For more information, please contact:
Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251
ADVISORY TO PRODUCERS, COLUMNISTS, AND ASSIGNMENT, LEGAL, BUSINESS, POLITICAL, PLANNING, CITY DESK, FEATURES AND DAYBOOK EDITORS
CHICAGO–October 6, 2008–Chicago-Kent College of Law and Stuart School of Business have experts available to discuss current issues. To reach experts on IIT’s Downtown Campus, please call Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251. Press releases and earlier advisories are available on our Web site: www.kentlaw.edu/news/advisory.
November 4 is Election Day. Chicago-Kent and Stuart School of Business have experts available to discuss issues related to the economy, immigration, presidential power, foreign policy, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the environment.
What is a constitutional convention? In accordance with the state constitution, Illinois voters will be faced with a ballot referendum asking whether a constitutional convention should be called. Professor Mark D. Rosen, who teaches courses in state and local government and constitutional law, is available for interviews.
The candidates for Cook County State’s Attorney will appear in separate question-and-answer noonday forums at Chicago-Kent. Republican candidate Tony Peraica will appear on October 16. Democratic candidate Anita Alvarez will appear on October 21. (See below.)
Approximately 70 judges are seeking to retain their seats on the Cook County Circuit Court bench. What do judicial evaluations mean? What are the criteria for evaluating judges? What is the difference between a rating of "highly qualified" and "well qualified"? Chicago-Kent professor and criminal defense attorney Daniel T. Coyne is president of the Chicago Council of Lawyers, which evaluates candidates for judicial office. Professor Coyne is available to discuss the organization’s evaluation process.
The Internet has revolutionized the ways in which candidates connect with potential voters. Candidates have created profiles on social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Eons, BlackPlanet.com, MiGente.com and GLEE to take their campaigns to where the potential voters are. Voters and supporters visit candidates' Web sites for news, information and to make contributions. Chicago-Kent professor Richard Warner is president of Standards Association for Elections Online (SAFE), a nonprofit organization that develops standards and practices for online campaign activity and endorses third-party monitors who certify campaign Web sites as abiding by SAFE standards. Professor Warner is available for interviews about campaign Web sites.
Internet gambling sites offer bettors opportunities to bet on everything from sporting events to election results. Are these sites legal? Are there state or federal laws to protect online gamblers? "In Illinois and many other states such wagers are against the law. In addition, online gamblers can also leave themselves open to identity fraud and credit card theft by unscrupulous sites," says Chicago-Kent Dean Harold J. Krent. Dean Krent is available to discuss civil and criminal liability, privacy issues and jurisdictional issues related to online gambling.
Political futures: The Iowa Electronic Markets (IEM) is an online futures market where shareholders can "invest" based on real-world events such as political outcomes. For the November election, there are two real-money futures markets in the IEM 2008 U.S. Presidential Election Markets. In the "Pres08_VS" market, payoffs will be based on the vote shares won by the two major-party candidates; in "Pres08_WTA," a winner-take-all market, payoffs will be determined by the popular vote plurality winner. The IEM also has markets for the congressional elections and the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota. Accounts can be opened for amounts between $5 and $500. Traders can then use funds in their accounts to buy and sell contracts. What is the IEM? Is it legal? How accurate has it been in predicting the outcomes of presidential elections? Professor Michael Gorham, director of the Stuart School’s Center for Financial Markets, is available for interviews. From 2002 to 2004, Professor Gorham served as the first director of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight. The division of 100 economists, lawyers, futures-trading specialists and others was responsible for the designation of new exchanges, the review of new futures and options products, and the protection of markets from manipulation and customer abuse.
Downtown Campus Events
October 10: 2008 Chicago-Kent College of Law/Roy C. Palmer Civil Liberties Lecture. Harold H. Bruff, the Charles Inglis Thomson Professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder Law School, will discuss his award-winning book, Bad Advice: The President’s Lawyers in the War on Terrorism. Professor Bruff presents a political and historical analysis of the complex relationship between American presidents and their legal advisers--particularly in times of crisis. The book examines President George W. Bush’s unprecedented claims of unilateral executive power in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks through a discussion of the administration’s authorization of warrantless surveillance by the National Security Agency, the detention and trials of "enemy combatants," and the methods of interrogation used on detainees. The author asserts that strict interpretation of the constitutional separation of powers by presidential legal advisers could lessen the tensions between national security interests and the rule of law. Professor Bruff has been a member of the University of Colorado at Boulder Law School since 1996. He received his B.A. in American history and literature from Williams College, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Professor Bruff received his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was editor of the Harvard Law Review. The program, which begins in the Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Courtroom at 1 p.m., is free and open to the public, but reservations are requested. To R.S.V.P. or for more information, please call Tasha Kincade at (312) 906-5006 or tkincade@kentlaw.edu.
October 15: 2008 Order of the Coif Lecture. Harvard Law professor David B. Wilkins, recently named Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Order of the Coif Distinguished Visitor for 2008, will address the topic "From Agents to Partners: Toward a New Model of the Corporate Attorney-Client Relationship." David B. Wilkins is the Kirkland & Ellis Professor of Law and the director of both the Program on the Legal Profession and the Program on Lawyers and the Professional Services Industry at Harvard Law School. Professor Wilkins is also a visiting senior research fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a faculty associate of the Harvard University Center in Ethics and the Professions. A native Chicagoan, Professor Wilkins has been a member of the Harvard Law School faculty since 1986. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, Professor Wilkins served as a law clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Wilfred Feinberg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The program begins at 3 p.m. in the Judge Abraham Lincoln Marovitz Courtroom. The lecture is free and open to the public, but reservations are requested. A reception will follow the lecture. To R.S.V.P. for the lecture or for more information, please contact Insa Blanke at (312) 906-5003 or iblanke@kentlaw.edu.
October 15: "Patentable Subject Matter: Anything Under the Sun Made by Man . . . Really?" is the topic of the fifth annual Federal Circuit Clerk Roundtable. The roundtable, composed of former clerks of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, is a discussion of current developments in patent law. Chicago-Kent professor Timothy R. Holbrook, who served as a clerk to the Honorable Glenn L. Archer Jr., former chief judge of the Federal Circuit, will serve as moderator. Other participants include Meredith Martin Addy of Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, Laura A. Lydigsen of Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, David McKone of Nixon Peabody LLP, and Michael R. Weiner of Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP. The program, which begins at 3 p.m., is free and open to the public. For more information, please call (312) 906-5128.
October 16: Cook County State’s Attorney Candidate Forum. Republican candidate Tony Peraica will participate in a question-and-answer forum cosponsored by Chicago-Kent College of Law, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, and the Chicago-Kent Student Bar Association. Peraica will present his positions on issues related to the Cook County Criminal Courts and take questions from a panel of experts and the audience. The program, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the law school’s Governor Richard B. Ogilvie Auditorium. Attorneys who attend are eligible for one hour of Illinois Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit for each program attended. Reservations are requested. Please R.S.V.P. to ccl@chicagocouncil.org.
October 21: Cook County State’s Attorney Candidate Forum. Democratic candidate Anita Alvarez will participate in a question-and-answer forum cosponsored by Chicago-Kent College of Law, the Chicago Council of Lawyers, Chicago Appleseed Fund for Justice, and Chicago-Kent’s Student Bar Association. Alvarez will present her positions on issues related to the Cook County Criminal Courts and take questions from a panel of experts and the audience. The program, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the law school’s Governor Richard B. Ogilvie Auditorium. Attorneys who attend are eligible for one hour of Illinois Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit for each program attended. Reservations are requested. Please R.S.V.P. to ccl@chicagocouncil.org.
November 14: "The 2008 Elections: What the Results Mean for Labor Relations" is the topic of a keynote address by former Chicago Tribune editor James C. Warren at Chicago-Kent’s 24th annual Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Program. Workshop panelists, including Chicago attorney James Baird of Seyfarth Shaw LLP; Jim Reed, director of government relations, Illinois Education Association; and Chicago attorney James A. Spizzo of Vedder Price, will analyze how the election results will impact public sector labor relations in Illinois. Chicago-Kent's 24th annual Illinois Public Sector Labor Relations Law Program is designed for lawyers whose practice involves labor law, local government law or school law. It is also for state and local government officials, public education officials, administrators and labor relations officers, union officials, business agents, uniserv directors, arbitrators and mediators. The one-day program is cosponsored by Chicago-Kent’s Institute for Law and the Workplace, the Illinois Labor Relations Board and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.
November 19: "Wet with Blood." Chicago-Kent distinguished professor and author Lori B. Andrews and Russell Lewis, vice president and chief historian at the Chicago History Museum, will discuss the historical, scientific, ethical and legal issues involved in using President Abraham Lincoln’s DNA to authenticate the museum’s Lincoln artifacts. The museum’s collection includes a cloak, allegedly worn by Mary Todd Lincoln on the night the president was assassinated, that may contain Abraham Lincoln’s blood. Questions to be addressed include whether it is appropriate to perform genetic tests on Abraham Lincoln’s DNA that might reveal the presence of diseases or disorders and whether such tests would violate the privacy of existing descendants. This program, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 3 p.m. in the law school’s 10th floor event room. A reception will follow. "Wet with Blood" is the second in a series of programs sponsored by Chicago-Kent’s Institute for Law and the Humanities under the theme "Connecting to Chicago’s Cultural Institutions."
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