News

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.  

“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.”