News & Publications
UF College of Law experts available to comment on upcoming U.S. Supreme Court cases
October 8, 2009
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida Levin College of Law faculty are available to discuss the following U.S. Supreme Court cases and the ramifications of the court’s verdicts.
The University of Florida has a broadcast studio equipped for live or live-to-tape interviews through our KU digital satellite uplink. For radio networks, we also have an ISDN live for clean audio interviews. To contact the UF College of Law Communication’s Office, call 352-273-0650 or e-mail semerson@law.ufl.edu.
Nov. 9, 2009 - Sullivan v. Florida (08-7621) and Graham v. Florida (08-7412)
The question: Whether the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishments prohibits the imprisonment of a juvenile for life without the possibility of parole as punishment for the juvenile’s commission of a non-homicide crime?
- Nancy Dowd — Dowd is the David H. Levin Chair in Family Law and director of the Center on Children and Families. The center signed one of the amicus briefs for these cases. Dowd’s expertise includes constitutional law, family law and civil rights. She can be reached at 352-273-0930 or dowd@law.ufl.edu. View her faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/dowd/.
- Lauren Fasig, Ph.D. — Fasig is a developmental psychologist, a professor of law and the director of research for the Center on Children and Families. She coordinates the center’s multidisciplinary projects and works closely with other faculty to provide a behavioral science perspective when considering child and family legal issues. Her expertise includes children’s rights, and child and adolescent behavior and development, including cognitive and psychosocial development. She can be reached at 352-273-0770 or fasig@law.ufl.edu.
- John Stinneford — Stinneford is an assistant professor of law and a cited authority in an amicus brief for Graham v. Florida. He is a former federal prosecutor with expertise in criminal law and sentencing. His current scholarship focuses on the historical underpinnings of the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause, as well as the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Stinneford’s research is an effort to determine whether a deeper understanding of the original meaning and context of these constitutional provisions might help to make the Supreme Court's current jurisprudence concerning constitutional limitations on punishment clearer and more practically effective. He can be reached at 352-273-0959 or jstinneford@law.ufl.edu. View his faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/stinneford/.
- Michael Seigel — Seigel is the UF Foundation Research Professor of Law and a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida. Seigel’s expertise includes criminal investigations and criminal law. He can be reached at 352-273-0914 or seigel@law.ufl.edu. View his faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/seigel/.
- Shani King — King is an assistant professor of law and co-director for the Center on Children and Families. His expertise includes children’s rights and family law. King’s professional experience includes serving as an attorney for San Francisco-based Legal Services for Children Inc. He can be reached at 352-273-0951 or kings@law.ufl.edu. View his faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/king/.
Dec. 2, 2009: Stop the Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection (08-1151)
The question: The Florida Supreme Court invoked “nonexistent rules of state substantive law" to reverse 100 years of uniform holdings that littoral rights are constitutionally protected. In doing so, did the Florida Court's decision cause a ''judicial taking" proscribed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution?
Is the Florida Supreme Court's approval of a legislative scheme that eliminates constitutional littoral rights and replaces them with statutory rights a violation of the due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution?
Is the Florida Supreme Court's approval of a legislative scheme that allows an executive agency to unilaterally modify a private landowner's property boundary without a judicial hearing or the payment of just compensation a violation of the due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution?
- Michael Allen Wolf — Wolf is the Richard E. Nelson Chair in Local Government Law, general editor of Powell on Property, a widely cited treatise on real property law, and author of several nationally recognized articles on regulatory takings law. His expertise includes property law, eminent domain and zoning. He can be reached at 352-273-0934 or wolfm@law.ufl.edu. View his faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/wolf/.
- Danaya Wright — Wright is the Clarence TeSelle Professor of Law. Her expertise includes constitutional property law and property law. She is the author of several nationally recognized articles on regulatory takings law. She can be reached at 352-273-0946 or wrightdc@law.ufl.edu. View her faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/wrightd/.
- Thomas Ruppert — Ruppert is an assistant in environmental law, Center for Governmental Responsibility. His expertise includes coastal and marine law and environmental law. Ruppert participated in a legal and environmental panel exploring Stop the Renourishment v. Florida DEP. He can be reached at 352-273-0835 or ruppert@law.ufl.edu. View his faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/ruppert/.
- Mark Fenster — Fenster is the associate dean for faculty development and a professor of law. His expertise includes property law and land use law. He is the author of several nationally recognized articles on regulatory takings. His professional experience includes Environmental and Land Use Law Fellow with a San Francisco-based law firm that specializes in government, land use, natural resource and environmental law. He can be reached at 352-273-0962 or fenster@law.ufl.edu. View his faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/fenster/.
- Alyson Flournoy — Flournoy is the director of the Environmental & Land Use Law Program, and a professor of law. Her expertise includes environmental law, wetlands and property law. She can be reached at 352-273-0945 or flournoy@law.ufl.edu. View her faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/flournoy/.
- Tom Ankerson — Ankersen is the director of the Law Conservation Clinic, Center for Governmental Responsibility. His expertise includes environmental and land use law, water law, and marine and coastal law. He can be reached at 352-273-0840 or ankersen@law.ufl.edu. Visit his faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/ankersen/.
Dec. 7, 2009: Florida v. Powell (08-1175)
The question: Whether the decision of the Florida Supreme Court holding that a suspect must be expressly advised of his right to counsel during custodial interrogation, conflicts with Miranda v. Arizona and decisions of federal and state appellate courts.
And, if so, does the failure to provide express advice of the right to the presence of counsel during questioning vitiate Miranda warnings which advice of both (a) the right to talk to a lawyer “before questioning, and (b) the “right to use” the right to consult a lawyer “at any time” during questioning?
- Jerold Israel — Israel is professor emeritus with vast expertise in criminal procedure. He is the co-author of Criminal Procedure Treatise, one of the most frequently cited criminal procedure treatises, and co-author of the most-adopted criminal procedure course book which is used in more than 100 law schools. He can be reached at israelj@umich.edu. View his faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/israel/.
- Lea Johnston — Johnston is an assistant professor of law with expertise in criminal law and criminal procedure. Her scholarship focuses on the right to counsel and self representation. Her professional experience includes working as litigation associate, and serving as director of the Maryland Public Interest Research Group. She can be reached at 352-273-0794 or johnstonL@law.ufl.edu. View her faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/johnston/.
- John Stinneford — Stinneford is an assistant professor of law and a former federal prosecutor with expertise in criminal law and criminal procedure, including search and seizure, interrogation and sentencing. He can be reached at 352-273-0959 or jstinneford@law.ufl.edu. View his faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/stinneford/.
- George "Bob" Dekle — Dekle is the director of the Criminal Law Clinic – Prosecution, and a retired assistant state attorney. His expertise includes criminal law, interrogation and police. Dekle can be reached at 352-273-0815 or dekle@law.ufl.edu. View his faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/dekle/.
- Kenneth Nunn — Nunn is a professor of law and associate director for the Center on Children and Families. His expertise includes civil rights, criminal law and procedure. His professional experience includes serving as public defender in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. He can be reached at 352-273-0660 or nunn@law.ufl.edu. View his faculty page at http://www.law.ufl.edu/faculty/nunn/.