Stephen (Steve) D. Easton, J.D., was named the 13th permanent president of Dickinson
State University during a State Board of Higher Education meeting March, 26, 2020,
after serving in an interim role for more than four months. Easton graduated summa
cum laude from DSU in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in accounting and a minor in business
administration. He was the third generation of his family to choose Dickinson State.
After earning his undergraduate degree at DSU, Easton enrolled in Stanford Law School,
where he earned his Juris Doctorate in 1983.
Easton practiced law for more than 20 years before returning to higher education as
a professor and administrator. During this time, he was a law clerk to The Honorable
Joseph T. Sneed of the United States Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California;
an associate and partner with the Pearce & Durick in Bismarck, North Dakota; and the
United States Attorney for the District of North Dakota in Fargo and Bismarck, North
Dakota.
As a professor, Easton's research, writing, and speaking focused on expert witnesses,
effective trial advocacy, and professional responsibility (ethics). He is the author
of How to Win Jury Trials: Building Credibility with Judges and Jurors, a handbook
for trial attorneys. He is a popular continuing legal education speaker who has been
invited to speak to groups of practicing trial attorneys in dozens of states. He has
led two Spence Law Firm Historic Trials: State of Wyoming v. Amos W. Barber (regarding
the Johnson County Cattle War) on October 29, 2014, and U.S. v. John Wilkes Booth
(regarding the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln) on April 11, 2016.
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Bar Memberships: Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana; Oglala Sioux Tribal Bar; Albany
County Bar Association; Eighth Circuit, U.S. Supreme Court |