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

April 2010

Richard Alderman was sent by USAID to Vietnam where he consulted with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Vietnam Consumer Agency regarding their proposed consumer protection statute. After four days of meetings with the drafters, he spoke to 40 members of the National Assembly and other local leaders about the merits of the proposed legislation. The bill should be voted on this fall. He also was elected to the American Law Institute and was asked to join the editorial advisory board of the International Journal of Law and Management.

Adam Gershowitz’s article, "The State (Never) Rests: How Excessive Prosecutor Caseloads Harm Criminal Defendants" has been accepted for publication in the Northwestern University Law Review.

Patricia Gray gave a presentation on Texas’ Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) to medical students and faculty at UTMB’s monthly Pizza and Policy session on March 17. Presenting with her was State Representative Garnet Coleman whose legislative district encompasses the UH campus. She also spoke to the Texas Bar Association International Law CLE conference in Houston on March 5 on Medicaid, CHIP and Immigrant Children in Texas.

Leslie Griffin testified before the Nebraska legislature, arguing that their proposed Abortion Pain Prevention Act is unconstitutional under current Supreme Court precedent, including Carhart II. Her book, Law and Religion: Cases in Context (Aspen 2010), is in print and available for purchase. The supporting website is available at http://www.aspenlawschool.com/books/griffin/default.asp. Her Maine Law Review article, “Fighting the New Wars of Religion: The Need for a Tolerant First Amendment,” appeared in volume 62, starting at page 23. The second edition of her casebook, Law and Religion: Cases and Materials (Foundation Press 2010) will be available at the end of the month.

Julie A. Hill presented her work-in-progress, Ad Hoc Bank Capital Requirements, at Arizona State University’s Junior Faculty Workshop on March 15th.

Geoffrey Hoffman spoke to a group of Fulbright scholars who visited the UHLC on March 26, 2010 from around the globe about the UH Immigration Clinic. He also introduced the film “In the Shadow of the Raid,” which was shown at BLB240 on March 29th. The film presentation was co-sponsored by the UH Clinic. Prof. Hoffman also participated in the question and answer session regarding the Postville Raid with the film producers following the film.

Craig Joyce was reappointed to the Board of Editors of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A.

Raymond Nimmer gave a visiting lecture at the University of Calgary on “Digital Information and Copyright” on March 25, 2010.

Tom Oldham drafted a question pertaining to community property that was included in the February 2010 California Bar Exam. This was the second time a question drafted by Prof. Oldham had been selected.

Michael A. Olivas delivered the Distinguished Invitational Lecture at Baruch College, CUNY on March 19, speaking on the DREAM Act legislation and immigration reform. He was interviewed for the CUNY television network in Spanish. He and the AALS Executive Committee filed a brief for UC-Hastings in the pending US Supreme Court case, CLS v. Martinez, defending the right of public law schools to enforce anti-discrimination policies against student groups that do not comply with law school regulations. He was interviewed by reporters on issues of prepaid Section 529 college plans, the CLS litigation, state and local immigration ordinances, and academic freedom.

Jordan Paust‘s essay “The U.N. Is Bound By Human Rights: Understanding the Full Reach of Human Rights, Remedies, and Nonimmunity,” is now published at 51 Harvard International Law Journal Online (2010), available thru http://www.harvardilj.org/online. The new Leiter Study of U.S. Law Professors whose articles have had the most scholarly impact from 2005-2009 lists Professor Paust as among the top ten in International Law.

Ronald Turner’s recent publications include his co-authored book, The NLRB and Managerial Discretion (2d ed. 2010), and the following articles: “Pliable Precedents, Plausible Policies, and Lilly Ledbetter’s Loss,” 30 Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law 336 (2009); “On the Authority of the Two-Member NLRB: Statutory Interpretation Choices and Judicial Approaches,” 27 Hofstra Labor and Employment Law Journal 13 (2009); “Plessy 2.0,” 13 Lewis & Clark Law Review 861 (2009); and “On Parents Involved and the Problematic Praise of Justice Clarence Thomas,” 37 Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly 225 (2010).

Greg Vetter presented Patent Law’s Unpredictability Doctrine & the Software Arts on March 26th at the 2010 Intellectual Property Scholars Roundtable by the Intellectual Property Law Center at the Drake University Law School. On March 3rd, he presented to the Law Center’s eHealth course on the topic of Intellectual Property and Electronic Medical Records. Also, on March 29th he presented to the 1L class on the issue of course selection. Finally, on April 9th, Prof. Vetter presented Open Source and Free Software: A Guide for the Skeptics and the Opportunists at the New Opportunities in a Changing Landscape conference during the North Carolina Bar Foundation 2010 Intellectual Property Law Section Annual Meeting.

Jacqueline Weaver gave two lectures in South Korea, sponsored by our sister law school there, Wonkwang University, and by the Forum for Advanced Society, a Korean think-tank that is associated with various assemblymen (i.e., nationally elected legislators) of the Korean government, including certain presidential contenders. The topic was “The Future of the Energy Industry under Global Warming.” The lectureship included time for tours of Korean temples, the DMZ, the bullet trains, and the incredible new futuristic cities that are sprouting up around Seoul, specializing in robotics, IT, telecom and such. Wonkwang University adopts principles of Confucian and Buddhist thought in its learning environment and is very interesting to visit. The dean there is planning to host a symposium in late 2010 on a medical/health topic (TBA) and will bring in scholars from several countries for a dialogue. He (and Prof. Weaver) hope someone from UHLC will attend. From her personal experience, she believes it is worth it, even for only 4 days.