Washburn Law Journal
Editor's Note
Volume 39, No. 3 (Spring 2000)
The third issue of the Washburn Law Journal provides unique insight into U.S. tort law through a comparison with other legal systems including Australia, Germany, New Zealand, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. This symposium issue grows out of two seminars on comparative international tort law held at Washburn Law School during the 1999-2000 academic year. The tort seminars were conducted jointly with Nova Southeastern University School of Law and featured fourteen internationally acclaimed legal scholars. This unique educational opportunity was premised on the truism that through critical examination of foreign legal systems we are better able to assess the strengths and weaknesses of our own system. These seminars were made possible through the Ahrens Chair in Tort Law. Named in honor of Professor Emeritus James R. Ahrens, long-time torts professor, the chair was created in 1986 through a generous gift from Wichita attorney Gerald Michaud and his law firm, Michaud, Cordry, Michaud, Hutton and Hutton. Since that time, the Ahrens Chair endowment has sponsored both visiting professors and a number of special events at Washburn Law School including this year’s Comparative Tort Law seminar and Comparative Products Liability seminar.
These seminars were coordinated by Professor Charlene Smith to whom the Journal would like to express special thanks for securing the commitment for the articles appearing in this issue. The Journal is extremely pleased to publish articles from six of the visiting scholars.
While articles from professors and practitioners provide the intellectual foundation of the Journal, its heart and soul remains in the writing and publication of student works. Traditionally, at the spring awards banquet student members of the Journal are recognized for their superior contributions to the Journal’s mission of fostering scholarly legal writing. Students whose Note or Comment was published during the year are eligible for the GNIP-GNOP Awards and the Faculty Awards. The 1999-2000 recipients are as follows:
GNIP-GNOP Awards
The Free Society of GNIP-GNOP was established by nine Washburn Law School alumni who sought to recognize excellence in legal education. Each spring, the members of GNIP-GNOP choose the students who, in their judgment, wrote the best Note and Comment. This year the GNIP-GNOP members selected as the best Note, Why the United States Should Be Wary of the International Criminal Court: Concerns Over Sovereignty and Constitutional Guarantees by Kristafer Ailslieger, and as the best Comment, Kansas Oil and Gas Law: Defining the Duty Between Participants in a Joint Operating Agreement [Amoco Production Co. v. Wilson, 976 P.2d 941 (Kan. 1999)] by Richard James.
FACULTY AWARDS
The Washburn Law School faculty established its own awards for best Note and Comment to complement the GNIP-GNOP awards and to recognize successful completion of the students’ Washburn Law Journal writing experience. In 1999, the awards were renamed in memory of the late Professor John F. Kuether, long-time faculty advisor to the Journal. This year The Failure to Breach the Blue Wall of Silence: The Circling of the Wagons to Protect Police Perjury by Jennifer Koepke was selected as the best Note and Pollution, Pollution Everywhere, but not a Plaintiff Found to be Standing: The Fourth Circuit Judicially Repeals the Citizen Suit Provision of the Clean Water Act [Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Gaston Copper Recycling Corp., 179 F.3d 107 (4th Cir. 1999)] by Tony Atterbury was selected as the best Comment.
The Board of Editors would like to congratulate these students on their outstanding achievements and would like to thank each member of the Law Journal staff for their contributions to the success of the Journal. Each member has given a considerable amount of time and effort to ensure the quality of the Journal. Their hard work and dedication are sincerely appreciated.
We would also like to thank the Law Journal faculty committee members for their support and guidance. A special thanks is owed to the chair of the committee, Professor Myrl L. Duncan, who patiently taught us the fine art of legal scholarship.
As Editor-in-Chief, I would like to personally thank this year’s Board of Editors. Mike, Eric, Bryon, JoAnn, Kyle, and Jason have worked tirelessly and have given unconditionally of their time and talents to ensure the quality of each article published. A special thanks is also owed to our spouses and family for always believing in us and for the sacrifices they have made so that we can achieve our dreams.
B.R.M.
Professor of the Year
Each year, the graduating class votes to honor a member of the Washburn University School of Law faculty as the William O. Douglas Outstanding Professor of the Year. Professor Bruce Levine was the recipient of this honor for the 1999-2000 academic year.
Professor Levine holds an LL.M. from New York University School of Law (1969), a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School (1962), and a B.B.A. degree from City College of New York (1956). Professor Levine practiced law as a member of the New York Bar and was also licensed as a Certified Public Accountant. He has been a member of the Washburn Law School faculty since 1971. His teaching responsibilities include Contracts, Remedies and Taxation of Individual Income. Professor Levine was selected by the Washburn Law School Board of Governors as the 1999 recipient of the Honorary Life Membership Award. He will retire at the close of the current academic year.
The class of 2000 selected John C. Fritz as Adjunct Professor of the Year. John Fritz, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law, received his B.A. degree from Missouri Western State College and his J.D. from Washburn University School of Law. Mr. Fritz is the Assistant District Attorney with the Johnson County District Attorney's Office. The Washburn Law Journal is pleased to recognize the contributions of Professors Levine and Fritz by acknowledging them in Volume 39, Issue 3.
