Nancy Dowd
Professor of Law; David H. Levin Chair in Family Law; Director, Center on Children & Families

Dowd recently finished the first phase of a guest professorship on the law faculty of Lund University in Sweden. She spent a little less than a month doing an informal collaboration with a range of faculty and formal presentations including collaborative law, the interrelation of family and employment law, juvenile justice, elder law and a presentation of her current research on gender, race and juvenile justice. She will return for a shorter, final visit in mid-June to complete her guest professorship in conjunction with a conference co-sponsored by Emory University School of Law on privatization and globalization.

Dowd will also give a talk on her research at Indiana University (Bloomington) on April 5 at the inaugural symposium of their Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality.

Joseph Jackson
Senior Legal Skills Professor

“Human rights activist to speak at law school” (March 26, 2013, The Alligator)

Jackson commented in this article in advance of South African Constitutional Court Justice Albie Sachs’ visit to UF Law last week, where Sachs spoke on marriage.

From the article:
Sachs will discuss his role in the legalization of same-sex marriage in South Africa and his beliefs on human rights, said Joseph Jackson, UF Law senior legal skills professor.

“He believes in a right to be different,” he said. “That society has an obligation to respect people for who they are.”

“Supreme Court same-sex marriage rulings could affect Florida law” (March 26, 2013, The Alligator)

This article discusses the two cases that were before the Supreme Court last week that challenged laws against gay marriage. Jackson weighed in on the issue.

From the article:
Jackson said the case regarding the Defense of Marriage Act has the potential to affect all 50 states. The provision of the act present in the case only affects federal laws and would not directly affect Florida’s laws.

A decision against the marriage act would only impact same-sex couples legally married under state law, Jackson said. They would be treated as married in federal law, meaning they could receive benefits like joint tax returns or Social Security.

Lea Johnston
Associate Professor of Law; Assistant Director, Criminal Justice Center

Johnston presented her paper, “Humane Punishment for Seriously Disordered Offenders,” at a Junior Scholars’ Conference hosted by UF Law’s Criminal Justice Center on March 21-22.

She also published an article, “Vulnerability and Just Desert: A Theory of Sentencing and Mental Illness,” in Northwestern’s Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. The cite is “Vulnerability and Just Desert: A Theory of Sentencing and Mental Illness” (Northwestern’s Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology).

Christine A. Klein
Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law; Director, LL.M. Program in Environmental & Land Use Law

 Klein’s article “Water Bankruptcy” was published in the Minnesota Law Review. The cite is 94 Minn. L. Rev. 560 (2012). “Water Bankruptcy” (Minnesota Law Review).

Klein also published “Compartmentalized Thinking and the Clean Water Act” in the George Washington Journal of Energy & Environmental Law. The cite is 4 GW J. Energy & Envtl. L. 38 (2013). “Compartmentalized Thinking and the Clean Water Act” (George Washington Journal of Energy & Environmental Law).

Tom Lin
Assistant Professor of Law; Assistant Director, Criminal Justice Center

Lin presented his paper, “The New Financial Industry,” at a Junior Scholars’ Conference hosted by UF Law’s Criminal Justice Center on March 21-22.

Martin J. McMahon Jr.
Stephen C. O’Connell Professor of Law

McMahon participated in a panel discussion and presented a paper, “Aspirational Tax Reform,” at the 2013 University of Virginia School of Law Tax Study Group Meeting on March 22.

Jason Nance
Assistant Professor of Law; Associate Director, Center on Children and Families

Nance presented his paper, “Students, Security and Race,” at a Junior Scholars’ Conference hosted by UF Law’s Criminal Justice Center on March 21-22.

John Stinneford
Associate Professor of Law; Assistant Director, Criminal Justice Center

Stinneford presented his paper, “The Illusory Eighth Amendment,” at a Junior Scholars’ Conference hosted by UF Law’s Criminal Justice Center on March 21-22. 

Attila Andrade Jr.

Visiting ProfessorAndrade has conceived a new formula according to which moral damages and abstract pain can be calculated in law suit cases. His formula is explained in volume II of his book “Comments on Brazil’s New Civil Code” published by Companhia Editora Forense in 2003. His purpose is to avoid judge’s uncertainties and ambiguities in issuing money judgments for these kinds of law suits.

Bob Dekle

Legal Skills Professor“Robbery suspects face life” (Sept. 29, 2010, The News-Press)

Two men connected with the robbery of a McDonald’s restaurant in Fort Myers could face life in prison. The ordeal resulted in the death of one police dog and one robbery suspect. The charges will not be in connection with the dog’s death, however, because the dog’s shooter was already shot and killed by the police.

From the article:
“University of Florida law professor Bob Dekle said even though prosecutors haven’t charged Amaya and Fermin with Rosco’s death, it wasn’t a foreseeable crime and one that was furthered of the armed robbery.”

“‘It is an area of the law where reasonable people can disagree about what is foreseeable,’ Dekle said.”

Teresa Drake

Director, Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Clinic (IPVAC)
Drake lectured at the Advanced Institute for the Prosecution of Domestic Violence, sponsored and produced by the Office of Violence Against Women, Aequitas and The Battered Women’s Justice Project in August in Washington, D.C. Her topic was interviewing victims of domestic violence.

Drake spoke at The Battered Women’s Justice Project conference “Addressing the Impact of Domestic Violence on Children” in Providence, R.I., last month. Her topic was interviewing and preparing children to testify.

Joseph Jackson

Legal Skills ProfessorTV interview (Sept. 24, 2010, WCJB TV-20), link not available at this time

Jackson commented on the recent 3rd District Court of Appeal ruling, which overturned Florida’s ban on gay adoptions. Jackson was the primary author of an amicus brief submitted to the court regarding the case.

Martin J. McMahon Jr.

Stephen C. O’Connell Professor of LawMcMahon presented “Recent Developments in Federal Income Taxation” with University of Houston Law Center Professor Ira Shepard at the 45th annual Southern Federal Tax Institute last month in Atlanta.

McMahon presented “Litigating The Application Of Anti-Tax Avoidance Statutes: Learning From The Canada Experience” with the Honorable Patrick Boyle, Richard Sapinski, Nathalie Goyette, and Henry Schneiderman at the Court Procedure and Practice Committee Program, American Bar Association, Tax Section, Fall Meeting, in Toronto last month.

McMahon also presented “How Canada’s Experience with the General Anti-Abuse Rule Might Inform US How to Live with the Codified Economic Substance Doctrine” with the Honorable Donald Bowman, former Chief Judge of the Tax Court of Canada at the Joint Meeting of Partnerships & LLCs and Real Estate Committees, American Bar Association, Tax Section, Fall Meeting in Toronto last month.

Diane Mazur

Professor
“Gay activists look to the courts to end ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’” (Sept. 22, 2010, The Washington Post)

While the debate over the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy continued to unfold in Federal courts, Mazur discussed arguments in favor of repealing the law.

From the article:
“Gay rights groups said the government has no obligation to appeal. Diane H. Mazur, legal co-director of the Palm Center, a think tank at the University of California at Santa Barbara that is devoted to repealing ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ cited a 2003 Supreme Court decision that struck down a Texas sodomy law because it restricted a person’s right to sexual privacy.”

“‘Judge Phillips recognized that “don’t ask, don’t tell” can no longer be justified under current constitutional doctrine, and President Obama is not required to argue otherwise,’ Mazur said. ‘He need not defend laws that are based on old, discredited constitutional assumptions.’”

“Witt decision offers preview of post-’don’t’ ask, don’t tell’ world” (Sept. 27, 2010, San Diego Gay and Lesbian News)

Mazur commented on the recent U.S. District Court ruling in Washington in favor of Air Force Major Margaret Witt regarding the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

From the article:
“Diane Mazur, Palm Center legal co-director and University of Florida law professor, also responded to Judge Leighton’s written opinion in Witt.”

“‘Witt and Log Cabin were the first challenges requiring the government to produce evidence that “don’t ask, don’t tell” improved military readiness, and in both cases the government was unable to do so,’ Mazur said. ‘The government pointed to an earlier case upholding the policy, Cook v. Gates, but there the court barred the plaintiffs from introducing evidence that “don’t ask, don’t tell” harms the military and excused the government from producing any evidence at all. Once the policy is put to a test of fact, it fails.’”

Kenneth Nunn

Professor“Panel hears from the wrongly convicted” (Oct. 1, 2010, The Florida Bar News)”

As a member of the new Innocence Commission in Florida – which examines the causes behind wrongful convictions to avoid future wrongful convictions – Nunn weighed in on a debate over the wording of the commission’s mission statement. The phrase in question was: “exoneration cases in Florida based on DNA testing.” The sentence was eventually removed altogether.

From the article:
“University of Florida College of Law Professor Kenneth Nunn added: ‘We are not saying these are individuals who are angels of the Lord, shall we say. But we are saying they are entitled to rely on the presumption of innocence that all American citizens are entitled to,’ because they have not been proven guilty. Exoneration, Nunn said, ‘is the correct legal term for the status of affairs we are talking about.’”

“Professor Nunn offered a friendly amendment to replace ‘exoneration’ with ‘cases in Florida where convictions have been reversed based on DNA testing.’”

Elizabeth Rowe

Associate ProfessorRowe’s article “Contributory Negligence, Technology, and Trade Secrets,” originally published in the George Mason Law Review in 2009, has been republished in the Defense Law Journal.

“UF takes on high schools to protect logo” (Sept. 21, 2010, The Gainesville Sun)

In an effort to protect its logo and identity, the University of Florida and the licensing company that represents the school is cracking down on several schools around the country who are using similar logos as the Gators.

From the article:
“Under trademark law, universities essentially have a legal obligation to police the use of their marks, said Elizabeth Rowe, associate professor of law and director of the program in intellectual property law at UF. Failing to do so could mean giving up the right to stop unauthorized uses, she said.”

“The issue is becoming more significant as college football becomes increasingly lucrative, she said. But she said the issue is somewhat different when dealing with high schools that might send students to the universities.”

“‘With sports you have the argument, “We’re using the mark to support you,”‘ she said.”

Michael Seigel

ProfessorUpon invitation by Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Sen. Patrick Leahy, Seigel testified as an expert witness last week in Washington, D.C. regarding honest services mail and wire fraud in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Skilling v. United States.

Seigel presented a lecture titled, “Ethical Lessons Learned from the Duke Lacrosse (Non)Rape Case,” to the faculty of the Saint Louis University School of Law on Sept. 16.

Michael Allan Wolf

Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law“Florida voters enter battle on growth” (Sept. 27, 2010, The New York Times)

Wolf commented on the debate in Florida surrounding Amendment 4 on the November ballot, which would allow citizens to vote on state-mandated plans regarding land development and growth in counties and municipalities.

From the article:
“‘Most planning advocates would love to have the structure we have in Florida, but most Floridians know that the structure doesn’t work,’ said Michael Allan Wolf, a University of Florida law professor. ‘Amendment 4 suggests that, on the ground, this system is really broken.’”

Lauren Fasig, Martin Gill, Shelbi Day and Joseph Jackson sat on the gay adoption panel Wednesday, Sept. 29. (Photo by Joey Springer)

“At the center of this case, and every other case, is a person.”

Shelbi Day, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney who represented a gay man and his partner in a case challenging an adoption ban for gay people, said those words at a recent panel discussion on gay adoption Wednesday, Sept. 29, just one week after the Third District of Appeal struck down a state law barring gay people from adopting.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Florida called the decision a victory for thousands of children in Florida waiting to be adopted.

University of Florida Levin College of Law Center on Children and Families authored one of several amicus briefs in the case, an effort led by Joseph Jackson, UF legal skills professor and associate director of the Center. The brief involved the collaboration of many faculty members within the Center, including former Director Barbara Woodhouse.

Day and Jackson, along with Martin Gill, the foster parent who challenged the Florida statute banning gay adoption and CCF Director of Research Lauren Fasig, an expert in child development, sat on the panel in front of more than 100 attendees.

The standing-room-only event revealed the struggles Gill and his partner have faced the past seven years since receiving their license to foster children in 2003, the elation they felt in November 2008 when the Circuit Court granted Gill’s adoption petition, and the hardships they endured after having that decision stayed by the State’s appeal.

In December 2004, Florida’s Department of Children and Families asked Gill and his partner to foster two boys – a 4-month-old and a 4-year old – suffering from neglect. At the time, Gill and his partner planned to move to Georgia, and felt it would be unfair to uproot the children – who at the time had future plans to live with relatives – so, they said no.

It was right before Christmas, and DCF tugged on the couple’s heartstrings to give the children a home for the holidays. They gave in.

Upon arrival, the children were sick with ringworm, but Gill was told their medication was in the bag that the DCF brought over. Not only had the medication expired, it was unopened and had not been refrigerated in over a month, which was necessary for it to remain effective, he said. The older child slumped against the wall and stared at the floor. Gill knew they had their work cut out for them.

Nearly a year after Gill and his partner fostered the brothers and nursed them to health, DCF sought permanency planning for them. Plans to live with relatives fell through, and a 33-year-old law banning adoption by gay men and lesbians stood in the way of allowing Gill and his partner to legally adopt the boys they had cared for. Currently, Florida is the only state barring gays from adopting.

But when Gill met with DCF to discuss permanency planning, they told him they wanted to advertise the children separately, since the younger one had a better chance of adoption and the older child had some developmental disabilities, Gill said. The couple was floored.

“That child was his brother’s keeper,” Gill said. “It was the only continuity he had for his entire life.”

Gill said the older child was quite a caregiver for such a young child – he even knew how to feed the baby, burp him and change his diaper. He couldn’t bear the thought of these children being separated, and soon sought legal help from ACLU to challenge the adoption ban.

After a four-day trial in November 2008, Judge Cindy S. Lederman issued a 52-page opinion declaring the ban unconstitutional, on the grounds that it violated the equal protection rights of the children and their prospective parents, and granted Gill’s adoption request.

But the couple’s elation waned only 15 minutes later, when the state appealed the ruling and denied Gill and his partner from adopting.

“These are two heroic men who have really gone to battle [for these boys],” said Day, who said the couple has risked a lot to fight for these children.

The District Court of Appeal’s unanimous decision on Sept. 22 was a gratifying feeling for Gill, his partner, his lawyers and all gay-rights advocates after nearly 13 months of waiting for an opinion. Judge Vance E. Salter emphasized in his concurring opinion the importance of the couple in the lives of the brothers, and referred to them as a family. He noted that this case involved “five persons and associated relationships, not just the adoptive parent and the two children… The continued use of the legal system to attempt to unwind these relationships is simply inexplicable.”

During the initial stages of the case, Gill’s legal team had to identify experts from a variety of fields to rebut all possible arguments the state might put forward to justify the ban. Psychologists, HIV/AIDS experts and even experts on pedophilia and sexual orientation, were called to testify, and confirmed that gay people and straight people make equally good parents. In addition, the children were evaluated by a child development expert, who testified that removing them from Gill’s home and/or separating them from one another would cause them to regress socially and educationally and lead to serious and permanent harm.

A focus of the Center’s brief was to explain to the court the serious harms children suffer when they are repeatedly moved around in the foster care system, Jackson said. Attachment to a caregiver is essential for a child to turn into a grown-up human being, and a child’s ability to form those attachments is undermined when the child bounces around in foster care.

Lauren Fasig cited research that showed that a parent’s sexual identity and/or sexual orientation has little or no effect on that of the child, and that children of gay parents are just as fit for life as those of heterosexual parents.

“To say one group could be parents and others can’t isn’t justified,” Jackson said. “There is no conceivable set of facts that justify that law.”

The state has 30 days to appeal this decision to the Florida Supreme Court. If it does not, then the decision will be binding on Florida trial courts state-wide. However, opponents of the decision could seek to overturn the decision through a ballot initiative to amend the State Constitution.

“If it gets to the point of vote, it’s about getting the word out and educating people,” Day said.