The School of Law was mentioned in a Common Dreams article regarding the work of the Community Health Law Partnership Clinic and the First Amendment Clinic. The clinics are serving as co-counsel in a putative class action filed December 21, 2020, on behalf of women who allegedly endured medical abuse and retaliation for speaking out about it while in the custody of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. The article titled "Class-Action Suit Sought Over 'Disturbing Pattern of Inhumane Medical Abuse' of ICE Detainees Including Forced Hysterectomies" was written by Andrea Germanos and published 12/22/20.
The First Amendment Clinic authored an amicus brief filed in the Georgia Court of Appeals that challenges a lower court's decision to weaken Georgia's sunshine laws. Writing in the case of Love v. Atlanta Falcons Stadium Company, LLC on behalf of fellow amici - the Georgia Press Association and the Georgia First Amendment Foundation - the clinic's brief addressed whether documents relating to a government-contracted, tax-funded construction project are publicly obtainable under Georgia's Open Records Act. Third-year student Nneka I. Ewulonu co-authored the brief with clinic Director Clare R. Norins.
Congratulations to Mandy Dixon, winner of the 2020 Emma Terrell Distinguished Employee Award. Presented annually by the Law School Staff Representative Group, the award recognizes staff members who have demonstrated "a strong work ethic, commitment to service, and exceptional job performance as well as the cooperation needed ... to ensure the School of Law meets and exceeds its goals."
"Congratulations to our 2020 graduates on their incredible success in Georgia and around the country, during a year that required them to show incredible grit and resilience," UGA School of Law Dean Peter B. "Bo" Rutledge said. "Their success on the bar exam represents a key test of our school's vision to be the nation's best return on investment in legal education. Thanks to the faculty and staff, especially Tony Waller and other members of the bar preparation working group for supporting our students during their preparations; thanks too to the School of Law's generous contributors who provided over $120,000 in support toward our bar prep stipend program over the past two years. That authentic support for our students distinguishes our community and will continue to be there for them."
First Amendment Clinic Legal Fellow Samantha Hamilton was featured in the Georgia Recorder regarding Columbus Water Works releasing details of legal charges associated with new water quality requirements being imposed. The article titled "Columbus spends big to fight against Chattahoochee pollution limits" was written by Jill Nolin and published 12/17/20.
The Appellate Litigation Clinic has won one of its cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. In Arellano Herrera v. Barr, third-year student Jason N. Sigalos argued for deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture with the main issues being whether the clinic's client could relocate and whether a government official would acquiesce to her torture. Sigalos co-wrote the briefs with fellow third-year student Mollie M. Fiero and 2020 graduate John Lex Kenerly IV. Notably, this was the first virtual oral argument for the clinic and its students.
Associate Professor Fazal R. Khan was featured on 11 Alive, Atlanta's NBC TV affiliate, regarding whether or not your employer can require you to get a vaccine. The "Why Guy" segment titled "Why can your employer require you to get a COVID vaccine?" hosted by Jerry Carnes aired 12/16/20.
The School of Law recently honored several employees for their years of service to the institution. Additionally, four individuals who are retiring were recognized.
Distinguished Research Professor & Shackelford Distinguished Professor in Taxation Law Emeritus Walter Hellerstein published "The rapidly evolving universe of US state taxation of cross-border online sales after South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., and its implications for Australian businesses" in 18 ejournal of Tax Research 320 (2020).
The First Amendment Clinic was featured by First Amendment Watch, a New York University online news site, regarding its work on behalf of women who allegedly endured abusive gynecological and other medical treatments while in the custody of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. First Amendment Clinic Director and Clinical Assistant Professor Clare R. Norins and the clinic's Legal Fellow Samantha Hamilton were quoted. The article titled "To Help ICE Detainees Speak Out, a First Amendment Clinic Asked a Court to Keep Their Testimonies Secret" was written by Soraya Ferdman and published 12/11/20.
Callaway Chair Elizabeth Chamblee Burch and her book Mass Tort Deals: Backroom Bargaining in Multidistrict Litigation was featured in a Legal Newsline article regarding MDL reform. The article titled "Plaintiffs lawyer rips colleagues over multidistrict litigation fees, pressure tactics" was written by Daniel Fisher and published 12/11/20.
Associate Professor Christian Turner and Justin C. Van Orsdol (J.D.'20) published "The Gun Subsidy" in 68 Buffalo Law Review 1117 (2020).
The First Amendment Clinic has settled its case involving online censorship by a public official. In Bohanan v. Robinson, a county commissioner blocked a county resident'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 settlement includes significant protections from online censorship for the county resident and other members of the public, as well as damages, including attorneys' fees. Third-year student Anish Patel and second-year students Mark L. Bailey and Davis M. Wright as well as First Amendment Clinic Legal Fellow Samantha Hamilton helped litigate the case, under the supervision of clinic Director Clare R. Norins.
Post Professor Melissa J. "MJ" Durkee presented "Interpretive Entrepreneurs" as part of a St. John's University School of Law's Center for International and Comparative Law Colloquium during November. Her article with the same title is forthcoming in the Virginia Law Review.
Stembler Family Distinguished Professor in Business Law Christopher M. Bruner published "Distributed Ledgers, Artificial Intelligence and the Purpose of the Corporation" in 79 Cambridge Law Journal 431 (2020).
Metadata Services & Special Collections Librarian Rachel S. Evans presented "From Task Management Apps to Accessible Training and Procedures: Tools and ADA Compliant Tech for Teleworking Librarians" as part of an American Association of Law Libraries Technical Services Special Interest Section webinar series during December (with M. Cheney).
Legal Writing Instructor Jean Mangan was recently awarded a Continuous Improvement Grant from Affordable Learning Georgia, a University System of Georgia initiative to promote student success by supporting the implementation of affordable alternatives to expensive commercial textbooks, particularly Open Educational Resources (OER) and open textbooks. Mangan will use the grant to add, expand and revise chapters in her Legal Writing Manual.
Metadata Services & Special Collections Librarian Rachel S. Evans and Web Developer Leslie Grove presented "Born Digital: The Art of Archiving Photos with Script & Batch Processing" at the Society of Georgia Archivists Annual Meeting during November (with S. Bradley).
Assistant Professor Thomas E. Kadri was featured in the United Kingdom's The Telegraph regarding social media platforms censoring content. The article titled "Mark Zuckerberg set for Republican grilling after Facebook suppresses voter fraud claims en masse" was written by Margi Murphy and Laurence Dodds and was published 11/15/20.
The Community Health Law Partnership Clinic and the First Amendment Clinic joined forces to assist women who allegedly endured abusive gynecological and other medical treatments, as well as inhumane conditions and retaliation, while in the custody of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in Georgia. Third-year student Anish Patel helped with the preparation of a motion addressing immigration and free speech issues that the U.S. District Court for Middle District of Georgia granted in its entirety. Specifically, the motion allows the women to submit their statements to the court under seal and using Jane Doe pseudonyms in order to protect the women against further retaliation for speaking out. The clinics also co-represent one of the detained women individually and are pursuing remedies for her release in multiple state and federal forums.