President George W. Bush has appointed Law Center Professor Anthony Chase to the Federal Reserve Bank Board of Dallas through former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling’s unexpired term.
Professor Leslie Griffin gave the Larry & Joanne Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics’ Inaugural Lecture, “Who Blew the Whistle?” on November 19th.
Dean Nancy B. Rapoport was elected to membership in the American Law Institute.
Professor Jon S. Schultz was added to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board’s Roster of Fulbright Senior Specialists.
=============================
Honorable Mentions:
In the September issue of Syllabus (ABA Section of Legal Education & Admissions to the Bar), Professor Mary Anne Bobinski was mentioned under “Committee News” as a new Vice-Chairman on the Curriculum Committee. Elsewhere in the issue, it was noted that Professor Michael A. Olivas was re-elected to a three-year term as At-Large Council Member and, during November and December, Prof. Olivas was interviewed by National Public Radio (on the Texas Top Ten Percent Plan), and by the Wall Street Journal (on prepaid tuition plans & Sec. 529 programs), the New York Times (on the University of Michigan admissions cases), the Washington Post (on immigration & higher education), and the Chronicle of Higher Education (on residency requirements & the USA Patriot Act). Professor Mary Anne Bobinski spoke about the medical malpractice crisis in December for local PBS Channel 8 and on cloning for the national TalkAmerica Radio Network and two local TV stations (Fox 26 & Channel 11). On November 11th, Professor Geraldine S. Moohr was interviewed by a local reporter for the Beaumont Enterprise about a federal bribery case that involved the former mayor of Beaumont. Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson interview ed on December 4th on KUHF radio about televising jury deliberations. Professor Peter Hoffman was spotted fleetingly on some local channel commenting on Houston Mayor Brown’s inclusion, and the effects thereof, on the jury in a current capital jury trial. Professor Victor Flatt published an op-ed piece in the Houston Chronicle in December on the State v. Lawrence Garner case regard the state’s sodomy law.
=============================
Academy & Colloquium:
Professor Richard Dole gave speeches on “American Employment & Consumer Arbitration” at Shandong University Law School and to the Jinan Commission on Arbitration in December in the People's Republic of China.
Professor Victor Flatt organized an institutional response from environmental law professors nationwide on the EPA’s New Source Review draft rules. Their comments will be assembled by Prof. Flatt for publication in the New York University Journal of Environmental Law.
Professor Sanford Gaines, Chair of the Section, moderated the recent American Association of Law School’s Environmental Section's session on “Pollution Trading: Promises & Pitfalls,” a panel discussion featuring an economist from Resources for the Future as well as two lawyers, one from Natural Resources Defense Council (who are actively promoting pollution trading for reduction of carbon dioxide emissions) and one from Citizens for a Better Environment in California (who are uncovering and trying to correct emissions trading deficiencies in the Los Angeles area). Through the efforts of Professors Gaines and Nick Robinson of Pace Law School, the American Association of Law Schools’ Environmental Section has also obtained approval for a June 2004 professional development workshop on international and comparative environmental law from a development perspective - The Commission on Environmental Law of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature will co-sponsor this event. Prof. Gaines will be a featured speaker (and article contributor) at a UCLA Law Review Symposium on NAFTA, “Law & the Border,” on January 31st. Prof. Gaines paper, “NAFTA as Symbol,” discusses maquiladoras (which pre-date NAFTA) and electricity trading (which has become active only in the last couple of years).
Professor Leslie Griffin gave the inaugural lecture, entitled “Who Blew the Whistle?” for the Larry & Joanne Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics on November 19th at the Four Seasons Hotel in Houston. On December 3rd, Prof. Griffin was a panelist at the Albany Law School Public Forum on The Crisis in the Catholic Church (along with the Bishop of Albany, the Founder of SNAP (the Survivors' Group, and another law professor) and presented a paper, “Hiding Behind the First Amendment.” Also that day, Prof. Griffin was interviewed by local TV about the panel, participated for the NPR radio program, “The Law,” with the other panelists, and taught Professor Patrick O'Connor's class in legal ethics ... Busy day!
Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson was interviewed on December 8th on KTRH radio regarding the question of whether cameras should be allowed in jury deliberations during capital murder trials. Also, Professor Guerra Thompson attended the AALS annual meeting in Washington.
Professor Lonny S. Hoffman worked as Editor of The Advocate, the journal for the Litigation Section of the State Bar of Texas, with his assistant editor, Ms. Jackie Pontello (UHLC student, Class of 2004) to publish the first issue of the journal following Prof. Pat Hazel's retirement as the previous editor. The Advocate was mailed at the end of December to the nearly 9,000 practitioners, judges, and law libraries that receive it. Prof. Hoffman also finished grading what felt like nearly 9,000 exams for his Procedure I and II classes.
Professor Craig Joyce has been reappointed to the Board of Editors of the Journal of Supreme Court History, sponsored by the Supreme Court of the United States. Prof. Joyce has served on the board since 1988.
Professor Joan Krause joined a number of health law professors nationwide on November 11th in submitting an amicus brief in support of the State of Oregon in Oregon v. Ashcroft, which is pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Prof. Krause was interviewed on November 18th for articles in Managed Care and Risk & Insurance on the topic of recent fraud litigation in the pharmaceutical industry. Professor Krause’s “Foreword: The Promise & Peril of Biotechnology" appeared in volume 2 of the Houston Journal of Health Law & Policy (December 2002). Prof. Krause was elected Secretary & Newsletter Editor for the American Association of Law Schools’ Section on Aging & the Law.
Adjunct Professor James Lawrence moderated “Cross-Examination: Anyone Can Do It,” a plenary session at the American Bar Association’s Family Law Section Fall Meeting in Orlando in November.
Professor Bryan A. Liang’s recent and pending presentations include “Lawyers in the Clinic: Legal Issues in Performing Patient Safety Work,” Do No Harm: Second Annual Colorado Patient Safety Conference, November 1st in Denver [plenary presentation]; “Layperson & Physician Perception of the Malpractice System: Implications for Patient Safety,” Health Law & Policy Institute, University of Houston Law Center January 2003; “Perceptions of Medical Malpractice: Issues for Reform,” University of Houston Law Center Colloquium Series, January 30th 2003. Professor Liang’s will host a talk at the University of Houston Health Law & Policy Institute on January 23rd by Prof. Dr. Jef Van Langendonck, Director of the Institute for Social Law, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, January 23rd, 2003. Prof. Liang was a Guest Editor for a Special Issue of Health Law & Policy, 16(6) Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America (1315-1525). Prof. Liang published the following articles: “A 35-Year Old Woman with Somatic Symptoms, Hospital Physician, December 2002, at 47-59 [with Drs. Robyn K. Goshorn and Elizabeth A. Rice]; “Preface,” 16(6) Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America xi-xii (2002); “An Overview of United States Law,” 16(6) Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America 1315-1330; Karen M. Coulson, Brandy L. Glasser, & Bryan A. Liang, “Informed Consent: Issues for Providers,” 16(6) Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America 1365-1380 (2002); Anna V. Schlotzhauer & Bryan A. Liang, “Definitions & Implications of Death,” 16(6) Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America 1397-1414 (2002); “Medical Information, Confidentiality, & Privacy,” 16(6) Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America 1433-1448 (2002); and Michael K. Barrett & Bryan A. Liang, “The Rules of Fraud & Abuse,” 16(6) Hematology/Oncology Clinics of North America 1509-1526 (2002).
Professor Ellen Marrus has been named to the American Association of Law Schools’ Committee on Clinical Legal Education. Additionally, Prof. Marrus has a piece being published in an upcoming Juvenile Justice Update, entitled “How Gault Plays In Texas,” and will be speaking at a town hall meeting January 30th on the current state of the juvenile justice system in Texas. The Town Hall meeting is being sponsored by Representative Sylvester Turner and the University of Houston Law Center and will be held at the Law Center. Also, Prof. Marrus reports, the Southwest Regional Juvenile Defender Center received $19,900 from the Houston Galveston Area Council for providing training to juvenile defense attorneys in the Houston/Galveston area and, in addition, it allowed the Center to videotape the training sessions. The videotapes are being viewed by juvenile defense attorneys around the state and region to improve the representation provided to juveniles in delinquency proceedings.
Professor Douglas Moll was elected Chair of the New Law Professors Section of the American Association of Law Schools. Prof. Moll also served as the moderator for the section's program this year, “Developing a Scholarly Agenda,” which drew approximately 60-70 attendees. Professor Moll was also elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the AALS’ Debtor-Creditor Section. Finally, Prof. Moll accepted invitation to membership in Texas General Counsel Forum, a group of both large and small corporations in Texas.
Professor Geraldine S. Moohr’s article on trade secret theft, “The Problematic Role of Criminal Law in Regulating Use of Information: The Case of the Economic Espionage Act,” published last spring in North Carolina Law Review was cited in United States v. Lange by the United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. Judge Easterbrook relied on the article in interpreting the definition of a trade secret in the new federal crime that prohibits theft of trade secrets. In United States v. Ganim, the Connecticut Federal District Court cited Prof. Moohr’s mail fraud piece (published in 1994) in rejecting the government's attempt to expand the reach of the crime of honest services mail fraud.
Professor Thomas Oldham published the 4th edition of Texas Marital Property Rights, with the valuable assistance of Ms. Ruth Serna. Next month Prof. Oldham will submit the manuscript for the 30th supplement to his book Divorce, Separation & the Distribution of Property. Prof. Oldham has been invited to be one of the 3 distinguished visitors annually at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.
Professor Michael A. Olivas published “Labor & Employment in the Academy” in issue of the Employee Rights & Employment Policy Journal (Vol. 6, No. 2 (2002) a piece which was the transcript of a session at the 2002 American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Annual Meeting in which he participated (at 156). In addition, Prof. Olivas chaired the 2003 AALS Annual Meeting session (“Post 9/11 Developments”) of the Immigration Law Section, which Section he chaired in 2002-03. The Supplement to his Higher Education Law casebook (2nd edition, 1997, Carolina Academic Press) is now available in fine bookstores everywhere. In Sacramento, at the Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Conference, Prof. Olivas served as a respondent to papers on financing higher education.
Professor Jordan Paust’s essay, “Judicial Power to Determine the Status & Rights of Persons Detained Without Trial,” was accepted for publication in 44 Harvard International Law Journal, Issue No. 2 (2003).
Dean Nancy B. Rapoport has signed a contract as editor with Foundation Press for a book, Enron: Corporate Fiascos & Legal Implications, co-edited with Prof. Bala Dharan (Rice University).
Professor Richard Saver was quoted in the National Law Journal (November 25th 2002), commenting on a recent United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit decision (Ellis v. C.R. Bard Inc.) holding that a woman who accidentally gave her mother a morphine overdose could not collect damages from the manufacturer of the morphine-delivery pump. The court ruled that, because of the learned intermediary doctrine, the manufacturer had no duty to warn patients or third-parties about the dangers of a nonpatient using the medical device.
Professor Robert Schuwerk's new treatise, Handbook of Texas Lawyer & Judicial Ethics - Attorney Tort Standards, Attorney Disciplinary Standards & Judicial Ethics Standards (Thompson-West 2002) is now in fine bookstores everywhere. Prof. Schuwerk’s co-author, Lillian B. Hardwick, is a Law Center graduate.
Research Professor Ronald L. Scott made a presentation November 19th at the Law Center in support of Disability Awareness Week 2002. Prof. Scott discussed recent Supreme Court cases concerning the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Professor Jacqueline Weaver was awarded a research grant from the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators to do a study of international unitization. Prof. Weaver’s will work with David Asmus at Baker Botts to secure copies of international unitization agreements from countries around the world (both intra-country agreements among companies with different production blocks in the same field) and inter-country agreements for oil and gas fields which cross national borders).
Acting Library Director Michelle Wu, along with co-author, Ms. Leslie A. Lee, submitted an article, “Personnel Management in Access Services - an Overview of Selected Resources,” which has been accepted 1(4) Journal: Journal of Access Services for publication later this year.
Professor Stephen Zamora organized and moderated a panel for the Plenary Session of the recent American Association of Law Schools’ Annual Meeting. The session was entitled “Why U.S. Law Schools Should Teach More Than U.S. Law.” The speakers were Dean Michael Young of GWU Law School; U.S. law professors Whitmore Gray (U Michigan) and Roger Goebel (Fordham); Professor Catherine Kessedjian, of the Université de Panthéon-Assas (Paris II); and Professor Carlos Rosenkrantz, of the Universidad de Buenos Aires and NYU law school.
=============================
Focus on the Health Law & Policy Institute:
The Health Law & Policy Institute's Assistant Research Professor Paul Arshagouni, M.D., M.P.H., J.D. has accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Law at Michigan State University Law School beginning in Summer 2003. Professor Arshagouni will teach first year and health law subjects and lead the development of a new health law program.
The Law Center appointed Laura Hermer, J.D., LL.M. as an Assistant Research Professor affiliated with the Health Law & Policy Institute in December 2002. Professor Hermer will participate in the Texas Legislative research project, the Institute's bioterrorism preparedness research initiatives, and tobacco control-related research. Her present research interests also include women's health and access to health care. Before joining the research faculty, Ms. Hermer was a Senior Research Scholar at the Institute for Medical Humanities, UTMB-Galveston, and practiced health law as an associate at Kruse, Luccia and Evans, L.L.P. Her most recent article, Midwifery: The Road to Universal Legalization, will be published in the Summer 2003 issue of Health Matrix. Her previous article, Paradigms Revised: Intersex Children, Bioethics and the Law, was published in Volume 11 of Annals of Health Law and won the 2002 Robert S. Toth L.L.M. Writing Award
Professor Mary Anne Bobinski and the Health Law & Policy Institute faculty and staff have had a productive fall. The Institute entered into a $56,000 interagency agreement with the Texas Department of Health to research state and federal law aspects of providing health care in a bioterrorism incident. The Institute's project focuses on licensing, credentialing, and liability. The project will be completed by Assistant Research Professor Paul Arshagouni, M.D., M.P.H., J.D. and newly appointed Assistant Research Professor Laura Hermer, J.D., LL.M. The Institute is also in the final stages of negotiating a $24,000 contract with the City of Houston Department of Health and Human Services to research legal aspects of local public health preparedness. Finally, the Institute joined with the University of Texas School of Public Health's application for federal funding to support a public health preparedness training center. The application was approved but funding is contingent on the federal FY '03 budget. The Institute's portion of the award would total approximately $100,000 per year.
=============================
Who’s Watching?
Several Law Center organizations and offices maintain subject-specific informational websites, and sometimes other websites “link” to them. Not all sites are linked elsewhere. Following is a survey (through Google.com), eliminating “self-referential” links (i.e., links between various UH & UHLC websites):
Continuing
Legal Education:
• Houston Area Law Librarians Association ( http://www.aallnet.org/chapter/hall/
)
• State Bar of Texas Appellate Section ( http://www.tex-app.org/cle.html
)
Health
Law & Policy Institute:
• Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America
( http://genomics.phrma.org/bioethics.html )
• National Institutes of Health ( http://www.nih.gov/sigs/bioethics/legal.html
)
• Independent Living Research Utilization at TIRR
( http://www.ilru.org/mgdcare/rrtcnewsletter.html )
• Pace Law School Library ( http://csmail.law.pace.edu/lawlib/Healthlaw/journals.htm
)
• Instituto Politecnico de Bela ( http://www.estig.ipbeja.pt/~ac_direito/dsaude.html
)
• Young Law Library, University of Arkansas
( http://law-gopher.uark.edu/webpage/Internet_Resources.html )
• Public Responsibility in Medicine & Research ( http://www.primr.org/orglinks.html
)
• Georgetown list of Bioethics Programs
( http://www.georgetown.edu/research/nrcbl/orgs.htm )
• Dalhousie University Law site ( http://as01.ucis.dal.ca/law/hli/links.cfm
)
• Texas Representative Scott Hochberg ( http://www.scotthochberg.com/links.html
)
• William Manning’s Health Law Resource ( http://md-jd.info/health.html
)
• U.C. Davis School of Medicine ( http://bioethics.ucdavis.edu/related/
)
• Loyola University of Chicago ( http://www.luc.edu/libraries/law/hlth.htm
)
• Brandt Law Site ( http://www.brandtlaw.com/lydia/subject_spec.htm )
• University of Chicago - “More Bioethics Resources”
( http://ethics.bsd.uchicago.edu/us.html )
• Houston-Area & Texas Health Associations
( http://hhw.library.tmc.edu/texasassociations.html )
• Indiana University Law (Indianapolis)
( http://www.iulaw.indy.indiana.edu/programs/CLH/websites.htm )
• International Association for Identification ( http://www.mdiai.org/Links.htm
)
• State Bar of Texas Health Law Section
( http://www.texhealthlaw.org/Public/healthlaw.htm )
Institute
for Energy Law & Enterprise:
• DotEcon ( http://www.dotecon.com/links/energy/organis.htm )
• The Knowledge Problem
( http://knowledgeproblem.blogspot.com/2002_08_25_knowledgeproblem_archive.html
)
• International Association of Energy Economics ( http://www.iaee.org/fr/resources/
)
• Florida State University Law Energy Links
( http://www.law.fsu.edu/energybook/links.html )
• STARTech Foundation ( http://www.startech.org/events_startcamp.htm )
Institute
for Higher Education Law & Governance:
• TIAA-CREF Institute ( http://www.tiaa-crefinstitute.org/related.htm
)
International
Law Institute:
• Barger on Legal Writing ( http://www.ualr.edu/~cmbarger/otherpeople.html
)
Law Center
Admissions Page:
• U.S. News & World Report
( http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/directory/dir-law/brief/glanc_03154_brief.php
)
• Vanderbilt’s Graduate & Career Services Office
( http://www.vanderbilt.edu/career/gpsfair.htm )
• The Jurist ( http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/admissions.htm )
Borlase
Law Library & Legal Research Guides ( http://www.law.uh.edu/guides
):
• FindLaw, State Resources, Texas ( http://www.findlaw.com/11stategov/tx/sites.html
)
• Bridgeport (Conn.) Public Library ( http://bridgeport.lib.ct.us/bpl/ref/legal.htm
)
• Connecticut Judicial Branch Law Libraries
( http://www.jud.state.ct.us/LawLib/reference.htm )
• Online Business & Legal Research Assistance
( http://www.mdpme.com/RESEARCH4.HTM )
• Tom Mayo’s HomePage: Law Review ( http://faculty.smu.edu/tmayo/lawreview.htm
)
• GeoCities Legal Information Page
( http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/8625/lrhp04.html )
• West Virginia University Orientation Page
( http://www.wvu.edu/~lawfac/jelkins/orientation/studyaid.html )
• Association of Legal Writing Directors
( http://www.alwd.org/resources/legal_writing_links.htm )
• An Internet Hotlist of Law Guides Organized by Institution
( http://www3.uakron.edu/law/richert/index1.html )
• U.Texas Law School “Essential Sites for Texas Lawyers”
( http://www.law.utexas.edu/cle/ )
• Best’s Legal Bookmarks ( http://legalresearch.org/docs/bookmark.html
)
• Katsuey’s Legal Gateway ( http://www.katsuey.com/group6.htm )
• Bibliothèque de l’Université Laval - Droits comparé
et nationaux
( http://www.bibl.ulaval.ca/ress/droit/bouton4.html )
• Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP - The Virtual Chase
( http://www.virtualchase.com/resources/otherguides.shtml )
• Georgetown Legal Research & Writing Page
( http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/lr/rs/leglwrite.html )
• University of Calgary Law Library
( http://www.ucalgary.ca/library/law/research.htm )
• University of North Carolina Greenboro - Other Legal & Governmental
sources:
( http://www.uncg.edu/cha/UNIVERSITY_COUNSEL/OTHER_LINKS/ )
• South Texas College of Law - Legal Writing & Research (McGaugh)
( http://www.stcl.edu/faculty-dir/mcgaugh/main.htm )
• University of Alabama ( http://bama.ua.edu/~lrw/uselinks.htm )
• Healy Law Offices - Smith county Bar Association
( http://www.healylaw.com/smithcle.htm )
• Osaka University Law ( http://www.law.osaka-u.ac.jp/~kado/lr/lrurl.htm
)
• Tohoku University Law
( http://www.law.tohoku.ac.jp/~serizawa/internetkogi2.html )
• Stetson Law School Research & Writing Page
( http://www.law.stetson.edu/courses/lrw/research_tips.htm )
• LexNotes - Secrets of Top Legal Researchers ( http://www.lexnotes.com/tips.shtml
)
• FreedomLaw ( http://freedomlaw.com/LEGMETH.html )
• Louisiana State University
( http://faculty.law.lsu.edu/ccorcos/lawhum/researchstrategies.htm )
• The Jurist ( http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/law_student4.htm )
• Teenwriting ( http://teenwriting.about.com/cs/lettertoeditor/ )
• Universite du Quebec a Montreal
( http://www.unites.uqam.ca/bib/thematique/sc_jurid/metho.html )
• Scottish Law Online ( http://www.scottishlaw.org.uk/intranet/legalskills.html
)
• Business.com ( http://www.business.com/directory/law/state_law/texas/reference/
)
LLM Master’s
Program:
• Washburn School of Law Post-Graduate & Dual-Degree Programs
( http://www.washlaw.edu/postlaw/others.htm )
Mexican
Legal Studies Program:
• The Jurist ( http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/world/mexi.htm )
People’s
Law School:
• The Jurist ( http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/home_pgs.htm )
• African Village ( http://www.africanvillage.com/links.html )
• International Association of Lemon Law Administrators
( http://www.ialla.net/consumer.htm )
• University of Texas Tarlton Law Library Site
( http://www.law.utexas.edu/research/subject/consumer.htm )
• State Bar of Texas Consumer Law Section ( http://www.jtexconsumerlaw.com
)
• University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents
( http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/law/consumers.htm )
• Brandt Law Site ( http://www.brandtlaw.com/lydia/forms.htm )
• Brazoria County Library System ( http://bcls.stic.lib.tx.us/links.htm
)
• KTAB-TV New Links ( http://www.ktabtv.com/weblinks.htm )
Rod Borlase, Editor