Author 

About me

I grew up in Utah and went to BYU Law School. I thought it would be nice to eat more than ramen and microwave burritos so guiding rivers and playing my trombone had to go for something more noble—criminal law. It also meant I had to shave the scruff and mullet or the judge wouldn’t know who was the lawyer and who was the defendant. I worked a little for the prosecution, a lot for the defense, and found a little extra time for a therapist. The high (low?) part of my legal life involved representing defendants on death penalty cases. Instead of killing people, I think the government should spend its time on things it’s good at, like fixing potholes, educating kids, and talking to each other in Congress.

I had a little stint at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah before I made Montana my adopted home (it’s as empty, big, and beautiful as you’re thinking). I managed to get out of Utah with only one wife, and I swear her real name is Honey. She’s a midwife, nurse-practitioner, clinical professor of nursing at Gonzaga, medical researcher, business owner, author, goat herder, greenhouse vegetable grower, martial artist, and musician. I think I missed a few things. I tried to drive a stake through her heart since I was sure she was a vampire but she was at a birth so she wasn’t in bed. Because we didn’t have enough on our plate, we thought we’d accumulate a Mormon-sized army of kids: step, our own, foster, adopted, and I think someone named Phyllis is living downstairs. I keep telling the kids it’s time to downsize.

I have the greatest job in the world. I went from saying, “the best deal you’ll get is life without parole” to giving out As, Bs, and Cs. Law students haven’t yet learned how to rip people off, and so my experience with the criminal law really gets a place to shine.

I love my job and I love my students. I get to write about things I think are important, like most recently Mormons, soon to be Buddhists, peace, love, and come up with reasons to tie that to crime. In my off time, though my hair is long gone, you’ll find me, my wife, and the kids we can find floating down the river, skiing a mountain, or folding laundry.

CV

Education

• PhD, University of Utah
• JD, Brigham Young University
• BA, Weber State University

Selected Positions

• Affiliate, Idaho Innocence Project, Boise State University, 2018 - Present
• Public Defender, Office of the State Public Defender of Montana, 2018
• Attorney at Law, Law Office of Samuel P. Newton, 2009-2017
• Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah, 2008-2012
• Public Defender, Salt Lake Legal Defender Association, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2003-2009

Selected Publications

• Samuel P. Newton, Blood &Thunder Sword & Pistol: Joseph Smith and Mormon Resistance in Antebellum America, 1827-1844, Oxford University Press (forthcoming)
• Samuel P. Newton and Teresa L. Welch, Understanding Criminal Evidence: A Case-Method Approach, Wolters Kluwer (2012)
• Samuel P. Newton, “Getting to Know You: An Expanded Approach to Capital Jury Selection,” Tulane Law Review, 2021
• Samuel P. Newton, “Kidnapping Reconsidered: Courts’ Merger Tests Do Not Remedy the Inequities Which Developed From Kidnapping’s Sensationalized and Racialized History,” William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal, 2020
• Samuel P. Newton, “Giving Teeth to State Constitutions: Using History to Argue Utah’s Constitution Affords Greater Protections to Criminal Defendants,” Utah Journal of Criminal Law, 2018
• Samuel P. Newton, et al., “No Justice in Utah's Justice Courts: Constitutional Issues, Systemic Problems, and the Failure to Protect Defendants in Utah's Infamous Local Courts,” Utah Law Review OnLaw (cited by the Harvard Law Review and Virginia Law Review), 2012

Selected Media

• Interviewed, Lauren Paterson, Moscow killings suspect waives right to speedy hearing, next court appearance set for June, Spokane Public Radio, January 12, 2023
• Interviewed, Shaun Goodwin, DNA evidence likely key in Idaho murder case. How does testing, use in court work?, Seattle Times, January 11, 2023
• Interviewed, AP Explains: Case against Idaho killings suspect, Associated Press, January 10, 2023
• Interviewed, Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer, CNN, January 2, 2023
• Interviewed, Ryan W. Miller, “Mom of missing Idaho kids and husband seen island hopping,” USA Today

Honors & Awards

• Peter E. Heiser Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Idaho College of Law, 2022
• Donald L. Burnett Professionalism Leadership Award, University of Idaho College of Law, 2022
• Jana Elliott Memorial Resource Parents of the Year (“Foster Parents of the Year”), Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and Montana Children’s Trust Fund, 2021
• Faculty Diversity and Human Rights Award, University of Idaho College of Law, 2021
• Burton Ellis Research Scholar, University of Idaho College of Law, 2021
• Peter E. Heiser Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Idaho College of Law, 2020
• Faculty Mentor Award, University of Idaho Alumni Awards for Excellence, University of Idaho, 2019 
• Distinguished Service Award, Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 2017 

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"Mr. Newton is well respected by Utah lawyers and judges alike. His briefs are well written and more scholarly than most. He is zealous on behalf of his clients and even when their convictions are affirmed he often makes the case closer than you might expect. He is cordial and respectful in oral argument. I have never heard anything negative or disparaging about him professionally or personally."

Fred Voros  Judge, Utah Court of Appeals

"Mr. Newton is well respected by Utah lawyers and judges alike. His briefs are well written and more scholarly than most. He is zealous on behalf of his clients and even when their convictions are affirmed he often makes the case closer than you might expect. He is cordial and respectful in oral argument. I have never heard anything negative or disparaging about him professionally or personally."

Fred Voros  Judge, Utah Court of Appeals

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