News

“Preposterous”: Professor Emeritus William C. Banks Fact Checks Death Penalty Claims in the Donald Trump Election Indictment

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks contributed to the USA Today fact check article “No, Trump won’t face the death penalty in 2020 election indictment.”

Recently making the rounds on social media were claims that the charges brought in the indictment against Donald Trump for election interference carried the death penalty as punishment.

“Judges have wide latitude in sentencing, and none of the charged crimes carry mandatory minimum sentences,” Banks said. “Trump has no prior criminal record, and any sentences that might be imposed could run simultaneously rather than being stacked on top of each other.”

Professor Kat Macfarlane Discusses Accommodations in a City Environment

Professor Kat Macfarlane, incoming director of the Disability Law and Policy Program, was quoted in a recent New York Post article on a man who is fighting parking tickets he receives even though he has a disabled parking permit issued by New York City.

In the article “NYC man faces fines and has car auctioned off — despite having a disabled permit”, Macfarlane says, “It’s no mystery that life is difficult for people with disabilities. Fighting for the benefits the law entitles you to is exhausting. There is so much complexity that is built in.”

The Hon. James E. Baker Is Appointed to Chair a Panel of NAPA Fellows to Produce a Study on Best Workplace Practices in the Federal Judiciary

The Hon. James E. Baker, director of the Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law, is appointed to Chair a five-member panel of National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) Fellows to oversee and guide a congressionally mandated study “to coordinate best workplace practices across the judiciary and to address workplace misconduct.” 

The study was legislatively mandated by Congress and follows efforts taken by the federal judiciary since 2018 to address workplace climate issues impacting the federal judiciary and its 30,000 employees.  The study will assess how various mechanisms to address workplace climate issues have been implemented and make recommendations regarding best workplace practices. 

According to the terms of the legislation, the study will be conducted jointly by the professional staff of the Federal Judicial Center (FJC) and the professional staff of the NAPA.  Judge Baker was selected by NAPA, with FJC concurrence, to Chair the review panel.  Judge Baker was elected as a NAPA Fellow in 2019.

The Federal Judicial Center is the research and education agency of the federal judiciary. The National Academy of Public Administration is an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan organization established by Congress in 1967 to assist government leaders in building more effective, efficient, accountable, and transparent organizations. 

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks Weighs in on Pending Federal Indictment of Former President Trump

Professor Emeritus William C. Banks spoke with The Hill on the potential outcomes of a federal indictment of former President Trump in special counsel Jack Smith’s January 6 grand jury.

“Going forward I think there’s almost no doubt he’s going to be indicted in Washington. And because he’s going to be indicted in Washington and the potential for a jury that would sit and judge him in Washington, his prospects for remaining free got a lot darker,” said Banks.

Professor Paula Johnson’s Perspective on the New National Emmett Till Monument Quoted in The Hill

Perspectives from Professor Paula Johnson, director of the Cold Case Justice Initiative, were quoted in the article “Biden designates new national monument to honor Emmett Till, Mamie Till-Mobley” in the Hill.

“This country owes so much to the Till family for insisting that what was always known to be wrong someday would be made right,” said Johnson. “But individuals, officials, and institutions repeatedly failed them.”

Her comments continue, “These national monuments are a testament that efforts to quash truth will not succeed and that memory, legacy and the never-ending demand for justice will prevail. As the nation pays honor and gratitude to the Till family through these monuments, we are reminded that we must face all that we are if we ever hope to be all that we can be.”

Professor Shubha Ghosh Sees Twitter Rebrand as Legally “Problematic”

Professor Shubha Ghosh, director of the Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute, spoke with Engadget on Twitter’s recent rebranding to X and possible legal issues.

Ghosh says that lawsuits are “quite common” when major companies rebrand and change their names and logos. “I’m kind of surprised he picked X because it’s not that distinctive,” Ghosh says. “It’s problematic in the sense that it’s not something you can just suddenly do without anybody noticing and possibly suing.”

Professor Kat Macfarlane Speaks with The New York Times on Workplace Accommodations

Professor Kat Macfarlane, director of the College of Law’s Disability Law and Policy Program, was interviewed for The New York Times article “What a Human-Centered Approach Can Do for Workers With Disabilities.”

In the article, Macfarlane discusses her challenges getting accommodations as a faculty member of another law school. Even with the Americans with Disabilities Act, there are many obstacles to gaining needed accommodations.

“There’s a huge gap between what the law was intended to do and what the experience of employees with disabilities really are,” said Macfarlane.

Read about Macfarlane’s challenges in her Fordham Law Review paper “Disability Without Documentation.”

Professor Shubha Ghosh Discusses AI, Copyright, and Trademark Law in Shein RICO Suit

Fashion designers Krista Perry, Larissa Martinez, and Jay Baron have filed a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) suit against fast fashion company Shein Distribution in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Western Division.

Crandall Melvin Professor of Law Shubha Ghosh spoke with Retail Dive about the copyright infringement claim and the suit’s unique use of the RICO statute. In the filing, the plaintiffs say, “The brand has made billions by creating a secretive algorithm that astonishingly determines nascent fashion trends — and by coupling it with a corporate structure, including production and fulfillment schemes, that are perfectly executed to grease the wheels of the algorithm, including its unsavory and illegal aspects.”

“You have to somehow figure out the best way, legally, to aggregate all those individual acts into something that’s a basis for liability,” says Ghosh. “The allegations are fairly compelling. Not to mention some issues regarding what’s called extraterritoriality — going after things that might be happening overseas. It’s a very interesting case, so I think it has legs. I don’t know how far it’ll run.”

College of Law Appoints Kathy Fox as Assistant Dean of Enrollment Management

The College of Law has appointed Kathy Fox as its Assistant Dean of Enrollment Management. In this role, she is responsible for developing enrollment goals and financial aid strategies. This includes establishing, modeling, and analyzing data to predict entering class profiles, reviewing applications for admission, and rendering final decisions while ensuring admissions activities are in compliance with ABA standards and applicable federal and state laws.

Fox joins the College of Law from Wayne State University Law School where she was the Assistant Dean of Admissions from 2016 to 2023. In that position, Fox led an operation that yielded in each year of her tenure a more highly credentialed and diverse class than the previous year. She joined Wayne Law in 2009 as director of employer development in the Career Services office. 

Fox will also work in conjunction with the Director of Graduate and Law Financial Aid to manage financial aid and provide strategic leadership including planning, executing, and assessing comprehensive recruitment plans for the law school’s J.D. programs. She will also supervise the Admissions staff, providing direction and instruction for efficient, high-quality, and accurate operations and services. 

“Kathy brings a wealth of experience and success in law admissions to the College of Law. Her ability to improve class credentials and diversity, year-to-year, is impressive and will positively affect our law school,” says Dean Craig M. Boise. “She will be a valuable member of my team and I look forward to her contributions and guidance.”

From 2002 to 2009, she was deputy director of the Office of Career and Professional Development at Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, MI. Before that role, Fox worked as an associate at Haliw Siciliano & Mychalowych in Farmington Hills, MI, and as a law clerk to Senior Judge E. Anne McKinsey of the Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis. 

“I am excited to join the College of Law and begin to work with Dean Boise and his team to execute his vision to provide extraordinary legal education to future Orange lawyers,” says Fox.

Fox earned a J.D. from what is now Mitchell Hamline School of Law in 1998, the same year she also earned a master of business administration degree from the University of St. Thomas – Opus College of Business. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in history from the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh. 

Congratulations to adjunct professor the Hon. Deborah Karalunas L’82 on her appointment to serve as the Administrative Judge for the Fifth Judicial District of New York

Judge Karalunas teaches New York Civil Practice.

She is the administrative judge overseeing operations of trial courts in the six counties of the Fifth Judicial District: Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego counties. Judge Karalunas fills the vacancy left by Judge James P. Murphy L’84, who was recently named deputy chief administrative judge for courts outside of New York City.

In a statement, Judge Karalunas says, “I am humbled and honored that Chief Administrative Judge Zayas, together with Chief Judge Wilson and Presiding Justice Whalen have entrusted me to oversee the daily operations of the trial courts in the Fifth Judicial District. I look forward to supporting and collaborating with the dynamic leadership of the New York Courts, including First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Norman St. George, Deputy Chief Administrative Judges James P. Murphy, Edwina Richardson-Mendelson, and Deborah Kaplan, and the entire court family to deliver equal and timely justice to our diverse constituents.”  

Judge Karalunas was first elected to the Onondaga County Supreme Court bench in 2002. She was re-elected in 2016 and has served as the presiding justice of the county’s Supreme Court–Commercial Division since 2007.

Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Karalunas was a partner at Bond, Schoeneck & King. She began her legal career as a law clerk to Chief Judge Howard G. Munson of the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of New York.

She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1978 and graduated cum laude from Syracuse University College of Law in 1982. At the College of Law, Judge Karalunas was a member of the International Law Review, Moot Court, and Justinian Honor Society.