Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh, director of the Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute, sees copyright concerns when it comes to generative artificial intelligence (AI.) In the ABA Journal article “Copyright Law and AI: What a Mess”, Ghosh says to copyright generative AI “The difficulty might stem from showing voluntary copying as opposed to machine copying, which arguably is not actionable. For example, copying into memory is not copyright infringement.”
News
Professor Emeritus William C. Banks Fact-checks Governor DeSantis’ Plan to Send Troops to the U.S. – Mexico Border
In the Politifact article “Experts say Ron DeSantis’ plan to send troops to the U.S.-Mexico border wouldn’t lower fentanyl flow”, Professor Emeritus William C. Banks fact-checks if sending U.S. armed forces into Mexico would be considered an act of war.
Banks says, “If any president deployed U.S. military forces to Mexico, that would violate Mexican sovereignty and would be considered an act of war by Mexico.”
Professor David Driesen Discusses the Held v. Montana State Court Decision on Climate Change Protection
Professor David Driesen spoke with The Hill to provide perspective on the recent Held v. Montana state court decision that could see greater recognition of people’s rights to protection from climate change.
In the article “Kids’ landmark Montana court win adds momentum to fight for climate protections”, Driesen provides perspective on the impact of the decision on future climate change cases and if these cases would eventually go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Driesen says the Held decision “It’s not direct precedent, but it suggests the courts should go ahead and apply normal legal principles to climate change.”
Professor Nina Kohn pens “Michael Oher’s Shocking Conservatorship Exposes Court Failures” in The Hill
Professor Nina Kohn has written an opinion article on Michael Oher’s conservatorship for The Hill.
In the article, “Michael Oher’s Shocking Conservatorship Exposes Court Failures”, Kohn identifies many critical issues with the Oher conservatorship, from legal representation to financial accounting, as well as how conservatorships (or guardianships) are mishandled by the courts. Potential avenues for improving how conservatorships are implemented are also outlined.
Kohn writes, “Fixing court systems will require ensuring that all judges who appoint conservators have the training needed to understand when an appointment is legally appropriate, and how to determine if that standard is met in a particular case. It will also require ensuring that courts have the systems they need to track cases and monitor those they appoint.”
Syracuse University College of Law’s Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic Receives U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs “Legal Services for Homeless Veterans and Veterans-At-Risk for Homelessness Grant”
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has awarded a “Legal Services for Homeless Veterans and Veterans-At-Risk for Homelessness Grant” to the Syracuse University College of Law’s Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic (VLC).
The VA’s “Legal Services for Homeless Veterans and Veterans-At-Risk for Homelessness Grant” focuses on providing legal resources to homeless veterans and veterans at-risk for homelessness. The program is a first-of-its-kind grant opportunity from the VA to fund legal services providers.
To effectively deliver legal services to homeless and at-risk veterans throughout upstate New York, the VLC is partnering with:
- The Syracuse VA Medical Center’s Health Care for Homeless Veterans program,
- The Legal-Social Work Partnership program with Falk College which supports social work graduate students interested in working at the intersection of law and social work, and promotes a stronger legal system that can address the holistic needs of clients, and
- SyracuseServes, a program of Syracuse University’s D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) located in the National Veterans Resource Center (NVRC), supports a coordinated care network of local and national providers dedicated to serving the military community by collaborating to efficiently connect families to available services
The Grant program partners will identify, coordinate, and deliver legal services that include discharge upgrades and complex disability claims assistance to this population.
“The VLC is honored to be part of this first-of-its-kind VA grant opportunity to fund legal service providers to better reach this vulnerable group of veterans. This is an excellent opportunity to deepen our relationship with the VA regarding the breadth of legal services the College of Law’s clinics can provide and to help shape further funding for legal services,” says Professor Beth Kubala, Executive Director of the VLC.
The VLC provides representation to veterans and their families who are seeking benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or upgrading an unfavorable discharge through the various military services. While representing real clients, College of Law student attorneys gain an understanding of military culture, interact with government agencies, develop case management skills, improve advocacy skills, and instill the value of pro bono service.
“Our student attorneys benefit from gaining hands-on legal experience with real clients and our community benefits from veterans receiving the much-needed legal services they otherwise could not afford,” says Kubala.
2L Jenny Cowan and 3L Evan Groder Present Papers at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Annual Conference
2L Jenny Cowan and 3L Evan Groder presented papers in the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference in the Law and Policy Division.
Cowan’s paper is titled “UPEPA: A Path Toward SLAPP Protection in Federal Court” and Groder’s is titled “A Not So Common Carriage: Issues with Ascribing Common Carrier Status to Social Media Platforms.” Both students were advised by Professor Roy Gutterman L’00 in the submission process.
In addition, Gutterman moderated the “High-Density Refereed Research Paper Session.”
The Law and Policy division accepts a fraction of the papers that are submitted by communications law professors and students for presentation at the annual conference.
“It is really rewarding to have our student work compete at the national and international level with other top media law scholars and students. This is really impressive,” says Gutterman.
Professor Nina Kohn Discusses the Michael Oher Conservatorship with KRIV-TV in Houston
In response to the Michael Oher conservatorship lawsuit filed earlier this week, Professor Nina Kohn spoke live with KRIV-TV in Houston, TX. She discussed what a conservatorship is, pros and cons, the possibility of abuse, and more.
When asked about different types of conservatorships, Kohn says, “there are two major varieties here. There are appointments that are designed to create somebody who can make personal decisions for the individual, things like healthcare or where they live. And then there’s an appointment over finances. Either of these can either be broad. Sometimes we call that plenary, granting all the powers available under state law. Or they can be limited. They can be tailored to the specific person’s needs. The reality is probably every or almost every conservatorship in the United States should be limited if one is going to be imposed because most people can make a decision about something, even if it’s just about what to eat or what to wear. Unfortunately, most conservatorships in this country are plenary.”
Professor Lauryn Gouldin’s “Defining Flight Risk” Paper Quoted in Prison Policy Initiative Article
Professor Lauryn Gouldin’s University of Chicago Law Review paper “Defining Flight Risk” is quoted in the recent Prison Policy Initiative article “High stakes mistakes: How courts respond to “failure to appear”.
The Prison Policy Initiative article examines reasons behind missed court dates or “failure to appear”, analyzes causes and outcomes, and provides examples of how advocates are addressing the issue.
According to the Prison Policy Initiative article, “Professor Gouldin proposes a different approach involving a policy distinction between “True Flight” and “Local non-appearance.” The idea is to differentiate between someone who has left the area and someone who missed court but remains in the area and is easy to locate. She suggests the court assess absences along a matrix of persistence, cost to the court, and willfulness. Where implemented, this would represent a meaningful and commonsense improvement to court responses.”
Professor Nina Kohn on the Michael Oher Conservatorship Lawsuit: “If the allegations in there are true, they suggest a series of failures.”
Professor Nina Kohn spoke with USA Today for an explainer story on the Michael Oher “Blind Side” film lawsuit that questions the conservatorship he was placed under.
Kohn discusses what a conservatorship is, what information was used to justify Oher’s conservatorship, and the financial agreement made for the making of the film based on his life story, among other topics.
One concern noted by Kohn was that in the 19 years of the conservatorship, the petition alleges there have been no accountings filed in reference to payments Oher may have received.
“That suggests the court has been asleep at the wheel,” Kohn said. She added: “If in fact, there had been no accountings provided, that is damning and not just on the conservators, but the court system.”
Professor Beth Kubala on the PACT Act: Benefit Approvals Made Easier, but VA Resources Stretched Thin Causing Delays
Professor Beth Kubala, executive director of the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic (VLC) recently spoke with The Hill on the one-year anniversary of the PACT Act.
Kubala said she’s seen firsthand through the VLC that individuals are missing out on benefits because of the significant holdup in applying and having their claims processed in a timely manner.