On April 8, attorney Gregory Belzley presented "Civil Rights of the Incarcerated." This first event of the University's recently formed, American Constitution Society chapter, was well attended.   Pictured at left:  Sean Donaldson, ACS Program Director, Gregory Belzley, and James Ficher, ACS President *Click on each of the photos for a larger image.
Sean Donaldson introduces Mr. Belzley.		Mr. Belzley takes questions from the audience.		Mr. Belzley meets with the founding members of the law school's ACS chapter.

Participating in the ABA’s Student Division Arbitration Competition is a rare opportunity to learn about and practice your arbitration skills as a student.  The team is now open for 2Ls to interview to join the team.  You will be awarded two credits for your participation.  You must be prepared to devote considerable preparation time and between two to four hours of practice time per week from the end of September through early November.  You will also need to do some light reading on arbitration over the summer so that we can hit the ground running when the problem is released in September. 

Most interviews will be held with Professor Levinson and Josh Speirs, one of the returning team members.  Lily Chan, the other team member, may also join the interviews.  Please be prepared to discuss 1) why you are interested in arbitration, 2) what courses you will be taking Fall semester, and 3) what other obligations you must devote time to.

We will be interviewing through finals.  Please sign up for a slot on the sheet posted outside room 285 (Professor Levinson’s office).  If the times do not work for you, please contact Professor Levinson to schedule another time to meet.

Participation is, of course, contingent on law school funding decisions.

Volunteers pose outside the law school prior to departing for their service projects. Scroll down for more photographs.

 

Nearly fifty volunteers gathered at the law school on a beautiful spring day to donate their time to three worthy causes. Among the participants were Harlan Scholars, alums, students, staff, faculty and their friends & families. Several of them had volunteered last year as well.

Many thanks to the following people for making the 2nd Annual Louisville Law Community Service Day such a success!

PROJECT COORDINATORS

Rexéna Napier (Student Animal Legal Defense Fund) – Animal Care Society

Jenna Johnston (Women’s Law Caucus) – Family Scholar House

Adam Watson (Enivronmental Law & Land Use Society) – Olmsted Parks Conservancy

PLANNING PARTICIPANTS & FACILITATORS

Students: Lauren Bean, Brian Bennett, Matt Birkhoffer, Kevin Graves, Jamie Izlar, Jenna Johnston, Melissa McHendrix, Rexéna Napier, Brian Pollock, Victor Revill, Luke Vance, and Adam Watson

Faculty & Staff: Nancy Baker, Jodi Duce, Ariana Levinson, Debra Reh, Jina Scinta, Keith Sealing, Virginia Smith, Barbara Thompson, and Kathy Urbach

VOLUNTEERS

Sierra Ashby, Lauren Bean, Justin Brewer, Daniel Jay Cameron, Scott Campbell & Beth Nahinsky, Ashley Crabtree, Bridget Coraz, Matthew Dutcher, Brian Fayman, Kevin & Lindsay Graves, Bartley Hagerman, Nick Hart, Ebert Haegele, Jamie Izlar, Guion Johnstone, Jenna Johnston, Jared Kelly, Courtney King, Forrest Kuhn, Arianna Levinson, Ashley Morden, Christopher McDavid, Melissa McHendrix, Rexéna Napier, Marilyn Osborn, Kaitlyn Patrick, Emily Peeler, Brian Pollock, Katie Reisz, Victor Revill, Laura Rothstein, Ben Silver, Virginia Smith, Victoria Steinbach, Nicole Tarrence, Vickie Tencer, Paige Thompson, Katherine Toms, Adam & Jenn Watson, Rebecca Weis, Becky Wimberg, and Boris Yelin

DONORS

The Law School ● Law Library ● LexisNexis ● Westlaw ● Kathy Bean ●  Scott Campbell ● Robin Harris ● Ariana Levinson ● Christopher McDavid  ● Kurt Metzmeier ● Jerome Neukirch ● Laura Rothstein  ● Virginia Smith ● Anonymous Donors

 

Volunteers work with the Olmsted Parks Convervancy to clean up debris from the winter ice storm in Iroquois Park.
Project Coordinator, Jenna Johnston	Family Scholar House Volunteers
Volunteers assemble gift bags for the Family Scholar House.
Project Coordinator, Rexéna Napier (center)	Animal Care Society Volunteers
Friendships blossom at the Animal Care Society.
Volunteers assist at the Animal Care Society.

More photos are publicly viewable at our Facebook group. Search for "University of Louisville Law School Annual Community Service Day Project".

	Congratulations to Ben Basil, winner of the 2009 First-Year Oral Advocacy Competition! Appellant, Ben Basil, and Appellee, Courtney Phelps, advanced from the semi-final rounds to compete in the final round. They were both commended by the judges for an exceptional performance.
Ben Basil	Courtney Phelps
Ben Basil and Courtney Phelps (seated)	Members of the audience
The Honorable Chief Judge Danny J. Boggs, Judge Ann O'Malley Shake, and Judge McKay Chauvin presided over the final round of arguments.

Congratulations to Courtney Phelps, Blake Nolan, Ben Basil and Whitney True for making it to the Final Four 1L Moot Court Competition.

This is the lineup:

Courtney Phelps  v.  Blake Nolan
Ben Basil  v.  Whitney True 

For details about the final round and the celebration planned following it, please click on this link: http://www.law.louisville.edu/node/3073

Due to the hard and enterprising work of Algeria Ford and Barry Dunn, a brand new event has been added to the law school calendar:  The 1L Oral Argument Competition.  

More than two dozen 1Ls have volunteered to participate in the competition. The final round, slated for 3:00 p.m. this Friday, will be argued in the Allen Courtroom before the following panel of jurists: Chief Judge Danny Boggs, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; Judge McKay Chauvin, Jefferson County Circuit Court; Judge Ann Shake, Jefferson County Circuit Court

The presence of students, faculty and staff will be greatly welcomed. A brief reception featuring our guests and 1L finalists will follow immediately in the Cox Lounge.   

Below is the moot court bracketing from the quarterfinals (today) through the final round on Friday.

We'd also like to recognize all the 1Ls who participated in the competition:

 

• Ben Basil
• Brian Bennett
• Matthew Birkhofer
• Nathan Chittick
• Jacob Davis
• Sean Donaldson
• Michael Gray
• Nicole Kersting
• Phil Lawson
• Eric Lowe
• Michael McKay
• Blake Nolan
• Marilyn Osborn
• Courtney Phelps
• Aaron Price
• Katie Reisz
• Jared Sawyer
• Daniel Schoenbaechler
• Beth Schroeder
• Zachary Springer
• Tommy Sturgeon
• Samantha Thomas
• Whitney True
• Jenny White

The American Constitution Society, a new organization at the Law School, is hosting its first Speaking Event on April 8 at noon, in room 175.  Attorney Gregory Belzley is a Pro Bono Attorney with Dinsmore & Shohl LLP.  He will be speaking on "Civil Rights of the Incarcerated."

We will also be holding executive board elections on April 14th for the fall term.  To stand for elections for the ACS executive board, you must join the national chapter. Membership can be obtained at www.acslaw.org/join.  Elections will be held in room 80 from 5-6 PM. 

ACS is a progressive-minded national legal organization.  As a charter member of the national organization, the American Constitution Society at Brandeis School of Law seeks to promote the mission of the American Constitution Society:

The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) promotes the vitality of the U.S. Constitution and the fundamental values it expresses: individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, access to justice, democracy and the rule of law.  These abiding principles are reflected in the vision of the Constitution’s framers and the wisdom of forward-looking leaders who have shaped our law throughout American history.  As a result of their efforts, the Constitution has retained its authority and relevance for each new generation.

The American Constitution Society embraces the progress our nation has made toward full embodiment of the Constitution’s core values. ACS believes that law can and should be a force for improving the lives of all people. We are revitalizing and transforming legal and policy debates in classrooms, courtrooms, legislatures and the media, and we are building a diverse and dynamic network of progressives committed to justice. Through these efforts, ACS will ensure that the institutions of American law reflect the highest values of our nation and serve the needs of its people.

James S. Fisher
University of Louisville, Brandeis School of Law

This is a final reminder that the 2nd Annual day of collective community service will take place on Saturday, April 4. All law students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate. Family and friends are also welcome.

We're now collecting donations for the Animal Care Society, Family Scholar House and Kentucky Foster Care & Special Needs Adoption Program. Please place your items in the bins in the Mosaic lobby. Don't forget to sign up there to register for a gift card.

Volunteers have three interesting and diverse projects to choose from again this year. The Student Animal Legal Defense Fund has made arrangements for an animal welfare project at the Animal Care Society, Louisville's only no-kill shelter; the Women's Law Caucus has arranged to create gift baskets for mothers at the Family Scholar House in preparation for their final exams; and the Environmental Law & Land Use Society has organized a clean-up project at Iroquois Park.

A fabulous array of door prizes will be awarded to volunteers who attend the kick-off party at 11 AM that morning.

For more details, see: 2009 Louisville Law Community Service Day.

Jeffrey Benedict, a first year law student, is one of three University of Louisville students & alums to receive a Critical Language Scholarship for Intensive Summer Institutes for 2009. Sponsored by the United States Department of State, the CLS program was launched in 2006 to offer intensive overseas study in critical need foreign languages.  Since the initiation of this program, the University of Louisville has received 8 Critical Language Scholarships. 

Jeffrey will use his CLS to study beginning Turkish.  As a former George Mitchell Scholar, Benedict earned an M.A. from the National University of Ireland Maynooth in Musicology with first class honours.  Benedict graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University in 2007 where he received numerous awards for his research on the practice of espionage by musicians throughout European history.  Benedict is currently a ROTC 2nd Lieutenant with a guaranteed place in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) upon completion of law school. 

Drew Haile and Luke Vance competed in the Wagner National Labor and Employment Law Moot Court competition last week.  They had little time to prepare several arguments that they had not expected to make.  Despite that set-back, their performance rapidly improved over three rounds.  By the final round, they performed quite well, receiving the following feedback from the justices.  Chief Justice Cerruti stated that they “did very well” with a “challenging argument” where every fact presents a “slippery slope.”  He complimented Luke’s deferential attitude and good eye contact.  He stated that Drew was “forceful, confident, and responsive to questions.”  Justice Cunningham agreed that both Drew and Luke had a “good tone” and complimented the way Luke scanned the bench when speaking, stating that “everyone should do that.”  Justice Eskter stated that Drew “addressed hypotheticals very effectively” demonstrating that he was able to “remove” himself from the “facts of the case.”  In sum, Justice Eskter concluded that Drew and Luke, as well as their opponents, were “all four more than qualified.”