Expertise & Excellence » Law

Dean Klonoff shares insight about former classmate Sonia Sotomayor

Emily — Wed, 27 May 2009 17:06:32 +0000

In the wake of President Obama’s selection of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, media reports have explored the judge’s personal and professional history to gain insight into what she might bring to the bench. In that process of assessing Sotomayor, Robert Klonoff, dean of Lewis & Clark Law School, has provided invaluable expertise. A friend and former classmate of Sotomayor, Klonoff has compared the judge to Thurgood Marshall and said that, while classmates at Yale, “she was always willing to speak up and give her point of view.”

Learn more in the following stories:

CNN.com Sotomayor ‘always willing to speak up’ at Yale Law

New York Times Sotomayor, a Trailblazer and a Dreamer

Washington Post For Sotomayor, Humble Beginnings to High Court

The Oregonian Obama’s historic pick for the U.S. Supreme Court

FOX Business News Who Is Sonia Sotomayor?

The Oregonian Classmates remember Sotomayor

FOX News Judicial Philosophy

CBS News Gingrich: Sotomayor is Racist

1190 KBND Reaction to Obama’s Choice for Supreme Court Justice

DailyKos.com Sí, Se Puede!!!

Washington Post N.Y. Federal Judge Likely on Shortlist

Anti-trust expert addresses European Commission ruling against Intel

Jodi Heintz — Fri, 22 May 2009 22:32:15 +0000

Law lecturer Geoffrey Manne published commentary at Forbes.com regarding the European Commission’s recent ruling against Intel and the Obama administration’s announcement to pursue more anti-trust cases.

Manne also weighed in on a New York Times story covering the recent European Commission ruling against Intel. Manne’s specialty areas include law and economics, antitrust issues, intellectual property, and corporate and international economic regulation. Manne previously served as a law and economics specialist for Microsoft and currently serves as director of LeCG, a global expert services and consulting firm.

Expert on torture comments on released interrogation memos in LA Times

Jodi Heintz — Thu, 21 May 2009 21:45:38 +0000

John Parry, law professor:

In a recent LA Times article about interrogation memos written in 2002 and recently released by the Obama Administration, Parry, offered his views on the legal justifications outlined in the memos. Parry has written extensively about torture, including Understanding Torture: Law, Culture, and State Violence which is soon to be published by University of Michigan Press.

LA Times Jay Bybee silent on interrogation memos

Law professor addresses argument of naming victims in environmental abuses

Jodi Heintz — Wed, 13 May 2009 23:38:59 +0000

Meg Garvin, law professor:

According to a recent article in The National Law Journal, the national Crime Victims Rights Act is being used more and more frequently in environmental court cases. The growing trend has some legal experts questioning the validity of this legal maneuver, arguing that it is not the established intent of the Crime Victims Rights Act. Garvin, executive director of the National Crime Victim Law Institute, countered that the environment is not the only thing compromised in environmental violations. “Individual victims are suffering greatly from environmental crimes,” Garvin said. “We have to find a way to make them whole. Having that happen in the criminal justice system makes sense because that process is already under way.”

The National Law Journal Is Crime Victims Rights Law Being Misused in Environmental Cases?

Professor, alum earn top honor for collaborative research

Jodi Heintz — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:55:34 +0000

Political science professor Todd Lochner and Rhett Tatum ‘06, along with fellow researcher and political scientist Dorie Apollonio, were recognized by the editorial board of Regulation & Governance for their joint article, Wheat from Chaff: Third Party Monitoring and FEC Enforcement Actions.

Regulation & Governance, a journal devoted to the study of regulation and governance by political scientists, lawyers, historians, anthropologists, and economists, named Wheat from Chaff the best article published in the 2007-2008 volumes of the journal.

In their article, Lochner, Apollonio, and Tatum test the widely held expectation that regulators can more effectively target serious violations when they have a broader array of sanctioning options in their enforcement arsenal. To test this theoretical expectation, Lochner, Apollonio, and Tatum analyze enforcement actions at the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) during the period when the FEC received an expansion in its sanctioning options. What they find runs counter to expectations: the FEC was not better able to focus on the most serious violations after receiving a broader array of sanctions. Lochner, Apollonio, and Tatum suggest that simply expanding sanctioning options, without also expanding monitoring resources, is not sufficient to enable regulators to prioritize their enforcement efforts toward the most serious problems.

Todd Lochner teaches undergraduate courses in constitutional law, civil liberties, and political science. He also teaches a joint undergraduate-law school course on election law at Lewis & Clark Law School, where he is a research fellow. Rhett Tatum is currently a student at the Georgetown University Law Center where he is studying election law.

Read their winning paper.

Law alum advocates on behalf of low-income community

tspeel — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:47:21 +0000

As Director of the Washington Attorney General’s Public Counsel Division, Lewis & Clark Law School alum Simon ffitch believes that heat and light are essential services for people, whether or not they are behind on their bills. ffitch’s dedication to working on behalf of people from low-income communities, including a recent appeal to a request by a local utility company to raise customers’ taxes, earned him some media attention. “We think it’s important, especially during this economy, that there’s not one extra penny taken from people’s budgets,” ffitch said.

ffitch is not alone in his commitment to public service as a professional career. More than one out of every three graduates of Lewis & Clark Law School chooses to work in the area of public interest law.

The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.) Simon ffitch acts as ratepayers’ representative

Law School Dean Klonoff quoted in The New York Times

Jodi Heintz — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:46:02 +0000

Lewis & Clark Law School Dean Robert Klonoff is quoted in a recent story in the New York Times regarding Google’s efforts to reach all copyright holders through a series of notices being placed in print publications world wide. The outreach effort is a result of a class-action suit by copyright holders regarding Google’s plan to offer all of literature online. Klonoff, the author of a recent law review article titled “Making Class Actions Work: The Untapped Potential of the Internet,” is an expert in class action litigation. He is the senior author of the first and only casebook on class actions and he serves as an Associate Reporter for the American Law Institute class action project, “Principles of the Law of Aggregate Litigation.”

The New York Times A Google Search of a Distinctly Retro Kind

Law student receives scholarship from NorthWest Indian Bar Association

tspeel — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:26:13 +0000

Lewis & Clark Law School student Michelle Watchman is one of 13 law students to receive a scholarship from the NorthWest Indian Bar Association. NIBA is a non-profit organization aiming to represent the education and welfare of Native American attorneys. Watchman, a member of the Tlingit and Navajo tribes, said that law school would not have been possible without the scholarship assistance from her tribe and NIBA.

“The impacts of this scholarship extend beyond myself and my educational personal educational pursuit,” Watchman said. “The impacts will be felt by my people and the Native community at large. Upon graduation, I hope to not only give back to my community but also inspire future generations of Native youth to pursue their educational dreams.”

Read more about Watchman and her involvement in Native American law.

Center for Animal Law Studies director comments on animal rights

tspeel — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:58:12 +0000

In an Associated Press (AP) story that has made its way into publications around the world, Pamela Frasch, law professor and executive director of the Center for Animal Law Studies, comments on the growing field of animal law.

For the past 16 years, Lewis & Clark has been at the forefront of this emerging legal field. The school was the first to publish an animal law journal, the first to establish an international conference on animal law and the first to develop an animal law clinic, with full-time faculty.

In the AP article, Frasch points out that animal law is where environmental law was 20 years ago—demand is growing rapidly but much about this legal practice area is still to be tested and developed. In 2000, Lewis and Clark was one of nine law schools to offer animal law studies. Today about 100 do.

Frasch notes that because state laws vary to such a wide extent, there continues to be a mix of inconsistent laws regarding animal rights. “A mouse as a pet has protection. A mouse as a pest can be killed at will. Research mice have no protection. It is the same animal but it is a matter of context.”

San Fransisco Chronicle (San Fransisco, Calif.) More laws being passed to protect animals

MSNBC Animal cruelty laws among fastest-growing

Chicago Daily Herald (Chicago, Ill.) Animal law one of the fastest-growing niches in the industry

Detroit Free Press Animal law makes steady gains in states, experts say

The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah) Animal rights? Some things shouldn’t happen to a dog

Santa Rosa Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.) Animal rights become hot field of legal study

York Daily Record (Pennsylvania) In some states, they shoot dogs, don’t they?

Alum named Sustainability Program Manager

tspeel — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 22:05:36 +0000

Alum Marjorie Lifsey has been named the Sustainability Program Manager for the Oregon Department of Transportation. Lifsey, a lawyer with a background in environmental science, worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Oregon Department of Justice in the National Resources Division before attending law school. Among many in the environmental policy arena, Lifsey’s dedication to sustainability and her expertise in law make her the perfect candidate for this position. As the Sustainability Program Manager, Lifsey will “work with committee members and other state agencies to further the governor’s effort to become a sustainable, climate-friendly state.” To read more from BikePortland’s Q&A session with Lifsey, click here.

Law school dean addresses “Obama effect” on public interest law

Jodi Heintz — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:41:39 +0000

Robert Klonoff, dean of the law school, spoke with the National Law Journal about how the next administration under President-elect Obama might effect the field of public interest law. Public interest law is the practice of law pursued on behalf of both individuals and causes that are not typically served by the for-profit-bar. Public interest lawyers can serve the public by working for civil legal services organizations, non-profit organizations, public defense organizations, prosecutors offices, government agencies and lobbying for non-profit organizations.Lewis & Clark Law School graduates enter public interest careers at a rate that is more than three times the national average. In 2007, the law school had the fifth highest percentage of graduates entering public interest law careers.

National Law Journal The latest ‘Barack effect’: new interest among law students in government, public interest jobs

NCVLI wins two grants from the U.S. Department of Justice

tspeel — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:26:08 +0000

In October, the National Crime Victim Law Institute, an organization that advances crime victims’ rights, was awarded two two-year grants from the U.S. Department of Justice. First, NCVLI received a multi-million dollar grant from the Office for Victims of Crime. Most of the funding will pass through to NCVLI’s nationwide network of 8 pro bono legal clinics serving crime victims and to establish up to 4 new clinics. In addition, these funds will continue NCVLI’s amicus curiae work, legal technical assistance to attorneys and advocates, training and education, newsletter, and the annual Law & Litigation Conference.

Second, NCVLI was awarded a 2 year grant of $150,000 by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) to focus on the rights of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and/or dating violence. This grant will allow NCVLI to provide training and legal technical assistance to OVW grantees across the nation. NCVLI will partner with the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence and the Victims Rights Law Center on many of the trainings.

NCVLI promotes balance and fairness in the justice system through crime-victim-centered legal advocacy, education, and resource sharing. NCVLI also provides legal technical assistance to attorneys and advocates of victims and educates lawyers, judges, law students, victims’ advocates, the law enforcement community, and the public about victims’ rights.

Assistant Professor of Political Science Todd Lochner analyzes slow-moving obscenity case

tspeel — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:52:34 +0000

Todd Lochner, assistant professor of political science, discusses the slow process of prosecuting obscenity cases during the past eight years of the Bush administration. Lochner points out that because, under the Clinton administration, these charges were typically coupled with other counts, they became higher priority. Considered more of a “moral barometer” under the current administration, these obscenity cases face numerous delays. “It’s not so much the number of obscenity cases they bring, but the qualitative nature of what they’re trying to do by bringing them. The prosecution is trying to set boundaries as to the acceptable realm of adult material,” says Lochner.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, Penn.) Federal obscenity case, filed 5 years ago, has stalled

William Funk expresses doubt in the roof-crush rule

tspeel — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:37:36 +0000

This September, Professor of Law William Funk co-wrote an op-ed on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s new “roof-crush” rule. The rule is set to strengthen automobiles’ roofs, but Funk contends the change will have little effect on the safety of drivers; in actuality, only half of 1 percent of the 10,000 rollover accident deaths per year will be prevented. Instead, NHTSA’s new rule would preempt lawsuits arising from the faulty design of automobiles. The authors maintain that by undercutting lawsuits and preventing victims from seeking justice, the “roof-crush” proposition will inevitably slow down the “march toward safer automobiles.”

The Ann Arbor News (Ann Arbor, Mich.) Other Voices: NHTSA roof-crush standard could deny justice for crash victims

Law professors Miller and Funk discuss Oregon tribe’s same-sex marriage law

tspeel — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:51:11 +0000

Robert Miller, professor of law and Bill Funk, professor of law:

This August, the Coquille Indian Tribe on the southern Oregon coast adopted a law allowing same-sex marriages at the request of a tribal member and her partner. The Coquille are the first tribe to adopt this type of law, although Professor Robert Miller, an Indian law expert, said Congress may intervene. Historically, tribes have authority over domestic issues, but Congress has the power to take these rights away. “Congress is the 900-pound gorilla in the corner,” Miller said.

Professor Bill Funk, a Constitutional law expert, points out that, because the federal law does not recognize same-sex marriages, it may be difficult for the couple to receive Social Security and other federal benefits.