Diversity Forum Series: Keys to the Door: ENDA, Transgender Indentity, and Community - September 29, 2009

Dean Chen opens the program.
Moderator, Lucas Vance introduces the panel.			Brian Buford, Director of LGBT Services
Gil Reyes		Dawn Wilson		Morgan Ransdell

The following 20 first-year students successfully submitted an Exam4 practice test by 5:00 PM EDT, Monday, September 28, and their names were drawn at random to receive a free ticket, compliments of Professor Kurt "Wolfman" Metzmeier, to Lawlapalooza, Thursday, October 1, at the Phoenix Hill Tavern:

1. Batey, Nathan
2. Climer, Jeremy
3. Donahue, Natalie
4. Englert, Whitney
5. Esser, Brian
6. Fort, Nathan
7. Garland, Todd
8. Humphrey, Natalie
9. Kahn, Melanie
10. Leeper, Natalie
11. Lewis, Mookie
12. Murray, George
13. Pickett, Melinda
14. Potter, Sarah
15. Simonson, Julie
16. Smith, Natalie
17. Spalding, John
18. Theiss, James
19. Turner, Chad
20. Vinsel, Nancy

The tickets will be placed in your mailboxes this afternoon (Tuesday, September 29).  Congratulations to all, and many thanks to Professor Metzmeier!

Join us at the Ekstrom Library east entrance for the annual Banned Books Week Read-in which will be held Monday to Wednesday, September 28-30, from 11 AM - 1 PM  Faculty, staff, and students will read aloud from their favorite challenged books. An informational exhibit will also be on display. Join us in celebrating the freedom to read!

• Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008
• Banned and Challenged Classics Among the Top 100 Novels of the 20^th Century

University of Louisville officials unveiled the renovated Belknap Campus oval at a press conference September 22, 2009.

The oval has been under reconstruction since 2007. The project includes a cascading fountain, lighting, landscaping and safety features, such as sidewalks, curbs and brickpavers. It was paid for by Transportation Enhancements Program funding through the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and a grant from the University of Louisville Foundation.

• Oval renovations complete with turning on of fountain (UofL, 9/22/09)
• Dedication video on YouTube

 

 

 

On September 22, the United States Postal Service released a series of four new postage stamps commemmorating great United States Supreme Court Justices, including one featuring the law school's namesake Louis D. Brandeis.  The other honorees are William Brennan,  Felix Frankfurter, and Joseph Story.  A story in Legal Times discusses the offering and notes that Thurgood Marshall's son will be at the dedication, along with Chief Justice John Roberts. 

The USPS site provides this mini-biography of Brandeis: “Louis D. Brandeis was the associate justice most responsible for helping the Supreme Court shape the tools it needed to interpret the Constitution in light of the sociological and economic conditions of the 20th century. “If we would guide by the light of reason,” he once exhorted his colleagues, “we must let our minds be bold.” A progressive and champion of reform, Brandeis devoted his life to social justice. He defended the right of every citizen to speak freely, and his groundbreaking conception of the right to privacy continues to impact legal thought today.”

Both Professor Kurt X. Metzmeier and Professor Scott Campbell contributed to this story. More photos and commentary are available at each of their blogs.

The United States Constitution is not only the basic law of the United States. It has also inspired politicians, philosophers, and ordinary people around the world. Scholars have devoted intense attention to the Constitution, its interpretation by the Supreme Court of the United States, and its impact on the American people.

Constitutional law forms an important part of the Law School's curriculum and research agenda. University of Louisville faculty members have devoted considerable attention to the Constitution, its interpretation, and its social meaning. Lawyers with diverse practices and specializations share a background in constitutional law, which in turn unites the practicing bar in a common civil culture based on the Constitution and its role in American history and politics.

The Law School therefore takes great pride in presenting an annual commemoration of Constitution Day on behalf of the entire University of Louisville. This year's program consists of two video presentations. In the first video, Law School faculty discuss the appointment of Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Professors Laura Rothstein, Judith Fischer, Luke Milligan, Samuel Marcosson, and Cedric Merlin Powell and Dean Jim Chen, joined by Professor John McGinnis of the Northwestern University School of Law, ponder the significance of Justice Sotomayor's arrival on the nation's highest court. In the second video, Professor Joseph Tomain presents Fleeting Expletives and the Shadow of the First Amendment.

We invite other institutions, throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky and elsewhere, to link to this page and to use its resources in their efforts to commemorate Constitution Day. In addition, we invite students, graduates, and friends of the Law School and of the University of Louisville at large to treat this page as a standing guide to constitutional law. The resources section of this page includes a 21-question constitutional scavenger hunt and a photo gallery depicting constitutional controversies throughout American history.

Finally, we are pleased to provide archives of the Law School's Constitution Day programs from 2008 and 2007.

The law school is prominently featured in the September 2009 issue of Louisville Bar Briefs, a publication of the Louisville Bar Association. It contains an update about the law clinic, a summary of the library's prized collections, a lovely piece by Jim Chen, "Rhapsody in Red and Black", and an outstanding article by Joshua A. Spiers (3L), "Police-Referred Mediation: Filling the Void Between Police Authority and the Court Room". 

Drop by the law library to view a copy of the publication.

Several proceedings from the Second Annual Conference on Innovation and Communication Law are now available online. More will be added as they are received.

The Second Annual Conference on Innovation and Communication Law, hosted this year by the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, came to a successful close on Saturday, August 22. The two-day conference featured over 50 speakers from four different continents around the world and from local law firms, discussing the role intellectual property and communications law play in the dissemination of information. Professors Cross and Smith, the faculty sponsors for the conference, want to thank everyone involved for their hard work which helped make the conference such a success. They would particularly like to thank Becky Wenning and Vickie Tencer for their assistance in planning and coordinating everything from the logistics of bringing in the speakers to arranging the event at the Marriott; and Jim Becker and Joe Leitsch for ensuring that the technology worked smoothly. They would also like to thank the many students involved in the conference as well, including Mike Swansburg, Mari-Elise Gates and Brian Stempian. None of this would have been possible without everyone's hard work. Well done and thank you!  ~Lars Smith

The Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA), International Law Society (ILS) and the Latin American Law Student Association (LALSA) are gathering donations for the Kentucky Refugee Ministries. Collection bins will be available in the lobby until November 1.

The following items are needed: 

• Blankets
• Pillows
• Miscellaneous bedding (sheets, pillow cases, ect), especially twin bedding
• Pots and Pans
• Toiletries (adult toothbrushes, deodorant, body soap, toothpastes, feminine hygiene products)
• Kitchen Utensils (can openers especially)

Anything donated can be either new or gently-used. The only thing KRM is asking is if items donated are gently used, is that they be clearly labeled (for example, if sheets are donated, please label what size/type, such as twin flat sheet or queen fitted sheet).

Keys to the Door: ENDA, Transgender Identity, and Community
September 29, 2009, 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM, Room 275

Sponsored by the Diversity Committee and the Lambda Law Caucus, with the following co-sponsors: ACLU of KY, ACS, BLSA, Fairness Campaign, Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, SBA, UofL LGBT Services Office.

A  three-person panel will discuss ENDA generally, the case for inclusion of transgender people in ENDA, and the politics of ENDA.  

This event is part of the UofL Pride Week celebration and will include a light lunch from Expressions of You (available at 11:30 AM).