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.”
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.
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.
“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 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.
Daniela Estrada is an exchange student from Mexico.
Daniela Estrada is wrapping up her studies at Stetson University College of Law this week as part of an exchange program with the Autonomous University of Nuevo León in Monterrey, Mexico. Estrada is the first student to participate in the exchange program between Mexico and Stetson Law.
Stetson Law student Joe Mascherin is studying in Granada, Spain, as part of a student exchange program between Stetson and the Universidad de Granada. Mascherin recently competed on Granada’s team at the Foreign Direct Investment Moot Competition at King’s College in London.
Stetson student Joe Mascherin, foreground, with the moot court team.
Maria Sanchez is pursuing a JD/Grado degree from Stetson Law and the Universidad de Granada. She traveled from the Universidad de Granada to Stetson Law in Gulfport as part of a new degree program.
The J.D./Grado en Derecho dual-degree program, offered by Stetson Law, in Gulfport, Fla., and the Universidad de Granada, in Granada, Spain, is open to first-year Stetson students in good academic standing who are bilingual in Spanish and English or who have excellent written and oral Spanish skills and are willing to immerse themselves in a different legal culture.
Maria Sanchez is completing a JD/Grado degree.
Each year, both Stetson Law and the Universidad de Granada will select up to two students to study for two years at Stetson Law and two years at the Universidad de Granada. Upon successful completion of four years of study, these students will receive the J.D. degree from Stetson and the Grado en Derecho from Granada.
The Office of Student Life at Stetson Law oversees more than 40 student organizations on campus. These organizations assist law students in becoming effective leaders, encouraging students to participate in activities on campus and in the surrounding community through pro bono work, workshops and networking opportunities.
Students meet at the Student Organizations Fair on Sept. 21. Photo by Philip Hadley.
Within the past year, a few new organizations have been created and many have been revived after being dormant for several years. The Stetson Chapter of the Florida Bar Association Young Lawyer’s Division and the Student Veterans Organization are some of the newest student organizations. The Labor and Employment Law Association was created last spring.
The Part-Time Student Society, Performing Arts Society and Stetson Law Parents have reemerged as active organizations on campus. The Business Law Society, Education Law Society and Immigration Law Students Association have offered new programming.
The new Student Veterans Organization will present a program this semester for the college community about using military training to combat stress. U.S. Army Major Jeff Peppers and Sarah Siegrist, Staff Psychotherapist from Eckerd College Counseling Services, are scheduled to speak about proactive ways to prepare for periods of stress.
The Performing Arts Society, now known as the Arts Society at Stetson Law, was founded years ago but remained largely inactive for several years until it was reestablished by current student president Kevin Goertzen. The organization was founded in order to bring a balance to students’ lives and to serve as a predicate for their futures as attorneys.
“We want to encourage those with a passion for the law and the arts to strike a balance between the two,” said Goertzen. “The Performing Arts Society gives students the opportunity to start doing that now.”
Students take a break from studies for pizza and art on Nov. 16. Photo by Steven Lacks.
Goertzen said that he also hopes to teach students how maintaining that balance helps everyone to learn artistic principles that can assist with the practice of law.
The Performing Arts Society just completed its first short film, entitled “Things Not To Do in Law School.” This is a humorous, satirical short film acted out by the student body at Stetson.
The group hosted a pizza and art-making party for students this semester. They have plans to host an arts show made up of law students and lawyers and judges in the surrounding community. They also plan to have Harvey Moore, owner of Trial Practices, Inc., come speak to the group.
The Stetson Law Parents organization was founded in January 2011 by students Bryony Swift and Colleen Williams. They founded this organization as a way to facilitate connections between students who are also parents.
“There are many student-parents who struggle to juggle kids with law school,” said Swift, who serves as the president of Stetson Law Parents. “We believe that organization provides a way for student-parents to help each other out. We also see it as a way to facilitate connections with other children.”
The Stetson Law Parents hosted a successful back-to-school family barbecue at the beginning of the semester. They hosted a fall family costume party for children on Nov. 5.
The Business Law Society, founded in June of 1997, has been reenergized under the direction of the current executive board, including vice president Mark Osborne.
“Our mission is to foster improved coordination, better understanding, and mutually beneficial relationships between the local, state, and national business community and Stetson Law students,” said Osborne. “It is my belief that we have served our goal of making the Business Law Society relevant again and making our events beneficial to the student body.”
The Business Law Society has hosted Adjunct Professor Robert LeVine, a UCC expert and nationally recognized motivational speaker, and Carlton Fields attorney Nathaniel Doliner, the former American Bar Association Business Law Section Chair. The society held a networking event on Nov. 10 at the Tampa Law Center that included attorneys from in-house counsel and corporate law firms.
The Education Law Association was founded during the 2008-2009 academic year at Stetson.
The Education Law Association participated in the Student Organizations Fair in September. Photo by Philip Hadley.
“The organization was founded to create awareness and educate the Stetson community about what education law is, why it is important, and how education law issues impact everyone,” said organization president Annaliese Bullock.
Recently, the Education Law Association invited the St. Petersburg College Office of General Counsel to come speak to the members of the organization. The group has plans to work with Stetson’s Center for Excellence in Higher Education to create more opportunities for student involvement. They are encouraging students to volunteer at Stetson’s annual National Conference on Law & Higher Education in Orlando in February.
The Immigration Law Society provides valuable educational and networking experiences to students interested in immigration law, connecting law students with immigration practitioners and government agencies.
“Our goal is to create a forum where students can gain a practical understanding of immigration law and give back to the immigration community,” said student president Haley Meher.
In the past, the Immigration Law Society has hosted Professor Stephan Legomsky, who wrote the text book currently used in Stetson’s Immigration Law class. The group also held an immigration law research workshop on Nov. 14. In the spring, they plan to have a networking dinner with prominent figures in immigration law. They also plan to visit the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Tampa.
For more information about student organizations at Stetson Law or information about how to start a new organization as a student, contact the Office of Student Life at [email protected].
Stetson University College of Law student Maria Bogomaz was the only law student invited from outside the Washington, D.C., area to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the 1961 Freedom Rides at the White House on Oct. 19. She had an opportunity to meet with heroes of the Civil Rights Movement.
Stetson Law student Maria Bogomaz meets with John Seigenthaler.
Law students from the Washington, D.C., area were invited to the program, which featured many of the original Freedom Riders; Diane Nash, legendary Nashville Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Movement leader; John Seigenthaler, former assistant to Robert F. Kennedy in 1960-62; and University of South Florida St. Petersburg Professor Ray Arsenault, the author of Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice. The White House Office of Public Engagement and the National Endowment for the Humanities presented the program to celebrate the 1961 Freedom Rides, and to encourage the teaching of Civil Rights courses in American law schools.
For the past six years, Professor Arsenault and I have collaborated in conducting a travel course on the subject of Constitutional Law and the Civil Rights Movement, an experiential learning opportunity for students at USF and Stetson University who have completed coursework on the subject. The travel course is made possible in part because of a generous annual donation by the law firm of Florin Roebig. Stetson’s coursework in the legal history of American Civil Rights has been recognized as innovative, because our travel course offers students the opportunity to visit the places where major events in the Civil Rights Movement occurred, and to meet personally with many original movement veterans with whom they can discuss the history of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The students also travel to universities, centers, institutes and archives of Movement history in Montgomery, Nashville, Birmingham, Memphis and Selma.
Professor Arsenault brought special recognition to Stetson Law by requesting that our student, Maria Bogomaz, be invited to the event in Washington, D.C. A graduate of the University of Alabama Birmingham Honors Program, Ms. Bogomaz completed coursework at Stetson on the subject of Constitutional Law and the Civil Rights Movement and participated in our 2011 travel course. She has also been recognized as the recipient of Stetson Law’s 2011 Public Service Fellowship.
Maria Bogomaz takes a moment to reflect during the civil rights travel course at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Ms. Bogomaz was able to interact at the event with both Diane Nash and John Seigenthaler, and to discuss her experiences in our program with representatives of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Bar Association. She also presented them with a copy of a Stetson-produced documentary film created by me and video producer Stan Arthur on the subject of the travel course, as well as information about Stetson Law’s newly established Civil Rights Video History Project.
“I had seen the PBS Freedom Riders documentary, but watching it with the Freedom Riders themselves, as well as John Seigenthaler, was a different experience altogether,” Ms. Bogomaz said. “The most poignant, pure moment occurred when the soundtrack came to the first Freedom song. ‘I’m taking a trip on the Greyhound bus line…’ I started humming along, remembering how Freedom Rider Rip Patton taught us the words this past summer. Suddenly, I realized that the sound wasn’t just coming from the stereo speakers; the Freedom Riders in the audience were singing. And that’s when things connected. These people were not merely remembering history. They were there. They were the ones singing this song. The words belonged to them, and the blood belonged to them, and now they were sitting together, singing the words to us: ‘Hallelujah, I am traveling, hallelujah, ain’t it fine.’ I knew the words. ‘Hallelujah, I am traveling down Freedom’s main line.’”
Ms. Bogomaz shared some of Diane Nash’s comments: “When asked about nonviolence, she said the concept of the Beloved Community is very deep. A lot of people did not understand it. Gandhi discovered a power, an energy, and a way for it to be harnessed, to be focused to bring about social change. It took us a long time and we’re still learning.”
Mr. Seigenthaler interjected, “When you look at politics today, we still haven’t learned.”
After meeting Diane Nash, Ms. Bogomaz wrote, “I spoke to her, star-struck, and she took it with grace, lifted me up, and put me on firm footing, as if we were equals, as if it was nothing to talk to a hero.”
Stetson University College of Law is expanding its programs for veterans this year. The college is increasing the number of Yellow Ribbon scholarships that it offers student veterans from three to 10, a new Student Veterans Organization has started this semester on campus, and a new legal assistance program for veterans is in the works.
Student Jeffrey Harvey leads a recent meeting of the Student Veterans Organization on the Gulfport campus. Photo by Steven Lacks.
The Tampa Bay area on the west coast of Florida is home to one of the largest concentrations of military veterans in the U.S. The need for expanded programming, including academic and legal services for both veterans and active military, is substantial.
“Veterans take an oath to support and defend the Constitution when they become members of the military. These additional scholarships will allow more veterans to continue to fulfill that oath as members of the legal profession. It is, in a very real sense, a continuation of service to the nation,” said Professor Charles Rose, director of the Center for Excellence in Advocacy at Stetson Law.
Stetson’s new expanded programs for veterans will provide law students with an opportunity to receive more scholarships, learn more about the expanding field of veterans law, and sharpen their legal skills while helping to serve the area’s growing veteran population.
“The new student organization will create a network of student veterans on campus that can provide peer support, increase awareness and participation in pro bono projects that help veterans, and provide a forum for a collaborative discussion on resolving issues that affect not only veterans, but the military and legal professions at large,” said Jeffrey Harvey, president of the Student Veterans Organization at Stetson. “One way we hope to do this by organizing events where students can learn skills like time and stress management from the military culture.”
Stetson Law student veteran Javier Centonzio is spearheading Heroes Weekend, a series of community events that includes a parade and musical performances in honor of the service and sacrifice of our active military and veterans, on Nov. 10, 12 and 13, on the Gulfport waterfront.
The Florida Bar and Stetson Law are co-sponsoring Veterans Law Accreditation Training for practicing lawyers from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. on Nov. 12 at the Tampa Law Center, 1700 N. Tampa St.
Prospective students are invited to learn more about the Stetson Law experience at Law School Information Day, starting at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 12, on the Gulfport campus, 1401 61st St. S.
For more information about Stetson’s resources for veterans, including its work with the Yellow Ribbon program, please visit our Veterans Resources Page.
Stetson University College of Law inducted seven members into its Hall of Fame on Oct. 29 in Gulfport. Note: See the Hall of Fame 2011 Flickr set to view images from the event.
This year’s inductees include:
Professor Robert Batey
Professor Robert Batey
Robert Batey joined Stetson Law’s faculty in 1977 and has taught a wide range of legal courses. He was the first Stetson professor to teach courses on sentencing, law and literature, sexual orientation and the law, and juvenile law. He was the first moot court and Lambda Legal Society adviser. He has written extensively on criminal justice, law and literature, and related topics. Since 1995, Professor Batey has been a member of the Families Against Mandatory Minimums organization.
Albert Farrah was the inaugural dean of Florida’s first law school, Stetson Law, from 1900-1907. Dean Farrah instituted “practice court,” believed to be the first trial advocacy program in the country. Farrah was also one of the first law deans to hire a woman on the faculty. He went on to serve as the first law dean of both the University of Florida and the University of Alabama.
General Roy Stanley Geiger ’07- award presented posthumously
Roy Stanley Geiger earned his law degree from Stetson Law in 1907. During World War II, he became Commanding General of the First Marine Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force. His most famous victory was the success of his Marine Aircraft Wing at Guadalcanal. General Geiger was awarded in excess of 25 decorations, including a Presidential Citation for the battle of Guadalcanal, a Distinguished Service Medal, and a World War II Victory Medal. Camp Geiger at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina is named after the war hero. Geiger was promoted to four-star rank posthumously by the 80th Congress in 1947.
Amelia G. Govan co-founded Stetson’s Black Law Students Association (BLSA) in 1979 with fellow student Malcolm J.L. Harper. Today, Judge Govan is an administrative law judge with the Labor Standards Office for the District of Columbia. She is a member of the judicial council of judges, the Florida and D.C. bars, and is licensed to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kenneth A. Marra is a judge with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. He started his legal career in the U.S. Department of Justice’s highly competitive Honors Program in Washington, D.C., where he was assigned to represent the interests of Native Americans. He continued working in that area of law in private practice before being appointed to the 15th Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County. Judge Marra is also the recipient of Stetson Law’s Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Irene H. Sullivan is the author of Raised by the Courts: One Judge’s Insight into Juvenile Justice. Judge Sullivan retired in 2010 after serving 12 years as a Circuit Court Judge in the Unified Family Court of Florida’s sixth judicial circuit − handling juvenile delinquency, dependency and domestic violence cases. She has served on numerous advisory boards including the MacArthur Foundation and the American Bar Association’s Youth at Risk Commission.
In 2007, Judge Sullivan received Stetson’s Ben C. Willard Award for distinguished humanitarian achievements that have benefited Florida citizens and people throughout the world. Judge Sullivan is also the recipient of the St. Petersburg Bar Association Judicial Appreciation Award and the Children’s Justice Award from the Salvation Army. Judge Sullivan was one of only four women in her law class at Stetson.
C. Allen Watts is a city, county and local government law attorney with the law firm of Cobb Cole and has practiced in many areas of land use and administrative law, including environmental regulation, governmental law, education law, concurrency, wetlands and habitat conservation, and related trial and appellate practice. He is a member of the board of directors of 1000 Friends of Florida. Watts is a founding member of the Stetson Law Review and served as editor-in-chief. He served as a Stetson University adjunct professor in the School of Business Administration and as board advisor with the College of Arts and Sciences. He also served as a founding member of the faculty of Campbell University School of Law from 1976-78.
Professor Judith Scully is working on a pro bono initiative at Stetson that is inspiring law students to reach out to educate juveniles and the community about the harsh consequences of the criminal punishment system.
Professor Judith Scully met with students in the Juvenile Justice Initiative at Stetson.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to sentence juveniles who have not committed murder to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Juveniles resentenced in Florida courts following the Supreme Court decision still face lengthy sentences. For many kids, being caught up in the adult justice system can mature into a life of crime, with repeat offenses and arrests.
A Nov. 21, 2010, article by Lloyd Dunkelberger in the Ocala Star-Banner reported that there were more than 100 people sentenced to life in prison without chance of parole for non-murder crimes that they committed as juveniles. “Florida has sentenced far more juveniles to such sentences than all other states combined,” Dunkelberger wrote.
“Intervention and education at an earlier age can help shut down the school-to-prison pipeline,” said Professor Scully, an expert in criminal law who also leads the Innocence Initiative at Stetson.
Approximately 40 law students showed up at the first meeting of the Juvenile Justice Initiative at Stetson in Gulfport a few weeks ago. There are already two students enrolled in externships working with juvenile cases this semester.
Student Robson Powers, one of the members of the Juvenile Justice Initiative student organization, is working in an externship at a criminal defense firm. Powers said that he joined the Juvenile Justice Initiative at Stetson because he believes that juveniles should be treated as juveniles and not be tried in adult courts.
“The misguided notion of ‘adult time, adult crime’ goes against the fabric of juvenile court,” said Powers. “Juveniles are different and deserve rehabilitation, not incarceration.”
Students in the Juvenile Justice Initiative met Nov. 2 to brainstorm ways to help juveniles.
Powers took several classes on criminal and juvenile law and wrote a seminar research paper on the disproportionate number of minority juveniles who get transferred to adult court in Florida. Before law school, Powers helped prepare federal prosecutions at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida in the criminal division.
Besides providing externships for students in the juvenile criminal law field, Stetson’s Juvenile Justice Initiative will bring a speaker series to campus and introduce a Street Law Program into Pinellas County middle schools in the spring.
Student Amy Ray is developing the proposal and curriculum for the Street Law Program, designed for at-risk middle school students.
By giving juveniles the necessary information to make informed decisions, providing them with tools and alternatives to crime, and illustrating the consequences of illegal behavior, Ray said that she hopes that Street Law can intervene at a critical point to help break the school-to-prison cycle.
Ray is finishing both her master’s degree in public health and law degree. She already has a master’s in criminal justice focusing on the theoretical aspects of delinquency, and she has studied violence as a public health concern.
“If this initiative can be implemented effectively in the community, then it has the power to grow outside of the county,” Ray said. “I’d like to see it partner with the Florida Department of Health as a way to grow.”
Annaliese Bullock, a founding member of the Juvenile Justice Initiative, said that she has always had a desire to work with youth, even before coming to law school. Bullock is researching diversion programs and crossover youth. Diversion programs offer youth an alternative to prison time, and steer them in the direction of counseling, community service, or similar alternatives that will improve their situation. Crossover youth are those who are involved in both the juvenile dependency and delinquency system.
Students in the Juvenile Justice Initiative at Stetson met to discuss programs to serve the needs of juveniles caught up in the criminal punishment system.
“I’d like to see the Juvenile Justice Initiative Street Law Program help educate local youth about the law, their rights and overall human rights,” Bullock said. “I’d also like to see the program grow to educate Stetson students about youth issues and to encourage community relationships.”
Professor Scully said that she hopes that this initiative will inspire students and others to see juvenile law as an important area of law and not just as a stepping stone to other careers.
Student Jessica Becht plans to pursue a career in juvenile law after graduating and is a researcher for the Juvenile Justice Initiative Street Law Program. An internship in college with a Circuit Court Family judge working in dependency and delinquency court sparked her interest. She said that she hopes that the Juvenile Justice Initiative will help show law students the importance of being advocates for young people and how to be more responsive to the diversity of issues raised by juvenile criminal law.
Judge Irene Sullivan, former circuit court judge in the Unified Family Court, is teaching a Juvenile Law Seminar this semester at Stetson. The class she co-taught with Professors Judith Scully and Robert Batey at Stetson on juvenile law last semester inspired the Juvenile Justice Initiative.
“Clients in juvenile defense are often underprivileged, low-income kids, some struggling with learning disabilities and poverty,” Professor Scully said.
Becht said that education is the first step toward fixing the problem of juvenile crime in the area.
“Community advocacy and community education are part of the broader definition of advocacy and we, at Stetson, specialize in teaching advocacy,” Professor Scully said.
On Oct. 25, a crowd of faculty, students and alumni helped celebrate Stetson Law’s Pride Scholarship for students at an evening reception at the Mindy Solomon Gallery in St. Petersburg. Stetson Law alumni Matthew Bachman ’07, Elizabeth C. Barnes ’11, Thomas Yaegers ’05, and professors Robert Batey, Joseph Morrissey, Jason Palmer and Ellen Podgor joined the Pride Scholarship committee to show their support for law students who dedicate themselves to extracurricular activities and service related to LGBTQIA issues.
Stetson Law students, alumni and faculty gathered to support the Pride Scholarship at the Mindy Solomon Gallery on Oct. 25.
“The Pride Scholarship is an important component of Stetson’s efforts to assist students who give back to the community in this important and needed legal area,” said Professor Podgor.
“The law is rapidly changing in Florida and the country regarding the rights of the LGBTQIA community,” said alumna Elizabeth Barnes. “By sponsoring and promoting this scholarship, Stetson is not only showing its support for our community; it is also showing that the Stetson tradition of leadership and excellence extends beyond moot court and trial team. This scholarship fosters knowledge and leadership in Stetson students and alumni, empowering them to be leaders in a rapidly changing and important realm of the law.”
Since graduating this year, Barnes has joined the board of the Pinellas County ACLU.
“It is important to celebrate diversity among students, because by embracing diversity, the entire student body as a whole will be more successful,” alumnus Matthew Bachman said.
While he was still a student at Stetson Law a few years ago, Bachman was recognized by the Gulfport City Council for helping to expand the city’s human rights ordinance to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identification. Around the nation, more than 100 local city and county governments have anti-discrimination ordinances that include sexual orientation or gender identification.
To learn more about scholarship programs at Stetson Law, visit the Admissions page here. To learn more about giving to Stetson, call 727-562-7818 or e-mail [email protected].
It’s been more than a year since President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), but the Stetson Law community, like much of the rest of America, remains abuzz over the contentious legislation.
Professor Michael Allen talks with students about Obama's healthcare overhaul on Oct. 25. Photo by Steven Lacks.
In a room packed with law students, Professor Michael Allen gave a presentation on the constitutionality of PPACA for Stetson Law’s American Constitution Society in Gulfport on Oct. 25.
Professor Allen began his presentation with a brief history of cases he anticipates will influence the Supreme Court, should the constitutionality question make it that far up the judicial ladder.
Three federal appellate courts have already issued decisions. The 6th Circuit, pointing to the effect of health care on interstate commerce, ruled two-to-one that the individual mandate clause is constitutional, while the 11th Circuit ruled two-to-one in the opposite direction. The 4th Circuit, in contrast, declined to decide the constitutionality question entirely, citing procedural grounds.
“These cases collectively provide the Supreme Court with the opportunity to address a wide range of constitutional issues, ranging from the power of Congress to ‘tax’ or ‘regulate commerce among the several states,’” Professor Allen said. “But they also provide the means for the justices to avoid the constitutional issues entirely by relying on a statute that could limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts to enjoin certain revenue raising statutes.”
Ultimately, the question of whether the individual mandate is constitutional might never reach the Supreme Court; the Court may not even decide whether or not to hear the case until next year.
“It is a cliché,” Professor Allen said, “but only time will tell how the Court decides to confront this issue, let alone how it will ultimately be resolved.”
Former Marine and current Stetson Law student Javier Centonzio is spearheading Heroes Weekend, a series of public events to honor military service men and women and veterans on Nov. 10, 12 and 13 in Gulfport.
The public is invited to enjoy a free concert, a parade and a musical performance benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project. Centonzio joined forces with the American Legion Post 125, the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce, and the City of Gulfport to create the Heroes Weekend.
Events include:
Thursday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m.: The South Pasadena Community Band performs a free concert sponsored by the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce at the Gulfport Casino, 5500 Shore Blvd. S. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 12, 4 p.m.: The City of Gulfport sponsors a parade along Beach Blvd. in Gulfport. Those interested in participating in the parade should contact Gail Biron with the City of Gulfport at (727) 893-1118 or [email protected]. The deadline to register for the parade is Nov. 8.
Sunday, Nov. 13, 5:30 p.m.: “JELVIS” will be performing a “Tribute to Elvis” at the Gulfport Casino. The tickets are $10 each and will be sold at the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce and at the American Legion Post 125. Tickets will also be sold at the door. Tables that seat eight can be reserved in advance for $200. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the show will begin at 6 p.m.
Reservations, tickets or additional event information:
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