News

Professor Nina Kohn Speaks with MLive on the State of Nursing Homes in Michigan

Professor Nina Kohn discussed legal aspects of nursing home licensure and patient rights with MLive for the article “Michigan used to shut down its worst nursing homes. Then it stopped.”

The article takes an extensive review of nursing homes in Michigan and how the licensing, inspection, and closure of underperforming nursing homes have changed over time.

Regarding closing underperforming nursing homes, Kohn said states have a “dormant ability to use existing state law to get the worst actors out of the system. And the thing we’ve seen is states not using their powers.”

She continued “What you’re doing when you close a nursing home that has shown it’s incapable of necessary care is you’re protecting the most vulnerable people in your community. Certainly, moving is not what most residents look forward to. It can have ramifications. But if you keep these facilities open, you’re just perpetuating the cycle of bringing in more people to be victimized.”

Kohn notes that states’ power to license nursing homes could be an effective way to get the worst companies to improve or shut down if they don’t.  “Licensure, unfortunately, in many states, has become sort of paper pushing or rubber stamp function,” she said.

The article may be behind a paywall.

Professor Shubha Ghosh Writes Review of Professor Pablo Ibáñez Colomo’s book, The New EU Competition Law

Professor Shubha Ghosh, Director of the Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute, recently contributed a review of Professor Pablo Ibáñez Colomo’s book The New EU Competition Law to the Jotwell blog.

In the review, Ghosh provides commentary on developments and shifts in competition law and policy in the European Union that the book covers.

Ghosh writes, “The book provides a deep dive with much refreshing insight into the directions competition law can and should take. Professor Colomo teaches at the London School of Economics and is an Ordinary Member of the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal. His book is a masterwork for scholars and students of competition law and theory.”

‘Cuse Vet Fest Friday, September 6 at Dineen Hall

Syracuse Law and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Syracuse VA Medical Center will host the ‘Cuse Vet Fest, Friday, September 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Dineen Hall.

Professor Elizabeth Kubala, Executive Director of the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic, spoke with WSYR’s Dave Allen about the event. “The College of Law is partnering with the VA Medical Center to host an outreach event geared toward any veteran in the community to explain the process for enrolling in VA healthcare and filing a claim. We’re bringing the resources from the VA to our Atrium in the College of Law. It’s a free event and we are encouraging all area veterans, including our students, staff, and faculty to learn how to access all the benefits our local VA hospital has to offer,” said Kubala.

Attendees can:

  • Enroll in VA Healthcare (Please bring a copy of DD214 and Photo ID)
  • File a claim with VBA
  • Obtain a Veteran Health ID Card (Please bring a Photo ID)
  • Learn how the PACT Act (Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxic Acts) expands healthcare benefits for Veterans who served in the Vietnam War, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras and were exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances. PACT Act also extends eligibility to survivors of these exposed Veterans.
  • Engage with VA professionals
  • Visit with a variety of local community resources

Representatives from Syracuse University’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs and the Office of Veteran Success will be in attendance. Military and Veterans Law Students will guide attendees and facilitate interactions with partner organizations.

For more information, contact Emma.Avellino@va.gov or egkubala@syr.edu.

The segment starts at 2:32.

“We’d Be in Uncharted Waters” Professor Greg Germain on a Possible Jail Sentence in Donald Trump Criminal Case

Professor Gregory Germain spoke with Newsweek on the September 18 sentencing of Donald Trump in the false business records criminal case. Germain believes an appeals court would strike down any prison term.

“If Judge Merchan sentenced him to jail in the middle of the election for this records violation, I think the courts would do whatever is necessary to prevent it. We’d be in uncharted waters,” he said. “But I don’t think Merchan will sentence him to jail. I think there were serious problems with the case, and it should be reversed on appeal in due order without upsetting the election cycle.”

Professor David Driesen Discusses How the SCOTUS Presidential Immunity Ruling Could Affect New Trump Indictment

University Professor David Driesen spoke with Salon for the article, “Legal scholars warn SCOTUS could “manipulate” immunity definition to torpedo new Trump indictment” relating to a new indictment Special Counsel Jack Smith has filed against Donald Trump.

“It’s not clear whether this will work because on appeal the Supreme Court can manipulate the category of official conduct to create a broader immunity covering other elements of the indictment,” says Driesen.

“The Supreme Court ruling clearly overrode longstanding constitutional norms forbidding presidents from issuing orders to investigate political opponents or to challenge election results,” he says. “The forcing of these amendments to the indictment highlights how the high court has opened the door wide to autocracy.”

Professor Shubha Ghosh Discusses Google Antitrust Ruling With Techopedia

Professor Shubha Ghosh, Director of the Syracuse Intellectual Property Law Institute, spoke with Techopedia for their article, “Can Internet Search Survive Google Antitrust Ruling?” Recently, a federal judge found that Google maintained an illegal monopoly on the internet search engine market.

Ghosh says that the ruling could lead to a point where the court would force Google to rework some of its contracts with partners.

“The ruling could help move internet search into a purer regime where search companies can finance search engines without distorting them. The court will likely move to rework contracts with vendors and advertisers. But there is only so much the court can do,” says Ghosh.

Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law Hosts New York State Board of Elections Election Security Workshop and Tabletop Exercises

The Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy and Law (SPL) recently hosted a New York State Board of Elections Election Security Workshop and Tabletop Exercises in Dineen Hall. The purpose of the event was to ensure readiness by all entities as the general election approaches, offering a collaborative opportunity for government authorities, election administrators, law enforcement, and information technology experts, alike.

The County Boards of Elections, the Cyber & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the New York State Executive Chamber, the New York State Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services (DHSES), the New York State Police (NYSP), and the New York State Office of Information Technology Services (ITS) participated in the event.

SPL faculty observed the exercises and networked with participants to generate future collaborations and opportunities for SPL students.

“Stuck Her Chin Out” Professor Emeritus William C. Banks on Judge Aileen Cannon Throwing Out the Donald Trump Documents Case

Special counsel John L. “Jack” Smith recently filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to reverse an order made by Judge Aileen Cannon that threw out the case saying the appointment of a special counsel was unconstitutional.

Speaking with Roll Call, Professor Emeritus William C. Banks said Cannon “stuck her chin out” with that ruling. Banks said Cannon’s ruling cut against decades of court decisions upholding the constitutionality of special counsels as well as the prior independent counsel statute.

“Prosecutors, attorneys general have had discretion to appoint officials for all sorts of circumstances since the beginning of the republic,” Banks said.

University Professor David Driesen Discusses Potential Legal Battles Surrounding the Presidential Election

University Professor David Driesen spoke with Business Insider for the article, “The courts could decide this presidential election, and both campaigns are gearing up for an ugly legal fight.”

“You now have, in the swing states of Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, about 70 election deniers and commissions that are supposed to count the electoral votes, and already there have been about 20 cases where officials in recent elections have refused or delayed certification of results,” Driesen says. “So what Trump is going to do is claim some kind of fraud and then try to get the officials who believe him to delay or prevent certification on election results.”

Professor Shubha Ghosh Provides Insight into RealPage Antitrust Case

Professor Shubha Ghosh recently spoke with Legal Dive on the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) antitrust case against RealPage. The DOJ has sued RealPage under the Sherman Antitrust Act for deploying an algorithm that helped rental property owners turn into price-fixing collaborators.

Ghosh notes that the Supreme Court has made it clear it distinguishes between anticompetitive behavior among companies and the tools they use to reach their pricing decisions. That means the DOJ must show “a physical agreement to price-fix” to prove a Sherman Act violation.

By focusing on the rental algorithm, Ghosh says, the agency appears to be sidestepping this essential requirement and instead is “creating an inference of an agreement from the use of the algorithm. This shift would undermine traditional antitrust safeguards for competition.”