The Faculty Lounge

Justice Ginsburg and the $1 Million Berggruen Prize

A reporter asked me to comment on the ethics of Justice Ginsburg's acceptance of the Berggruen Prize and her donation to charity of the $1 million award. The answer turned out to be complicated, as I explained in an article for The Conversation (I am not responsible for the headline or paragraphing):

Is it ethical for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to accept a $1 million prize? Yes, but it’s hard to explain

October 29, 2019 11.51am EDT

Author: Steven Lubet

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will donate to charity the US$1 million Berggruen Prize for Culture and Philosophy she recently won.

The prize is given annually to a “thinker whose ideas are shaping human self-understanding to advance humankind.”

The recipient of the award was decided by a five-member jury that chose among over 500 nominees and a short list of five finalists.

A million dollars is a big score for a public employee, even if it is generously directed to charity. So it is fair to ask whether there are any ethics problems raised by Justice Ginsburg’s receipt of the prize.

There are significant restrictions on outside income for all federal employees, and $1 million far exceeds the limitations.

No ethics code

The ultimate answer is that there is no problem, for three reasons. But that will take some explaining, because the Supreme Court has obscured its own ethics standards.

I Heard It through the Grapevine

"I Heard It through the Grapevine" was written for Motown Records by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, without an artist in mind. The first recording was by The Miracles in 1966 (Smokey Robinson sang lead, but he was not yet part of the group's name). Berry Gordy, Motown's founder and CEO, was not willing to release that version as a single, although it was later included on an album. Marvin Gaye made the next recording in early 1967, but Gordy again declined to release it as a single because he didn't think it would sell, which turned out to be huge misjudgment. The next recording, an uptempo version by Gladys Knight and the Pips, met with Gordy's approval. Released in September 1967, the Knight rendition charted at number two. Marvin Gaye's cut was finally released the following summer, reaching number one on both the pop and R&B charts, and staying there for seven weeks. It became Motown's all-time best seller (until it was outsold by the Jackson Five in 1970). 

The Marvin Gaye version of "I Heard It through the Grapevine," which Rolling Stone ranked number 81 on its list of the greatest songs of all time, is generally regarded as the classic, as it is far more emotive than versions by Gladys Knight and others (though those are also wonderful; you can't really go wrong with this song). Be sure to check out Gaye's piano and a cappella cuts at the bottom of this post. 

Raizel Liebler & Gregory Cunningham on the ADA and the University Academic Library

Raizel Liebler (Instructor of Law & Faculty Scholarship Librarian) and Gregory Cunningham (Instructor of Law & Associate Director for Access & Organization) at UIC John Marshall Law School, University of Illinois at Chicago, have posted their article, Can Accessibility Liberate The "Lost Ark" of Scholarly Work?: University Library Institutional Repositories Are "Places of Public Accommodation”, 52 UIC J. Marshall L. Rev. 327 (2019). Here is the abstract:

For any body of knowledge – an ark of power or a corpus of scholarship – to be studied and used by people, it needs to be accessible to those seeking information. Universities, through their libraries, now aim to make more of the scholarship produced available for free to all through institutional repositories. However, the goal of being truly open for an institutional repository is more than the traditional definition of open access. It also means openness in a more general sense. Creating a scholarship-based online space also needs to take into consideration potential barriers for people with disabilities. This article addresses the interaction between the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and university academic library based institutional repositories. This article concludes that institutional repositories have an obligation to comply with the ADA to make scholarly works available to potential users with disabilities. For managers of institutional repositories, following the law is an opportunity to make scholarship even more widely available. University open access institutional repositories need to be accessible to existing and potential disabled users. However, there are no specific rules that university institutional repositories must follow to be compliant with the ADA’s “public accommodation” standard. Accessibility is a changeable, moveable wall, consistently and constantly needing to be additionally inclusive of more – more technology and more users, regardless of disability or limitations. Institutional repositories should not become the crated Ark of the Covenant with their secrets locked inside; instead, they should be as open as possible to all, sharing the scholarship inside.

The full article is available here.

 

St. Mary's Law Seeks Dean

This just in:

St. Mary's University based in San Antonio, Texas, invites inquiries, nominations and applications for the Dean of St. Mary's University School of Law.
St. Mary's University School of Law has long been recognized as the premier private law school in south Texas. It now seeks to extend that reputation throughout the state of Texas, the Southwest, and nationally through strategic management of its opportunities, resources, and excellent alumni partners. The School of Law's next dean will inherit an outstanding market position, a thriving enrollment, and a community united in the shared goal of providing an outstanding legal education.

The School of Law resides within a University committed to its Catholic identity and to the heritage of its founding religious community, the Society of Mary (Marianist). Educating students for over 150 years, the University is the oldest institution of higher learning in San Antonio.
The School of Law has amassed a nationally recognized law faculty, a highly regarded LL.M. program, a premier law journal, and a reputation in the field of trial advocacy that is unparalleled in this or any region of the country. St. Mary’s University School of Law graduates are national and regional leaders, prominent lawyers, and outstanding academicians, among other vocations. St. Mary’s University School of Law has a commitment to diversity that is second to none in its law school admissions process, while maintaining, through unique and innovative on-campus programs, a strong bar passage rate measured against its Texas competition.

Law School Transparency Seeks New Board Members

If you are interested in a great opportunity to serve by helping to make legal education more transparent, affordable and fair, then please consider joining the Board of Law School Transparency.  An announcement with details about this exciting opportunity can be found here.

LST has already had tremendous positive impact on legal education and the legal profession through its highly effective advocacy.  I encourage you to explore this great opportunity and to submit an application.   Deadline is November 6!

 

Steal This Archive

The New York Times reports that the University of Texas has paid $300,000 to acquire the papers of the late Abbie Hoffman, leader of the Yippees and disrupter of the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Some of the items from the collection – including letters from John Lennon and Yoko Ono, notes from Allen Ginsberg and Norman Mailer – will go on display today, following a ceremony at the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.

I only met Abbie Hoffman once, at the YMCA cafeteria in downtown Chicago, shortly before the Battle of the Hilton at 1968 Democratic Convention. He was sitting quietly and not attracting much attention, quite unlike the public persona he developed for anti-war demonstrations, and later at the Conspiracy Eight (and then Seven) trial. Coincidentally, the Northwestern Pritzker Law School has recently mounted an exhibit of courtroom drawings from the Conspiracy Trial, which began fifty years ago this month.

Hoffman took some grief following the 1968 publication of his first book, Revolution for the Hell of It, which was released by a commercial imprint and sold in "establishment" book store (although under the pseudonym "Free.") He made up for it in 1971 with Steal This Book, which was rejected by every mainstream house and eventually published by Hoffman himself.

Abbott Howard Hoffman was born in November 1936, meaning that he was almost 32 in August 1968, far older than most of the youthful demonstrators (I was only 19), and an improbable avatar of the youth counterculture. Unsurprisingly, Hoffman had been fairly unadventurous during his own teens and early twenties, given that those were the 1950s. I found this sentence in the Times report pretty interesting, describing Hoffman's own student days at Brandeis: "He came to the school as a relatively conventional student, wearing a jacket and tie, winning spots on the tennis and wrestling teams, even becoming the tennis team’s captain."

Wait . . . . Brandeis had a wrestling team? Actually, there have been many left-wing high school and college wrestlers, including Paul Wellstone and Al Franken, and me (high school only).

More information on Northwestern's Conspiracy Trial exhibit, and the trial itself, after the jump.

Andy Abrams, Charleston Law Dean, Stepping Down

Dean Andrew Abrams has announced that he will step down as dean of Charleston Law School at the end of the school year.  He has led Charleston since 2008.

Booing the President

There is a story about Theodore Roosevelt, perhaps apocryphal but definitely instructive:

Shortly after the assassination of William McKinley, Roosevelt and his young family moved into the White House.  During one of their first breakfasts in their new home, twelve year old Kermit said some rude things at the table, directed at TR himself. 

"Aren't you going to punish him?" asked Edith Roosevelt.

"If he is insulting his father, I will surely punish him," replied Teddy.  "But if he is insulting the president of the United States, that is his constitutional right."

Alex Levin & the Fourth Amendment’s Exclusionary Rule

Last week’s post discussed how bringing the investigation of John Wayne Gacy into the investigative criminal procedure classroom benefits teaching the material on probable cause. We shift gears this week to discuss how the federal government’s investigation into Alex Levin makes for a fantastic discussion (and illustration) of the Fourth Amendment’s exclusionary rule. Compared to the defendants featured in prior posts, Alex Levin is no Adnan Syed or OJ Simpson in terms of pop culture fame, but that’s largely because the government’s methods to investigate Levin stole the show.

In Operation Pacifier, the government embodied the phrase “it takes a thief to catch a thief” by operating a child pornography server as part of a wide-ranging child pornography investigation that caught hundreds of users—including, Alex Levin. Investigative methods aside, Levin’s case grew in prominence because his victory at the motion to suppress stage gave other defendants hope—if just for a while.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

South Carolina Law Dean Rob Wilcox Stepping Down

Dean Rob Wilcox of the University of South Carolina School of Law has announced that he will step down at the end of the academic year.  He has been at the helm of the law school since 2011.  

Stand by Me [UPDATED]

I did a post on "Stand by Me" on May 22, 2018, commenting on its performance at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle. It included a link to an essay (coauthored with my brother Alex) on the history of the song, as well as a clip of the wedding performance by southeast London's Kingdom Choir.

It's a great song, and it's been over a year, so here a few more clips.

Margaret Raymond Stepping Down as Dean of Wisconsin Law

Dean Margaret Raymond, who has led the University of Wisconsin School of Law since 2011, has announced that she will step down at the end of the academic year.  

Richmond Law Seeks New Faculty to Direct Programs

This just in:

Richmond Law is seeking to hire three new faculty directors to run a new program in professional identity formation, a new program in legal innovation & entrepreneurship, and our externship program. Descriptions about these positions are below, and inquiries regarding any of these positions should be directed to Professor Jessica Erickson at lawdirectorapps@richmond.edu.

Director of New Program in Professional Identity Formation: We are seeking to hire a faculty member to direct a new signature program in Professional Identity Formation, which will prepare students to develop the habits of mind and character that are associated with professional excellence in the legal system. This program will also to help students engage a process of self-directed learning and develop critical interpersonal lawyering skills, including collaboration, cross-cultural communication, active listening, empathy, and leadership. The faculty member will teach in the program, lead co-curricular opportunities, and work with other full-time and adjunct faculty members to ensure that all Richmond Law students graduate with a strong sense of their own professional identity. More information can be found here.

Director of New Program in Legal Innovation & Entrepreneurship: We are seeking to hire a faculty member to direct a new signature program in Legal Innovation & Entrepreneurship. This program will prepare students to navigate changes in the legal profession, craft new solutions to enhance access to justice, and approach increasingly complex legal problems in a creative way. This program will also introduce students to the broader toolbox of skills that modern lawyers need, including project management, process improvement, data analytics, legal technology, business and finance, and design thinking. The faculty director will oversee the design and implementation of this program, as well as teach courses and lead co-curricular opportunities related to innovation and entrepreneurship.

Director of Externships: We are seeking to hire a faculty member to direct our externship program. This program allows students to apply the legal knowledge and skills they learn in the classroom through hands-on externships with supervising lawyers and judges. The faculty director evaluates and selects externship opportunities, works with students in the selection of placements, oversees externship supervisors to ensure students have meaningful learning experiences, and teaches or oversees the classroom components of the externships. In addition to their primary responsibilities overseeing the externship program, this faculty member will also provide leadership and serve as an advisor to student competitions, such as the Moot Court Board and the Trial Advocacy Board. More information can be found here.

CFP: Southern Illinois Law Journal Symposium on Cannabis Law

From colleagues at Southern Illinois:

The Southern Illinois University Law Journal invites paper submissions for their symposium that will take place on March 19, 2020, in Carbondale, Illinois. This year Illinois passed HB 1438 legalizing recreational marijuana.  Thus, the symposium will focus on the rapidly changing regulation of marijuana. 

Please submit an abstract of up to 500 words, along with your contact information, to the Editor in Chief, Skylar Petitt at skylar.petitt@siu.edu.  Abstracts must be submitted by December 1, 2019, and selection of articles and symposium speakers will be made on a rolling basis, with all decisions being made by January 15, 2020. 

 The usual length of our symposium pieces is somewhere between an essay (5,000 words) and a full-length article (15,000 words); however, there is no set length for our symposium writers, and shorter or longer articles are acceptable. The journal anticipates a deadline for the completed article of July 1, 2020, and publication in the Fall of 2020. 

Have You No Sense of Decency?

Friends keep asking me whether there is ever going to be a "no sense of decency" moment for President Trump. I don't think so, and the reasons are after the jump.

UConn Dean Search

The University of Connecticut has announced the opening of the search for the next Dean of the School of Law.  The official announcement -- together with information about applications and nominations as well as links to the position description -- can be found here.

ALI Elects 50 New Members

The American Law Institute recently elected 50 new members. Among the new members are these law professors:

 

California

Dalié Jiménez, Irvine – Professor, University of Califonia, Irvine School of Law

 

District of Columbia

Joshua Alexander Geltzer – Executive Director & Visiting Professor, Georgetown Law Center, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy & Protection

 

Indiana

Austen L. Parrish, Bloomington – Dean, Indiana University, Maurer School of Law

 

Minnesota

Thomas F. Cotter, Minneapolis – Professor, University of Minnesota School of Law

 

New York

Emily Gold Waldman, White Plains – Professor, Pace University School of Law

 

Pennsylvania

Cary Coglianese, Philadelphia – Professor, University of Pennsylvania Law School

Michael R. Dimino, Harrisburg – Professor, Widener University Commonwealth Law School

 

Texas

Huyen Pham, Fort Worth – Professor, Texas A&M University School of Law

 

Congratulations to all!

 

 

John Wayne Gacy & Probable Cause

In last week’s post, we explored how the 1994 investigation into OJ Simpson offered an excellent real-world example of how the exigent circumstances doctrine worked in the first moments of a high-profile homicide investigation.

This week, in my fourth post of this series, we explore how the issuance of two search warrants for the home of John Wayne Gacy broke open the investigation into one of our country’s most horrific and notorious serial killers. Specifically, the second of those two warrants led to the discovery of twenty-seven teenage corpses in the crawl space under Gacy’s house and two more under his garage and driveway. As you will read in this post, however, the probable cause supporting those warrants was, at best, questionable. But no appellate court in the country would, on this evidence, be interested in overturning Gacy’s convictions—despite the strong merits of what became the core of his appellate clams. Collectively, the investigation of Gacy’s home provides an extraordinary opportunity for students to learn and apply the probable standard through a real-world investigation.

Hiring Announcement: University of Miami School of Law (Dean of Admissions)

From an email message that I recently received:

The University of Miami School of Law welcomes applications for the position of Associate/Assistant Dean of Admissions and Enrollment Management. Reporting directly to the Dean of Miami Law, the Associate/Assistant Dean is responsible for the overall supervision of the Offices of Admissions and Enrollment Management and Student Recruitment, and for promoting and undertaking all necessary interactions between the Offices of Admissions and Student Recruitment and other offices within the School of Law and the University in matters of recruitment, admissions, enrollment, and retention. The Associate/Assistant Dean is involved in strategic enrollment planning activities and goals, identification of the School’s markets, and implementation of marketing plans to achieve enrollment goals. Working under guidelines set by the Dean and the Admissions Committee, the Associate/Assistant Dean uses excellent and independent judgment to determine admissions decisions for 3,000 to 5,000 applicants in order to achieve a diverse and academically talented body of first-year JD and transfer students; uses analytical and modeling skills and experience to interpret statistical data and projections; and maintains and updates the management information system regarding recruitment and admissions processing. The Associate/Assistant Dean supervises a team of 12 full-time employees (direct and indirect reports) within the Admissions and Student Recruitment Offices.     

Applications must include a letter of interest and a resume. Candidates may submit any other materials that may be helpful. Applications must be submitted via the official employment site of the University of Miami, www.miami.edu/careers. Click here for a direct link to the application. Any inquiries or referrals should be sent electronically and in confidence to: Stephen Schnably, Professor of Law, schnably@law.miami.edu, and Marcy Cox, Assistant Dean for Career Development, mcox@law.miami.edu, Co-Chairs of the Search Committee.

 

T.J. Stiles on the Difference between Narrative and Scholarship

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently posted a fascinating interview with two-time Pulitzer Prize winner T.J. Stiles, the biographer of Jesse James, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and George Armstrong Custer. The entire interview is well worth reading, but here are some excerpts especially helpful to lawyers and legal acdemics:

Why narrative history?

Stiles: Narrative begins with the intent to make the reader want to keep reading. That requires plot. In The Art of Fiction, David Lodge defines plot as raising questions in the mind of the reader and delaying the answers.

Academic writing usually lays out the questions and the answers at the outset, then proceeds to demonstrate. Again, that’s fine for its purpose. But it strands a reader alone, without the happy company of mystery and suspense, the crew who sail every plot forward.

Narrative generally centers on characters. Scholarship is concerned with the conditions of humans; literature is concerned with the human condition. Serious nonfiction narrative can be concerned with both, but it’s hard to pull off without individuals who have intentions, carry out actions, and face consequences.

There are other aspects of writing narrative, and of incorporating argument and interpretation, but we always begin with plot and character.

As to why, it’s that narrative is inherently part of the historical enterprise, thanks to the element of time. It’s one reason why many academic historians turn out to be very good writers. By centering on human beings, narrative adds a quality of understanding — a glimpse of the human condition, that central concern of literature. And history has always been considered a branch of literature. There’s no Pulitzer Prize for sociology, after all.