On March 5, Professor Joseph Mead presented at Capital Law School as part of the faculty exchange program between Cleveland-Marshall and Capital Law School.  Professor Mead’s talk was entitled “Law and the Volunteer,” and it surveyed the ambiguous state of the law of volunteer liability and immunity, vicarious organizational liability for the misdeeds of the volunteer, and coverage of unpaid workers under federal and state “employee” protection laws such as anti-discrimination laws.  Professor Mead argued in this talk  that these doctrines are actually connected by a common doctrinal core, and that the law needs to give further attention to the legal status and value of volunteers.

Professor and Associate Dean Milena Sterio was asked to provide peer review and comments for an article submitted for possible publication with the Yale Law Journal (volume 125).  The article addresses the issue of state sovereignty and the possibility of designing market controls over sovereignty issues in general.

Clinical Professor Doron Kalir

Professor Doron Kalir assisted the Cuyahoga County Law Department in the preparation and filing of an amicus curiae brief before the Supreme Court, urging the high court to strike down same-sex marriage bans in Ohio and other states (Obergefell et al. v. Richard Hodges et al.).  Professor Kalir’s name, as well as his work on this brief, are mentioned in an article by the Plain Dealer available here; the 86-page amicus brief is also available in this article.

Chrisopher Sagers, James A. Thomas Distinguished Professor of Law, has published a blog post on the AntitrustConnect Blog, regarding the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners v. FTC.  Professor Sagers’ post is entitled “North Carolina Dentists is in the Hizzouse, Y’all! Woot Woot!” and it is available here.

C|M|LAW’s Steven W.Percy Professor of Law,Heidi Gorovitz Robertson, presented Shale Gas Revolution:  United States Experience in Regulating Hydraulic Fracturing, to the students and faculty of the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, in Dehradun, India, on February 23, 2015.​  This lecture was presented in conjunction with Professor Robertson’s Fulbright visit to India. While visiting UPES, ​Professor Robertson also met with students in the university’s oil and gas management program and held a Q and A session regarding the Gulf Coast oil spill.

Professor Alan Weinstein’s paper, entitled “Reporting on Sustainability Research and Implementation in Urban Planning,” has been accepted for presentation at the First Annual Sustainability Conference of American Legal Educators to be held on May 8, 2015 at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. This new conference will be an annual, national event for legal academics researching in sustainability-related areas such as:  Climate Change Law, Energy Law, Water Law, Environmental Law, Natural Resources Law, Land Use & Zoning Law, and Agricultural&  Food Law.

Professor David Forte’s essay, “Self-Government for the Self-Governed: The Role of Virtue in a Democratic Republic,” has been published by the Allan P. Kirby Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship of Hillsdale College.  The essay may be accessed here.

On February 24, 2015, C|M|LAW’s Steven W. Percy Distinguished Professor of Law, Heidi Gorovitz Robertson,was quoted in an article, Another Bid for Local Control Over Fracking Is Thwarted, by Zahra Hirji, on Inside Climate News, a non-partisan, non-profit, Pulitzer Prize winning news organization concentrating on issues of concern to the climate, energy, and environment. The article discusses the court’s plurality decision and considers the options that may remain for local jurisdictions, including the use of traditional zoning authority.​ Hirji interviewed Robertson via Skype from India,where Robertson is completing a Fulbright grant visit.

You may read the story here.

On Tuesday, February 16, 2015, Professor David Forte participated in a panel discussion on The Rise of Islamic Radicalism with Lt. Gen. (ret.) John R. Vines, former Commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, Jason Beardsley, Special Operations Advisor for Concerned Veterans for America, and Senator Ron Portman (R-Ohio), who gave a keynote address.  The event was sponsored by the Advisory Council of the Republican Party of Cuyahoga County and was held at Landerhaven in Beachwood, Ohio.​

Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson

C|M|LAW’s Steve W. Percy Distinguished Professor of Law, Heidi Gorovitz Robertson was interviewed by WCPN for a public radio news story, High Court Ruling Limits Local Power Over Gas Drilling, by Joanna Richards.  In the long-awaited decision (oral argument was heard in February 2014), the Ohio Supreme Court struck down five Munroe Falls, Ohio, local ordinances finding them in conflict with Ohio’s oil and gas statute, section 1509.02. Asked whether the decision favored industry or communities,“It’s a big win for industry,” said Heidi Robertson, an environmental law professor at Cleveland State University. She said Ohio isn’t the only energy-boom state seeing this power struggle. . . . . “Communities did better in New York and Pennsylvania,” Robertson said.​​

The WCPN story and Professor Robertson’s interview are available here.