities in Central Asia and what are Possible Policy Implications for Law Reform Efforts in the Region?” Research summary presented at the 2010 Regional Policy Symposium: Regional Security in Eastern Europe and Eurasia, IREX and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington DC, April 7-9, 2010.
“Promoting Cooperation between Afghanistan and its Northern Neighbors: What Afghanistan Can Learn From State Incorporation of Community-Based Dispute Resolution in Kyrgyzstan.” Paper presented at Redefining Central Asia: Cooperation, Stabilization & Implications of Regional Security, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, October 10, 2009.
“The Perils of Integrating Statutory, Customary, and Islamic Legal Education in Afghanistan: Issues and Lessons Learned from the Afghanistan Legal Educators Project of the University of Washington.” Panel presentation at The Tenth Annual Conference of the Central Eurasian Studies Society, Toronto, Canada, October 9, 2009.
“How to Preserve Traditions in a Global World: The Case of the Council of Elders in Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan.” Paper presented at The Impact of Globalization on the Turkic and Mongolian Culture and Society, 21st Annual Nicholas Poppe Symposium on Central/Inner Asian Studies, Seattle, WA, May 9, 2009.
“Political Change in the Kyrgyz Republic: Are Local Perceptions in Line with Development Assistance Paradigms?” Paper presented at Ecological, Cultural and Political Change in Russia, East Europe and Central Asia, Fifteenth Annual Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies Northwest Conference, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, April 18, 2009.
“Constitutional Reform in the Kyrgyz Republic.” Keynote address given at the Intercollegiate Law Student Debate, Kyrgyz State Academy of Law, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, May 26, 2006.
Invited Presentations
“Law Reform Failure in Afghanistan: Should Afghanistan Engage Non-State Justice as in Kyrgyzstan?” Presentation at the Kyrgyz-Slavonic University Faculty of Law, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, December 3, 2011.
“Councils of Elders and Justice: Case Studies from Central Asia.” Presentation at the Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, May 27, 2010.
“Central Asian Turkic Historical Documents and their Application to Law Reforms in Central Asia.” Paper presented at the Central Asian Study Symposium, University of Washington, February, 18, 2010.
“Afghanistan Forum I: The Multi-Ethnic and Multi-Lingual Population of Afghanistan,” moderator. Moderated a panel of Afghan Legal Scholars at the Central Asian Study Symposium, University of Washington, February 4, 2009.
“The Afghan Legal Educators Project of the University of Washington.” Presentation at the Central Asian Study Symposium, University of Washington, November 5, 2009.
“Review of the Tenth Annual Conference of the Central Eurasian Studies Society,” with Simon Js Wickham-Smith. Presentation at the Central Asian Study Symposium, University of Washington, October 22, 2009.
“Storm Water Legal Compliance Training.” Presentation with AccenaGroup, Salt Lake City, UT, March 26, 2008.
“Immigration Law Training.” Floor Covering Association, Salt Lake City, UT, May 15, 2008.
“Constitutional Democracy.” Presentations at five locations in the Kyrgyz Republic with a Democracy Commission Grant from the U.S. Embassy for the Kyrgyz Republic, 2006.
“Employment Laws for Afghan Refugees.” Association for New Americans, Boise, ID, 2003.
“OSHA Safety Law Training.” Building Contractors Association of Southwestern Idaho, 2003.
Awards
Academic Excellence Award (for best academic record), LL.M. Program, Class of 2008-2009, Asian Law Center, University of Washington School of Law, 2008-2009
Honorable Mention, The Third Annual Religious Freedom Student Writing Competition, The Washington, D. C. Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society and the International Center for Law and Religion Studies, October 11, 2012.
Best Graduate Student Paper Award, Central Eurasian Studies Society, October 9, 2009
Best First Year Uzbek Student, Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association, 2008-2009
Fellowships & Scholarships
Fulbright Scholar Grant–Kyrgyz Republic, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Cultural & Educational Affairs, Traditional Fulbright Scholar Program, 2005-2006
Engaging the Law in Eurasia and Eastern Europe Grant, The Kennan Institute, in partnership with the Russian, East European and Eurasian Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, and the University of Wisconsin Law School, forthcoming 2013.
Fulbright-Hays Replacement Grant, Graduate School, University of Washington, Spring/Summer 2012
Chester A. Fritz Fellowship for International Research/Study, Graduate School, University of Washington, Winter 2012
David L. Boren Fellowship (Uzbek), National Security Education Program, 2010-2011
Summer Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (Uyghur), Ellison Center, Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, Summer 2011
2010 Regional Policy Symposium Grant, International Research & Exchanges Board and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, April 7-9, 2010
Graduate School Travel Grant, University of Washington, October 2009
Academic Year Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (Uzbek), Ellison Center, Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, 2009-2010
Summer Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (Uzbek), Ellison Center, Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington, Summer 2009
Top Scholar Award (top 1% recruit), Graduate School, University of Washington, 2008-2009
Graduate Fellow, Asian Law Center, University of Washington, 2008-2009
Democracy Commission Grant, U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic, 2006
Idaho Law Foundation Scholarships, University of Idaho College of Law, 2000-2001
Professional Service & Association Memberships
Member, Utah State Bar, 2007-present
Member, Idaho State Bar, 2002-present
Member, Central Eurasian Studies Society, 2009-present
Member, Socialist and Post-Socialist Area Studies Section of the American Folklore Society, 2009-present
Board Member, Industry Advisory Board, Architecture & Construction Management Department, Brigham Young University–Idaho, Rexburg, Idaho, 2006-2008
Faculty Adviser, Arabic Student Club, Brigham Young University–Idaho, Rexburg, Idaho, 2004-2005
Organizer, “Post-Tulip Revolution Constitutional Reform in the Kyrgyz Republic: An Intercollegiate Law Student Debate.” Kyrgyz State Academy of Law, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, May 26, 2006
Faculty Adviser & Organizer, Democracy Student Club, Kyrgyz State Academy of Law, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, 2006
Volunteer, Civic Education Project, International Research & Exchanges Board, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, 2006
Trainer, Youth Political Party Project, National Democratic Institute, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, 2006
Presenter, Education Project, Soros Foundation, Karakol and Naryn, Kyrgyz Republic, 2005
Selection Committee Chair, U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic, the Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, 2006
Selection Committee Member, U.S. Embassy in the Kyrgyz Republic, Traditional Fulbright Scholar Program for Non-U.S. Scholars, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, 2006
Founding Board Member and Secretary, Young Constructor’s Forum, Idaho Associated General Contractor’s of America, Boise, Idaho 2003-2004
Board Member, Dispute Resolution Section, Idaho State Bar, Moscow, Idaho, 2001-2002
Student Body Vice President, Brigham Young University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, Jerusalem 1997
Courses Taught
Muslims in Central Asia
Comparative Law
Comparative Constitutional Law
Comparative Real Estate Law
Construction Law
Legal English
Construction Management
Comparative Business Management
Foreign Languages (in order of proficiency): Spanish, Uzbek, Russian, Arabic
Uzbek / English Translations
O’lmas Umarbekov, Soat
O’tkir Hoshimov, Surat
Muhammad Ali, Toshkentlik Shahrizoda
O’zbek xalq ertaklari, Aka-Uka
Davlat Ilmiy Nashriyoti, Selections from Islom Intsiklopediya (“Bibi Seshanba,” “murid,” “murshid,” “otin,” “pir,” and “shayx.”)