Faculty News
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Prof. Befort Receives AARP Grant
September 17, 2018Professor Stephen Befort has received a grant from the American Association of Retired Peoples to undertake an empirical research project. The project involves analyzing federal court case outcomes under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act both before and after the Supreme Court modified the standard for determining employer liability. Prior to 2009, courts found liability under the ADEA whenever age was a motivating factor for an adverse employment action. In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled liability would only result if age was the “but-for” reason for an adverse action. Professor Befort will use the project data to compare outcomes from before 2009 with outcomes post-2009. The twin objectives of the grant are to produce a law review article and to provide AARP with data to lobby Congress in support of a proposed change in the ADEA liability standard.
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Prof. Kitrosser Quoted in Washington Post on White House Non-Disclosure Agreements
September 11, 2018Professor Kitrosser is quoted in a Washington Post article about non-disclosure agreements signed by White House aides who appear on television to talk about President Trump. Kitrosser is quoted in particular on the topic of the non-disparagement clauses reportedly in the agreements. Specifically, the article quotes her as saying: “An agreement saying you may not disparage the president is clearly a viewpoint-based restriction about matters of utmost public concern.”
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Prof. Hasday Discusses Separation of Powers on Twin Cities PBS’s “Almanac”
September 9, 2018Professor Jill Hasday appeared on the Twin Cities PBS show “Almanac” to discuss Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s 2009 Minnesota Law Review article on separation of powers.
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Prof. Kitrosser Speaks to Local & National Media About Presidential Power, Judge Kavanaugh
September 4, 2018Professor Kitrosser spoke with local radio station WCCO shortly before the start of hearings on Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. She talked to host Dave Lee about what we might expect to be discussed at the hearings. Kitrosser also appeared in an hour-long discussion with host Maria Armoudian and fellow law professor Eric Freedman about presidential power, executive privilege, and President Trump on this week’s episode of public radio’s “The Scholars’ Circle.”
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Prof. Kitrosser Appears in New Vox Documentary on Netflix
August 29, 2018Professor Kitrosser was interviewed for and appears in a new short documentary airing on Netflix. The documentary is an episode of Vox’s weekly series, “Explained,” and focuses on the topic of “political correctness.” Kitrosser was interviewed for the show in light of her 2016 Minnesota Law Review article entitled Free Speech, Higher Education, and the PC Narrative. In the article, Kitrosser explores uses of the term “political correctness” in public discourse, and the relationship of those uses to the law and politics of free speech. In the documentary, Kitrosser discusses early political correctness debates of the 1980s and 1990s, as well as the backlash that is often caused when students boycott or shout down campus speakers.
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Prof. Turoski Discusses Where Chemistry Meets the Law at 2018 ACS National Meeting & Expo: Nanoscience, Nanotechnology & Beyond
August 22, 2018Professor Christopher M. Turoski presented at the American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting & Expo: Nanoscience, Nanotechnology & Beyond. He provided a review of patent tools as part of the Many Faces of Chemistry and the Law: Where Chemistry Meets the Law.
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Star Tribune Quotes Prof. McGeveran About Genetic Privacy and Police Recruitment
August 15, 2018Prof. William McGeveran, an expert in privacy law, was quoted in a Star Tribune article reporting a litigation settlement between the Minneapolis Police Department and the federal government about the MPD’s use of family medical history information in hiring new officers. The federal case claimed that questions about police recruits’ family history violated the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). Prof. McGeveran explained that “people think genetics is only about DNA under a microscope, but this statute sweeps more broadly.”
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Prof. Kitrosser Participates in CNN Q&A On White House Non-Disclosure Agreements and the First Amendment
August 15, 2018Professor Kitrosser participated in a written Q&A with CNN’s Chris Cillizza about the First Amendment implications of reported non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) between President Trump and members of his staff, including former staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman. Among other things, Kitrosser discussed the breadth of the NDA’s alleged text and the importance of applying First Amendment analysis to it despite Donald Trump’s characterizing it as an agreement between private parties. Under the NDA, Kitrosser explained, “signers must promise never, during or after their service, to say anything disparaging about Trump, Pence, any Trump family member, etc. There’s no way that a government entity or official could require such terms consistent with the First Amendment. It’s a viewpoint-based prior restraint on speech of central public concern. Were an official able to get around these important protections by simply having their campaign enter the agreement (thus framing it as an agreement between private parties), such protections would have little meaning.”
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Prof. McGeveran Critiques Local Politician’s Trademark Filing
August 14, 2018Professor William McGeveran, an expert in trademark law, was quoted in a Star Tribune article explaining some trademark law fundamentals. The story concerned efforts by a local policitian to register a trademark for “WedgeLive,” which is already the name of a local blog that had criticized her. “That’s not how this works,” McGeveran said. “That’s not how any of this works.” He said the blogger retained the trademark rights by using the name long before the politician filed a registration application. McGeveran told the newspaper, “First day of trademark class, I tell students: What creates trademark rights is using the name. Not registration. Registration’s a piece of paper.”
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Prof. Bix in Top 10 Most Cited Law and Philosophy Scholars in the Country
August 14, 2018Professor Brian Bix was number nine on the list of most cited Law & Philosophy Scholars, using data from the years 2013 to 2017.