“‘Stand Your Ground’ Under Microscope” (March 21, 2012, WCJB TV-20),

Dekle, along with several UF Law students, contributed to this segment from TV-20 News. Dekle said Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law would be better described as the “get away with murder law,” and that it adds unnecessary layers of litigation and hoops to jump through in order to prosecute somebody.

“Legal experts weigh in on soundness of Lindsey defense strategy” (March 22, 2012, Tampa Bay Times)

The lawyer representing a teenager who shot a St. Petersburg police officer is saying the teenager, Nicholas Lindsey, did in fact kill the office – he just didn’t mean to do it. The defense is focusing on the issue of intent to possibly reduce the teenager’s sentence from life to several decades. Dekle weighed in on the strategy.

From the article:
“It ain’t the only possible strategy,” said University of Florida law professor Bob Dekle. “But it sounds like the only viable strategy.”

“Appeal court ruling in Collier case frees man accused of operating a grow house” (March 25, 2012, Naples Daily News)

Dekle reinforced an appeals court decision, which ruled that although a man who was accused of operating a grow house allowed police into his backyard to speak with him, he didn’t consent for them to further search his yard, which eventually led to the discovery of a grow house.

From the article:
George R. Dekle Jr., professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, agreed search and seizure issues are “heavily driven” by the facts of each case.

“The officers had consent to come onto the property to speak with the defendant,” Dekle said. “When they left his presence and started roaming around the property, they obviously weren’t talking to the defendant and had no right to be where they were when they smelled the marijuana.”

Michelle Jacobs
Professor of Law

“Students react to the death of Trayvon Martin” (March 22, 2012, The Alligator)

Jacobs weighed in on the Trayvon Martin shooting in this article that also addresses some student reactions to the 17-year-old’s death.

From the article:
UF law professor Michelle Jacobs said she’s not surprised Zimmerman hasn’t been charged.

“When a black person gets killed in questionable circumstances by a white person, no one should be surprised that law enforcement was slow to launch an investigation,” she said.

“Inside the Trayvon Martin Tragedy” (March 28, 2012, Legal Talk Network)

Jacobs, along with University of Missouri-Kansas City Criminal Justice Department Chair Kenneth Novak, participated in an in-depth discussion on this podcast about issues surrounding the Trayvon Martin shooting, including Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law, neighborhood watches and racial profiling.

Lyrissa Lidsky
Stephen C. O’Connell Chair & Professor of Law

“Facebook advises users not to give out passwords to prying employers” (March 28, 2012, The Alligator)

Lidsky addressed the legality of potential employers asking job candidates for the their Facebook login information, following a warning from Facebook about the growing trend.

From the article:
It is legal to ask for Facebook login information, said Lyrissa Lidsky, professor at Levin College of Law.

She said giving the information isn’t the best idea, though.

“The consent is economic coercion, in a sense,” Lidsky said.

It is tough to say no to an interviewer, she said, especially in a tough economy.

“A lot of things we consent to we consent to because of social pressures,” she said.

Joseph Little
Professor Emeritus

“Collier commission aides amassed two months worth of overtime in 2011″ (March 25, 2012, Naples Daily News)

This article looks into Collier County employees who have worked over 40 hours a week and are opting to take comp time rather than the mandated time-and-a-half overtime pay.

From the article:
Joseph Little, a law professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, said the state follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act for county employees.

“Ordinarily, it requires time and one-half for overtime,” he wrote in an email. “It does permit compensatory time for employees of state public agencies.”

Jon Mills
Dean Emeritus; Director, Center for Governmental Responsibility

“Legal questions raised over new practice by employers seeking Facebook access of applicants” (March 23, 2012, WUFT 89.1 FM)

WUFT spoke with Mills in this radio interview about it is increasingly more common for employers to ask for potential employees’ Facebook login information so they can see the applicant’s personal Facebook account. Mills said it is important for individuals to be aware of how much personal information they put online, and said although it is legal in the U.S. it is not allowed in some other countries.

Kenneth Nunn 
Professor of Law

“Racism Is the Problem Here” (March 21, 2012, The New York Times)

Nunn contributed an editorial piece as part of New York Times’ “Room for Debate” column, which was comprised of arguments from experts in various disciplines exploring different angles of the Trayvon Martin shooting case.

From the article: Stand Your Ground statutes may be problematic for a number of reasons. But if we really want to save lives and prevent future miscarriages of justice, we will have to confront the reality of race.

Leonard Riskin
Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law

Riskin gave a presentation for students, faculty and alumni of at UCLA School of Law entitled “The ‘Negotiation’ Within: Connecting and Managing Inner and Outer Conflict” in March.

Last semester, he conducted a workshop on “Mindfulness and Conflict for the Chicago Center for Conflict Resolution.”

Katheryn Russell-Brown
Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law; Director, Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations

“Outrage unites people of all colors, but divide still exists” (March 24, 2012, Orlando Sentinel)

In this article that examines some of the racial issues tied into the Trayvon Martin case, Russell-Brown discussed how people relate to crime victims through race.

From the article:
Katheryn Russell-Brown, director of the University of Florida’s Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations, said it’s natural for people to view crime through the lens of their own race and identify with victims who look most like them.

Whites might not understand the depth of the black community’s outrage over Trayvon Martin’s death any more than blacks understood the national obsession with Natalee Holloway or the disappearance of Jennifer Kesse, or the time, money and attention devoted to the Casey Anthony case.

“It’s who you see as a family member, who you could step into their shoes and it could be you,” Russell-Brown said.

Michael Seigel
University of Florida Research Foundation Professor of Law; Director, Criminal Justice Center

“UF Professor Breaks Down ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law” (March 21, 2012, GTN News),

In this television interview, Seigel explains Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law and the ideas behind the law when it was established in 2005. Seigel said the logic behind the law was shaky from the beginning and people didn’t realize how powerful the law could be.

“‘Stand Your Ground Law’ at center of Fla. Shooting” (March 22, 2012, Associated Press)

Seigel commented on the Trayvon Martin shooting, saying that the Sanford police should have done more thorough investigation into the events before deciding not to bring charges to shooter George Zimmerman.

From the article:
“The law has definitely shifted and given a signal to law enforcement to be more careful,” he said. “But in a case where the self-defense claim is weak, you would think they would do their job.”

“Federal Prosecutors Won’t Retry Polk Bribery Case” (March 25, 2012, The Ledger)

A bribery case will not be pursued again by federal prosecutors after the case fell apart because of a wording error in the grand jury’s indictment. The indictment references “Polk County” but should have referenced the “Polk County School Board,” as employing a man accused of accepting bribes from a construction company.

From the article:
Seigel described the indictment’s wording as “a serious oversight” and a “major catastrophe” for federal prosecutors.

“There is no way to really sugarcoat it,” Seigel said. “It’s a major error on behalf of the prosecution. They did not do their homework.”

The indictment’s poor wording wasn’t a small error and touches on an important constitutional right, he said.

The Fifth Amendment includes the right that defendants know clearly and specifically what allegations they are facing, he said.

“Golden Hills seeking bankruptcy protection” (Feb. 28, 2012, Ocala Star-Banner)

With the Golden Hills Golf and Turf Club filing for bankruptcy in February, this article looks at the causes and implications of the filing. Davis offered insight into what it means for a business to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

From the article:
Chapter 11 bankruptcy isn’t the end for Golden Hills. They can still conduct business, but still owe some of their creditors money.

“Chapter 11 is known as business reorganization,” said Jeffrey Davis, a law professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. “The goal is to arrive at a plan that over time pays the secured creditors and the unsecured creditors under the terms.”

Lyrissa Lidsky
Stephen C. O’Connell Chair & Professor of Law

Lidsky’s article “Incendiary Speech and Social Media,” was just published in Texas Tech Law Review.

Lidsky traveled to Florida Coastal School of Law on March 2 to give a presentation at the Law Review’s Cyber Law Symposium.

Tom C.W. Lin
Assistant Professor of Law

Lin recently published “The Corporate Governance of Iconic Executives” in 87 Notre Dame L. Rev. 351 (2011).

Joseph Little
Professor Emeritus

“KEL law firm sues Better Business Bureau over rating system dispute” (Feb. 21, 2012,Orlando Sentinel)

KEL law firm in Orlando is suing the Better Business Bureau after the organization gave the law firm a rating of “F” because of client complaints. The law firm is claiming the bureau’s rating system is biased and flawed. Little stated that as long as the Better Business Bureau can back up its rating system and claims, its conclusions about businesses are protected speech.

From the article:
Still, a BBB agency can’t just publish information without proper due diligence to verify it, said Joseph W. Little, a professor emeritus at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law. The burden would be on KEL to prove reckless negligence by the BBB, he said.

“The BBB has common law right to express fair comment and honest opinion based on true facts,” Little said. “If it does that, then it is protected speech and opinion, even though it is not the opinion the law firm would want them to have.”

“House passes random drug testing bill” (March 2, 2012, Associated Press)

The article addresses questions raised after the Florida House passed a bill that would allow state employees to submit to random drug tests. Little discussed the constitutionality if the bill were to become a law.

From the article:
For the plan to be constitutional, the state’s interest in testing employees for drugs must outweigh the employees’ right to privacy, said Joseph Little, a professor emeritus of constitutional law at the University of Florida’s Levin College of Law.

“There has to be something special about the employment, though, like law enforcement officers or those with a security clearance,” Little said. “But if there’s no special need, you probably can’t do it.”

Jon Mills
Dean Emeritus; Director, Center for Governmental Responsibility

“Justices seek input on how to handle new redistricting rules” (Feb. 29, 2012, The Miami Herald)

The Florida Supreme Court questioned lawyers representing Democrats and Republicans about how to interpret Florida’s new redistricting rules last month. Mills was on-hand to represent the Democrats and was quoted in the article.

From the article:
“You are the ultimate authority,” said Jon Mills, a University of Florida law professor and former House speaker arguing for the Florida Democratic Party. The Legislature’s interpretation “may be interesting but your interpretation is binding.”

Leonard Riskin
Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law

During the fall semester of 2011, Riskin was a visiting professor at Northwestern University School of Law. While there, he received a Dean’s Teaching Award for 2011-2012 (awarded by the dean, based on student evaluations).

In October, he gave two plenary presentations on “Managing and Connecting Inner and Outer Conflict: Integration of IFS and Conflict Resolution Theory and Practice,” at the international Conference of the Center for Self-Leadership in Boston and the Pre-Conference Workshop.

He also moderated a panel presentation on The Chicago Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program, sponsored by the Northwestern Law Hispanic Student’s Association and the John Marshall Law School Mediation Program.

Daniel Sokol
Associate Professor of Law

Sokol presented his early work “A Transaction Cost Economics Explanation of Law and Entrepreneurship Vertical Contracting” at IU Bloomington Mauer School of Law.

Jeff Wade
Director of Environmental Division, Center for Governmental Responsibility

On Feb. 17-18, Wade participated in a conference as part of the run-up to the UN Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, scheduled for June of this year. The conference, titled “Contribution of International Environmental Law to Sustainable Development: Global and National Perspectives,” was held at the University of Delhi Faculty of Law in New Delhi, India. Wade presented a paper, “Coastal Development in an Unstable Climate: Precaution, Adaptation and Resilience,” and moderated a panel on marine pollution and coastal regulation.

Michael Allan Wolf
Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law

Wolf made a presentation on judicial takings with Bill Treanor (Georgetown) at the Third Annual Meeting of the Association for Law, Property and Society, at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., on March 2.

The half-mile trail, which circles the UF Law campus, was officially dedicated on Friday with Dean Robert Jerry offering a few remarks, followed by Professor Lyrissa Lidsky’s running club making the inaugural lap around the trail in the brisk afternoon air.

“The trail is a great way to promote fitness at the law school,” Jerry said. “I hope this group will continue to grow when we walk around out here in the future.”

Jerry also announced that UF Law will be creating a fitness Web page that will provide information about the walking trail as well as other fitness options available around the University of Florida campus.

“This is also a great opportunity for us to think about another initiative we will probably roll out here at the law school: the study of walking trail law,” the dean added jokingly. He continued to cite actual legal cases that involve walking trails and one involving the “sub-specialty” of fitness trails.

Lidsky took a moment to say that she was glad the running club was able to help inaugurate the trail, before the group set off with Jerry for the first official lap around the campus.

The inspiration for the walking trail developed last summer when Professor Leonard Riskin had the idea to promote healthy lifestyles on campus by creating a fitness walk on the third floor of Holland Hall, said Jerry. But after further discussions, they decided it would be more interesting to create the trail outside.

The new trail begins at the northwest corner of the Advocacy Center, moving between Bruton-Geer Hall before turning north to Southwest 2nd Ave. Following Southwest 2nd Ave., the trail turns south at Village Drive before coming back to the starting point at the Advocacy Center. The path was accurately measured and plotted out by Facilities Manager Robert Horn, and his staff painted distance markers every 0.05 miles with arrows along the way to keep people on the trail, said Debra Staats, associate dean for administrative and fiscal affairs.

“I hope the law school community takes advantage of this easy and convenient way to get in some exercise on our campus,” Staats said. “I myself plan to bring in my walking shoes and try to get moving more.”

Ware is a professor of law at the University of Kansas School of Law, where he teaches courses in alternative dispute resolution, bankruptcy, contracts, sales, and secured transactions. Ware received his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School and has since penned two books, numerous law review articles and other publications, and has served as a professor and visiting professor at several law schools nationwide.

Although Ware did not actually argue that trials should vanish, he instead advocated for the elimination of publicly-funded trials for wealthy corporate parties to better re-route resources to the parties in the greatest need, such as criminal defendants awaiting freedom and tort victims awaiting relief.

Ware explained that the term “alternative dispute resolution” applies to three processes: negotiation, mediation, and arbitration. When there is a dispute, Ware explained, the parties are faced with whether to litigate or settle via negotiation or mediation. In criminal trials, plea bargains serve the function of avoiding litigation in favor of two oppositional parties working collaboratively to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution, Ware said.

Ware declared that while trials would theoretically vanish if all parties in all cases chose to settle, he is under no illusion that this will occur.

Conversely, Ware stated that if all disputes were settled by trial, the justice system would be congested far beyond its capacity to function.

Therefore, “settlement is a practical necessity for our system to work,” Ware stated.

Ware conjured the popular adage “justice delayed is justice denied” and suggested that if unlimited resources were allocated to the court system, then the administration of justice would occur more efficiently and more swiftly and all parties could be afforded a trial. Realistically, however, it is the increased use of alternative dispute resolution that may help aid the swift administration of justice, Ware said.

He posited that then innocent criminal defendants may be freed sooner, civil plaintiffs may be compensated sooner, and the quality of available evidence could be preserved. Also, litigation would become less expensive since it would be conducted over a shorter period of time. Additionally, expedited litigation would reduce the use of what Ware termed the “wait ‘em out” strategy often used by more resourceful litigants to the detriment of their smaller, less wealthy opponents.

According to Ware, the question should not be “who gets a trial?” but rather “who gets adjudication subsidized by the taxpayer?”

Ware advocated rearranging court dockets to give priority to criminal cases and civil cases which involved individuals rather than wealthy corporations, to encourage businesses to turn to arbitration. Ware acknowledged that it would likely be unconstitutional to tell such corporations that trials were not available to them at all, but that he saw no constitutional barriers to reordering court dockets such that their cases could simply be placed “at the back of the line” behind other criminal and tort cases.

Riskin called Ware’s proposal generally a “terrific idea” and agreed that Ware’s plan could reduce the strategy of delay which is often used to drive up the cost of litigation to try to force one side to settle. Riskin, however, focused on the benefits of alternative dispute resolution beyond the financial benefits that Ware discussed, including creating a less traumatic process that includes non-legal interests and concerns, such as the emotional well-being of the parties.

The most controversial issue among academics, with respect to the law of arbitration, Riskin stated, is that many people unwittingly consent to arbitration via the purchase of a computer, car, or other product without realizing that within the fine print of their paperwork is a binding arbitration clause.

Following Riskin’s remarks, Ware concluded his presentation with the suggestion that arbitration could also aid in the administration of justice since parties can choose an arbitrator with special expertise and an arbitrator can go to the site of the dispute and view evidence that would not be available for first-hand viewing to judges and juries.

Leonard L. Riskin
Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law

• Published “The Place of Mindfulness in Healing and the Law,” in Shifting The Field of Law & Justice 99-120, Center for Law and Renewal (Linda Hager, Bonnie Allen & Renee Floyd Meyers, eds) (2007).
• Made a panel presentation on “Accessing our Inner Awareness and Intentions to Improve Conflict Resolution Practice: The Practical Role of Inner Work” at the Association for Conflict Resolution Conference in Phoenix.
• Gave a luncheon address on “Awareness and Ethics in Dispute Resolution” at a conference on Ethics in Dispute Resolution at South Texas College of Law.
• Served as a commentator (by telephone) at a conference on Buddhism and Dialogue, sponsored by the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.

Elizabeth A. Rowe
Assistant Professor

• Participated as a member of a panel at the International Trademark Association’s meeting in Orlando on November 9th on teaching trademark law.

Christopher Slobogin
Stephen C. O’Connell Chair; Affiliate Professor of Psychiatry; Adjunct Professor, University of South Florida Mental Health Institute; Associate Director, Center for Children and Families

• His book, Privacy at Risk: The New Government Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment, was published by the University of Chicago Press.

UF Law Faculty in the News

Jon L. Mills
Professor; Director of Center for Governmental Responsibility; Dean Emeritus

• Houston Chronicle, Nov. 9. Appeared in an article discussing his backing of legislative leaders who say any gambling deal with the Seminole Indians must have the Legislature’s approval. He prepared the opinion at the request of House Speaker Marco Rubio, R-West Miami. Rubio is against allowing the Seminoles to have anything more than Class III slots. The article concluded with Mills saying the federal law is silent on who should negotiate such compacts on behalf of states, but the Florida Constitution gives the Legislature, not the governor, the power to “make fundamental determinations of policy.”
• Palm Beach Post, Nov. 15. Served as a Florida legal expert in an article about Gov. Charlie Crist signing an agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida today allowing the Indians to conduct Las Vegas-style slot machine gambling and card games, including blackjack, at the tribe’s seven casinos. Issued in a press release by House Speaker Marco Rubio, “Mills advised that any gambling compact between the state and the Seminole Tribe is invalid without legislative ratification.”

Kenneth B. Nunn
Professor; Associate Director, Center on Children and Families

• Tallahassee Democrat, Nov. 10. Quoted in the article discussing the racial composition of the jurors in the trial of eight former Bay County boot camp employees who were found not guilty of felony aggravated manslaughter of a child in the death of Martin Lee Anderson, who died Jan. 6, 2006, one day after he was hit, kneed and his limp body dragged by drill instructors at the camp. Anderson was black; five defendants were white, two black and one Asian. When jury selection ended Sept. 26, no blacks were on the panel. Civil rights advocates say jury selection is a focus of an ongoing federal civil rights investigation. On whether a racially diverse jury have mattered, Nunn said, “People from different cultural backgrounds will interpret the video differently, depending on the race of people in the video. There is a cultural bias in all of us.”

Faculty Scholarship & Activities

Lars Noah
Professor

• Published his article “Too High a Price for Some Drugs?: The FDA Burdens Reproductive Choice,” 44 San Diego L. Rev. 231 (2007).

Leonard L. Riskin
Chesterfield Smith Professor of Law

• Published his article, “Decision-Making in Mediation: The New Old Grid and the New New Grid System,” 79 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1-53 (2003), which has been translated into Portuguese and published as Tomada de decisa em mediacao: o novo “grafico antigo” e o sistema do “novo grafico novo,” 4 Estudoa Em Arbitragem, Mediacao E Negociacao. 129-70 (2007). (Published by the University of Brasilia Faculty of Law).

Christopher Slobogin
Stephen C. O’Connell Chair; Affiliate Professor of Psychiatry; Adjunct Professor, University of South Florida Mental Health Institute; Associate Director, Center for Children and Families

• Published the third edition of Psychological Evaluations for the Courts: A Handbook for Mental Health Professionals and Lawyers (with Gary Melton and four others). The book has been referred to as the “Bible” of forensic mental health law.
• Presented talk Sept. 19 to commemorate Constitution Day on “The Constitution and Surveillance by the Government.” In his presentation in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom, part of UF’s Constitution Day activities, Slobogin said that instead of a celebration, much more apt would be a funeral service for the Fourth Amendment, the provision in the Bill of Rights that prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and requires that warrants for searches and seizures be based on probable cause and describe what is being searched. Slobogin illustrated why he’s gloomy about the future of this part of the Constitution by talking “about the Fourth Amendment’s application—or more accurately under current law—its non-application to surveillance by the government.”