News Archives - Page 99 of 138

New Faces in Alumni and Development

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Kominowski
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Hoyle
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Stoutamire
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Vaughan
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This fall semester, several new faces have joined the alumni and development team at Stetson University College of Law.

Ed Kominowski is the new associate vice president for college relations.
Robin Hoyle, a 1991 Stetson Law graduate, is the executive director of the Tampa Law Center and assists with alumni and development.
Casey Stoutamire, a 2009 Stetson Law graduate, is assistant director for alumni relations.
Stetson Law professor Stephanie Vaughan, a 1991 Stetson Law graduate, is the special assistant to the dean for alumni and development.

Kominowski was formerly director of development and major gifts at Edison State College in Fort Myers, executive director of development for the University of South Florida College of Engineering and had 10 years experience in development at Indiana University.

Hoyle has an extensive background in fundraising and external relations in addition to practicing law. Her diverse career has included building an endowment to advance cancer research and working with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

Stoutamire previously worked at the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration Inc. and before graduating last year from Stetson, was a student leader and ambassador. She works on alumni events, planned giving and class gift campaigns.

Vaughan is a professor at Stetson Law who led the student Moot Court Board to victory as their advisor in several international and national championships for a decade. In her new role, she will continue to teach and to assist with fundraising to enhance educational programs at Stetson.

Podgor Testifies Before Congress

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Professor Ellen Podgor testifying before Congress. Photo by Dupont Photographers. Click for high-resolution image.

On Sept. 28, white-collar crime expert professor Ellen Podgor testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. Professor Podgor, the LeRoy Highbaugh, Sr., Research Chair at Stetson University College of Law, discussed the impact of overcriminalization.

“The cycle of recriminalizing conduct every time an event occurs needs to stop,” Podgor urged Congress.

“Clearly we are all opposed to crime, and the goal to eradicate its existence is of the utmost importance,” Professor Podgor stated at the beginning of her testimony before Congress. “Laws that punish individuals when they commit crimes serve the important goals of deterring future criminality and isolating those who may present a harm to society. But efforts towards achieving these goals are hampered by the reality that, in some cases, criminality is not clearly defined, and society is not properly notified of what conduct is prohibited by law.”

The president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Jim E. Levine, also testified. Levine and Podgor fielded questions from Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott and Ranking Member Louie Gohmert (R-TX). Chairman John Conyers, Jr. also participated.

Hearing witnesses included overcriminalization victims Abner Schoenwetter and race car driver Bobby Unser, Brian Walsh of the Heritage Foundation, Notre Dame Law professor Stephen Smith, and former Director of the DOJ’s Enron Task Force Andrew Weissmann.

To read professor Ellen Podgor’s complete testimony, visit the NACDL here.
Visit her white collar crime blog to read more of her analyses of legal issues.
For more background on this topic, read the NACDL and Heritage Foundation report, Without Intent: How Congress Is Eroding the Criminal Intent Requirement in Federal Law.

Gulf Oil Spill: Uncertain Impact?

Contact Brandi Palmer
Manager of Media Relations
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Dr. Frank Muller Karger. Click for high-resolution image"

What is the impact of the Gulf oil spill? It is a question being asked in legal and scientific communities alike. On Sept. 30, Dr. Frank E. Muller-Karger, a University of South Florida professor and director of the Institute for Marine Remote Sensing, talked with law students at Stetson about the science being used to assess the uncertain impact of this spring’s oil spill on marine life and fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. Muller-Karger spoke Thursday afternoon at Stetson University College of Law as part of a lecture sponsored by Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy, Environmental Law Society and Maritime Law Society.

He explained that the scientific programs to assess the impact of the oil spill on the Gulf are ongoing: “The take-home message here is that there is so much that we don’t know about what happened.” Muller-Karger explained that it could take years to assess the impact of the spill.

Legal challenges associated with the oil spill were the subject of a faculty roundtable at Stetson Law in August. Faculty experts Christine Cerniglia, Blake Hudson, Tim Kaye and Ellen Podgor gathered to discuss the Gulf oil spill, past spills, the effectiveness of regulation and some proactive ideas. The oil has stopped flowing, but the lawsuits have only just begun to surface. People, animals, industries and the environment in four states along the Gulf coast all face the possibility of lasting impacts from the offshore accident. The title of Muller-Karger’s talk was “Scientific Programs to Assess the BP/Deepwater Horizon Spill and Its (Uncertain) Impacts on the Gulf of Mexico.” Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy, directed by professor Royal Gardner, is co-sponsoring a series of lectures throughout the semester. For more information about the institute, visit http://www.law.stetson.edu/biodiversity.

Best-Selling Author Visits Stetson

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Manager of Media Relations
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Legal thriller author Jilliane Hoffman signs a student's copy of her latest book, Pretty Little Things at Stetson Law. Click for high-resolution image.

Best-selling author and former prosecutor Jilliane Hoffman visited Stetson University College of Law’s Gulfport campus on Sept. 27 to speak with students about writing as a career and her latest book.

“If you want to branch out in a totally different career, writing is an option,” Hoffman told her audience at Stetson.

Hoffman shared how she transitioned from her legal career into writing legal thrillers, and how she first found a publisher through serendipitous networking on the part of her mom. Hoffman’s legal career includes working on domestic violence cases as assistant state attorney prosecuting felonies in Florida and advising special agents working on narcotics, homicide, and organized crime investigations.

Hoffman told the story of the impetus of her latest novel, Pretty Little Things. A too-close-for-comfort encounter with a child predator using the Internet to find victims sparked Hoffman’s latest thriller.

Jilliane Hoffman talks about writing as a career and her new book. Click for high-resolution image.

The author has visited Stetson Law three times and has written four books. Her book Retribution is being made into a movie. Her new book, Pretty Little Things, is #1 in Germany.

Students Work with Florida Innocence Commission

Innocence Commission director Lester A. Garringer Jr. speaks with Stetson Law students. Click for high-resolution image.

Stetson University College of Law students will assist Florida’s newly created Innocence Commission with research into wrongful convictions and effective legal reform. Lester A. Garringer, Jr., the executive director of the Innocence Commission, met with Stetson Law students and faculty on Sept. 21 in the Florin Roebig Courtroom.

“Working with the Innocence Commission is a wonderful opportunity for Stetson students to learn that effective advocacy does not just occur in the courtroom, but also in the halls of power where laws can be created to protect the innocent,” said professor Roberta Flowers, who co-directs the Innocence Initiative at Stetson University College of Law with professor Judith Scully.

Innocence Commission director Garringer addresses a packed courtroom at Stetson Law Tuesday evening. Click for high-resolution image.

Last fall, 20 Stetson Law students began assisting the Innocence Project of Florida with an overflow of case files. The Innocence Initiative at Stetson Law has grown to include more than 60 students working with 14 attorneys and a former judge, and has expanded to include three divisions. One division works on case files, one targets outreach and education, and another conducts research and analyzes reform.

“Our students and volunteer attorneys have already contributed hundreds of pro bono hours to this project in order to ensure its success,” said professor Scully. “Our goal is to use our advocacy skills on behalf of the wrongfully convicted to help re-balance the scales of justice.”

In the coming months, the Innocence Initiative at Stetson Law will be evaluating potential cases and claims, working to educate the student body at Stetson on wrongful conviction issues, and assisting the Florida Innocence Commission with research into effective legal reform.

“Analyzing reform is not the same as analyzing cases, where the end-game takes place in the courtroom,” said Gabe Neibergall, a Stetson student spearheading outreach for the Innocence Initiative. “For us, the last step will be making recommendations to the legislative branch, so we have to take more factors into account, such as legislative history, political climate, and police policy. It’s a problem-solving exercise, and one that is desperately needed in Florida.”

Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady, who began his term on July 1, created the Innocence Commission to study the causes of wrongful convictions and to recommend possible solutions.

New Registrar Joins Stetson Law

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Felisha McCaster, Stetson Law's new registrar. Click for high resolution image.

Felisha McCaster starts her first day as registrar at Stetson University College of Law on Sept. 7. McCaster served as registrar at Saint Louis University School of Law since 2002.

She is well-versed in the organizational structure of higher education, leadership management, and has worked extensively with students, faculty and staff. In her free time, McCaster volunteers as a youth basketball coach.

Stetson Law’s former registrar, Nancy Kelsey, will be retiring to Tennessee mid-September.

Stetson Law Listed Among the Top ‘Green’ School

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Manager of Media Relations
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Professor Royal Gardner teaching at Stetson Law. Click for high-resolution image.

The latest issue of preLaw magazine lists Stetson University College of Law among the top ‘green’ schools in the nation. The magazine used information about law schools’ curriculum, campus environment and building trends to develop its Honor Roll highlighting the “best and brightest.” PreLaw also considered ‘green’ academic offerings including faculty, classes, externships, legal journals and summer programs.

“This is a wonderful affirmation of the great work that Stetson students, faculty and staff are engaged in, from the local to the global level,” said professor Royal Gardner, who directs Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law & Policy.

In February of this year, Stetson became the first law school in the world to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the Ramsar Secretariat, assisting the international group that works to protect wetlands. Two recent Stetson Law graduates worked with the National Audubon Society on the application for the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, Fla., to be designated as a Wetland of International Importance last October.

Stetson’s Go Green Committee set up permanent campus-wide recycling stations and regularly sponsors recycling drives, free bike repair on campus for student commuters, and other events.

Students with an interest in wildlife issues at Stetson also have an opportunity to work on the Journal of International Wildlife Law and Policy. In March, the International Wildlife Law Conference was held in conjunction with the International Finals of the International Environmental Moot Court Competition on Stetson’s Gulfport campus. Speakers from around the world presented on international law, international environmental law and animal welfare issues.

Each semester, Stetson presents a series of Biodiversity Lectures. The first of the fall semester lecture series was presented on Aug. 30 by author/environmental journalist Craig Pittman.

Read more by visiting preLaw. To learn more about Stetson’s outstanding biodiversity/environmental law programs, visit http://www.law.stetson.edu/biodiversity.

Author Discusses Manatee Insanity

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At a noontime Biodiversity Lecture for students in the Great Hall at Stetson Law in Gulfport on Monday, author and St. Petersburg Times journalist Craig Pittman discussed how Florida became caught up in Manatee Insanity, also the topic of Pittman’s new book. Pittman reviewed the 300-year history of the manatee in Florida, from dinner special to endangered species.

The manatee, according to Pittman, remains a symbol of Florida and of human conflict with the environment. He talked about some present-day controversies, from swimming with the manatees in Crystal River to draining springs frequented by manatees for drinking water. Pittman concluded his lecture by reminding the law students in the audience to “beware the manatee insanity, and bear in mind that they are a symbol of Florida and not just the wilderness, but also the conflict, and our desire to live in the wilderness and make it our own.”

Professor Royal Gardner, who directs Stetson’s Institute for Biodiversity Law and Policy, introduced the lecture co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Society.

Stetson University Ranked 23rd in Nation for Service, Research, Social Mobility

Contact Cindi Brownfield
University Marketing
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A national rating system that focuses on how well colleges and universities contribute to the public good in the areas of service, research and social mobility has selected Stetson University in DeLand as the top-rated four-year school in Florida. Stetson is ranked No. 23 nationally in Washington Monthly magazine’s “Top 50 Master’s Universities” for universities with bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.

The ratings, released this week at www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide, rank colleges and universities in five different categories – Top 30 National Universities, Top 30 Liberal Arts Colleges, Top 50 Master’s Universities, Top 50 Community Colleges and Top 50 Baccalaureate Colleges.

“At Stetson, our students are working to prepare themselves to be active, engaged members of their communities, leaders who can take rigorous academic theory and use it to solve the practical challenges of life,” said Dr. Greg Sapp, the Hal S. Marchman Chair of Civic and Social Responsibility and associate professor of religious studies. “The Washington Monthly‘s national ranking of Stetson recognizes the wonderful work our students do in the community and Stetson’s commitment to supporting them.”

The magazine describes its guide as “a different kind of college ranking” – one that values recruitment and graduation of low-income students, cutting-edge scholarship, community service and graduates making a positive difference in the world. The rankings are based on data including how many alumni go on to serve in the U.S. military and Peace Corps, how many hours students volunteer in their community, how many graduates go on to earn doctorate degrees, how many students are low income (receiving the federal Pell Grant) and how many scholarship dollars are linked to service. More than a third of Stetson students are first-generation college students.

“Colleges and universities do as much to shape the future as any institutions you can think of,” the magazine said. “They conduct cutting-edge research that drives economic growth, provide upward mobility to people of humble birth, and mold the characters of tomorrow’s leaders.”

Stetson has a strong commitment to service learning and civic engagement through its academic courses, and many student organizations provide service to the community through extracurricular activities. Students, faculty and staff typically provide more than 100,000 hours of service each academic year.

“Too often ‘academic’ is equated with ‘irrelevant.’ At Stetson, we work to make students’ academic preparation relevant by providing opportunities for them to see the theory come to life in the engagement of their community while they are taking courses,” Sapp said. “Seeing academic theory in practice tends to help students understand the theory at a deeper level and also allows them to apply the theory in more than one context. Our goal is for our graduates to become engaged members of their communities having a positive effect on those communities.”

Through service learning within the university’s academic program, faculty members involve their students in the community to address real-world problems. Student outreach includes counseling low-income entrepreneurs through the CHOMI Microcredit program, studying invasive species in Blue Spring, running a deliberative democracy campaign, and implementing community youth programs based on residents’ needs. At the College of Law in Gulfport/St. Petersburg and Tampa, all students do pro bono service.

The university also has hosted a number of conferences, including the Bonner Summer Leadership Institute in 2009, and has been selected to host the 2011 IMPACT Conference, a national conference focusing on service, social justice and advocacy, next spring.

Through a partnership with the philanthropic Corella & Bertram F. Bonner Foundation of Princeton, N.J., Stetson supports an active Bonner Scholars program that involves undergraduates in service learning, community engagement and leadership training. Stetson is the only Bonner school in Florida.

Stetson Signs International Agreement

Contact Frank Klim

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Representatives of both schools look on as Darby Dickerson and Don Jose Luis Prado Maillard prepare to sign an international exchange agreement. Click for high-resolution image.

On Aug. 24, Darby Dickerson, vice president and dean of Stetson Law, and Don Jose Luis Prado Maillard, dean of Nuevo Leon University Law School in Monterrey, Mexico, signed a student and faculty exchange agreement.

The agreement will bring the two schools together for joint research in oral advocacy, national security law and criminology and for the creation of joint certificates of Legal Spanish and Legal English. The exchange program begins immediately and calls for the exchange of two students and two faculty members for one or two semesters. Nuevo Leon University law school was established in 1933.

Podgor Receives Top Honor

Contact Ivan J. Dominguez
Public Affairs
202-872-8600 x262
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This news item was provided courtesy of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Washington, DC – (Aug. 18, 2010) – Stetson Law Professor Ellen S. Podgor was awarded the 30th annual Robert C. Heeney Memorial Award, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ most prestigious honor, Aug. 14 at its 52nd Annual Meeting in Toronto, Ont. This award is given annually to the one criminal defense lawyer who best exemplifies the goals and values of the Association and the legal profession.

Ellen Podgor is the LeRoy Highbaugh Sr. Research Chair and Professor of Law at Stetson University College of Law. Professor Podgor teaches in the areas of white collar crime, criminal law and international criminal law. She has been a member of the NACDL since 1979, and was a member of the board of directors of the NACDL for six years. For more than 30 years, Podgor has served the NACDL in more than a dozen roles. She is currently Co-Chair of The Champion Advisory Board. The Champion is the only national magazine devoted wholly to the interests, needs and concerns of the criminal defense lawyer.

Professor Ellen S. Podgor teaching at Stetson Law. Click for high-resolution image.

Professor Podgor is an internationally known and respected white collar crime expert and the author of numerous books and more than 50 articles and essays on subjects including computer crime, international criminal law, lawyer’s ethics, criminal discovery, prosecutorial discretion, corporate criminality, and other white collar crime topics. A former deputy prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, she authors the highly-ranked White Collar Crime Prof Blog.

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

An invaluable resource and a legal scholar of the first order, Professor Podgor is frequently interviewed by media outlets including National Public Radio, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, L.A. Times, National Law Journal, Chicago Tribune, and Business Week.

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The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL’s 10,000-plus direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling more than 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal justice system.
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
1660 L St., N.W., 12th Fl, Washington, D.C. 20036 * Tel. 202-872-8600 * Fax 202-872-8690

Stetson Law Wins Workers’ Compensation Moot Court Competition for Third Consecutive Year

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Stetson's Moot Court Team: Ashley Dusnik, Ashley Ward-Singleton, Cory Suter and Scott Stevenson. — tetson's Moot Court Team: Ashley Dusnik, Ashley Ward-Singleton, Cory Suter and Scott Stevenson. Click for high-resolution image.

On Aug. 16, Stetson University College of Law won the E. Earle Zehmer Workers’ Compensation Moot Court Competition for the third year in a row.

Students Ashley Dusnik and Ashley Ward-Singleton argued before three judges from Florida’s First District Court of Appeal to win the competition, sponsored by the Florida Workers’ Compensation Institute.

In addition, a second team of Stetson students, Scott Stevenson and Cory Suter, advanced to the semifinals and won the Best Brief Award. Stevenson was named Best Individual Oral Advocate in the preliminary rounds. Professor Michael Allen and Stetson Moot Court alumnus Jason Stearns ’08 coached the teams.

“For the second time this summer, Stetson students have won the three major awards in a moot court competition,” said Professor Stephanie Vaughan, Stetson’s Moot Court Advisor. “We are so proud of our students and their tradition of excellence.” In June, Stetson’s Moot Court Team also won all three top awards at the Robert Orseck Memorial Moot Court Competition in Boca Raton, Fla.