News Archives - Page 96 of 138

Students Honor International Women’s Day

Women around the world suffer from chronic poverty, illiteracy, political discrimination, religious oppression, gender violence, human trafficking, and they continue to be among the most marginalized members in societies. They are also among some of the most celebrated members of society: from award-winning scientists to distinguished jurists, academics, filmmakers and mothers.

International Women's Day panelists talk at Stetson Law on March 7. Click for high-resolution image.

On March 7, Stetson Law students attended a special program marking the 100-year anniversary of International Women’s Day. The International Law Society sponsored the program. Second-year law student Silvia Manzanero, president of Stetson’s International Law Society, convened a panel of highly accomplished women from diverse professional backgrounds. Professor Luz Nagle, an international human rights advocate, moderated the panel discussion about how women can make a difference in the United States and around the world.

“It is important to celebrate the strength, courage, and determination of many women who through great effort have bettered the world,” Nagle said. Professor Nagle, a former judge who fled her home in Colombia in the 1980s to escape death threats from the drug cartel, talked about the importance of men and women working together as mentors. “We need education,” Nagle told the audience. “Education is empowerment.”

Students gather for International Women's Day Panel — Students gather in the Great Hall March 7 to hear inspiring stories about the struggle against oppression. Click for high-resolution image.

Professor Nagle started from scratch after coming to the U.S., completing law degrees at the College of William and Mary and UCLA and clerking for the Supreme Court of Virginia. In 2004, Nagle became Stetson Law’s first Hispanic full professor.

The distinguished panel of speakers included journalist and documentary filmmaker Chelo Alvarez-Stehle joining the program via Skype; University of South Florida professor Meena Chary; USF Dean of International Affairs Maria Crummet; retired U.S. Army JAG attorney Robin Johnson; and Tampa Bay immigration/international law attorney Neelofer Syed.

Syed described representing women in Pakistan who had been abused, beaten and disfigured by their husbands or boyfriends. She talked about winning a case to help women in Pakistan get married without parental permission. She described how girls schools today are being bombed in Pakistan, threatening their lives and robbing them of their rights to an education.

“My actual involvement in women’s issues began after graduation from law school,” said Syed, who began practicing law in Pakistan before coming to the U.S. in 2001. “I wanted to pick a profession where I can fight,” said Syed, who went back to law school in the United States and graduated with her LL.M. in international law from Stetson in 2005.

Crummet urged the audience not to characterize women as victims, or to view the plight of oppression as simply a women’s issue. To do so, she said, would marginalize the reality of oppression as a broader social human rights issue impacting people all over the world.

International Women’s Day has been celebrated on March 8 since the early 1900s, when women campaigned against discrimination for the right to work, vote, be trained and hold public office.

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

Stetson Takes Home First Place Memorial Award at Jessup Moot Court Competition

Stetson University College of Law’s Jessup Moot Court team won the First Place Memorial Award at regionals of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition Feb. 24-27.

Stetson Take 1st Place Memorial Award at Jessup Moot Court — (L-R): Stetson's Jessup team Andrew Celauro, Amelia Hummel, Scott Stevenson and Caitlin Parry. Click for high-resolution image.

The student team of Andrew Celauro, Amelia Hummel, Caitlin Parry and Scott Stevenson wrote two award-winning memorials at the U.S. Pacific Super Regional in Portland, Ore. The Jessup, now in its 52nd year, is the largest moot court competition in the world, with participants from over 500 law schools competing in the regional rounds.

“We are extremely proud of our students’ skills as the top legal writers in this competition,” said Moot Court Advisor Professor Brooke Bowman. “The students wrote not one, but two winning memorials in this prestigious competition.”

Professor Jason Palmer and attorney Logan Murphy coached the team.

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

Freedom Riders Discuss Civil Rights History

Approximately 80 students heard firsthand about making civil rights history from Freedom Riders David and Winonah Myers as part of a noontime lecture sponsored by the Black Law Students Association at Stetson on Friday, Feb. 25, in Gulfport.

Freedom Riders Speak at Stetson Law — Freedom Riders David and Winonah Myers talk with Stetson Law Professor Robert Bickel and students in the Great Hall. Click for high-resolution image.

Among the law students was an 11-year-old named Alex who interviewed the Myers for a school essay that received national accolades. The Myers live in Tampa Bay and are the subject of a 2006 feature article by St. Petersburg Times writer Jeff Klinkenberg. According to the newspaper article, Winonah served the longest jail sentence of any Freedom Rider arrested for taking a stand against segregation.

After being arrested for participating in the Freedom Rides, Winonah refused to bail out of jail. She said, “It occurred to me that if this were to mean anything, then there should have been a little footnote in history that said that this is what we did to them for sitting next to us on the bus.”

Freedom Riders with Professor Robert Bickel — (L-R): Professor Robert Bickel, Freedom Riders Winonah and David Myers. Click for high-resolution image.

The Supreme Court called for an end to segregation in interstate travel, making legal history when Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy used the ruling to end Jim Crow travel. Winonah said people sitting next to people with different colored skin were burned and killed while riding buses in the turbulent 1960s.

Decades before the era of texting and Facebook and other social media, Winonah Myers said that the word went out among young people across the nation, creating a network of protest against civil rights abuses. She described being a teenager and telling her mother she wanted to risk her life to join the Freedom Rides in the 1960s.

“If we’re not gatekeepers of the law, it operates the wrong way,” moderator Professor Robert Bickel told the students gathered to hear the Myers talk.

Bickel co-teaches a summer travel course on constitutional law and civil rights with USF history professor Ray Arsenault that includes guest lectures by original Freedom Riders. Students in the course travel to Nashville, Memphis, Birmingham, Montgomery and Selma, visiting with the original Freedom Riders who made civil rights history.

David Myers described his experiences as a young college student in the 1960s in Ohio, discovering that he could go to restaurants any time and any place he wanted because of the color of his skin, but that other people, including university presidents, could not. When the Freedom Rides began in 1961, David said that he felt compelled to join them. David joined the Freedom Rides in Montgomery, where he met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was arrested when the bus he was riding reached Jackson, and he, Winonah and other Freedom Riders attempted to desegregate an interstate bus terminal under the authority of the Supreme Court’s decision in Boynton v. Virginia.

“Don’t leave your heart behind,” David urged the young law students attending the talk. “Let your heart be your guide in what is right and what is wrong.”

Professor Bickel urged the students in attendance to make a difference through civil responsibility and social justice. He reminded them that 500 young Freedom Riders changed the world.

On June 3, Bickel will take a new group of students enrolled in his course on a ride through civil right history, traveling in part by bus. They will have an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the relevance of legal history and to learn firsthand about how people can have a profound impact on upholding the law.

“Storytelling by the original movement veterans, who are there with us, lifts history off pages and makes it personal for students,” said Bickel.

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

Coleman Discusses Law as Powerful Institution

Video interview with Professor Jules Coleman. (2min:13sec)

On Feb. 24, Professor Jules Coleman from Yale Law School presented Stetson University College of Law’s Culverhouse Chair Lecture and spoke to students about perceptions in understanding the law. Coleman said that he tried to illuminate the perspectives of examining law. He also told students that as lawyers they have great responsibilities because they will be members of one of the most powerful institutions in the world.

Professor Coleman is the Culverhouse Chair, a visiting faculty member at Stetson Law and the Wesley Newcomb Hohfeld Professor of Jurisprudence and Professor of Philosophy at Yale Law School.

Contact Brandi Palmer

727-562-7381
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Crist will be Distinguished Professorial Lecturer

Former Florida Governor Charlie Crist will be a Distinguished Professorial Lecturer at Stetson University College of Law, starting this semester.

“It’s always exciting and stimulating to have the opportunity to interact with young people in our state, particularly the caliber of students at Stetson University College of Law,” Crist said. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be invited to do so and I’m very humbled by the invitation.”

Crist will serve as a guest lecturer in various classes, interact with students, and deliver presentations on the Stetson Law campus and at law school events. Crist plans to present Stetson Law’s Nichols Foundation Prominent Speakers Lecture Series in the spring. Established in 1995, the Nichols Series enriches academic life at Stetson by presenting prominent speakers from business, government and the law.

“Stetson University believes in public service and practical learning, and we are thrilled that Governor Crist will be sharing his unique insights into Florida law and policy with our students,” said President Wendy Libby. Crist, who recently joined the Morgan & Morgan law firm, said he is motivated to share his experiences in public service and what it means to serve the people of Florida to try to make their lives better. He said he plans to focus his teaching at Stetson on government and the law.

“It’s all about giving back and trying to help others and improving your community,” Crist said. “Graduates go on and do great work, pro bono and otherwise, throughout the state of Florida and the country from Stetson, the oldest law school in the state.”

“As former governor, attorney general, education commissioner and state senator, Charlie Crist has a wealth of personal knowledge to share with our students,” said Vice President and Dean Darby Dickerson. “Our students will have an extraordinary opportunity to learn about the inner workings of government and the law from a tenured public servant.”

The governor of Florida from January 2007 to January 2011, Crist’s tenure in public service includes serving as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner and Attorney General. Crist moved to St. Petersburg, Fla., with his family as a child and attended the local school system through high school. He received his undergraduate degree from Florida State University and his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law.

His father, St. Petersburg-based physician Dr. Charles J. Crist, served on the College of Law Board of Overseers from 1979 through 1997.

Contact Brandi Palmer

727-562-7381
[email protected]

Summer Abroad Information Sessions

Stetson students may attend one of two Summer 2011 study abroad information sessions on Feb. 28:

12:15 p.m. at Mann Lounge, Gulfport Campus
5 p.m. at Classroom 136, Tampa Law Center

The sessions will include a presentation on topics including the courses, academic policies, facilities, housing, tour sites, and other details.

Contact International Programs

727-562-7800 x7651
[email protected]

Hall of Fame Nominations

Stetson University College of Law is accepting nominations for its prestigious Hall of Fame, which recognizes individuals who have reached the pinnacle of their professions and have affected a profound, positive influence on the law school.

New members are inducted into Stetson Law’s Hall of Fame each year in the fall. The 2010 inductees were Kay Eddy, the Firestone Family, philanthropists Edward and Bonnie Foreman, Professor Ruthann Robson ’79, Seminole Tribe of Florida general counsel Jim Shore BA ’76 and JD ’80, top-ranked Tampa attorney Gary Trombley ’73, and Judge Dan Warren ’52.

For biographies and videos about past winners, please see the Hall of Fame website.

To submit a nomination, please use the 2011 Hall of Fame Nomination Form (PDF) and send by April 29 to Leslie Weaver in the College Relations Office at Stetson University College of Law, 1401 61st St. S., Gulfport, FL 33707. E-mails are also accepted at [email protected]. See Nominations for more information.

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

New Professorship

Stetson University College of Law has named Ellen S. Podgor the inaugural Gary R. Trombley Family White-Collar Crime Research Professor.

Professor Ellen S. Podgor. Click for high-resolution image.

A former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, Professor Podgor has written more than 50 articles and co-authored many books, including White Collar Crime in a Nutshell, Understanding International Criminal Law andMastering Criminal Law. She is also editor of the White Collar Crime Prof Blog, which boasts a readership of two million and counting.

Podgor is a member of the American Law Institute and serves on the board of directors of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law. She also serves on the board of trustees of the Southeastern Association of Law Schools. Podgor is a former member of the board of directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and past chair of the Criminal Justice Section of the Association of American Law Schools. She is an honorary member of the American Board of Criminal Lawyers.

Podgor has served as Stetson’s Culverhouse Chair, LeRoy Highbaugh Sr. Research Chair, and inaugural Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Electronic Education. Before joining Stetson’s faculty in 2005, she was a tenured professor at Georgia State.

In September 2010, Podgor testified before Congress on the issue of overcriminalization. Also in 2010, Podgor received the Robert C. Heeney Award, the highest honor given by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Stetson Law alumnus Gary R. Trombley ’73, who established the professorship, is an award-winning white-collar defense and criminal defense attorney at Trombley & Hanes P.A. in Tampa, a member of the College of Law’s Board of Overseers, and inductee in Stetson Law’s Hall of Fame. Trombley received the Attorney General’s “Outstanding Performance in Trial Practice Award” while serving as Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Florida. He has served as a member The Florida Bar’s Board of Governors.

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

Panel Talk: Chocolate Industry Child Labor

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and Americans eat more than 50 million pounds of chocolate to celebrate. But according to the U.S. Department of State, more than 100,000 children are enslaved working in the cocoa industry. On Feb. 8, a group of students, faculty and experts gathered at Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport to discuss the issue of child labor in the international cocoa industry.

Panel Investigates Child Labor in the Chocolate Industry — Stetson Law Professor Luz Nagle moderates a discussion between students and panelists about child labor in the chocolate industry.

Stetson Law student Amber Knight, an intern at the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking, introduced the program, which included a screening of the documentary film, “The Dark Side of Chocolate,” by U. Roberto “Robin” Romano and award-winning Danish journalist Miki Mistrati.

International human rights expert Professor Luz Nagle moderated a panel that discussed the importance of consumer awareness, corporate responsibility and tougher labor laws to combat child slavery and exploitation. The panel included consumer advocate Carol Botbyl, Stetson Law Professor Clark Furlow, Distinguished Professorial Lecturer Justice Andrew G.T. Moore II, Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking representative Giselle Rodriguez, and nationally renowned labor lawyer Peter Robb.

Filmmaker Robin Romano joined the program via Skype. “Cocoa is to the Ivory Coast as the Ivory Coast is to cocoa,” Romano said following the screening of his film. He later shared that the Ivory Coast is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a human rights treaty advocating for children’s rights.

Rodriguez said she was saddened to know that children are forced to labor in the cocoa industry without access to adequate food, medical care, or even school.

Justice Moore said that he found not knowing even more disturbing.

In 2001, there was a force to implement legislation to give some teeth to the movement to stop child labor, Nagle said. Now a decade later, the issue remains. “Who will hold corporations accountable for enforcing the rights of the child?” Professor Nagle asked the panel.

The panel concluded with many questions. “Could we make it good business not to buy cocoa beans from companies using child labor?” Robb asked.

On one point, Professor Nagle was certain. “We all need to be involved,” she said.

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

32nd Annual National Conference on Law & Higher Education Brings National Leaders to Orlando

Stetson University College of Law’s 32nd Annual National Conference on Law & Higher Education brings national academic leaders and scholars to Orlando Feb. 5-8.

Campus violence, challenges to academic freedom, free speech issues and the rise of virtual campuses will be reviewed at the conference.

Professor Amy Gadja, who teaches both law and journalism at Tulane University, will present the keynote address on “The Rise of a Litigation and Risk Management Culture on Campus.”

Professor Laura Rothstein, former dean of the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, will be honored with this year’s William A. Kaplin Award for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy Scholarship. The Center for Excellence in Higher Education Law and Policy at Stetson established this award to recognize scholars who have published works on education law that embrace the intersection of law and policy.

Professor Rothstein has written 14 books and dozens of book chapters, articles and other works on disability discrimination. She has also chaired the AALS Special Committee on Disability Issues from 1988-1990 and has served as co-chair of the AALS Section on Disability Law, chair of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education Diversity Committee, a member of the LSAC Minority Affairs Committee, and a member of the AALS Membership Committee. She currently serves on the Law School Admissions Council Pipeline Outreach Planning Committee. In addition to her work in disability law, Rothstein has worked to promote racial diversity within legal education and the legal profession, writing and lecturing frequently on those topics.

Ann H. Franke is this year’s Facilitator Award recipient. Franke is a national consultant for colleges and universities on issues ranging from academic freedom to student affairs. Stetson created the award to honor educators who embody the principles articulated by Stetson Law professors Robert Bickel and Peter Lake in their book, The Rights and Responsibilities of the Modern University.

Franke founded her firm, Wise Results, LLC, in 2005, after holding senior management positions with United Educators Insurance and the American Association of University Professors. Franke is a nationally-sought speaker who has been published in Trusteeship, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Change magazine, Minerva, and The Review of Litigation. She is a fellow of the National Association of College and University Attorneys, a trustee of AAUP’s Academic Freedom Fund, and a member of the editorial advisory board for the “Educator’s Guide to Controlling Sexual Harassment.”

To register to attend all or a portion of this conference, bring a completed registration form along with payment to the registration desk at the event at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando.
Visit www.law.stetson.edu/conferences, e-mail [email protected], or call 727-562-7312 to learn more.

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

ADR Board Wins National Competition

Stetson University College of Law’s Alternative Dispute Resolution board won the Liberty University National Negotiation Competition this past weekend in Lynchburg, Va.

The Stetson student team of James Garner and Skip Tylman negotiated a complicated Securities and Exchange Commission issue to win the competition. Twelve teams competed in the preliminary rounds, with only four teams advancing to the final round on Jan. 29.

“We couldn’t be prouder of how hard both Jimmy and Skip worked and how professional they were during the competition,” said Professor Kelly Feeley, who directs Stetson’s ADR board. “The ADR skills that the students are learning as part of these teams will be invaluable to their success in the practice of law.”

“Student competitions provide a great resource for students to further perfect skills and build self-confidence,” said Visiting Professor Christine Cerniglia, who coached the winning team.

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]

Inns of Court

Helaine Barnett — Helaine M. Barnett presented the William Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Lecture. Click image for high-resolution version.

Stetson University College of Law honored John R. Blue with its 2011 Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Public Service Award at its annual Inns of Court Banquet in St. Petersburg on Jan. 25. Helaine M. Barnett, who has led numerous legal service programs for the poor, presented the William Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Lecture at the event. Barnett said the nation’s economic condition is placing greater numbers of Americans at the poverty level without adequate access to justice.

“More and more Americans go to court unrepresented,” said Barnett. “Although some individuals may choose to go to court without counsel, most pro se litigants have no choice.”

Now an attorney at Carlton Fields, Blue is a 1963 Stetson Law alumnus who has served the legal profession for decades as an attorney, a mediator and a judge. As Chief Judge of the Second District Court of Appeal, Blue authored more than 500 appellate opinions. Blue served on The Florida Bar Board of Governors, chaired the Local Bar Liaison Committee, and served as president of the Manatee County Bar Association. In 1983, Blue directed the Division of Florida Community Colleges, overseeing 28 community colleges. He also coordinated a program for the 1983 legislative session on higher education. He served in the U.S. Army from 1954-1956.

	Watch Video – 53 sec

	Helaine M. Barnett speaks at Inns of Court Banquet.

Barnett is the former president of the non-profit Legal Services Corporation created by Congress. She worked for decades providing legal services in New York, created the Legal Aid Society’s Homeless Family Rights Project, and oversaw the creation of a citywide health law unit. She mobilized the 9/11 Disaster Assistance Initiative and co-chairs New York’s Task Force to Expand Access to Civil Legal Services. Barnett is the only legal services lawyer to have held positions in the American Bar Association House of Delegates and ABA Board of Governors and Executive Committee. She was elected to the American Law Institute in 1984 and is past chair of the ABA Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and a member of the ABA Commission on Governance.

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
727-562-7381
[email protected]