Last year, a Franklin County Municipal Judge presiding over a case between the City of Columbus and Greyhound Bus faced an unusual situation when the Mayor of Columbus contacted her directly on her private cell phone to express his opinion on the case. The Judge promptly disclosed the communication to both parties but kept the caller’s identity secret, only revealing that it was “an elected official.” Eventually, she disclosed the Mayor’s name, recused herself, and a new judge from outside Columbus was assigned. Despite the incident, the Mayor (whose identity was still unknown) easily won reelection. 

The question presented to several ethics-law professors was whether the Judge’s decision – to refuse to disclose the identity of the ex-parte communicator – was in line with the Judicial Code of Conduct. Professor Kalir opined that it was not. Insisting on hiding the identity of the ex-parte communicator runs flatly against the main tenets of Judicial Ethics, which includes impartiality, integrity, and independence of the Judiciary. In particular, such refusal violates Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct 2.9, which prohibits ex-parte communications with Judges.

The Columbus Dispatch article can be found here: https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2024/01/25/scholars-say-judge-mingo-should-have-disclosed-ginther-made-call/72273272007/

Professor Milena Sterio has contributed as a co-author to a White Paper addressing “Seizure of Russian Corporate Assets: Prosecution of Russian Corporations for War Crimes in Ukraine as a Precursor to Seizure of Frozen Corporate Assets in Foreign Jurisdictions.” Other authors include Professor Michael Kelly (Creighton University), Federica d’Alessandra (Oxford University), Dmytro Koval (National University of Kyiv-Mohla Academy and Stanford University), and Lydia Korostelova (Harvard University).

Professor Milena Sterio has been selected to serve as an Observer on behalf of the American Society of International Law at the 68th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. This session will take place from March 11-22, 2024, at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York.

Earlier this month, Professor Christa Laser was featured on the Silicon Valley Investor Club podcast, where she covered the lawsuit filed by the New York Times against Microsoft and OpenAI, alleging copyright infringement and business damage due to the use of the newspaper’s content in training AI tools like ChatGPT and Bing Chat.

For the complete podcast, you can listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea0SLSzSyyA

On Jan. 10, Professor Doron Kalir engaged in an extensive interview with Business Insider, discussing the “absolute immunity” claims presented by Mr. Trump’s lawyers during oral arguments before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In this interview, Professor Kalir expressed the view that if a student were to present similar arguments, they would likely receive a grade ranging between a “C” and a “D.” Despite the apparent legal setback, Professor Kalir acknowledged that strategically, the lawyers have likely achieved their goal. By steering the case toward the U.S. Supreme Court, they have effectively delayed the commencement of the trial scheduled for March 2024, which was, presumably, their intended objective from the outset.

The interview is available here: A law professor grades the legal argument Trump’s lawyer just made about presidential immunity: C or D

Professor Brandon Stump has authored a contribution titled “Using Prose to Create Legal Pros” in the second volume of Carolina Academic Press’ Beyond the First Year: Integrating Doctrine & Diversity. The table of contents can be accessed at https://cap-press.com/pdf/9781531024505.pdf

The book launch party is scheduled for Thursday, February 15, 2024, where Professor Stump will participate as a panelist. In alignment with discussions held with the editorial team, the celebration is set to feature engaging conversations with professors who have authored submissions in this latest volume. The event will offer a sneak peek into various essays delving into classes across the upper-level curriculum.