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.

Professor Robinson May has been selected as a playwright for Talespinner Children’s Theatre‘s 2015 season. Her play, “The Silent Princess,” is an adaptation of a Turkish folktale, and will run June 6-28, 2015. The 2015 season was announced at Talespinner’s annual Harlequinade Benefit on October 18.

In an article appearing on the Canadian News Corporations’s website, Associate Dean Mark Sundahl commented on the recent explosion of Orbital Science’s Antares rocket as it lifted off on its way to the International Space Station to deliver cargo.  Sundahl discussed the potential repercussions of the launch failure on the broader commercial space industry.  The full article can be found here.

Professor and Associate Dean Milena Sterio presented on a panel entitled “Self-Determination, Secession, and Non-Intervention in the Age of Crimea and Kosovo” on October 24, at the 2014 International Law Weekend, a premier conference in international law organized and sponsored by the American Branch of the International Law Association and the International Law Students’ Association.  The conference, as always, took place at the offices of the New York City Association of the Bar, and at Fordham Law School.

Professor Sterio’s remarks focused on the need to develop a new normative framework in international law on the subject of secession.  International law presently affords specific groups (“peoples”) the right to self-determination and remedial secession only in the decolonization/occupation context, but international law is neutral on the issue of secession for any groups outside these two paradigms.  Professor Sterio argued for the need to advance international law in order to develop specific criteria for secession, which would apply to secessionist struggles.

The other panelists, alongside Professor Sterio, included Professor Valerie Epps from Suffolk Law School, Professor Brad Roth from Wayne State Law School, and Professor John Cerone, a visiting professor at the University of Pittsburgh Law School and at the Flethcher School for Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.