Callaway Chair of Law Emeritus Ronald L. Carlson's book Carlson on Evidence (with M. Carlson) was recently cited by the Georgia Court of Appeals in the case Parrish v. State regarding the question of whether the statement by a defendant’s attorney can be held against the defendant in a criminal trial. This citation brings the total to 61 times that this text has been used by Georgia appellate courts to resolve evidentiary issues.
The University of Georgia School of Law has won back-to-back championship trophies in the National Online Moot Court Competition. This year's team was comprised of second-year students Lindsey K. Adams, Rachel L. Byers and Molly N. Laughlin. Adams was named Top Advocate of the tournament. Notably, this is only the second year of the competition and UGA is the tournament's only winner. Third-year student Hannah Sbaity, who was a member of last year's winning team, served as a coach in 2022.
Clinical Assistant Professor & Prosecutorial Justice Program Director Melissa D. Redmon was featured in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution regarding special purpose grand juries. The article titled "Fulton DA requests special grand jury for Trump probe" was written by Tamar Hallerman and published 1/20/22.
University Professor & Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law Usha Rodrigues was featured in The New York Times regarding investors and private investment in public equity deals. The article titled "Trump Deal Faced Widespread Investor Doubt Before Raising $1Billion" was written by Matthew Goldstein, Kate Kelly, Kenneth P. Vogel and Maureen Farrell and was published 1/20/22.
The Appellate Litigation Clinic recently won its case before the Georgia Supreme Court. In Ricky J. Johnson v. The State, the clinic’s client had been convicted of multiple theft-by-taking counts for stealing trucks and other property from a construction company. The court ultimately vacated a lower court’s order after finding that its merger analysis was flawed. Third-year students Courtney Hogan and Kirstiana Perryman wrote the brief.
Cleveland Distinguished Chair of Legal Ethics and Professionalism & Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor Lonnie T. Brown Jr. has been named dean of the University of Tennessee College of Law, starting July 1. The UT media release was published 1/19/22.
Associate Dean and Martin Chair of Law Andrea L. Dennis was featured on Fox 5 New York regarding a proposed New York state law aimed at stopping the use of rap lyrics as purported blueprints for alleged crimes. The article was titled "Rap Music on Trial: Jay-Z, Meek Mill want rap lyrics blocked from being used in court" was written by Mike Sacks and published 1/19/22.
The School of Law was featured in Bulldawg Illustrated regarding the namesake of its primary building, Harold Hirsch, who was an attorney that helped protect Coca-Cola's signature contour bottle design and help provide summer employment for UGA football players. The article titled "Contour Coke and Charley Trippi" was written by Loran Smith and published 1/19/22.
Associate Dean and Martin Chair of Law Andrea L. Dennis' book Rap on Trial was mentioned in Rolling Stone magazine regarding a proposed New York state law aimed at stopping the use of rap lyrics as purported blueprints for alleged crimes. The article titled "Jay-Z and Meek Mill Team Up to Block Rap Lyrics From Being Used in Court" was written by Nancy Dillon and published 1/18/22.
Eleven grants totaling $1.5 million were recently awarded to recipients of the third round of UGA Presidential Interdisciplinary Seed Grants. Overall the awards went to faculty from 13 UGA units and target significant challenges at the local, national or global level. Associate Professor Alexander W. Scherr and Associate Dean Jason A. Cade were among the recipients and will work on projects relating to a cognitive aging research and education center and an interdisciplinary school-based health center, respectively.
Summer public interest fellowships provide important hands-on learning opportunities for law students. At the School of Law, financial support for these experiences has been on an upward trajectory since 2017. In fact, over the last five years, there has been a roughly 450% increase in support. This growth continues with the establishment of the Bool Simkins Summer Fellowship for Public Interest Fund. Created by married 2010 graduates Kevin Murphy and Elizabeth (Freeman) Murphy, the fellowship will be the law school’s largest annual public interest fellowship award and will support a top performing student with a full summer public interest/pro bono placement after completing his or her second year of law school.
Due to anticipated inclement weather and as a state of emergency will be in effect for Clarke County, the Alexander Campbell King Law Library will remain closed through Sunday (1/16). Please note this is a complete closure and includes the 24/7 card swipe access. Current plans are for the library to re-open at 1 p.m. on Monday (1/17). At this time, the law school buildings will remain open. Further updates will be sent as they become available.
Shackelford Distinguished Professor in Taxation Law Gregg D. Polsky published "Taxing Residential Solar" in 74 Tax Law Review 69 (2020).
Dean Peter B. "Bo" Rutledge and second-year student Emily K. Crowell published "Supreme Court's Ruling on Alleged Nazi-Looted Painting Could Be Far-Reaching" in the Daily Report on 1/12/21.
The Community Health Law Partnership Clinic successfully settled Oviedo de la Cruz et. al. v. Mayorkas et. al., a lawsuit filed in 2021 against the Department of Homeland Security in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. The lawsuit alleged violations of the Administrative Procedure Act. As a result of the lawsuit, 17 clients received favorable agency determinations resulting in deferred action and employment authorization pending final adjudication when their visa numbers become current. Additionally, three family members currently residing abroad were granted relief through the lawsuit, which will help one of the individual plaintiffs reunite her family.
University Professor & Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law Usha Rodrigues' paper "SPACs: Insider IPOs" (with M. Stegemoller) was cited by the Delaware Chancery Court's opinion in In re MultiPlan Corp. Stockholders Litigation.
Callaway Chair of Law Emeritus Ronald L. Carlson was featured in USA Today regarding sentencing in the Ahmaud Arbery trial. The article titled "In life sentence for men convicted of Ahmaud Arbery's murder, will they get chance at parole?" was written by N'dea Yancey-Bragg and Raisa Habersham and was published 1/7/22.
Brumby Distinguished Professor in First Amendment Law Sonja R. West was featured in The Washington Post regarding First Amendment press protections. The article titled "The ridiculous hypocrisy of Sean Hannity hiding behind 'freedom of the press'" was written by Margaret Sullivan and published 1/5/22.
Distinguished Research Professor & Shackelford Distinguished Professor in Taxation Law Emeritus Walter Hellerstein's treatise State Taxation was quoted by the Oregon Supreme Court in Ooma, Inc. v. Department of Revenue (Dec. 23, 2021) regarding Oregon’s tax on Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers.
Callaway Chair Elizabeth Chamblee Burch was featured in The New York Times regarding the latest developments in the opioid litigation. The article titled "Pharmaceutical Company Is Found Liable in Landmark Opioid Trial" was written by Sarah Maslin Nir, Jan Hoffman and Lola Fadulu and was published 12/30/21.