The University of Houston Law Center’s Ator Award Recipient for 2002 is the National Innocence Project, a non-profit organization based at the Yeshiva University’s Law School. The Award was accepted May 7th by Project Co-Founder Barry Scheck at a ceremony held at the Houston Center Club. The Ator Award, which includes a $40,000 grant, is made every three years to a person or organization “who has had the greatest impact in bettering society in the state of Texas by encouraging or causing a change of law or in the administration of justice.” Locally, Professor David R. Dow directs the Innocence Project from the University of Houston Law Center.
Professor Sidney Buchanan was honored as the 2002 Piper Professor by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation. Professor Buchanan was awarded the stipend and a pin by University of Houston Chancellor Arthur Smith & Provost Edward Sheridan.
Professor Thomas Oldham has been approved for candidacy on the Fulbright Senior Specialists Roster. The Roster is a list of all approved candidates who are eligible to be matched with incoming program requests from overseas academic institutions for Fulbright Senior Specialists.
Professor Seth Chandler assumed the office of Associate Dean for Academic Affairs on May 13th, and a reception was held May 8th recognizing inter alia Dean Chandler and out-going Dean Thompson, who will resume regular teaching and research responsibilities, as well as assignments for the American Law Institute.
The University of Houston Law Center’s Health Law & Policy Institute won highest recognition for its website, “Healthcare Guide to the Internet” ( http://www.law.uh.edu/healthlaw/ ), credits to Professors Mary Anne Bobinski (Institute Director), Associate Dean Seth Chandler, Ms. Phyllis Griffin Epps, Ms. Melanie Margolis, Mr. Ronald Scott, Ms. Shelby Shanks, Ms. Ruth Shauberger, and Mr. Joseph Wang.
Summer hiatus for Faculty Focus: Although contributions for Faculty Focus will be solicited monthly during the summer (while new events and publications are fresh in mind), there will be no issues until next September.
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Honorable Mention: The Honorable Professor David R. Dow was quoted April 22nd in the Texas Lawyer regarding the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ denial of Napoleon Beazley’s second Habeas Corpus review. Also on April 22nd, the Honorable Professor Robert Schuwerk was quoted in the Texas Lawyer regarding the Texas State Bar’s proposed “no sex with clients” rule.
The Honorable Professor Michael A. Olivas was quoted in the Houston Chronicle on April 24th regarding the Torres death during a struggle with Baytown police, and was on local Channel 26 FOX Evening News on April 23rd, speaking at a LULAC meeting regarding recent alleged Baytown police misconduct. Prof. Olivas spoke again on LULAC’s behalf on May 4th on local Channel 2 (NBC) news regarding the police officers’ grand jury no-bill. Also during the month, Prof. Olivas was interviewed about on Fox Television about college recruitment and admissions issues, and referenced in the Houston Chronicle, Washington Post, and the Chronicle of Higher Education on, respectively, admissions, immigration, and undocumented foreign college student residency.
On May 5th, the Honorable Professor David Crump was quoted by the Dallas Morning News regarding the pending Arthur Anderson trial in Houston. The Honorable Dean Nancy B. Rapoport was quoted April 22nd in the Houston Chronicle about prospects for Enron’s survival, in the April 28th Houston Chronicle regarding Enron’s tactics to keep business alive and, on April 29th, in the Texas Lawyer regarding U.S. News & World Report’s law school rankings, and in the Houston Chronicle again about Enron’s re-organization, as well as in the Houston Chronicle on May 4th regarding the Enron bankruptcy. In the May 5th Orlando Sentinel and Chicago Tribune, and again in the May 6th (London) Daily Telegraph, Dean Rapoport was quoted regarding the up-coming Arthur Anderson trial in Houston.
The Honorable Professor Ellen Marrus was quoted in the Dallas Morning News and in the Seattle Times on April 26th regarding legal issues and strategies in defending a fifteen and a ten year old child accused of killing their six year old sibling and, on May 16th concern the State’s decision to not prosecute the fifteen year old as an adult.
The Honorable Professor Jordan Paust was interviewed by National Public Radio concerning due process rights and the Bush military commissions.
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Judicial Notice: University of Houston Law Faculty have been acknowledged by the Judiciary during the year 2002 to date, to-wit:
In Mendez v. Palm Harbor Homes, Inc., 2002 WL 826409 (Wash.App. Div. 3, 2002), Professor Richard M. Alderman’s article, “Pre-Dispute Mandatory Arbitration in Consumer Contracts: A Call for Reform,” 38 Houston Law Review 1237 (2001), was cited.
In Billy v. State, 2002 WL 979776 (Tex.App.-Dallas, 2002), the Court referenced Professor David Crump’s article, “The Function and Limits of Prosecution Jury Argument,” 28 Southwestern Law Journal 505 (1974). In Smith v. State, 2002 WL 126985 (Ala.Crim.App., 2002), the Court referenced Prof. Crump’s article, “Peremptory Challenges After McDonough Power Equipment, Inc. v. Greenwood: A Problem of Fairness, Finality, and Falsehood,” 69 Oregon Law Review 741 (1990), and also Prof. Crump’s article, “When Jurors Lie: Differing Standards for New Trials,” 22 American Journal of Criminal Law, 733 (1995).
In Reisenfeld & Co. v. Network Group, Inc., 277 F.3d 856, (C.A.6 (Ohio) 2002), Professor Peter Linzer’s article was referenced, “The Decline of Assent: At-Will Employment as a Case Study of the Breakdown of Private Law Theory,” 20 Georgia Law Review 323 (1986).
In U.S. v. Handakas, 286 F.3d 92 (C.A.2 (N.Y.) 2002), Professor Geraldine Szott Moohr’s “Mail Fraud and the Intangible Rights Doctrine: Someone to Watch over Us,” 31 Harvard Journal on Legislation 153 (1994) was cited.
In ICM Notes, Ltd. v. Andrews & Kurth, L.L.P., 2002 WL 823582 (S.D.Tex. 2002), Dean Nancy B. Rapoport’s (& C.R. Bowles, Jr.’s) “Has the DIP's Attorney become the Ultimate Creditors' Lawyer in Bankruptcy Reorganization Cases?” 5 American Bankruptcy Institute Law Review 47 (1997), was cited.
In Hess v. Anheiser-Busch, 2002 WL 483564 (S.D. Ohio 2002), Professor Ronald Turner’s article, “Employment Discrimination, Labor and Employment Arbitration, & the Case Against Union Waiver of the Individual Worker's Statutory Right to a Judicial Forum,” 49 Emory Law Journal 135 (2000), was referenced.
In Crawford v. Hrabe, 2002 WL 597398 (Kan.Sup.Ct. 2002), Professor Jacqueline Lang Weaver’s article, “Politics of Oil & Gas Jurisprudence: The Eighty-Six Percent Factor,” 33 Washburn Law Journal 492 (1994), was referenced.
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Academy & Colloquium:
Professor Richard Alderman was appointed Chair of the State Bar’s Law-Focused Education Committee. Prof. Alderman gave speeches to the International Association of Administrators, the High School for Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice, the Credit Coalition, S.C.O.R.E, and Shriners. Prof. Alderman was also a guest on the Jan Carson Radio Show, and a repeat-guest on Tom Martino’s nationally syndicated radio show.
Associate Dean Seth Chandler was interviewed by Time Magazine and Business Week for their reviews of the book, A New Kind of Science, by Stephen Wolfram, discussing the book’s implications for social science and law.
Professor David R. Dow’s book, Machinery of Death, has been published by Routledge Publishing, available in fine bookstores everywhere. Prof. Dow’s review of Human Rights in Judaism, by Michael Broyde & John Witte, appeared at 17 Journal of Law & Religion 121 (2002). Prof. Dow has also been selected to receive the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association’s torch of liberty award, which he will share with Co-Honoree Jim Marcus, a Law Center graduate. Prof. Dow's essay, “Executing Johnny Joe Martinez," appeared in Volume 94 (No. 9) of the Texas Observer, May 10th 2002.
Professor Leslie Griffin lectured April 4th at the Institute for Democracy Studies in New York on “A New Kind of Establishment,” and presented a paper April 21st as a panelist at Cardozo School of Law’s Conference on Fundamentalisims, Equalities & the Challenges of Tolerance in a Post-9/11 Environment. Prof. Griffin also attended Harvard Law School’s Jewish Law & Equity Conference at Harvard Law School May 19th-21st.
Professor Lonny S. Hoffman’s article, “Removal Jurisdiction & the All Writs Act," 148 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 401 (1999) was cited in American Law Institute - American Bar Association Continuing Legal Education February 7-9th 2002 Civil Practice & Litigation Techniques in Federal and State Courts, “Problems in Federal Forum Selection & Concurrent Federal State Jurisdiction: Supplemental Jurisdiction; Diversity Jurisdiction; Removal; Preemption; Venue; Transfer of Venue; Personal Jurisdiction; Abstention & the All Writs Act” by Georgene M. Vairo, SG046 ALI-ABA 485. Prof. Hoffman’s (& Keith A. Rowley’s) article, “Forum Non Conveniens in Federal Statutory Cases,” 49 Emory Law Journal 1137 (2000), was cited in William S. Dodge’s “Breaking the Public Law Taboo,” 43 Harvard International Law Journal 161 (Winter, 2002).
Professor Peter T. Hoffman’s article, “The Stages of the Clinical Supervisory Relationship,” 4 Antioch Law Journal 301 (1986), was cited in 8 Clinical Law Review 405 (Spring 2002) by Katherine R. Kruse, “Biting Off What They Can Chew: Strategies for Involving Students in Problem-solving Beyond Individual Client Representation.” On May 18th-25th, Prof. Hoffman was on the faculty of the American Association of Law Schools Conference on Clinical Legal Education in Pittsburgh, where he chaired a four segment program on teaching trial advocacy, and also taught in the annual ABA Family Law Program offered at the Law Center in May.
Professor Joan Krause spoke May 8th to the Houston Bar Association’s Health Law Section on “Current Trends in Health Care Fraud & Abuse." On May 13th, Prof. Krause spoke to the National Law Journal regarding a recent Texas malpractice/informed-consent case.
Professor Peter Linzer attended the of the American Law Institute’s 79th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., taking active part in the discussion of the Restatement Third of Restitution and in informal discussions with some of the Institute's leaders about the ALI doing a study of standard form contracts (contracts of adhesion). Prof. Linzer’s on revisions continue of Corbin On Contracts, volume 6, dealing with the parol evidence rule and implied terms.
Professor Ellen Marrus attended the National Juvenile Defender Center's Board Meeting May 3rd-4th, the only national organization supporting attorneys’ work in defense of criminally charged juveniles. Prof. Marrus is on the Planning Committee for the National Summit to be held next October. The Southwest Regional Juvenile Defender Center is planning a regional conference to be held at the University of Houston Law Center this June 13th-15th, where Prof. Marrus will be a keynote speaker. Prof. Marrus is also on the Rocky Mountain Regional Clinical Conference’s Planning Committee, which will be held in New Mexico next October to examine how clients influence clinical programs.
Professor Douglas Moll's article, “Shareholder Oppression & Reasonable Expectations: Of Change, Gifts, & Inheritances in Close Corporation Disputes,” was published at 86 Minnesota Law Review 717 (2002).
Professor Raymond T. Nimmer’s article, “Representing Technology Companies in the New Business Environment Bankruptcy and Financing Issues in Intellectual Property Law” 683 PLI-I/P was referenced in West’s Bankruptcy Newsletter No. 18 (March 6th 2002). Prof. Nimmer’s article, “Electronic Signatures in the Global & National Commerce Act of 2000: Effect on State Laws” (www.verisign.com/repository/pubs/preemption.doc <http://www.verisign.com/repository/pubs/preemption.doc>) was cited in Chapter 10: Business, Law & the Internet of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (March 2002). Prof. Nimmer’s article, “UCITA: A Commercial Contract Code,” Computer Law (May 2000), was cited in Michael H. Dessent’s “Digital Handshakes in Cyberspace under E-sign: ‘There's a New Sheriff in Town!’,” 35 University of Richmond Law Review 943 (January 2002), as was Prof. Nimmer’s article, “International Information Transactions: An Essay on Law in an Information Society,” 26 Brooklyn Journal International Law 5 (2000).
Professor Michael A. Olivas’ views on the undocumented foreign student residency issue were solicited for a legislative hearing in Maryland, and Prof. Olivas published a piece on the issue (“An un-FAIR Reading”), rebutting the position of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, in University Business magazine. Prof. Olivas serves as the Chair of the AALS Section on Immigration Law, and the immigration law teachers met in New Orleans for a 2½ day teaching workshop (May 30th-June 1st) that Prof. Olivas developed.
Professor Jordan Paust prepared “Memorandum Amicus Curiae of Law Professors” in connection with United States v. John Walker Lindh, E.D. Va. Prof. Paust’s article, “Human Rights Responsibilities of Private Corporations,” was published at 35 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 801 (2002), and his essay, “Antiterrorism Military Commissions: Postscript Concerning the Ad Hoc DOD Rules of Procedure,” 23 Michigan Journal of International Law issue no. 3 (2002) is going to press. Prof. Paust’s article, "International Law as Law of the United States: Trends and Prospects," which was printed in Japanese in the Journal of the Japanese American Society for Legal Studies 13-38 (2001), will be printed in English in 2 Chinese Journal of International Law (Beijing 2002).
Dean Nancy B. Rapoport authored one in a five-article colloquium regarding unauthorized law practice, multi-disciplinary law practice, multi-jurisdictional law practice, in the Texas Bar Journal, 65(5) Texas Bar Journal 446 (May 2002). On May 22nd, Dean Rapoport participated in a Continuing Legal Education Program for the Texas Center for the Judiciary.
Professors Joseph Sanders’ & Craig Joyce’s article, “Off to the Races: The 1980s Tort Crisis & the Law Reform Process”, 27 Houston Law Review 207 (1990), was referenced in 3 Stein on Personal Injury Damages Treatise § 22:8 (3rd ed., April 2002). Prof. Sanders’ “From Science to Evidence: The Testimony on Causation in the Bendectin Cases,” 46 Stanford Law Review 1 (1993) was cited by Theodore Eisenberg et al. in “Juries, Judges, & Punitive Damages: An Empirical Study,” 87 Cornell Law Review 743 (March 2002), and also by Danielle Conway-Jones in “Factual Causation in Toxic Tort Litigation: a Philosophical View of Proof & Certainty in Uncertain Disciplines” 35 University of Richmond Law Review 875 (January 2002).
Research Professor Ronald L. Scott spoke May 5th 2002 at the Nussenblatt Lecture in Practice Management, University of Houston College of Optometry on HIPAA Privacy (and related “administrative simplification” regulations).
Professor William P. Streng, BNA’s December 2002 tax author - previously mis-identified in Faculty Focus as a “centerfold” (mea culpa) - in BNA Publishing’s 2002 calendar, proved so alluring to his niche that BNA will feature his picture again in BNA ads here ’bouts, to-wit: April in Journal of Taxation, May in Accounting Today and in Tax Advisor, and May, June and September in Estate Planning - beauty or brains?
Professor Ronald Turner's article, "Were Separate-but-Equal & Antimiscegenation Laws Constitutional? : Applying Scalian Traditionalism to Brown & Loving," will be published in a future issue of the San Diego Law Review, and his article “Reactions of the Regulated: A Federal Labor Law Example," was published at 17 The Labor Lawyer 479 (2002). Prof. Turner has also been asked to write an article on age discrimination law and policy, which will be included in the Encyclopedia of Retirement & Finance.
Professor Joseph Vail spoke May 9th on “Ethics in Immigration Law Practice" at the Federal Bar Association Seminar in Houston and, on May 22nd, served as a faculty member on the Planning Committee for the University of Texas Immigration Law Conference to be held in San Antonio, Texas on October 23rd-25th. On June 10th, Prof. Vail will speak at the ABA National Conference for the Minority Lawyer in Houston on the Patriot Act and security measures relating to immigration law and, on June 14th, will speak at the National Conference for the American Immigration Lawyers Association in San Francisco on asylum applications at the border and airport checkpoints.
Rod Borlase, Editor