Dean Craig M. Boise

Dean and Joseph C. Hostetler – BakerHostetler Chair in Law, Craig Boise, participated as a panelist in a WCPN/90.3 radio program, The Sound of Ideas, on May 27.  The program focused on the recently negotiated consent decree on policing reform between the City of Cleveland and the Department of Justice.  In addition to Dean Boise, other panelists included Subodh Chandra, former Cleveland law director, Julia Shearson, Collaborative for a Safe, Fair and Just Cleveland, and Mark Urycki, ideastream reporter.  The archived show is available for listening here.

On May 27, 2015, Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich was quoted on NPR’s Morning Edition, explaining some of the details of the consent decree announced on Tuesday between the U.S. Department of Justice and the City of Cleveland.  A DOJ investigation previously found that the Cleveland Division of Police engaged in a pattern and practice of unconstitutional uses of force.  The consent decree is designed to put an end to abuses, create new guidelines for the use of force, and strengthen oversight and accountability within the police department.  The Morning Edition program is available here.

Professor and Associate Dean Milena Sterio’s article, “Self-Determination and Secession Under International Law: The New Framework,” was published in the Spring 2015, volume 21, number 2 issue of the ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law.  Professor Sterio had presented a version of this article at the International Law Weekend conference in New York City in October 2014.

In addition, Professor Sterio’s article, “Humanitarian Intervention Post Syria: Legitimate and Legal?” was published by the Brooklyn Journal of International Law, in volume 40, issue 1 (2014).

Professor Karin Mika’s  article on “How to Have an Effective Student Conference” was one of the articles featured in the AALS Spring Newsletter for the Section on Legal Writing, Reasoning, and Research.  A copy of the article is available below.  AALS_Newsletter_2015_Spring_Final

Legal Writing Professor Claire Robinson-May

Professor Claire Robinson May’s new play, The Silent Princess, will be produced by Talespinner Children’s Theatre.  The play is an adaptation of a Turkish folktale; its production is suitable for all ages, and it will include music, dance, puppets, and audience interaction. The play opens Saturday, June 6 and runs through Sunday, June 28. Show times are Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Pay what you can performances on Sunday, June 7, and every Friday of the run: June 12, 19, & 26. Talespinner Children’s Theatre is located in the Gordon Square Arts District in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood, near numerous restaurants and the Sweet Moses ice cream parlor.

More information about the play  is available here.

Professor Alan Weinstein

Professor Weinstein presented Friday, May 8 at the Inaugural Annual Sustainability Conference for Legal Educators at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. More than 60 law faculty members from over 50 law schools attended, including the law schools at: Berkeley, NYU, Stanford, Vanderbilt & Yale. Professor Weinstein’s presentation, “What Can Legal Educators Learn About Sustainability from Urban Planning Researchers and Practitioners?,” argued that the answer to his question is “a great deal.” Comparing the law literature on Sustainability with the planning literature, Professor Weinstein found that the planning literature focused significantly more on: (1) empirical data, particularly as regards actual implementation; (2) the need to balance Sustainability policy goals with other critical goals — particularly those associated with “at-risk” groups — such as social equity, and enhanced employment opportunities; and (3) the role of design-based policies to achieve Sustainability goals. He argued that these findings strongly suggest that: (1) legal scholars could obtain useful information from the planning literature, particularly empirical data; and (2) legal scholars should seek opportunities for collaborative projects with planning researchers and practitioners.

Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich

On May 13, 2015, Associate Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich was a featured speaker on “The Sound of Ideas,” on 90.3 WCPN.  Along with other panelists, he discussed a proposal by state Senator Sandra Williams to abolish or modify the use of grand juries in the state of Ohio.  In addition, the panelists discussed problems with plea bargaining.  Professor Witmer-Rich argued that preliminary hearings would be a better process for screening most cases than the grand jury system.

The archived episode of the radio show is available here.

Professor Milena Sterio (center) with participants of the Human Rights Documentation workshop in Nairobi, Kenya (Victoria Akur, left, and Grace John, right – representatives of South Sudan’s civil society organizations)

Professor and Associate Dean, Milena Sterio, participated in a four-day workshop entitled “Human Rights Documentation in South Sudan” in Nairobi, Kenya, as a consultant for the Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG).  PILPG is a Nobel Peace Prize-nominated non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C., whose mission is to provide legal assistance to states and governments with the negotiation and implementation of peace agreements, the drafting of post-conflict constitutions, and the creation and operation of war crimes tribunals.

PILPG has been involved with several projects in South Sudan already; the human rights documentation project, which Professor Sterio participated in, brought together about forty participants – representatives from South Sudan civil society organizations, the United Nations, as well as several PILPG members from the Washington, D.C. and Nairobi offices, to draft a road map agreement which South Sudanese organizations can implement in order to begin documenting human rights violations.  The documentation is an important step toward peace-building, reconciliation, and accountability.

Professor Sterio published a blog post on Intlawgrrls, describing the workshop in more detail; the post is available here.

Clinical Professor Doron Kalir

Clinical Professor of Law Doron Kalir was named, on May 13, a member of the Board of Directors of the Cleveland Hillel Foundation. The Cleveland Hillel, founded in 1947, was created to engage and empower Jewish students on and off campuses around the Cleveland area. Kalir, who serves as the faculty adviser of the Jewish Student Law Association (JLSA) at Cleveland-Marshall, and is a frequent lecturer at synagogues around town, was truly excited about the nomination: “I am truly honored by the Board decision to allow me join their ranks,”  says Professor Kalir. “These are some trying times for Jewish students in campuses across the country, and I am certain that the Cleveland Hillel Board is the best forum prepare, engage, and support these students all around Cleveland.”