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.
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.
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.