Vanderbilt’s Professor Brian T. Fitzpatrick and UF Law Visiting Professor Darren Hutchinson discuss the past, present and future of affirmative action at UF Law on Feb. 20. The discussion was hosted by the Federalist Society and the Black Law Students Association. (Photo by Haley Stracher)

By Matt Walker
Senior writer

During an event co-sponsored by the UF Black Law Students Association and the UF Federalist Society last Wednesday, it quickly became evident that there are many considerations to be made in the debate over the merits and effectiveness of affirmative action in the university admissions process.

“Fisher v. University of Texas: The Past, Present, and Future of Affirmative Action in Higher Education,” featured Brian T. Fitzpatrick of Vanderbilt Law School and Darren Hutchinson, of American University and current visiting professor at UF Law discussing the pros and cons of affirmative action. UF Law Professor John Stinneford moderated the panel.

Currently before the Supreme Court, the case of Fisher v. University of Texas deals with a white plaintiff who was denied admission to the University of Texas based on a number of considerations, including race. The court will be determining if the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment allows for the consideration of race in the University of Texas’ decision. Less than 10 years ago, the court ruled that race could be a consideration in Grutter v. Bollinger.

The discussion began by looking back at the history of affirmative action and how it may or may not have benefitted those who have been impacted by it.

“To the extent affirmative action has helped to open doors to colleges and universities, given what we know about education and how it transforms income over time, transforms self, transforms employability over time, it definitely has been something that’s been beneficial,” Hutchinson said.

Fitzpatrick was less sure of the positive effects of affirmative action, saying the jury is still out.

“There have now been some very rigorous, very professional, empirical studies on the consequences of affirmative action in education that cast great doubt on whether racial preferences actually benefit the very people they are intended to benefit,” he said.

Fitzpatrick said the studies suggest there would be more African-America lawyers today if affirmative action did not exist, because the practice winds up allowing some students into programs above their credentials, which results in higher dropout rates and lower bar passage rates.

The panelists also discussed their thoughts on how the Supreme Court will rule on Fisher case.

Fitzpatrick said he thinks the court will strike down the University of Texas affirmative action program for pragmatic reasons, saying the university has not proven that it needs that level of diversity to accomplish particular educational benefits.

Hutchinson said he thinks the question might come down to looking at what the state of Texas needs to do to deliver quality education to all of its students. He said although he hates predicting the outcomes of cases, he doesn’t “think they’ll say affirmative action is unconstitutional.”

The speakers touched on other issues related to affirmative action as well, including the question of where Asians fit in with affirmative action, and how Texas is now a state where the majority of the population are racial minorities.

Fitzpatrick joined Vanderbilt’s law faculty in 2007 as an associate professor after serving as the John M. Olin Fellow at New York University School of Law. He received the Hall-Hartman Outstanding Professor Award which recognizes excellence in classroom teaching for his Civil Procedure course for the 2008-09 academic year.

Hutchinson has written extensively on issues related to Constitutional Law, Critical Race Theory, Law and Sexuality, and social identity theory. His numerous publications have appeared in many journals including: the Cornell Law Review, the UCLA Law Review, the Michigan Journal of Race and Law, the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, and the Journal of Law and Inequality among others. Hutchinson also authors Dissenting Justice, which is a blog related to law and politics.

Former Gov. Buddy MacKay (JD 61), center, and his wife Anne speak Feb. 12 to UF Levin College of Law Professor Jon Mills (JD 72), UF Law students Vivek Babbar (3L), LL.M. candidate Alexis Segal and Chelsea Sims (3L) during a fundraiser for a UF Law environmental fellowship. The fundraiser was held at Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell in downtown Orlando. (Photo by Richard Goldstein)

By Richard Goldstein

At the behest of a who’s who of Florida politicians, the foyer of Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell in downtown Orlando was packed with 70 people for an evening fundraiser.

The crowd gathered on behalf of UF Law students and in honor of the “defender of the Everglades.” Friends and colleagues said Thom Rumberger devoted much of his career fighting on behalf of the Florida environment.

Former Gov. Buddy MacKay (JD 61) and his wife Anne mingled in the crowd Feb. 12, and MacKay, who was Rumberger’ UF Law schoolmate, was just one of several prominent figures lending their names to the goal of raising $300,000 for environmental law scholarships. Others include former Gov. Charlie Crist, former Attorney General Bill McCollum (JD 68), former Comptroller and gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink, and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson.

The law firm and UF Law are spearheading the drive to endow the E. Thom Rumberger Everglades Foundation Fellowship Program.

“This fellowship celebrates three of Thom’s favorite passions: The Everglades, the University of Florida Law School and the law itself,” Frank Sheppard, managing partner of Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell, told the crowd.

Jon Mills (JD 72), a UF Law professor and director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility, worked with Rumberger on landmark environmental and constitutional cases.

“We’re going to have a permanent legacy of students who represent the kind of principled commitment and integrity that Thom Rumberger represented,” Mills said. “So exhibits one, two and three, please step forward.”

UF Law students Chelsea Sims (3L), Vivic Babar (3L) and LL.M. student Alexis Segal squeezed to the front of the room. These are the type of students who will benefit from the fellowship, Mills said.

Sims, from Bevard County, is working on a Conservation Clinic project securing permits to salvage tires damaging endangered corals off the coast of Fort Lauderdale.

Babar, from Lake Mary, works with UF Law Conservation Clinic clients drafting legislation for a noticed general permit for oyster reef restoration and who participated in UF Law’s three-week course on South Florida ecosystems in the Everglades.

Segal is seeking an LL.M. in environmental and land use law. She launched the Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper in January 2011. It’s a nonprofit devoted to protecting, conserving and enhancing the water quality of Biscayne Bay and its surrounding watershed. Segal is a Climate Institute Fellow who works with the UF Law Conservation Clinic to assist a Bahamian nonprofit to establish a marine reserve zone and research facility in Long Island, Bahamas.

“What this fellowship will do is create the opportunity for students to work in the public interest areas, Everglades restoration in particular … in order to build a career,” explained UF Law Dean Robert Jerry. “I promise you that we will use your investment in this fellowship most wisely and the future returns on this investment will be wonderful.”

Eric Eikenberg, executive director of the Everglades Foundation, noted Rumberger’s long involvement with environmental conservation and encouraged everyone in the room to call elected representatives on behalf of pro-Everglades environmental policy.

“We need to ensure that in these tight budget times the commitment to conservation remains strong,” Eikenberg said.

Debbie Rumberger called the scholarship an apt send off for her late husband.

“This is such a fitting legacy for him and on behalf of the family,” she said. “I want to thank you from the bottom of our heart.”

To donate to the E. Thom Rumberger Everglades Foundation Fellowship Program go to www.uff.ufl.edu/appeals/Rumberger.

Lauren Hannahs, the Director of LGBT Affairs at UF, speaks about relevant issues in the LGBTQ community during the Gator Allies program hosted by the Diversity and Community Relations Committee and OUTLaw at UF law on Feb. 13. (Photo by Haley Stracher)

By Francie Weinberg
Student writer

Lauren “LB” Hannahs came to the University of Florida Levin College of Law to play games and lead a lively presentation about acceptance and political correctness of the gay community. Sponsored by the Diversity and Community Relations Committee and OUTLaw, UF Law’s gay-straight alliance, the Feb. 13 Gator Allies program taught students to ‘chomp out queerphobia.’

Hannahs, the director of LGBT affairs at the University of Florida, uses Gator Allies as an educational opportunity that focuses on issues that affect the LGBTQ community, while offering the opportunity to engage with the question, what does it mean to be an ally to the LGBTQ community? The program is designed to provide participants with increased awareness and understanding of current LGBTQ issues and history, further understanding of heteronormativity and homophobia and how it affects everyone and skills and resources in being an ally across multiple contexts and communities.

“I think a lot of times when it comes to LGBT issues, people don’t really know what things are OK to say and what are not OK to say,” Hannahs said. “People feel like they’re offending someone or they’re in the wrong setting. This is an opportunity for us to figure out what’s important. Let’s leave all the PC at the door.”

Hannahs had students and faculty name stereotypes of people in the LGBT community and then worked to help everyone understand why all of these stereotypes were wrong. They also played a game in which they matched up terms with their meanings, leaving many confused and overwhelmed.

“This is surprisingly difficult, right?” Hannahs asked. “If you’re feeling overwhelmed, we’re doing our job. When it comes to LGBT issues and gender and sexuality, it’s not very clean-cut.”

Hannahs serves as a beacon for the entire LGBT community in the North-Central Florida community. The lack of education about LGBT issues in public schools, as well as the fact that only about 200 college campuses in the nation have positions like hers, is one of her biggest concerns.

“Our education about the possibility of gender and sexuality being more than man, woman, straight, not straight, is difficult for us to even think about,” Hannahs said. “If your brain hurts, you’re good.”

UF and UF Law have resources available for those who may be struggling with academic stress, personal issues or harassment or bullying. For more information visit http://www.law.ufl.edu/student-affairs/additional-information/have-a-problem-we-can-help for where to seek the best help for your situation.

More than a year after the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, many legal, social and cultural questions raised by the case are still being discussed across the country. The Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations will analyze a number of these questions during the 10^th annual CSRRR Spring Lecture, which will bring together experts from nine different departments at UF along with keynote speaker, New York Times op-ed columnist Charles Blow.

“At Close Range: The Curious Case of Trayvon Martin,” is March 20 at the University of Florida Levin College of Law in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180. The panel presentations will be from 9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and Blow’s keynote lecture will be from noon – 1:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and law school parking restrictions will be lifted in the green lots.

The panels will look at a wide variety of issues raised by the case, from a multitude of academic perspectives.  Some of the featured panels include “Jim Crow Riding High: The 21^st Century Assault on African-American Voting Rights in Florida,” “Half-Baked: Weed, Race and the Demonization of Trayvon Martin,” and “Racial Profiling, Security and Human Rights.”

“The Trayvon Martin case is a social touchstone precisely because it serves up topics we’re uncomfortable talking about in public, including race, crime, policing, interracial crime, use of deadly force, black crime victims, Southern race relations, media representations of race, and gun control,” said Katheryn Russell-Brown, director of the CSRRR and Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law. “The case offers an important opportunity for us to learn about, discuss and debate these myriad and overlapping issues. Our spring lecture event will contribute to the national discussion of the case and emphasize policy recommendations.”

The departments of political science; health services; philosophy; sociology, criminology and law; journalism and communications; history; English; anthropology, and African-American studies will all be represented. The academic papers, which comprise the basis for the panel discussions, will be compiled for the first installment in a new series in collaboration with UF Law’s Lawton Chiles Legal Information Center. The panel agendas and abstracts for the papers can be seen in the Collections of the UF Law Scholarship Repository at, http://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/csrrr_events/10thspringlecture/panels/. For more information regarding the spring lecture, please visit the CSRRR homepage, http://www.law.ufl.edu/academics/centers/csrrr.

The University of Florida Levin College of Law’s CSRRR is committed to fostering communities of dialogue on race. The center creates and supports programs designed to enhance race-related curriculum development for faculty, staff and students in collegiate and professional schools. Of the five U.S. law schools with race centers, the CSRRR is uniquely focused on curriculum development.

About Charles Blow

After graduating cum laude from Grambling State University, keynote speaker Blow joined The New York Times in 1994 as a graphics editor and quickly became the paper’s graphics director, a position he held for nine years. The Louisiana native went on to become the paper’s design director for news before leaving in 2006 to become the art director of National Geographic Magazine.

Blow often appears on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, Starting Point and AC360. He has also appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, the Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell and Hardball with Chris Matthews, Fox News’ Fox and Friends, the BBC and Al Jazeera, as well as numerous radio programs.

Professor Shani King is looking for a research assistant for a short-term project with the potential for more work in the future. Interdisciplinary work is a plus, as the project involves law, history, sociology, and political science. Of particular interest are individuals who have expertise in critical legal studies, organizational, structural and institutional discrimination, and LGBT legal studies. Submit a resume and cover letter and the name of two references (preferably one of whom is a UF law professor) to kings@law.ufl.edu.

Florida Gubernatorial Fellowship program applications due March 8

The director of the Florida Gubernatorial Fellowship program was on campus last week to recruit UF Law students. UF Law students have been strongly represented in this selective and non-partisan program over the past few years. Whitney Smith, a 3L, is currently serving as a Gubernatorial Fellow, and over the past three years, four UF Law students have been selected as Gubernatorial Fellows.

In addition to the professional and networking opportunities, fellows receive a tuition waiver for the year they serve in Tallahassee.

Students can visit www.floridafellows.com to learn about the expectations and requirements of the program, as well as read testimonials from alumni. Interested students must apply online.

Applications are due by Friday, March 8. The fellowship will follow the university calendar starting in August 2013 and ending in May 2014. The governor’s screening and selection committee will announce the program participants in June.

Public Justice essay contest deadline on Thursday, awards $5,000 to winner

Public Justice is holding its annual Hogan/Smoger Access to Justice Essay Contest, which gives $5,000 to the winner. The intent-to-enter deadline has been extended to Thursday to give students who may not have known about the contest initially or missed the January deadline a chance to enter. This year’s topic is “Is Democracy For Sale? Have Citizens United’s holdings run amok? Legal challenges left to Super Pacs? Can funding disclosure be required?”

The winner of the essay contest will receive $5,000, a free 2013 Public Justice Foundation Student Membership, and the essay will be featured on the Public Justice website and in the nationally disseminated Public Justice newsletter. The contest is open to all law students who are currently enrolled in a U.S. accredited law school. The essay submission deadline is March 31.

If you have any questions about the essay contest, contact Cassandra Goings at cgoings@publicjustice.net or 202-797-8600.

Keith Fernandez was an invited guest of the University of Miami’s Government Affairs Office and the Romney campaign in an election series event in September 2012. (Photo courtesy of Keith Fernandez)

By Jenna Box
Student writer

The Fernandez family has come full circle.

It started with their days in Cuba – where Keith Fernandez’s grandparents Miguel and Eloisa Fernandez received only an elementary education – to the present day, where Keith Fernandez will graduate with his juris doctorate from UF Law in May.

As if completing law school is not enough, the 25-year-old 3L who is currently studying away at Florida International University was featured in a video at a Cuban-American Bar Association Gala Feb. 2. He has received two scholarships from the organization during his time in law school.

The yearly CABA gala raises money for the Cuban American Bar Foundation, which provides scholarships and mentors to worthy law students throughout Florida.

“The Cuban American Bar Foundation has been instrumental in my law school career,” Fernandez said in the video presented at the gala. “And mentorship has even, just kind of, sweetened the deal.”

When two of Fernandez’s friends approached him about an email concerning the foundation’s scholarship opportunities he applied. In the application, he said he worked hard to make his passion known about advocating for human rights in his grandparents’ homeland.

Throughout Fernandez’s time at UF Law, he participated in the Latino/a Law Student Association and advocated for human rights in Cuba. He also co-authored a petition, which garnered national attention, that urged the Pope to meet with civil society leaders during his visit to Cuba in 2012.

He said UF Law makes all students feel welcome on campus and empowers them to pursue their goals

“The Gator Nation gave me the tools I needed to continue to advocate for human rights on the island,” Fernandez said.

He also attributed his success to his mentors.

One mentor, Marco Leyte-Vidal, attorney-at-law, said his mentee’s personal and political dedication to the Cuban cause was outstanding. Leyte-Vidal said Keith Fernandez’s performance as a Gator in and out of the classroom made him proud.

“It is students like Keith who give me faith in our future. His dedication to the profession of law and our community is inspiring,” Bertila Soto, chief circuit judge of Florida’s 11th Circuit, wrote in an email. “He is truly an asset to our community and our profession!”

Fernandez said he just hopes all of his hard work is a fitting tribute to his grandparents, who gave up their lives in Cuba to give him and their other grandchildren the opportunity to move from a working-class family to professional careers.

Professor Michael W. Lewis, Ohio Northern University professor and graduate from U.S. Navy Top Gun flight school, talks about the legality of target killings carried out by drone strikes at the Federalist Society’s “The Constitutionality of Drone Strikes and Targeted Killings” lecture at UF Law on Feb. 13. (Photo by Haley Stracher)

By Jenna Box
Student writer

From pulling the trigger on the battlefield to pushing a button behind a computer screen, the development of drone use is a fiery subject.

The topic sparked discussion among UF Law scholars of the Federalist Society Feb. 13 in Room 285C.

The talk was led by veteran and professor Michael W. Lewis of Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law and commented on by Winston Nagan, UF Law’s Samuel T. Dell Research Scholar Professor of Law.

Lewis addressed common preconceived notions about drones and discussed how international law regulates the scope of where and when they are allowed to be used.

“The one misconception that I hear repeated again and again and again is the sort of PlayStation mentality that drones supposedly provide: You’re just playing a video game, you are killing people from 8,000 miles away, and you’re not at risk. It makes war easy,” Lewis said.

In fact, drone operators suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder like their counterparts on the battlefield, he said.

Although a Special Forces soldier may kill someone up close and personal, he said, the soldier doesn’t know the person he is killing. For days, the drone operator follows a target and sees him come home and kiss his wife, play soccer with his son and interact with his daughter.

“Four days later you follow him up a road and you hit him with a missile. Then you go and look and make sure that he’s dead,” he said. “You get to see what you did in great detail, and that is very much like killing your neighbor. You know this person now.”

While they may not ease the psychological consequences of war, drones are more cost effective than manned aircraft and keep operators physically safer than those on the battlefield, Lewis said.

The question of whether American citizens living abroad could be targeted by a drone strike was addressed by Lewis via explanation of war boundaries.

In a war on terrorism, participants of the armed conflict are often on the land of a nation uninvolved in the fight. America is at war with al-Qaeda, not with a specific country.

Under the boundaries of this category — called a non-international armed conflict — any state outside of the two conflicting territories is considered neutral and is not permitted to allow conflict on their soil.

However, al-Qaeda isn’t a nation, so geographic boundaries for drone strikes are hazy.

Recently, NBC news released a “Department of Justice White Paper” that states under the following three conditions it is legal to use lethal force against a senior operational leader of al-Qaeda (or an associated group) who is a U.S. citizen abroad: if an “informed, high-level official of the U.S. government” decides the person targeted presents an “imminent threat” of attack on the U.S., capture of the target is not possible and the operation would follow “applicable law of war principles.”

“The asymmetrical element in terroristic operations is that it has the quality of lethality as well as the element of complete unpredictability,” wrote the commentator, Nagan, in an email after the talk.

“[The Bush Administration] considered a degree of responsibility attributable to states that were in bed with terrorists,” he said.

Nagan agrees that when a nation supports terrorism, it is abusing its sovereignty.

He added that the use of drones “depends on the ability of final decision makers to make the case that it is a reasonable use of power for defending the vital interests of the United States.”

Lewis flew F-14 Tomcats for the U.S. Navy and is a 1992 graduate of the Navy’s Top Gun flight school. After his military service, he earned a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School, cum laude. He has published more than a dozen articles and essays on the law of war and the conflict between the U.S. and al-Qaeda.  He has testified before Congress on the legality of drone strikes and civil liberties trade-offs associated with trying terror suspects before military tribunals, and has appeared on public radio.

Nagan is the founding director of the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Development, and he has served as board chairman of Amnesty International USA.

Nagan received his doctorate of juridical science from Yale Law School and has taught courses including: International Human Rights, Legal Theory, International Law, International Courts, and Human Rights of Indigenous People. He currently teaches a course in National Security Law.

Two Colombian law professors discuss ways to enhance the law school’s human rights curriculum with Dean Robert Jerry at UF Law on Feb. 18. From left, Tim McLendon, Center for Governmental Responsibility staff attorney and director of the UF Law-Colombian project; Elvia Serrano, director of the law program at Universidad del Magdalena in Santa Marta, Colombia; Veronica Torres, director of El Consultorio Juridico at the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia; Dean Robert Jerry; Dr. Philip Williams, Director of UF’s Center for Latin American Studies. (Photo by Haley Stracher)

Two Colombian law professors visited UF Law on Feb. 18-19 as part of the Center for Governmental Responsibility’s project on “Building Human Rights Capacity in the Colombian Caribbean,” a three-year project based on capacity-building for law schools in relation to the human rights curriculum. The project includes service to their communities through clinics and outreach programs; sustainability in identifying and meeting human rights needs; and information exchange and joint research on human rights topics.

Veronica Torres, director of El Consultorio Juridico at the Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla, Colombia, and Elvia Serrano, director of the law program at Universidad del Magdalena in Santa Marta, Colombia, visited UF Law to learn about UF’s various programs and activities and to discuss ways we can enhance their human rights curriculum. UF law is working with UF’s Center for Latin American Studies and College of Education on this project.

UF will receive funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development through Higher Education for Development (HED) to support this project. The U.S. Agency for International Development administers the U.S. foreign assistance program providing economic and humanitarian assistance in more than 80 countries worldwide.  For more information, visit www.usaid.gov. HED mobilizes the expertise and resources of the higher education community to address global development challenges. Higher Education for Development (HED) works closely with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is founded by the nation’s six major higher education associations to support the involvement of higher education in development issues worldwide. For more, visit www.hedprogram.org.

Carl Safina, founding president of the Blue Ocean Institute and award winning author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Eye of the Albatross, addresses conference attendees Thursday as a keynote speaker at UF Law’s 19th Public Interest Environmental Conference. (Photo by Elise Giordano)

When the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, it proved to be a great step forward in showing the United States’ and Congress’ commitment to preserving our nation’s natural heritage and protecting native plants and animals from extinction.

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the ESA, the 19th annual Public Interest Environmental Law Conference at the University of Florida Levin College of Law focused on the evolution of endangered species protection over the past four decades. “The Endangered Species Act at 40: Polishing the Crown Jewel,” was held this past weekend. The full story will be available in the March 11 issue of FlaLaw.

Keynote speakers for this year’s conference included Carl Safina, founding president of the Blue Ocean Institute and award winning author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Eye of the Albatross, and Zygmunt Plater and Patrick Parenteau, attorneys in the landmark decision of Tennessee Valley Authority v. Hill et al. – temporarily halting the completion of the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River in order to protect the snail darter, an endangered species of fish.

The conference also included multiple panel discussions, a workshop sponsored by The Florida Bar, and training opportunities for both attorneys and those outside the legal field.

UF Law Professors Tom Lin, Berta Esperanza Hernández-Truyol and Wentong Zheng, distinguished professors of immigrant background, will discuss their experiences professionally and academically at a panel, “Immigrants and the American Experience,” Tuesday at noon in HOL 285B. The event is hosted by the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA), Center for the Study of Race & Race Relations (CSRRR), Immigration Law Association (ILA), and Latino Law Student Association (LLSA). Food and sodas from Publix will be provided.

Tom C. W. Lin is assistant professor of law and assistant director of the Criminal Justice Center. His teaching and scholarship interests include business associations, corporations, contracts, securities regulation, behavioral law & economics, privacy law and white collar crime. Berta Esperanza Hernández-Truyol is Levin Mabie & Levin Professor of Law, and her teaching and scholarship interests include international human rights, issues of gender/race and Latinas/Latinos in the law, and employment discrimination. Wentong Zheng is assistant professor of law with teaching and scholarship interests in international trade, international business transactions, antitrust and competition policy, Chinese law, commercial law, and law and economics.

Criminal Justice Center hosts lunch with clemency attorney

The Criminal Justice Center is hosting a luncheon with Reggie Garcia on Feb. 27. The event, “A Clemency Attorney on a Mercy Mission,” takes place at noon in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center. Topics to be discussed include why clemency matters to clients; restoration of civil rights; full pardon & firearm authority; and prison commutations. Seating is limited. Interested students should arrive early with prepared questions for Garcia.

LIC Notes: Internet Time Travel: The Wayback Machine

Have you ever tried to locate a document online, only to find that it has been removed? You may still be able to retrieve it using the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine. The Wayback Machine allows you to enter a web address and check to see if there is at least one archived version of it on the Internet Archive. With more than 240 billion webpages that have been archived since 1996, the chances that your webpage has been archived are good, especially if it is a site that is linked to by many other sites that allows web crawlers to find it, such as government sites.

The Wayback Machine also has a bookmarklet feature. This feature allows you to add a link to your browser’s toolbar. When you visit a webpage and find that your document or some other important feature is missing and you now need an older version of the website, just click the Wayback Machine bookmarklet and you will be able to view the historic versions. See the Wayback Machine webpage for more details.

Law Association for Women raises more than $7K for PACE Center for Girls

The Law Association for Women raised more than $7,000 for the PACE Center for Girls. PACE provides girls and young women an opportunity for a better future through education, counseling, training and advocacy.  Each year L.A.W. raises money by holding a Professor Auction in November.

During this event L.A.W. raised nearly twice as much money as the previous year.  L.A.W. would like to thank everyone who came out to bid on professors and show support. Some of the L.A.W. members went to PACE to hand-deliver the check and meet with the girls, who were grateful and excited.

Latino Law Student Association collecting business attire

The Latino Law Student Association is asking for gently worn business attire clothing to donate to those in need. Donations will go to the Gainesville Office of the Public Defender and Dress for Success Miami. With your help, criminal defendants can attend criminal proceedings with appropriate clothing, and economically disadvantaged individuals, ex-offenders, victims of domestic abuse, foster care youths, and other individuals struggling to find employment will be able to go on job interviews. LLSA accepts shirts, blouses, suit pieces, skirts, dress pants, belts, shoes, socks, jewelry and cufflinks. Note: the LLSA is unable to provide tax receipts. Donations are being accepted today through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sixth annual Wolf Family Lecture March 13

The topic of the sixth annual Wolf Family Lecture on the American Law of Real Property on March 13 at 11 a.m. in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center is “Property Law and the Rise, Life, and Demise of Racially Restrictive Covenants.” The lecture will feature Carol Rose, the Gordon Bradford Tweedy Professor Emeritus of Law and Organization and Professorial Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School.

The lecture is free and open to the law school community and general public.

The Wolf Family Lecture Series was endowed by a gift from UF Law Professor Michael Allan Wolf, who holds the Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, and his wife, Betty.

Past scholars who have delivered the Wolf Family Lecture in the American Law of Real Property include Thomas W. Merrill, Charles Evans Hughes Professor of Law at Columbia Law School; Gregory S. Alexander, A. Robert Noll Professor of Law at Cornell Law School; Lee Fennel, Max Pam Professor of Law at the University of Chicago; Joseph William Singer, Bussey Professor of Law at the Harvard Law School; and Vicki L. Been, Boxer Family Professor of Law and director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University School of Law.

UF Journal of Law and Public Policy hosts symposium on media law March 14

Should false statements of fact be protected under the First Amendment? That was the question at issue in United States v. Alvarez, a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court case overturning the Stolen Valor Act, which attempted to criminalize lying about receiving a military medal. More recently, however, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a new version of the Stolen Valor Act, creating penalties for individuals who lie about receiving military medals and profit from their deception.

This is the topic of the 2013 Journal of Law and Public Policy’s Annual Symposium, which will be hosted March 14, in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center at the UF Levin College of Law. Panelists include University of Florida Levin College of Law Professor Lyrissa Lidsky, attorney Craig D. Feiser, Colonel Michael L. Smidt, Staff Judge Advocate of U.S. Special Operations Command and attorney Kristen Rasmussen.

The event will include a reception beginning at 11:30 a.m., a panel discussion at 12 p.m. followed by a question and answer session. It will be open to students, professors and practitioners.

Come and hear what these experienced professionals have to say on this controversial issue. CLE credit will be offered. Click here for more information on the symposium or here for more information on JLPP.

Dean hosts Music Night March 17

Got a hidden musical talent? Show it off at the upcoming Music Night 2013 to be held Sunday, March 17, at 7 p.m. at the home of Dean Robert Jerry and his wife, Lisa. All students and faculty are invited – but the “ticket” to attend is that you must bring a dessert and agree to perform a musical piece (play an instrument or sing a song). A piano will be available. Each participant can bring one guest. Space is limited, so sign up is on a first-come, first-serve basis. To register, stop by the Dean’s Office and see Doris Perron.

CSRRR spring lecture, panel examines Trayvon Martin case on March 20

The Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations’ 10th annual Spring Lecture & Panel Discussions, “At Close Range: The Curious Case of Trayvon Martin,” will feature New York Times visual op-ed columnist Charles Blow. The event is March 20 in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, HOL 180.

Participants include UF faculty and graduate students from history, journalism, African-American studies, sociology, anthropology, law, education, political science, English, philosophy and health services research. Panelists will discuss a range of topics including racial bias and media perspectives and they will recommend policy changes.

Blow joined The New York Times in 1994 as a graphics editor and quickly became the paper’s graphics director, a position he held for nine years. Blow went on to become the paper’s design director for news before leaving in 2006 to become the art director of National Geographic Magazine.

Blow often appears on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight,” “Starting Point” and “AC360.” He has also appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” the “Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” and “Hardball” with Chris Matthews, Headline News’ “The Joy Behar Show,” Fox News’ “Fox and Friends,” the BBC and Al Jazeera, as well as numerous radio programs.

32nd Annual Dunwody Distinguished Lecture in Law

The Florida Law Review welcomes Professor Randy Barnett as the 32nd Annual Dunwody Distinguished Lecturer in Law. Barnett, the Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Legal Theory at the Georgetown University Law Center, will discuss the recent United States Supreme Court decision upholding the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 22, in the Martin H. Levin Advocacy Center. The event is free and open to the public.

Barnett has written and commented extensively on the Affordable Care Act and represented the National Federal of Independent Businesses as its case against the ACA was presented before the Supreme Court last spring. Barnett will discuss the general implications of the court’s landmark decision, as well as fundamental misunderstandings he perceives among the legal academic community regarding the decision’s import. Barnett’s lecture, “Who Won the Obamacare Case (and Why Did So Many Law Professors Miss the Boat)?” precedes an article of the same name to be published in an upcoming edition of the Florida Law Review.

For additional information, contact the Florida Law Review at www.FloridaLawReview.com or 352-273-0670.

Electronic Discovery for the Small and Medium Case April 4-5

The University of Florida Levin College of Law and Electronic Discovery Reference Model are pleased to announce the first-of-its-kind conference devoted to “Electronic Discovery for the Small and Medium Case.” The conference will be held April 4 and 5, 2013, at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and will be broadcast live. Students may view the webcasts free of charge.

The conference will focus on solutions to the difficulties, issues, and decisions that attorneys face in competently and cost-effectively handling e-discovery in small and medium cases. The conference will feature demonstrations of a new generation of right-sized e-discovery software and tools for each phase of the e-discovery process in small and medium sized cases and include starter e-discovery toolkits for each in-person attendee.

The toolkits will contain trial licenses for e-discovery software used to preserve and collect electronically stored information (ESI) from desktops to the web; convert collected ESI to usable forms; perform rapid, powerful searches; and facilitate production of relevant, responsive ESI. Representatives from AccessData, Catalyst, Digital WarRoom, iConect, kCura, LexisNexis Litigation Solutions, Nuix, Pinpoint Labs, X1 Discovery and others will be on hand to demonstrate the ease and accessibility of their products – helping attendees test-drive their toolkits.

Online attendees will receive a limited version of the e-discovery toolkit; for the full toolkit you must attend in person.

Whether you attend in person or watch the live stream, don’t miss this chance to learn how to translate e-discovery challenges into a winning strategies.

For more information:

• Conference Website
• About ICAIR & the E-Discovery Project
• Conference Agenda