Oct

31

Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: Of Hearsay and Bootstraps

Posted by: | October 31, 2009 | 1 Comment

The court staked out no new legal ground in its opinions last week, so I’ll just briefly describe a case that nicely illustrates a classic problem in evidence law.  Based on information provided by a confidential informant, Milwaukee police stopped a Ford Excursion on suspicion of drug activity.  Inside were Marc Cannon (the driver), David Harris (Cannon’s cousin), [...]

Oct

31

Conference on the Wisconsin Supreme Court: Review and Preview

Posted by: | October 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment

At the beginning of this semester, I proposed that the law school host a conference on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Dean Kearney lent his support and we were fortunate enough to obtain the co-sponsorship of the Appellate Practice section of the State Bar of Wisconsin. So yesterday we hosted a sold out gathering of over [...]

Oct

29

Truth and Reconciliation, Stories from the Diaspora

Posted by: | October 29, 2009 | 2 Comments

Several months ago I blogged about the situation of Liberians who fled their country for the United States (but who did not receive official status as refugees) and who have lived here for years in a “temporary” status, while it remained unsafe to return to Liberia. As I explained in those posts, these US residents face [...]

Oct

28

Writing Competition Success

Posted by: | October 28, 2009 | 1 Comment

I am pleased to announce that 3L Douglas Hoffer just won third place in the James E. Beckley National Writing Competition, which is sponsored by the Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association.  Doug received a cash prize, and his paper, “A Square Peg in a Round Hole:  Why the Investment Company Act is a Poor Regulatory [...]

Oct

27

Does the Ayres Study Work in Istanbul?

Posted by: | October 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment

As I wrote about last week, I was at a negotiation conference in Istanbul in which participants were given assignments to negotiate in the Spice Market.  Melissa Manwaring, who used to work with the Program on Negotiation and is now a professor at Babson College, came up with the great idea of each person from her group of five going into a [...]

Oct

26

Seventh Circuit Criminal Case of the Week: Other Bad Acts and the “Intricately Related” Doctrine

Posted by: | October 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Criminal law and procedure are structured around the act requirement: a defendant is prosecuted for performing a specifically identified unlawful act, the criminal trial is designed to determine whether the defendant actually committed that act, and, once the defendant has been convicted and punished, we commonly say that he has paid his debt to society and should be [...]

Oct

26

Iqbal’s Plausibility Ruling Heading for a Congressional Hearing

Posted by: | October 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Joe Seiner (South Carolina) brings to my attention a very important development in the world of civil procedure and employment discrimination law. David Ingram of the National Law Journal reports: Ashcroft v. Iqbal, the 5-month-old U.S. Supreme Court decision that has become a thorn in the side of the plaintiffs bar, will get a Capitol [...]

Oct

26

Journalist Alan Borsuk Joins the Law School

Posted by: | October 26, 2009 | 1 Comment

As announced today in this press release by the University, Alan J. Borsuk is joining the Law School as senior fellow in law and public policy. This appointment follows a search in which the Law School sought a journalist with experience and skills in investigating and reporting on matters vital to the community. Marquette Law [...]

Oct

24

Adventure Learning in Turkey

Posted by: | October 24, 2009 | 1 Comment

I just returned from a conference in Istanbul, which was the second of three conferences on the next generation of negotiation teaching. It was fascinating; and I will have several posts in the next few days about different pieces of it. One of the most interesting concepts behind this conference was the opportunity to take [...]

Oct

24

My Zombie President: A Halloween Story

Posted by: | October 24, 2009 | 1 Comment

“More coffee dear?”  “Hmm? Oh, yes please.  Did you see this story in the newspaper?  The Zombie Party has come out in favor of the President’s health reform plan.”  “Isn’t that good?  I thought that you were in favor of health reform.”  “I am, but I don’t trust these Zombies.  They are not rational.  You [...]

Oct

23

The Problems with Disclosure

Posted by: | October 23, 2009 | 7 Comments

We had a wonderful edition of “On the Issues” with Mike Gousha last week with my former partner, Mike Grebe, now CEO of the Bradley Foundation. Mike is a great guy who has had a wonderful career. Bradley is a generous supporter of the law school and has been a tremendous force for good in [...]

Oct

23

First Sports Law Treatise?

Posted by: | October 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment

It is difficult to say what was the first law-related book devoted to sports law, but if the title is any indication, it could be W. M. Thompson and J. D. A. Johnson, The Law of Sports (1896), which was published by W. B. Hearnden of New Inn Chambers, London.  Its authors appear to have [...]

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