Faculty News

View recent national media appearances by Capital Law Faculty (PDF)

November 2009

Professor Floyd Weatherspoon published a chapter in Black American Males in Higher Education: Research, Programs and Academ, Diversity in Higher Education, Vol. 7 (Emerald Books, 2009). Weatherspoon's chapter is titled "Underrepresentation of African American Males in the Legal Profession: Breakages in the Pipelines".

October 2009

Professor Dan Kobil was quoted in the Oct. 10 Columbus Dispatch in an article about restricting door-to-door solicitors. The article, Cities try to limit who's at the door by Elizabeth Gibson, received attention online through the Topix.com forum. [ Read the Article ] [ Read Comments on Topix.com About the Article ]

September 2009

Professor Jeff Ferriell made a presentation, with Bankruptcy Judge Jerry Venters, of the Western District of Missouri, on "Bankruptcy Planning and Professional Ethics" at the American Bankruptcy Institute's Midwest Bankruptcy Institute, in Kansas City on Oct. 2. Ferriell is currently on leave while serving as a Visiting Professor at Seattle Universitiy School of Law.

Professor Dan Kobil appeared Sept. 28, at 5:30 pm, on NBC4i; Kobil was commenting on a first amendment case in Canal Winchester, OH. The case centered around restricting door-to-door solicitors. [ Online Article ] [ Watch the Video ]

The September 29 Columbus Dispatch also quoted Professor Kobil about the case. [ Read the Article ]

Professor Brad Smith was quoted in the Sept. 27 Washington Post about luxury gifts for politicians and in the Sept 26 New York Times about recent Federal Election Commission decisions which have been deadlocked along party lines.

September 25, Dennis Hirsch, Geraldine W. Howell Professor of Law, was an invited participant at the Center for Business Law and Regulation Roundtable on Regulation by Litigation which was held at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Also, Professor Hirsch has been appointed Faculty Editor of the annual privacy issue of I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy for the Information Society. The journal is published by The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law.

August 2009

Professor Jeff Ferriell is a Visiting Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law for the 2009-10 academic year. He will be teaching Contracts Bankruptcy and UCC Sales and Secured Transactions.

June 2009

Professor Joseph Karl Grant's article "Shattering and Moving Beyond the Gutenberg Paradigm: The Dawn of the Electronic Will" 42 U. of Mich. Journal of Law Reform 105 2008) was reviewed in Trusts & Estates' "The Busy Practitioner's Guide to Student-Edited Law Journals." The guide covered 10 articles that appeared in student-edited law journals from July 2008 to December 2008. Grant's article was chosen to be among the 10 articles identified as "useful, or at least interesting to practicing estate planners" according to Trusts & Estates.

Assistant Dean of Career Services and Adjunct Professor Mary Ann Willis was quoted in the June 1, 2009, Daily Reporter article, ”Central Ohio law schools encourage pro bono work,” by Katie Sparks. Willis spoke about pro bono opportunities for law students and the challenges to finding meaningful opportunities. [ Read the Article ]

May 2009

Professor David Mayer was a speaker and moderated a panel on "The Future of the Conservative Movement" for the Columbus Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society on May 7 in Columbus.

For Summer term 2009, Professor David Mayer will be a Visiting Scholar at the Social Philosophy and Policy Center at Bowling Green State University, in Bowling Green, Ohio, where he will be working on Freedom's Constitution, his book on the U.S. Constitution

Professor Dan Kobil was quoted in the May 14, Dispatch Politics, a division of The Columbus Dispatch. The article, "Advocacy group sues village over canvassing law", covers the accusation that Ohio Citizens Action has made against Canal Winchester. [ Read the Article ]

Adjunct Professor Douglas Squires who successfully prosecuted the largest private fraud case in U.S. history, was profiled on the Columbus Dispatch Video website. [ Watch the Video ]

Denise St. Clair, executive director of the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy at Capital University Law School, was quoted in the May 1 Washington Times article "HIV-positive Va. man sues over adoption case" by Matthew Barakat.

Professor Brad Smith was quoted an article in the May 4 Washington Post. The article, "Obama FEC Choice Draws Mixed Reviews" by Dan Eggen can be found online here. Also, Smith was quoted in the May 6 Columbus Dispatch editorial "Pick for U.S. Supreme Court should serve the law, not a constituency".

April 2009

Professor Jeff Ferriell was quoted in two articles published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The articles are The First Steps: Concessions and Car firms would still have to pay retiree benefits both by reporter Robert Schoenberger. Ferriell, a bankruptcy expert, commented on the repercussions of workers striking during a bankruptcy process and how negotiations might affect union members, respectively.

Professor of Legal Writing and Adjunct Administrative Law Instructor Chris McNeil was quoted in the April 27 Columbus Dispatch article "Who's left in charge? It depends: Brunner, Coleman tap others if traveling; law hazy on delegating power" by Mark Niquette.

April 3, Professor Mark Brown filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court in the case of Stevo. Keith, 546 F.3d 405 (7th Cir. 2008). It involves an Illinois law that requires independent candidates for Congress (House) to collect a number of signatures equal to 5% of the vote in the last congressional election in the district. In the Tenth District in Illinois, this number totaled more than 10,000 signatures in 2008. Illinois reduces this number to 5,000 every fifth election—the one immediately following the census. Thus, in 2002 and 2012, independent candidates in the Tenth District only needed and need to collect 5,000 signatures. Stevo (who Professor Brown represents) was an independent candidate in the Tenth District in 2008. He argues that Illinois’s approach violates the Equal Protection Clause. Essentially, the claim is that Illinois’s approach cannot pass either the rational basis test or a heightened level of scrutiny ordinarily applied to elections. The Seventh Circuit disagreed, leading to the petition for certiorari. The litigation is being sponsored by the Coalition for Free and Open Elections (COFOE ).

Professor Brown's article, "The Fall and Rise of Qualified Immunity: From Hope to Harris," was printed by the Nevada Law Journal. It explores the implications of the Supreme Court's recent holding in Scott v. Harris (2007), which appears to authorize interlocutory appellate fact-finding in section 1983 cases filed in federal court.

[ Read the Article (PDF) ]

Professor Danshera Cords presented "Does the Appointment and Reappointment Process for Tax Court Judges Strengthen the Tax Court?" at the Critical Tax Conference, April 3. It was held at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

Professor David Mayer's article “Substantive Due Process Rediscovered: The Rise and Fall of Liberty of Contract” has been published in the Winter 2009 issue (the Articles Edition) of Mercer Law Review (60 Mercer L. Rev. 563 (2009)).

Professor Susan Rozelle moderated a panel on Insanity at the Annual Criminal Law Symposium at Texas Tech. She is a contributing author to Criminal Law Conversations, an Oxford University Press book that will be published this summer. Her book chapter, "The Type of Possession Is Nine-Tenths of the Law: Criminal Responsibility for Acts Performed Under the Influence of Hypnosis or Bewitchment", is forthcoming this summer in Law and Magic (Carolina Academic Press). She is the Chair-Elect of the AALS Criminal Justice Section this year.

Professor Brad Smith spoke on the topic of campaign finance March 18 at the Triangle (NC) Federalist Society (his topic was "The Constitutionality of Public Financing of Political Campaigns After Davis v.FEC") and at the North Carolina Republican Legislative Caucus (his topic was "The Constitutionality of North Carolina's Public Financing System After Davis v. FEC"); also he testified before Illinois Reform Commission on campaign finance reform in February.

Adjunct Professor Douglas Squires has successfully prosecuted the largest private fraud case in U.S. history. The target, Lance Poulson was sentenced to 30 years, the longest sentence for fraud in U.S. history.

[ Watch the video on The Columbus Dispatch web site ]

March 2009

Professor Rick Wood presented a class to assist families in understanding the complex financial issues surrounding an adoption. A tax law expert, Professor Wood’s presentation was entitled "Tax Benefits of Adoption."

Professor David Mayer spoke on "Thomas Jefferson and the `Holy Cause of Freedom'" March 25 at Rockford College, in Rockford, Illinois, in a talk sponsored by Rockford's Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. Following his lecture, Mayer was interviewed by Dr. Stephen Hicks, professor of philosophy and executive director of the Center. Mayer's 20-minute video interview is posted, in two parts, on the Center's website. [ Watch the Interview ]

Recent publications by Professor Brad Smith include "Let's Have Separation of Campaigns and State" in the April 1 Washington Examiner and "Can Congress Regulate All Political Speech?" in the March 3 Wall Street Journal.He was quoted in the March 1 Columbus Dispatch in "Donations vs. impartiality on docket" by James Nash.

March 1, Smith appeared on Press Call for Federalist Society previewing Caperton v. Massey Coal Co. and March 20, he was interviewed about proposals for government financing of political campaigns by Carolina Journal Radio.

February 2009

Professor Brad Smith, former head of the Federal Election Commission, testified before the Illinois Reform Commission (appointed by Governor to consider ways to clean up Illinois politics) and was quoted in February 24 Chicago Tribune.

Professor Brad Smith penned an editorial in the Feb. 27 Columbus Dispatch, "Washington should halt its unhelpful financial 'aid'".

Smith filed Amicus Briefs with Steve Hoersting, L'96, in U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Center for Competitive Politics in two cases: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and Caperton v. Massey Coal Co.

On Feb. 25, Professor Dennis Hirsch gave a guest lecture at The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business in a class on Business and the Environment - Strategies for Sustainability. The title of his presentation was "Carbon Emissions Trading: Emerging Markets, Laws and Opportunities."

Professor David Mayer spoke on the topic "In Defense of Lochner: Why Justice Holmes Was Wrong" February 17 at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, in a talk sponsored by Cincinnati's chapter of the Federalist Society.

David Mayer's essay "Completing the American Revolution," originally published in the Spring 2008 issue of The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, was reprinted (in abridged form) in the Spring 2009 issue of The New Individualist, the now-quarterly magazine published by The Atlas Society. Professor Mayer's essay was the lead article in the issue's theme, "Return to Revolution," and was accompanied by a sidebar piece, "Mayer's Rx," interviewing him about his views on constitutional reform.

Professor Dan Kobil was an invited presenter at the invitation-only roundtable conference sponsored by the ABA Commission on Effective Criminal Sanctions. The purpose of the conference was to assess the progress made toward reform of federal sentencing in the five years since Justice Anthony Kennedy addressed the ABA House on this subject. Justice Kennedy also spoke at the conference. Conference papers and transcripts of the roundtable discussions will be published in the Federal Sentencing Reporter. Professor Kobil’s paper was on regularizing clemency. The roundtable was moderated by Jeremy Travis, President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice; commentators for the roundtable included scholars, judges, and practitioners who have written extensively about the federal sentencing system; and a select group of individuals (including practitioners, policymakers, legislators, and researchers) were invited to attend as observers.

Feb. 9, Professor Dennis Hirsch was a featured speaker in the Law and Society Speaker Series at Suffolk University Law School in Boston, MA. He spoke about his recent writing and research on privacy law. The title of his talk was “What Privacy Regulation Can Learn from Environmental Law: The Promise of Regulatory Covenants.”

Feb. 6, Professor Mike Distelhorst served as one of the speakers at the Ohio Judicial College’s CLE program for the Ohio Municipal Judges Association. The title of his presentation was “The Growing Incidence of Combined Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, and Anxiety/Depression Disorders in the Legal Profession: The Advent of a Distressed Lawyer Model.”

January 2009

Dean Jack A. Guttenberg has been appointed by Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer to The Supreme Court of Ohio Task Force to Review the Ohio Disciplinary System. The Task Force is charged with conducting a comprehensive review of the organizational rules and procedures currently in place to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate allegations of professional misconduct among Ohio lawyers and judges. Dean Guttenberg is a co-author of OHIO LAW OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT (Lexis Nexis, 2007) and an expert on professional responsibility.

The Ohio Ethics Commission has unanimously elected Associate Dean Shirley Mays, who was appointed to the commission in 2008, to be its vice chair. Former Rep. Ben Rose was unanimously elected to be its chair.

Professor David Mayer's article "The Myth of `Laissez-Faire Constitutionalism': Liberty of Contract during the Lochner Era" has been published in the Winter 2009 issue of Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly (36 Hastings Const. L. Q. 217 (2009)).

December 2008

Professor Dan Kobil continued to appear in the national media as an expert on clemency and presidential pardon. He was interview on KPAM, Portland, OR on Dec. 11. [ Listen Here ]

Also, Kobil was quoted in the Anchorage Daily News article "Will U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens seek a presidential pardon?" by Erika Bolstad, Dec. 17. [ Read the Article ]

Dec. 11, Professor Mike Distelhorst served as one of the speakers for the Columbus Bar Association’s CLE program entitled, “Work-Life Balance for Lawyers.”

Professor Joe Grant recently published “Shattering and Moving Beyond the Guttenberg Paradigm: The Dawn of the Electronic Will,” 42 University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform 105 (2008).

Professor Regina Burch was appointed to the State Teachers Retirement Board by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland.

Burch, an expert on corporate governance issues, was quoted in the Dec. 2008 Columbus C.E.O. magazine article, “Board Evaluations,” by Lisa Hooker. The article discusses increased standards and responsibilities for corporate board of directors.

November 2008

Professor Brad Smith, former head of the Federal Election Commission, was quoted in the Nov. 30 Boston Globe in "For Obama, a chance to push big changes" by Brian C. Mooney. [ Read the Article ]

On Thursday, Nov. 20, Dean Jack A. Guttenberg served as a moderator for a panel discussion on Judicial Independence at the Law School for Legislators program.

Guttenberg represented Ohio’s law schools at the Supreme Court of Ohio Bar Ceremonies at the Ohio Theatre on Nov. 17, 2008. More than 1,000 new attorneys were admitted to the bar. Dean Guttenberg’s remarks focused on the legal profession: “Today you join a noble and honorable profession – a profession that has a long history of protecting the rights of the individual, promoting democracy and helping resolve disputes in a peaceful manner… a profession that recognizes the great privileges that have been vested on it… and the responsibility it has to give back to our communities.” Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger served as keynote speaker and Justice Terrence O’Donnell administered the oath of professionalism to the new attorneys. Capital University Law School had the highest first-time pass rate among all law schools – 94%! An archived video of the oath of office sessions is available at the Supreme Court’s Web site (www.supremecourtofohio.gov), as well as the Ohio Channel (www.ohiochannel.org).

Professor Dan Kobil, a nationally known clemency expert, appeared on CNN Lou Dobbs on Nov. 18. Professor Kobil was interviewed on the president’s clemency power. [ See the Video ]

Professor Kobil is also quoted in the ABC News story, “Record Numbers Seeking Bush Pardons,” found here.

Professor Mike Distelhorst was a member of the Symposium Panel for a “Symposium on the Economic Crisis” hosted by the Council for Ethical Leadership at Capital University and the Capital University School of Management and Leadership on November 10.