Eight College of Law faculty members, including Dean Craig M. Boise, will moderate panels and present their research at the Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting (“The Power of Words“), taking place Jan. 5-10, 2021. Among the topics Syracuse faculty will address are the effects of COVID-19 on legal education, mental health, people with disabilities, and national security; Brexit and European law; the future of the Americans with Disabilities Act; capital acquisition; and climate change law and policy.
Professor Kristen Barnes (Chair, Section on European Law), “Comparing Data Protection Structures in the European Union and the United States” (Co-Moderator)
January 5 | 1:15 p.m. Sections on European Law and Defamation and Privacy Joint Program
Professor Kristen Barnes (Chair, European Law Section), “EU Mixed Agreements Under Brexit, Refugee Women, and Gender Equality” (Moderator)
January 6 | 4:15 p.m. Section on European Law: Works-in-Progress Panel
January 7 | 1:15 p.m. “This panel will examine the challenges and pitfalls of providing mental health services in the current moment.”
Professor Mark Nevitt, “Is Climate Change a National Emergency”
January 7 | 4:45 p.m. Section on Environmental Law
Professor Arlene Kanter, “Times are Changing: The Right to Remote Work Under the Americans with Disabilities Act”
January 8 | 2:45 p.m. AALS Hot Topic Program: “Disability and COVID-19: Lessons from Disability, Lessons from the Pandemic” (Moderated by Professor Doron Dorfman)
Professor Robert Ashford, “Ameliorating Wealth Concentration by Broadening Capital Acquisition with the Earnings of Capital”
January 8 | 1:15 p.m. Section on Socio-Economics: “For Whose Benefit the Corporation? Perspectives on Shareholder and Stakeholder Primacy”
Dean Craig M. Boise, “The Future of Legal Education: Online Teaching Post-COVID-19”
The Transatlantic Negotiation Competition (TANC), a new mock trial competition created and hosted by Syracuse University College of Law and Queen’s University Belfast, will be held virtually on March 19-20, 2021. The unique competition will feature an even number of American and European law schools competing against each other in a contest that simulates legal negotiations. Applications are now open for interested law schools.
Competition Details:
• Applications are due Jan. 8, 2021
• At least eight teams will be selected to compete. Competitors will be notified by Jan. 15, 2021
• The completion will take place on March 19-20, 2021
• The competition will be in English
• Each round will be one hour in duration
• Teams may consist of four persons, but only two persons from each team are eligible to compete in each round
“The competition gives law students on both sides of the Atlantic an opportunity to hone their negotiation and communication skills in a transnational setting, with particular emphasis on the importance of cross-cultural negotiation and communication in resolving disputes and facilitating client agreements,” says Professor Todd Berger, Director of Advocacy Programs at Syracuse University College of Law.
“In each round of the competition, one team from the United States and one from Europe will face each other to resolve a series of problems presented in a particular factual scenario,” says Alexys Santos, President, and Kevin Marshall, Vice President, of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Society at Queen’s University Belfast School of Law. “The scenarios are not dependent on the law of a particular country and are the type commonly encountered in international business, trade, and political disputes.”
Each simulation consists of a common set of facts known by all participants as well as confidential information known only to the participants representing a particular side. Teams may consist of four persons, but only two persons from each team are eligible to compete in each round. Each panel of evaluators will consist of three judges, with at least one judge from either Europe or the United States.
To apply, please complete the application by Jan. 8, 2021. Teams selected for the competition will be notified by Jan.15, 2021. If selected, the participation fee is $100 or €85.00.
How the pandemic has affected voters with disabilities – roughly one-sixth of the US electorate Link
(USA Today | Oct. 29, 2020) Penny Shaw, 77, who lives in a long-term care facility in Braintree, Massachusetts, normally votes at a polling place she can get to easily in her electric wheelchair. This year, Shaw had to come up with a new plan.
Braintree officials changed polling place locations because of the pandemic, and Shaw worried that her severe muscle weakness from Guillain-Barre syndrome would prevent her from getting to the nearest site. She couldn’t get election officials on the phone to confirm the new location, and she has trouble using a computer. So, she requested an absentee ballot and took it to a post office six blocks away.
“Better to be safe than sorry,” she said. “I don’t want to not vote.”
Shaw’s situation is emblematic of the new difficulties the pandemic has created for voters with disabilities – even as many of them are benefitting from the relaxation of rules regarding who can cast an absentee ballot …
Nina A. Kohn, law professor at Syracuse University and a distinguished scholar in elder law at Yale Law School, said in a phone interview that while laws like the Voting Rights Act and directives like the one from CMS may outline how voters with disabilities must be accommodated, there are often impediments.
“As a practical matter, how do they obtain that assistance?” she said. “With COVID, many individuals don’t have access to family members and friends who would provide that assistance. In congregate care settings, how do they obtain a mail-in ballot? In many states, they have to request a ballot. How do they obtain that request? Not all have access to the internet. Or they may have muscular problems that make it hard to maneuver around a computer” …
Dear Members of the Syracuse University Community:I begin today’s monthly update on our Campus Commitments with an important reminder to participate in the Campus Climate Pulse Survey. If you have already participated, thank you for taking the time to share your concerns and recommendations about how this university is doing in terms of equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion.If you have not yet completed the survey, please take time to answer the questions. Here’s how to complete the survey:Students:MySlice Portal: Click on the “Share Your SU Experience” button.Syr.edu Email: Click the survey link included in the weekly emails sent to you on Tuesdays from Damon A. Williams.Faculty and Staff:Syr.edu Email: Click the survey link included in the weekly emails sent to you on Wednesdays from Damon A. Williams.The survey will be live through tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 30. Your responses are critical to helping the University understand the diverse experiences of students, faculty and staff and how to foster an environment that is welcoming for all.We continue to progress on our commitments to our #NotAgainSU students, international students, Jewish students and Indigenous students. Here are updates to the Campus Commitments through Sept. 30:In the University’s expansion of funding for need-based and culturally based scholarships by $5 million, a total of $4.1 million has been raised so far. The following are included in the funding that has been raised.o An initiative is underway to grow the Our Time Has Come scholarship endowment from $5 million to $10 million. Through donor gifts, the fund has increased to $7.1 million since spring 2020. o In addition to the Kessler Presidential Scholars Program award of $1 million, the University has also received $1 million for the Lotman Book Award. Both of these funds are directed at first-generation students.The fall 2020 cohort of resident advisors has a range of fluency in a second language. Thirty percent are fluent or proficient in a second language, other than English, and 8 percent are fluent or proficient in three languages, including English. At least one student is fluent or proficient in one of 16 different languages.Academic scholarships for international students, which have been provided to incoming students for the past seven years, continue to be awarded. Invest in Success Scholarships have been awarded to international students this year, for the third year in a row. The Syracuse University Greater China Scholarship has also awarded scholarships this year, for a third year. A goal has been established to grow the Greater China Scholarship fund from $250,000 to $1 million in the current campaign.Syracuse Hillel and the STOP Bias program have partnered to develop an anti-Semitism education and prevention training. A run-through of the final presentation of the anti-Semitism training was held on Sept. 9. Twenty-five students will be able to participate in the pilot session.Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and her team held virtual town halls last week to receive feedback on a proposed framework for the University’s Public Safety Community Review Board, and an update will be provided soon.Earlier this month, University leadership committed to addressing concerns put forth by Indigenous students, totaling seven new commitments. Those commitments are in progress, and updates will be shared in upcoming messages.Other notable events and progress toward our goals over the past month have included the following.A community discussion was held with Ibram X. Kendi, Ph.D., one of America’s foremost historians and leading anti-racist voices, about critical social issues on Oct. 21. The event was presented by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Hendricks Chapel and The Lender Center for Social Justice.The University announced a permanent installation on campus that acknowledges its relationship with the Onondaga Nation. The University is working with the Indigenous Students at Syracuse (ISAS), Native Student Program, Ongwehonwe Alumni Association and Haudenosaunee/Indigenous alumni representatives on this special recognition.We are making strides; we are making a positive difference. Again, please take the Campus Climate Pulse Survey, which will help in efforts to elevate our shared work toward ensuring an equitable campus experience for all.Sincerely,Keith A. Alford Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Nursing home residents face voting challenges during pandemic Link
(WHEC Rochester, NY | Oct. 29, 2020) At 94, Mary Insalaco has voted in every presidential election dating back to the 1940s. And despite being isolated in a nursing home, she wasn’t about to let that stop her this year.
“That’s one thing I’ve always believed in. Your vote counts. Even though it’s one, it counts. They add up,” Insalaco said.
Mary is used to voting in person. But because of COVID-19 restrictions, she can’t really leave the Jewish Home. So her daughter, Carol Britt, came here with Mary’s mail-in ballot. They talked through the glass during a window visit and discussed how Mary wanted to vote.
“Today she’s going to put her signature on it that this is her choice,” Britt said, holding Mary’s ballot.
“My daughter brought me my papers here, I signed them, filled them out with her and gave it back to her and got my little voting sticker and I proudly wore it,” Insalaco said.
Mary’s fortunate to have family nearby to assist her. But for many nursing home residents, that’s not the case. And that has some advocates worried about the roadblocks facing seniors as we approach Election Day.
“So it’s very much like we have a train barreling down the track and the brakes are not working,” Nina Kohn said.
Kohn is a law professor at Syracuse University and a scholar in elder law.
Brett Davidsen: “Are they being disenfranchised?”
Kohn: “In many cases, yes. A resident of a nursing home needs substantial assistance typically to be able to vote and when that assistance isn’t forthcoming, as a practical matter, they won’t be able to vote” …
COVID-19 has impacted every area of our lives. COVID-19 may have accelerated the incorporation of unmanned aerial vehicles, otherwise known as drones, into our daily lives. Examples include law enforcement activities, assisting in search and rescue operations, inspecting pipelines and infrastructure, photographing real estate, surveying land, disaster assistance, news gathering, and recreational.
Even though the benefits of drone integration seem palpable and extensive, concerns that drone technology may impact and erode privacy and property right have yet to be resolved in the United States. Drones are authorized via remote control by a pilot on the ground and are generally restricted from operating beyond the pilot’s line of sight, over people, above 400 feet, and within certain distances of an airport.
In “Geospatial World,” Mukesh Sharma reports that drone use during the pandemic has been widespread in parts of China and Europe where drones fitted with loudspeakers broadcast coronavirus-related messages and information. The Chinese government deployed drones with infrared cameras to read people’s temperature as they stood on apartment balconies. Some governments deployed drones to enforce COVID-19 restrictions such as forbidden social gatherings that fueled infection dissemination. In the United States and abroad, drones have been used to deliver medical supplies, household goods, and food.
Drone involvement in containing the virus through benign utilitarian missions has contributed to a positive image. Arguably, pre-pandemic drone apprehension is dissipating as drone pervasiveness in the public’s consciousness has increased during lock-downs.
However, many worry that drone proliferation is starting to erode some historical rights. For instance, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has stated that 49 U.S.C grants them the right to create comprehensive regulations for “the use of the navigable airspace … to ensure the safety of aircraft and the efficient use of [that] airspace.” (Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Current Jurisdictional, Property, and Privacy Legal Issues Regarding the Commercial and Recreational Use of Drones, GAO U.S. Government Accountability Office, Sept. 2020). In the GAO report, the Department of Transportation has clarified that the term “navigable airspace” “… includes zero feet (‘the blades of grass’) as the minimum altitude of flight for UAS.”
This understanding clashes with property rights in airspace. Under ancient common law doctrine, property rights in airspace extended to the periphery of the universe (GAO Report). In the 1946 landmark United States v. Causby decision, the U.S. Supreme Court analyzed the concept of ownership of airspace above private property. The Court concluded that landowners have “exclusive control of the immediate reaches of the enveloping atmosphere,” and that they own “at least as much of the space above the ground as they can occupy or use in connection with the land.”
Under the authority to control the navigable airspace, the FAA has granted drones freedom of operation from the ground and up to 400 feet. This authorization, some claim, is incongruent with landowners’ property rights in airspace. To initiate a discussion and bring some uniformity about “the states’ ability to take action against operators of drones who violate existing trespass, privacy and negligence laws,” the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) took the lead in drafting the “Uniform Tort Law Relating to Drones Act” (GAO Report).
According to Brian Wynne and Gary Shapiro in New Approach to State Drone Laws Balances Privacy and Innovation article, stakeholders flatly rejected the first 2018 version because it presented a “one-sided, unworkable, 200-foot ‘line in the sky’ approach.” The 2019 version has not fared much better. While proponents of this Act perceive it as a compromise between the rights of landowners’ property rights and the drone industry, vociferous critics see is a “radical departure” from current property rights (GAO Report).
While the debate rages in the U.S., other nations, whose views on privacy and property rights differ radically from ours, are moving forward with the development and utilization of drone technology. As a result, these countries are amassing and mining vast amounts of data from their citizens. Some claim that the exploitation of these data allows these countries to make extraordinary scientific leaps, which the United States cannot realize under current notions of privacy and property rights (In the Age of AI, Frontline film, Dec. 2019).
As the pandemic slowly retreats and we emerge from a penumbra of uncertainty, some anticipate a more benign attitude toward drone technology will emerge. A new outlook could enable proponents and opponents to arrive at legislation that makes sense in an increasingly technological world. Three companies (Amazon, UPS, and Wing from Google) have obtained special permissions to deliver beyond visual line of sight. Amazon was granted two patents covering a technology to provide surveillance services via drones, with a “virtual fence” around the property being surveilled.
Balancing privacy and property rights with the social and economic benefits that drones bring is a difficult task. But it must be done because drones are here to stay, whether we like them or not.
What’s the Military’s Role in a Contested Election? Link
(POGO Pentagon Labyrinth | Oct. 27, 2020) We are on the eve of what could be a contentious and disputed election, and a turbulent transition. Given the possibility that we will not know who the winner is for some time after November 3, there are increased concerns about domestic disturbances and violence.
This is prompting many to openly discuss the military’s role in such a scenario. The Military Times recently published an article titled “How the president could invoke martial law.” Several legal scholars have also weighed in on the issue in the past few months.
One is Mark Nevitt, a professor of constitutional law, national security law, environmental law, and climate change law at Syracuse University College of Law. He has a solid military background as well. He started his career as a Naval aviator flying the S-3 Viking; he flew over a thousand hours and had approximately 300 carrier landings. When the Navy retired the S-3s, it sent Mark to Georgetown Law. He spent the rest of his career as a Navy judge advocate general before retiring in 2017 to join academia.
(Medium | Oct. 26, 2020) In his inaugural address four years ago, President Donald Trump declared a crusade against the “carnage” he said his predecessors had wrought on the nation, lining their own pockets while creating a nation of “forgotten men and women.” Five hours later, fired up and triumphant, Trump filed for re-election, the earliest incumbent to do so in memory. So it was that Trump set the stage for what a lot of people thought was him governing, but in effect has been the most foreboding, nerve-frazzling — and by far the longest — re-election campaign in modern U.S. history.
Just a week away from its climax, some of the country’s most sober voices say one cost of Trump’s term-long barrage of grievance and accusation is the possibility of civil unrest on and after Election Day. There is always the chance that fraught tempers will dissipate, either by luck or a landslide one way or the other that imposes a forceful quiet on the contest. But, with an animated Trump issuing daily allegations of a sinister plot to unseat him, and supporters of both sides apprehensive of how far the other is prepared to go to win, the fear is that Americans will erupt in the worst political violence since Jim Crow …
… William Banks, a law professor at Syracuse University, said the president’s actions reflect mere “Trumpian rhetoric, played to maximum volume for his base.” Perhaps, though we won’t know until we see his reaction should he be defeated next Tuesday …
An Election Day Role For National Guard? Maybe, But Limited Link
(AP | Oct. 30, 2020) Federal laws and long-standing custom generally leave the U.S. military out of the election process. But President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated warnings about widespread voting irregularities have raised questions about a possible military role.
If any element of the military were to get involved, it would likely be the National Guard under state control. These citizen soldiers could help state or local law enforcement with any major election-related violence. But the Guard’s more likely roles will be less visible — filling in as poll workers, out of uniform, and providing cybersecurity expertise in monitoring potential intrusions into election systems …
… William Banks, professor at Syracuse University College of Law, said that sending uniformed troops to the polls, including the Guard, would be unwise.
“The overriding point is that we don’t want the military involved in our civilian affairs. It just cuts against the grain of our history, our conditions, our values, our laws,” he said …
(Military Times | Oct. 23, 2020) Throughout 2020, America has faced a global pandemic, civil unrest after the death of George Floyd and a contentious election. As a result, an influx of fear about the possibility of the invocation of martial law or unchecked military intervention is circulating around the internet among scholars and civilians alike.
“The fear is certainly understandable, because as I’m sure you know, martial law isn’t described or confined or limited, proscribed in any way by the Constitution or laws,” Bill Banks, a Syracuse professor with an expertise in constitutional and national security law, told Military Times. “If someone has declared martial law, they’re essentially saying that they are the law.”
In short, martial law can be imposed when civil rule fails, temporarily being replaced with military authority in a time of crisis. Though rare, there have been a number of notable U.S. cases where martial law came into play, including in times of war, natural disaster and civic dispute — of which there has been no shortage in 2020.
While no precise definition of martial law exists, a precedent for it exists wherein, “certain civil liberties may be suspended, such as the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, freedom of association, and freedom of movement. And the writ of habeas corpus [the right to a trial before imprisonment] may be suspended,” according to documents from JRANK, an online legal encyclopedia …
(Indus News | Oct. 22, 2020) The US government has sued tech-giant Google, accusing it of illegally protecting its dominant position in the market through deals signed with big companies like Apple. Dr. Shubha Ghosh shares his views on the issue …
