Professors Sterio and Shen Speak at a Public Forum on Venezuela at CSU College of Law

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Professors  Milena Sterio and Kyle Shen spoke at a public forum at the CSU College of Law on January 13, on the topic of “The U.S. Attacks Against Venezuela: Does Might Make Right?” The event was recorded and is available on demand.

Professors Sterio and Shen discussed various international law issues related to the January 3 U.S. attack against Venezuela, as well as the kidnapping of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro and his wife.  Some of the international law topics discussed included use of force issues under the United Nations Charter and related customary law; jurisdiction to enforce; the ability of federal courts to prosecute defendants who had been forcibly brought to the U.S.; recognition of governments; and head-of-state immunity.  In addition, Professors Sterio and Shen discussed the global implications of U.S. actions in Venezuela, and the risks associated therewith from a multi-lateral geo-political perspective.  

This event was sponsored by CSU College of Law’s International Law Center.  

Professor Sterio Participates in Legal Face-Off Radio Program

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Professor Milena Sterio participated in an episode of the Legal Face-Off Radio Program on Chicago’s WGN station.  In this episode, Professor Sterio was interviewed regarding the legality of U.S. action in Venezuela, including the kidnapping of Venezuela’s President Maduro, as well as the prosecution of Maduro and his wife in the Southern District of New York.  The episode is available on the WGN Radio website, as well as on various social media: 

Professor Sterio concluded that the U.S. actions in Venezuela were illegal under international law as they violated the U.N. Charter as well as corresponding customary law, which bans states from using force against each other.  Professor Sterio also opined that the U.S. prosecution of Maduro in the Southern District of New York will most likely proceed.  She explained that U.S. federal district court judges tend to defer to the executive branch on matters implicating foreign relations and national security. Moreover, there is Supreme Court precedent confirming that a forcibly kidnapped defendant can nonetheless be prosecuted in U.S. court, and precedent from the 1989-90 Panama situation, where the leader of Panama, General Noriega, was prosecuted by U.S. court despite his claims of sovereign immunity.  Last, Professor Sterio discussed legal issues surrounding the enforcement of arrest warrants extra-territorially; she concluded that jurisdiction to enforce is purely territorial under international law and that the U.S. violated international law when it arrested Maduro in Venezuela.  

Professor Debbie Hoffman Publishes on Digital Assets and Estate Planning

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Professor Deborah Hoffman, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at CSU Law, has published an article titled “Digital Assets and Estate Planning: Preventing and Resolving Trust and Probate Challenges,” co-authored with Wesley Brandi, CTO of Praefortis. The article appears in the January/February 2026 issue of ABA Probate & Property, a publication of the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section.

The article addresses the growing intersection of digital assets and traditional estate planning, as cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other blockchain-based holdings become increasingly common in trusts and probate proceedings. It explores the unique challenges these assets present, including inventory and documentation gaps, access issues involving private keys and recovery phrases, and limitations fiduciaries may face under federal and state law.

The article also speaks to practical strategies for estate planners and fiduciaries, including drafting trust provisions that authorize access and management of digital assets, planning for secure custody and recovery, and anticipating disputes that may arise when assets are missing, inaccessible, or alleged to be misappropriated. It is aimed at trusts and estates attorneys, fiduciaries, and litigators navigating the legal and technical realities of digital wealth.

Professor Sterio Presents at the AALS; Elected Treasurer of International Law Section

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Professor Sterio presented on six different panels at the AALS Annual Meeting in New Orleans.  

On January 6, she spoke on a Hot Topics panel entitled “Ukrainian Resilience on the Front Lines of Democracy: What is the Role of International Law?.  On January 7, she spoke on a panel entitled “Declaring a Climate Emergency,” where she focused on the recent rulings by international and regional courts establishing that there is a human right to live in a healthy environment. 

Also on January 7, Professor Sterio spoke on a late-breaking panel, which she also organized, on “Maduro’s Capture and the Venezuelan Incursion: Untying the Legal Knots?”  On January 8, she presented at two teaching/pedagogy panels, on the topics of “Teaching Human Rights: From Specialized Courses to Doctrinal Integration” and “Teaching International Law & Intergroup Dialogue in Challenging Times” (Professor Sterio organized the latter panel as well).  Finally, also on January 8, Professor Sterio provided comments to a junior scholar on a panel entitled “New Voices in International Human Rights and International Law.”  

Professor Sterio was also elected Treasurer of the International Law Section; she continues to serve on the Executive Committees of the International Human Rights Law and the National Security Law Sections, where she is past chair.  

Professor Sterio Publishes Blog Post on Venezuela

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On January 6, Professor Milena Sterio published a blog post on Opinio Juris, a leading international law blog, where she discussed the legality of the U.S. attacks against Venezuela and the related abduction of Nicolas Maduro. Her post is titled “The United States’ Attack Against Venezuela: Might Does Not Make Right.”

Professor Sterio concludes that the U.S. violated Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter, as well as customary law, when it launched its January 3 attack against Venezuela, and when it kidnapped then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Professor Sterio also concludes that this type of military intervention by a Great Power represents problematic policy, as it opens the door to other similar interventions across the world.

Professor Sterio Interviewed Regarding Venezuela and Lindsay’s Halligan’s Appointment 

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Professor Milena Sterio appeared on a segment of Bloomberg News live on January 7.  She discussed the legality of the U.S. attacks against Venezuela and the related kidnapping of Nicolas Maduro.  She also focused on legal issues surrounding Maduro’s now ongoing prosecution in the Southern District of New York. 

Professor Sterio also appeared on Fox News – DC on January 7, in a live news segment, where she discussed the recent decision by a federal district judge to request that Lindsay Halligan explain how and why she keeps acting as U.S. Attorney, in light of a November 2025 ruling by a different federal judge, who had ruled that she had been improperly appointed.  

Professor Sterio Comments in Media on US Attack on Venezuela

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Professor Milena Sterio has been quoted in the media extensively regarding the United States’ attack against Venezuela on Jan. 3.  Professor Sterio was quoted in a Reuters article titled “Legality of US capture of Venezuela’s Maduro in focus at United Nations.”

She was also interviewed by Fox 5 (DC) on January 3, where she offered live commentary following President Trump’s Press Conference. In addition, she was interviewed on the Air Talk radio show (Los Angeles NPR station) on January 5; the episode is available for on-demand listening here.

Finally, she was quoted in a BBC article (“Trump’s seizure of Maduro raises thorny legal questions, in US and abroad“) on January 5.

Professor Debbie Hoffman Publishes on Cryptocurrency and Commercial and Real Estate Closings

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Professor Deborah Hoffman, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at CSU Law, has published an article titled “Locked Out at Closing: When Crypto Fails at the Closing Table,” co-authored with Wesley Brandi, CTO of Praefortis. The article is published in ACC Docket, the publication of the Association of Corporate Counsel.

The article addresses the increasing use of cryptocurrency in commercial and real estate transactions and the legal issues that can arise when digital assets are part of a closing. It examines problems such as custody failures, frozen wallets, lost private keys, and disruptions involving third-party platforms, each of which can delay or prevent a transaction from closing.

The article focuses on how these issues fit within existing real estate and transactional law frameworks and discusses the role of counsel in addressing them through diligence, deal structure, and contract drafting. It is aimed at in-house counsel and transactional attorneys advising clients where digital assets are involved.

Plain Dealer Publishes Professor Kalir’s Op-Ed on the Growing Rift Between The Supreme Court and Lower Courts

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On December 17, Professor Kalir published an op-ed on Cleveland.com titled, “Texas redistricting case highlights growing judicial rift.” In the op-ed, Professor Kalir reviewed the recent Supreme Court “shadow docket” opinion in the Texas redistricting case. In that case, the Court reversed a 160-page opinion by the lower court with a short statement, without oral argument and without any real reasoning. In dissent, Justice Kagan highlighted the paradox of overruling such a thorough work product with a cursory review “over a holiday weekend.” Professor Kalir, following a New York Times survey among lower-court judges, argued that this opinion is a harbinger of a growing rift between the “one Supreme Court” and “other inferior courts” that the Constitution had invested with the “judicial power” of the United States. 

Professor Kalir’s Paper on Human Dignity Selected for Presentation at the Inaugural “Faith, Values, and the Rule of Law: An Interdisciplinary Conference”

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On February 4-5, Seton Hall Law School will host its first-ever “Faith, Values, and the Rule of Law: An Interdisciplinary Conference.” The conference will examine “how the world’s greatest religious, theological, and philosophical traditions have all contributed to the understanding of justice and human dignity that underscore modern rule of law principles,” bringing together “scholars in law, theology, religious studies, philosophy, political science, international affairs, history, literature, ethics, and related disciplines.” 

Professor Kalir’s paper, “Jewish Human Dignity:  Equality Before God & Men,” was selected for presentation at the Conference. The paper traces the notion of “K’vod Ha’Adam” – human dignity – in the Jewish bible as one of the main origins of the modern notion of equality. It further claims that understanding equality in such terms should trigger a rebuttable presumption of “leveling up” of equality-violation remedies, an issue that has long been portrayed as “one of the most vexing issues of constitutional equality.”