Faculty Focus is a monthly publication documenting the activities, accomplishments, and honors of the University of Houston Law Center Faculty.

July 2008

previous editions of Faculty Focus can be accessed through the Faculty Focus website

Aaron Bruhl was selected to the Board of Governors of the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit. His article, “Return of the Line Item Veto? Legalities, Practicalities, and Some Puzzles,” was recently published in 10 University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law 447.

Marcilynn A. Burke presented her work-in-progress, “The Emperor’s New Clothes: Exposing the Myths Behind Ballot Box Land Use Regulation,” at a property law works-in-progress conference at the University of Colorado Law School in Boulder, in June. She also presented this work at the Lutie A. Lyle Black Women Law Faculty Writing Workshop in Denver, Colorado later that month. At the workshop, she also served as a commentator on another work-in-progress,” Protecting the Unsophisticated Tenant: A Call for a Cap on Late Fees in Residential Leases.”

Joan Krause presented Grand Rounds on “Current Issues in Medicare Fraud and Abuse,” at the University of Texas-Houston Medical School Department of Orthopaedic Surgery on June 26. On June 7, Professor Krause spoke on,” United States v. Krizek: Rough Justice Under the Civil False Claims Act,” at the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics Health Law Professors Conference.

Malikah Marrus, Center for Children, Law & Policy Research Fellow, was chosen by the Harris County Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative to co-chair the self-inspection committee. Malikah is also a PhD candidate, or ABD, as she has finished her course work and passed her qualifying exam.

Douglas Moll’s article,” Shareholder Oppression in Texas Close Corporations: Majority Rule (Still) Isn’t What it Used to be,” has been accepted for publication in the Texas Journal of Business Law (the official publication of the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Texas) and the Houston Business and Tax Law Journal. Professor Moll spoke on the subject at the State Bar of Texas Annual Meeting in Houston on June 26. The presentation was made to the Antitrust and Business Litigation Section. On July 17, Professor Moll also spoke in Austin on a related subject,” Fiduciary Duties to Minority Interests: How Far Does the Shareholder Oppression Rule Extend to LLC’s,” at the 2008 Partnership and Limited Liability Companies program sponsored by the University of Texas.

Tom Oldham delivered two papers at a conference at Sussex University in England in early July. He also attended a reception for international lawyers in London at Staples Inn.

Michael A. Olivas delivered a lecture at the New Mexico Hispanic Genealogical Research Center on June 7 in Albuquerque, “The Arc from Padre Martinez to Reies Lopez Tijerina: Reflections Upon Old Books, Reading Rooms, and Making History.” An article on the same subject will be published in the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review in the fall. In June, he conducted a publications workshop for junior scholars in the field of higher education, with Ford Foundation support, in Santa Fe, NM. His 10^th annual Higher Education Roundtable on Higher Education Finance, also supported by Ford, was held at the UHLC in May.

Jordan Paust had a discussion on human rights with the staff of the World Affairs Council of Houston on July 9.

Richard Saver presented, “Darling v. Charleston Community Hospital: A Broken Leg and Institutional Liability Unbound,” at a plenary session of the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics Health Law Professors Conference in Philadelphia in June. The panel session focused on the back story of famous health law cases and previewed Professor Saver’s forthcoming book, Health Law and Bioethics: Cases in Context (Aspen Publishers 2009), co-edited with Professors Sandra Johnson, Joan Krause, and Robin Fretwell Wilson.

Ben Sheppard has been appointed to the Board of Editors of World Arbitration and Mediation Review. He participated as a panelist at the Spring Meeting of the ABA Section of International Law on April 2, 2008 in New York City. The program, “What’s New in International Arbitration and Litigation – Plus 50 Years of the New York Convention,” included a mock oral argument in the context of a contested judicial action to enforce a foreign arbitral award under the UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (“the New York Convention”). He delivered an address on, “Arbitration Developments and Conflicts (Emerging Trends, Practice Tips, and Other Information of Interest to the Commercial Practitioner,” at the 2008 Conference on ADR sponsored by the Houston Bar Association Alternative Dispute Resolution, May 16, 2008. He participated as a panelist on a program dealing with, “Costs and Interest in International Arbitration,” at the 3^rd Annual Dallas Roundtable, sponsored by the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, June 8, 2008.

Sandra Guerra Thompson recently completed work on an article for a symposium issue of the Texas Tech Law Review. The article, “What Price Justice? The Importance of Costs to Eyewitness Identification Reform,” will appear in the Fall 2008 issue. She was invited to participate in the Marquette Law School Criminal Appeals Conference in Milwaukee next June and will write an article for the conference to be published in the Marquette Law Review. On July 2, Professor Thompson appeared on the morning talk show, Behind the Headlines, with Kim Davis on Houston’s KPRC Channel 2, regarding the Pasadena case of the man who shot two burglars and was not indicted by a grand jury. She was also quoted in the July 11 Houston Chronicle in an article about the intentional killing of a fetus. Professor Thompson was appointed to the planning committee for the uh President/Chancellor’s Investiture Celebration which is slated for September 2008. She now serves as the co-chair for the Academic Programs subcommittee, which will organize programming for the week-long celebration.

Editor, Helen Boyce