The Informant
March 24, 2009
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Congratulations to Jenkins winners
Congratulations to the following students on their outstanding performance in the championship round of the Ray H. Jenkins Trial Competition: First Place: Sean McDermott and Ashley Musselman; Second Place: Will Holloway and Stuart Saylor; Best Oralist: Ashley Musselman; and Best Witness: Stephen Quinn.
Douglass team makes mark at nationals
During spring break, the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Team of Jade Logan and Erin Morant, both 2Ls, competed in the national finals in Irvine, Calif. They displayed superior mooting skills in the three rounds of judging. After each round of tough questioning the judges completed the team on their pose, knowledge of the record and use of the law as advocates. Those were not idle comments as a review of the scoring sheets showed that the judges repeatedly scored the team in the high 80 percentile. The team bowed out after making the final eight. Their hard efforts were recognized at the awards ceremony as they won best Respondent's Brief, and Erin Morant was named one of the best oralists in the competition. “Please congratulate Jade and Erin on a spectacularly well done job,” said team coach Dwight Aarons. “They represented the College with great distinction, earning three plaques in the process and progressing further than any Frederick Douglass team in a generation. Many thanks to all in the law school community for the encouragement and generosity of their time in helping us to prepare for the competition.”
Summers-Wyatt Symposium Friday
Ever wonder what a jury is really thinking when they hear a judge use complicated legal jargon to instruct them on how to decide a case? If you are interested in the unique intersections between language and the law and human behavior and the law, you should attend the Summers-Wyatt Symposium, scheduled for all day on March 27, in Room 132. The symposium – “Asking Jurors to Do the Impossible” is an interdisciplinary program addressing issues of language and law and human behavior and the law. The symposium will include speakers who are linguists, sociologists, lawyers, psychologists, judges, and lawyers. The keynote speaker, Dr. Peter Tiersma, is the country’s foremost expert on the topic of writing comprehensible jury instructions.
Following Dr. Tiersma’s morning address and panel reactions, more than a dozen Tennessee trial judges will be in attendance working specifically on how to make Tennessee jury instructions more comprehensible to juries. Simultaneously, a “jury” of undergraduates will be deliberating a hypothetical case and informing the judges of the difficulty that the instructions cause. The Symposium is a joint effort between the Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy and the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution and is sponsored by the Summers and Wyatt law firm in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It will begin at 9:30 and conclude at 4:30. All students are invited to attend as their schedules allow.
First-Year Advocacy idol Competition Wednesday
The Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution is sponsoring the Second Annual First-Year Advocacy Idol Competition on Wednesday, March 25, beginning at 5:00 p.m. in Room 132. Thirty first-year law students, coached by thirty experienced second- and third- years, will deliver brief opening statements before panels of judges from the federal and state bench. After an elimination round, six finalists will present their opening statements before an en banc panel of nine judges, presided over by the Honorable Camille McMullen, Judge, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Winners will receive cash prizes. All of the advocates and their coaches will have dinner with the judges following the competition.
Judge McMullen to speak Wednesday
Judge Camille McMullen, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Western Section, will speak on March 25, 2009, at 12 noon in Room. Judge McMullen is the first African American woman on the Court of Criminal Appeals. Before being appointed by Governor Bredesen last summer, Judge McMullen was a successful trial lawyer, working both for the United States Attorney’s Office and the State District Attorney’s Office in Memphis. She also served, following her graduation, as a clerk to a judge on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Judge McMullen will speak about her career. Lunch will be served following her presentation.
Possible ‘09 enrollee quoted in Wall Street Journal
Admitted candidate Claire Arnett, currently a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, indicated the UT College of Law was her top choice along four law schools to which she has been accepted for this fall. The story indicated applications to law schools are up this year in spite of the current economic woes. Arnett had planned to move to New York City after graduation this spring but has opted for law school instead. “I feel like it is a good degree to have,” she said.
Seton Hall faculty member to speak on Same-Sex Marriage site controversy
April 8, at 12 p.m. as part of the Speaker Series, Professor Marc Poirier of Seton Hall School of Law will speak on "Ocean Grove versus Ocean Grove: Property, Community, and the Where of a Same-Sex Civil Union Ceremony." The talk centers on an ongoing controversy in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, over whether a same-sex couple can rely on the state's Law Against Discrimination to compel the rental of a beachfront pavilion for their civil union ceremony. The owner of the pavilion is the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, although the Association has granted an easement to the town of Ocean Grove in order to allow public access to the beach. At the time of the request for rental, the Association rented out the pavilion for weddings on a regular basis. It refused to rent to the couple, however, because the Association is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, which while affirming the value of homosexual persons prohibits the use of church buildings for same-sex union ceremonies. The pavilion is not a church building, though it is often used for religious purposes; and the Association has formally made the pavilion available to the public for recreational use. The state recently found probable cause of a violation of the state law on public accommodations, so an administrative hearing is very likely. The case obviously sits at more than one intersection in the law. Not only does it raise the issue of gay rights in general (and the right to marry in particular), but it also implicates church and state and numerous property issues. Professor Poirier's talk will be followed by a panel discussion with College of Law faculty members. Please save the date and plan to attend.
Summer-Wyatt Symposium March 27
The University of Tennessee College of Law Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution and the Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy are hosting the Summers-Wyatt Symposium, which focuses on issues related to the right to jury trial and the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, March 27. MORE
Law Women Chili Cook-Off March 26
The Law Women’s Annual Chili Cook-Off will be held at Toddy’s Back Door Tavern March 26. Please contact Jamey Ayers (jayers5@utk.edu) if you are interested in forming a team. All funds raised by the Date Auction and Chili Cook-off will be donated to the YWCA Victim’s Advocacy Program, a nonprofit organization that works with the YWCA and the State of Tennessee to promote the safety and rehabilitation of domestic violence victims in Knoxville.
VITA program swinging into action
Tax season is here, and that means it's time for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. VITA is a program, sponsored by both the IRS and UT Pro Bono, whose mission is to provide free tax services for UT students, faculty, and staff, as well as low- to moderate- income individuals and families. This year, VITA will be taking place Monday-Wednesday, 4-7 p.m., in the Student Organization Office on the third floor (Room 302). VITA will also be hosting a special International Night on Tuesdays for international students and friends (U.S. citizens can come on any night). Please be sure to bring a valid photo ID, your Social Security card, and all relevant tax documents (W-2, 1099, etc.). If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Roman Hankins (rhankins@utk.edu) or Rachel Levinson (rlevinso@utk.edu).
FACULTY
From the Associate Dean for Faculty Development
Profs. Mae Quinn, Karla McKanders, and Jennifer Hendricks conducted a workshop in early March at the Conference on Applied Feminism at the University of Baltimore School of Law. The workshop was entitled Creating Space for Feminist Writing and Teaching: Productivity, Placement, and Practical Feminism and was based on recent scholarship regarding the perpetuation of gender hierarchy in the legal academy. The workshop was the opening event of a program including such luminaries as Maya Angelou, who was the keynote speaker.
As I was helping the law faculty pull together their books for the reception that the Office of Research and the University Libraries will be holding March 24, I was impressed with the number of books the law faculty has produced within the past year, the number of law faculty who have done so, and the high quality of the work. I thought you would be interested in the following brief summary. Please let me know if you would like additional information about these books or authors.
Prof. Heminway participates in Vanderbilt conference
Before Spring Break, Prof. Joan Heminway participated in a conference at Vanderbilt University Law School entitled "The Future of Federal Regulation of Financial Markets, Shareholder Litigation and Corporate Governance." The conference, hosted by the Law & Business Program at VULS, featured panel presentations and related discussion on the current and future state of shareholder litigation, corporate governance, and financial market regulation in light of the current world economic crisis and current events affecting securities regulation and corporate finance. Also before the break, Prof. Heminway was quoted in a March 9 Fox Business News story entitled "Can we trust what CEO's say?" (Link: http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/trust-ceos-say/). Prof. Joan Heminway is one of two recipients of a scholarship from the Chancellor for attendance at the 2009 Summer Institute at Bryn Mawr College offered by the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS). The Institute is "a month-long residential program presenting an intensive leadership and management development curriculum for approximately seventy women faculty and administrators on the campus of Bryn Mawr College." Prof. Heminway will attend the Institute from June 20 through July 15, 2009.
Prof. Reynolds has article in Forbes
Prof. Glenn Reynolds had a piece published in the March 11 print edition of Forbes Magazine.
Prof. Rivkin on ABA site accreditation team
Prof. Dean Rivkin recently served as the AALS representative on an ABA/AALS site accreditation team at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in Washington, DC.
STUDENTS
Students invited to join Transactions Journal
All interested first- and second-year law students are invited to apply to be a member of the 2009-2010 Transactions: Tennessee Journal of Business Law. The Transactions Journal will be holding a mandatory Interest Meeting on Tuesday, March 24, at 12 p.m. in Room 135. During this meeting, an overview of the Transactions Journal will be given, along with a discussion on the benefits of membership. Also, the application requirements will be discussed briefly. Joel Roettger, a practicing attorney in Knoxville, will be speaking at the meeting about his experience on the Transactions Journal. Transactions is an excellent opportunity for students to enhance their research and writing skills, as well as gain insight into the current state of business law. Additionally, the journal provides members with a forum for publication. Please contact Melissa Hughes, Managing Editor, at melissajane.hughes@gmail.com with questions or if you will be unable to attend the interest meeting.
FCBA Student writing competition
The Federal Circuit Bar Association announces the 2009 George Hutchinson Writing Competition on a topic directed to a subject within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Deadline for submissions is June 26, 2009. MORE
LEWIS CAREER CENTER
-- Judicial Clerkship Interest Meeting & Faculty Panel for 1, 2 and 3Ls, Tuesday, March 31, 112-12:50 p.m., Room 135.