New Blog Features for January

As we ring in the new year here at the Marquette Law School Faculty Blog, we also welcome several new features for January.  Dan Blinka replaces Matt Mitten as Faculty Blogger of the Month.  Dan teaches Evidence, Constitution and Criminal Investigations, Quantitative Methods, Trial Advocacy, and Legal History.  3L Nathan Petrashek replaces Tom Kamenick as Student Blogger of the Month.  And Mike Morse replaces Daniel Suhr as Alum Blogger of the Month.  Mike is Village Attorney for Menomonee Falls.

Many thanks to Matt, Tom, and Daniel for their thought-provoking posts in December!

The new Question of the Month is “What is your favorite movie or novel about legal practice?”

Best wishes to all for a happy and healthy 2009!

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Seventh Circuit Week in Review: Limiting the Reach of the Adam Walsh Act (a Little)

The Seventh Circuit had two new opinions in criminal cases this week.  The first, United States v. Sims (No. 07-3798), presented a routine Fourth Amendment issue, with the court upholding a challenged search warrant over the defendant’s objection that police officers failed to disclose important information when they obtained the warrant.

The more notable case of the two was United States v. Dixon (No. 08-1438), which considered the sex offender registration provisions of the Adam Walsh Act.  Passed in 2006, the Walsh Act did not invent sex offender registration (which was first done at the state level), but it did substantially increase federal regulation in the area.  Among the most controversial (and heavily litigated) features of the Walsh Act has been its creation of a new federal crime for sex offenders who cross state lines and fail to register in the new state.  Concerns focus on the retroactive reach of the new law, with some cases indicating that offenders can be punished on the basis of interstate travel that occurred prior to the statute’s enactment.

In Dixon, the Seventh Circuit took its turn grappling with the retroactivity issues.

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Wal-Mart Settles; Secunda in Wall Street Journal

Our own Paul Secunda was quoted in the Wall Street Journal today on Wal-Mart’s huge settlement of wage claims in sixty-three lawsuits.  Here is a taste:

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. agreed Tuesday to pay up to $640 million to settle 63 suits alleging it routinely underpaid employees around the country, ending years of embarrassing legal battles over its treatment of workers. . . .

Paul M. Secunda, an associate professor at Marquette University Law School, suggested Wal-Mart wanted to settle the lawsuits not just to avoid potentially more costly defeats in the courtroom, but to resolve issues that might be used to argue for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. The legislation, expected to be considered by Congress next year, is fiercely opposed by Wal-Mart because the company worries it will make it easier for workers to unionize.

“This is part of their overall strategy to get their labor house in order, and compared to what unionization might cost them, I think they probably realized it was a small price to pay,” Mr. Secunda said.

The full article is available here.

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