For more information, please contact:
Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, (312) 906-5251
ADVISORY TO PRODUCERS, COLUMNISTS, AND ASSIGNMENT, PLANNING, LEGAL, BUSINESS, CITY DESK AND FEATURES EDITORS
CHICAGO--September 3, 2009--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, 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.
Opening arguments have begun in the trial of James Degorski for the 1993 murders of seven people at a Brown's Chicken and Pasta restaurant in Palatine, Ill. Co-defendant Juan Luna was convicted of the murders in 2007 and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Criminal defense attorneys and professors Daniel T. Coyne and Richard S. Kling and former prosecutor Douglas Wm. Godfrey are available for interviews about the trial as it progresses.
Jurors in Illinois courts will receive instructions differently starting September 1, 2009, as a result of changes to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 239 initiated by Chicago-Kent professor and jury expert Nancy S. Marder. Illinois trial court judges will be required to give each juror an individual written copy of the jury instructions so that jurors can read the instructions as they are being read aloud by the judge. Jurors will be allowed to take their individual written copy of the instructions into the jury room so that they can consult the written instructions during the deliberations. Other states that have adopted this practice of providing individual written copies of the jury instructions have found that it helps jurors to understand and follow the instructions. Professor Marder, the author of The Jury Process (Foundation Press 2005), is available for interviews.
"Hillary: The Movie." The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in an unusual special session next week in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The case, which focuses on whether the government can limit the use of corporate money in political campaigns, also has free speech implications. A conservative advocacy group called Citizens United produced a 90-minute documentary film called "Hillary: The Movie," funded with corporate contributions and funds from its treasury. The film was distributed during the 2008 presidential primary campaign season via the Internet, on DVD and in theaters. The FEC ruled Citizens United violated the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law. Stating that the film fell within the FEC's definition of "electioneering communications," the agency also denied Citizens United permission to distribute the film on a video-on-demand service or to air advertising for the film. A D.C. District Court ruled in favor of the FEC, and Citizens United appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The justices heard the case in March 2008 but scheduled it for re-hearing prior to the start of the 2009-10 session. Constitutional scholar and Distinguished Professor Sheldon H. Nahmod is available for interviews about the case. Professor Nahmod is also available to discuss the Roberts court, highlights of the Supreme Court's 2008-09 session, and key issues the justices will consider during the 2009-10 term.
Back to school. Chicago-Kent has experts available to discuss a variety of legal issues related to elementary and secondary education, including school disciplinary policies, charter schools, bullying, school lunches, school desegregation, Response to Intervention programs, the No Child Left Behind Act, sports programs, prayer in schools, contract disputes and privacy issues.
Monday, September 8, is Labor Day. Faculty experts from Chicago-Kent's Institute for Law and the Workplace are available for interviews. They can discuss a number of legal issues, including changes governing overtime pay for white-collar workers, labor unions, employee benefits programs, executive compensation, age and sex discrimination, the Americans with Disabilities Act, workers' compensation, and sexual harassment in the workplace.
Athletes Behaving Badly. Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth, Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Ronald Belisario, and New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson are among the most recent group of professional athletes whose off-the-field activities have placed them in legal trouble. Sports attorney and adjunct professor Eldon L. Ham is available to discuss professional sports' personal conduct policies and what recourse teams and the players' unions have with regard to disciplining players.
At Chicago-Kent
Chicago-Kent's incoming J.D. class comprises nearly 300 diverse individuals from 29 different states and several foreign countries. They speak English and 18 other languages and have studied in 17 different countries. More than two dozen hold advanced degrees in a variety of disciplines. A handful have foreign law degrees--one served as a prosecutor in Saudi Arabia. The new class includes several marathoners, a member of the USA paralympic bocci team, a member of the Canadian national rowing team, a member of national and international gold-medal-winning figure skating teams, and a five-time national baton-twirling champion. One student is the 11th-great-grandson of Rhode Island's founder, Roger Williams. Former Eagle Scouts, military servicemembers, and Peace Corps and Americorps volunteers are part of the Class of 2012. There are also entrepreneurs, a former animal keeper with a major U.S. zoo and an engineer who was part of an Indy race car team. One student holds 16 U.S. patents and has another nine pending. This class has varied musical interests, from playing tuba with the National Symphony of Paraguay to performing as a singer/keyboardist in more than 700 concerts in the past seven years to serving as a member of the 2006 National Hip Hop Political Convention.
Chicago-Kent's Immigration Law Clinic is available to those who need legal assistance with immigration, asylum and nationality matters. The clinic is supervised by Professor Natalie Brouwer Potts, whose practice includes advising business entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals in all areas of immigration law. Professor Potts specializes in business immigration, employer audits and protecting companies from employer sanctions. She is available for interviews about the Immigration Law Clinic. Professor Potts is also available to speak with organizations and community groups regarding immigration law and policy issues.
Downtown Campus Events
September 17: 27th annual Federal Sector Labor Relations and Labor Law Program. Carol Waller Pope, chairman of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, will deliver the keynote address "The Evolution of Collaboration." Keynote panelists Carlos Osegueda, director of Employee and Labor Relations, U.S. Housing and Urban Development, and Mark D. Roth, general counsel of the American Federation of Government Employees, will address the topic "Where Do We Go From Here?" Chicago-Kent Professor Martin H. Malin, director of the Institute for Law and the Workplace, will serve as conference moderator. John Palguta, vice president of the Partnership for Public Service, will deliver the luncheon address. Sponsored by Chicago-Kent's Institute for Law and the Workplace, the program is the longest-running conference on federal sector and postal labor relations and labor law held outside of Washington, D.C. For more information, call (312) 906-5090. EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: The media is welcome to cover the keynote address, keynote panel and luncheon address. However, to maintain quality of the educational experience for our registrants, there will be no media access to concurrent workshops and breakout sessions.
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