In the News

Professor Nina Kohn Discusses Syracuse’s Worst Nursing Home, Bishop Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

David M. Levy L’48 Professor of Law Nina Kohn recently spoke with the Syracuse Post-Standard for their story “Syracuse’s worst nursing home risked lives, NY finds. Resident wonders if ‘they’d be better off dead’.” The article reveals numerous life-threatening issues found by New York State inspectors at the Bishop Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

In reviewing the state’s report on the facility, Kohn commented “We really need to be thinking about penalties beyond inspections. Is this a facility that the state should be licensing?”

The full article may be behind a paywall.

Professor Shubha Ghosh Discusses the DOJ’s Plan to End Google’s Search Monopoly with The Verge

Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh, director of the Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute, recently spoke with The Verge for their article “Breaking down the DOJ’s plan to end Google’s search monopoly.” The DOJ has proposed many remedies after a federal judge ruled that Google monopolized internet search and other services.

Discussing the possibility of Google selling its Chrome browser, Ghosh says “There is definitely an issue about whether you’re just simply transferring a valuable asset from one company where these assets are too tightly integrated, to another company.”

Another proposed remedy is for Google to license some of its most valuable data. “Data is not really protected, per se, by intellectual property,” Ghosh says. “It’s not like Google created the data. They created the platform that allowed the data to be generated.” It’s like asking who owns a news event, he adds. “The news is just what happens, and you just have an agency that collects it or observes it. But that doesn’t by itself create any kind of property right.”

Professor Shubha Ghosh Comments on the DOJ’s Request to Break up Google and Force the Sale of Chrome

Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh recently spoke with the Associated Press on the DOJ’s request that a federal judge impose several sanctions to break up Google’s monopoly on search engines and other technologies. The request includes the potential sale of the Chrome web browser and that its Android operating system should be completely walled off from the company’s search engine.

“It is probably going a little beyond,” Ghosh said of the Chrome breakup. “The remedies should match the harm; it should match the transgression. This does seem a little beyond that pale.”

Professor Gregory Germain Provides The Hill with Legal Insights into President-elect Trump’s State Cases

The Hill’s article “Trump allies remain in legal peril despite his election victory” called upon Professor Gregory Germain’s blog post for insight into what happens to Trump’s criminal and civil cases after his election.

“In all likelihood, the state criminal cases will be put on hold during Trump’s presidency,” he wrote. “If they try to continue with the prosecutions, or even to impose a stayed sentence, I suspect the decisions will be reversed on appeal.” 

Professor Gregory Germain Discusses Elon Musk’s PAC with Newsweek

Professor Gregory Germain has weighed in on the legality of Elon Musk’s PAC, America, with Newsweek.

According to Germain, the PAC may have broken the law. “I think the PAC and its donors are vulnerable to consumer fraud and possibly election fraud claims if they make inconsistent statements about the process, or fail to disclose how the information the PAC receives will be used,” he said.

Professor Katherine Macfarlane Helps Fact Check NY Prop 1 Misinformation

Professor Katherine Macfarlane spoke with USA Today for the article “New York’s Prop. 1 is a ‘backstop’ to protect rights, expert says | Fact check.”

Proposition 1, also known as the Equal Rights Amendment, is a proposed state constitutional amendment that would expand anti-discrimination protections for certain groups, including immigrants and those who have changed their gender identity.

Macfarlane says “Whenever rights are protected in the constitution, it’s harder to then pass a statute due to political whims to weaken them.”

“Reasonable” – Professor Emeritus William C. Banks on Governors Placing the National Guard on Standby Before the Election

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks recently spoke with the Military Times for the article “States put National Guard on standby in case of election violence.”

Banks, who authored a book on the domestic use of the military, said “The precautionary measures by governors — activating or placing on alert members of their state National Guard — are reasonable in the same way that similar call-ups would precede a major storm that threatens a state.”

Professor Shubha Ghosh Discusses Sovereign Immunity in the Railware Inc. v. NJ Transit Corp. Case

Professor Shubha Ghosh, director of the Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute, discussed the Railware Inc. v. NJ Transit Corp. case that is being heard by the Southern District of New York with Bloomberg Law.

At issue in the case is whether NJ Transit is using patented rail worker-safety technology without permission in the cross-jurisdictional tunnels that connect New Jersey and New York.

This is a rare instance of the defendant raising a sovereign immunity defense in a patent infringement case.

According to the article, if NJ Transit proves it qualifies for sovereign immunity, the question will become whether it’s “waived that immunity or consented to suit.”

Waivers are particular to any given entity, but if the New York district court finds “some specific language” where NJ Transit waived its 11th Amendment immunity, it could help Railware in cases against other transportation authorities, says Ghosh.

The district court “might do something as bold as to say that the 11th Amendment doesn’t apply to this case for some reason,” Ghosh added. “But it’s unlikely to do that. That’s going to create some conflict with the Supreme Court precedent.”

Professor Gregory Germain Provides an Expert Overview of Bankruptcy at lawfirm.com

Professor Gregory Germain recently participated in a question-and-answer article on personal and business bankruptcy at lawfirm.com.The article covered the basics of filing for bankruptcy, alternative solutions, and when a lawyer should be involved in the process.

Germain advises to those contemplating filing for bankruptcy is “Facing the situation, taking action to address the situation, and developing a long-term plan to save money are the only ways to improve your financial life.”

Professor Nina Kohn Discusses Nursing Home Residents’ Voting Rights

David M. Levy L’48 Professor of Law Nina Kohn recently spoke with AARP for their article “Nursing Home Residents Could Tip Elections, if They Find a Way to Vote” which examined roadblocks to voting that nursing home and other long-term care residents encounter along with laws that protect their voting rights.

Kohn touched on the barrier that nursing home staff may present. “If staff don’t see voting as something that is important for residents — whether that’s because they don’t think residents are the type of people who can or should vote, or whether because they themselves are not politically active, then they may simply not place priority on voting.”

On voter eligibility, she says “As long as a person can express a voting preference, they have capacity to vote. And of course, that is effectively the standard that we hold people without a diagnosis of dementia to.”

Being able to vote gives nursing home and long-term care facility residents a voice in issues affecting their lives. “Most nursing home residents are not in a position to march in a protest. They’re not in a position to knock on doors or show up at their elected representative’s offices. The one thing they can do is vote,” Kohn says. “It’s a badge of belonging and citizenship, and it’s, in many cases, the last source of power.”