Hey, Supreme Court buffs, think you can handicap the high court’s cases better than you can Packers games? If so, you might want to join the Premier Supreme Court Fantasy League. As detailed in this post on the WSJ Law Blog, participants gets points for accurately predicting not only the bottom-line outcome of cases, but also the breakdown of Justices on each side. Top point-gainer at the end of the term is declared Chief Justice.
Hat tip to 1L Timothy Shortess.
The U.S. Department of Education released the final rules Thursday for the high-stakes competition called the Race to the Top. That’s the $4.35 billion in grants to be given out in the next year to spur states to take major steps aimed at improving a host of aspects of schooling, including the quality of teachers and the quality of education options open to children, especially those in historically low performing communities.
How much is at stake? Included in the material was a list of how much each state could potentially receive. For Wisconsin, the figure was $150 million to $250 million.
It is unlikely Wisconsin actually will get that much. It appears there are some points where Wisconsin will score well (atmosphere for creating charter schools), and other points where Wisconsin will not do well (track record on closing achievement gaps, such as the one between white and black students).
On this Veterans Day we remember the service of so many in the armed forces and merchant marine. We are grateful for their public service and wish to support them in their return to civilian life. As we have been made all too aware, the sacrifices extend beyond the servicemembers to their families and communities.
Almost two years ago, we convened a group of servicemembers and veterans here at Marquette Law School to explore ways the Law School could support their service. Spearheaded by a district legal services attorney for the U.S. Coast Guard (which maintains an active base in Milwaukee), this committee grew to include officers and enlisted personnel from the Army, Air Force, Naval Reserve, and Wisconsin National Guard, as well as veterans. This committee alerted us to some of the legal challenges facing military personnel, their families, and veterans. For example, Judge Advocates General can provide advice to military personnel regarding civil legal matters, but they do not represent them in civilian courts. Sometimes a service member is not attached to a unit – either separated or in Individual Ready Reserve – and thus does not have easy access to a Unit JAG. Other times, JAG offices may be at a headquarters base hundreds of miles from their duty station and unfamiliar with local court rules. Similarly, while veterans receive a number of benefits through the county, state, and federal veterans administrations, access to legal counsel is not one of them.
Thus, with support from the State Bar of Wisconsin and the ABA, Marquette Law School launched SAVLAW: Servicemembers and Veterans Legal Assistance for Wisconsin.