Law School News

The Institute on Race and Poverty released a report today that reveals troubling data concerning the success of charter schools in the Twin Cities region. The report assesses charter schools and their competitive impact on traditional schools within the context of racial and economic segregation.

The Law School's Moot Court teams won the championship trophy at the Region 14 National Moot Court competition, held Nov. 20-22. In addition, the Petitioner Team brought home the "Best Petitioner Brief" prize, and the Respondent Team earned an advance to the quarterfinals.

The Hon. Diana E. Murphy ('74), Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, has been honored with the University of Minnesota Regents Award.

Prof. Kathryn J. Sedo has been appointed vice chair of the ABA’s Committee on Low Income Taxpayers and will become chair on July 1, 2009.

The Law School’s Institute on Race & Poverty (IRP) recently has been awarded a one-year $100,000 general project grant from the Open Society Institute and Soros Foundation Network.

On Wednesday Nov. 19, the Minnesota Court of Appeals will hold a special session at the Law School. The court will hear oral arguments for three cases, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to attend.

Prof. Stephen Befort has been selected as the recipient of the 2008 Minnesota Justice Foundation Outstanding Service Award, in the Law Professor category. The award honors a law professor who has shown exceptional public interest advocacy and who encourages students to become involved in public interest law.

Professor Ní Aoláin has been appointed as an expert to the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force’s Working Group, Protecting Human Rights While Countering Terrorism.

A court order denying the defendent's motion to dismiss came out on October 31 in a Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) case being handled by the Law School's Workers' Rights Clinic. The Clinic's Student Director Ashley Davis-Alteri ('09) handled the briefing and presented oral arguments before Judge John R. Tunheim ('80) of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Civil Practice Clinic Student Director Amy Urberg ('09) assisted with the briefing and worked on the case as a 2008 Summer Director.

Renmin University, also known as the People's University of China, has been added to the summer abroad program in 2009 for second- and third-year Law School students.

The MPLS/St. Paul magazine, known for its collections of "bests" in the Twin Cities, added a new category in its November 2008 issue: "best brains." Myron Orfield, the Law School's Julius E. Davis Professor of Law, and Jane Kirtley, Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and an affiliated faculty member at the Law School, were among those named.

Prof. Orfield participated in a documentary titled "The New Metropolis," scheduled to air nationally on Public Television in 2009. The three-part series focuses on the decline of cities and nearby neighborhoods across the Midwest and Northeastern United States, and highlights the innovative ideas to reinvent them. Included in the series are “Divided We Sprawl: Building Better Communities Together,” “The New Neighbors: Integration in America’s First Suburbs,” and “A Crack in the Pavement: Rebuilding America’s First Suburbs.” Professor Orfield will appear in the second and third segments.