Professor Christa Laser presented her forthcoming paper, “Legal Issues in Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and NFTs,” on April 15 at PatCon: The Annual Patent Conference, held at Northwestern School of Law. 

Professor Milena Sterio participated in a panel discussion with Dean Michael Scharf (Case Western Reserve University School of Law) on April 18 at the City Club of Cleveland, on the topic of “Ukraine and Accountability.”  The panel discussion was organized by the Greater Cleveland International Lawyers’ Group.

In addition, Professor Sterio participated in a symposium at Pace Law School on April 14, on the topic of “21^st Century Conflict: International Law and the War in Ukraine.”  Professor Sterio presented at a panel entitled “Prosecuting International Crimes,” and her remarks focused on the different accountability options for prosecuting perpetrators of atrocities in Ukraine, as well as on related issues, such as head-of-state immunity.  

On April 4, Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich appeared live in studio for WKYC Channel 3 news to discuss the indictment and arraignment of former President Donald Trump. Professor Witmer-Rich also discussed the case the next morning, April 5, on Ideastream’s The Sound of Ideas, along with CWRU Law Professor Emeritus Jonathan Entin.

Professor Milena Sterio will contribute a chapter on the topic of “International Criminal Law in the United States” to the Elgar handbook on Comparative Enforcement of International Law.  The volume will appear in the Elgar Research Handbook Series, edited by Francesco Parisi and Tom Ginsburg, and will gather around thirty international scholars from a variety of jurisdictions and perspectives, who will discuss the domestic and transnational enforcement of international law as it takes place in various regions and legal systems. 

Professor Sterio also will contribute an entry on the topic of “Sef-Determination and Secession” to the Edward Elgar Encyclopedia on Law and Peace.  The Encyclopedia is co-edited by Professor Louise Malinder (Queen’s University Belfast), Rachel Killean (University of Sydney), and Lauren Dempster (Queen’s University Belfast).

On March 28, Professor Emeritus Deborah Geier appeared on WKSU’s “Sound of Ideas” show to discuss HB 1, a proposal of the Ohio House of Representatives dealing with state taxation.

On March 31, Professor Matthew Green participated in a symposium addressing “Contemporary Legal Issues Facing Education” hosted by the law review at Widener University Commonwealth Law School. Professor Green’s presentation focused on the harm inflicted upon transgender students when they are denied access to sex-segregated spaces that align with their gender identity, the role that harm or injury plays in determining whether disparate treatment on the basis of gender identity is tantamount to “unlawful discrimination” on the basis of sex under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, and how forthcoming Department of Education regulations interpreting Title IX are expected to address these issues. 

Professor Christa Laser’s article, Rethinking Patent’s Law Exclusive Appellate Jurisdiction, made the list of the “top ten most downloaded recent papers” in the following subjects on SSRN while in its first sixty days of publication: Patents; Law of Technology, Innovation, & Media; Intellectual Property; Litigation & Procedure; and Entrepreneurship & Law.

Professor Laser presented the paper at talks including at George Washington University Law School.

Professor Milena Sterio presented at an event entitled “The Artsakh Conflict: International Law, Self-Determination, and Remedial Secession” on March 9. Professor Sterio’s remarks focused on international law issues, such as self-determination and secession, as they relate to the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict involving Armenia and Azerbaijan (“Artsakh” is the Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh).

Professor Milena Sterio co-authored an article titled “Prosecuting Gender Persecution at the ICC — Definitions, Policies, and Practice” with Professor Yvonne Dutton (Indiana University McKinney School of Law).  Professor Sterio and Professor Dutton’s article will be published by the Fordham Journal of International Law.

On March 15, the Business Insider published a piece discussing a recent move by the DeSantis Administration in Florida to revoke an alcohol license from a Hyatt Hotel in Miami. The threatened revocation was in response to the hotel hosting last December — and for the eighth year in a row — a show titled “The Drag Quin Christmas Show.” Never before has this show seem to offend Florida law, but this year it has, according to a Complaint filed by Florida administrators. Professor Kalir, who was cited in the piece, opined that the very filing of the Complaint — regardless of its legal consequences — may serve the Administration in two ways: First, it may cause a “chilling effect” on both future performers and future venue-managers when it comes to the hosting (or performing in) future drag shows; and, second, even if defeated in Court, the very filing of the complaint may score political points with the Administration’s base. Thus, the move can be seen as a “win-win” for the Administration regardless of its legal consequences. Still, Professor Kalir argued, it violates the very foundations of the bedrock principle of Freedom of Speech, as well as principles of non-intervening Government and personal responsibility.