The Faculty Lounge

Never forget child separation, Trump’s most abominable act.....

In my recent op-ed on President Trump's Family Separation policy, in a big surprise, I take the Trump administration to task for this horrific policy. Happy to discuss this issue further with any readers here. I also want to recommend a recently released book: SEPARATED: Inside an American Tragedy: https://books.google.com/books/about/Separated.html?id=mzy2DwAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description 

The Op-ed: 

On June 26, a federal court demanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) free children from custody in response to health concerns at their facilities. Judge Dolly M. Gee found ICE had failed “at the basics,” such as keeping these children in “safe and sanitary” living conditions during a time when COVID-19 was devastating the country.

Seen in an Evanston Park

A modern take on soul...

 

 

Under the Boardwalk [UPDATED]

"Under the Boardwalk" was written by Artie Resnick and Kenny Young (real name Shalom Giskan, born in Jerusalem) for The Drifters in 1964. Clyde McPhatter and Ben E. King had already left the group by then, and the new lead singer, Rudy Lewis, died of a suspected heroin overdose the night before the recording session. The lead vocal was taken over by Johnny Moore, which explains why there are only three Drifters in the first video, which was made shortly after the initial release that May.

Seasonally appropriate:

Hiring Announcement: Tulane University Law School

From an email message that I recently received:

Tulane University Law School invites applications from entry-level or pre-tenure lateral candidates for a tenure-track position to teach criminal law. Applications are particularly welcome from candidates whose research and teaching interests include such topics as race and the law, critical race theory, and related criminal justice topics including social movements in criminal law (including Black Lives Matter), prisons and prison abolition, mass incarceration, and policing. The appointments committee especially invites applications from candidates who will enhance the diversity of the law faculty.

Tulane University Law School enjoys a strong international reputation, with specialized programs in maritime law, international and comparative law, civil law, environmental law, and sports law. Tulane University has a student body of approximately 14,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 140,000 alumni, and an approximate annual operating budget of $1.1 billion. It is home to 10 schools and colleges, and offers degrees in architecture, business, law, liberal arts and sciences, social work, medicine, as well as public health and tropical medicine.

Applications should be sent to:

Professor Martin Davies
Chair, Faculty Appointments Committee
Tulane University School of Law
6329 Freret Street
New Orleans, LA 70118

mdavies@tulane.edu

Call for Papers (Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences -- Loyola University Chicago School of Law)

From an email message that I recently received:

Call for Articles: Post-Pandemic Impact on Healthcare Development and Delivery

The Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences at Loyola University Chicago School of Law invites original submissions for publication in our Winter 2020 issue. The Winter 2020 edition is seeking articles about post-pandemic impacts on the American healthcare system in the different stages of healthcare development and delivery. These topic areas may include but are not limited to:

• Health law and the life sciences. Topics may include a discussion of the bounds of the FDA’s authority; the impact of a public health crises like the COVID pandemic on the FDA’s function; and the FDA’s role in innovation in recent years.
• Technology and Telehealth. Topics may include a discussion of the role of telehealth in primary patient care; the long-term integration of telehealth into healthcare delivery; challenges of adopting a technology-based approach to healthcare; data privacy in the age of a pandemic; and the introduction of telepsychiatry into post-pandemic healthcare delivery models.
• The impact of COVID on healthcare providers. Topics may include a discussion on mental health considerations for healthcare providers; mechanisms to prevent disruptions in equipment supply chains for future emergencies; and long-term changes in the delivery of health care.
  
  
  Submission Information: We welcome submissions from professional disciplines other than law and encourage submissions from authors whose voices are traditionally underrepresented in legal scholarship.  We will also consider JD and LLM student submissions with a short letter of support from a faculty advisor from your home institution. Please direct articles for publication to Annalshl@luc.edu by July 24, 2020.
  
  Questions: Please email any questions to Annalshl@luc.edu.

Call for Papers (Journal of Regulatory Compliance -- Loyola University Chicago School of Law)

From an email message that I received in recent days:

Journal of Regulatory Compliance Call for Papers

Fall 2020 Issue - Regulatory Compliance Implications of COVID-19

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the legal community has ramped up efforts to identify challenges and manage risks across a variety of industries. In recognition of the broad regulatory compliance implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Journal of Regulatory Compliance invites original submissions for publication in our Fall 2020 issue.  ​

The official Journal of Regulatory Compliance at Loyola University Chicago School of Law is a biannual digital publication exploring themes and challenges facing regulatory compliance from a wide range of perspectives. The journal seeks to advance the academic dialogue on managing regulatory risk in a commercial enterprise, the experience of the regulated actor, and analysis of regulations in the context of organized efforts to comply with the law.  ​

The Fall 2020 issue is seeking articles about developments in the regulatory landscape during the COVID-19 Pandemic. We seek articles of broad interest covering policy, regulation, and risk management. These topic areas may include but are not limited to: ​

• Government Stimulus Compliance. Topics may include a discussion of an organization’s obligation through acceptance of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act relief; the compliance risks under the CARES Act; and other compliance and implementation challenges for fund recipients.
• Workplace Compliance. Topics may include a discussion of the workplace safety measures and guidelines; OSHA obligations and standards; employment law aspects of remote working; and leaves of absence under the new federal emergency sick leave and family leave law.
• Healthcare Compliance. Topics may include a discussion of the temporary regulatory waivers and new emergency rules in respond to the pandemic; the implication on treatment, operation, and reimbursement models; the changing regulatory framework on telehealth; and challenges on healthcare providers.
• Environmental Compliance. Topics may include a discussion of the ongoing environmental compliance and reporting when lapses are caused by COVID-19; critical supply disruptions and other operational changes that contribute to environmental violations; and any enforcement relief options available.  ​

Submission Guideline: The submission deadline is Friday, August 14, 2020. Submit via email to yli45@luc.edu with subject line JRC Fall 2020 Submission. The article should run about 10,000 – 15,000 words. We welcome submissions from law students, legal scholars, and other professional disciplines. We also encourage submissions from authors whose voices are traditionally underrepresented in legal scholarship. Please email any questions to luccompliance@gmail.com.  

For a bit of inspiration: From Garbage Collector to Harvard 1L.....

Below is an inspiring story during times where all we seem to read about are plagues, violence, and political strife. Rehan Stanton, featured in a story on CNN's web page will hopefully remind every academic of the amazing stories behind those desks, or on those Zoom screens. Here is the link to the full story, and text below: 

(CNN)A college graduate from Maryland has been admitted to Harvard Law after continued adversity nearly made him abandon school altogether.

After graduating high school, financial issues, illness and a major sports injury left 18-year-old Rehan Staton frustrated and exhausted as he worked to support his brother and father.

However, neither his family nor his co-workers at the Bates Trucking & Trash Removal sanitation company could watch him give up on himself.

Today, Rehan is not only a college graduate, but is heading to Harvard Law School this fall.

 

 

Rehan was born and raised in Bowie, Maryland. "Life was pretty normal until I was eight years old," Rehan says. During that time, his mother left his father and moved out of the country.

After she left, the previously stable household faced financial difficulties as Rehan's father tried to raise his two sons on his own.

After years of private school and an otherwise "solidly middle class upbringing," Rehan says, he and his older brother soon faced food insecurity while their father struggled to keep their house, often working two or even three jobs at a time to keep the bills paid.

During this time, the family of three was ostracized by many of their extended relatives and had to rely on each other for support.

By the 7th grade, Rehan's academics had significantly suffered under the pressure of his difficulties at home. "I wasn't eating meals every day and my dad was working all the time," he recalled. "Sometimes there'd be no electricity at home."

Despite his fractured home life, Rehan found some solace in athletics and trained in martial arts and boxing.

However, when a teacher recommended that Rehan be placed in remedial classes at school, his father stepped in. At a local community center, his father met an aerospace engineer who offered to tutor Rehan for free for the remainder of the school year.

"I ended up getting on the Honor Roll the rest of that year," Rehan recalls. "The same teacher who suggested I be placed in special education actually wrote my dad an apology note."

 

CFP: Taxation, Finance and Racial Justice

This just in:

The South Carolina Law Review will host its 2021 Virtual Symposium on February 19, 2021, at the University of South Carolina School of Law, hosted on Blackboard Collaborate Ultra. The symposium will specifically examine the intersection of tax law and policy and racial (in)justice at the local, state, and federal levels.

Tax law and policy plays an essential role in defining the ways in which individuals relate to and support one another. Revenue needs and spending policy are inextricably entwined and reflect and reinforce a society’s understanding of what each individual owes to and is owed by the society in which she lives. How tax defines income, whom it taxes, their relative contributions, and the activities that our tax system chooses to subsidize or not create countless points of overlap between tax and racial justice. The goal of this symposium is to critically examine the intersection of tax law and policy, finance, and racial justice through both a chronicling of the past and detailing pathways to reform. Topics may include (but are not limited to): the past and current impact of federal tax law and policy on historically-marginalized groups, the role of state tax systems in exacerbating and/or perpetuating racial injustice, and how tax law may be reimagined to advance racial justice at the state and federal levels.

The South Carolina Law Review seeks thoughtful, insightful, and original papers addressing the broad range of topics related to “Taxation, Finance, and Racial Justice.” Interested authors should submit a 500-word abstract to sclrsymp@mailbox.sc.edu with the subject line “Taxation, Finance, and Racial Justice” by October 1, 2020, for consideration. Interdisciplinary works from academics, legal practitioners, and other professionals who work on issues at the intersection of tax, finance, and racial justice are welcome and encouraged. If selected, a completed paper (6,000-18,000 words) will be due to the South Carolina Law Review Editorial Board by January 1, 2021.

Oklahoma City Law Seeks Permanent or Visiting Faculty

This just in:

OKLAHOMA CITY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW invites applications for entry level or junior lateral candidates for one tenure-track position or a clinical professor of law or a podium visitors to begin as soon as practicable. The Law School seeks to attract an active, culturally and academically diverse faculty of the highest caliber. Candidates should have an excellent academic background, demonstrated potential to be a productive scholar, the commitment to become an engaged classroom teacher, and a commitment to Cultural Competence, understanding implicit bias, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging as these concepts relate to legal instruction. In addition candidates should be willing to serve as a mentor or role model for ethnically and racially diverse students. We welcome applications from candidates interested in all areas of law.

Oklahoma City University School of Law is located in downtown Oklahoma City and is deeply engaged in the legal, business, and governmental communities. Oklahoma City was named “America’s Most Livable Community” last year and is consistently ranked among the most affordable and prosperous cities, among the top cities for entrepreneurs and small businesses, and among the best run large cities.

Oklahoma City University is an equal opportunity employer and affirms the values and goals of diversity. The School of Law aspires to be a leader among our peer institutions in making meaningful and lasting progress in the area of social justice and in responding to the needs and concerns of an increasingly diverse population. In an effort to enrich our academic environment and to provide equal educational and employment opportunities, the Law School actively encourages applications from members of all ethnic and racial groups historically underrepresented in the teaching and practice of law. For the university’s complete nondiscrimination policy, please see https://www.okcu.edu/admin/hr/policies/general/nondiscrimination-policy-equity-resolution-process/nondiscrimination-policy/.

Review of applications will continue until the positions are filled. Applications should be submitted online at https://www.okcu.edu/admin/hr/careers/ . Please direct inquiries to Professor Danné L. Johnson, Oklahoma City University School of Law, 800 N. Harvey Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73102, djohnson@okcu.edu 405-208-5861.

Mexican President's Upcoming White House Visit Likely Raises Ire As Well As Speculation....

The visit by the leader of a neighboring state typically suggests strong ties between countries, and in an election year, perhaps even an unofficial endorsement. This week's visit by Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, seems to suggest such a relationship. However, with President Trump's record on immigration as well as his now infamous start to his 2016 presidential bid, many Mexican-Americans, as well as other immigrant groups, remain angry, Trump's now infamous declaration will assuredly be something the media focuses on during the visit:

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best — they’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

Nevertheless, a recent opinion piece in the New York Times suggests the two leaders have much in common:

"Both seek the absolute dominance of the executive branch. They dismiss institutions and the rule of law. They attack the critical independent press: Mr. Trump cries “fake news,” while Mr. López Obrador repeats, “I have other data.” They scorn science and have confronted the pandemic irresponsibly and ineffectively, and with total lack of empathy. Both cultivate a twisted cult of personality."

Some suggest the Mexican leader will make his visit because he wants to ensure free trade understandings between the two countries stay in place. If such is the case, what will Trump get in return? 

 

 

Stars and Stripes Forever -- Independence Day 2020

Happy Fourth