Year 2016

Professor William Andreen has published an article that explores the threats posed by climate change to our nation’s water resources.  The article, “No Virtue Like Necessity: Dealing with Nonpoint Source Pollution and Environmental Flows in the Face of Climate Change, 34 Virginia Environmental Law Journal 255-296 (2016), is available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2743981. The Clean Water Act…

The U.S. Supreme Court granted review, vacated the judgment and sent the case of Alabama Death Row inmate Bart Johnson back to the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in January that Florida’s sentencing program that allows judicial override in death penalty cases was unconstitutional. Alabama has a similar sentencing program.…

Holly Caraway (’10) serves as chief counsel in the Office of the Senate Minority Leader in the Alabama legislature and is careful not to fall into the partisan divide. She prefers to build bridges, educate and enlighten anyone who may not view politics or policy the way she does. The only way she knows how…

Caroline Cease (’15) is starting her legal career with three federal clerkships. She is clerking for Judge L. Scott Coogler on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama until August, and she will immediately begin clerking for Chief Judge Edward E. Carnes on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.…

Professor Heather Elliott recently told Politico the result of liberals and conservatives swapping sides on the issue of when states can challenge the federal government in court could have unintended consequences. The court could squelch the case on standing grounds, handing a win to President Barack Obama. At the same time, that could make it more…

Frances Isbell (’17) has been selected as one of 16 graduate students of the inaugural class of the Albert Schweitzer Fellows. The fellows will receive $2,500 and spend the next year learning how to effectively address the social factors that impact health, while developing lifelong leadership skills. “We are confident that the Alabama Schweitzer program…

Professor Pam Pierson was recently tapped as a new member of The XXXI, an honor society that selects 31 outstanding women for membership each year. “I am honored to be invited into The XXXI and humbled to meet the talented, strong, confident women who are XXXI members,” Pierson said. “It is exciting to see the…

Neena Speer (’17) urged aspiring law school students to tell their own stories, own those stories and use them to help develop leaders during a talk at The National Diversity Pre-Law Conference and Law Fair in Washington, D.C. “I think everyone’s common goal is to be accepted and respected, so when I think about diversity…

The Alabama Law team of Caitlyn Prichard (’16), Logan Matthews (’16),  and Grant Luiken (’16) competed in the national finals of the ABA National Appellate Advocacy Competition.  Two hundred teams compete in regional tournaments around the country, and only the top twenty-four advance to the national finals. The Alabama team’s brief won fourth place in the nation and the…

Professor Bryan Fair told WVUA 23 a proposed Fetal Heartbeat Bill that has passed the House in the state legislature wouldn’t survive a legal challenge. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa), would ban abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected, but the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned similar bans in other states. “Bills like these,…