Fredric G. Levin College of LawFebruary 18, 2008 | Vol. XI, Issue 22 |
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Government Surveillance Puts Privacy at Risk, Professor Christopher Slobogin Writes in New Book
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Career Services: Public Interest Week and Volunteer Opportunities Highlight The CCS Buzz
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Career Spotlight: Fair C. Kim
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Merrill to Deliver First Annual Wolf Family Lecture in the American Law of Real Property Feb. 22
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Summer Spent Studying Abroad An Experience That's Worth The Price, UF Law Students Report
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Music Law Conference Hits The Right Note With Musicians, Attorneys and Business Executives
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Nelson Symposium Explores Many Implications of Going Green for Local Governments
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Need For Volunteers in Low-Income Communities Greater Than Ever, Expert Tells UF Law Students
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Mills Argues Crist Violated Florida Constitution When He Agreed With Seminole Tribe to Expand Gambling
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News Briefs |
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Allen and Wilson Take Top Honors at UF Trial Team Final Four Families In Transition Lecture Series Continues With Talk by Angela Mae Kupenda Feb. 19 APIL Kicks Off Public Interest Week Activities Feb. 19 Costa Rica Focus of Conservation Clinic Session Feb. 21 'Pathways to Employment' Brings Law Students Together With Practitioners Central Florida Diversity Picnic Brings Florida Law Students, Lawyers and Judges to Tampa This Saturday, Feb. 23 Student Teams Compete in CSRRR Griot Race, Law & Justice Oral Competition Feb. 23 BLSA Presents Speaker and Documentary to Increase Awareness of HIV/AIDS ELULP Informational Meeting March 5 Nicholas Wolterstorff to Present Lecture on "Speaking Up For Rights" Feb. 19 University of Chicago's Martha Nussbaum to Present Lecture on "Liberty of Conscience" Feb. 21 in Jacksonville |
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Acts of surveillance by the United States government, from the increasing use of closed-circuit televisions and global positioning systems to a wide array of sophisticated technologies that can access records about our activities, represent an insidious assault on the freedom of Americans that the law has failed to respond to, according to a new book from University of Florida Levin College of Law Professor Christopher Slobogin. In his book, Privacy at Risk: The New Government Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment (University of Chicago Press), Slobogin writes, “The assault comes from government monitoring of our communications, actions, and transactions. The failure results from the inability or unwillingness of courts and legislatures to recognize how pervasive and routine this government surveillance has become.”
Public Interest Week and volunteer opportunities highlight this week's issue of The CCS Buzz, your source for a quick synopsis of programming, recruiting, networking, volunteer, and “SHIP” opportunities available to you. The CCS Buzz can be found in FlaLaw Online, via a link on your Symplicity homepage after you log in, or you can pick up a hard copy in Career Services at 244 Bruton Geer Hall. Click below to download The CCS Buzz, your weekly guide to what is important to your career and professional development:
For law students who want to get great experience and give back to their country at the same time, they need look no further for a good example than UF Law alumnus Fair C. Kim (JD 06), who currently serves as a U.S. Coast Guard JAG officer in Miami. Kim, who worked on the Journal of Law and Public Policy during his time at UF Law, says his current jobs allows him to work on more types of law than what most firms offer to their new associates. “There is definitely a diverse practice because we do lots of different things with interesting fields of law,” he said. “In any given day I get to work on operational law, law of troop engagement, domestic law enforcement such as federal prosecution of drug and migrant traffickers and environmental crimes.”
Columbia University Law Professor Thomas W. Merrill will deliver the first annual Wolf Family Lecture in the American Law of Real Property at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 22, in 285B Holland Hall at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. A reception will follow Merrill’s lecture. This event is free and open to the public. The title of Merrill’s lecture is “Populism and Public Use.” The lecture series was endowed by a gift from UF Law Professor Michael Allan Wolf and his wife Betty. Wolf, the Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, is the general editor of a 17-volume treatise, Powell on Real Property, the most utilized treatise in the country in the area, which is cited regularly by the courts, including several recent citations in the United States Supreme Court. 
Not many students can admit that while in law school they participated in the running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, or witnessed the Tour de France. But some UF Law students are taking full advantage of having the opportunity to have once-in-a-lifetime adventures while studying the law and receiving UF credit in France. While law students sometimes spend the summer working full-time jobs to gain experience and pay off loans, other law students found traveling through western Europe and learning firsthand about international and comparative law while experiencing unique European traditions just as rewarding.
Students contemplate studying abroad while in law school but struggle with the difficult decision between going overseas versus gaining experience in the workforce and making a living after their first year of law school. It is a difficult decision for many because sacrificing a paycheck involves the reality of becoming even more in debt with student loans. But second-year UF law student Jon Eichelberger (pictured above) did not think twice when deciding to go abroad and put it all into perspective, saying “With all the debt you already have in law school, what’s a little more.” Adds fellow 2L Elizabeth Moum, “It’s so worth the money.”
When Brian Mencher (JD 02) organized the inaugural Music Law Conference, he was just like any other law student trying to make a difference. After being rejected three times from UF Law, he made a promise to himself that he would graduate in the top 3 percent of his class and leave his mark with the school. Well, he accomplished both of these goals and set the foundation for one of the largest conferences held at the Levin College of Law. The 6th Annual UF Music Law Conference, held on Feb. 16 in the Chesterfield Ceremonial classroom, explored 360 degrees of the music industry and how the music business is integrated with everything from film, television and changing technologies to music sharing and merchandising.
UF Law students and faculty, state and local government agency representatives and building contractors gathered to discuss the many implications of “Going Green” to improve the environmental landscape for future generations. The Seventh Annual Richard E. Nelson Symposium featured a diverse panel of speakers from law and related fields to explore the construction of green building, its positive impact on the environment and its implications for state and local governments. The conference, entitled “Green Building: Prospects and Pitfalls for Local Governments,” examined topics including the legal landscape of Green Building, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and other certification programs, the state of Florida’s climate change initiatives and private environmental lawmaking.
With many experts predicting an economic recession in the U.S. in 2008, the need for volunteers in low-income communities is greater than ever, April Carrie Charney, a nationally recognized expert in consumer law, told a group of University of Florida law students Feb. 1. The students learned about the Rural Outreach Project, a volunteer program funded by Three Rivers Legal Services, which teaches students about the rights of lower income families, while giving those families an opportunity to interact with current lawyers about these issues. Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps attorney for Three Rivers, Whitney Untiedt, said Charney (pictured above) was brought to the law school to talk to the volunteers about the issues facing low-income communities and how law student volunteers can make a difference in their community.
UF Law Professor Jon Mills, director of UF's Center for Governmental Responsibility, was quoted in stories in newspapers across the state when the Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a Seminole Indian gaming case. After Governor Charlie Crist signed an agreement with the tribe in November that allows for Vegas-style slots and games such as blackjack and baccarat at its seven Florida casinos, Mills, acting as an attorney for the Florida House, said Crist violated the Florida Constitution when he agreed with the tribe to expand gambling in the state. Mills also argued that any agreement made by the governor should be approved by the Legislature. But attorneys for the governor and the tribe argue that Crist was only acting on existing state and federal law and was under a federal order to negotiate with the tribe. "This compact, as it stands before you, is unconstitutional," Mills said. The high court has no timetable for a ruling. Keep up with what UF Law faculty are saying in the media and writing about in scholarly publications in FlaLaw Online's weekly updates on Faculty Scholarship & Activities.
Jeffrey Wilson and Ranaldo Allen took best team honors over Nickisha Webb and Dave Mitchell at the University of Florida Trial Team Final Four Competition Friday, Feb. 15, in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom. Allen (pictured left) was named best advocate in the competition. The
trial was a murder case in which defendant Tyler Ryan was accused
of murdering his twin brother, Jamie Ryan (Allen and Wilson represented the defendant, while Webb and Mitchell represented the State of Sparta). Thirty-seven second-year law students began the competition in the first round on Jan. 28. The competition was presided over by Judge Paul C. Huck, a U.S. District Court judge and UF Law graduate. As a result of the intramural competition, the Trial Team announced the addition of the following new members: Allen,
Shylie Armon, Matthew Belisle, Michael Bradenham, Andrew Kwan,
Caroline McCrae, Mitchell, Hannah Purkey, Webb, and Wilson. There will be an informational
meeting for all interested 1Ls later in the semester regarding
Trial Team tryouts for next fall.
The Center for Children and Families 2007-08 lecture series, "Families In Transition," continues at noon Tuesday, Feb. 19, in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom (180 Holland Hall) with a presentation by Angela Mae Kupenda, professor of law at Mississippi College School of Law School. Kupenda’s talk, "Learning from Family Law to Address America’s Family-Like Race Dysfunction," is co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations. A scholar of family law issues and critical race theory, Kupenda (pictured left) will be speaking on the relationship between family law and communities of color, using as her framework the analysis of relationships of abuse developed by domestic violence scholars. Kupenda is the second of four talented scholars with multidisciplinary expertise to address critical issues in family law at the law school during the academic year.
The Association for Public Interest Law kicks off its annual Public Interest Week at 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 19, with a panel of Gainesville public interest lawyers from Three Rivers Legal Services, Southern Legal Counsel, Florida Institutional Legal Services, the Public Defender’s Office, and the State Attorney’s Office, who will speak about their lives as public interest lawyers, the legal issues that they’re working on, and opportunities to get involved.
At noon Wednesday, Feb. 20, APIL will host Sylvia Walbolt (pictured above), a shareholder in the law firm of Carlton Fields in Tampa who recently received the 2008 Tobias Simon Pro Bono Service Award, and last year was awarded The Florida Bar President’s 2007 Pro Bono Service Award for the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. She is a former President of the Florida Bar Foundation, on the Board of Directors for the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and a graduate of UF Law. She will be speaking about how to engage in public interest law while working in the private sector.
At noon Thursday, Feb. 21, a panel of students will speak about their summer experiences with public interest law. Come and listen to their advice about getting jobs and see what it’s like to work in different public service organizations.
Locations will be announced soon. Free lunch will be served each day.
Students and faculty interested in Costa Rica and in Law and Policy in the Americas should consider attending a special session of the Conservation Clinic on Thursday, Feb. 21, at noon in 359 Holland Hall. Amy Daniels, Ph.D. candidate and NASA fellow will present "Using Geospatial Data in Land Use/Land Cover Change Policy Making: The Case of Costa Rica's Environmental Service Payments Program,"
with guest commentary from Otton Solis, UF Center for Latin American Studies, visiting eminent scholar, and president, Citizens Action Party, Costa Rica.
Daniels will present results from her dissertation research, some of which was conducted under the auspices of the UF Law Conservation Clinic in Costa Rica. Her research employs landsat data to detect forest cover change and correlates that change to policies that create incentives for reforestation paid for by a carbon tax. Solis will comment on the relevance of her findings to national policy and Costa Rica's pioneering environmental service payments program. For more background on Solis, go to 
The International Law Society (ILS), in conjunction with the Center for Career Services and the ABA Section of International Law will host "Pathways to Employment," a unique forum that brings law students together with experienced practitioners, at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom (180 Holland Hall). Panelsists will discuss internship opportunities, networking with legal experts around the world, understanding other legal systems and cultures, becoming active in international organizations and societies, and developing legal and interpersonal skills. A reception will follow this event and food will be provided. Panelists include Manjit Gill, Becker & Poliakoff (pictured above); Armando A. Olmedo, Univision Communications, Inc.; and Stephanie Reed, Traband, Proskauer Rose LLP. UF Law Professor Stuart R. Cohn, associate dean for International Studies and Gerald A. Sohn Scholar, will moderate the discussion. 
All minority law school students from all Florida law schools are invited to attend the Central Florida Diversity Picnic, 1-4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 23, at the Stetson University College of Law's Tampa Law Center, 1700 North Tampa Street. The event will allow law students from diverse backgrounds an opportunity to meet and establish mentoring relationships with attorneys and members of the judiciary from all of Central Florida, including Florida Bar President Frank Angones. The picnic begins at 1 p.m., so come hungry, as the picnic will feature a great variety of food, live entertainment, activities and games for the whole family. The picnic is modeled after the successful Minority Mentoring Picnic held in South Florida. Law student groups can apply for subsidized transportation. For mor einformation, contact Tony Cabassa at 
Ten teams of students will compete in the Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations' Griot Race, Law & Justice Oral Competition on Saturday, Feb. 23, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., in the Chesterfield Smith Ceremonial Classroom (180 Holland Hall) at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. The Griot Oral Competition is designed to support the development of legal oratory and research skills in defense of racial equality and justice. The team finishing in First Place will be awarded $2,500, with $1,500 going to the second place team and $1,000 to third place. Breakfast and lunch will be provided, and the law school community is encouraged to come and support these teams of students. For more information contact the CSRRR at: 
The Black Law Students Association marked National Black HIV-AIDS Awareness Day with a presentation Bonita Young (pictured left) and tabling in the Schott Courtyard, where students handed out condoms and red ribbons to spread awareness of people afflicted with AIDS in Florida. Later in the day, BLSA presented the documentary, "The Agronomist," which focuses on the deadly cost of political speech when adamantly banned by government through human rights activist Jean Dominique.
The Environmental and Land Use Law Program offers many opportunities for you to become involved and learn about these important areas of law. There will be an informational meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, in 355D Holland Hall. At the meeting, you’ll learn critical information about the ELUL program, including the requirements for earning a Certificate in Environmental and Land Use Law, and details about the curriculum, including the Conservation Clinic, summer externships, Summer Study Abroad in Costa Rica, the Environmental and Land Use Law Society, the Environmental Moot Court Team, and the Public Interest Environmental Conference. Students who attend will also have the chance to meet and talk with some of the ELULP faculty and to get individual advice on course selection for summer and fall and career development guidance. All students with an interest are encouraged to attend, but especially first-year students—this is the ideal opportunity to get the best possible information to plan your academic program for your second year.
This is an excellent opportunity for currently enrolled certificate students to get answers to questions about certificate requirements, course availability, etc.
Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology at Yale University and senior scholar at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, will present a lecture, "Speaking Up For Rights," Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 4 p.m., in the University of Florida's Keene Center (Dauer Hall). As a philosopher, Wolterstorff has published in most of the main areas of philosophy throughout his career including epistemology, metaphysics, aesthetics, and he is currently working in ethics focusing on love and justice. His book, Justice: Rights and Wrongs, is just out on Princeton University Press. He has presented the Wilde Lectures at Oxford University and the Gifford Lectures at St. Andrews University. Wolterstorff will also present a lecture on "Love and Justice," Monday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at the Christian Study Center at 112 NW 16th Street. The Culture Seminar is an initiative of the Christian Study Center of Gainesville that works in cooperation with the University of Florida to explore the intellectual and cultural resources of the Christian tradition for understanding and responding to the challenges created by contemporary cultural change. For more information visit 
Martha Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, will present a lecture, "Liberty of Conscience: The Attack on America’s Tradition of Equal Respect," Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the University Center at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. The lecture is presented by the University of North Florida
Distinguished Voices Inquiry and Insight Lecture Series in conjunction with the UNF Department of Philosophy. This event is free and open to the public. However, tickets are required and may be ordered online at www.unf.edu (click the "Lecture Series" button). Directions will be printed on the ticket. For further information, contact Jen Urbano at 904-620-1623. 
