News

Mikayla Barrett wins 12th Annual Hancock Estabrook LLP 1L Oral Advocacy Competition

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 Norman
Melanie Gray Ceremonial Courtroom
Nikita Norman
Mikayla Barrett

Professor Todd Berger Interviewed for the Unscripted Direct Podcast

Todd Berger

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.

Professor Berger’s segment starts at 3:40.

Syrian Accountability Project Releases “The 2022 Winter Olympics and Genocide: A History of Enabling”

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 2022 Winter Olympics and Genocide: A History of Enabling Atrocities and the Path Forward can be downloaded from https://syrianaccountabilityproject.syr.edu/publications. 

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/.

Professor Paula Johnson Featured on Frontline Episode on Wharlest Jackson Sr.

Paula Johnson

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. 

The episode airs at 10 p.m. EDT on February 15, 2022, on PBS and YouTube, and will be available for streaming. View the “American Reckoning” trailer, learn more about the program in this press release, and see further Frontline viewing options and information.

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.   

Professors Mary Helen McNeal and Maria Brown Discuss Elder Abuse and Restorative Justice at Webinar

Mary Helen McNeal

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.

A recording of the webinar and a restorative justice toolkit are now available from the California Elder Justice Coalition (CEJC), which sponsored the webinar.

Read the Syracuse University News article.

Professor Nina Kohn Discusses Nursing Home Industry Regulatory Changes

Professor Nina Kohn

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.

Read the full article. A subscription is Required.

Professor David Driesen Speaks with CNY Central on the New York State Mask Mandate for Schools

Professor David Driesen

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.”

View the news story here.

Professor Paula Johnson Discusses Race, Biases, and Criminal Law Issues in the Wrongful Conviction of Anthony Broadwater

Professor Paula Johnson

In the in-depth Syracuse Post-Standard article, “Alice Sebold case: How Race and Incompetence Doomed Anthony Broadwater to Prison”, Professor and Director of the Cold Case Justice Initiative Paula Johnson discusses racial, bias, and criminal law aspects of the case.

Professor Johnson states that “these outrages in the criminal justice system highlight biases that can distort fundamental American principles: ‘Whose life has value? Whose life does not have value? Who has credibility and who doesn’t? Who is prone to criminality, who is prone to victimization?’”

Professor Gregory Germain Weighs in on Two Credit Card Stories for MoneyGeek

Professor Gregory Germain

Commercial and bankruptcy law expert Professor Gregory Germain provides insight into low APR credit cards, noting “I think the Motown group The Miracles gave the best answer to this question: “My mama told me, you better shop around (shop, shop). Oh yeah, you better shop around.” This applies not just to credit card interest rates but all credit card terms, including cash back offers, annual fees and other charges and credit limits.” Read his full answer to What can people do to increase their odds of getting lower APRs on their credit cards?

Germain also answers the question, What are the possible advantages and disadvantages of adding authorized users to a primary credit card with regards to earning rewards? “When I teach commercial law, I tell my students that we have another name for someone who guarantees a debt for a friend or relative. We call the guarantor ‘a fool with a pen.’” Read his entire answer here.