January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, but the School of Law's Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic works year-round to fight for survivors through scholarship, training and service on area task forces.
Hosch Associate Professor Kent Barnett published "Chevron Abroad" in 96 Notre Dame Law Review 621 (2020) (with Lindsey Vinson (J.D.'20)).
Dean Rusk International Law Center Interim Director & Hosch Professor Lori A. Ringhand presented as part of the "New Voices in Election Law" panel at the Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting held during January. She was also named treasurer of the AALS Section on Constitutional Law.
Distinguished Research Professor & Shackelford Distinguished Professor in Taxation Law Emeritus Walter Hellerstein's treatise State Taxation was quoted by the Oregon Tax Court in Oracle Corp. v. Department of Revenue regarding the treatise's discussion of the unitary business principle and the apportionment of intangible income.
Brumby Distinguished Professor in First Amendment Law Sonja R. West presented "The Supreme Court and the Press: An Empirical Analysis" at the Media Law & Policy Scholars Conference during January (with R. Jones).
To help with the reimagination of local, national and international structures used to respond to global public health emergencies such as the emergence and spread of COVID-19, the School of Law will host a daylong, virtual conference titled "The Future of Global Health Governance" starting at 10 a.m. on January 25. Organized by the Dean Rusk International Law Center and the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law, the conference will address three crucial questions: whether and how the ailing global public health infrastructure might be reinvigorated; how the pandemic has threatened and exposed limitations of the social safety net in the United States and other economies around the world; and the phenomenon of vaccine refusal and what national and international legal institutions might do to curb it.
The School of Law regrets to announce former employee Diane Walton Rounds passed away December 28, 2019. She served as an administrative assistant in the school's law placement/career services office from 1979 through 1993. She will be missed by law school faculty, staff and former students.
Two University of Georgia professors have been named Regents' Professors, an honor bestowed by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia for faculty whose scholarship or creative activity is recognized both nationally and internationally as innovative and pace-setting. The School of Law's Diane Marie Amann was selected. Her scholarship focuses on the ways that national, regional and international legal regimes interact as they endeavor to combat atrocity and cross-border crime. Her current research will produce the first-ever book, under contract with Oxford University Press, on the roles of women professionals at the 1945-46 war crimes trial before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.
Brumby Distinguished Professor in First Amendment Law Sonja R. West moderated "The Press and the Separation of Powers: The News Media's Relationships with Public and Private Power" panel as part of the Association of American Law School's Annual Meeting during January. As chair of the AALS Section on Communication, Media & Information Law, she performed this role.
Woodruff Chair in International Law Diane Marie Amann was featured in Vox regarding her thoughts on presidential pardoning power. The article titled "President Trump is considering pardoning himself. I asked 15 experts if that's legal?" was written by Sean Illing and published 1/7/21.
Former Dean Edward D. "Ned" Spurgeon passed away on January 2 at the age of 81, after battling cancer for several years. He served as dean of our law school from 1993 to 1998 and was a member of our faculty for another five years specializing in law, public policy and aging; taxation of gifts, estates and trusts; and estate planning. After leaving Georgia, his connection to the law school remained constant through his support of the Spurgeon Fellowship, which provides funding for law students working in summer public interest positions. Dean Spurgeon was a leader, scholar, teacher and mentor to many. He is survived by his wife, Carol; his sons, Michael and Stephen; his daughters-in-law, Elizabeth and Janie; his sister Joan Brennan and four grandchildren.
Shackelford Distinguished Professor in Taxation Law Gregg D. Polsky published "The Impact of the 2017 Tax Act on Certain Personal Injury Plaintiffs" in 12 Columbia Journal of Tax Law 27 (2020).
Brock Associate Professor in Professional Responsibility Nathan S. Chapman published "Forgotten Federal-Missionary Partnerships: New Light on the Establishment Clause" in 96 Notre Dame Law Review 677 (2020).
Associate Dean for Clinical Programs and Experiential Learning & Hosch Associate Professor Jason A. Cade published "'Water is Life!' (and Speech!): Death, Dissent, and Democracy in the Borderlands" in 96 Indiana Law Journal 261 (2020).
Brock Associate Professor in Professional Responsibility Nathan S. Chapman was featured on Bloomberg Law regarding religious accommodations relating to work requirements. The article titled "Religious Vaccine Objections to Clash With Employer Defense" was written by Robert Iafolla and published 12/28/20.
The Community Health Law Partnership Clinic's Jason A. Cade and Kristen E. Shepherd and the First Amendment Clinic's Clare R. Norins were featured in Law360 regarding their representation of women who allegedly endured abusive gynecological and other medical treatments while in the custody of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. The class action complaint asserts that the women suffered retaliation, including expedited deportation, for speaking up about the medical abuse. The article titled "Detained Migrants In Ga. Launch Medical Abuse Class Action" was written by Jennifer Doherty and published 12/23/20.
Callaway Chair Elizabeth Chamblee Burch was featured in The Washington Post regarding the pandemic's effects on jury trials. The article titled "Virus stalls long-awaited day in court for historic opioid lawsuit" was written by Meryl Kornfield and published 12/27/20. The article was reprinted by other media outlets across the country.
Clinical Assistant Professor & First Amendment Clinic Director Clare R. Norins was featured on Fox 5 Atlanta regarding a lawsuit the clinic filed against a county commissioner who blocked a constituent's access to his interactive Facebook page that he used to communicate with the public about his official activities after she criticized his response to constituent concerns. The Dec. 31, 2020 article titled "Politician broke promise to unblock critics from Facebook, costing taxpayers at least $160,000" and related Dec. 29, 2020 news broadcast were reported by Randy Travis.
University Professor & Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance and Securities Law Usha Rodrigues was featured on NPR's "Morning Edition" regarding special acquisition companies. The segment titled "SPACs: The Backwards IPO That's Taking Over Wall Street" was hosted by Camila Domonoske and aired 12/28/20.
The Community Health Law Partnership clinic recently obtained release of a client from an immigration detention center in Georgia pursuant to the district court's order in Fraihat v. ICE, which requires new assessments and release determinations for individuals at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19 while in custody. Third-year student Raneem Ashrawi helped prepare the request along with clinic Staff Attorney Kristen E. Shepherd and clinic Director Jason A. Cade.