Professor Milena Sterio participated in the Sound of Ideas radio program on June 26 on WCPN (Cleveland NPR-affiliate) discussing events of the Middle East, focusing in particular on the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict. 

Professor Milena Sterio participated in the “Talking Foreign Policy” radio show, broadcast on the Sound of Ideas on June 23, on the topic of President Trump’s foreign policy.  The episode also included Professors Harold Koh and Oona Hathaway (Yale Law School), Paul Williams (American University Washington College of Law), Kevin Nealer (former State Department official), and Professor Michael Scharf as host (CWRU School of Law). 

Professor Milena Sterio participated as a judge in the quarter-final and semi-final rounds of the International Criminal Court Moot Court Competition in The Hague, Netherlands, from June 16-18, in The Hague, Netherlands.  Professor Sterio is a member of the ICC Moot Court Competition’s Board of Directors, and in this capacity she participates every year in the development of the Moot Court problem.

Professor Sterio also participated as a speaker at a panel on the topic of “Prosecuting Environmental Crimes in Ukraine” on June 16, at Leiden University, Netherlands.  In addition to Professor Sterio, the panel discussion featured Andriy Kostin, Ukrainian Ambassador to the Netherlands.  Professor Sterio has been involved in training Ukrainian judges and prosecutors on prosecuting environmental war crimes; she participated in an in-person training in October 2024 in Poland, and will also participate in a similar training in October 2025, also in Poland.  The trainings are organized by the International Bar Association.  

On June 12-13, Professor Sterio participated in the annual meeting of the “Association Internationale de Droit Penal” (International Penal Law Association) in Paris, France.  Professor Sterio currently serves as the U.S. Chapter President of the AIDP  and has played a prominent role in the organization, including developing U.S. national reports on several international penal law topics, and serving as general rapporteur for AIDP’s previous scientific cycle.

Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich appeared on WKYC Channel 3 to discuss bail issues in the prosecution of Gregory Moore for the murder of Eliza Sherman. Moore is charged with stabbing Sherman to death in 2013.

Moore was arrested in Texas and extradited to Ohio, and in May 2025, the trial court set his bond at $2 million. On July 3, Moore posted the bond and was released without other restrictions, such as surrendering his passport.

Professor Witmer-Rich explained that the trial court likely believed Moore would not be able to post such a large bond. He said, “The reason there aren’t other restrictions on the defendant, I think, is that the judge assumed that by setting a $2 million bond, the defendant wouldn’t be able to be released.” 

Professor Witmer-Rich noted that Ohio trial judges often use large bail amounts instead of ordering defendants to be detained, but that this practice has risks. He explained, “If they have concerns about danger, they just jack up the bail amount to something really high. They pick a really big number — like $2 million — and that’s, I think, what the judge did here. $2 million, that means the defendant is not going to get out, and that was set back at the end of May, but in this case, within about a month, the defendant put together whatever he put together, and as soon as you post your $2 million, you’re out.”

Professor Kalir’s article, “White Christian Nationalism and Antisemitism: A True Threat,” was just published by the Florida International Law Review.

The article can be linked here:

Doron Kalir, White Christian Nationalism & Antisemitism: A True Threat, 19 FIU L. Rev. 709 (2025), https://doi.org/10.25148/lawrev.19.3.7.

The Federal Bar Association N.D. Ohio Chapter hosted its inaugural Bench-Bar Conference in May. The Conference included four panels of federal judges, covering issues from pre-trial through jury instructions and appeals. The last panel included two Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judges – the Hon. Judges Karen Nelson Moore and Hon. Judge Rachel Bloomekatz. Professor Kalir, a Board Member of the local FBA Chapter, moderated that session together with attorney Sam Lioi of Jones Day. The Conference was so well received, that in addition to filling up the largest hall in the federal courthouse building, the audience used an overflow space in Judge Polster’s courtroom.

Professor Kalir also presented at the CMBA to a group of young attorneys on the issue of “Contracts after Law School.” The presentation dealt with how to read and write contracts as a practicing attorney.

On May 21, Professor Kalir was invited to speak in front of Park Synagogue congregation “University Day.” The presentation’s title was: “Israel’s Future: ‘Jewish and Democratic’ or ‘Messianic and Ultra-Nationalistic’?” In it, Professor Kalir reviewed the two competing narratives in Israel’s development, and how their recent clash may be the harbinger of some worrisome, anti-democratic trends in Israel. Professor Emeritus Alan Weinstein, a member of the congregation, has kindly introduced Professor Kalir before he spoke.

Professor Milena Sterio was interviewed by the Fox DC news channel about the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland-based man who has been wrongly deported by the Trump Administration to El Salvador.  Professor Sterio’s interview is available here: https://youtu.be/y7hZY7PUurM?si=yG1uxZGAABGMsJWa