Professor Plecnik does not just write about changing the law. Through his public service as Lake County Commissioner, Professor Plecnik is working with his colleagues in Lake and Trumbull to set national precedent in federal court to help end the Opioid epidemic. Lake and Trumbull counties are the plaintiffs in a bellwether case to hold Big Pharma responsible for its role in flooding their local communities with pain pills.

On August 17, 2022, Judge Dan Polster of United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio issued the Abatement Order in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation, which awards Lake and Trumbull Counties a combined $650.6 million. Walmart, CVS and Walgreens must pay Lake County $306.2 million and Trumbull County $344.4 million over the next 15 years for their role in the Opioid epidemic. In their complaint, the two counties alleged the three national pharmacies “abused their position of special trust and responsibility” as registered dispensers of prescription drugs, and in so doing “fostered a black market for prescription opioids.”

The day of the ruling, CNN reported:

Lake County Commissioner John Plecnik said his county is investing the $306.2 million awarded to them into tackling the impacts of the opioid crisis in their communities.

“I am grateful to the Court for recognizing the Opioid Epidemic as a public health crisis. This decision holds Big Pharma accountable for the great harm and lives lost due to the overselling of Opioids,” Plecnik said “We hope the legal precedent that Lake and Trumbull Counties have won together will set the stage for the rest of the nation and help end the Opioid epidemic.”

Professor Plecnik’s interview with Fox 8 is available here:

You can watch Professor Plecnik’s interview with Fox 8 News here:

Professor Plecnik’s interview with News 5 Cleveland is here:

Professor Plecnik was also interviewed by CBS Chicago, available here.

The Cleveland-Marshall Appellate Practice Clinic has secured a victory in the Sixth Circuit in an immigration case, Ramirez-Lopez v. Garland, No. 21-3794.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is not known for granting petitions filed by non-citizens. In fact, the vast majority of those petitions, many of which filed by immigrants who speak English as a second or third language, are summarily rejected. To be sure, these rejections may be understood in light of the fact that they come before the Court after two reviews — first by an Immigration Judge and then by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). 

Mr. Ramirez-Lopez’s Petition did not seem different at first. Filed pro-se, it was summarily rejected by the Court after short review. But then the unexpected happened: the Biden Administration changed its policy regarding U-Visa petitions, which was at issue in Mr. Ramirez-Lopez’s petition. The Sixth Circuit, on its own accord, issued a new decision inviting supplemental briefs on the application of the new policy, as well as ordering that Petitioner would be represented by Counsel.

The Court then appointed the Cleveland-Marshall Appellate Practice Clinic to represent Ramirez-Lopez. The Clinic argued first that the new policy applied in this case and therefore it was justified to remand the matter to the BIA for further consideration. The Government, in response, agreed that the new policy applied, but claimed that in light of the Court’s first opinion the matter was moot, and that the issue could no longer be returned to the BIA. The Clinic, in response, argued that the Court’s New Order superseded the first, and therefore that the matter could — and should — be remanded. The Court, weighing these two arguments, held that “we think that Ramirez Lopez has the better argument,” and therefore remanded the case. 

This was an incredible win for the Client, and a great achievement for the Clinic. Students Katrice Williams, Victoria Kekkel, and Nicole Johnson worked tirelessly to ensure a timely submission of the briefs, and constant review of the expanded record in this case. Adjunct Professor, proud alum, and immigration Super-Lawyer Tanya Linetsky provided valuable advice and guidance. Professor Doron Kalir served as the attorney of record and supervised the work. 

Government Computer News published an article titled “States try incentive-based cybersecurity,” covering a recent panel organized by Professor Brian Ray with adjunct Professor and Ohio Cybersecurity Strategic Advisor Kirk Herath. The panelists discussed Ohio’s incentive-based cybersecurity law in June at the RSA Conference, the world’s largest cybersecurity conference.

On August 11, Professor Karin Mika served as a panelist on the the AALS Legal Writing Section’s “Faculty Appointment Q&A.”  The presentation was sponsored by the AALS in order to help prospective applicants navigate the interview and selection process for those who intend to apply for positions teaching Legal Writing. 

On August 7, Professor Christa Laser spoke at a fundraiser for nonprofit Steel City Arts Foundation, a safe haven for comedians and artists founded by comedian Steve Hofstetter.  At the event, Professor Laser taught a class about Intellectual Property for Artists, especially focused for comedians.

Professor Karin Mika’s article, “Lessons of the Past and the Humanitarian Outreach of Poland to Ukrainian Refugees,” was selected to be part of the inaugural edition of the AALS International Law Section newsletter.  The article discusses Poland’s efforts to streamline the process for Ukraine’s refugees entering Poland, as well as the contentious historical relationship between the two countries and why this legislation is different from what one might have expected from Poland.

Professor Milena Sterio presented remotely at the Law and Society Global Meeting, which took place in Lisbon, Portugal, on July 13, on the topic of “Enforcing International Justice.”

Professor Milena Sterio presented at the 2022 South East Law Schools’ Association Meeting in Miramar Beach, Florida, on August 1 and August 2.  On August 1, Professor Sterio presented on a panel on the topic of “The War in Ukraine and the Future of Global Order.”  On August 2, Professor Sterio participated on a panel on the topic of “International Collaboration: Navigating the Fulbright Process.”

Professor Milena Sterio presented as a panelist at a Ukraine Knowledge Sharing webinar, organized by the Public International Law and Policy Group, on August 4th, on the topic of Case Building and International Criminal Investigations.  The webinar was organized for the benefit of Ukrainian civil society organizations and representatives from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Professor Sterio has been working on developing a High Court for War Crimes for Ukaine.  The High Court would be a specialized court within the Ukrainian legal system specialized on the prosecution of war crimes.  Professor Sterio and three of her colleagues involved in the same effort, Professors Paul Williams and Yvonne Dutton and Dean Michael Scharf have co-authored a blog spot on this topic; the blog post is available here: http://opiniojuris.org/2022/07/29/high-war-crimes-court-of-ukraine-for-atrocity-crimes-in-ukraine/

Finally, Professor Sterio published an article with Jurist about the war in Ukraine and various violations of international law that have been committed by Russian forces and Russian leadership during the war.  Professor Sterio’s article is available here: https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2022/07/milena-sterio-russia-war-crimes-ukraine/

Chris Sagers, the James A. Thomas Professor of Law, spoke with the New York Times for a story about the Justice Department’s pending challenge to the merger of publishing firms Penguin-Random-House and Simon & Schuster. The deal would create the largest publisher ever to exist. 

He also spoke about the case on Press Play with Madeleine Brand, a public radio program produced by KCRW, Los Angeles. You can hear the audio clip here.

Earlier, Sagers discussed the case on NPR’s nationally syndicated radio program Here & Now and for a story in Publisher’s Weekly.

Chris Sagers, the James A. Thomas Professor of Law, appeared on NPR’s nationally syndicated public radio program Here & Now, to discuss the Justice Department’s pending challenge to the merger of Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster. You can listen to the segment here. Earlier, Sagers discussed the same case with Publisher’s Weekly.

Sagers also spoke with Bloomberg for a story about the Federal Trade Commission’s new challenge to the acquisition by Meta (Facebook’s parent company) of Within, a virtual reality game developer. Meta already owns the Oculus VR hardware firm and the popular game Beat Saber. It would enter the market for virtual reality fitness applications with Within’s popular exercise product Supernatural. The Commission’s suit alleges that the deal ends likely competition, since without it Meta would have produced fitness applications of its own.