C|M|LAW and Levin College of Urban Affairs Professor Alan Weinstein’s article, The Effect of RLUIPA’s Land Use Provisions on Local Governments, 39 FORDHAM URB. L.J 1221 (2012), has been selected to be included in the 2013 edition of Zoning and Planning Law Handbook, published by Thomson-Reuters on the basis that it represents an important contribution to the literature of zoning and land use law. In the article, he argues that in the absence of perfect information about how RLUIPA (Religious Land Use & Institutionalized Persons Act) has affected local governments, courts have adopted a pragmatic approach to addressing RLUIPA challenges that combines appropriate judicial deference to a local government that enacts a neutral law of general applicability with the heightened judicial scrutiny that becomes appropriate when that same local government applies that same law to a specific zoning approval, a circumstance that frequently allows for subjectivity in the approval process and thus the potential for discrimination or arbitrary action against religious uses.
Hoke Quoted Widely on the Election-Related Cyber Attack in Florida
C|M|LAW Professor Candice Hoke was quoted in a news story that has been syndicated widely across the country regarding last fall’s election-related cyber attack in Florida. The case involved an attempt, last fall, to 2,500 absentee ballots through phantom requests carried about by a computer program on the Miami-Dade County elections board’s website. The large number of false requests came from a small number of IP addresses overseas, and therefore, the board’s protection software was able to discover and to reject the phony requests. The concern, however, is that this attempt exposes the vulnerabilities of computer-based elections. According to Hoke, “[t]his has been in the cards, it’s been foreseeable.” Commenting on the attractive cost-savings provided by on-line voting, Hoke said “It’s cheap, if you don’t care whether elections are stolen.”
To read the original story, see:
To see a related story click here:
Sundahl Interviewed on The Space Show Regarding Current Issues in Space Law
On March 1, 2013, C|M|LAW Professor and Associate Dean Mark Sundahl was the guest on The Space Show, a Internet radio program hosted by Dr. David Livingston and dedicated to recent developments in space commerce. During the 90-minute interview, Prof. Sundahl discussed current issues in the field of space law, including legislative reform initiatives in the area of export controls, liability for damage caused by space debris, orbital private space activity, and the mining of near-earth asteroids.
The podcast of the interview can be found at http://archive.thespaceshow.com/shows/1961-BWB-2013-03-01.mp3.
Hoke Quoted in Plain Dealer Regarding the Dangers of Electronic Poll Books
C|M|LAW Professor Candice Hoke was quoted in an article in today’s Plain Dealer (Sunday, March 17, 2012) Electronic poll books seem conceptually simple but may be vulnerable to hacking and cyber attacks, experts say, by Karen Farkus. In response to Cuyahoga County elections officials’ plan to experiment with electronic poll books to verify the registration of in-person, Hoke warned that “E-poll books are similar to other computer-based technologies in voting – full of promise and lousy execution in most locations.” Hoke stated that “[o]ur counties should be extremely wary of adopting them, but definitely a pilot project is a good way to proceed.”
To read the story, click here:
Inniss Comments on Quiet Racism in a New York Times Letter to the Editor
C|M|LAW’s Joseph C. Hostetler, Baker & Hostetler Professor of Law, Lolita K. Buckner Inniss has published a Letter to the Editor in the New York Times. The letter concerns “The Good, Racist People,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates (column, March 7), about the actor Forest Whitaker, who was stopped and frisked last month in a Manhattan deli by a deli employee. In the letter, Inniss suggests that we treat all shoppers alike, either by scrutinizing no one, or everyone, and shifting the increased costs — of either lost goods due to shoplifting or of increased security — to the consumer. The letter appeared on March 11, 2013, under the headline Shopping While Black:, Racism in Everyday Life, at page A20.
It is also available at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/11/opinion/shopping-while-black-racism-in-everyday-life.html?smid=fb-share
Everything You Have Always Wanted to Know about the Fulbright Program
C|M|LAW Professor Milena Sterio posted Everything You Have Always Wanted to Know about the Fulbright Program on the IntLawGrrls.com blog.
See:
Everything You Have Always Wanted to Know About the Fulbright Program
Robertson Writes in Crain’s Cleveland Business on Preemption of Local Drilling Ordinances
Crain’s Cleveland Business’s Ohio Energy Report has posted a blog entry by C|M|LAW Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Enrichment Heidi Gorovitz Robertson. The post, entitled The fight for local control of drilling in Ohio may not be over yet, explains the legal landscape in Ohio and its neighbor states regarding the intersection of Constitutional home rule and the legislature’s assertion of statutory control over oil and gas drilling operations.
To read the post, see:
http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20130308/BLOGS05/130309819/-1/blogs05
Sagers Testifies Before Congress on Proposed American Airlines/U.S. Airways Merger
Chris Sagers, C|M|LAW’s James A. Thomas Professor of Law, was called to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives, in a hearing before the Judiciary subcommittee for Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law. The hearing concerned the proposed merger of American Airlines and U.S. Airways. Sagers, who studies antitrust and regulated industries, explained his view that the merger will likely cause fares to increase on various concentrated routes throughout the country, will probably result in one or more hub closures and job losses, and will not rejuvenate the merging airlines’ economic performance in they way they promise.
Professor Sagers’ testimony was carried on C-SPAN, and you can see the video below. Professor Sagers’ testimony begins at 43:40. See:
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/311179-1
Plecnik, Roosa, and Sundahl Talk to Entrepreneurs at Shaker LaunchHouse
On Friday, February 22, 2013, C|M|LAW Professors John Plecnik and Mark Sundahl, and C|M|LAW Adjunct Professor James Roosa, spoke to a group of entrepreneurs at the Shaker LaunchHouse as part of the Business Gateway Lecture Series. The topic of the presentation was Legal Issues for Start Ups: Five Things Every Entrepreneur Needs to Address When Launching a Company. The professors covered many issues that entrepreneurs face when starting a new venture — from selecting the right entity and raising money to protecting IP, developing proper contracting practices, and complying with applicable regulations. The Business Gateway Lecture Series is a joint venture of C|M|LAW and the Monte Ahuja College of Business Administration and was designed to share the expertise of CSU faculty with the local community of entrepreneurs.
Cherry Cited in Article on the Use of Legislation to Curb Sex-Selection Abortions
C|M|LAW Professor April Cherry was cited in Anti-choice or anti-gender bias? Politicians and activists argue over whether legislation is the right way to curb sex-selective abortions, by Naveena Sadasivam, in ScienceLine, a product of NYU’s Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting Program. Cherry commented on the idea that anti-choice legislators are signing on to support legislation that would limit a woman’s ability to carry out an abortion for the purpose of gender selection. She said, “It’s an interesting tactic from the right that you start off with something that people find distasteful and wear away reproductive choice.” Regarding the question of criminalizing the practice of aborting a fetus to carry out gender selection, Cherry feels that it is not the right approach. “Women will feel unduly burdened if they’re asked why they’re getting an abortion,” she said.
To read the full article, click here:
CSU Law Faculty 