Prof. Ronald Krotoszynski said he disagrees with Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore’s notion that Alabama and other states wouldn’t have to automatically follow a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage.
Moore recently told Al.com that he hopes the U.S. Supreme Court will decide the issue in favor of the rights of states under the 10th Amendment.
Prof. Krotoszynski said: “Simply put, either we have a system of binding precedents, and hierarchical courts, or we do not. And, if we do not, the entire system of common law adjudication will collapse because it relies on judges serving on lower courts, both state and federal, regularly making good faith applications of binding precedents issued by higher courts.”
For more, read “U.S. Supreme Court takes up gay marriage question Tuesday; what does it mean for Alabama?”
Julie A. Hill was one of thirteen faculty members who recently received the President’s Faculty Research Award.
Prof. Hill has published about the examination process regulators use to police banking practices, analyzed the appeals process and made recommendations for improvement. She also has written about the banking issues that arise when states legalize marijuana.
Award winners, selected by their individual colleges, were profiled at the event that was sponsored by UA’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development and organized by UA’s faculty-led Research Advisory Committee.
The Law School recently hosted “Dom Fit” in the Law School’s courtyard, where fitness instructors guided participants through a series of “boot camp” exercises and provided fitness advice.
The event honored Hector Dominic DeSimone, an outgoing and selfless second-year law student, who died in April 2014 motorcycle accident.
To honor DeSimone’s memory, the Class of 2015 established a campaign to raise $10,000 for an endowed scholarship.
Visit www.law.ua.edu/DominicScholarship for more information or to donate.
Prof. Yuri Linetsky recently told WVUA that cell phone video can provide crucial information in criminal cases.
“I’ve seen a number of cases where it has helped police officers, exonerated them against unsubstantiated or improper citizen complaints,” Linetsky said. “It is a helpful thing.”
Prof. Joyner recently told Mother Jones that Iran made “significant concessions” in the Iranian nuclear deal.
Joyner said: “Overall I think the framework of agreement is a very good one. Iran definitely made some very significant concessions. In fact, one might be forgiven for thinking that, with all of the specificity placed on Iranian concessions, and really only fairly vague wording on the lifting of unilateral and multilateral sanctions (i.e., regarding timing) in the joint statement, Iran showed the most diplomatic courage in agreeing to this framework. I’m sure there is much that was agreed to that we don’t know about, and I have no doubt that [Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad] Zarif and his team reached a satisfactory understanding with their negotiating partners on the sanctions question from their perspective. But I suppose I just wanted to highlight that Iran is the party that made the most obvious significant concessions in this framework agreement.”
For more, read “The Iranian Nuclear Deal: What The Experts Are Saying.”
The University of Alabama School of Law will host a Rights of States in International Law workshop and symposium April 13-14.
The Law School will welcome eight distinguished visitors:
Dr. Helmut Aust, Humboldt University of Berlin
Professor Niki Aloupi, University of Strasbourg
Professor Jean d’Aspremont – University of Manchester
Dr. Stephen Neff, University of Edinburgh
Dr. Marco Roscini, University of Westminster
Associate Professor Antonios Tzanakopoulos, Oxford University
Professor Jure Vidmar, University of Maastricht
Professor Yogesh Tiyagi, Jawaharlal Nehru University
The scholars will participate in the Current Issues in International Law Symposium at 1:30 p.m. April 14 in Room A255.
They also will workshop their papers, which are to comprise a special issue of the Cambridge Journal of International & Comparative Law, which is being organized by Professor Joyner and Dr. Marco Roscini.
This project is devoted to the question of whether fundamental rights of states, which appear to be recognized in the provisions of a number of conventional and customary sources of international law, actually exist. These purported rights include the right to self-defense, the right to existence, the right to private life/noninterference, the right to permanent sovereignty over natural resources; the right to be free from economic coercion, and the right to peaceful nuclear energy. If in fact they do exist, what is their source and legal character? What are their juridical implications – e.g. when they come into conflict with the legal obligations of the right holder, or with the actions of other states and international organizations? The papers in this special issue seek to examine these questions both theoretically and doctrinally, and to provide a framework for understanding the fundamental rights of states, and their role in the international legal system.
Please contact Professor Dan Joyner at djoyner@law.ua.edu for questions concerning the workshop/seminar.
Mark Crosswhite, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Alabama Power Company, will deliver the University of Alabama School of Law commencement address at 5:30 p.m. May 2 at Coleman Coliseum.
Is this your reunion year? Next month, in conjunction with the University of Alabama A-Day weekend, we will celebrate the milestone classes of 1964 & 1965 (50 years), 1974 & 1975 (40 years), 1984 & 1985 (30 years), 1989 & 1990 (25 years), 1994 & 1995 (20 years), and 2004 & 2005 (10 years). Please join us!
Looking for a place to stay? Lodging is available at the brand new Embassy Suites located in downtown Tuscaloosa at the discounted rate of $135 per night. The deadline to book is April 3. For the group code, please email jgates@law.ua.edu.
For additional information, including the schedule, please click here.
