On September 19th, Associate Dean Mark Sundahl participated in a panel on Key Issues in Space Law at the Annual Meeting of the ABA Forum on Air & Space Law in Montreal. Other panel participants included the General Counsel of NASA, Sumara Thompson-King, and the General Counsel of Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Chuck Dickey. The panel addressed a number of current topics in the field of space law including regulatory issues related to the privatization of space travel, the intentional jamming of telecommunication satellite signals by government censors, and the legality of private companies to assert ownership over natural resources extracted from the Moon and asteroids.
Professor Kerber Participates in Judge4Yourself Interviews
Professor Sandra Kerber recently participated in Judge4Yourself interviews of judicial candidates running in the November 4th Ohio General Election. The candidates’ ratings are due to be released soon and are based on their answers to the comprehensive questionnaire that is used to vet the judicial qualifications.
Professor Mika Selected as Peer Reviewer
Professor Karin Mika has been selected as a peer reviewer for the Journal of Legal Communication and Rhetoric (the Journal of the Association of Legal Writing Directors). The Journal’s purpose is to develop scholarship focusing on the study and practice of professional legal writing and skills related to professional legal writing, and its readership is geared toward practitioners as well as professors. The journal is peer-edited, and all articles are peer-reviewed prior to acceptance for publication.
Professor Robertson Posts on Crain’s Cleveland Business’ Shale and Energy Reports
Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson, who writes regularly for Crain’s Cleveland Business’ Shale and Energy Reports, posted The road to state control over drilling is paved with legislation, on August 22, 2014. Robertson explains the persistent evolution of the Ohio legislation that supports the state’s position that localities have no power to regulate shale oil and gas activities within their borders. She notes the many instances the legislature amended the statute to further and more completely list activities that would be included within the state’s authority and thereby excluded from local control or involvement. She discusses the potential conflict between that legislation and the home rule provision in Ohio’s Constitution and notes that we await a decision on this issue from the Ohio Supreme Court.
Professor Robertson’s post is available here.
Sundahl Speaks at Oxford University on Space Law
Associate Dean Mark Sundahl spoke on September 10th at Oxford University’s Faculty of Law regarding the interaction of the new UNIDROIT Space Assets Protocol with the existing body of the law of outer space. Sundahl delivered his paper at the university’s annual Cape Town Convention Academic Project Conference. In his presentation, Sundahl explained how existing international space law can interfere with (or in some cases facilitate) the operation of the new Space Assets Protocol to the Cape Town Convention which allows for the creation of security interests in satellites and other space assets.
Professor Sterio Blogs About Scottish Independence Referendum
Professor and Associate Dean Milena Sterio published a blog post on the prestigious international law blog, Opinio Juris, about the legality of the proposed Scottish secession under international law. Professor Sterio’s post is entitled “International Law Should Matter – Thoughts on the Proposed Scottish Secession.” The post is available here.
Professor Sterio’s post was selected for Opinio Juris’ online “Scottish Independence Insta-Symposium.” Her argument is that international law should matter in secession issues, even if the proposed secession is legal under domestic law of the mother-state. Moreover, Professor Sterio argues in this post that international law should develop to encompass a normative framework on secession, which would be helpful for future secessionist conflicts, and in particular in situations where the seceding territory is disputed between the mother-state and the secessionist movement.
Professor Sterio’s Letter to the Editor on Proposed ISIS Strikes Published in Plain Dealer
Professor and Associate Dean Milena Sterio’s Letter to the Editor was published in the September 15 edition of the Plain Dealer. The title of Professor Sterio’s Letter is “Striking back at Isis in Iraq and Syria is a bad idea.” The Letter is available here.
Professor Mika Presents at New England Legal Writing Conference
Professor Karin Mika presented on September 12 at the New England Consortium of Legal Writing Conference. The title of her presentation was “Getting in Touch: How understanding the Educational Backgrounds of our Students Facilitates our Ability to Teach to an Enthusiastic Classroom.” Professor Mika’s presentation focused on how law teachers, in order to be effective, must stay in touch with what is important to students and their educational backgrounds. According to Professor Mika, this may mean staying in touch with pop culture and understanding that students have grown up with computers, over-scheduling, over-regulation of their behavior and time, over-stimulation (in an information and activity overload sense), and standardized testing (which has forced teachers to focus on memorization of facts rather than deep thought.)
Professor Mika’s presentation did not advocate the need for glitzy presentations, or coddling students, but rather suggested that understanding where students have come from may help in understanding why students now learn (or don’t learn) the way they do (or don’t). Thus, Professor Mika’s main thesis is that a lot more explanation as to “why” is necessary in the classroom as well as more current analogies to circumstances that students can relate to.
Professor Weinstein Participates in Panel Discussion at NE Ohio Municipal Law Directors Association
On Thursday, 9/11/14, Professor Weinstein participated in a panel discussion on “Regulation of Political Signs” at the Northeast Ohio Municipal Law Directors Association. Other panelists included Todd Hunt, a partner at Walter Haverfield, and Tom Lee, a partner at Taft/Stetinius.
Professor Weinstein discussed the Court’s recent grant of cert in Reed v. Gilbert, AZ, noting that the case provides the Court with an opportunity to resolve a Circuit split on the issue of the proper test for a content-neutral regulation of speech. Professor Weinstein also discussed a recent 6th Circuit case, Wagner v. City of Garfield Heights, which dealt with this same content-neutrality issue in the context of the city’s regulation of political signs.
Associate Dean Sundahl Appointed as Advisor to UN Delegation
Associate Dean Mark Sundahl has been appointed by the Department of State as an Industry Adviser to the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). The COPUOS develops international legal responses to pressing legal issues in the use of outer space, such as the militarization of Earth orbits and the proliferation of space debris. Dean Sundahl will advise the U.S. delegation on how these new legal initiatives will affect the operation and competitiveness of the U.S. space industry.
CSU Law Faculty 