News featuring a faculty member
Grand juries have twice declined to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud, despite the Trump administration’s efforts. The decisions are a strong rebuke of the administration, and Harlem World quoted Professor Andrew Leipold in their article on the subject, noting “something has gone horribly wrong” in the case when a prosecutor fails to secure an indictment.
Many recent changes in rules and regulations surrounding nuclear power reactors have been enacted with the goal of expanding the use of nuclear technology, but the shifts also run the risk of overwhelming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and threatening the industry. In a new editorial published by Nuclear Newswire, Professor Arden Rowell and a team of nuclear engineers from the University of Illinois attempt to answer urgent questions in order “to prevent industry-wide paralysis and ensure that new nuclear power reactors are deployed both safely and efficiently.”
What is really being debated when individuals debate legal interpretation? This is the central question in a new paper written by Professor Bill Watson published in the latest issue of the Boston University Law Review. The “meta-interpretive” question “is key to making progress,” according to Watson. “We should be wary of monolithic interpretive theories that purport to apply across the board,” he concludes.
In October, the Illinois Legislature passed the Bivens Act, which provides new state-level protections for individuals interacting with Illinois courts, hospitals, schools, and child-care centers during civil immigration enforcement activities. Writing at Justia Verdict, Professors Jason Mazzone and Vikram Amar praise the law as “an important and innovative law in keeping with the proudest tradition of federalism”; however, they note that some aspects of the Act are unlikely to survive federal constitutional challenges. In their article, they explain why the law is good and why some parts are destined to be struck down.
In addition to her JD from the University of North Carolina, Meghan Brinson also holds an MFA in creative writing from Arizona State University, which made her an ideal guest for the Cornered podcast’s episode on literature and the law. Speaking on the show, produced by the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, Brinson discussed her background, her law and literature course, and how she combines her interests for the benefit of her students.
Professor Jacob Sherkow has co-authored a new paper with Laura Valtere (University of Copenhagen – CeBIL) and Timo Minssen (University of Copenhagen – CeBIL) titled “Intellectual Property, New Genomic Technologies And Plant Innovation: Clearing Innovation Pathways.” The abstract follows:
New genomic technologies (NGTs), such as genome editing-the modification of DNA in living cells-promises to revolutionize agriculture. Beyond simply yielding new, commercially viable crop varieties, NGTs also hold out promise of using novel crops as a “biosolution”-methods to improve sustainability practices by reducing pesticide usage, improving drought tolerance, increasing yield, and minimizing food and fertilizer waste. At the same time, the complex global system of intellectual property (IP) protection for crops has largely been unchanged for decades. There is accordingly some concern that the current crop IP system will not bring the promise of agricultural biosolutions to fruition. This Article reviews NGTs as biosolution and explores how they fit into the current international IP system for crops. Against this backdrop, this Article also reviews several current proposals to crop IP regime, before tentatively suggesting recommendations for rebalancing the incentive structures in crop IP.
Professor Robert Lawless, along with co-authors Pamela Foohey and Deborah Thorne, recently sat down with Law360 for an in-depth interview on their book “Debt’s Grip: Risk and Consumer Bankruptcy.” The book is the latest to come out of the Consumer Bankruptcy Project, a long-term interdisciplinary research project on consumer bankruptcies in the U.S. that began in 1981. The authors discussed what they were hoping to learn (and what surprised them), how the data on who is filing for bankruptcy has changed over time, and what they want lawmakers to take away from the book.
Professor Jennifer Pahre recently published “A Comparison of Inadequate Doctrines: The Canadian “honour of the Crown” and the U.S. Federal Trust Responsibility” in the Texas A&M Journal of Property Law. The paper, written as a result of a grant from the Indigenous Politics Program at the American Political Science Association, compares key policies of the U.S. and Canada towards their Indigenous populations.
Although it was ultimately not included in the recently approved Chicago area transit bailout measure, Professor Jason Mazzone told the Cook County Record in late October that the proposed “billionaire’s tax” would face a stiff uphill battle in court.
“The sponsors of the (legislation), which would impose a tax on unrealized gains on assets owned by state residents with net assets exceeding $1 billion in value, contend that the proposed new tax is not a tax on personal property but on income,” Mazzone wrote in an email answer to questions from The Record.
“The Illinois courts will be very skeptical of this claim for the simple reason that a gain on paper, without any money ever being exchanged, does not obviously count as income within the ordinary meaning of the word or in the world of financial management or taxation,” Mazzone said.
“An increase in wealth is quite different from an increase in income. The state constitution distinguishes between the two. Courts will be inclined to keep the line between them sharp.”
Professor Richard Ross was recently a featured guest on the Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness podcast. He and fellow guest Professor Steven Wilf (UConn) discussed the creation of the legal concept of the people with the right to overthrow their government. The podcast is created by the Amerikazentrum research center in Germany, highlighting the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.