Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Eckstein Hall Named Project of the Year

Post author:Joseph D. Kearney
Post published:April 14, 2011
Post category:Marquette Law School

Eckstein Hall, our new home, was today named Project of the Year in The Business Journal’s 2011 Real Estate Awards program. The announcement was made at a luncheon program at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Milwaukee: although various awards were announced in advance, this top award was shrouded in secrecy until near the end of the program.

This is a gratifying recognition for the Law School and the broader University — indeed, all who were involved in the project, including the design architect, Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott, and the construction firm, Opus North Corp. Tom Ganey, University Architect, and I asked Kathy-Kugi Tom and Jerad Protaskey, project managers for the University and Opus North, respectively, to accept the award.

The panel of four judges deciding the awards included Bob Greenstreet, Dean of the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and formerly city planner for Milwaukee.

It is an especially welcome honor for all associated with the Law School for a particular reason. The scales of a close competition (especially between Eckstein Hall and the new Columbia St. Mary’s hospital) were tipped by “the impact [Eckstein Hall] was having on the community,” according to Mark Kass, The Business Journal’s editor in introducing the awards.

National Health Care Decisions Day, Jehovah’s Witnesses & Mature Minors

Post author:Mathew Pauley
Post published:April 14, 2011
Post category:Health Care Religion & Law

April 16th is the 4th Annual National Health Care Decisions Day, a day when health-care practitioners reach out and express the importance of having discussions about personal values and treatment preferences, especially in the event of loss of function and end-of-life circumstances. I encourage every adult to complete an advance directive because any adult can fall down and go boom. (Remember: all of the seminal “withdrawal of care” cases involved young women: Karen Ann Quinlan, Nancy Cruzan, and Terri Schiavo were all under 35 when they suffered their respective traumas.) So here is my pondering for the occasion:

Recently I assisted in a case of a 15-year-old Jehovah’s Witness rushed into the emergency department “bleeding out.” Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs) regard blood transfusions as a violation that has profound spiritual implications, and accordingly, refuse such transfusions even when such treatments can be life-saving. Supporting JWs in their refusal is an early-learned bioethics lesson as students explore issues of patient autonomy and respecting cultural values. Competent individuals have the right to refuse unwanted medical treatments, even when refusal will lead to death. But this was a 15-year-old.

Israel Reflections–Negotiation Aikido Israeli-Style

Post author:Andrea K. Schneider
Post published:April 13, 2011
Post category:International Law & Diplomacy Marquette Law School Negotiation

On our very last day in Israel, with the sun shining and after spending an hour on the beach, we forced the students back on the bus to Tel Aviv University to have a joint class with Moty Cristal’s class from the International Master’s in Dispute Resolution program. If ever I was worried that the students would really resent us, this presented the golden opportunity. Luckily, Moty was outstanding and here are two student comments about his presentation:

From Mary Ferwarda: It was the last day in an exciting, but very packed and exhausting schedule. We had just come from free time on the beach in Tel Aviv on the most perfect morning — sunshine, light breeze, few crowds — and I, personally, was dreading having to sit inside for yet another lecture. When we all packed into a room at Tel Aviv University, and the speaker pulled up his Powerpoint, I took a deep breath to pool all of my energy to pay attention. I should have taken a deep breath to prepare to be blown away. Mr. Moty Cristal lectured, or rather, preached, his piece on crisis negotiation to a roomful of rapt students and professors. Combining a pointed wit, quick humor, and a couple of Hollywood movies, Mr. Cristal walked the class through his experience negotiating with Palestinian militants who barricaded themselves in the Church of the Nativity in 2002 to avoid capture by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).