There are more than 70 vacancies on the federal bench. It can take over eighteen months to fill a judicial vacancy.  Civil cases can take more than four years to resolve.  Although both major political parties agree that these facts present a crisis in the federal court system, they disagree over who is to blame.   C|M|LAW Professor Chris Sagers joined the The Civic Commons discussion on the subject.

The Civic Commons program was broadcast on WCPN 90.3 FM and is available here: http://theciviccommons.com/radioshow/crisis-in-the-courts

Former Governor of New Mexico and Libertarian Party candidate for President, Gary Johnson, has filed an antitrust law suit in federal court in California arguing that the major political parties have monopolized politics.  He argues that the Democrats, the Republicans, and the Commission on Presidential Debates have conspired to exclude other candidates in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

To read Sagers’ comments, click here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-sagers/gary-johnson-antitrust-pl_b_1917570.html

C|M|LAW Professor Milena Sterio attended attend the 11th meeting of the U.N. Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, Working Group 2, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on September 17-18, 2012. Along with Professor Michael Scharf of Case Western Reserve University Law School, she presented to the group in her capacity as an independent academic as well as a member of the Public International Law and Policy Group, Piracy Working Group.  The professors presentation concerned juvenile pirates – the treatment of detained juvenile pirates by the capturing and/or prosecuting state, as well as the need to aggressively detain and prosecute those who recruit juvenile pirates.

To read more about Professor Sterio’s experiences at the U.N. meeting, please read her blog post on IntLawGrrls at: http://www.intlawgrrls.com/2012/09/report-from-un-meeting-on-somali-piracy.html#more

Professor Deborah Geier

C|M|LAW Professor Deborah Geier commented on capital gains tax rates and their impact on the U.S. economy in the September 25, 2012, issue of the Wall Street Journal.  Her letter responds to a WSJ editorial  “A Capital Gains Primer“, published on September 22, 2012.   The editorial argues that a differential tax rate is fair and helps the economy   In her letter, Geier makes four points arguing that this is not true.

This is Professor Geier’s second published Wall Street Journal Letter to the Editor in a six week period.

To read the original editorial, click here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303753904577452260437934858.html

To read Professor Geier’s letter, click here:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444358804578016361006648802.html

Please tune in to WCPN 90.3 FM radio at 8 p.m. this Thursday, September 27, to hear Talking Foreign Policy, featuring C|M|LAW Professor Milena Sterio.  With the presidential election just weeks away, this one-hour broadcast focuses on presidential power in a war without end.  The program begins with a conversation with Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith, who served as Assistant Attorney General in the George W. Bush Administration and is the author of the new book “Power and Constraint: The Accountable Presidency at After 9/11”.  Later in the hour, Baher Azmy, Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Mike Newton, of Vanderbilt Law School, and C|M|LAW’s Sterio join the discussion hosted by Professor Michael Sharf (Case).

C|M|LAW Professor Lolita K. Bucker Inniss published a Letter to the Editor at page A13 of the September 15-16, 2012  Wall Street Journal.  The letter was a response to a essay by Paul Tough entitled Opting Out of the ‘Rug Rat Race.  In commenting on the role of nonocognitive skills such as perseverance and grit in helping a child get ahead in life, Inniss argues that “Hard work and toughness are invaluable, but strong parental support and early economic advantages are what work to get children ahead.

Professor Inniss’ letter is available here: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444023704577649681287960356.html

The essay to which she responds is available here:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443819404577635352783638934.html?KEYWORDS=paul+tough

C|M|LAW Professor Susan J. Becker, who serves as President of the Ohio ACLU, participated on September 19, 2012, in a webcast sponsored by the National LGBT Bar Association (an affiliate of the ABA) . Professor Becker addressed the issue of voter suppression in Ohio, the legal challenges to voting restrictions currently being litigated in this state, and the impact of suppression laws across the U.S. on LGBT voters. Former Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Lawrence Norden, Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice, were the other featured speakers. The program was broadcast live to National LGBT Bar members (who participated by sending questions via email to the program) and was then sent to 10,000 additional ABA members. The webcast is available here http://www.lgbtbar.org/resources/lecture-series/.   Additional information on voting rights in Ohio is available at http://www.acluohio.org/Vote/default.asp. Information on other states and national issues is available at http://www.brennancenter.org/content/section/category/voting_rights_elections/.