News 20 - College of Law

Ghiotto and Wexler examine the executive order on transgender military members

An American flag flies over Memorial Stadium.

In a new post on Justia Verdict, Professors Tony Ghiotto and Lesley Wexler do a deep examination of the Prioritizing Military Excellence Order, President Trump’s executive order on transgender individuals in the military. The article seeks to answer whether the order represents a complete transgender service ban or a variation of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” as well as its legal impacts and possible solutions. “The best mechanism to oppose the ban, and to deter future bans, is judicial and will require transgender members to continue leading the efforts for their right to serve,” the authors conclude.

Read the full article on Justia Verdict.

New York Times quotes Thomas on Greenpeace case

In March, a North Dakota jury awarded a Texas-based pipeline company more than $660 million in damages related to protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Greenpeace is expected to appeal the decision, in part because of their issue with jurors who had ties to the oil industry. Professor Suja Thomas, an expert in jury trials, told The New York Times North Dakota courts do not use “blanket disqualifications of jurors just because they might have some kind of interest.”

Read the full article from The New York Times.

Law.com quotes Aronson on Big Law firms discontinuing immigration work

In the second term of President Donald Trump, several Big Law firms that previously had been eager to support pro bono immigration work are no longer touting their work in that area and may be discontinuing the work. Professor Lauren Aronson, director of the Immigration Law Clinic, spoke to Law.com about this shift, explaining “people are showing…how much pressure they can withstand.”

Read the full article.

Wilson reflects on the Utah Compromise a decade later

Ten years ago, Utah passed two pieces of legislation Utah to protect religious freedom and protect LGBT individuals from discrimination in housing and employment. Though it is one of the most conservative states in the United States, the “Utah Compromise” to enact these bills has held up so far and helped increase respect for individuals in the Beehive State. Professor Robin Fretwell Wilson co-authored an editorial for Deseret News examining the impacts of these laws after a decade.

Read the full opinion article online.

Lawless discusses dismissal of bankruptcy watchdog

Tara Twomey’s tenure as executive director of the U.S. Trustee Program was recently terminated by the Trump administration, drawing criticism from Professor Robert Lawless. In a blog for Credit Slips, Lawless writes that “Under Twomey’s leadership the US Trustee Program did dozens of things that make the system work just a little bit better for the people who need it,” and Bloomberg quoted him as saying the move was “a short-sighted and likely illegal decision.” In a follow-up blog, Lawless also responded to criticism of Twomey and defended her qualifications to work at the Department of Justice.

Read Lawless’s original blog post and follow-up post.

Read Bloomberg’s coverage of the issue.

Amar and Mazzone defend birthright citizenship clause

Ionic column at the Smith Memorial Hall.

Writing at Justia Verdict, Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone describe the Fourteenth Amendment as perhaps the most important piece of law enacted anywhere in the world over the last two centuries. In their defense of the birthright citizenship clause, the authors suggest that criticisms of the clause in support of President Trump’s executive order seeking to end the practice are doing “absolute violence to the words of the Clause.”

Read the full article at Justia Verdict.

Aronson does interview on immigrant directives

The sun rises over the Illini Union. The Illini Union, which was dedicated in 1941, serves students and the campus in many ways, including housing the Illini Union Hotel, a credit union, a convenience store, information services, CITES (Campus IT) instructional facility, quick-service restaurants, a bowling alley and arcade, student performance spaces, and office space for Registered Student Organizations, student government, Student Legal Services, Student Tenant Union, LGBT Resource Center, and Union administration.

Speaking to the Institute of Government and Public Affairs, Professor Lauren Aronson, who serves as director of the Immigration Law Clinic, shared her thoughts on recent directives from the Trump administration regarding undocumented immigrants and explains how they may impact Illinois law. “I have deep concerns over the current immigration climate. While immigrants are the primary target, they warned that the federal government’s overreach could eventually extend to other groups, not just immigrants,” she explained.

Read her full Q&A online.

Heald speaks at University of Glasgow

Professor Paul Heald delivered a lecture on Recent Empirical Research in Intellectual Property Law at the University of Glasgow on March 17. Part of their CREATe series of public lectures, Professor Heald discussed successes and failures in recent research projects and highlighted advances in methodology made by various researchers in empirical approaches to copyright, patent, trademark, and trade secret law that have proliferated over the last decade.

Wilson co-edits new volume on family law

Professor Robin Fretwell Wilson has co-edited a new book, International Survey of Family Law 2024, covering topics including marriage equality, gender equality, LGBT rights, and abortion regulations around the U.S., among other topics. This edition continues the celebration of the International Society of Family Law’s (ISFL) fiftieth anniversary. It is published by Intersentia.

Learn more about this book.

ESPN quotes LeRoy on college athlete contracts

A federal judge is nearing a decision on an antitrust settlement between the NCAA and college athletes, and contracts signed by athletes might actually strengthen their case for collective bargaining rights. In an article examining the arguments of both sides, ESPN quoted Professor Michael LeRoy, who said, “It’s employment on its face. There’s no masking it.”