Baseball Hall of Fame Dedicates Selig Center for Archives of MLB Commissioners

On August 17th, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, dedicated the Allan H. “Bud” Selig Center for the Archives of Major League Baseball Commissioners. Commissioner Selig is a member of the Law School’s adjunct faculty, holding the title of Distinguished Lecturer in Sports Law and Policy; he and I co-teach Professional Sports Law. Considering the many things he has done to advance the game of baseball during his nineteen-year tenure as commissioner (both interim and permanent) and as the owner of the Milwaukee Brewers for more than three decades, I believe this is a very appropriate and well deserved tribute to Commissioner Selig.

“The Selig Center for the Archives of Major League Baseball Commissioners will ensure a permanent home for the documentation and preservation of the Office of the Commissioner’s contributions to baseball history,” said Jane Forbes Clark, Chairman of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Board of Directors. “This archive will provide a central location for the study and research of the importance of the Office of the Commissioner, and its role in shaping and advancing the National Pastime for nearly a century.”

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Gender Discrimination in Jury Selection as Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

A defendant’s right to reasonably competent legal representation is violated when the defendant’s lawyer discriminates on the basis of gender during jury selection, the Seventh Circuit ruled last week inWinston v. Boatwright (No. 10-1156).  The court’s reasoning would presumably apply equally to racial discrimination.  However, because of the peculiarities of federal habeas law, the particular defendant who presented the claim in Winston was unable to obtain any relief.

Here’s what happened.  Winston was charged with sexual assault of a fifteen-year-old girl and convicted by an all-woman jury.  His lawyer had used his seven peremptory strikes to remove six men and one woman from the jury.  As Winston’s post-conviction counsel later discovered, the trial lawyer struck the male jurors because he thought that females would be more critical of the victim.

Apart from the fact that such gender discrimination is illegal, trial counsel’s strategy may actually have been a good one.  Indeed, the jury acquitted Winston of an intercourse charge.

No matter, the Seventh Circuit ruled.  Competent counsel (in the constitutional sense) does not discriminate against men in the exercise of peremptory strikes.  Period.

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ICC Jurisdiction Over Gaddafi

Last week I wrote that the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) is unlikely to try Syria’s President Assad for crimes against humanity because the Court would probably lack jurisdiction. The Rome Statute—the ICC’s founding treaty—empowers the Court to exercise jurisdiction only with respect to crimes (1) committed within the territory of a state-party, (2) committed by a national of a state-party, (3) referred to the Court for prosecution by the UN Security Council, or (4) committed within a non-state-party’s territory or by one of its nationals, if referred to the Court by that non-state-party. In Assad’s case, jurisdiction is unlikely because Syria is not a state-party to the Rome Statute, and the UN Security Council is unlikely to refer the matter to the ICC because Russia and China would object. While it is possible that a post-Assad regime could refer Assad’s crimes to the Court for prosecution, Syrian domestic politics would probably push strongly in favor of domestic prosecution.

The question of ICC jurisdiction is also relevant to ongoing events in Libya. With Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in the midst of collapse and the Colonel himself in hiding, we should consider what role, if any, the ICC will play once Gaddafi is found. Here, the prospect of ICC prosecution seems significantly higher. Like Syria, Libya is not a state-party to the Rome Statute. But in February 2011, the Security Council passed a resolution referring Gaddafi’s use of military force against regime opponents in early 2011 to the ICC. The resolution ordered “Libyan authorities” to “cooperate fully with and provide any necessary assistance to the Court,” and “urge[d] all [other] States” to cooperate fully as well. Several months later, the Court issued arrest warrants against Gaddafi and two other Libyan officials for offenses including crimes against humanity.

Now that Gaddafi has lost control of the government and is in hiding, it will be interesting to see whether the ICC is able to make use of its established jurisdiction. With the Libyan government obliged to adhere to the Security Council’s resolution and all other states urged to do likewise, Gaddafi may have few places to hide.

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