Faculty News & Announcements

December 2005

Professor Susan Rozelle presented "Recent Developments in Search and Seizure" at the Ohio Municipal Attorneys Association Winter Law Seminar in Dublin, Ohio December 16.

December 7, Associate Dean and Professor Dennis Hirsch spoke at the University of Connecticut Law School as part of its faculty lecture series. The title of his talk was Privacy Injuries, Environmental Damage and the Sustainable Development of the Information Economy.

Associate Dean and Professor Dennis Hirsch recently published a short piece in the newsletter of the Committee on Innovation, Management Systems and Trading of the ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources. The piece is titled Hurricane Katrina, Ecosystem Services and Regulatory Innovation.

Professor Dan Kobil was quoted in an article published in the December 7 San Jose Mercury News. The article, Killer's fate in hands of governor by Howard Mintz, dicusses the case of Stanley Tookie Williams, a notable inmate on death row. Kobil is quoted as an expert on clemency.

[ Read the Article on the San Jose Mercury News Web site ]

November 2005

November 21, Professor Bradely A. Smith published "Why Single Out Tom DeLay?" in the Wall Street Journal. The editorial discusses the charges of criminal conspiracy and money laundering against Representative Tom Delay (R-TX).

[ Read the Article (PDF) ]

Legal Writing Faculty Selected to Present at National Conference - Members of the Capital University Law School Legal Writing Faculty have been selected to present at the Legal Writing Institute to be held June 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Institute planning committee selected their proposals from a deep pool of many submissions. Joe Bodine, L’89, will present “Finally, something about me. Student interest-based research instruction.” The legal writing team of Risa Dinitz Lazaroff, Tom Brown, Bridget Kahle and Jeffrey Snapp will present “How to Institute a Legal Drafting Class for Students in their Last Year of Law School – Without Fearing for Your Life.” The Writing Institute is held every two years.

November 15, Professor Kent Markus appeared on Channel 10 Morning News Live in Columbus, Ohio to discuss National Adoption Day.

November 12, Professor Kent Markus was quoted in the Columbus Dispatch. His remarks addressed the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services Adoption Report. November 13, Professor Markus was quoted by the Columbus Dispatch about a recent grant obtained to fight gang activity.

November 1, Professor Bradley Smith delivered the Stranahan Lecture at the University of Toledo School of Law. His lecture was entitled “Active Liberty, Political Debate, and the Constitution as a Governing Document”.

Professor Bradley Smith will present “Proposition 77 – Can We Take the Politics Out of Politics?” at the Federalist Society, Loyola (Los Angeles) School of Law November 3.

October 2005

October 29, Professor Floyd Weatherspoon was honored with the 2005 “Keys to Access” award presented by CADRE, the Consortium For Appropriate Dispute Resolution in Special Education in Eugene, Oregon. The award recognizes individuals and organizations that have supported special education programs, early intervention services, and/or persons with disabilities, with the goal of promoting justice, equity and respect for all individuals. [ More ]

October 28, Professor and Associate Dean Dennis Hirsch spoke at the University of Maine Law School as a part of their faculty speaker series. The title of his talk was Protecting the On-line Environment: What Privacy Policy Can Learn from Environmental Regulation.

Professor James Beattie presented “Pornography as Defined by the Courts,” at the National Law Center for Children and Families, October 27.

On October 27, Professor Mark Brown spoke about the USA Patriot Act to the Central Ohio Chapter of the Special Libraries Association at the Supreme Court Library in downtown Columbus.

October 26, Professor David N. Mayer spoke on "Interpreting the Constitution Contextually: How Both Conservatives and Liberals Get It Wrong" at The Ohio State University, in a talk sponsored by OSU's Libertarian Studies Organization.

Professor Bradley Smith appeared at a program at American University (Washington College of Law) on October 25, on “Randall v. Sorrell and the Future of Campaign Finance Reform.” The program was moderated by Juan Williams of NPR and Fox News. Panelist include Appellant’s Counsel, James Bopp, appellee’s counsel, Jon Bonifaz, and Common Cause President Chellie Pingree, plus Prof. Jamin Raskin of American.

October 25, Professor James Beattie made a presentation of “The Toledo Riot, the Nazis, and Hate Speech,” on WTVN Radio.

Octobre 21, Professor Mark Brown spoke on the Patriot Act to lawyers and journalists at the Ohio State Bar Association’s Law & Media Conference. The other panelists included Gregory Lockhart, US Attorney (SD Ohio), Ray Vasari (former ACLU Legal Director) and Paul Kostyu (Copley Newspapers). The panel discussion was the subject of an article written by James Nash entitled Panel argues effectiveness, questions reach of Patriot Act. The article was published in the Columbus Dispatch, October 22.

Professor David Mayer was the featured guest on "The Tony Macrini Show" on WNIS radio, Norfolk, Virginia, on October 5, discussing President Bush's nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Professor Kent Markus was quoted in The Columbus Dispatch article, "Nominee Breaks Mold Never a judge, Miers is Bush's choice for Supreme Court; conservatives wary," appearing on page 01A, Tuesday, October 4, 2005. The story, about President Bush selecting Harriet Miers, who has no judicial experience, to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, quotes Markus as saying "I actually think he got it right in that we have too many people on the Supreme Court whose entire life experiences or very substantial portions have been on the bench. There's some advantage on the nation's highest court to have people who have had different experiences with the law."

The Cleveland Plain Dealer interviewed Professor Kent Markus, director of the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy at Capital, for the story, Officials suspect children abused, appearing on Wednesday, October 5, 2005. The story examines the case of 11 foster and adopted children in southwest Ohio allegedly abused by a woman who has cared for the children by herself since the death of her husband in 2003. Markus said that the state does not restrict the number of foster or adoptive children that parents can care for. "Large families are common because people who are willing to take children into their homes often have decided that that's what their life's work is going to be." Markus also was interviewed by NBC Channel 4 in Columbus on Oct. 5 regarding the story.

Legal Writing Instructor Chris McNeil has been nominated to serve on the Board of Governors of the National Association of Administrative Law Judges. He will present four papers at the Association's annual meeting in Chicago next October: on hearing cases with pro se litigants; on writing reports that will withstand judicial review; on the role of the administrative hearing examiner in admitting expert testimony; and on steps
an adjudicator can take when preparing for an administrative hearing.

September 2005

Professor Bradley A. Smith spoke at the Federalist Society Lawyers Chapter meeting in Austin, TX September 29.

Professor David Mayer was interviewed for "A Conversation about the Founders of the United States and Their Ideas," on September 23 at First Community Church in Columbus, Ohio. The interview was videotaped as part of the Church's "Faith and American Politics" project to be aired on local public-access cable TV and distributed, along with other videos from the project, on DVD.

September 23, a farewell reception was held for Professor Bradley A. Smith at the Fund for American Studies in Washington, DC. The Center for Individual Freedom Foundation and RedState.org hosted the event entitled, Mr. Smith is Leaving Washington.

September 23, Associate Dean and Professor Dennis Hirsch served as Moderator for a panel on “Understanding Trading Programs and Policy Through an Evaluation of EPA’s Mercury Trading Program,” that was held at the American Bar Association, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, annual Fall Meeting in Nashville, TN.

Professor Bradley A. Smith testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005. The Committee Hearing was on “Political Speech on the Internet: Should it be Regulated?” This was Smith’s first post-FEC appearance commenting on the subject.

[ More ]

Professor Floyd Weatherspoon presented "Integrating ADR into Affirmative Action and Human Resource Programs" at the New York State Affirmative Action Advisory Council in Scotia, New York, September 19-20, 2005.

Roll Call, a newspaper that covers politics on Capitol Hill, mentioned Professor Bradley A. Smith in their September 19 issue. They discussed Smith's views on the restrictions of coordination between outside groups and political candidates.

Professor Bradley A. Smith spoke at Rose-Hulman College in Terre Haute, IN for their Constitution Day Lecture September 15.

Professor David Mayer spoke at the University of Toledo College of Law (in a talk sponsored by Toledo's chapter of the Federalist Society) on "Interpreting the Constitution Contextually: How Both Conservatives and Liberals Get It Wrong," September 14, 2005.

ABC World News Tonight interviewed Professor Kent Markus, director of the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy, on September 13, 2005, regarding the Huron County (Ohio) story of 11 children being caged by their adoptive parents. He also was interviewed by the Cleveland, Ohio, WOIO Channel 19 news.

Professor Bradley A. Smith spoke on September, 13 at the Federalist Society at University of Dayton Law School, Dayton, OH.

September 12, 2005, Associate Dean and Professor Dennis Hirsch published "Wetlands' importance now made clear" in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The article, a response to Hurrican Katrina, discusses environmental and economic issues.

[ Read the Article ]

Professor Athornia Steele has been appointed by the Ohio State Bar Association Board of Governors as a member of the Commission on Judicial Candidates. The commission reviews judicial candidates and rates them as to their qualifications for the judiciary. His term on the commission runs from January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2008.

Additionally, Professor Steele was elected to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Committee on Appeals. The Committee on Appeals hears appeals from disciplinary matters within the ELCA. Terms on the committee run for six years.

Professor Steele was appointed to a two-year term as Chair of the Minority Affairs Committee (MAC) of the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). MAC's primary focus is to consider and recommend to the Board of Trustees of LSAC programs designed to enhance diversity in law schools and in the legal profession. Programs such as the Academic Assistance Training Workshop (training the academic assistance directors at law schools) and Pre-Legal Undergraduate Scholars providing intensives summer sessions directed primarily to college sophomores) have their genesis in MAC. As chair of this committee, Stelle will also serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of LSAC.

August 2005

Dean and Professor Jack A. Guttenberg has been appointed to a two year term on the Law School Development Committee for the American Bar Association Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar. The committee is responsible for planning the 2007 Development Conference.

August 30, 2005, Professor Dan Kobil was quoted in the Louisvile, KY-based Courier-Journal. Commenting on the governor's pardon controversy, Profess Kobil said granting pardons to those indicted and those who may be indicted in the probe is "highly unusual for a governor. I can't think of anything like it in recent memory."

[ Read the article ]

Associate Dean and Professor Dennis Hirsch was reappointed to another term as Vice-Chair of two ABA, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources Committees. He is the Vice-Chair of the Committee on Innovation, Management Systems and Trading, and am Vice-Chair for Membership of the Constitutional Law Task Force.

Legal Writing Instructor Christopher B. McNeil's master's thesis has been published by the Indiana Law Review. The thesis was written as part of his work towards the Master of Judicial Studies, which the University of Nevada -- Reno conferred on him in December, 2004. The title of the article is "Executive Branch Adjudications in Public Safety Laws: Assessing the Costs and Identifying the Benefits of ALJ Utilization in Public Safety Legislation," and it appears in Vol. 38, No. 2 of the Indiana Law Review.

Associate Dean and Professor Dennis Hirsch published an article titled “How to Improve Privacy Protection by Adapting and Using Environmental Management Tools” in the August, 2005 issue of the Privacy Officer’s Advisor. The article explains how a cutting-edge business management tool known as a Environmental Management System could be adapted for use in better protecting privacy.

July 2005

July 18, Professor Bradley Smith was the subject of an article in the National Review. The article, entitled Mr. Smith Went to Washington by Byron York, interviewed Professor Smith about his five-year term on the Federal Election Commission.

[ Read the article ]

Professor David N. Mayer spoke at The Objectivist Center's 16th annual Summer Seminar, July 9-16, at Union College in Schenectady, NY on "The Real Thomas Jefferson" and "Separation of Powers in American Constitutionalism."

Professor Danshera Cords recently published her article Collection Due Process: The Scope and Nature of Judicial Review in 73 University of Cincinnati Law Review 1021 (2005).

June 2005

Professor Kevin Griffith, a member of the Legal Research and Writing faculty, had his poem "Turning Forty" featured in the weekly column written by Ted Kooser, US Poet Laureate, for American Life in Poetry. [ Read the column ]

The Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio honored Professor Floyd Weatherspoon at their Volunteer Awards Banquet June 2. For his dedication and caring as a big brother, Professor Weatherspoon received one of 17 Richardson awards presented this year.

On June 10, Professor Dennis Hirsch was a featured speaker at the American Bar Association, Standing Committee on Environmental Law, conference on “Financial Institutions, Corporate Stewardship and Sustainable Development: Drivers for the Evolution of U.S. Environmental Laws and Practice.” He spoke as a member of a panel on “Changing U.S. Statutes and Regulations to Achieve Stewardship and Sustainability.”

NBC 4 anchor Colleen Marshall, '04L, and director Ron Toy were nominated for a Regional Emmy Award for their work with "Fight For Ohio" in the Interview/Discussion Program category. Professor of Law Kent Markus participated in the televised discussions as the Democratic commenator regarding the 2004 presidential election. The 41st annual Midwestern Regional Emmy Awards was scheduled for July 9, 2005, in Louisville, Ky.

May 2005

Professor Danshera Cords spoke at the ABA Tax Section Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Workshop on May 19, 2005, in Washington, DC, on the topic of Collection Due Process. This panel was part of the ABA Tax Section Meeting.

Dean and Professor Jack A. Guttenberg served as moderator for the Columbus Metropolitan Club's May 11, 2005 forum, "Mediation: Another Approach to Tort Reform." Panelists included Fred Gittes, Tim Maglione and Layton Severson. On May 12, Dean Guttenberg presented a CLE workshop on professional responsibility during the 125th Ohio State Bar Association's Annual Convention held in Columbus, Ohio. Dean Guttenberg has joined the Ohio State Bar Foundation's 2005 Fellows Class.

April 2005

Professor James Beattie gave a presentation, “Taking Liberalism and Religious Liberty Seriously,” at the Ohio Public Policy Forum at Wright State University, April 28, 2005.

“Current Developments in Constitutional Law” was presented by Professor James Beattie at the Ohio Association of Magistrates, The Judicial College of Ohio, April 19-20, 2005.

Professor James Beattie was a panelist on “The Disappearing U.S. Bill of Rights” at the Central Ohio Peace Education Commission, April 16, 2005.

Professor James Beattie served as a panelist for a discussion of “Where Do You Draw The Line? Freedom of Speech Or Promoting Hate?” for the Council for Public Deliberation and Channel 3 (Government TV), April 5, 2005.

Adjunct Professor Michael R. Moran, L’94 (Paralegal Program), has been appointed by to serve as Chairman of the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) Administrative Law Specialty Board. The Board is seeking Ohio Supreme Court approval to certify lawyers as specialists in the field of administrative agency law. At the Court’s Commission on Certification of Attorneys as Specialists meeting on April 1, 2005, the Commission approved the proposed definition of “administrative agency law” and the Board is proceeding with this project.

March 2005

Professor Lance Tibbles published an editorial in the Forum section of the March 30, 2005, Columbus Dispatch. The editorial, Legal system is well-set to handle end-of-life decisions, reviews the Sciavo issue in a bioethical and legal framework.

[ View Editorial ]

March 26, Professor Daniel Kobil gave a talk entitled "Making a Place for Mercy" at the Mercy, Forgiveness, and Clemency conference at Amherst College. Kobil is preparing a paper based on the talk that is to be published by Stanford University Press.

Dean and Professor Jack Guttenberg was invited to speak before a delegation of Ukrainian judges on March 9, 2005, about Ohio's oversight of lawyers and disciplinary system. Dean Guttenberg is a member of The Ohio Supreme Court Task Force on Rules of Professional Conduct. The Ukrainian judges were visiting the Ohio Supreme Court for a week-long, educational program to learn about Ohio's judiciary system and judicial selection process.

Professor David Mayer was the featured guest on "The Tony Macrini Show" on WNIS radio, Norfolk, Virginia, on March 8 and again on March 16, discussing various constitutional issues and Social Security, the subject of his recent web log essay, Socialist Insecurity.

Professor Dennis D. Hirsch has been appointed Vice-Chair for Membership of the ABA, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources, Task Force on Constitutional Issues. This new task force focuses on the constitutional foundations of environmental law.

Rachel Janutis and Danshera Cords have been promoted from the rank of assistant professor to the rank of associate professor effective at the beginning of the 2005-06 school year.

February 2005

Professor James Beattie served on a panel discussion of “State Funding of Student Religious Groups” at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, February 23, 2005.

Professor Dennis D. Hirsch was a featured speaker at the Multi-State Working Group Policy Academy which met in White Plains, NY. The MSWG is a group of state environmental regulators, academics and industry professionals who are interested in environmental management systems (EMS) and other innovative environmental policy tools. In the talk, entitled “A Typology of Environmental Regulatory Instruments”, Hirsch outlined an array of environmental policy tools and identified the settings in which they tend to work best.

January 2005

Professor Dennis D. Hirsch presented a paper at the Ohio Legal Scholarship Workshop. The OLSW is an organization of law professors from Ohio schools who meet to share their works-in-progress. The title of his talk was “What Can Privacy Regulation Learn from Environmental Law?”

Professor Floyd Weatherspoon presented "Disenfranchisement of African-American Males’ Constitutional Rights: A Return of Institutional Slavery" at the Midwest Black Law Students Association, Columbus, Ohio, January 27-30, 2005.

Professor James Beattie was a facilitator and panelist for a discussion of “Endorsement and Context” at the Ohio Scholarship Workshop, Capital University Law School, January 22, 2005.

Professor Roberta Mitchell was appointed by Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer for a three-year term, beginning January 1, 2005, as a member of the Supreme Court of Ohio Advisory Committee on Dispute Resolution.

Professor Daniel Kobil's entry on "Pardon" appears in Encyclopedia of Prisons & Correctional Facilities Volume 1 (2005 Sage Publications, Inc.), Mary Bosworth, ed. In his entry, Professor Kobil explains the history of the pardon, federal and state powers to pardon, and current practice regarding pardons.

On January 11, 2005, Professor Max Kravitz was appointed by Chief Judge Danny J. Boggs to the U.S. Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit Advisory Committee on Rules. The 12-member Committee is responsible for advising the Court on procedures, rules and practices that affect the practice of law before the Court. Kravitz will serve a two-year term ending September 2006.

Professor Dennis Hirsch served as moderator of a plenary session at the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Annual Meeting on January 7, 2005. The theme of the AALS Conference this year was Engaged Scholarship. There were three plenary sessions that explored this theme. Hirsch moderated the plenary on Creating a New Field: the Evolution of Environmental Law. This panel chronicled the modern environmental law movement and the role that law professors have played in it.

Athornia Steele, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of law, has been appointed to the 2005 Executive Committee of the Section on Part-time Division Programs of the Association of American Law Schools. The purpose of the AALS Section on Part-time Division Programs is to promote the communication of ideas, interests and activities among members to enhance the quality of part-time legal education; provide support to law schools seeking to develop or improve part-time legal education programs; and to make recommendations to the AALS on matters concerning part-time legal education programs. Capital University Law School took the lead in forming this new AALS section in 2002.

Professor Mark Brown delivered a paper on attorney's fees under civil rights laws at the Civil Rights Section meeting at the AALS Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA, January, 2005.