Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson, C|M|LAW’s Steven W. Percy Distinguished Professor of Law and a dual appointee at the Levin College, recently submitted the United States’ Report for the Common Core of European Private Law project, Access to Commons Working Group. The project, partly funded by the European Commission, has been working for more than 20 years to seek commonalities among the diverse legal systems in Europe.  It often includes a U.S. comparison.

Chris Sagers, the James A. Thomas Professor of Law, appeared at Villanova University School of Law last week to give a presentation on his forthcoming book “Apple, Antitrust, and Irony,” as part of the school’s visiting scholar series.The book concerns the Justice Department’s 2012 antitrust challenge to an agreement among the Apple computer company and several publishing firms to fix the prices of electronic books. It will be published this fall by Harvard University Press.

Professor Howard Katz spoke about “Teaching the Contracts Course: Strategies, Techniques, and Ideas for Consideration” at the Thirteenth Annual International Conference on Contracts, held at Barry University School of Law, on February 24, 2018

Professor Howard Katz led a plenary session about pedagogy at the American Constitution Society Third Annual Constitutional Law Scholars Forum, co-sponsored by the Texas A and M School of Law and the Barry University School of Law. The conference was held at Barry University School of Law on March 2, 2018.

Professor April Cherry is a participant in this month’s American Medical Association Journal of Ethics Discussion Forum (online) on the topic of “Screening and Surveillance for Pregnant Patients Who Use Illicit Drugs.”  The discussion forum begins today, March 1; please click on the following link to access.

According to the Journal’s website, “[t]he AMA Journal of Ethics discussion forum brings together individuals to talk about the most pressing ethical issues in health care. The topic for each monthly discussion focuses on a challenging ethics case featured in the current theme issue of the journal.”

Heidi Gorovitz Robertson, C|M|LAW’s Steven W. Percy Distinguished Professor of Law and a dual appointee at the Levin College, recently returned from the International Academic Association of Planning, Law, and Property Rights Annual Meeting, held this year at the University of Novi Sad in the Republic of Serbia. Professor Robertson presented “Cities Seethe: Piloting the Path of Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting ”  In addition, Professor Robertson chaired a panel on cities’ responses to migration in Serbia, Turkey, and Greece.  During her visit, she (with the advance assistance of Associate Dean Milena Sterio) finalized a Memorandum of Understanding between Cleveland State University  and the University of Novi Sad to facilitate cooperation between the two universities and perhaps exchanges of students and faculty.

Professor Gwendolyn Majette was interviewed for a News Channel 5 story regarding an investigation into a home-care provider for Medicaid recipients.  The link to this News story, with Professor Majette’s interview, is available here.

Chris Sagers, the James A. Thomas Professor of Law, spoke with the Wall Street Journal today on breaking news in the Justice Department’s closely watched challenge to the merger of AT&T and Time Warner, Inc. The Journal uncovered AT&T’s apparent intent to call Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim as a witness in the case. The move may signal a plan to challenge the suit as an improperly discriminatory action against the firm for criticism of the Trump Administration by CNN, a Time Warner asset. You can read the article here.

Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich was recently interviewed by News Channel 19, in a story about two recent cases in which police officers failed to enter homes, even though persons inside needed police help.

In the first case, out of Columbus, police responded to a neighbor’s call about a domestic dispute and gunshots in a nearby apartment.  The police knocked on the door, but left after no one answered.  Twenty-four hours later, a friend entered the apartment and found Heather Campbell dead, the victim of an apparent murder-suicide at the hands of her boyfriend, Kyle Lafferty, whose body was also found at the scene.  Professor Witmer-Rich explained that the Fourth Amendment “exigent circumstances” doctrine permits police to enter when they reasonably believe there is an imminent threat to the life or safety of someone inside.  He observed that there are no bright line rules for when police can and cannot enter–police must make individual judgments based on what they know.

In another case, police responded to a Euclid apartment after the resident, Charles Matlin, failed to show up at a restaurant where he was a regular.  After receiving no response, police chose not to force entry.  The next day, police entered the house and found Matlin, confused and on the floor of his apartment.  Professor Witmer-Rich explained that under the “community caretaker doctrine,” courts often give police more leeway to enter when they are conducting a welfare check than during a criminal investigation.

The News Channel 19 story can be found here.