Margot Wallstrom, Swedish Foreign Minister

Professor and Associate Dean Milena Sterio has published a blog post on Intlawgrrls, discussing the Wallstrom Affair.  Margot Wallstrom is the Swedish Foreign Minister who openly criticized Saudi Arabia for its human (and women’s) rights abuses – particularly, for the Saudi regime’s decision to punish blogger and human rights activist, Raif Badawi, to a ten-year prison sentence and 1,000 lashes, and for the regime’s overall denial of the protection of women’s rights (as many know already, women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to travel or drive without a male guardian, and Saudi girls can be forced into child marriages).  The backlash against Wallstrom has been swift, by both Saudi Arabia and other, mostly Muslim and/or Arab states, as well as by others in the Swedish business community and government.  Professor Sterio’s post discusses the western media’s lack of coverage of the Wallstrom Affair and concludes that human (and women’s) rights appear to always lose out to other geo-political and business interests.

Professor Sterio’s post is available here.

Professor David Forte’s essay, “When Thomas Jefferson Read the Qur’an,” has been published by the Online Library of Law & Liberty, a production of The Liberty Fund.  It can be read here.  In this essay, Professor Forte reviews Professor Denise Spellberg’s book, “Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an: Islam and the Founders.”  Professor Spellberg is an Associate Professor of history and Middle eastern studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson, C|M|’s Steven W. Percy Distinguished Professor of Law, was interviewed on America’s Work Force, a daily radio show focusing on issues affecting American workers. It is hosted by Ed “Flash” Ferenc. The conversation concerned the Natural Gas Act and the process for natural gas pipeline eminent domain. In particular, the focus was on opportunities for public involvement. The show was aired on March 18, 2015 on WERE 1490 and is available here.

Professor and Associate Dean Milena Sterio published an article entitled “The Covert Use of Drones: How Secrecy Undermines Oversight and Accountability” in a special “Drones Issue” of the Albany Government Law Review (“Game of Drones: The Uses and Potential Abuses of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the U.S. and Abroad, Volume 8, Issue 1, 2015).  The Drones Issue of the Albany Government Law Review was published as follow up to a March 2014 symposium at Albany Law School, which had been featured in the Wall Street Journal (available here).  Professor Sterio’s contribution, and those of other contributors, had been solicited by the journal editors.

Clinical Professor Doron Kalir

As part of the faculty exchange program between University of Toledo Law School and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Clinical Professor Doron Kalir presented on March 17 his work-in-progress paper entitled “Same-Sex Marriage & Jewish Law: Time for a New Paradigm?” During his presentation, Prof. Kalir expressed his hope that the United States Supreme Court would soon grant the right to marry to all Americans, and that Jewish Law would follow suit.

Professor Karin Mika presented at the Rocky Mountain Regional Conference, which took place on March 6th and 7th at the University of New Mexico School of Law.  Professor Mika’s presentation was entitled “Does Size Really Matter? Intangibles as Affecting Course Evaluations as Well as Learning.”  Despite the provocative title, the presentation was about how various factors of the classroom — room size, class size, gender distribution, alpha students, etc. — affect perceptions of competency and what can be achieved in the classroom (both positively and negatively).  The discussion focused on what variables can be controlled and what, if anything, can be done when negative variables exist.

The Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Solo Incubator was featured in an article published by Crain’s Cleveland Business News entitled “Cleveland-Marshall Incubator if making convincing case.”  The article describes the solo incubator as one of the first such programs in the country and features two of its five current residents, Matthew Williams and Jeremy Adell (both 2013 graduates of C-M Law).  In addition, the article highlights the work of C-M Law Dean Craig Boise in creating the incubator, and of Chris Sagers, James A. Thomas Distinguished Professor of Law, who has been serving as the solo incubator program director.  According to the subtitle of this article, “[l]awyers who are getting their start can benefit from program.”

Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson

C|M|LAW’s Steven W. Percy Distinguished Professor of Law, Heidi Gorovitz Robertson has published a short piece in Crain’s Cleveland Business’ Energy Report regarding the Ohio Supreme Court’s recent decision concerning Munroe Falls, Ohio’s efforts to control shale oil and gas development within its jurisdiction. In Ohio Supreme Court leaves room for traditional zoning as it rejects Munroe Falls’ ordinances, she writes that although the court struck down Munroe Falls’ ordinances, the majority did so because they ran afoul of the state oil and gas law.  The state law gives sole and exclusive authority over the location, spacing, and permitting of oil and gas drilling operations to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.  Justice O’Donnell, in a separate concurrence, however, indicated that if Munroe Falls’ ordinances had been traditional zoning controls, rather than ordinances intertwined with a local permit requirement, he would have upheld them.  Robertson suggests that we will see local jurisdictions using more traditional zoning principles to protect their communities.  If so, Justice O’Donnell may join the three justices from the Munroe Falls dissent to form a new majority.

On March 6, Professor David Forte presented a paper entitled, “Religion and the Republic,” at the conference, Religion in the Public Square, held at Case Western Reserve Law School.

On Tuesday, March 10, Professor David Forte delivered a lecture entitled, “How Justice Cardozo Almost Saved the Commerce Clause and Our Freedoms,” at the McKinney Law School in Indianapolis, Indiana.