Faculty Focus is a monthly publication documenting the activities, accomplishments, and honors of the University of Houston Law Center Faculty.

March 2008

 

 

Aaron Bruhl’s article “The Unconscionability Game: Strategic Judging and the Development of Arbitration Doctrine,” was accepted for publication in the NYU Law Review.

 

David R. Dow spoke on “Current Issues in Post Conviction Capital Litigation,” at the Habeas Corpus College in San Antonio on February 8, 2008. He spoke to the trial lawyers on, “The Importance of Pursuing Futility,” at the conference sponsored by the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He delivered the Yale Rosenberg Memorial Lecture, entitled,” The Last Execution,” at the University of Houston on February 28, 2008.

 

Meredith J. Duncan’s article “Sex Crimes and Sexual Miscues: The Need for a Clearer Line Between Forcible Rape and Nonconsensual Sex,” was recently published at 42 Wake Forest L. Rev. 1087 (2007) and made SSRN’s top ten list of most downloaded articles this week. Prof. Duncan also authored an entry for the U.S. Supreme Court Encyclopedia on Bates v. Arizona. Additionally, Prof. Duncan and Prof. Ron Turner have agreed with Thomson-West Publishers to coauthor a Torts casebook as part of West’s new interactive casebook series.

 

Victor Flatt gave a talk in Seattle on new climate change legislation, as well as two presentations in Houston on the same issue, including the Climate Change Legislation symposium held by the Environmental & Energy Law & Policy Journal.  Professor Flatt was quoted on KUHF concerning the climate change issue and the symposium. Professor Flatt and the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Law Center hosted Monica Frassoni of the European Parliament on her state department visit concerning climate change policies. Professor Flatt’s interview on U.S. Climate Change Laws is posted on her website. Professor Flatt and the EENR Center, in conjunction with the University’s Strategic Energy Alliance, also hosted meetings with faculty from Swansea University who are involved in environmental and energy law in the EU. Professor Flatt was interviewed for a new documentary being filmed about the Lawrence v. Texas case. Professor Flatt’s op-ed on the environmental implications of energy was published in the Houston Chronicle on February 24. On March 11, Professor Flatt spoke at the Bauer College of Business program on the future of energy trading by discussing CO2 trading in a climate change regime.

 

Leslie Griffin attended the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics meeting in San Antonio where she moderated a session on “Religious Belief and Surrogate Medical Decision-Making,” on February 22. She was a guest lecturer at a health policy class at the UT School of Public Health on March 4. She will give the McElroy Lecture at the University of Detroit-Mercy on March 18.

 

Craig Joyce was reappointed to the Board of Editors of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. He begins his 21st year of service on the board.

 

Douglas Moll’s article “Shareholder Oppression and Fair Value: Of Discounts, Dates, and Dastardly Deeds in the Close Corporation,” 54 Duke Law Journal 293 (2004) was solicited for republication by Business Valuation Resources – a business valuation company which publishes physical publications (books, newsletters, guides), online databases containing financial data that appraisers use for valuations, and online databases containing court case opinions, abstracts, and other business valuation-related articles. Professor Moll is also teaching Secured Credit at the University of Texas School of Law this semester.

 

Gerry Moohr’s book, The Criminal Law of Intellectual Property and Information, was published in February by West. Her article,” Another Limitation to Honest Services Fraud?” will appear in the April issue of The Champion, the publication of the National Association of Defense Lawyers. The article analyzes decisions from the Fifth (Brown) and Seventh (Thompson) circuits and posits the possibility of a “faithful subordinate” defense to honest services charges under federal mail and wire fraud. She also spoke at the American Bar Association’s 22nd White Collar Crime Institute in Miami on March 6. The topic of her presentation was “Beyond Enforcement: Problematic Issues Raised by Intellectual Property and Information Crimes.”

 

Tom Oldham has been invited to contribute to the 50th anniversary issue of the ABA’s Family Law Quarterly.

 

Michael A. Olivas has signed a contract with Harvard University Press to publish a book on Plyler v. Doe and undocumented children. His 2006 book on Hernandez v. Texas received an award from the Texas State Hispanic Genealogical Society. (His father, buried in New Mexico, is turning in his grave, as he disliked Texas.) He delivered the Kamm Family Distinguished Lecture on immigration and higher education at Oklahoma State University. Prof. Olivas conducted a workshop for junior faculty in Florida whose work is on higher education legal and finance topics, and delivered presentations on Sec. 529 plan developments and higher education admissions legal developments at the annual Stetson Higher Education Law Conference, in Clearwater, FL.

 

Jordan Paust’s on-line essay “Just Following Orders? DOJ Opinions and War Crimes Liability,” is available at

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forumy/2008/02/just-following-orders-doj-opinions-and.php

 

Prof. Paust was a keynote speaker at the American Society of International Law’s Southwest Regional Jessup International Moot Court Competition on Feb. 23, 2008 and was one of the Judges of the final round during the competition on Feb. 24. He also submitted entries that were requested for two encyclopedias: (1) Torture, for the Encyclopedia of Issues in U.S. Public Policy (Gale Pub.), and (2) Crimes Against Humanity, for the Encyclopedia of Human Rights (Oxford University Press).

 

Richard Saver presented “In Tepid Defense of Population Health: Physicians and Antibiotic Resistance,” at the University of North Carolina Law School on February 25.

 

Diana Velardo was a guest speaker at the Star of Hope Family Violence Center. Diana presented on current legal issues surrounding homeless victims of Human Trafficking in Houston. She also presented at a training titled “Representing Unaccompanied Immigrant Children in Removal Proceedings.” Diana presented on, “Forms of Immigration Relief for Victims of Crimes and Human Trafficking.”

 

Greg Vetter submitted his book chapter “Exit and Voice in Free and Open Source Software,” to be included in a new book entitled,” Open Source Software,” with forthcoming publication by the Amicus Books Division of the university press of  ICFAI University in India.