Page 18 - Briefcase V36 Number 1
P. 18

JULY













        UHLC FACULTY PROVIDES ROUNDUP ON SUPREME                   SCOTUS JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR CITES AMICUS BRIEF
        COURT                                                      CO-AUTHORED BY UHLC PROFESSOR RAVE
        Faculty members discussed a case involving religious freedom,   U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cited the work of
        immigration issues and other topics at the U.S. Supreme Court Update   University of Houston Law Center Assistant Professor D. Theodore
        at the University of Houston Law Center.                   Rave in her dissenting opinion in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior
        Assistant Professor James Nelson began the discussion with an analysis   Court of California, San Francisco County.
        of Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer.     The case involved 86 California residents and 592 non-resident
        The case centered on an application by the Trinity Lutheran Church   plaintiffs who sued Bristol-Myers Squibb over alleged injuries from the
        of Columbia to resurface its playground at the church’s preschool and   drug Plavix. Bristol-Myers Squibb argued that, despite selling millions
        daycare center.                                            of Plavix pills in California, the California state court did not have the
                                                                   jurisdiction to preside over claims from the 592 non-residents because
        “Missouri had a grant program which allowed non-profit organizations   their alleged injuries were not “caused by” the company’s California
        to apply to the state for funds so that they can resurface their playground   contacts.
        with recycled tires,” Nelson said. “It also had a policy in the grant
        program of categorically denying any funds to churches or other similar   Rave’s brief argued that requiring the strict causal connection between
        religious organizations.                                   the plaintiffs’ claims and the defendant’s contacts with the state that
                                                                   Bristol-Myers Squibb advocated could cause uncertainty and undermine
        “Trinity Lutheran Church applied for a grant to convert its gravel   settled expectations about jurisdiction in both simple and complex cases
        playground to the recycled tire surface, and not surprisingly it was   in federal and state courts. It also argued that Bristol-Myers Squibb’s
        denied funding on the basis of Missouri’s policy and was denied funding   proposal would be inconsistent with the court’s seminal 1945 decision
        despite the fact that it had finished fifth among 44 applicants in the   on jurisdiction in International Shoe Co. v. Washington, and urged the
        scoring process. The top 14 qualified for funds, and had it not been a   court to reject a strict causation test.
        church, it would have qualified for the funds.”            The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the judgment of the
        In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Missouri’s policy toward   California court in an 8-1 decision delivered by Justice Samuel Alito on
        religious institutions was discriminatory.                 June 19. Although the court held that courts in California did not have
        “The church filed suit and claimed its exclusion from the grant program   the proper jurisdiction to adjudicate claims by the out-of-state plaintiffs,
        violated the free exercise clause of the First Amendment. The free   it did not adopt Bristol-Myers Squibb’s proposed causation rule, as
        exercise clause forbids laws that prohibit the free exercise of religion,”   Sotomayor pointed out in dissent, citing Rave’s brief.
        Nelson said. “The Supreme Court in this case held that Missouri’s policy
        of excluding churches from the grant program was unconstitutional and   HOUSTON-BASED FOUNDATION AWARDS MAJOR
        violated the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.”  GRANT TO UHLC’S PROGRAM TO AID AT-RISK YOUTH
        The second speaker was Clinical Associate Professor Geoffrey A.                         The University of Houston Law
        Hoffman, who discussed the recent attempts at a travel ban along                        Center’s Juvenile & Capital
        with citizenship and immigration cases. Hoffman, director of the Law                    Advocacy Project was recently
        Center’s Immigration Clinic, recounted when he helped immigrants                        awarded a $100,000 grant from
        affected by the ban by volunteering at George Bush Intercontinental                     The Simmons Foundation to
        Airport in late January.                                                                support its record-sealing program
        “I felt like I was in a moment of history,” Hoffman said. “I spent from                 and to develop a program for dual-
        11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the airport. It was quite an experience. Protestors               status youth.
        arrived in the afternoon, and Terminal E was completely flooded with                    Dual-status youth — often referred
        people. It was very dramatic.”                                                          to as “crossover youth” — are
        The session concluded with a general discussion about the October 2016                  children who are simultaneously
        Supreme Court Term with Professor Peter Linzer and Josh Blackman,                       involved in the juvenile justice
        an associate professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston.                       system and foster care system;
        Attendees received 2.75 hours of continuing legal education credit.                     they suffer from histories of abuse
                                                                                                and neglect. Without appropriate
                                                                                                and targeted interventions and
                                                                                       Katya Dow  specialized legal representation,


        18                                                                                                        Briefcase 2018
   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23