Professor Lewis Presents at Health Law Conference at UC Hastings

Leon and Gloria Plevin Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Health Law and Policy, Browne Lewis, participated in a panel discussion at the 37th Annual Health Law Professors Conference at the University of California Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, California, on June 6, 2014. Professor Lewis participated on the panel with three other Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholars in Residence.  She described her experience as a Scholar in Residence working with the Cleveland Public Health Department (CPHD) to address the public health issue of small cigar smoking among minors. 
 
According to Professor Lewis, the number of young people smoking cigarettes has declined.  However, the number of middle school and high school students smoking small cigars has increased by 124%.  Professor Lewis’ project at the CPHD focused upon the laws that could be put in place to discourage young people from smoking small cigars.  Her recommendations included passing resolutions that ban the sale of small cigars containing flavored tobacco, prohibit the sale of small cigars in packs of less than twenty, and require point-of-sale warnings about the dangers of tobacco use.  Professor Lewis also proposed that the CPHD take steps to education parents and children about the negative health consequences of smoking small cigars.

Sterio Participates in Radio Show “Talking Foreign Policy”

The Charles R. Emrick Jr. – Calfee Halter & Griswold Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Enrichment, Milena Sterio, participated in the “Talking Foreign Policy” radio show on WCPN 90.3 on June 5. Professor Sterio has been a regular participant in this quarterly radio show, hosted by Interim Dean and Professor Michael Scharf of Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and dedicated to the discussion of current foreign policy issues.  This episode, entitled “Russian Roulette: Ripples from Ukraine,” focused on the crisis in Ukraine and the American-Russian relations as this crisis unfolds.  Other participants included Professor Paul Williams of American University Washington College of Law, and Dr. Shannon French, Director of Case Western’s Inamori Center for Ethics and Excellence.  This episode will be broadcast on WCPN 90.3 on Tuesday, June 10, at 9:00 p.m.

Professor Kalir Presents at the Association of American Law Schools’ Midyear Meeting

Clinical Professor of Law Doron Kalir presented on Friday, June 6, at the AALS Workshop on Sexual Orientation and Gender Issues, part of the 2014 Midyear Meeting in Washington, D.C. Professor Kalir presented his work-in-progress article, “Same-Sex Marriage & Jewish Law: Time for a New Paradigm?” Audience members included colleague Professor Matthew Green, as well as professors from Columbia, NYU, and Indiana Law Schools.   

Professor Ray Presents at Law and Society Annual Meeting

Joseph C. Hostetler-Baker & Hostetler Professor of Law Brian Ray presented several draft chapters from his forthcoming book, Social Rights, South Africa and the Promise of Engagement (forthcoming with Cambridge University Press) at the June 2014 Law & Society Association meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Professor Ray also chaired a panel on differing approaches to judicial interpretation at the same conference.

Professor Lewis Publishes New Article

Aside

Leon and Gloria Plevin Professor of Law Browne Lewis published a new article, Due Date: Enforcing Surrogacy Promises in the Best Interest of the Child, 87 St. John’s L. Rev. 899.  In the article, Professor Lewis argues that the courts should apply contract principles and not family law principles to resolve surrogacy disputes.  Since children are unique, Professor Lewis argues, courts should presume that the contract should be specifically enforced.  As a result, the intended mother should be adjudicated the legal mother.  However, Professor Lewis further argues that the surrogate should be able to present evidence of changed circumstances to rebut the presumption of specific performance and permit the court to determine maternity based upon the best interests of the child.  Congratulations to Professor Lewis on this new publication.

Sterio Speaks on Syria at Law and Society Annual Meeting

Professor Milena Sterio spoke on the legality of unilateral humanitarian intervention in the context of Syria, at the Law and Society Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 29.  The title of Professor Sterio’s remarks was: “The (Il)legality of Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention in Syria.”  Professor Sterio’s argument was that unilateral humanitarian intervention in internal conflicts, such as the one in Syria, should be “legalized” under a carefully developed normative framework.  Professor Sterio will be publishing a version of this paper with the Brooklyn Journal of International Law later this year.