In a recent Associated Press article, Please hold: Pricey way to jump IRS phone line at tax time, director of the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, Robert G. Nassau comments on the challenges of trying to contact the IRS and how companies like enQ provide quick access to a free government service by charging extra money to guarantee a lower hold time. “It doesn’t seem fair that when it comes to the IRS, you’re basically buying better access to the service and getting faster access,” Nassau said. “Eventually we get through and it may take several more days.”
The article explained how enQ uses bots to wait for the IRS, and then enQ’s clients can dial in and swap spots with the bot to automatically be at the front of the line. “I can’t tell for certain how much harder it has made it for people like me to get through,” Nassau said, “but these bots are probably trying to call the same number that I’m trying to call.”
He also presented on the book at New York University by invitation from the NYU Department of Economics as part of the Foundations of Market Economy Program (Economics Dept.) and the Classical Liberal Institute (NYU Law School).
Christian Oko, Ahmad Riaz, Francisco De la Parra Villanueva, Noel Omeji, Dessi-Ann Yetman, Lotta Lampela
In January 2022, the College of Law welcomed a new cohort of seven international students enrolled in the Master of Laws (LL.M.) program.
“Despite the continued barriers and uncertainties caused by the coronavirus pandemic, this new spring cohort includes foreign lawyers representing the legal systems of six countries,” says Assistant Dean of International Programs Andrew S. Horsfall L’10. “These students come from very diverse backgrounds and expanses and have wide-ranging professional interests.”
The LL.M. cohort will maintain its wide reach across time zones and locations with students from Ethiopia, Finland, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, and Pakistan. These new students will join the 34 returning LL.M. students who began their studies this past fall and spring along with four
S.J.D. students, and five Visiting Scholars.
In addition, the LL.M. students and visiting scholars will receive advising support from International Programs Academic Coordinator Kate Shannon and LL.M. student mentors Marisol Estrada Cruz, Mazaher Kaila, Anthony Levitskiy, Carlos Negron, and Tia Thevenin.
LL.M. Spring 2022 Cohort
Francisco De la Parra Villanueva (Mexico): De la Parra completed his LL.B. at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in 2021. As an undergraduate, he participated in two clinics: the Sustainable Development and Environmental Law Clinic, and the Clinic for the Improvement of Labor Justice. De la Parra also held several internships that focused on corporate and banking law.
Lotta Lampela (Finland): Lampela holds both a Bachelor’s and Master of Arts in History from Oulu University in Finland. She also holds an LL.M. in International Law from Helsinki University. She was the chief superintendent of the Finnish Security Intelligence Service and an intelligence advisor for the EU Intelligence Analysis Centre. Before recently moving to the U.S., Lampela served as a policy advisor for the Delegation of the European Union to the International Organizations in Vienna where she represented the EU and its member states at the UN Office of Drugs and Crime and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. She plans to enroll in courses that will prepare her for the New York Bar Exam.
Christian Oko (Nigeria): Oko received an LL.B. from the University of Nigeria Nsukka in 2019. Since graduating, he has worked as a legal consultant for the Sunset Football Club and an intern at the Nigerian Football Association where he focused on alternative dispute resolution. Oko plans to enroll in courses that will prepare him for the New York Bar Exam.
Noel Omeji (Nigeria): Omeji completed his LL.B. at Kogi State University in 2014 and graduated from the Nigerian Law School in 2016. He also completed an LL.M. in Private and Commercial Law at Bayero University. He has been a prosecutor with the Nigerian Police Force since 2017. Omeji will study tax law, ADR, and coursework that will prepare him for the New York State Bar Exam.
Ahmad Riaz (Pakistan): Riaz holds an LL.B. from the University of Punjab, Lahore. Since graduating in 2015, he has worked as a legal associate at a private law firm. He intends to study family law, criminal procedure, and civil procedure.
Savior Welu (Ethiopia): Welu holds an LL.B. from Mekelle University and an LL.M. in Public International Law from Addis Ababa University. As an undergraduate, he interned at the Mekelle University Legal Aid Center where he drafted pleadings on criminal and civil cases. Most recently, Welu has served as a law lecturer at Aksum University in Ethiopia where he teaches international law, refugee law, African Union and human rights law, and business law.
Dessi-Ann Yetman (Jamaica): Yetman obtained her LL.B. from the University of the West Indies in 2018. She plans to study family law and immigration law.
Spring 2022 Visiting Researchers
Carlos Higino Ribeiro de Alencar (Brazi): Professor de Alencar works as a Tax Auditor for Brazil’s Internal Revenue Service under its Ministry of Economics. He is also pursuing a Ph.D. through a joint degree program with the University of Brasilia and the University of Paris, Paris 1, at the Sorbonne. During his visit, he is pursuing comparative research on the evolution of anti- corruption legislation using the American model and other sources, under the guidance of Professor Antonio Gidi.
Natalia Chernicharo Guimaraes (Brazil): Professor Guimaraes teaches civil procedure at University of Juiz de Fora. She is researching comparative civil procedure and class actions, under the guidance of Professor Antonio Gidi.
Satoshi Kawashima (Japan): Professor Kawashima teaches at Okayama University of Science and Kanagawa University’s Graduate School of Law. During his visit, he will pursue the study and research of U.S. disability rights laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act under the supervision of Professor Arlene Kanter.
Kihan Lee (South Korea): Professor Lee teaches at Dankook University’s Faculty of Law. He is also Chair of the Korea Social Service Policy Institute. He will engage in the study and research of comparative environmental regulation, with specific focus on the United States and South Korea, and economic and legal efforts to combat climate change under the guidance of Professor David Driesen.
Levan Nanobashvili (Georgia): Nanobashvili is a Fulbright Teaching Scholar and a practicing intellectual property lawyer in Georgia. He plans to engage in the study and research of intellectual property law, internet law, and the teaching methods and pedagogy of these subjects under the guidance of Professor Shubha Ghosh.
Patricia Pizzol (Brazil): Professor Pizzol teaches class actions and civil procedure at Pontificia Universidade Catolica de São Paulo. She will undertake a comparative study of class actions and methods of standardizing judicial decisions, under the guidance of Professor Antonio Gidi.
Congratulations to Mikayla Barrett who won the 12th Annual Hancock Estabrook LLP 1L Oral Advocacy Competition! She triumphed over finalist Nikita Norman in the final round on Feb. 8, 2022. Overall, 38 1L students competed.
Barrett is from Rotterdam Junction, NY, and has a B.S. in Political Science from SUNY Plattsburgh. Although she hasn’t finalized her career path, Barrett is interested in criminal justice and medical/health law.
Norman is from Eagle Bridge, NY, and has a B.S. in Criminal Justice from SUNY Oneonta. She is a Law Ambassador for the Office of Admissions and a member of the First Generation Law Students Association. Norman is interested in civil litigation and family law.
Barrett argued for the Petitioner and Norman for the Respondent in Theresa Vanderpump v. Bravo Quick Care, Inc. The case problem concerned Vanderpump losing her job after receiving a text message from the medical clinic Bravo Quick Care that revealed her failure to comply with pandemic-related policies. Competition Director 3L Gabriella Kielbasinski introduced this state law tort claim for invasion of privacy and statutory claim under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act case problem.
The final round was judged by Hon. Andrew T. Baxter, US Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of New York; Hon. Thérèse Wiley Dancks L’91, US Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of New York; Hon. Ramón E. Rivera L’94, New York State Court of Claims Judge; Hon, Brenda K. Sannes, US District Judge for the Northern District of New York; and College of Law Dean Craig M. Boise.
The College of Law thanks Hancock Estabrook LLP, who since 2013 has generously sponsored this important opportunity to introduce basic oral argument skills and the art of preparing and delivering an argument.
All photos by Mike Roy Media.
Mikayla Barrett and Nikita NormanMelanie Gray Ceremonial CourtroomNikita NormanMikayla Barrett
Professor Todd Berger, Director of Advocacy Programs, was interviewed for the latest edition (episode 18) of the Unscripted Direct podcast. The podcast examines the law school trial advocacy community.
Professor Berger discussed the recently completed inaugural National Trial League (NTL) competition, a competition “unusual among the unusual.” NTL is a new trial competition formatted similar to a sports league that was developed by Syracuse University College of Law.
The Syrian Accountability Project (SAP) has released the white paper, “The 2022 Winter Olympics and Genocide: A History of Enabling Atrocities and the Path Forward.” The paper recognizes the genocide occurring in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region against the Uyghur people, documents the history of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) enabling the violation of human rights and the perpetuating of genocide, tracks the legal framework for holding complicit parties accountable, and identifies possible actions states and private entities may take to avoid complicity.
In summary, the paper indicates that “Most directly, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is responsible for the genocide of the Uyghur people. Forced concentration camps, disappearances, and slave labor put the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the PRC. However, the PRC does not shoulder responsibility for this atrocity alone.”
The paper was researched and written by 11 Syracuse University College of Law students along with students from the University of Michigan School of Law, Suffolk University, and the University of Washington in St. Louis under the direction of SAP founder and project leader David M. Crane L’80, Former Chief Prosecutor, Special Court of Sierra Leone and professor at the College of Law.
The Syrian Accountability Project (SAP) is a student organization founded at Syracuse University College of Law and expanded to the University of Michigan College of Law. SAP is affiliated with the Global Accountability Network (GAN). The entirety of the report is that of SAP alone, and is not reflective of the views of Syracuse University or its College of Law. For more information, visit https://syrianaccountabilityproject.syr.edu/.
Syracuse, NY | February 4, 2022) Syracuse University College of Law Professor Paula Johnson will appear on an episode of Frontline entitled “American Reckoning” on February 15, 2022. The episode examines the unsolved 1960s bombing murder of NAACP and civil rights leader Wharlest Jackson Sr., offering rarely seen footage filmed more than 50 years ago.
“American Reckoning” examines Black opposition to racist violence in Mississippi, spotlighting a little-known armed resistance group called the Deacons for Defense and Justice, woven alongside the Jackson family’s decades-long search for justice amid the ongoing federal effort to investigate civil rights area cold cases.
Johnson was tapped for the episode due to her work as Director of the Cold Case Justice Initiative (CCJI) at the College of Law and her ongoing work on the Wharlest Jackson case. CCJI conducts investigations and research on unresolved cases, offers academic courses, public forums, and other special events, and serves as a clearinghouse for sharing and receiving information on active cases. College of Law student members of CCJI were also interviewed for the episode.
Johnson and CCJI students work with the Jackson family in sponsoring the Wharlest and Exerlena Jackson Legacy Project, which commemorates the legacies of Wharlest Jackson, Sr. and his wife Exerlena, and their contributions and ultimate sacrifices for racial justice, educational and employment opportunity, voting rights, and full participation in United States society. The program includes speakers, and workshops for high school and junior high school students, parents, educators, and the public. The program will take place on April 1-2, 2022, on Zoom. Further details will be available here. Inquiries can be sent to The Jackson Legacy Project.
Professor Mary Helen McNeal and Professor Maria Brown, assistant research professor at Syracuse University’s Falk College School of Social Work and the University’s Aging Studies Institute recently discussed their qualitative and academic research in the California Elder Justice Coalition webinar, “Syracuse, New York’s ‘Long Game’ for Adopting Restorative Approaches to Elder Abuse”.
They shared highlights from their Collaboration for Unprecedented Success and Excellence (CUSE) grant-funded international symposium on elder abuse and restorative justice.
The discussion also included Brown and McNeal’s work with local Syracuse-area service providers Vera House and the Center for Court Innovation, exploring the potential of restorative practices to intervene in elder-abuse situations, including the current “eCORE Project,” which offers community building and conflict resolution circles to seniors in Christopher Community Housing in Syracuse.
In the investigative article “Failure of Care” for NJ Advance Media/nj.com, Professor Nina Kohn discusses the regulatory changes needed to ensure that known bad actors aren’t allowed to operate nursing homes or access public funds—at the expense of residents and taxpayers.
“If an owner of a nursing home has a history of operating other nursing homes in an inhumane or inhumane manner, or siphoning off funds needed for resident care, the federal government should not certify new homes that the owner buys for Medicaid and Medicare,” she said. “To put it bluntly: the taxpayers should not be signed up to pay owners who have a history of seriously failing to provide the type or quality of care that they are paid to provide.”
Similarly, in deciding what penalties to impose when nursing homes violate regulations designed to protect residents, Kohn believes regulators should not look at each nursing home separately.
“The fact that an owner has substantial deficiencies across numerous homes should, for example, lead to the government being less willing to waive monetary fines,” she said, adding that federal regulators generally do not consider the owner’s prior bad acts in connection with other facilities— or even their current bad acts in other facilities — when determining whether or not to certify a home for Medicare or Medicaid.
University Professor David Driesen recently spoke with CNY Central on governmental power issues surrounding New York State’s mask mandate for schools.
“It’s a debate we’ve had since the founding, about what is the appropriate scope of government power and how much power there should be,” said Driesen. “But the government always…any kind of law has an element of coercion to it, they’re not optional.”
