Law School News …
Law School News …
MULTIMEDIA NEWS OFFERINGS @ www.law.virginia.edu/news Morality of Criminal Law Florida State University law professor Dan Markel discussed the role of morality in criminal law during the inaugural Virginia Journal of Criminal Law symposium. Judicial Inactivism Nadine Strossen, former president of the American Civil Liberties Union, delivered the 13th annual Henry J. Abraham Distinguished Lecture. CLS v. Martinez: When Fundamental Rights Collide Professor Douglas Laycock joined Kim Colby, counsel for the Christian Legal Society, and Scott Ballenger ’96, counsel for Martinez, to discuss the recent Supreme Court case CLS v. Martinez, in which the Court held that a public college does not violate the First Amendment by refusing to officially recognize a student organization. Susan Wormington
Citizens United Impact on 2010 Elections Panelists Marc Elias, former general counsel to the John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign; Trevor Potter ’82 , former general counsel to the John McCain 2008 presidential campaign; and John Samples, director of the Center for Representative Government at the Cato Institute, discuss the impact of the Citizens United decision on 2010 elections. Economic Uncertainty and the Role of the Courts Panelists Dean Paul Mahoney and Professor Paul Stephan ’77 joined Professor Todd Zywicki of George Mason University School of Law for a panel discussion on the role of the courts in an uncertain economic climate as part of the Federalist Society’s 30th Annual Student Symposium.
Susan Worthington
Are Bailouts Inevitable? Dean Paul Mahoney and Randall Guynn ’84, head of Davis Polk’s Financial Institutions Group, debate the inevitability of bailouts. Friendly, J. Dissenting Judge Michael Boudin delivered the McCorkle Lecture, “Friendly, J. Dissenting.”
DeMaurice Smith ’89 (video available at: http://bit.ly/hdv3mk)
The Role of Security Forces in Promoting Rule of Law Panelists Colette Rausch, Lt. Comm. John B. Reese, and Professor Thomas Nachbar discussed the role of security forces in promoting the rule of law at the J.B. Moore Society of International Law’s 60th Anniversary symposium. Professor John Setear moderated.
Owners v. Players | Mary Wood
U.S. Attorney: Public Service Offers Chance to Make Impact Public service offers a kind of satisfaction that only comes from working for the greater good, says U.S. Attorney Timothy Heaphy ’91. Law Should Encourage Marriage, Sears Says American law and public policy must encourage marriage, former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears LL.M. ’95 said. Nicholson Named 10th Powell Public Service Fellow Third-year Peggy Nicholson is the 10th Powell Fellow, an honor that will fund her work on behalf of children in the juvenile justice system in North Carolina. Harris, Roth Receive Skadden and Independence Foundation Fellowships Two third-year students have been named recipients of prestigious, nationally competitive public service law fellowships. Two receive equal Justice Works Fellowships Two third-years will advocate for children’s education rights. http://bit.ly/hpN503
12 UVA Lawyer / Spring 2011
NFL Players Want Equitable Share Editor’s Note: At press time, the N.F.L. and its players were ordered back to mediation.
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FL players turned down the “worst deal in professional sports” last month and are now bearing the brunt of the owners’ lockout strategy, said NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith ’89 during a talk at the Darden School of Business on March 31. When negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement between NFL players and owners broke down in March, Smith and the players moved to decertify the
union and filed an injunction in federal district court in Minnesota to stop the lockout imposed by team owners. “Over the 15 days, we met with the owners for probably less than seven hours,” Smith said. The decision to decertify as a labor union “was necessary.” “If you root for the players and we win the injunction, we have football. If the owners win, we don’t,” Smith told a crowded Abbott Auditorium. “This work stoppage that the owners chose is a lockout that they chose— not the players.” In the meantime, 1,900 players, former players, and their families are without health insurance and the game they love “has been taken away from them,” he said. Although the conflict between the two parties has been contentious, “that’s the nature of business sometimes,” Smith said. Smith, who was elected executive director
of the association in 2009 after a 26-year term by former NFL player Gene Upshaw, said he knew going into the role that a lockout was likely and that it would call for a “different leadership model.” During his presentation Smith calculated the deal being offered to players on a white board display. The NFL has weathered the recession with flying colors, enjoying $9 billion in revenue two years ago. Currently players get a 50 percent share of revenue, but under the new owners’ proposal, “By the time we got to the 15th year of a deal, you could see players getting shares of revenue that were in the 30-percent range,” he said. Smith jotted “NOT GOOD!” on the board, earning chuckles from the audience. Smith pointed to a former player in the audience who said he had 19 screws in his body due to injuries.
UVA Lawyer / Spring 2011 13