Archive for 'In the News'

Lawyers of Color (LOC) recently selected the 50 most influential minority law professors, who are 50 years old or younger. The Florida International University College of Law is very pleased to announce that José Gabilondo has been named to this exceptional group.

LOC published the 1^st annual edition of “The 50 Under 50 List” on May 15, 2013. The publication is available online and features profiles of these brilliant law professors. The publication also includes the names and racial and ethnic heritage of all minority law professors at 200 law schools and a comprehensive list of scholarships, fellowships and interns available to minority prospective and current law students.

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El 26 de marzo, Profesor Gabilondo salió en el programa Dinero de CNN en Español para analizar Hollingsworth v. Perry y United States v. Windsor, dos casos en Tribunal Supremo que impugnan las restricciones federales y estatales sobre el matrimonio civil por parte de personas del mismo sexo.

“Nuestra Constitución reconoce dos distintas fuentes de derecho – una democrática y la otra judicial.  La mayoría de las leyes se promulgan a través de la primera por los procesos mayoritarios, i.e., las legislaturas estatales y el Congreso.  Pero cuando el demos se convierte en una turba, la única forma de proteger a las minorías de los abusos mayoritarios es a través de una intervención judicial en la cual una corte – típicamente federal – acredita los derechos del individuo.  Eso es lo que está en juego en los casos Perry y Winsor.”

La entrevista se puede ver aquí: FIU on CNN en Español (Part 1) y FIU on CNN en Español (Part 2)

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For two days in March, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments regarding landmark cases about same-sex marriage. On Tuesday, March 26, U.S. Supreme Court justices heard arguments regarding California’s Proposition 8, which was approved by voters in 2008 and bans same-sex marriage. A day later, justices heard arguments regarding the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. DOMA prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages.

FIU News sat down with two university professors to learn more about the issues being debated.

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Link to video: US special forces veteran links General Petraeus to torture in Iraq

Quoted in a recent article in the Guardian, Noah Weisbord, an assistant professor at the Florida International University College of Law, who helped draft additions to the statute of the International Criminal Court and was a law clerk to the chief prosecutor of the ICC in the Hague, in an email, said U.S. soldiers could theoretically be tried by the ICC even though the U.S. is not a signatory. But such cases would have to be referred by the U.N. security council and, given that the U.S. has a veto on the council, this makes it very improbable.

Countries that are signatories to the ICC such as Canada or the UK could not arrest U.S. citizens and send them to the Hague.

Weisbord added: “There are, however, a number of fora where U.S. soldiers can be tried for torture. For example, some states have national laws that give their courts universal jurisdiction or other types of robust extraterritorial jurisdiction. This is unrelated to ICC membership. Jurisdiction stems from their domestic laws.”

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In the following op-ed that appeared in the March 3, 2013, edition of the Miami Herald, FIU Law Professor Peggy Maisel makes the case that Medicaid expansion is the right thing to do in Florida.

Florida should agree to Medicaid expansion

by Cheryl L. Holder and Peggy Maisel

Fifty-year-old Miami-Dade County resident Mr. G worked every day. “I have always provided for my family,” he says proudly. Unfortunately, his job provided no health insurance and he and his wife could not afford to pay for the family plan at her job.

When he started losing weight and feeling weak, he went to a Broward County hospital ER where, with a white blood cell count near 1,000,000 and golf ball sized lymph nodes, he received the diagnosis of Stage IV Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. The hospital stabilized his condition and discharged him to continue care in Miami–Dade County.

With no health insurance, he then waited one month for an appointment in the Jackson Clinic and even longer to see an oncologist, both of which worsened his prognosis from 72 months (stage 1) to 19 months (stage IV)

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In a recent interview with CCTV NEWS, Florida International University College of Law Professor Ediberto Román comments on U.S. immigration enforcement. CCTV NEWS is the English language news channel of China Central Television (CCTV), the nation’s largest national broadcasting network.

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In a recent Miami Herald article, Florida International University College of Law Professor George Knox is quoted on how contemplative activities that allow people to focus upon the moment and release internal stress, reduce anger and allow for civil behavior.

George Knox is the Director for Professionalism and Ethics at FIU Law, and will lead a conference on mindfulness titled “Professionalism Matters” on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2013.

Mindfulness making its way into the mainstream

By Marcella McCarthy

Scott Rogers’ office isn’t that of a typical law professor. A bookshelf is piled high with books on meditation rather than legal tomes. A round table is surrounded by bamboo chairs, where Rogers invites students to sit for 10 minutes to quiet the mind.

Rogers practices mindfulness, which involves paying attention in a particular way, on purpose and in the present, often through breathing techniques. The practice, which has roots in Buddhism and spiritual growth, is increasingly being studied by scientists and the medical profession as a way to reduce stress and enhance one’s health…

Read more at MiamiHerald.com »

In a recent article by the Daily Business Review, Deborah C. Espana features FIU Law’s Scholarship Program, which provides an opportunity for first-generation law students.

Fla. Law School Scholarship Program Helps First-Generation Lawyers

Daily Business Review – By Deborah C. Espana

Juan Enjamio is a first-generation lawyer. His parents came to the United States in 1970 without a college education but with the idea that higher education was the key for success.

Enjamio, Miami managing partner of Hunton & Williams, is one of 13 South Florida managing partners whose firms have committed to fund scholarships for first-generation law students to give them a chance at higher education at Florida International University College of Law.

“I’m a first-generation college graduate, and at an individual level I want other young people to have the same opportunity that I had,” Enjamio said. “Part of the reason why we are committed to help fund this scholarship is because many of our attorneys are also first-generation lawyers, and the firm values providing the same opportunity to young people in our community.”

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In the following op-ed that appeared in the October 23, 2012, edition of the Wall Street Journal, FIU Law Professor Elizabeth Price Foley makes the case that the presidential debates have failed to address an important issue: federalism.

Plenty of Debates, Not Much About States

Democrats regard federalism as quaint, Republicans at least pay lip service to it.

by David B. Rivkin Jr. and Elizabeth Price Foley

In the presidential debates, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney ranged across dozens of topics, but an important one didn’t come up: federalism. And no wonder.

The idea that the Constitution grants only limited and enumerated powers and leaves the remainder to the states is foreign to those who believe that the national government should or even could address voters’ every concern. But contrary to the view widely shared by the political class, Washington—in particular, Congress—does not have the power to pass any law it wants in the name of the “general welfare.”

Politicians should take heed. Voters are increasingly focused on the proper role of government in society: Witness the rise of the tea party and unease over the massive debt caused by entitlements and other government handouts. The continuing loud objection to ObamaCare’s takeover of health care shows that voters want to preserve the Constitution’s architecture of limited federal power.

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Photo as seen on The Atlantic.com

In Defense of Baseball’s Infield Fly Rule

By Howard Wasserman

Baseball’s Infield Fly Rule has sparked more legal fascination than any other rule in sports. It returned to the national spotlight this past week when an unusual and controversial infield fly call in last Friday’s National League Wild Card game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves short-circuited a potential Braves rally in a game the Braves ultimately lost. Opinion has been divided on the correctness of the call.

But beyond criticism of this specific call, some fans on Twitter and in web forums expressed a deeper distaste for the Infield Fly Rule itself, questioning whether it is necessary, wise, or warranted. They’re misguided: The rule is part of the sport’s fabric, uniquely warranted for a situation that’s unique to baseball.

There’s no other situation in baseball when the fielding team will be better off by not catching a fair ball than by catching it.

Here’s how the Infield Fly Rule works. When a team has runners on first and second or the bases loaded with less than two out and the batter hits a pop-fly ball (but not a line drive) in fair territory that can be easily caught by an infielder (under the rule, can be caught with “ordinary effort”), the batter is called out, regardless of whether the fielder catches the ball; if the ball drops and remains fair, it is in play and the runners can try to advance at their own risk. The rule is designed to remove the incentive for a fielder to deliberately drop an easily handled ball on the infield, which likely would allow him to turn a double play on the two base runners (and perhaps, although less likely, a triple play). It took its more-or-less current form in 1901, enacted in response to infielders actually doing this, a bit of trickery that was deemed not “sporting” at the time.

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