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Attorney John P. Cunningham received Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Public Service Award on Jan. 26

John P. Cunningham, who has worked with Gulfcoast Legal Services for more than 30 years and served as its executive director since January 1984, was presented with this year’s Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Public Service Award from Stetson University College of Law.

Interim Dean Royal Gardner, John P. Cunningham and William Reece Smith Jr. at the Inns of Court.
Interim Dean Royal Gardner, John P. Cunningham and William Reece Smith Jr. at the Inns of Court.

The award was presented on Thursday evening, Jan. 26, at the annual Inns of Court Banquet at the Mirror Lake Lyceum, 737 Third Ave. N., St. Petersburg.

Cunningham’s legal career includes serving the Tampa Bay community through numerous organizations including the Community Law Program in St. Petersburg where he was a 13-year board member, the Sarasota Human Services Center, Pinellas Homeless Coalition, Domestic Violence Task Force, Pinellas Refugee Coalition, and Advisory Council to the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities. Cunningham has volunteered as a lecturer at law school clinics and the People’s Law School. He also served in the Legal Aid Society in the Civil Division in New York for eight years.

Stetson established the prestigious public service award more than two decades ago for Wm. Reece Smith Jr., past president of the International, American and Florida Bar Associations and a distinguished professorial lecturer and member of the Stetson University College of Law Hall of Fame.

John Thompson, a man who spent 18 years in prison before being exonerated of a crime he did not commit, presented this year’s Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Lecture.

Thompson is the founder and director of Resurrection After Exoneration, a supportive residential program that provides exonerees and long-term prisoners reentering society a transitional home and work environment. Convicted in 1985 in New Orleans and exonerated 18 years later after spending 14 years on Angola’s death row, the story of  Thompson’s wrongful conviction is told in the book, Killing Time: An 18-Year Odyssey from Death Row to Freedom.
The Annual Inns of Court brings together prominent lawyers, experienced teachers and law students to exchange ideas, experiences and education. The adopted Stetson Inns of Court tradition has its roots in England.

Information sessions for part-time law program set for March

Stetson University College of Law is offering two information sessions in March for prospective students interested in earning their law degrees part-time. Students taking the LSAT as late as June are eligible for admission in the fall.

The sessions, both offered in the Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Courtroom at the Tampa Law Center, 1700 N. Tampa St., provide an overview of the process of applying to law school. Stetson Law enrolls new part-time students in the fall of every year.

Those interested in attending should RSVP for one of the sessions on either Monday, March 5, or Tuesday, March 20.

Both programs will start at 6 p.m. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m.

To RSVP and for more information and directions to Stetson’s Tampa Law Center campus, visit http://www.law.stetson.edu/parttime or e-mail [email protected].

Stetson Law students participate in MLK Parade

Stetson Law students participate in the 2012 MLK Jr. parade in St. Petersburg.
Stetson Law students participate in the 2012 MLK Jr. parade in downtown St. Petersburg.

Story by Valeria Obi, 2L Stetson Law student

Stetson University College of Law students and faculty honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by marching in the 27th annual parade in St. Petersburg on Monday, Jan. 16. The event drew thousands of spectators to view marching bands, floats and groups of people participating in the parade. They were there to celebrate and honor the life achievements of Dr. King.

“Walking in the parade is an honor,” said Stetson’s Black Law Students Association president, Howard Williams. “It is important for us to continue the legacy that Dr. King created. Walking in the parade is an opportunity for me to do my part to ensure that his legacy is remembered and celebrated. It is because of Dr. King’s efforts that I am able to achieve my dream of being a lawyer.”

Stetson’s participation was coordinated by BLSA and by the Office of Student Life. Approximately 30 students and faculty members walked in the event, which lasted an hour and a half, in downtown St. Petersburg.

Second-year law student and BLSA member La’Keisha Simms said that she felt a lot of community support for Stetson’s participation in the parade.

Williams added, “I walk so that younger generations can see the importance of supporting and continuing the fight for the injustices that plague our society.”

» View more pictures on Flickr

ACLU of Florida and Stetson Law examine solutions to school-to-prison pipeline on Feb. 2 at Stetson Law

The Juvenile Justice Initiative and Black Law Students Association at Stetson University College of Law and the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida are co-sponsoring a panel discussion on Feb. 2 at Stetson Law in Gulfport to address effectively shutting down the school-to-prison pipeline.

WHAT: A panel of experts will discuss strategies for reducing Florida’s dropout rate and the number of young people in the juvenile and criminal justice system, making schools safer and better, and more efficiently using law enforcement. The educational forum is designed to inspire students to become engaged in making a difference in the field of juvenile criminal law.

WHO: Experts include: Judge Patrice Moore; Tim Niermann, lead probation officer in the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice; Dr. Valerie Brimm of the Office of Strategic Partnership, St. Petersburg; Lily McCarty of the Law Office of Julianne M. Holt, Public Defender’s Office, 13th Judicial Circuit; and Trenia Cox, planning manager for the Juvenile Welfare Board Children’s Services Council of Pinellas County.

WHEN: Feb. 2, 6-8 p.m.

WHERE: Great Hall, Stetson University College of Law, 1401 61st St. S., Gulfport.

For more information, or to RSVP, contact Joyce Hamilton Henry, Ph.D., at the ACLU of Florida at 813-288-8505 or [email protected], or Stetson Law student Mary Day at [email protected].

Editor’s Note:

The ACLU of Florida, Advancement Project, and Florida State Conference of the NAACP issued the report, “Still Haven’t Shut Off the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Evaluating the Impact of Florida’s New Zero-Tolerance Law,” in March of 2011. The “school-to-prison-pipeline” refers to the policies and practices that over-criminalize student behavior, funneling young people out of classrooms and into the criminal justice system.

The Juvenile Justice Initiative at Stetson was proposed in the fall of 2011 by students and Judith Scully, the Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law at Stetson, to create solutions to juveniles in the criminal justice system.

Media Contact:

Brandi Palmer

Communications Office

Stetson University College of Law

727-562-7381 w

727-430-1580 c

[email protected]

Stetson professors serve on panels, committees for the Association of American Law Schools

Stetson University College of Law professors participated in several topical panels and committees at the annual Association of American Law Schools meeting Jan. 4-8 in Washington, D.C.

The following professors served on panels at the meeting:

  • Associate Dean John Cooper moderated a panel on “The Globalization of the Legal Practice for the Section on International Legal Exchange;”
  • Professor Kirsten Davis presented “Feedback Mechanisms” at the AALS Day-Long Workshop on Academic Support; and
  • Professor Louis Virelli organized, moderated and spoke on the panel entitled “Hot Topic Program: Politics, Ethics, and the Supreme Court: The Present and Future of Supreme Court Recusal.”

Several Stetson Law faculty members are serving with diverse committees and special sections of the AALS:

  • Professor Michael Allen completed his service on the Executive Committee for the Section on Remedies;
  • Professor Linda Anderson has begun serving as chair of the Section on Part-time Division Programs;
  • Professor Cynthia Batt co-chairs the Membership, Outreach, and Training Committee and is a member of the Externship Committee for the Section on Clinical Education;
  • Professor Mark Bauer was elected treasurer of the Section on Aging and Law;
  • Associate Dean John Cooper completed his service as chair of the Section on International Legal Exchange and will serve on the Executive Committee for the upcoming year;
  • Professor Kirsten Davis was elected secretary of the Section on Women in Legal Education;
  • Professor Peter Fitzgerald was elected to the Executive Committee of the Section on Animal Law;
  • Associate Dean James Fox was elected to the Executive Committee of the Section on Legal History;
  • Professor Luz Nagle serves on the Committee on the Recruitment and Retention of Minority Law Teachers;
  • Professor Jason Palmer was elected to the Executive Committee and Professor Ellen Podgor was elected Secretary for the Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues;
  • Professor Susan Rozelle completed her service on the Executive Committee of the Section on Criminal Justice, continues to serve on the Work-Life Balance Committee of the Section on Women in Legal Education, and remains chair of the Teaching Materials Network for the AALS New Law Professors Section; and
  • Professor Louis Virelli was elected to the Executive Committee of the Section on Constitutional Law.

Stetson University selects Christopher Pietruszkiewicz as College of Law dean

Christopher Pietruszkiewicz has been named the new dean of Stetson University College of Law in Tampa Bay, Fla. Pietruszkiewicz joins Stetson from the LSU Law Center at Louisiana State University, where he serves as vice chancellor for business and financial affairs and as the J.Y. Sanders Professor of Law. Pietruszkiewicz will start at Stetson this summer.

Christopher Pietruszkiewicz has been named dean of Stetson University College of Law.
Christopher Pietruszkiewicz has been named dean of Stetson University College of Law.

“I am delighted to join the College of Law with a fantastic faculty that is committed to creating an educational environment where students learn both inside and outside of the classroom,” said Pietruszkiewicz. “I look forward to working with a dedicated staff to advance Stetson’s educational mission and with a student body that will become lawyers and leaders, benefiting the profession and society. I am enthusiastic to work with President Wendy Libby, Provost Beth Paul, and Stetson’s vibrant alumni community to advance the College of Law’s national prominence in legal education.”

Pietruszkiewicz was selected following a national search led by a committee of faculty, administrators, students, alumni, overseers and trustees, chaired by Stetson Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Elizabeth “Beth” Paul and Professor of Law Michael Allen.

“Chris Pietruszkiewicz is recognized and respected nationally as a leader in legal education. I am confident that with his dynamic leadership, the Stetson University College of Law will continue to flourish as an excellent law school and earn distinction as an exemplar of 21st century legal education,” said Provost Paul.

Pietruszkiewicz has served in many national leadership positions in legal education. He has held several roles for the American Bar Association’s Section of Taxation, and he currently serves on the board of trustees for the Law School Admission Council and the Southeastern Association of Law Schools, where he served as president from 2005 to 2006.

“We are excited to have Chris join our faculty as dean, and we are confident that he is the right person to lead Stetson University College of Law during this changing time in legal education,” said Professor Allen.

Stetson President Libby added, “We owe special thanks to the search committee and the members of the College of Law community for their roles in identifying and attracting a new dean of Chris’s caliber to Stetson.”

Pietruszkiewicz co-authored the book Corporate Reorganizations and is currently working on another book on tax issues. He has published numerous law review articles, and frequently presents on tax law and legal education issues.

At Louisiana State University, Pietruszkiewicz was responsible for strategic planning, budgeting, financial planning and personnel matters, in addition to serving on a variety of committees. Earlier in his career, he worked as a trial attorney in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and as an attorney/adviser in the U.S. Department of Education. 

He earned a Master of Laws in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center, a law degree from the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Media Contact:

Frank Klim

Executive Director of Communications

Stetson University College of Law

727-562-7889

[email protected]

 

The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine reports that Stetson Law is again among the top 25 law schools for Hispanics

The Dec. 19 issue of The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine  listed Stetson University College of Law among the top 25 law schools for Hispanics in the nation for the third year in a row. Stetson Law ranks 14th among the 25 law schools across the country conferring the most degrees on Hispanics. Data for this report was compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics for 2010 graduates.

Student members of Stetson's Hispanic Bar Association meet with faculty adviser Professor Luz Nagle in 2010.
Student members of Stetson's Hispanic Bar Association meet with faculty adviser Professor Luz Nagle in 2010.

Stetson Law’s Hispanic students have established a strong tradition of community and public service. Second-year Stetson Law student Stephanie Favilli helped non-English speakers understand their legal rights by translating legal information into Spanish for pro se litigants in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida. Favilli served as a Spanish language translator for the Bay Area Volunteer Lawyers Program in the fall of 2010 through the student Hispanic Bar Association at Stetson.

Stetson Law alumnus David Fernandez, a past president of Stetson’s Hispanic Bar Association and Law and Order, became the first law student to receive the Clearwater Bar Foundation Excellence in Pro Bono Award in February 2010. Fernandez received the award for his work to provide Spanish speakers with access to legal documents through a translation project he started under the guidance of Stetson Law Professor Luz E. Nagle.

In 2008, Professor Nagle was named the first full professor of Hispanic descent at Stetson Law. Nagle’s distinguished legal career includes battling drug lords while serving as a district court judge in her native Colombia. Her commitment to improving conditions in Colombia and throughout the world continues through her research and work as a lecturer and expert in the areas of human rights violations and drug war-related foreign policy. Nagle was elected to the International Bar Association Legal Practice Division Council for a four-year term that started in January 2011.

Stetson Law recognized 59 students at fall graduate celebration

On Dec. 16, Stetson University College of Law recognized 59 students at a fall graduate celebration on the Gulfport, Fla., campus. Stetson Law honored 43 J.D. students in the full-time class and eight J.D. students in the part-time class. Four students were recognized with an LL.M. in elder law and four with an LL.M. in international law.

Campus predators and social media examined at Stetson University law and higher education conference

The fallout of the Penn State scandal, new disability law updates, and the impact of social media predators on college campuses are among the topics of Stetson University College of Law’s 33rd National Conference on Law and Higher Education. The conference in Orlando, Feb. 17-21, invites attendees to recommend reforms in higher education.

“The Penn State scandal reminds higher education officials not to be bystanders to danger. The law can make colleges and universities safer and more responsible,” said Stetson Law professor Peter Lake, conference chair and director of the Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law & Policy.

This year’s conference opens with its first “Boot Camp” on the fundamentals of higher education law and policy. The next day’s pre-conference workshop on Title IX features a keynote address by Russlyn Ali, author of the famous April 4, 2011, “Dear Colleague” letter. The main conference keynoter is professor Fred Bonner of Texas A&M University. Dr. Bonner will speak on his highly anticipated book, Diverse Millennial Students in College, and how faculty and student affairs professionals can communicate more effectively with millennial students. The conference wraps up with a workshop on Campus Care and Threat Assessment Teams, led by Virginia Tech’s Gene Deisinger.

This year’s honorary co-chair, Miriam McKendall, is a member of the International Advisory Board for the Center and a partner at the law firm of Holland & Knight in the firm’s education law, labor and employment law, and litigation groups.

Professor Lake will explain how higher education law can make colleges safer, as articulated in his newest book, Foundations of Higher Education Law & Policy: Basic Legal Rules, Concepts, and Principles for Student Affairs. “We should not be focused on deflecting responsibility and merely beating cases in court,” Lake said. “We should be focused on making college campuses safer and better learning environments.”

To learn more about this year’s conference, and to register, click here.

Media Contact: Education journalists will have the opportunity to interview leading experts on issues impacting higher education. Please contact Brandi Palmer in Stetson Law’s Communications Office to schedule an interview or for additional details: 727-562-7381 or [email protected].

Stetson University-NACDL launch innovative white collar defense program in March

Stetson University and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers are launching a new legal education program, the “White Collar Criminal Defense College,” on March 15-20, at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport.

WHO: Practitioners in the field of white collar criminal defense and those wishing to enter this field will gain key advocacy skills and learn substantive white collar crime law at the new program.

WHAT: The program will cover practical training in handling a white collar case, including client retention, investigating a white collar case, handling searches and grand jury subpoenas, and dealing with parallel proceedings. Interactive sessions with top white collar practitioners will allow the participants to learn trial skills such as opening statements, cross-examination, jury instructions, closing arguments, and sentencing – all in the context of a white collar matter. NACDL is an accredited CLE provider and will apply for up to 36.5 credits in all states with CLE requirements. Credits vary by jurisdiction; attendees will be notified of the final approved credits during the program.

WHERE: The program takes place at Stetson University College of Law, 1401 61st St. S., Gulfport.

Accommodations are available at the Tradewinds Island Grand Beach Resort, 5500 Gulf Blvd., St. Pete Beach.

For more information about the White Collar Criminal Defense College, contact NACDL Meetings Manager Tamara Kalacevic at (202) 872-8600 x641 or [email protected] or Stetson Law Professor Ellen S. Podgor at (727) 562-7348 or [email protected].

Stetson Law students author book with professor

Six students who participated in Dr. Timothy Kaye’s Jurisprudence Seminar last fall at Stetson University College of Law in Tampa Bay, Fla., have recently been published in a new book edited by Dr. Kaye, entitled Law, Justice, and Miscommunications: Essays in Applied Legal Philosophy.

It may seem like a lofty title for a book, but as Dr. Kaye pointed out, understanding the basis of the law, and applying that understanding, is essential.

Dr. Kaye said that he was so impressed by the quality of thinking and writing among the students in his seminar class that he decided to publish a half-dozen of their essays in a book where they might enjoy a wider audience. Kaye said that he hopes that academics might use the book as a teaching vehicle, legal practitioners might use it to understand the law in greater depth, and lawmakers might use the book to take a closer look at the impact of the laws they’ve written.

Students William Allen and Elaine Babiarz, and alumni Ashley Grafton, Kate Jaczkanin, Neil Lyons and Abigail Pressler all wrote chapters in the book, along with Dr. Kaye.

“Participating in Dr. Kaye’s jurisprudence courses, and being a part of the book was precisely the kind of challenging and rewarding intellectual endeavor I had hoped to experience during my time at Stetson,” said Allen, who wrote the book chapter entitled, “Debunking the Idea of Political Morality.”

For the students, being part of the book was just one part of a greater formative experience. Babiarz said that she was thrilled to have an opportunity to present her essay with fellow seminar student and co-author Pressler at the Creative Law Conference in Vancouver, Canada. Pressler also presented her paper at the ATINER conference in Athens, Greece.

Babiarz said that Dr. Kaye’s seminar on jurisprudence was an opportunity to focus on justice.

“I put justice in the context of a genetically altered seed and whether that was legal,” Babiarz said of her research.

Her paper, “Amber Waves of (Genetically Modified) Grain: Rectifying the Injustice of GM Seed Patents,” discussed the debate surrounding genetically modified food, viewed as both the solution to world hunger and as a cancer-causing biological weapon.

“If you want to understand the legal system, that’s what jurisprudence is about,” Dr. Kaye explained. “It’s a chance to look at cases more deeply.”

“It’s the because and the why of what we do,” said Babiarz, who graduates in May 2012 and plans to be a prosecutor.

In describing his own philosophy, Dr. Kaye connected it to his role at Stetson, “Expect a lot from your students and provide them with the means to succeed.”

Dr. Kaye teaches torts, product liability, constitutional interpretation and jurisprudence at Stetson Law. Previously, he served as associate dean at the University of Birmingham in the UK. Dr. Kaye has done media interviews on topics ranging from employee privacy to Big Tobacco to the Deepwater Horizon (BP) oil spill.

Students at Stetson Law manage stress with therapy dogs during exam time

 

Duncan shares some puppy love with Stetson Law students in the Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library.
Duncan shares some puppy love with Stetson Law students in the Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library.

Students at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Fla., have an opportunity to alleviate stress while preparing for exams this semester with the help of some very special therapy dogs. Registered therapy dogs and their handlers are available in the atrium of the Dolly & Homer Hand Law Library to work with law students for about an hour each day for seven days during the exam period through mid-December. 

Hans, a registered therapy dog, visits students during the exam period.
Hans, a registered therapy dog, visits students during the exam period.

“All of us in the library sympathize with the stress that law students face around exam time,” said Professor Rebecca Trammell, director of the law library at Stetson. “We hope that this project will provide a relaxing change of pace for our students.”

All of the dogs are different breeds and sizes, and registered with Therapy Dogs International, a volunteer organization dedicated to regulating, testing and registration of therapy dogs and their volunteer handlers.

“Trained  therapy animals and handlers provide animal-assisted-activities or animal-assisted-therapy in a wide range of settings including hospitals, hospices , disaster sites, schools, shelters, and many other places,” said Professor Peter Fitzgerald, an expert in international and commercial law and animal law who has been involved with Golden Retriever  rescue for close to 15 years.

Alumna Amanda Hanson visits with Hans during the dog therapy program at Stetson.
Alumna Amanda Hanson visits with Brando during the dog therapy program at Stetson.

“Both their training and work is different from that associated with a service animal, but the benefits – such as decreased blood pressure and stress levels and improved overall emotional well-being – have been demonstrated in numerous studies over many years,” said Professor Fitzgerald. “Making therapy dogs available to help manage stress during our students’ exams is just a logical extension of the role they serve elsewhere.”

 

Professor Fitzgerald brought his dog Duncan, Professor Ellen Podgor brought her dog Hans, and Stetson Law alumna Amanda Hanson brought her dog Brando to the library at Stetson Law in Gulfport to work with students. All are trained therapy dogs.

Brando, a four-year-old rescued German Shepherd dog, was the first therapy dog to accompany a witness into a deposition in the 6th circuit court. Hanson is coordinator for Pawsibilities Registered Therapy Dogs, a program she started while she was still in law school at Stetson that works with local law enforcement and the 6th judicial circuit to provide therapy dogs at no cost for minor victims of crime as they brave the court process.

Learn more about Brando and Amanda’s first visit to the Stetson therapy dog program here.