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.
The National Association of Public Defenders recently filed an amicus brief to support the independence of the Hinds County Public Defenders Office.
Prof. John Gross wrote the amicus brief that says fairness in the criminal process and the accuracy of court judgments in Hinds County have been compromised by Circuit Judge Jeff Weill’s decisions to remove public defenders representing indigent clients and instead assign private counsel.
For more, read “NAPD Files Amicus In Support of Hinds County PDO.”
Prof. Joyner recently told Fars News Agency that documents indicating the CIA attempted to mislead the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s nuclear program show that providing misleading information is the agency’s strategy and that the IAEA is not qualified to weigh the credibility of CIA intelligence.
“I think this incident does significantly undermine the idea that the IAEA should be relying for its assessments on intelligence information provided to it by third-party states, some of whom have proven that they have no compunction about falsifying documents, ambush-killing civilian nuclear scientists, using cyber attacks against civilian facilities, and generally doing anything within their power, including all manner of subterfuge, to frustrate Iran’s nuclear program,” Joyner said. “The IAEA is not itself an intelligence agency. It does not have the capability to independently assess the credibility of intelligence provided to it by third party states.”
For more, read “Prof. Joyner: IAEA Not Qualified To Judge Reliability Of Info Independently.”
Prof. Bryan Fair says there are few fixed rules to guide judges when a conflict of interest question arises.
Factors other than a judge’s prior association could cause a judge to recuse himself from a case. For example, sometimes a judge may decide he will not to preside over cases in which litigants have spent a large amount of money supporting or opposing his campaign.
“It has to be a fairly egregious case,” Fair said. “I’m not aware of a clear standard. Judges have a fair amount of discretion.”
For more, read “Did Justice Tom Parker’s Past Affiliation With Gay Marriage Litigant Represent Conflict Of Interest?”
Prof. Steve Emens says prosecutors have a duty to investigate new evidence, even if it comes through the media.
“I think we have to keep in mind that the district attorney has an obligation whenever new evidence comes to their attention, to investigate it even if it came from a 20/20 (show),” Emens said. “It may seem strange, but they have an obligation when evidence comes to their attention.”
For more, read “How Much Influence Did ABC 20/20 Have In Baldwin County Murder Case?”
A group of fourteen leading civil procedure scholars, including UA’s Prof. Adam Steinman, is urging the Supreme Court to review a lower court’s decision making it more difficult for workers to recover lost wages.
The scholars explained that lower courts have reached inconsistent results following a pair of Supreme Court pleading decisions handed down in 2007 and 2009. Because of the confusion that persists in the lower courts, amici curiae respectfully urge the Court to grant the petition for writ of certiorari to clarify the applicable pleading standard with respect to factual sufficiency.
For more, read “Leading Civil Procedure Professors Urge High Court To Grant Review In Case Implicating Workers’ Access To Courts.”
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama School of Law is ranked 22nd among the nation’s top law schools, both public and private, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual “Best Graduate Schools” rankings for 2016.
This is the third consecutive year that Alabama Law has been ranked among the top 25 law schools in the nation. It is tied for 22nd with law schools from George Washington University, the University of Iowa and the University of Notre Dame. The 2016 ranking is a move up from 23rd in 2015.
“We are pleased with this national recognition,” said Dean Mark E. Brandon. “The ranking is an indication that the faculty, administration, and staff of Alabama Law continue to attract outstanding students, provide them a first-rate education, and see them begin successful legal careers.”
The magazine surveys and ranks 198 accredited law schools based on a weighted average of 12 factors, including quality, selectivity and placement success. For more information on the rankings, contact U.S. News & World Report.
Prof. John Gross recently told AL.com that prosecutors often assert that defendants were well aware of their actions before committing a crime.
“I think the tendency is almost always for prosecutors to claim the defendants were aware of what they were doing and deny they have some kind of diminished capacity,” Gross said. “Just because they cognitively are aware of what was around them, that doesn’t mean their mental illness is not seriously impairing their judgment.”
For more read, “Mental Illness Issues Surface In Barbara Grice’s Defense Following Chaotic Gun Incident At Elberta Elementary School.”
Prof. Ronald Krotoszynski recently told The New York Times that the Alabama Supreme Court is trying to influence the U.S. Supreme Court with its decision to halt same-sex marriages.
“You might read it as kind of a brief or a political document to the Supreme Court of the United States,” he said. “They’re trying to lobby.”
For more, read “Alabama Court Orders A Halt To Same-Sex Marriage Licenses.”
Julie A. Hill is one of thirteen faculty members representing a cross section of the University of Alabama campus who will receive the President’s Faculty Research Award Wednesday, April 8, as part of the first Faculty Research Day.
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.
The event, which is open to all UA faculty, will be held in the Bryant Conference Center’s Sellers Auditorium, from 4 p.m. until 5:45 p.m., with a reception following.
“This event is being created to celebrate and showcase the excellent and diverse scholarship being conducted by faculty across our campus,” said Dr. Carl A. Pinkert, UA vice president for research and economic development. “We hope you will join us as we take this opportunity to recognize all research endeavors and creative scholarship on our campus and celebrate all University of Alabama researchers.”
Dr. Denise Barnes, section head for the National Science Foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, known as EPSCoR, is slated to give keynote remarks.
Award winners, selected by their individual colleges, will be profiled at the event that is sponsored by UA’s Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development and organized by UA’s faculty-led Research Advisory Committee.
Selected for the President’s Faculty Research Award are: Drs. Kimberly Bissell, professor, journalism; Caroline Boxmeyer, associate professor, psychiatry and behavioral medicine; Jason DeCaro, associate professor, anthropology; Jonathan Halbesleben, associate professor, management; Samantha Hansen, assistant professor, geological sciences; Yasmin Neggers, professor, human nutrition; Edward Sazonov, associate professor, electrical and computer engineering; Vincent Scalfani, science and engineering librarian; Marietta Stanton, professor, nursing; Rachel Stephens, assistant professor, art; Amy Traylor, assistant professor, social work; and John Vincent, professor, sport management.
More information is available at http://osp.ua.edu/faculty-research-day.html.
