Professor Michael Borden presented on October 9 at a conference hosted by “l’Incubateur du Barreau de Paris” – the Incubator of the Paris Bar.  Professor Borden participated in a panel discussion on the problems with legal education in France.

Professor and Associate Dean Mark Sundahl participated in a roundtable discussion on November 3^rd regarding the regulation of orbital space activity.  The roundtable took place at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. as part of the University of Nebraska’s Annual Washington, D.C. Space Law Conference.  The invitation-only roundtable brought together government, industry, and academic leaders in the field of space law to brainstorm how best to begin to regulate new types of space activity that will soon be taking place in Earth orbit and beyond.

No governmental agency currently has authority to regulate activities such as the operation of private space stations, on-orbit satellite servicing, and asteroid mining.  Yet international law requires that the United States government “authorize and continually supervise” the space activity of its nationals.  As U.S. companies launch these new ventures, Congress must act in order to comply with its international obligations and ensure that U.S. companies use space in an orderly and beneficial manner.

Professor and Associate Dean Milena Sterio was invited to write a book review for the Melbourne Journal of International Law, a peer-reviewed journal published at Melbourne Law School (Australia).  Professor Sterio will review “Self-Determination and Secession in International Law,” edited by Christian Walter, Antje von Ungern-Sternberg, and Kavus Abushov.  This book examines the concepts of self-determination and secession in international law, and analyzes how the rights to self-determination and secession have been understood in reference to particular conflicts.  Professor Sterio’s review essay will be published in volume 16(1) of the Journal.

Dennis Keating, Professor at the Levin College of Urban Affairs and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, presented at the 54th Annual Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning in Philadelphia. Professor Keating was a speaker on two different panels: “The Future of Detroit” and “Resilience and Regeneration in Legacy Cities.”

Professor and Associate Dean Milena Sterio participated in a panel discussion on the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) at Case Law School, on November 4.  The event was organized and sponsored by the International Law Students’ Association at Case, and the other participants included Case Law Dean Michael Scharf and Professor Pete Moore from the Case Western Reserve University Political Science Department.

Professor Lewis presented on October 31 at the North East Ohio Faculty Colloquium, a joint one-day symposium organized by C-M Law, as well as by Case Western Reserve University Law School and Akron Law School.  Professor Lewis’ topic was “Due Date: Enforcing Surrogacy Promises in the Best Interest of the Child.”

Professor Heidi Govovitz Robertson was interviewed extensively by an ideastream  reporter regarding the anti-fracking activists’ attempts, in Gates Mills and elsewhere, to use a rights-based approach to banning the technology.  A portion of Professor Robertson’s interview was used in a story on this subject which aired on 90.3 WCPN on October 31.  The news story, quoting Professor Robertson, is available here.

Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich’s article,  “The Rapid Rise of Delayed Notice Searches, and the Fourth Amendment ‘Rule Requiring Notice,'” published in the Pepperdine Law Review article on “sneak and peek” searches was highlighted and extensively quoted on October 31 by Orin Kerr at the Volokh Conspiracy (available here).

Professor Kerr notes a recent report by the Electronic Frontier Foundation on the rise in “sneak and peek” searches.  Professor Kerr then quotes from Professor Witmer-Rich’s article to explain that the data the EFF is using is likely misleading.  He concludes:  “It may be that the number of sneak-and-peek warrants is up, and perhaps up a lot. But, unfortunately, we don’t know that either way. As Professor Witmer-Rich says, the reporting requirement appears to be broken.”

Professor Chris Sagers published an op-ed in the October 30 edition of the Plain Dealer entitled “Why fans can’t win when it comes to buying concert, game tickets.” 

In this op-ed, Professor Sagers criticizes ticketing policies for major sports/concert events by big ticketing companies, such as Ticketmaster and Veritix.  These ticketing companies already controlled initial ticket sales, but are now attempting to control ticket re-sales as well.  According to Sagers, “[t]he end result will likely be higher ticket prices all around. ”  Sagers thus argues that policy makers should step in, to prevent further abuses and ensure that healthy competition regarding ticket re-sales continues.