Marquette Sports Law Abroad

Last month I had the opportunity to participate in a sports law conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.  This event–styled Arab Lex Sportiva–was billed as the first ever sports law conference in the Arab world, and it was held in the conference center where the 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace accords were signed.

It was fascinating to see how a culture very different than our own is trying to come to grips with the globalization of world sport.  I spoke on the intersection of copyright law and sports broadcasting, particularly as it has been affected by the TRIPS agreement.  As always, I end up learning an enormous amount.

It was  also fascinating to see how well known Marquette is in sports law circles, even in Egypt.  To my surprise, the local advertising for the event touted the fact that there would be a speaker from Marquette University, as well as representatives from FIFA, CAS, and other international sporting agencies.  Several people attending the conference asked me about the LLM program for foreign lawyers, and expressed interest in enrolling (if they could figure out how to pay the tuition).  Most of the non-Arab speakers were from Europe, and almost every one of them inquired about Professor Mitten, who seems to be known by the entire international sports community.

My personal highlight came when a speaker from Greece mistook me for Marty Greenburg.

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In Praise of Marquette Law’s People

One common thread running through many student bloggers on here is their writing at least one piece on the life of a law student.  And for good reason.  After all, law school is our life, from countless hours in the dungeon up on the third floor of the library (read “the cite-check room”) or in the various conference rooms practicing for moot court to slogging through piles of casebooks on the law of torts, contracts, and civil procedure.  Such is, to state the obvious, a far cry from the workload many of us had to endure during our undergraduate studies.   To be sure, it is enough work to add a few gray hairs; I can still remember how often the ASP leaders and faculty during my first-year orientation reassured my classmates and I, “You’re going to be stressed.” “We know it’s hard.” “There’s on-campus psychological counseling available.”  These stresses are so notorious, that my friends and I will frequently joke about how we should tell touring prospective students to get out while they still can.

But here’s the dirty secret: It’s really not that bad.

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Challenging Wisconsin’s Proposed Windows Legislation

The deeply unsettling and appalling nature of the Catholic priest abuse scandal is difficult to express in hyperbole.  More and more cases continue to come out of the woodwork, and stories abound of allegations of cover-ups and throwing around hush money to abuse victims, all incited by those charged with the sanctified duty to guide, teach, and counsel the faithful.  Words alone cannot encapsulate the scarring that this scandal has wrought on its many victims.  Even a pastor at my parish told the congregation when the scandal first came to light that the news left him “ashamed to be a priest.”

In the wake of such grizzly conduct, however, is the need to address how to remedy the problem.  For some victims of abuse, the solution is a day in court: a chance to bring a civil action for a public determination of liability and an order of compensation for the wrong.

But under current Wisconsin law, the statute of limitations has already barred many of these abuse suits.  Section 893.587 of the Wisconsin Statutes provides that a victim of sexual abuse as a child may bring an action until that victim turns 35 years old; at that time, the cause of action evaporates.  The statute covers a cause of action for clergy abuse under Section 895.442(2)(a) of the Wisconsin Statutes.

Continue ReadingChallenging Wisconsin’s Proposed Windows Legislation