2014 – Page 62 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Young, Educated Users Fueling a Surge in Narcotics Use, Drug Prosecutor Says

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:February 13, 2014
Post category:Criminal Law & Process Public Speakers at Marquette

Generational amnesia – that’s the term Bridget Brennan uses to describe one of the causes of the recent rise of heroin use. It is as if today’s culture has no memory of the devastating toll the drug took on those who used it a generation ago.

And who is using the highly addictive narcotic today? In many cases, it is educated younger people living in middle class or blue collar suburbs, Brennan said during an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” program at Eckstein Hall on Thursday.

Brennan is a prominent figure in the fight against heroin and other narcotics. She doesn’t take on those individual users. Rather she aims for those at or near the top of the pyramid as she put it, of illegal narcotics trafficking. A Milwaukee native, she has been the special narcotics prosecutor for the city of New York since 1998. Her office averages 3,000 indictments a year, many against those leading or working in drug trafficking networks. She has worked with law enforcement at many levels and across international boundaries.

21st Howard B. Eisenberg Do-Gooders’ Auction–An Interview with PILS Fellow Zachariah Fudge

Post author:Melissa Love Koenig
Post published:February 12, 2014
Post category:Legal Practice Legal Profession Marquette Law School Pro Bono Public

The 21st Annual Howard B. Eisenberg Do-Gooders’ Auction on behalf of the Law School’s Public Interest Law Society (PILS) will be held in the evening on Friday, February 21, 2014 at the Law School. Proceeds from the event go to support PILS fellowships to enable Marquette law students to do public interest work in the summer. Zachariah Fudge, a current law student, shares his experience here as a PILS Fellow. Besides his work as a PILS Fellow, Zachariah is active on the PILS student board.

You may attend the Auction by purchasing tickets here or you may purchase tickets at the door. This link also provides you with an opportunity to donate to the Auction.

Where did you work as a PILS Fellow?

This past summer I was a legal intern at the Alternate Public Defender’s Office in San Diego.

What kind of work did you do there?

The Alternate Public Defender took on felony cases where there was a conflict with the main Public Defender’s Office, so our cases were usually more complex, multi-defendant affairs. I was able to do quite a bit over the course of my brief tenure, including conducting client and witness interviews, researching, drafting motions, and representing clients during various types of hearings. I was able to second chair a ten-day trial that ended in the dismissal of all charges, so that was exciting.

Norquist Lets Zingers Fly in Eckstein Hall Program

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:February 10, 2014
Post category:Milwaukee Political Processes & Rhetoric Public Speakers at Marquette

“I wish you wouldn’t hold back,” Mike Gousha told former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist at the end of an hour-long “On the Issues” conversation at Eckstein Hall on Feb. 5. That got a big laugh from the audience of about 200 because Norquist held back little in giving zinger-filled opinions on a range of subjects.

In nearly four terms as mayor, from 1988 through 2003, Norquist was known for speaking his mind. If anything, he is even more willing to speak out now that he’s a decade removed from that office. A few examples from his session with Gousha, the Law School’s distinguished fellow in law and public policy:

On Waukesha’s request to get access to Lake Michigan for its water supply: Given the way some Waukesha officials have treated issues of importance to the City of Milwaukee, Norquist said, “If I were one of the elected officials, I’d be tempted to say, ‘you want our water, that’s too bad, you can dry up and blow away.’ ”