Mary E. Adkins
Legal Skills Professor/ Legal Research & Writing
Adkins recently published "Persuasive Analytical Legal Writing," Bahςehir Üniversitesi Hükük Fakültesi Kazancı 125 (2011) (Turk.).
Jonathan R. Cohen
Professor of Law
Cohen recently presented a paper, "The Path Between Sebastian's Hospitals: Fostering Reconciliation after a Tragedy," at Texas Wesleyan School of Law in Fort Worth as part of its faculty speaker series.
Richard Hamann
Associate in Law; Assistant Director, CGR
Hamann expressed optimism in this article about the St. Johns Water Management District and Suwannee River Water Management District agreeing to work together in planning and permitting decisions, in the interest of maintaining healthy bodies of water.
From the article:
St. Johns Governing Board member Richard Hamann, a law professor at the University of Florida, said the two districts might have their differences of opinion but the agreement shows a commitment to work together.
Robert Jerry
Dean, UF Law; Levin Mabie & Levin Professor of Law
This article announces that Dean Jerry's rock band – in crisis – will be performing at Gator Growl this year before the Goo Goo Dolls take the stage.
From the article:
Levin College of Law Dean Robert Jerry plays the electric piano and synthesizer for In Crisis. He said Chris Silver, Dean of the College of Design Construction and Planning, gathered his friends who were interested in music and formed the band.
In Crisis has played publicly, although Jerry said finding practice times that work with the members' schedules is difficult. He said he hopes the Gator Growl audience enjoys the performance.
"I think it'll be a lot of fun," he said.
Shani King
Associate Professor; Co-Director, Center on Children and Families
King was recently invited to the Florida's Children First Advisory Board. According to the executive director in King's welcoming letter, King is highly regarded by members of the board and advisory board, and the director expressed appreciation in his willingness to join in the group's mission to advance the rights of at-risk children. The organization held a joint advisory board and directors meeting in September where his name was put forward.
Christine Klein
Professor of Law
Klein made presentations to the Florida State University law school faculty and to the environmental colloquium on her forthcoming book Mississippi River Stories: Law and a Century of Unnatural Disasters (with Zellmer) (University of California Press, forthcoming 2012).
Christopher Vallandingham
Foreign and International Law Librarian/Adjunct Professor of Law
Vallandingham has written the following additional entries to The Central Intelligence Agency: An Encyclopedia of Covert Ops, Intelligence Gathering, and Spies (ABC-CLIO, 2014): 1) "CIA Inspector General's Survey of the Cuban Operation;" 2) "Hughes-Ryan Amendment;" 3) "Legal Restrictions on the CIA;" 4) "Eavesdropping Operations;" and 5) "Operation HAIK."
Michael Allan Wolf
Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law
"Bonita's rapid OK for zoning draws fire" (October 18, 2011, News-Press)
Wolf commented in this article, which explains that some Bonita Springs residents disagree with a new process in addressing zoning requests for businesses. Rather than being approved by a resolution, requests can now be approved by ordinance – a much quicker process – by the city council.
From the article:
Homeowner Dawn Koncikowski claims council misinterpreted the city charter when it determined special zoning request exceptions don't fall under land-use and development regulation, which the charter says must be done by ordinance. "It looks to me like the city attorney and Bonita Springs are making a conscious effort to comply with state law," said Michael Allan Wolf, a local government law expert at the University of Florida.
Danaya Wright
UF Research Foundation and Clarence J. TeSelle Professor of Law
"Legal experts debate Defense of Marriage Act" (October 20, 2011, The Alligator)
This article covered a debate at UF Law Wednesday over the Defense of Marriage Act. Wright was one of the featured speakers, along with Austin Nimocks, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund.
From the article:
She stated that marriage is not timeless but rather recent, giving examples from the medieval and classical ages. Wright stated that the binary composition of marriage taking place between male and female is "socially constructed."
"We can't legitimately rely on [marriage] as a matter of law," Wright said.
Wright argued that DOMA violates part of the 10th Amendment, which protects states' rights, and therefore violates the Equal Protection Clause.
"Federal power lies within state power. ... The two are mutually exclusive," Wright stated.
Both Wright and Nimocks agreed on one matter by the end of the Q-and-A portion of the debate - there are individual rights that society needs to recognize.
