Professor Browne Lewis

Congratulations to Professor Browne Lewis, who is the recipient of a Fulbright Grant (core) for the spring of 2016, for the United Kingdom.  Professor Lewis will spend the spring semester 2016 at King’s College in London, where she will conduct research about physician-assisted suicide.  The United Kingdom is one of the most competitive host countries for the purposes of Fulbright grants; thus, Professor Lewis’ selection is particularly impressive.

Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich’s article, “The Fatal Flaws in the ‘Sneak and Peek’ Statute and How to Fix It,” 65 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 121 (2014), has just been published in the Case Western Reserve Law Review.  The article identifies problems with the existing statute authorizing delayed notice search warrants, including problems that arguably render the statute unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment.  The article then proposes a set of statutory amendments that would fix the problems and render the statute constitutional.

Associate Dean Mark Sundahl was quoted in a February 24 article on Space.com regarding the recent action by the FAA in response to a request by Bigelow Aerospace to establish a habitat on the Moon.  Bigelow requested that the FAA ensure that other U.S. companies would not interfere with Bigelow’s operations once the habitat is established.  Sundahl commented on the legality of the FAA’s action under international space law and whether the FAA has the power to take actions regarding lunar operations under the current scope of the agency’s jurisdiction.  The article can be found  here.

On February 20th, Associate Dean Mark Sundahl moderated a panel on space law at Florida International University’s Aviation & Space Law Symposium in Miami.  The panel participants, which included NASA’s chief lawyer for the International Space Station, discussed a number of issues related to developments in the U.S. and abroad in the regulation of the private human spaceflight industry.  The symposium was filmed and can be viewed in its entirety through this link.

Heidi Gorovitz Robertson,C|M|LAW’s Steven W. Percy Distinguished Professor of Law, presented Shale Oil and Gas Regulation in the U.S. – Variations in Governance and Local Control, at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, in Lucknow, India, on February 14, 2015​ .  The lecture was part of a month-long Fulbright Specialist grant visit, during which she also taught a course on International Environmental Law for upper level law students.

Professor Joseph Mead filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on behalf of a pro bono client, Keith Allison, who was removed from his school teacher position for commentary on dairy agriculture.  The client had posted a note, on his own time, on Facebook urging readers to choose plant-based milk.  The school district refused to renew Allison’s teaching contract for the next school year because a dairy farmer objected to the post.  The complaint includes an email sent by the superintendent to the school board explaining the district’s policy that “we need our teachers to really consider the whole community when doing these sorts of things [i.e., making public statements], especially when our biggest tax payers are dairy farmers.”  The complaint argues that this policy and Allison’s contract non-renewal violates Allison’s constitutional right to free speech, and seeks back pay, a court order declaring the policy unconstitutional, and other relief against the school board, the board members, and the superintendent.

After Professor Mead had sent a letter to the school board on Allison’s behalf in December 2014, the District hired Allison in another teaching role, but it refused to change its policy or provide Allison with full back pay.  The complaint has been covered in several local media outlets.  Professor Mead, who holds a joint appointment with the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, previously litigated constitutional cases for the United States Department of Justice, and is handling this case in cooperation with the ACLU of Ohio.

The complaint can be accessed here.

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.