Capital Law Home / Faculty

Deposit here.

Faculty News

May 2012

Dennis Hirsch has his paper proposal accepted for the 2012 Privacy Law Scholars Conference. He will be presenting his work on Dutch privacy regulation – which was based on his Fulbright research. The PLSC is the leading conference in the field of privacy law and attracts several hundred participants annually.

Mark Strasser was quoted in the May 13 Delaware Online article "Same-sex marriage comes to forefront: Obama, Biden statements ignite national debate." See page four online.

May 4 Joe Grant spoke at the Columbus Bar Association's 2012 Probate Law Institute on issues surrounding digital property and death. His CLE presentation was entitled "Death and the Digital Self: How to Handle a Decedent's Online Presence."

Also, his article, "Planning for the Death of a Systemically Important Financial Institution Under Title I § 165(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act: The Practical Implications of Resolution Plans or Living Wills in Planning a Bank's Funeral," appeared in Volume 6 of the Virginia Law & Business Review.

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández and his blog, crImmigration.com, were mentioned on SCOTUSblog's "Tuesday round-up" on May 1, 2012 regarding his analysis of the Court's decision to grant ceriorari in Chaidez v. United States, a case addressing the retroactive application of the Court's 2010 decision recognizing that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel requires that criminal defense attorneys advise noncitizen defendants about immigration consequences of conviction.

April 2012

Professor Floyd Weatherspoon published "Racial Profiling of Young African American Males: What We Should Learn From the Trayvon Martin’s Tragedy?" in the April 2012 Columbus African American News Journal. Read the article here (PDF).

Professor Dan Kobil spoke at the symposium "Sentence Commutations and the Executive Pardon Power" Fri., April 20 at the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minneapolis, MN. His talk was titled Compelled Mercy: Judicial Review and the Clemency Power.

Professor Brad Smith published the op-ed, "Dirty political money" in the April 20 New York Post. Read the article.

SCOTUSblog’s April 3 “Tuesday round-up” references Professor César García Hernández's analysis of a case in which the Supreme Court granted certiorari (Moncrieffe v. Holder). The analysis appears on García Hernández's blog crImmigration and provides a detailed look at the background of the case.

Links to faculty blogs and other CapLaw social media is now available.

García Hernández also presented “Understanding Immigration Imprisonment” at an April 10, 2012, panel organized by the Ohio State University Moritz Immigration Law Society and ACLU chapters as well as “Padilla’s Two-Tiered Duty is Strickland-Lite for Noncitizens” at the 22nd Annual Midwest People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference at Marquette University Law School on April 14, 2012.

García Hernández spoke about Arizona v. United States, the Supreme Court case regarding Arizona's immigration legislation, to the CapLaw chapter of the American Constitution Society on April 17, 2012.

March 2012

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández presented “Immigration Mass Imprisonment: A Genealogy” at the Border Patrols: The Legal, Racial, Social, and Economic Implications of United States Immigration Policy symposium at St. John’s University School of Law, hosted by the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development and Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development, on March 16, 2012.

He presented "The Immigrant’s Right to Counsel" at the National Latina/o Law Students Association Central Region Encuentro at the Chicago-Kent College of Law on March 3, 2012.

He presented "crImmigration Expansion and Policing," at the National Lawyers Guild Midwest Regional Conference at the Chicago-Kent College of Law on March 24, 2012.

He organized and moderated a panel of immigration attorneys who spoke to CapLaw students about their practices and career paths on March 26, 2012.

Garcia Hernández also published "Padilla v. Kentucky’s Inapplicability to Undocumented and Non-Immigrant Visitors,” 39 Rutgers Law Record 47 (2012), which was named the "Immigration Article of the Day" by the ImmigrationProf Blog on April 17, 2012. The article also was listed in the Top Ten Downloads list on the Social Science Research Network's Immigration, Refugee, & Citizenship e-journal, Criminal Procedure e-journal, and Legal Scholarship Network: Procedure e-journal; and was featured on the Center for Immigration Studies' "Immigration Reading List" on March 30, 2012.

Associate Dean Rachel Janutis is one of three authors of the Fifth Edition of “Remedies, Cases and Problems,” to be published in June and available for this fall’s classes nationwide. More.

Professor Brad Smith was featured on American Public Media's Marketplace program in a story by John Dimsdale that discussed the relationship between super PACs and campaign organization. Listen to the story.

February 2012

Professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández published a letter to the editor in the February 7 Columbus Dispatch discussing the immigration consequences of allegations that a Cleveland Indians pitcher invented an identity to get hired. Read the letter to the editor.

In a case that Capital constitutional law Professor Dan Kobil argued and helped brief, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Court ruled on February 2, 2012 in favor of Ohio Citizen Action in a case challenging restrictions on door-to-door canvassing. The City of Englewood, Ohio, had imposed a 6 p.m. curfew on door-to-door canvassing, which was struck down by the federal appellate court. The court ruled that the City’s asserted interests in protecting privacy, preventing crime, and conserving fiscal resources were not adequately related to 6:00 p.m. curfew, and so the curfew violated the First Amendment. The decision by Judges Helene White, Jane Stranch, and Avern Cohn (sitting by designation), was unanimous.

A noted expert on clemency, Kobil also was quoted in a February 8 Thompson Reuters News & Insight article "Miss. high court to hear arguments over contested pardons" reported by by Joseph Ax.

January 2012

On January 23, 2012, Professor Michael Distelhorst was a participant in "A Professor Panel on Faith and Legal Education" sponsored by the Christian Legal Society, Student Chapter, at the Law School.

January 26, 2012, Distelhorst was a panelist for a program sponsored by the Christian Lawyers Society, Central Ohio Lawyers Chapter. The program was entitled, "The Difference Christ Makes -- Integrating Faith and Practice."

Professor Brad Smith was one of the featured commentators on US News and World Report's Debate Club, "a meeting of the sharpest minds on the day's most important topics." Smith participated in the issue Are Super PACs Harming US Politics?

January 19, Smith was featured on the Legal Talk Network Lawyer2Lawyer podcast in a discussion of the impact of the Citizens United ruling during an election year and its influence on the upcoming presidential election.

Smith published an op-ed in the January 11 New York Post. The article, An awful elex fix: Copy NYC? Gov has it all wrong, responds to New York Governor Cuomo's State of the State address calling for "campaign-finance reform."

Professor Dan Kobil was quoted in the January 13, USA Today article "Barbour's pardons stir outrage in Mississippi." Kobil, a clemency expert, highlighted the timing of the out-going Mississippi Governor's pardons.

Professor Jeff Ferriell testified before the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee in connection with proposed amendments to UCC Article 9, governing security interests in personal property. The proposed changes, which were approved in 2010 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, the American Law Institute, and the American Bar Association, will change the rules regarding the correct “name” of debtors on UCC-1 financing statements, and revise several complicated rules affecting the actions secured creditors must take to remain perfected with respect to after-acquired collateral when a debtor merges, or transfers its assets to a debtor who is located in a different state. If adopted by the Ohio House of Representatives, and signed by the governor, Senate Bill 208 will go into effect on July 1, 2013, at the same time that identical changes go into effect in other states.

The Columbus Bar Association, in conjunction with JMLBA and APABA-CO, presented a “Generational Conversation” and the RACE Exhibit at COSI on January 31, 2012. The celebration included a panel discussion about the changing landscape of the legal community, with panelists including Capital University Law School Professor Melinda Molina as well as Ben Espy (Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan) and Carl Smallwood (Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease).

Professor Dennis Hirsch published New Rules on en banc review: Strategic Implications for Supreme Court and appellate practice in the Ohio Lawyer (Jan/Feb. 2012).

During the 2012 American Association of Law Schools (AALS) conference, Capital University Law School was represented by faculty and administration. Professor Regina Burch presented on Race, Gender, Class and Economic Justice on Jan. 5, 2012 at a Law and Socioeconomics Section meeting. Professor Mark Strasser spoke on: “Federal Family Law and Family Law Federalism” as part of the Family and Juvenile Law section, Friday, Jan 6. Also, Assistant Dean of Student Administration Jennifer DiSanza was one of the speakers at “Orientation: Creating Order Out of Chaos” Thurs., Jan. 5.

December 2011

December 9, 2011, Professor Michael Distelhorst spoke to the Christian Lawyers Society, Central Ohio Lawyers Chapter. His presentations was entitled, "Legal Ethics: Reconciling Ones Duties as a Christian with the Disciplinary Rules."

December 8, Professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández presented his paper on the impact of Padilla v. Kentucky on criminal defense practice to the Capital University Law School faculty.

Also in December, García Hernández published “U.S. Supreme Court Holds BIA’s Comparable-Grounds Requirement for § 212(c) Relief is Arbitrary and Capricious” as part of the LexisNexis Emerging Issues Analysis series.

Professors Janet Blocher, Risa Lazaroff and Jeff Snapp presented a 3-hour CLE December 15 at the Columbus Bar Association. It was entitled "Persuasive Writing: From Start to Finish." This is the second year in a row that they have presented a writing seminar at the CBA.

Susan Gilles, the John E. Sullivan Designated Professor of Law, and Rachel Janutis, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, presented a CLE on the topic of discovery and public records with Erick Gale, Associate Assistant Attorney General, Constitutional Offices Section at the Office of the Ohio Attorney General, Dec. 12, 2011.

December 9 Professor Michael Distelhorst spoke to the Christian Legal Society, Columbus chapter, on the topic of reconciling one’s duties as a Christian with the ethical and disciplinary rules applicable to lawyers.

Scott Anderson spoke at the one-day Legal Research and Writing conference at the Moritz College of Law on December 2. His topic was using a novel to teach legal drafting.

November 2011

November 18, Professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández spoke to the Capital University Law School chapter of the American Constitution Society about United States v. Jones, a Fourth Amendment case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Also, García Hernández presented “Criminal Defense After Padilla v. Kentucky” at the faculty colloquium at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law November 2.

An article co-authored by Geraldine W. Howell Professor of Law at Capital University Law School Dennis Hirsch and Adjunct Professor of Law and Senior Fellow, Information Law Institute, New York University School of Law Ira Rubinstein appeared in the November 14 BNA Privacy and Security Law Report, the leading trade publication for the privacy and security law fields. The article applies Hirsch's research on privacy regulation in the Netherlands to current legislative proposals in Congress. That research focused on the Dutch “safe harbor” approach to regulation under which regulators and industry collaborate on the drafting of privacy rules. Three bills currently before the U.S. Congress are proposing the same approach.

November 10, Professor Dan Kobil speaks at "Take it to the Streets: The Occupy Movement & Free Speech." The event runs from 7-8:30pm at the King Ave. United Methodist Church, 299 King Ave., Columbus, OH (corner of King and Neil).

Professor Brad Smith published an op-ed in the November 10 Wall Street Journal, "Another Union Attack on Corporate Speech: A new code of 'best practices' for companies to follow would serve labor's agenda, not the interests of shareholders." Read the article.

November 3 Professor Michael Distelhorst spoke on legal ethics at the Corporate Counsel Forum sponsored by the law firm of Roetzel & Andress in Columbus, Ohio. The topic of his presentation was Legal Ethics and Selected Rules of Professional Conduct from a Perspective of “Integrity.”

Distelhorst will be speaking on Legal Ethics, Professionalism, and Substance Abuse and Impairment in the Legal Profession at continuing education program November 11. The event is sponsored by Wendy’s International. His topics will include the work of the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 dealing with technology and globalization and their effect on a changing legal profession and new model(s) of professionalism under debate within the profession.

November 18, Distelhorst will be presenting as part of the Ohio Land Title Association (OLTA) Webinar on the subjects of professionalism and substance abuse and impairment.

Distelhorst will be serving during the next year as the Chair of the Law School Committee of the Ohio Supreme Court’s Commission on Professionalism.

Nov. 4, Professor Susan Gilles spoke at the University of Northern Kentucky, Chase School of Law, faculty forum on "Actual Malice: the Perils of Borrowing Tort Law ."

October 2011

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández had his scholarly article Criminal Defense After Padilla v. Kentucky, accepted for publication in the Georgetown Immigration Law Journal (forthcoming 2012).

Additionally, García Hernández served on the organizing committee of the Faculty Development Workshop for the second consecutive year at the Ninth Annual LatCrit (Latina/o Critical Theory, Inc.)-SALT (Society of American Law Teachers) Junior Faculty Development Workshop and the Sixteenth Annual LatCrit Conference in San Diego Oct. 6 through Oct. 9. The day-and-a-half long Workshop consisted of a series of panels about professional obligations and strategies for success targeting pre-tenure professors and aspiring professors with a progressive, social justice oriented approach to law. César facilitated a presentation by Mario Barnes (UC Irvine) introducing attendees to LatCrit and another by Ngai Pindell (UNLV) and Hazel Weiser (Executive Director of SALT) on SALT.

During the Annual Conference that followed, García Hernández presented his latest paper on the Sixth Amendment right to counsel’s application to non-citizen criminal defendants, “Criminal Defense After Padilla v. Kentucky.” Also, he discussed some of his experiences from his first year of teaching during a plenary session of former recipients of the LatCrit Student Scholar Program award.

Also García Hernández presented “Criminal Defense After Padilla v. Kentucky” at the Central States Law Schools Association Conference, University of Toledo College of Law, October 29.

Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Designated Professor of Law Brad Smith had numerous speaking engagements including appearances Oct. 5 at the University of Chicago Law School Federalist Society: “Separation of Campaign and State;” Oct. 10 at the City Club of Cleveland; Oct. 12 at the Notre Dame School of Law Federalist Society: “Separation of Campaign and State;” Oct. 17 at the Canary Lecture, Case Western Reserve School of Law, “Saving Elections from Politics: A Doctrine of Separation of Campaign and State.”

Also, Smith appeared on Politico, Oct. 25, to discuss political ads (view the story and video). Additonally, Smith was quoted in the media in the Oct. 3 Human Events regarding Rep. Rosa DeLauro fundraising issues; in the Oct. 5 Indianapolis Star in profile of election lawyer Jim Bopp; in the Oct. 6 Politico, regarding SuperPACs; in the Oct. 6 Hotline also regarding SuperPACs; in the Oct. 12 Washington (D.C.) Times regarding the proposed Executive Order requiring government contractors to include information on political spending; in the Oct. 13 New York Times regarding campaign ads for Senator Ben Nelson in Nebraska; in the Oct. 25 Boston Globe regarding Super PACs; in the Oct. 25 Daily Caller regarding Occupy Wall Street demands; and in the Oct. 27 Washington (D.C.) Times regarding Electoral College and “National Popular Vote” plan.

Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Law Rachel Janutis presented a discussion of personal jurisdiction at a video teleconference entitled “Jurisdiction, Venue and Associated Internet Issues in Municipal and County Courts” as part of the Supreme Court of Ohio Judicial College October 28.

October 22, Professor of Law and Academic Director of the Graduate Law Programs Myron Grauer traveled with Dean Rich Simpson to Chicago to attend the Site Evaluation Workshop of the American Bar Association Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar to begin preparation for the Law School’s reaccreditation visit from the ABA that will occur in the 2013-2014 academic year. This reaccreditation visit is an inspection that every ABA-accredited law school receives from the ABA every seven years.

Professor Grauer also was the Chair of the Planning Committee for the highly successful and well-attended Symposium on the Foreclosure Crisis that took place October 28 and featured nationally recognized speakers. The papers delivered at that Symposium will be published in a future edition of the Capital University Law Review.

October 20 Michael Distelhorst spoke on legal ethics at the Corporate Counsel Forum sponsored by the law firm of Roetzel & Andress in Cleveland Ohio. The topic of his presentation was Legal Ethics and Selected Rules of Professional Conduct from a Perspective of “Integrity.”

At the Ninth Annual LatCrit (Latina/o Critical Theory, Inc.)-SALT (Society of American Law Teachers) Junior Faculty Development Workshop and the Sixteenth Annual LatCrit Conference in San Diego Oct. 6 through Oct. 9, Melinda Molina presented her work-in-progress tentatively titled “Boricua Certificado: An examination of Law 191.” The paper is an examination of recent legislation that invalidates all birth certificates issued in Puerto Rico before July 1, 2010. This law required over 1.3 million American citizens, by virtue of being born in Puerto Rico, to obtain a new birth certificate before September 30, 2010. Melinda’s research examines the constitutional vulnerability of the law, which could potentially leave a large number of U.S. citizens without the proper documentation to obtain state-issued identification that is often vital to obtaining important social services, and to exercising the right to vote and traveling both here and abroad.

September 2011

Professor Jeff Ferriell was the lead-off speaker at the Sept. 30 Columbus Bar Exam program on “Business Law and Foreclosure” that was part of the CBA’s “Masters Series” of CLE programs Ferriell's topic was the current law of Ohio Mortgage Foreclosure Law, focusing on the interface between Articles 3 and 9 of the UCC and the issue of standing to bring a mortgage foreclosure action.

Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Designated Professor of Law Brad Smith served as co-counsel for plaintiffs in Patriotic Veterans of America v. Indiana. September 26, the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Indiana issued an injunction against an Indiana law that limited the rights of Patriotic Veterans of America to contact Indiana voters regarding political and campaign issues. The state has appealed. Patriotic Veterans’ national spokesman is Col. (Ret.) Chuck Thoman, a combat veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.

Smith also published an op-ed, “Campaign Finance McCarthyism,” in the September 15 Daily Caller.

Smith had several speaking engagements including: Sept. 14 at the Florida International Law School ACS/Federalist Society Debate on Citizens United v. FEC; Sept., 15-16 at the Northwestern University School of Law, Panel Workshop, “Accelerating Democracy: Matching Self Governance to Social Change;” and Sept. 19 at the Colgate University, Constitution Day Debate with former Clinton Speechwriter Michael Waldman, "Democracy for the Rich? -¬‐ Corporations and Electoral Speech.”

Smith’s September media appearances include speaking on National Public Radio’s September 3 “All Things Considered,” about SuperPACs and on Reason, Sep. 27, regarding campaign finance (this was a re-release of a prior interview).

Smith was quoted in the Sept. 1 Washington Post regarding the SEC regulation of campaign contributions by brokers; in the Sept. 1 Politico regarding the proposed Executive Order requiring government contractors to include information on political spending; in the Sept. 1 Newsmax regarding SEC regulation of campaign contributions by brokers; in the Sept. 4 Arkansas Democrat Gazette (Little Rock) regarding the effect of court decisions on fundraising in 2012 election cycle; in the Sept. 17 Cleveland Plain Dealer regarding the Ohio ballot initiative disclosure rules; in the Sept. 18, Cincinnati Enquirer regarding local streetcar ballot initiatives; in the Sept. 21 Bloomberg News in profile of election lawyer Jim Bopp; in the Sept. 26 Politico regarding campaign disclosure laws; and in the Sept. 27 Huffington Post regarding changes in campaign finance law.

Professor Susan Gilles presented for the Ohio State Bar Association CLE Program for the Judicial Administration and Legal Reform Committee September meeting. Her presentation covered live cameras in the courtroom.

Professor Floyd Weatherspoon was appointed to the National Bar Association's Legal Education Committee.

Also, Weatherspoon published the article The Impact of the Growth and Use of ADR Processes on Minority Communities, Individuals Rights, and Neutrals, Vol. 39, Fall 2011 Capital University law Review.

Professor Lance Tibbles revised and updated his chapter "Lawyers Keep Clients’ Confidences" in the Ohio State Bar Association’s publication "Legal Basics for Small Business."

Professor Myron Grauer received the 2011 Dr. John R. Ervin Golden Apple Award by the Columbus chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals Sept. 22. The award has been presented annually since 1993 for “dedication to our students and the financial services profession.” The award recognizes an outstanding financial services educator to whom the organization’s Hall of Fame inductees and other members of the financial services community owe a debt of gratitude for service in providing basic and advanced financial services education. Golden Apple honorees are the teachers the group’s membership has relied upon for financial services education. The award recognizes these educators’ importance in the membership’s educational development as financial services professionals.

Professor Grauer gave the opening lecture at the Society of Financial Service Professionals (Columbus Chapter) Fall Symposium earlier that day. His talk was titled, “The 2010 Tax Act and Transfer Taxes”.

September 15, Professor Michael Distelhorst spoke to the Grove City Rotary Club on the topic of “Ethical Principles for Business Leadership Today.” Professor Distelhorst has previously spoken on this and related topics to other Rotary Clubs in the Central Ohio area.

César García Hernández's recent article, "When State Courts Meet Padilla: A Concerted Effort is Needed to Bring State Courts Up to Speed on Crime-Based Immigration Law Provisions", 12 Loy. J. Pub. Int. L. 299 (2011), was cited in the Iowa Court of Appeals.

César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández created the following practitioner resources: Major Issues the Courts Have Been Dealing with Since Padilla v. Kentucky, 2011 Emerging Issues 5882 (LexisNexis Emerging Issues Analysis, September 8, 2011).

Additionally García Hernández presented Adopting Policing Techniques of the War on Drugs to the New Immigration Policing, ClassCrits IV: Criminalizing Economic Inequality, American University Washington College of Law, September 23.

Professor Brad Smith was featured on NPR's All Things Considered Sept. 3, 2011 in two stories about SuperPACs. Smith is quoted in the audio version of Restrictions On SuperPACs Not Super Clear and the written version of SuperPACs, Explained (By Stephen Colbert's Lawyer).

August 2011

Professor Fenner Stewart's article "Berle's Conception of Shareholder Primacy: A Forgotten Perspective for Reconsideration During the Rise of Finance" has been published in 34 Seattle University Law Review 1457 (2011).

Professor Dennis Hirsch was one of three featured speakers at a Symposium on Data Protection Governance held at the University of Amsterdam Faculty of Law. The two other speakers were a professor from Radboud University in the Netherlands, and a professor from the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford. Each of us spoke about government attempts protect personal privacy though regulation. Hirsch focused on an innovative Dutch form of privacy regulation, known as “privacy codes of conduct,” that relies heavily on industry codes of conduct to protect personal information. His talk was titled “Dutch Treat? The Collaborative Dutch Approach to Privacy Regulation and its Implications for U.S. Privacy Law.”

Additionally, Hirsch presented in Madrid, Spain, at the annual meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics on a panel titled “Voluntary Business Environmentalism: What is it, What Policies Make Sense for It?” Professor Kurt Strasser of Connecticut Law School, who organized the panel, invited him to present based on an article that he recently published in the Administrative Law Review. His presentation was titled “A Green Business Regulatory Agenda for U.S. EPA.”

Josiah H. Blackmore II/Shirley M. Nault Designated Professor of Law Brad Smith spoke at the American Enterprise Institute, Capitol Hill Briefing on Disclosure Aug ,31. Video and details are available at Campainfreedom.org, here and here.

Additionally, Smith appeared on the Thom Hartman Show, Aug. 17, to discuss corporate personhood and was quoted in Hotline, regarding Rick Perry’s fundraising Aug. 22.

Professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández published an Op-Ed, “House Bill Would Put Many Immigrants in Prison Unnecessarily,” in the August 20 Columbus Dispatch.

Professor Floyd Weatherspoon presented "Mediating Complex Cases" at the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's National Excel Conference in Baltimore, MD August 16.

Professor Fenner Stewart served as a research fellow of the CIBC Centre for Corporate Governance and Risk Management (Vancouver, CA) from April 1 until Aug. 15.

At the 138th Chautauqua at Lakeside, Ohio, Lakeside Seminar Series entitled “Creation and Evolution: Defending the Integrity of Scripture and Science,” Professor Jim Beattie presented a paper and seminar entitled “Creation – Evolution – Intelligent Design and the Courts.”

Professor Stan Darling was quoted in the August 1, 2011, Columbus Dispatch in the story by Holly Zachariah, “2 men suing women they saved.”

July 2011

Professor César García Hernández's article, “When State Courts Meet Padilla: A Concerted Effort is Needed to Bring State Courts Up to Speed on Crime-Based Immigration Law Provisions,” 12 Loy. J. Pub. Int. L. 299 (2011), was featured by the Immigration Law Professors blog as its Article of the Day on June 8, listed in the Top 10 Downloads lists of several journals on SSRN (including the Criminal Law and Procedure, Journal of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Law, and Politics of Immigration eJournals), and included in the National Immigration Law Center’s Immigrants’ Rights Update (July 6).

Additionally, it was was cited in the Iowa Court of Appeals.

Professor Brad Smith was quoted in several national publications in June and July, 2011, including:

op-ed in the New York Post, Will NYC campaign law be next to fall, July 5, regarding constitutionality of New York City campaign finance laws after Supreme Court decision in Arizona Free Enterprise Club Freedom PAC v. Bennett.
op-ed in New York Times Blog, The Separation of Campaign and State, June 27, arguing government ought not regulate political campaigns.
an appearance on National Public Radio, All Things Considered, June 28, regarding Supreme Court decision in Arizona Free Enterprise Club Freedom PAC v. Bennett.
in the Washington Post, July 29, regarding proposed executive order requiring federal contractors in include information on political contributions in bids.
in the Panama City, Fla., News Herald, July 19, regarding Supreme Court decision in Arizona Free Enterprise Club Freedom PAC v. Bennett.
in the States News Service, July 15, regarding disclosure of political campaign "bundlers."
in the Orange County, Calif., Register, July 8, regarding Supreme Court decision in Arizona Free Enterprise Club Freedom PAC v. Bennett.
in States News Service, July 6, regarding IRS policy on contributions to tax exempt organizations engaging in politics.
in Hotline, July 5, regarding constitutionality of New York City campaign finance laws after Supreme Court decision in Arizona Free Enterprise Club Freedom PAC v. Bennett
in Hotline, June 30, regarding Stephen Colbert forming "SuperPAC"
in Politico, June 29, regarding Stephen Colbert forming "SuperPAC"

Professor César García Hernández’s article, “Change to Pretrial Diversion Policy Could Lead to Deportation,” coauthored with Carlos Moctezuma García, was published in Voice for the Defense, the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association’s magazine.

Professor César García Hernández published “Fifteen Years of Reconstructing the World” in The Harvard Latino Law Review: foreword to the LatCrit XV symposium. This article was coauthored with Marc-Tizoc González, in July.

Professor Stan Darling spent 150 pro bono hours in June and July preparing a complete revision of the torts section of the “Outline of Topics Tested on Essay Portion of the Ohio Bar Examination,” which appears on the Ohio Supreme Court website for the Board of Bar Examiners.

Professor Jeff Ferriell spoke the July 26 on a panel at the annual Southeastern Association of Law Schools (SEALS) Conference in Hilton Head, SC, dealing with curricular change and how those teaching traditional first-year courses, such as Contracts, Property, Torts can best deal with reductions in credit hours for these traditional courses. The panel included faculty members from the University of South Carolina, Cleveland State University, Nova University, Mercer University, and Northern Kentucky University.

Ferriell also participated in the annual meeting in July of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL), in Vail, Colorado. Ferriell has served as one of Ohio’s NCCUSL Commissioners since 2008.

Professor Fenner Stewart was a fellow of the SIAS Summer Institute 2011-2012, titled “Regulating The World Society: Law, Governance and The Quest For Global Justice (Berlin, DE)” from July 11-22.

Professor Susan Gilles was interviewed by Channel 10 news on the Ohio Public Records request for Jim Tressel records.

Professor Scott Anderson presented a paper at a conference held July 1-3 at the University of Freiburg in Germany. Professor Anderson’s presentation, “Once and for All: The Manifold Contexts of Adjudication,” argued that the incomplete content of a judicial opinion is filled in not only by appellate court decisions in later cases, but also by the varying interpretations elicited from distinct, but identifiable, legal communities, including legislators, law enforcement officers, and citizens. The conference, Pragmatic and Contextualist Approaches to Vagueness in Legal Theory and Philosophy, assembled a prestigious group of experts in the philosophy of law, including Timothy Endicott, Professor of Law and Dean of Oxford University’s School of Law, and Lawrence Solum, Professor of Law at Georgetown University’s Law Center. It also included experts in the philosophy of language, including Scott Soames, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern California.

June 2011

Professor Dan Kobil gave an oral argument before the 6th Circuit in June. The argument can be found on the Citizen Action website: ohiocitizen.org.

Professor Fenner Stewart commented at the Ohio Legal Scholarship Workshop on June 23 at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Professor Peggy Cordray published an article with Richard Cordray on June 21, The Solicitor General’s Changing Role in Supreme Court Litigation, in the Boston College Law Review (51 B.C. L. Rev. 1323 (2010). The article was featured in the Academic Roundup feature on SCOTUSblog.

Professor Fenner Stewart moderated at Midwest Corporation Law Scholars Conference on June 15 at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

Professor Lance Tibbles represented the Law School at the AALS “Conference on the Future of the Law School Curriculum,” held in Seattle on June 11-14.

Professor Janet Blocher attended “Three to Get Ready: Three Different Perspectives on Getting Students ‘Practice Ready.’” The conference was held at Roger Williams Law School in Bristol, Rhode Island on June 10 and featured three sessions devoted to the theme of “practice ready.”

Kendall Isaac, L‘05, has accepted a tenure-track faculty position at the Appalachian School of Law beginning in Fall 2011. Isaac taught the General Practice Practicum as an adjunct professor at Capital Law. He will teach ADR, Appellate Advocacy, Negotiations, and Client Interviewing and Counseling Appalachian School of Law.

Professor Dennis Hirsch is slated to speak at a meeting of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics June 23 in Madrid, Spain. Professor Kurt Strasser of Connecticut Law School, who is organizing the panel, invited Hirsch based on his recent article on Green Business and Reflexive Law. The topic of the panel will be “Voluntary Business Environmentalism: What is it, What Policies Make Sense for It?” Hirsch’s contribution will be entitled “A Green Business Regulatory Agenda for U.S. EPA.”

Professor Dennis Hirsch is scheduled to be a featured speaker at a Symposium on Data Protection Governance to be held at the University of Amsterdam, Faculty of Law June 20. He will be presenting the results of his Fulbright research on Dutch Data Protection Codes of Conduct and their implications for U.S. Internet privacy policy. The event will be attended by leading privacy experts in the Netherlands and Belgium, including academics, private sector lawyers, government officials and privacy advocates.

On June 8, Professor Rick Wood was interviewed with Chris Koeberl of WSYX channel 6 news concerning Terrelle Prior and income tax issues associated with autograph selling.

May 2011

Professor Mark Brown filed two briefs in February with the United States Supreme Court, one in Camreta v. Greene (on behalf of several civil rights organizations) and joined in another in Aschroft v. al-Kidd (on behalf of a dozen constitutional litigation scholars).

On May 31, 2011, the Supreme Court in al-Kidd ruled that John Ashcroft was entitled to qualified immunity for using the federal material witness statute as a pretext to detain suspected terrorists. This is a victory in terms of Professor Brown’s brief, which argued only that Ashcroft should not enjoy absolute immunity.

In Camreta, the Court ruled on May 26, 2011 that the case was moot since the young girl who had been illegally seized, according to the Ninth Circuit, was now almost 18 and had moved from Oregon to Florida. The Court also ruled that government officials awarded qualified immunity can generally appeal to the Supreme Court notwithstanding their success in the Court of Appeals. Even though the Court vacated the Ninth Circuit's decision, all involved on the side of the young girl agree that the result is positive. The consensus is that the Court took the case to reverse the Ninth Circuit, discovered it was harder than appeared, and then compromised on mootness and vacatur.

Professor Jeff Ferriell testified in favor of House Bill 9 in his role as Uniform Law Commissioner. HB 9 adopted amendments to Articles 1 and 7 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) in Ohio. Article 1, which is codified in Chapter 1301 of the Ohio Revised Code, contains definitions, choice of law, and other general provisions which apply throughout the remainder of the UCC. Article 7, which is codified in Chapter 1308 of the Ohio Revised Code, contains provisions dealing with Documents of Title such as bills of lading, warehouse receipts, and delivery orders. The changes to Article 7 facilitate the use of electronic bills of lading and warehouse receipts and thus modernize practices in the logistics industry.

Professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández presented a paper in May at the Emerging Immigration Law Teachers and Scholars Conference at American University. His paper covered the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Padilla v. Kentucky regarding criminal defense attorneys' Sixth Amendment obligation to advise noncitizen clients about the deportation consequences of a plea.

Professor Jeff Ferriell spoke at the Ohio State Bar Association’s House of Delegates meeting on behalf of OSBA’s Committee on Banking, Commercial Law, & Bankruptcy Committee, in connection with changes to UCC Article 9 adopted last summer by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL). The House of Delegates voted to recommend these changes, which had previously also been approved by the American Bar Association and the American Law Institute, for introduction into the Ohio legislature, later this year. The changes are slated for nationwide implementation in July 2013. They will make it easier for lenders to file UCC financing statements under the correct names of individual and corporate debtors and correct a technical error that appeared in the 2001 changes to Article 9 dealing with after-acquired collateral of a debtor after the debtor has relocated in a different state.

Professor CésarCuauhtémoc GarcíaHernández’s article, “Due Process and Immigrant Detainee Prison Transfers: Moving LPRs to Isolated Prisons Violates Their Right to Counsel,” was published in the Berkeley La Raza Law Journal. This article was listed on the Social Science Research Network's Top Ten download list for the Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Law eJournal throughout May.

Professor Jeff Ferrielltestified in favor of House Bill 158 – although not in his role as NCCUSL Commissioner. HB 158 will help Ohio Counties and Municipalities avoid violations of certain Federal Communications Commission regulations (PRB-1) dealing with antenna installations of licensed amateur radio operators. Prof. Ferriell holds an extra class FCC Amateur Radio license (K8ZDA), and previously served as legislative liaison for the Ohio Amateur Radio Relay League, the organization of licensed amateur radio operators. Capital alumnus Nick Pittner, L’70, a partner at the Columbus firm of Bricker & Eckler LLP – and also a licensed amateur radio operator – serves as Ohio ARRL legislative liaison. Pittner is working toward adoption of HB 158, which is similar to legislation in approximately 25 other states. HB 158 is sponsored by Representatives Mark Okey and Gerald Stebelton, L’70.

Professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández’s article, “When State Courts Meet Padilla: A Concerted Effort is Needed to Bring State Courts Up to Speed on Crime-Based Immigration Law Provisions,” is scheduled to be published in June in the Loyola Journal of Public Interest Law.

Quick Links

More Info

Apply

Share it:

Email it:

Print it: