DePaul Law News

CPIL works with restorative justice leaders for final skills series

The Center for Public Interest Law concluded the yearlong Public Interest Legal Skills Series with a three session restorative justice series. Adjunct Professors Elizabeth Vastine and Peter Newman taught the series this April during the lunch hour. Vastine and Newman held each session in a restoratve justice circle, to help students gain a basic understanding of the practice, as well as how it is implemented in Cook County Juvenile Justice system.  

Student participants praised the opportunity to collaborate with one another and learn more about this increasingly popular method of alternative dispute resolution, which is fast becoming a critical practice in juvenile justice system. "I was so grateful to have the chance to gain restorative justice skills," said Cindy Bedrosian ('14). "We learned about restorative justice by actually participating in a restorative justice circle each week.  It was wonderful to have this opportunity to learn about an innovative practice by experiencing it, instead of merely attending a lecture." 

 

Students engage in restorative justice by meeting in circle.

 

 

Clifford Symposium "A Brave New World" focuses on litigation finance

The 19th annual Clifford Symposium on Tort Law & Social Policy will examine the issues of financing litigation. Twenty-two scholars including legal academics, social scientists and economists from the U.S. and Canada will present on topics ranging from the financial challenge of class relief to ethical issues in litigation finance.

The symposium, "A Brave New World: The Changing Face of Litigation and Law Firm Finance," was organized by Professor Stephan Landsman, the Robert A. Clifford Chair in Tort Law & Social Policy. The faculty chair and annual symposium are supported through an endowment established by Robert A. Clifford (JD '76) in 1994.

The symposium is free and open to the public, but space is limited. It will be held on April 18 and 19 at the DePaul Center, Room 8005, 1 E Jackson Blvd, Chicago. For more information and a complete schedule, please visit law.depaul.edu/clifford.

 

DePaul Law's gun violence program responds to President Obama’s Chicago visit

Today President Obama is home in Chicago, pressing Congress to act on his proposals to reduce gun violence. The president’s proposals come at a critical time for our nation. This is a watershed moment when political leaders might exercise courage to curtail the epidemic of gun violence. 

At DePaul University College of Law, a Program on Gun Violence has been initiated by Professor Barry Kellman. This is the only such program at an American law school, and one of the very few law-based programs to focus on these issues. The mission of the DePaul Program on Gun Violence is to contribute to the understanding of the law of curtailing gun violence and thereby enable that law to be optimally effective. This mission is based on the recognition that these issues are complex with dimensions that go from international trafficking to local crime control. We strive to educate people about these issues (within and outside DePaul) and to contribute rigorous legal analysis to the public debate.

According to Professor Kellman, the president’s proposals are altogether consistent with the Second Amendment; in fact, the president’s proposals strengthen the Second Amendment’s express commitment to building the security of a free country. Certainly, the nation’s Founding Fathers understood that a democracy must have the right to decide how much lethal force private citizens can put to use. While everyone has a right to defend themselves, the Supreme Court has made clear that society has the right to regulate firearms for its security, and “dangerous and unusual” weapons, including machine guns and other military weapons, do not have Second Amendment protections.

Journal's special edition preserves deregulation history

The International Aviation Law Institute journal Issues in Aviation Law and Policy (IALP), has published its second special edition, containing transcripts from the institute's acclaimed "Conversations with Aviation Leaders" Oral History Project. The project explores the origins, history, and record of U.S. airline deregulation as told through the voices and memories of its participants. Six interviews have been completed to date, all of which may be viewed at the Institute's website.

By transcribing these interviews, IALP has turned valuable conversations into more easily searchable and citable scholarly resources. Later interviews will be collected in subsequent special editions.

The current special edition contains interviews with the following aviation scholars:

• John R. Byerly, the U.S. Department of State's longest-serving Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Affairs, and the lead U.S. negotiator for dozens of U.S. air services agreements (ASAs), including the historic U.S.-EU Open Skies agreement
• The Honorable Gerald L. Baliles, former Attorney General and Governor of Virginia and chair of the 1993 National Commission to Ensure a Strong Competitive Airline Industry; Gov. Baliles is also the co-founder of Issues in Aviation Law and Policy
• Jeffrey N. Shane, who served in a number of key policymaking positions in the federal government over a 30-year period, including Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy from 2003 to 2008.

To purchase a copy of the special edition, or to subscribe to IALP, please email IALP@depaul.edu.

 

Family law hosts 10th anniversary lecture with Sheriff Tom Dart

On Wednesday, February 13, the Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center will celebrate its 10th anniversary with the 10th annual Valentine’s Day Family Violence Distinguished Lecture. "Dismantling the Exploitative Sex Trade Industry in Cook County: Barriers, Issues and Challenges" will cover myths and disinformation as well as how cultural supports, including the media, hamper efforts to end sex trafficking in Cook County.

The guest speaker for the event, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart, will discuss his experience implementing end demand strategies to eliminate trafficking and exploitation of young women and girls in the sex trade industry. Sheriff Dart's Human Trafficking Response Team (HTRT) has responded to the exploitation of females in the sex trade in Cook County since 2009.

The 10th anniversary Valentine's Day lecture coincides with the release of Family Law Center Senior Research Fellow Jody Raphael and Lindsey LaPointe's recent HTRT study, The Cook County Sheriff’s Human Trafficking Response Team: A Law Enforcement Model. The report focuses on how effectively the HTRT initiative is addressing the demand side of prostitution and provides readers with a sense of the guiding principles of the project, statistics about its effects and information that can be used to replicate the model.

The Valentine's Day lecture will take place at the DePaul Center, Room 8005, 1 E. Jackson Boulevard, from 2:15 – 4:30 p.m. Registration for this event is full.

Havel addresses Oxford group on EU ETS implications

Professor Brian Havel, International Aviation Law Institute director and 2011-13 Keeley Visiting Fellow at Wadham College, Oxford, presented "A Clash of Law and Politics: the EU's Audacious Self-Appointment as the Global Regulator for Limiting Aviation Carbon Emissions" to Oxford's EU Law Discussion Group on November 21.

Professor Havel discussed whether the EU's unilateral application of its own Emissions Trading Scheme to the entire global air transport industry -- which produced a controversial supportive opinion by the EU Court of Justice and provoked outrage and threats of retaliation from key trade partners -- pushed the international community toward stronger remedial action. He also discussed whether the EU's political imperative of dealing with climate change should trump the prevailing structure of international legal relationships and force a fundamental rethinking of how international law responds to transborder systemic challenges.

DePaul’s Center for Animal Law examines legal protection of animals used in entertainment at October symposium

Animals are used for entertainment every day in American society. They are the main attractions at places such as zoos and circuses, and are regularly seen on television and in films. While animals entertain, what rights and protections govern their use? The Center for Animal Law at DePaul University will take an unbiased glimpse at the laws and protections governing use of animals in entertainment at a day long symposium Oct. 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 8005.

“Our aim is to facilitate a balanced dialogue about the use of animals in entertainment activities such as racing, TV and film, zoos and circuses,” said Margit Livingston, director of the Center for Animal Law. “Specifically, this symposium will look at the law’s role in protecting animals used in these activities, while at the same time, recognizing that many view these activities as beneficial to society.”

Gary Francione, distinguished professor of law and Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Scholar of Law & Philosophy at Rutgers-Newark School of Law, will give the keynote address. Francione, who is at the forefront of the modern animal rights movement, will present some of the legal challenges in animal law when animals are viewed as property. “If we really believe animals have moral value; if we really believe that animals are not just things, we must fundamentally change our behavior and seriously look at the matter of animal use and not just the matter of animal treatment,” said Francione.

Panel discusses Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law and what it means for Midwest

What is Arizona’s SB 1070 immigration law and what does it mean for the Midwest? A panel sought to answer this question on April 19, which was especially timely because of the Supreme Court oral argument in the Arizona v. U.S. case this week. The panel (pictured right) included moderator Chuck Roth, director of litigation at Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC); Brian Murray, partner at Jones Day who represented NIJC as amicus curaie in Arizona v. U.S.; Maricela Garcia, CEO of Gads Hill Center; and Daniel Morales, assistant professor of law at DePaul University.

Professor Morales began the panel discussion by mentioning some of the controversial aspects of the Arizona immigration law SB 1070 that the Supreme Court would consider. He described how section 2b of the law requires law enforcement officers to verify a person’s immigration status if the officer has a “reasonable suspicion” that the person may be an undocumented immigrant. The concern with this provision is that it opens up too much discretion for officers, and people will be targeted based on the way they look. Professor Morales pointed out that section 3, which the 9th Circuit enjoined, criminalizes being undocumented. Section 5 criminalizes applying or soliciting work if you are undocumented, which is unprecedented for state law. Finally, section 6 authorizes warrantless arrests and deportation based on probable cause. Additionally, citizens can sue local law enforcement for “failing to enforce the law to maximum extent.”

Garcia pointed out that 36 states have filed similar “copycat” laws since Arizona’s, but 31 of those states have rejected those laws. She spoke of a strong pushback in communities across the nation to reject this anti-immigrant sentiment, despite the economic fear-mongering that undocumented immigrants will take our jobs. Garcia illustrated how SB 1070 represents an attack on the Latino community and an invitation to racial profiling. However, Arizona has suffered $740 million in economic loss since SB 1070 was passed because of a significant loss of tax base from people who left the state. Arizona has paid $1.5 million alone in legal fees to defend the bill.

Center discusses Strauss-Kahn allegations at annual family violence lecture

On February 8, the Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center hosted its 8th Annual Distinguished Valentine's Day Family Violence Lecture.

Washington D.C. Prosecutor Roger Canaff, who provides technical assistance to U.S. Army rape prosecutors, discussed the evidence in the rape allegations against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. He and fellow presenter, Lester Munson, attorney and senior writer for ESPN.com, entertained a lively discussion about the role that universities and sports institutions play in tacitly accepting violence against women.

Alumni help increase access to justice through technology

By Susan Ritacca ('13) -- originally published in the Center for Public Interest Law "The Advocate" 

If you have researched Illinois law, chances are you encountered illinoislegalaid.org, the public portal for Illinois Legal Aid Online (ILAO). Used by trained advocates, students and the public alike, ILAO provides easy-to-understand legal guides in more than 30 areas of law. These resources are especially important to Illinois residents who do not qualify for legal aid but still cannot afford to pay for representation.

“By going online, people can search easily for answers to legal issues or chat with an operator. What we’re doing is providing resources and tools to put the law within reach,” explains ILAO Program Director Teri Ross (JD ’06).

In addition to the public site, members of the legal community can access volunteer opportunities, training and practice support on illinoisprobono.org; Illinois legal aid attorneys can visit illinoislegaladvocate.org for online tools and legal guides; and Spanish speakers can learn about Illinois law on ayudalegalil.org.

Since its founding in 2001, ILAO has been on the cutting edge of utilizing technology to increase access to legal services. Notably, ILAO was recently awarded both the Foundation for Improvement of Justice Award and the ABA’s Louis M. Brown Award for dedication to providing affordable legal information, services and representation to middle- and low-income individuals. 

Yet, for all of the accolades and accomplishments, the most remarkable thing about ILAO might be its dynamic staff of DePaul alumni. Working under the direction of Executive Director Lisa Colpoys and Teri Ross are Gwen Daniels (JD ’98), director of technology; Jed Untereker (JD ’06), legal content manager and internship director; and Stephanie Villinski (JD ’03), legal content manager.

ILAO currently dominates a niche market of free online legal services. A recent launch of mobile applications for iPads, iPhones and Androids further streamlines access to legal help for both pro bono volunteers and the public.

“There are common misconceptions about mobile and Internet use among low-income communities,” notes Ross. “The trend we’re seeing is that lower-income users are making up the fastest growing segment of the smartphone market. Mobile devices are the leveling factor in the digital divide.”