Honors Scholar Class Projects
Class of 2009 - Website for Victims of Gender-Based Violence in Iraq
The class of 2009 Honors Scholars developed a website that will be the first centralized place providing information about legal rights to protect Iraqi victims of gender-based violence, and about places providing shelter and assistance. The website is designed to provide information relating to the difficulties of women in all regions in Iraq and will outline the legal tools of the various legal systems prevalent in Iraq.
The website will be available to women directly through internet cafes, or through NGO's or women's organizations without compromising the safety of the victims. It will raise awareness about gender-based violence in Iraqi society at large, including attorneys and judges.
Class of 2008 - Diabetes Registry Project
The class of 2007 Honors Scholars conducted a study about New York’s mandatory diabetes registry. The 2006 New York law was the first mandatory registry of individuals’ medical data for the purpose of monitoring the effectiveness of treatment for a noninfectious disease. The scholars researched the legal and ethical ramifications of importing a registration model for infectious diseases to other illnesses. The study evaluated risks for disclosure of the individuals’ private information, the dangers of secondary use of registry information, and implications for insurance coverage, employment discrimination, and physicians’ liability.
Class of 2007 – Ibrahim Parlak v. Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General
The class of 2007 joined a team of attorneys from Latham & Watkins to prepare a petitioner’s brief for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of Ibrahim Parlak, the “model immigrant” from Turkey who had been granted asylum in 1992 and operated a Middle Eastern restaurant in Michigan. Mr. Parlak faced deportation based on the government’s claim that not only had he been a persecutor of Turkish citizens in the 1980s and had fraudulently completed his green card application in 1993, but that he also had been convicted of a felony after admission and that he had engaged in terrorist activity. The issue in question was the constitutionality of unlimited application of the terrorism deportation statutes in the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Class of 2006 – Various Pro-Bono Litigation Projects
The class of 2006 honors scholars worked with Dean Harold J. Krent on various pro-bono cases, including an appeal to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals representing the plaintiff on issues involving warrantless searches of defendant’s home, the statutory definition of “firearm” and effective representation by counsel in the trial court.
Class of 2006 – Asylum Project
A group of 2006 honors scholars conducted a study on people seeking asylum in the United States and their success rates in immigration courts. The scholars collected and evaluated data about the origin countries of the asylum seekers and the various reasons that prompted the individuals to flee their home countries. The study takes a close look at the different patterns of granting asylum that prevail in various immigration centers in the nation and analyses the reasons for failure and success before the courts.
Class of 2005 – People of the State of Illinois v. Roy I. Caballes
The honors scholars class of 2005 assisted Attorney Ralph E. Meczyk in writing and filing a brief in opposition to a petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. The students filed the petition in March 2004 on behalf of respondent Roy I. Caballes. The question at issue in the petition was whether the Fourth Amendment requires reasonable, articulable suspicion in order to justify using a drug-detection dog to sniff a vehicle during a legitimate traffic stop. In January 2005, the judgment was vacated and the case was remanded to the Supreme Court of Illinois.
Class of 2004 – United States Postal Services v. Flamingo Industries Ltd.
Dean Harold J. Krent represented Flamingo Industries in its petition for writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court and argued the case that involved federal antitrust laws before the Supreme Court. Honors Scholar Karen Doran helped Dean Krent in the preparation of the briefs filed on behalf of Flamingo.
Class of 2004 – Eviction Court Study
According to a study conducted by a team of Chicago-Kent Honors Scholars of the class of 2004 and co-sponsored by the Lawyers' Committee for Better Housing, the Chicago Eviction Courts' lack of attention to procedural requirements, although not necessarily subverting justice, harms the dignity of tenants and often sends them away with little to no understanding of the judgments against them.
The students monitored 763 cases in Chicago’s Eviction Courts in the fall of 2003. A report documenting their findings - No Time for Justice, A Study of Chicago's Eviction Court - was released on December 18, 2003. The data revealed that in most cases tenants were not afforded a chance to represent their case and defenses and that the courts often ignored even the most basic procedural safeguards.
Class of 2003 – You Don't Know Auctions
This Honors Scholars Project addressed the issue that Internet auction fraud - including identity theft, misrepresented merchandise, and undelivered goods - costs American consumers approximately $5 million per year. The students, collaborating with the City of Chicago's Department of Consumer Services and AT&T, created www.youdontknowauctions.com, a website aimed at educating consumers about the common types of on-line auction fraud, how to avoid becoming a victim, and how to remedy fraud once victimized. The site has commentary that teaches visitors everything from the types of auctions to what to do if the buyer or seller doesn't live up to their end of the bargain. Visitors can even test their knowledge at the online auction quiz game, "The Auction Watchdog Challenge."
Class of 2002 – Greenberg v. Miami Children’s Hospital. et.al
In the fall of 2000, the Honors Scholar class of 2002 worked with Professors from the Chicago-Kent legal clinic and the Institute for Science, Law and Technology to file a pro-bono lawsuit against Miami Children's Hospital on behalf of parents of children with Canavan's disease who had donated tissue to further research on the genetic background of the disease. The brief used arguments of breach of informed consent, breach of fiduciary duty, unjust enrichment, conversion, misappropriation of trade secrets, and fraudulent concealment. The case was the first of its kind, taking researchers to court concerning the control of a gene.
Class of 2002 – Wager on the Madness
The 2002 honors scholar class teamed with the City of Chicago's Department of Consumer Services in a project to combat Internet fraud. Students helped investigate allegations of fraud in the online auction and contract areas of the law. They also launched a website that warned would-be March Madness bettors across the country how easily they can be victimized by online gambling sites. The website purported to be an Internet gambling site. After selecting teams and wagers on the outcome of games, visitors to www.wageronthemadness.com received a warning about the dangers of online gambling and a reminder that gambling may be illegal in their state.
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