In 2008, New York City's Rent Guidelines Board allowed landlords of rent-subsidized apartments to raise rents by 4.5 percent for one-year leases, and 8.5 percent for two-year leases. Last week, Justice Emily Jane Goodman of State Supreme Court in Manhattan, ruled in favor of City Council and advocates for New York’s lower-paying tenants, ruling that the rent increase was a "poor tax". Should the ruling stand — the city plans to appeal it — some 300,000 rent-stabilized tenants could receive rebates and small reductions in their rent.

Professor Stefan Krieger reports that “the ruling in that case was based directly on a Second Department decision in a Law Reform Advocacy Clinic case, NY Tenants & Neighbors Coalition v. Nassau County Rent Guidelines Board, 53 A.D.3d 550; 861 N.Y.S.2d 766 (2d Dept. 2008). The theory in our case was a new one and was developed by our students.”

The case is further discussed in the New York Times article, "Ruling Could Mean Lower Rents for 300,000."

Professor Hillary L. Burgess presented "Thank You for Adding Diversity, Now Conform: Understanding How Conversational Styles Can Impact Student Advising, Mentoring, and Classroom Participation" as a poster, sponsored by the Section on Minorities, at the AALS Annual conference. Professor Burgess also had a designated time to discuss the topic with interested members of the legal academy.

In her poster and presentation, Professor Burgess applied Deborah Tannen's work on conversational styles to teaching and learning in the law school. Professor Tannen had argued that when people with diverse conversational styles interact, they often misunderstand each other's conversational cues, and hence, misunderstand each other's meaning. Professor Burgess argued that these conversational differences can lead to significant, though unintended, discrimination for ethnic, gender, and regionally diverse law students when they interact with law professors. Professor Burgess further argued that law schools, and particularly law professors, have an affirmative duty to understand how conversational styles differ especially for ethnic, gender, and regional groups and to use this knowledge to mitigate even unintentional discrimination. Professor Burgess' article on this topic will be published in the Spring edition of The Law Teacher.

Professor Barbara J. Stark was a contributor and Senior Editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Human Rights, which has been awarded the prestigious 2010 Dartmouth Medal. Professor Stark contributed two articles on Women's Rights and The Economic Covenant.

The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) division of the American Library Association (ALA) presents this award annually for the creation of a reference work of outstanding quality and significance. It is the top award for a reference title, aside from any awards specific to the work’s field of study.

Professor Barbara J. Stark's article, Jam Tomorrow: Distributive Justice and the Limits of International Economic Law, has recently been published as the lead article in the 30th Anniversary Issue of the Boston College Third World Journal. Professor Stark's thesis in the Article is that even if the relatively modest objective of the Millennium Development Goals-- i.e., to halve the number of people subsisting on less than $1 a day by 2015-- is considered "distributive justice," it is not going to happen under the aegis of international economic law.

Professor Rose Cuison Villazor presented her paper, “Racially Inadmissible Spouses,” at Suffolk University Law School on January 25, 2010. Her paper conducts a legal historical analysis of how the federal immigration law's racial exclusion of Japanese during World War II restricted the ability of interracial couples to enjoy the rights and privileges of marriage. Portions of the paper will appear as a chapter in a forthcoming book, Loving v. Virginia: Rethinking Race, Sex and Marriage in a “Post-Racial” World, which will be published by Cambridge University Press in 2010. The presentation was part of Suffolk Law School’s Law and Society Speaker Series.

Professor Hillary L. Burgess co-edited and published the AALS Section of Academic Support Newsletter, The Learning Curve, with Professor Corie Rosen (ASU). Professor Burgess was invited to restore the publication after the publication was on hiatus for several years. Initial response to the call for articles was so overwhelming that Professors Burgess and Rosen were able to accept enough articles to create the first two editions. In the Fall edition, Professor Susan H. Joffe contributed a pivotal piece in the article about incorporating Academic Success and Legal Writing principles into doctrinal courses. The Spring edition, which focuses on providing effective feedback to students, will feature an article by Hofstra’s Professor J. Herbie DiFonzo.

Generally, The Learning Curve focuses on providing timely advice about counseling and advising students about legal analysis and the study of law. The publication also focuses on creating and developing successful Academic Success Programs. The edition was published in time for distribution at AALS with an enormous demand for and positive feedback about the newsletter.

On Thursday, January 21, 2010, Professor Andrew Schepard and two Child and Family Advocacy Fellows, Lauren Barth, class of 2011 and Beyza Killeen, class of 2010, did a joint presentation to the New York Interdisciplinary Forum on Family Law and Mental Health at the Forum’s monthly meeting. The presentation was on Consultant Conduct in Cases of Child Custody, a topic about which the Association of Family and Conciliation has established an interdisciplinary task force to which Lauren, Beyza and Professor Schepard serve as counsel. The Forum’s meeting was held at Phillips Nizer LLP, in Manhattan. The Forum is an interdisciplinary group of lawyers, judges, and mental health professionals involved in child custody issues.

Professor Amy R. Stein gave a presentation entitled “The Write Stuff: Tips for Effective Writing in the Real World” at the Nassau County Bar Association. Her presentation was part of a two-day Continuing Legal Education program offered by the Bar entitled “Bridging the Gap: From Classroom Theory to the Practice of Law.”

Professor Janet L. Dolgin was quoted in the following New York Times article.

A Legal Puzzle: Can a Baby Have Three Biological Parents?
by Adam Cohen
January 25, 2010

EXCERPT:

The problem, as Janet Dolgin, a Hofstra Law School professor, wrote in the Akron Law Review, is that legal thinking is deeply divided over how to judge what makes a family.

Since the 1960s, there has been a shift toward recognizing people’s intent in creating familial relationships, as reflected in the rise of no-fault divorce, prenuptial agreements and civil unions. But when it comes to deciding parenthood, courts remain deeply influenced by biology, even when it clashes with intent.

Professor Daniel J.H. Greenwood's Op-Ed, "Beyond Citizens United: The Solution", was featured on the American Constitution Society Blog. Professor Greenwood's Op-Ed is his reflection on an amicus brief he co-authored in the case for American Independent Business Alliance. The blog Economist's View also commented on Professor Greenwood's Op-Ed in a post entitled, "Corporations are People Too?"

On Tuesday, February 9, 2010, Professor James Sample will be speaking at an exclusive educational symposium entitled, "Options for an Independent Judiciary in Michigan." The event is hosted by Wayne State University School of Law and the American Board of Trial Advocates.

This nonpartisan, invite-only symposium will explore options for election/selection that promote an independent judiciary in Michigan. It will present various potential reforms to the process of electing or selecting Michigan's justices in 2020 and beyond.

Retired U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will be the keynote speaker. Among the other speakers are retired Colorado Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Kourlis, Seth Andersen of the American Judicature Society, Rich Robinson of the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, Jesse Rutledge of the National Center for State Courts, Dr. Daryl Yost of the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center and Robert Sedler of Wayne Law.

Professor Hillary Burgess presented on a panel at AALS. Professor Burgess was selected from over forty proposals to present her topic, Designing Effective and Efficient Peer Exercises, with Susan Keller (Western State). The presentation focused on how to effectively design peer exercises to create meaningful learning and feedback for students. In her presentation, Professor Burgess emphasized the benefit to law professors of using peer exercises to cover more topics in more detail and depth, provide pedagogically sound methods of giving students feedback throughout the semester, all while not increasing a professor’s grading responsibilities. The objective of the presentation was to give professors teaching tools for meeting the ABA’s standards encouraging more feedback and outcome measurements.

With Professor Keller, Professor Burgess will be co-authoring and submitting this presentation for consideration of inclusion in the Techniques for Teaching 2 book, co-authored by Steve Friedland (Elon), Sophie M. Sparrow (Franklin Pierce), Gerald Hess (Gonzaga), and Michael Hunter Schwartz (Washburn). Also on the panel were moderators Emily Randon (UC Davis), Robin Boyle (St. John’s), and Kathy Garcia (LaVerne), co presenters Barbara Glesner-Fines (UMKC), Sophie Sparrow (Frankline Pierce), Barbara McFarland (Chase), and Tonya Washington (Georgia State).

Professor Alafair S. Burke presented her paper, “Prosecutorial Agnosticism,” at the Criminal Justice Section of the American Association of Law Schools’ Annual Meeting. The paper was selected based on blind peer review for a panel entitled, “Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology and the Criminal Justice System.”

Professor Camille Nelson has been selected to receive a 2010 Faculty Diversity Research and Curriculum Development Grant for her proposal on “development of a law school seminar to address the pressing issues of diversity within the legal profession, and the law school specifically”.

On Wednesday, January 27, 2010, Professor John DeWitt Gregory will be a speaker at the Committee on Animals and the Law Annual Meeting Program. Professor Gregory's speech is entitled, "Pet Custody: A Distortion of Language and the Law". The event is being held at the New York Hilton from 1:30 - 5 p.m. The program is intended for both experienced and newly admitted attorneys and will examine a range of cutting-edge issues in the field of animal law.

Professor Barbara S. Barron recently returned from Japan after teaching a trial advocacy program for the Osaka Bar Association. Professor Barron was one of four American lawyers who taught in the second annual Osaka program designed to teach criminal defense attorneys American trial advocacy. She taught in the first Osaka program as well. This was her fourth such trip to Japan. Forty lawyers took the program; an additional 100 observed each teaching session.

During the program, Professor Barron gave two presentations, "Persuading the Jury: Using Storytelling in Opening Statements" and "Convincing the Jury: The Art of Persuasion in Closing Statements".

In developing and giving her presentation, Professor Barron enjoyed integrating a historical event that has become one of the most renowned Kabuki plays in order to illustrate the American advocacy concepts of storytelling and persuasion.

Professor I. Bennett Capers was elected Program Chair of the AALS Section on Law and the Humanities at this year’s AALS Annual Meeting.

Professors J. Herbie DiFonzo and Andrew Schepard were recognized by Lexis/Nexis and their peers for leading the transformation of legal education for the 21st Century.

Professor Norman I. Silber was elected to the position of President-elect of the Section on Nonprofit and Philanthropy at the American Association of Law Schools’ Annual Meeting.

Professor Jennifer Gundlach presented on the Mental Health & the Law Section’s Panel at the American Association of Law Schools’ Annual Meeting. The panel was entitled, “Law Students with Mental Health and Substance Abuse Problems: Protecting the Public and the Individual.” Professor Gundlach was also elected to the Section’s Executive Committee.

Professor Ashira Ostrow and Dean of Albany Law School’s Government Law Center, Patricia Salkin’s article, "Cooperative Federalism and Wind: A New Framework for Sustainability” has been highlighted in a post on the Energy Collective Blog.

Professor I. Bennett Capers was recently elected Secretary of the AALS Section on Criminal Justice. It is a one-year position.

On Thursday, January 7, 2010, Dean and Professor of Law Nora V. Demleitner was a panelist for the AALS Section of Institutional Advancement's plenary on "Managing Expectations, Setting Goals, Stretching Leaner Budgets: A Conversation with the Deans." Joining Dean Demleitner on the panel were Michael Schill, the Dean at Chicago's Law School, and the heads of development at Chicago and Santa Clara Law School, respectively.

Professor Eric M. Freedman was quoted in the following New York Times article.

Court Backs War Powers Over Rights of Detainees
by John Schwartz
January 5, 2010

EXCERPT:

Eric M. Freedman, a law professor at Hofstra University and an expert in habeas cases, said the appeals court had “gone out of its way to poke a stick in the eye of the Supreme Court” by taking a view that expands government power beyond the limits laid out in decisions like Boumediene.

Professor Eric M. Freedman was quoted in the following New York Times article.

Court Upholds Conviction in 9/11 Case
January 4, 2010

EXCERPT:

The decision undercuts arguments against the coming trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the self-described planner of the attacks, said Eric M. Freedman, a Hofstra University law professor.

“This outcome,” Professor Freedman said, “is just one more factual nail in the coffin of the claim that terrorism cases cannot be prosecuted successfully before American juries in open criminal courts.”