Peter O’Meara – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Prosecutorial Discretion from the Department of Homeland Security?

Post author:Peter O'Meara
Post published:December 1, 2011
Post category:Immigration Law Public

Prosecutorial Discretion from the Department of Homeland Security? I’ll believe it when I see it.

I spend a good amount of time reading through articles on the latest immigration buzz. Since this summer, a lot of it has been centered on prosecutorial discretion in civil immigration enforcement.

On June 17 of this year, Director John Morton of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a memo meant to set guidelines on exercising prosecutorial discretion. The June 17 memo, often referred to as “the Morton Memo”, builds on an earlier memo setting enforcement priorities. The Morton Memo acknowledges that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has limited enforcement capacity, and that it should focus its resources on aliens that represent the largest threat toU.S. interests.

Tackling the Unauthorized Practice of Law in Wisconsin Today

Post author:Peter O'Meara
Post published:November 17, 2011
Post category:Immigration Law Legal Ethics Legal Practice Pro Bono Public Wisconsin Law & Legal System

Professor Michael McChrystal once pointed out that in the State of Wisconsin, the penalty for working as a beautician without a license is not much different from the penalty for practicing law without a license.

Three Mentors

Post author:Peter O'Meara
Post published:November 4, 2011
Post category:Legal Practice Public

When I was attending law school, I always heard about the importance of having mentors. I recall Professor Fallone quipping about his professor, Archibald Cox, and encouraging my Constitutional Law class to adopt heroes in the law.