Washburn University School of Law Recent New Items

Volunteers Needed to Serve as Mock Jurors

pubinfo@washburnlaw.edu (Washburn Law) — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Washburn University School of Law invites members of the Topeka and surrounding communities to serve as jurors for its mock trials on Saturday, May 19, 2012. Fifty-two Washburn Law students participating in Washburn Law�s Intensive Trial Advocacy Program (ITAP) will put their trial skills to the test after a week of intense training. The mock trials will take place at the Shawnee County Courthouse, 200 SE 7th St, Topeka, from 8 a.m. to noon and from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. About 90 volunteers are needed to serve as jurors. Volunteers will have the opportunity to hear a mock civil trial and will deliberate and render a verdict. Anyone interested in participating may sign up online at washburnlaw.edu/itapvolunteer/ or call Donna Vilander at (785) 670-1105. Questions should be addressed to Shawn Leisinger at shawn.leisinger@washburn.edu or consult washburnlaw.edu/itapvolunteer/faq/. ITAP is an intense seven-day program for Washburn Law students, running from May 13-19. Participants in ITAP gain skills in direct and cross examination, use of evidence, opening statements and closing arguments. They listen to lectures, view skills demonstrations and participate in workshop sessions to hone their trial skills through practice. The program will wrap up on May 19 with participants trying a mock trial, permitting them to immediately use what they�ve learned.

Professor Francis Comments on Statute of Limitations in Lawrence Journal-World

pubinfo@washburnlaw.edu (John Francis) — Tue, 01 May 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Professor John Francis discussed the statute of limitations in a rape case in the Lawrence Journal-World's April 27, 2012 article "For wrongly convicted man, healing begins." Joe Jones was wrongfully convicted of a 1985 rape. He was exonerated through DNA testing in 1992 and released. Recent testing of DNA from the case has led to issuing an arrest warrant for another suspect. Questions have been raised about whether this suspect can be brought to trial since the five year statute of limitations in rape cases appears to have expired. Although a 2001 Kansas law allows for an additional year to prosecute cases once DNA has identified a suspect, Professor Francis observes that the law cannot be applied retroactively in cases prior to 2001 in which the statute of limitations had already expired. He noted, however, that "the law provides for 'tolling,' or pausing, of the statute of limitations under several circumstances."

Students Settles and Stewart featured in 'Livestock leads to law school' article

pubinfo@washburnlaw.edu (Jara Settles and Tucker Stewart) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

First year law students Jara Settles and Tucker Stewart are highlighted in this article in the Maine Anjou Voice. They are also founding members of the new Washburn Agricultural Law Society, which shall create opportunities to educate the next generation of leaders about the necessities of an agriculture friendly society.

Professor Khan Discusses Law's Evolution

pubinfo@washburnlaw.edu (Ali Khan) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Professor Liquat Ali Khan's essay, "The Paradoxical Evolution of Law," has been published at 16 Lewis & Clark Law Review 337 (2012). Professor Khan provides a brief overview of absolute infinitism, explains the concept of law's finitism that shapes almost every aspect of practical law, and examines the role of master texts in the paradoxical evolution of law and concludes that law's evolution is a dialectical interaction between the finite and the infinite.

Vladimir Viaud Argues Bakke Was Wrongly Decided in The Student Appeal

pubinfo@washburnlaw.edu (Vladimir Viaud) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Vladimir Viaud's article "Regents of the University of California v. Bakke Was Wrongly Decided," was published April 2012 in the online law journal The Student Appeal. Mr. Viaud argues that Bakke should have been decided differently because neither party had standing to sue and the United States Supreme Court did not have subject-matter jurisdiction under the Fourteenth Amendment. By deciding the case on its merit, the Supreme Court's ruling in Bakke disregards the original interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment and took legitimacy away from the Tenth and the Fourteenth Amendments. Mr. Viaud is a third-year law student graduating in May 2012.

National Order of Scribes Inducts Five Washburn Law Students in 2012

pubinfo@washburnlaw.edu (Washburn Law Students) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The National Order of Scribes is an honorary organization created by Scribes: The American Society of Legal Writers. It recognizes graduating law students who excel in legal writing. The following Washburn University School of Law students have been nominated and inducted for 2012: Whitney Casement, Diane Lautt, Robert Rojas, Katy Tompkins, and ReAnne Wentz.

Professor Martin Article Cited in Canadian Supreme Court Opinion

pubinfo@washburnlaw.edu (Craig Martin) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Professor Craig Martin's article, "Tolofson and Flames in Cyberspace: the Changing Landscape of Multistate Defamation," 31 University of British Columbia Law Review 127 (1997), was cited in the Supreme Court of Canada's April 18, 2012 opinion Éditions Écosociété Inc. v. Banro Corp., 2012 SCC 18 (2012) (paragraph 60). In this case involving the alleged defamation of an Ontario company doing business in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, by a book published in Quebec, the Supreme Court addressed the issue of the appropriate forum for the action. It cited Professor Martin's article (among others), which analyses defamation on the Internet as a conflict of laws problem, for the proposition that in an increasingly globalized world, choice of law in defamation cases should be determined by where the plaintiff suffered the greatest injury, but that for purposes of deciding forum the plaintiff should be given considerable latitude. The court held that Ontario was indeed the appropriate forum for the action.

American Justice at Work: Rwanda Genocide Presentation

pubinfo@washburnlaw.edu (Washburn Law) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

The Washburn University School of Law Chapter of the American Association for Justice, in partnership with the Center for Excellence in Advocacy, will host lawyers Kurt Kerns and Melanie Morgan at 6 p.m., Thursday, April 19, as they share their experiences in the first-ever prosecution in the United States related to the Rwandan genocide. The presentation takes place at the Kansas Association for Justice Center at 719 SW Van Buren, Topeka, Kan.

Professor Bahadur Comments on Florida Self Defense Law

pubinfo@washburnlaw.edu (Rory Bahadur) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Professor Rory Bahadur's essay "Treyvon Martin and Comments on the Florida Self Defense Law" was published in the Arizona State Law Journal law news blog on April 10, 2012. The 'Stand Your Ground Law' is actually a combination of three separate statutes; the stand your ground provision is the least radical and controversial. The most radical provision of the Florida statutes deviates from common law by recognizing the use of deadly force after danger has passed. Professor Bahadur concludes that "it is important for the media to inform the public on the breadth of the Florida self-defense law that results in immunity from prosecution rather than continue to focus on the unremarkable stand your ground provision of the law. The stand your ground provision of the law permits investigators to assess the reasonableness of the conduct and the necessity of using the deadly force. The presumptions and immunities, on the other hand, are the really radical laws which do not require reasonableness in the use of force. The media needs to make the public aware of these sections of the law rather than focusing on the catchy but toothless 'stand your ground' refrain."

Xiaolu Fan Compares Chinese and American Legal Education Experiences

pubinfo@washburnlaw.edu (Xiaolu Fan) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Xiaolu ("LuLu") Fan, second year law student, discusses her legal education at Washburn University School of Law and contrasts it with her experience earning a Juris Master degree at Peking University Law School in her Law Student Corner column "If I Was Goldilocks" in the spring 2012 Kansas Bar Association Young Lawyers Forum newsletter. She alludes to fundamental pedagogical differences in educational philosophy between the Chinese and American systems: notetaking and applying rules to reach a correct "yes" or "no" answer versus open discussion and interactive teaching at Washburn Law. Clinical experiences at Washburn Law also reveal that law is more than rules or cases printed in textbook and exists in real life.