Alan J. Borsuk – Page 64 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Judge Brett Kavanaugh Calls for “Rules of the Road” for Separation of Powers Issues

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:March 5, 2015
Post category:Congress & Congressional Power Federal Law & Legal System Political Processes & Rhetoric President & Executive Branch Public Speakers at Marquette

So Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys leaps for a pass as the playoff game with the Green Bay Packers is about to end. He comes down with ball on the one-yard line. Or does he? Or course, you know the answer—he doesn’t, the referees rule, a call that is hotly debated nationwide (and helps the Packers to victory in the Jan. 11 NFL playoff game).

The referee’s call required making a decision on the spot under great pressure and scrutiny. But to Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D. C. Circuit, a big reason the call was made in a way that stood up to later scrutiny was that the rules for deciding what was a legitimate catch were established ahead of time, with thought and clarity.

And that is, in substance, much of the message Kavanaugh delivered in the 2015 Hallows Lecture at Marquette University Law School on Tuesday. The lecture, titled “Separation of Powers Controversies in the Bush and Obama Administrations: A View from the Trenches,” examined five different policy areas where controversies over separation of powers at the top of the federal government have arisen in recent years. In all five areas, Kavanaugh said, it pays off when “the rules of the road” are developed before a crisis comes.

Some Perspective from Five Marquette Lawyers Who Are General Counsel

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:February 26, 2015
Post category:Corporate Law International Law & Diplomacy Legal Practice Public Speakers at Marquette

You are the general counsel of a large corporation. Your company is involved in negotiations to buy a competitor and there are layers upon layers of complexity and risk. Is a lawsuit against the competitor a deal-killer or no big deal? Why is a key employee of the other company about to bolt for a third company? Business for your own company has been slipping. Do you need this deal to save your company or will the deal wreck what you do have? The questions—and the pressure—build.

Ray Manista, Cari Logemann, Paul Dacier, Julie Van Straten, and Frank Steeves in Eckstein Hall’s Appellate Room

Paul Dacier, L’83, outlined the scenario before a capacity audience in the Appellate Courtroom of Eckstein Hall on Feb. 20, and as he did so, he asked members of the audience how they would handle each step.

As Dacier’s story comes to a head: The CEO calls you into his office. “It’s just the two of you in the room and the CEO is sweating bullets,” Dacier says. He wants to know what you as general counsel recommend.

Archbishop Explains the Pope’s Approach to Opposing Abortion

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:February 23, 2015
Post category:Public Religion & Law Speakers at Marquette

Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome Listecki says, “Until I die, I will be supportive of pro-life efforts.” But does he understand what Pope Francis meant when he said that the Catholic Church was obsessed with issues such as abortion?

Yes, he said, during an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” program at Eckstein Hall on Monday. The pope, he said, was not talking about the “rightness of the issue” and the church’s opposition to abortion. He was talking about how you spread the church’s message and bring people in.

Speaking of those who are particularly intent on the church’s fighting abortion, Listecki told Gousha, Marquette Law School’s distinguished fellow in law and public policy, “These are my friends. Do they sometimes give me heartburn? Yes, they do.” The way the church’s position is articulated by some can push people away, and that was what Pope Francis meant, the archbishop said.