Quinnipiac Law Summer 2010 by Quinnipiac University

QUINNIPIAC•LAW QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW MAGAZINE

Law students get up-close look at

Nicaragua’s Legal Landscape

SUMMER 2010

QUINNIPIAC•LAW Summer 2010 • Volume 16 • Number 2

CONTENTS

Features

Departments

LEGAL LANDSCAPE

A contingent of Quinnipiac law professors, students and alumni facilitated three human rights conferences in Nicaragua in May to let law students gain insight into the legal systems of both countries.

LAYING DOWN THE LAW DEGREE 18 21

A legal researcher for TV’s “The People’s Court” and a project development manager for Common Ground are using their law degrees in nontraditional jobs.

FLIRTING WITH TROUBLE

The phenomenon of “sexting” among teens and young adults has lawmakers nationwide grappling with making the punishment fit the crime.

HEALING BROKEN FAMILIES 24 On the cover: A view from the rooftop of the Cathedral of León, with the Church of Calvario and one of the 11 volcanoes that surround the city. Photo by Alejandra Navarro Left photo: Danielle Robinson Briand ’10 hugs one of the Nicaraguan children who received school supplies from the School of Law contingent during its May visit. Photo by Matt Andrew BA ’10

QULaw Briefs

Faculty Focus

Book Shelf

Student Spotlight

Alumni Notes & Profiles

In Closing

Making Connections Events Calendar

IBC OBC

The Center on Dispute Resolution co-sponsored a training program recently for guardians ad litem and attorneys for minor children. The training soon may be required for all appointees in Connecticut.

Vice President for Public Affairs Lynn Mosher Bushnell Editor Janet Waldman, MS ’09

Manager of Photographic Services Mark Stanczak Photography • Matt Andrew, Stan Godlewski, John Hassett, Robert Lisak, Gale Zucker

Director of Publications & Design Thea Moritz Assistant Editor Alejandra Navarro Contributing Writers • Maureen Farrell, Claire LaFleur Hall, Rhea Hirshman, David Leiper ’08, Rita Pacheco, Donna Pintek Senior Graphic Designer Cynthia Greco

The Quinnipiac University School of Law magazine is published twice a year by the Public Affairs office of Quinnipiac University for alumni, parents and friends of the law school. Visit us on the Web at http://law.quinnipiac.edu. Publication and editorial offices are located at the Development and Public Affairs Building, Quinnipiac University, 275 Mount Carmel Avenue, Hamden, CT 06518-1908.

Quinnipiac University admits students of any race, color, creed, gender, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, and disability status to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. Quinnipiac University does not discriminate in these areas in the administration of its educational policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.

SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

QULAW•BRIEFS Trying alleged terrorists

egal experts including Professor William Dunlap sparred at the School of Law over how best to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks. At the March program, “Trying Alleged Terrorists in U.S. Courts,” panelists evaluated and critiqued three possible systems of justice—U.S. civilian criminal court, a military commission or a special national security court—to try noncitizens charged with international terrorism. Attorney General Eric Holder announced in Fall 2009 that the trial would be held in civilian court, but some doubt this is the best route to justice. The transparency of a civilian criminal court trial could allow valuable counterintelligence to fall into the hands of terrorists, said panelist Vincent J. Vitkowsky, a partner at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP and adjunct fellow at the Center for Law & Counterterrorism, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Vitkowsky said that civilian courts would afford accused terrorists too many rights that could prolong trials and threaten national security by disclosing intelligence sources and methods. Vitkowsky advocated for a military commission as a better way to try accused terrorists. “A civilian trial for KSM [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed] would provide a grand stage to broadcast propaganda, which would embolden terrorists,” he said. Capt. Glenn M. Sulmasy, professor of law at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and national security and human rights fellow at Harvard’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, favored a national security court, a hybrid of the mili-

tary commission and the U.S. criminal court system. Special courts have been used throughout American history and are effective in France, he said. This court could be run by the Department of Justice and overseen by federal judges who are experts in this legal area. He and Vitkowsky agreed that it would be difficult to find an impartial jury for a terrorism case in the regular criminal courts. William V. Dunlap, Quinnipiac professor of constitutional and national security law, countered that using a military commission or a national security court sends a message to the international community that the U.S. criminal court system is not capable of handling this case, and to the Muslim world that we’re using an alternative court to ensure a guilty verdict. “It could take years to create a national security court while we already have a well-established criminal justice system with considerable experience trying alleged terrorists,” said Dunlap.

Attorney Vincent Vitkowsky said he opposes trying terrorists in U.S. civilian courts.

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Geza Ziegler, JD ’94, and Christopher Major, JD ’01, hunt for auction items.

PILP AUCTION RAISES $21,000 A gourmet dinner for six, hosted by “chef”’ Dean Brad Saxton, and a football signed by the entire New York Jets team were just two of the items up for bid at the 17th annual Public Interest Law Project auction in March. The event, which also included an alumni auction, drew a record audience of more than 300 alumni, students and faculty and raised about $21,000. The proceeds will fund grants for students who commit to summer positions at nonprofit public interest organizations. Melissa Roy, the 2010-11 president of PILP, organized the silent auction portion of the event. She was pleased to have many more alumni participate in the annual event than have in past years. The auction featured the usual “Flapjacks with Farrell” hosted by Professor Robert Farrell, as well as a hockey puck signed by New Jersey Devil’s player Zach Parise. Auction items also included several vacation home getaways and gift certificates to local restaurants. Professor Marty Margulies, who donates annually, offered an embroidered tennis jacket. Mark your calendars for the 18th annual PILP auction, which will be held on March 10, 2011.

Law skills still in demand

hief Justice Chase T. Rogers of the Connecticut Supreme Court told graduates not to be discouraged about entering the job market during uncertain economic times. “You need to take charge, keep moving forward and realize that the current economic situation may actually provide you with some wonderful opportunities,” said Rogers, who was the speaker at the School of Law Commencement in May. Legal skills are needed now more than ever, Rogers said. “There has never been a more critical time for caring and compe-

tent attorneys. And given the difficult times in which we live, there never has been a more critical time to step up to the plate and do pro bono work,” she said. Rogers underscored the significance of providing all people with access to the court system. “If people lose faith in their court’s ability to make sure that justice is done, they lose faith in the rule of law and our system of laws. It is not a leap to say access goes to the heart of a democratic society,” she said. Quinnipiac awarded 100 degrees, as well as two honorary degrees to Rogers and Samuel S. Freedman, a judge trial referee for the Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford, Conn. Freedman also has taught classes at the School of Law for 27 years.

SHORTS Motley tribute — In April, the

Professor William Dunlap, who was voted “Professor of the Year” by the graduating class, also made remarks at Commencement. Dunlap dispensed advice, told a few jokes and concluded with a rousing rendition of “I Did It Their Way,” sung to the tune of the classic “My Way,” with lyrics about law school and the legal profession. For that, he received a standing ovation from the class of 2010. Many students praised his dedication to students and the legal profession. To hear Dunlap’s song, go to http:// law.quinnipiac.edu/dunlap.xml. “When I look back at his class, I will remember someone who really cared about his job and his students’ education,” said Richard Fennelly ’10, who has taken three of Dunlap’s classes and voted for him. “I thought the recognition was well deserved and about time.”

Clockwise from top: Professor Jeffrey Meyer hoods Kara Hinesley; Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Chase T. Rogers; law graduates applauding their professors; Cecrystal Umeugo is all smiles after being hooded.

School of Law and the Federal Bar Council sponsored a tribute to the life and work of Judge Constance Baker Motley at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. Courthouse in New York City. The tribute, a follow-up to the event held on the QU campus last fall, took place in the Constance Baker Motley courtroom and included a viewing of the documentary, “Justice is a Black Woman,” produced by Quinnipiac University.

Health care in the workplace —

Quinnipiac’s National Institute for Community Health Education will sponsor a program on Nov. 3 titled, “How Will Health Care Reform Affect You, the Employer?” The free program will take place at 8:30 a.m. in the auditorium on the North Haven Campus, Bassett Road. Law Professor John Thomas and Angela Mattie, associate professor of management, will be among the panelists discussing the new law and its likely effect on employers. Learn mediation — A 40-hour mediation training course for lawyers and other professionals will be offered Nov. 4, 5, 6, 12 and 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day. Participants must attend all five days. The course offers each participant many opportunities to practice mediation skills and receive feedback. For more information, please contact Jennifer Brown at the Quinnipiac Center on Dispute Resolution, 203-582-3246.

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QULAW•BRIEFS Mediation conference planned

he School of Law is hosting the Seventh John A. Speziale ADR Symposium on Oct. 15, titled, “Achieving the Goals of Criminal Justice: A Role for Mediation?” Janine P. Geske, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, will deliver the keynote address. Geske is director of the Restorative Justice Initiative at Marquette University School of Law. The symposium is designed to educate and provide a forum for discussion and debate about

when, where and how mediation is appropriate. The Connecticut Bar Foundation and the School of Law are sponsoring the daylong symposium that organizers hope will stimulate thought and discussion about the ways mediation might supplement traditional processes to better achieve the criminal justice system’s goals. The event is free, but registration is required. Contact the Connecticut Bar Foundation for more information.

Dean dunked for charity

Students Kathy Kuhar ’02 and ew law students would ever SBA president Keith Zackowitz say Dean Brad Saxton is “all ’10 served as the targets. A total of wet.” At the Student Bar $756 was raised. Like any good Association end-of-the-year lawyer, third-year student Alyse barbecue, that’s exactly what he Greer came prepared. She donned was. Saxton, suit and all, was a full wetsuit, snorkel and mask plunged into a dunk tank along before she climbed into the tank. with several faculty members, administrators and students, to raise money for the School of Law Loan Repayment Assistance Program in Memory of Professor Gregory A. Loken. Cotton candy, snow cones and games added to the carnival theme. At the dunk tank, participants paid $1 for three balls, $5 to try until they hit their target, or $10 to walk up and push the button for a dunk. Professors Jeff Meyer, Linda Meyer, and Mary Ferrari, as well Professor Jeffrey Meyer’s sign taunts people who as Interim Dean of have lined up to dunk him for charity. 4

QUINNIPIAC LAW • SUMMER 2010

Kenneth Reels and Nadia L. Ward were presented with awards at the Thurgood Marshall event.

PEQUOT LEADER RECEIVES THURGOOD MARSHALL AWARD Kenneth Reels, vice-chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Gaming Commission and former chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, received the Thurgood Marshall Award from the Quinnipiac Black Law Student Association at a ceremony in March. The award honors an individual who exemplifies the values of equality and civil rights for which the U.S. Supreme Court justice fought. Reels has received numerous awards for leadership of his tribe, as well as for his dedication to civil rights for all. He is on the board of directors for the Native American Bancorporation. Quinnipiac also presented the Community Service Award to Nadia L. Ward, director of urban education and prevention research at The Consultation Center and assistant professor of psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine. Ward has developed programs to help high-risk as well as high-achieving urban youth in 44 schools in New York and Connecticut. Quinnipiac law students have assisted Ward with her work. “The inequities in the American education system are pervasive and persistent and require all of our energies and our abilities to make a difference in the lives of our children,” Ward said. She emphasized that one key lesson learned from her research is that children learn best when they have authentic relationships with people. “That’s what we do: We love children.”

Leading a new generation

hen Larissa Mervin was a high school student in Raleigh, N.C., she had plans to attend college, but she didn’t know much about the college application and financial aid process. She didn’t have anyone to turn to for guidance. “I remember being discouraged from going to college,” recalls Mervin, now entering her third year at Quinnipiac School of Law. Mervin’s guidance counselors weren’t much help either. In an urban school with about 5,000 students, they were overwhelmed. Her parents, who are from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, were supportive but did not know how to navigate the path to higher education. She managed to sort through the process and was accepted to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. After earning a sociology degree with a concentration in criminology, she applied to law school. Her story, told to students at New Haven’s Hillhouse High School, illustrates it is possible to attain set goals. That is an important message for many of the Hillhouse students who might be searching for assistance on how to get on the path to college—and one that QU law students hope to instill in young people. Mervin is one of about 20 law students participating in a pilot program called QU LEADs (Quinnipiac University Legal Education Advancing Diversity), which is run by Quinnipiac’s law school admissions office and sponsored by the Law School Admissions Council as part of its DiscoverLaw.org program. Law students go into classrooms once a week to present lesson plans about the college application process, the law and the U.S. Constitution. They’re hoping to motivate students to stay in school and apply to college, using the law as a “hook.” For the first lesson, the law students did a presentation on Judge Constance Baker Motley, who graduated from

Hillhouse in 1939 and went on to become an influential civil rights attorney and the first AfricanAmerican woman named to a federal judgeship. While some law students taught, others helped create lesson plans and organized a reception in March for the Hillhouse students at the School of Law Center. For Mervin, it was rewarding to be a role model and to provide students with the encouragement she didn’t receive. She taught in a class for students learning English as a second language. Many students have emigrated from countries in Africa and the Middle East. “Getting into the community is an important part of law school,” explains Darren Pruslow, a second-year law student who helped plan the QU LEADs program. A former high school social studies teacher, Pruslow was inspired to help develop the program after completing a summer internship with Legal Outreach in New York City, an organization that provides free, intensive legal and educational programs for students from middle school through college. Janayá, a 16-year old junior at Hillhouse, is one of about 80 students taking part. “The program is fun. I like how they’re so professional,” she says about the law students. She has learned an important lesson from the QU LEADs program: “You can’t slack; you have to do your work, be on top of it.” Another participant, Isamar, moved to the U.S. from Puerto Rico a year ago. The 18-year old senior became interested in the law after taking a civics class and learning about immigration cases. “That really struck a chord with me,” she says through an interpreter. The QU LEADs program taught her about the LSAT test requirement for law school. Andrew, a 17-year old student from Liberia, plans to study nursing in college. For him, the takehome lesson has been the impor-

Law student Larissa Mervin teaches a class at Hillhouse High School. tance of applying early for financial aid. Mervin says the high school students have responded with enthusiasm. “They’re so interested in our individual stories,” she says. True Fezer Wolff, a teacher at Hillhouse, says the program offers her students a much broader perspective and a realistic view of college. The college application process is especially challenging for international students, who come

from countries with a very different university system, she adds. Despite the challenges they face, Wolff says her students are extremely motivated to succeed. “They see school as a privilege. They don’t take it for granted,” she says. Mervin wants to drive home the idea that a college degree can open up endless possibilities. “Hopefully they’re getting the message,” she says.

FALL CLASS AT A GLANCE Approximately 2,500 people applied for 163 seats for the Fall 2010 first-year class. The gender breakdown is 56 percent male, 44 percent female, and 12 percent are students of color. Collectively they speak 22 foreign languages and dialects. Their average age is 24, and they come from 86 undergraduate institutions and 23 states. Academically, their median undergraduate GPA was 3.42 and median LSAT was 157. Some of their professions include: teacher, journalist, business owner, insurance broker, property manager, scientist; engineer, police officer, nurse and interpreter.

SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

FACULTY•FOCUS Kevin Barry Assistant Professor PUBLICATIONS “Unemployment Appeals: Can Your Program Really Do More with Less?—the Legal Aid Perspective,” with Susan NofiBendici, 44 Clearinghouse Review Journal of Poverty Law and Policy, May-June 2010. “Toward Universalism: What the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 Can and Can’t Do for Disability Rights,” Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law 31:2 (forthcoming Fall 2010).

Jennifer Gerarda Brown Professor PUBLICATIONS “Peacemaking in the Culture War Between Gay Rights and Religious Liberty,” 95 Iowa Law Review 747 (2010). Brown presented in Nicaragua in May during the Mediation Conference Day organized by Quinnipiac’s International Human Rights Law Society. She coached and accompanied teams from Quinnipiac’s Society for Dispute Resolution to the American Bar Association’s regional and national Representation in Mediation Competitions in March and April, respectively. She was interviewed on WATR 1320-AM regarding the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

Jeffrey Cooper Professor PUBLICATIONS “Ghosts of 1932: The Lost History of Estate and Gift Taxation,” 9 Fla Tax Rev. 875 (2010), reprinted in part as “Lessons of

1932” in the July 2010 issue of Estate Planning Studies. In December 2009, Cooper was a panelist for the 2009 Estate Planning Update in Cromwell, Conn., and White Plains, NY, for PESI. In April 2010, he presented “Current Trends in Trust Investment Management” to the New Haven County Bar Association. In May 2010, he was a panelist for “Dawn of the Dead,” a book discussion hosted by The Bradley Center on Philanthropy and Civic Renewal in Washington, DC. Cooper was awarded tenure this past spring.

Susan Dailey Associate Professor In March, Dailey and Associate Professor Carolyn Wilkes Kaas presented a paper at the Externships 5 Conference: Responding to Changing Times, in Miami, Fla. The paper was titled, “Integrating First-Year Legal Skills and Clinics and Externships: Using Electronic Learning Portfolios to Motivate Ongoing Student Reflection and SelfAssessment.”

William Dunlap Professor Dunlap participated in two programs sponsored by the Federalist Society at the School of Law. The first was a debate with Professor Scott Gerber of Ohio Northern University’s Pettit College of Law on the role of affirmative action in legal education. The second was a panel discussion on the use of the federal criminal courts, military tribunals, or a hybrid National Security Court to try alleged terrorists. He also participated in a debate at the University of New

QUINNIPIAC LAW • SUMMER 2010

Haven on civil liberties implications of video surveillance cameras to monitor traffic violations and street crime and a workshop at the University of Maine on developing international educational programs in comparative maritime and admiralty law.

Neal Feigenson Carmen Tortora Professor of Law PUBLICATIONS “Jurors (and Courtrooms) of the Future,” in J. Epstein & C. Henderson (eds.), “The Future of Evidence” (ABA, forthcoming 2011). “Audiovisual Communication and Therapeutic Jurisprudence: Cognitive and Social Psychological Dimensions,” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry (forthcoming 2010). “Visual Evidence,” Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 17:2 (2010), 149–154. “Seeing Justice Done” (review of Daniel Stepniak, “Audiovisual Coverage of Courts”), International Journal for the Semiotics of Law (forthcoming 2011). In May, Feigenson discussed “Visual Commonsense and Visual Bias” at the Law and Society Association’s annual meeting in Chicago, IL; “Effects of PowerPoint on Juror Decision Making” at the Charles Sturt University Psychology-Justice Symposium, Bathurst, NSW, Australia; “Visual Proof in the Digital Age,” Charles Sturt University Police Training Institute, Australia; and “What We Know and Don’t Know About Visual Evidence,” Third Justice Environments Conference, Sydney, Australia.

Feigenson gave several talks about his book––“Law on Display: The Digital Transformation of Legal Persuasion and Judgment” (with Christina Spiesel), NYU Press, (2009)––at the University of New Haven in March; ARTSpace, New Haven, in March; Yale University, Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life, in April; Danbury Bar Association in April; and at the Australian National University Law School, Canberra, NSW, Australia, in May.

Stephen Gilles Professor In April, Gilles presented a paper titled “The Supreme Court’s Uncertain Void-for-Vagueness Jurisprudence and the Intangible Right of Honest Services” at DePaul Law School’s 16th annual Clifford Symposium on the Civil Justice System.

Martin Margulies Professor Emeritus PUBLICATIONS Margulies reviewed “The Prisoner of St. Kilda: The True Story of the Unfortunate Lady Grange,” History Scotland Magazine. He also wrote the foreword to “The Prestonpans Tapestry,” Burke’s Peerage & Gentry/ Prestoungrange University Press (2010). Margulies was appointed in April to the Citizens’ Ethics Advisory Board of the Connecticut Office of State Ethics, which polices lobbying activities and conflicts of interest involving state officials and employees. He also coached the Newtown High School’s boys’ tennis team to the Southwest Conference championship.

Jeffrey Meyer Professor of Law Meyer had an article selected for presentation at the Yale/Stanford Junior Faculty Forum in June at Yale Law School. The article is titled “Dual Illegality and Geoambiguous Law: A New Rule for Extraterritorial Application of U.S. Law,” 95 Minn. L. Rev. (forthcoming Fall 2010). It is posted in draft at http://law.quinnipiac.edu/x241.xml ?School=&Dept=&Person=36687 Meyer was awarded tenure this past spring.

conference on the future of family property in Europe at Cambridge University in England. He also presented a paper, “Matrimonial Property, Choice of Law, Public Policy, Choice and the Exit Principle,” at the International Society On Family’s North American regional conference at the University of Missouri in June 2010. At the same conference, he moderated a panel on the intersections on family law and science in dealing with misdiagnoses in “shaken baby” cases.

Sarah French Russell

Linda Meyer

Assistant Professor

Professor PUBLICATIONS

Sarah French Russell will join the School of Law faculty in January. She comes to Quinnipiac from Yale Law School, where she served as director of the Arthur Liman Public Interest Program and taught in the prison, criminal defense and Supreme Court clinics. Her most recent article, “Rethinking Recidivist Enhancements: The Role of Prior Drug Convictions in Federal Sentencing,” was published last spring in the UC Davis Law Review. Before Yale, she worked as an assistant federal public defender in New Haven. She earned a BA, magna cum laude, from Yale College and a JD from Yale Law School.

“The Justice of Mercy,” Michigan University Press (forthcoming October 2010). In March, Meyer participated in an animal law panel with colleagues Mary Ferrari, Leonard Long and Gail Stern at the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and Humanities. She also presented a paper there on J.M. Coetzee’s novel, “Disgrace.”At the same meeting, she was elected president of the association; her term will continue until 2013.

David Rosettenstein Professor

Gail Stern

Rosettenstein presented, “Whose Property? Whose Interest? Status, Contract, Identity and Sovereignty—What the Romans Have to Tell Us About Family Property,” at an Association for Law, Property and Society meeting at Georgetown University in March. He also presented “Cultural Autonomy in a Legal Matrix or Legal Autonomy in a Cultural Matrix?: Lessons From the Roman Law of Dos (Dowry),” at the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities meeting at Brown University in March.

Assistant Professor

In April he attended the Commission on European Family Law’s

“Mental Health Professionals in the

Stern gave a poster presentation in June at the national conference of the Legal Writing Institute in Florida on the role of the syllogism in legal method. She also participated in an animal law panel with colleagues Mary Ferrari, Leonard Long and Linda Meyer at the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and Humanities.

John Thomas Professor of Law PUBLICATIONS

FORD VISITS LEGISLATORS IN DC

rofessor Marilyn Ford, accompanied by board members of the Urban League of Southern Connecticut, traveled to Washington, D.C. recently for a weeklong series of meetings with members of Congress. One of the topics they discussed was the employment situation in Connecticut. Among the legislators they met with were U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, U.S. Rep. John Larson and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes. In addition, they met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss issues of particular concern to innercity residents and people of color in the state.

Pictured here: Ford and other members of the delegation pose with Nancy Pelosi, second from right, speaker of the House. From left: Valarie ShultzWilson, CEO and president of the Urban League of Southern Connecticut; Ford; Cathy Graves, vice president of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven; Pelosi; and Patti Russo, first vice president of the Women’s Campaign School at Yale.

‘Enhanced’ Interrogation Room” (with Dorothy E. Stubbe), Psychiatric Times 27 (forthcoming 2010). “Sultan of Frivolity: Mark Knopfler,” Fretboard Journal (2010). “Great Acoustics: 1928 Gibson L1,” Acoustic Guitar (Summer 2010). “Revealing Guitars’ Musical History: Take Two” (with Quinnipiac University professors Tania Blyth and Shelley Giordano), Journal of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (2010). “Paranoia Strikes Deep: MMR Vaccine and Autism,” Psychiatric Times, 27:3 (2010). In February, he presented “The Digital Mystery Tour: Section 114(b) of the Copyright Act and the Digital Reproduction of the Beatles Recordings” at the Univer-

sity of Florida School of Law and “Paranoia Strikes Deep: Childhood Vaccines and Autism,” at Yale University Medical School. In April, Thomas became a cofounder and member of board of directors for The Buddy Holly Guitar Foundation. Other board members include Maria Elena Holly, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Julian Lloyd Webber and Henry Kaiser. The foundation will raise funds for school music programs around the world. In addition, he was interviewed by various newspapers and radio stations on topics ranging from the sale of DNA self-test kits and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to health care reform and a lawsuit seeking damages for workplace contraction of a lentivirus.

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WATCHING out for parents GILLES’ SCHOLARSHIP FOCUSES ON PARENTAL AUTHORITY RIGHTS BY CLAIRE LAFLEUR HALL 8

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PROFESSOR STEPHEN G. GILLES, who honed his research skills as a clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, recently was named a 2010 Outstanding Faculty Scholar from the School of Law. The father of six (ranging in age from 11-year-old twins to a 21-year-old college student) said his experiences as a parent have fueled his passion as an advocate for parental constitutional rights. “I’ve tried to make a case in my scholarship that we need to recognize and encourage the special effort and invest-

ment that parents make by giving them the authority to decide what’s best for their children,” he said. Gilles thinks there is an underestimated danger in going in the other direction and letting the government intervene in the way parents raise their children. “It demoralizes them from being good, attached parents,” he said. “Raising a child well is a huge commitment. If we want more people to make that commitment, we must give them authority commensurate with their responsibilities.”

Professor Stephen G. Gilles in his law school office.

For instance, parents should have the right to home-school their children, he said. They also should have the right to opt out of public school curricula that they find objectionable on religious or moral grounds. “I’m not a religious person, but I value the good work that lots of religious people do in raising their children, and in the community,” he said. “I think the federal courts have been unduly suspicious of religiously motivated choices.” Gilles joined the Quinnipiac faculty in 1995 from the University of Chicago, where he earned his juris doctor degree. Impressed by the caliber of the law school’s faculty and students, he accepted a teaching position at Quinnipiac and has never looked back. “Steve consistently has been among the most thoughtful and respected scholars on the law school faculty,” said Brad Saxton, dean of the School of Law. “He has produced scholarship of exceptional thoughtfulness and quality and is an extremely well-liked, effective and demanding teacher.” He also has served as chair of the School of Law’s Faculty Appointments Committee and––by election of the faculty––on the school’s Law Faculty Executive Committee. Gilles has published numerous articles in prestigious journals including the University of Chicago Law Review, the Virginia Law Review, the Emory Law Journal, and the Vanderbilt Law Review. Most recently, he published “Roe’s Lifeor-Health Exception: Self-Defense or Relative Safety?” in the Notre Dame Law Review and “The Judgment-Proof Society” in the Washington & Lee Law Review. HIGH-POWERED CONNECTIONS During his career, Gilles has worked with some judicial superstars including O’Connor. He was one of four clerks

assigned to her office in the mid-1980s when he was just two years out of law school. “Even today, Justice O’Connor keeps a schedule of speaking and traveling that would exhaust most of us,” he said. “She was a dynamo. She was very careful and prudent in her approach to the law. She wanted her clerks to give her a thorough presentation.” Gilles remarked that O’Connor excelled at multitasking before it was fashionable. He characterized it as a “grueling but exciting time.” Before that, he worked for Judge Robert Bork in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Bork, an unsuccessful nominee for the Supreme Court under President Ronald Reagan, enjoyed cases that raised issues of a broader scope. A stickler for in-depth analysis, he prodded his clerks to dig deeper, Gilles recalled. Another famous friend is U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, a colleague of Gilles’ at the University of Chicago in the early- to mid-’90s. Gilles recalls informal meetings with students and Kagan’s quick and insightful remarks. They played bridge together and occasionally shared a cigarette break. Gilles has since quit smoking. “She’s extremely talented and well qualified,” he said of her nomination to the Supreme Court. Gilles said a judgeship isn’t something he would seek, but would consider if asked. “But I like my job better,” he quickly added. “I set my own intellectual agenda. At the end of the day, I have the freedom to say I will spend my scholarship time working on issues that have been overlooked and might make a difference in people’s lives.” In the coming years, Gilles intends to continue to address constitutional and policy questions about abortion. He said

he thinks Roe v. Wade adopted a much broader abortion right than U.S. legal tradition supports or that most Americans think is appropriate, and he hopes to develop a “middle-ground position with better legal support and broader political appeal.” THINKING IT THROUGH As he sits in his third-floor office, Gilles’ children are never far from his mind. His office is adorned with their artwork and photos. The mouse pad on his desk features a picture of his family, to whom he devotes his free time. He plays tennis with his kids and enjoys the books, movies and music that they choose. “I know a disconcerting amount about Lady Gaga,” he said, smiling. “I guess my hobby is finding out what my children are thinking and learning about.” His own heroes are more apt to be found in chronicles of contemporary history. Gilles said three world leaders who persevered to end the Soviet Union— President Ronald Reagan, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II—are his personal heroes. Back in the classroom, the message Gilles hopes to impart to each of his law students is the importance of thinking through the issues, not just taking one side. “The overriding message of my teaching is that to be an excellent lawyer, you must understand the strongest arguments on both sides. Many law students want to go after their adversary’s weakest arguments. I try to get them to anticipate and figure out a response to the other side’s best argument.” What kind of academic legacy would he like to leave? Gilles said the greatest compliment would simply be if his students said, “He inspired us to think even more clearly and work even harder.” SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

FACULTY•FOCUS Margulies sees tennis, law parallels

BOOK SHELF

JUDICIAL SPEECHES PROVIDE HISTORIC GLIMPSE

rofessor Stanton D. Krauss spent this summer reviewing 1,500 pages of printer’s manuscripts for his two-volume book, “Gentlemen of the Grand Jury: The Surviving Grand Jury Charges from Colonial, State and Lower Federal Courts before 1801” (forthcoming, Carolina Academic Press). Over the past 20 years, Krauss has explored the legal history of the United States by reading every publicly available newspaper and magazine written in the U.S. (in English or French) before 1801, combing surviving books, pamphlets and judges’ papers, and examining court records from the 170 years before Thomas Jefferson became president. The book is the latest product of this research. These charges to the grand juries are speeches judges gave at the beginning of a court term. They address a wide array of topics, including criminal law, procedure and evidence. Because grand juries often supervised local officials, the speeches frequently touch on the state of roads, schools and local social and economic development. But many judges also took the opportunity to comment on the issues of the day, including politics and foreign and domestic policy. “Today, if a judge were to make such a speech, it would be considered gross misbehavior, but the judicial role was seen differently then,” Krauss notes. Krauss cites the example of a Quaker judge in colonial Delaware, contemplating a looming war with France, who sounded a warning. “He basically asked, ‘Where would you attack if you were the French?’ and answered, ‘Pennsylvania and Maryland, Quaker-run states without militias.’ He told the Quaker elites that they misunderstood the Bible and that, if they couldn’t subordinate their personal religious views to the good of their colonies, they should get out of the Legislature and allow men without pacifist scruples to take their places,” Krauss says. Krauss predicts his book will be of interest to historians, lawyers searching for the original understanding of the Bill of Rights and ordinary Americans looking for a glimpse into the country’s history.

artin Margulies usually can spot the serious athletes in his classes. “I’ll surprise them sometimes by walking over at the beginning of the semester and asking what sport they played,” says the professor emeritus. “I can see by the way their eyes are locked on me, taking in the material and shutting out every distraction,” he says. Margulies, who has taught both criminal and constitutional law at the law school since 1977, sees similarities between tennis and the law. He also knows how athletes think and function. He has played tennis most of his life, worked in his youth as a tennis counselor at a boys’ camp, and coached the sport since his oldest son was in high school. This past May, the Newtown High School boys’ tennis team, which Margulies has coached since 2000, won its first-ever conference championship by beating Weston High School, a team it had not defeated in over a decade. “Winning that championship was as much of a thrill as any law case I’ve ever won,” Margulies says. Passionate about both the law and tennis, Margulies likes to point out the qualities needed in the skilled practice of both. “It’s all about focus and control,” he says. “What’s most important and most difficult in tennis is making yourself watch the ball to the point of contact, rather than looking at where you want to hit it.” The discipline of watching the ball, he contends, is identical to the concentration involved in close readings of statutes or cases. “My kids weren’t necessarily

more talented,” Margulies says, “but they succeeded in taming their hormones and keeping their tempers in check. You can’t control the ball if you can’t control yourself. They played consistently and patiently, letting the other side make mistakes by forcing shots and taking unnecessary risks.” In the courtroom, Margulies says, self-control is also essential. “While a good litigator may use emotion in making an argument, you have to remain totally in control of your emotions in court,” he says, “and always be thinking several questions ahead. As with tennis, you don’t know exactly what the other side is going to do, or what answers you might get, so you have to have fallback and exit strategies.”

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Martin Margulies coached the Newtown High School boys’ tennis team to victory last spring. Still, Margulies says, he’s very clear that “Tennis is for fun, but the law isn’t. What happens in the courtroom can matter enormously, and that’s the attitude I teach with. So my law students might be surprised to see that I’m not a drill sergeant when I’m coaching.

While I stress self-control, courtesy and honesty, if I had to choose between my tennis players winning and having fun, I would choose having fun. “Knowing I helped those kids to enjoy playing the game––that was what was most important to me.”

STUDENT•SPOTLIGHT Quinnipiac teams take top honors at ABA Mediation Competition

hree teams from the Quinnipiac School of Law took first and second place and tied for third at the New England regional round of the American Bar Association’s Representation in Mediation Competition in March. In this contest, two-person teams role-play as attorneys and clients in a fictitious mediation setting. Eight teams from four law schools competed in the regional round, which was held at Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, R.I. The Quinnipiac team of Darren Pruslow and Julia Xia earned first-place honors overall; Andrew MarchantShapiro and Gina Teixeira took second place; and Taryn Porzio and Nicole Fernandes tied for third place with another competing team. As regional winners, Pruslow and Xia advanced to the national round of the competition, which was held in San Francisco in April. This was Pruslow’s second year competing at the regional level. The prior year, he competed in the regional round as a first-year student—an honor that is usually reserved for second- or third-year students. Having experience gave his team an edge. “Just knowing what you are doing is helpful. It often comes down to small differences. The judges—all practicing lawyers— provide feedback at the end of each round. That’s why you do it— it gives you a chance to do some practical application and get feedback and perspectives from people who are doing this work in the field,” said Pruslow. Pruslow and Xia, both secondyear law students, competed in two preliminary rounds at the national level before losing to the

Seton Hall team, one of the two teams that advanced to the final round. The finals, which are held in conjunction with the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution’s Spring Conference, gave the students a chance to attend the events and meet people in the profession. In 2008 Quinnipiac law students Bradley Hoffman ’09 and Adam Rightmer ’10 won the national competition. The two earned a spot in the national competition after winning the Northeast regional competition a month earlier.

The law school was represented by, from left: Gina Teixeira, Andrew MarchantShapiro, Darren Pruslow, Julia Xia, Abe Hurdle, Adam LaRue and David Vandrilla. Taryn Porzio and Nicole Fernandes are missing from photo.

TYLA teams advance to regional finals

or the second consecutive year, both teams from the Quinnipiac School of Law advanced to the regional finals of the National Trial Competition sponsored by the Texas Young Lawyers Association. Twenty-two teams from around New England competed in the event, which was held in Providence, R.I. After the three preliminary

Teammates Kara Hinesley and James Belforti.

rounds, the team of James Belforti, Kara Hinesley, Andrew Lolli and alternate Denise Graham placed first overall, while the team of Ryan Flanagan, Alex Romano, Andrea Finan and alternate Kelly Obermeier placed second. Both teams won their first elimination round trials and then lost in the two final elimination rounds. “Quinnipiac’s competitors work really hard, typically putting in between 10-12 hours per week in practice time with the team,” said Belforti. The case was a life insurance suit in which a man died of a selfinflicted gunshot wound. The terms of the life insurance established that suicide would be an affirmative defense. The plaintiff—the wife of the deceased— maintained that her husband’s death was an accident. Arguing for the defense in the final round, Belforti’s team had the burden of proof. “It was a really plaintiff-friendly fact pattern,” he said. “The law was against us.”

The experience teaches students the importance of trial preparation, according to Lolli. “Litigation, at least in my limited experience, is fluid and unpredictable; one’s strategy must be prepared, but not rigid. You must be flexible enough to pursue alternative avenues if a particular line of questioning is unexpectedly disallowed,” he said. Belforti earned the Best Advocate award in his team’s final trial, and Finan was honored as the Best Advocate in her team’s final trial. Belforti, a third-year student, is a member of the Mock Trial Society, and was chief justice of the Student Bar Association judicial board for the 2009–10 academic year. Christopher Petter, past president of the Mock Trial Honor Society, coached the team. “I think the results we had really showed the hard work and effort put forth by all of the team members. They got nothing but compliments from all of the other coaches,” he said.

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STUDENT•SPOTLIGHT Group educates about death penalty

roy Davis has been on death row since 1991. A black man in his early 20s, Davis was convicted of murdering a white police officer in Savannah, Ga. The case against him was based almost entirely on witness testimony— the state presented nine witnesses, seven of whom have since recanted, alleging the police coerced them into lying. After repeated appeal requests, the Georgia Supreme Court granted an evidentiary hearing, giving Davis another chance to prove his innocence. In March, a group of Quinnipiac law students gathered for Troy Davis night, the first event sponsored by the newly founded Willingham Abolition Society. The group’s purpose is to share information and work toward abolition of the death penalty in Connecticut and other states. The group is named for Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas in 2004 for the murder of his children. He is now believed to be innocent. About 75 people signed a petition to save Davis, according to Andrea Finan, president of the society’s executive board. “We also wore white T-shirts that read ‘I am Troy Davis.’ The shirts were symbolic of the fact that anyone can be at the wrong place at the wrong time.” Ben Jones, executive director of the Connecticut Network to Abolish the Death Penalty, was a guest speaker at Troy Davis night. The group hopes to receive word soon on whether Davis will be awarded a new trial. Finan, a third-year Quinnipiac law student with a criminal law concentration, adamantly opposes the death penalty. She attended the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty annual conference

in January 2010. Using information from the conference and from various classes about the death penalty, she and several of her classmates founded the society. According to Finan, “a smaller, more immediate goal is to educate the Quinnipiac community. Giving people the facts and statistics sheds a whole new light on it.” Other student members of the executive committee include Larissa Mervin, vice president of community service; Denise Graham, vice president of communication; Brett Aiello, secretary, and Amy Holbrook, treasurer. The debate over capital punishment in the U.S. continues to rage. Currently, 35 states, including Connecticut, have statutes allowing the death penalty. Proponents argue that the heinousness of certain crimes warrants the severe punishment. Opponents claim that the death penalty not only does not serve as a deterrent to crime, but it is also costly and unequally enforced. Their most compelling argument, however, cites the very real danger that an innocent person may be convicted and sentenced to death. In Connecticut, lawyers for Stephen Hayes, one of two men accused in a home invasion and

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triple slaying in Cheshire, Conn., have asked the judge in the case to bar prosecutors from pursuing the death penalty for Hayes. The defense lawyers reasoned that, because Connecticut’s General Assembly voted to repeal capital punishment last year, the public was against it. Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell, however, vetoed the repeal bill, and cited the Cheshire atrocity as a crime that does warrant the death penalty. Finan says, “The death penalty is poor public policy for Connecticut, and the General Assembly recognized that. Police chiefs across the country have reported that capital punishment is not a deterrent to crime. In addition, capital punishment can be difficult for the victim’s family. They will have to go through years of appeals before they can experience closure.” Finan said New York spent $170 million over nine years on death penalty cases, and there were no executions. Finan and the other society members hope to get a resolution passed in Hamden to work toward abolishing the death penalty. They also plan to have an exoneree come speak at Quinnipiac in the fall. In October 2008 James Tillman spoke

at a School of Law forum titled, “Guilty Until Proven Innocent.” Tillman spent 17 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. Another exoneree, Jeffrey Deskovic, who spent 16 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit, testified during a March public hearing in Connecticut about proposed reforms to the death penalty. At the hearing, Deskovic said, “There is no ‘fixing’ the death penalty, other than abolishing it altogether, because no matter how many reforms are passed aimed at preventing wrongful convictions, in the end the system is operated by human beings, and human beings make mistakes.” And for Finan, “Just one innocent person executed is too great a risk.”

Law students develop trial advocacy skills

uinnipiac sent two teams to the regional round of the National Student Trial Advocacy Competition, an annual nationwide mock trial competition sponsored by the American Association for Justice. The event provides a forum for law students to practice their trial advocacy skills before a distinguished panel of practicing attorneys and judges. In the regional round, which was held in February, Quinnipiac’s two student trial teams came in third and sixth among the 16 teams competing. The team of Abraham Hurdle, Jason Maur, Michael Pedevillano and Lauren Ross and alternate Giovanni Ruffin earned third-place honors, losing in a 2–1 decision in the semifinal round.

World of opportunity Public interest law beckons traveler By Alejandra Navarro ujia (Julia) Xia is an adventurer, eager to explore countries and taste different cultures—sometimes literally. “I’m reckless with my eating,” admits Xia, with a devilish smile. She’s dined on skewers of yak meat from street vendors in Shangri-La, China, and tasted tamarind fruit picked from a tree in León, Nicaragua. “My attitude is that life is all about experiences,” explains Xia, who was 7 when she moved from China to the U.S. with her mother. Her father had planted roots in Connecticut a year and a half earlier to earn a graduate degree. “I don’t want to be in this American bubble. You can read about other places, but it’s like looking through someone else’s lens. You have to be there to experience it, and ultimately understand it,” says the third-year student. Before Quinnipiac, she studied Mandarin for a semester at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, then spent the summer backpacking through China’s remote regions. As a law student, she has had several opportunities to travel. In May, she journeyed to Nicaragua with the school’s International Human Rights Society, helping to organize a law conference and learning about the country. A month earlier, she and fellow student Darren Pruslow traveled to San Francisco to compete in the national round of the ABA’s Representation in Mediation Competition after winning the regional competition in Rhode Island. Last summer, she interned at a high-profile corporate law firm in Shanghai. She researched copyright issues and trademark law, as well as the absence of intellectual property law in China and the response from the international business community. Her parents’ experiences living during China’s Cultural Revolution and the opportunities she’s had to visit the country during its growth into a global power has given her an appreciation for the law in China and other emerging countries. As she heads into her final year of law school, she isn’t limiting her career options. A position at an international law firm would be just as appealing as one at a legal aid organization in Boston’s Chinatown. Working with the New Haven Legal Assistance lawyers on the Nicaragua trip rekindled her attraction to public interest law. It was the reason she applied to law school. After earning a bachelor’s degree in biology from Tufts University, Xia was a researcher at Children’s Hospital in Boston. She was considering graduate school options when her parents encountered a legal dilemma. Despite having lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, the family found it challenging to understand the laws and didn’t know whom they could trust for sound legal advice.

“We didn’t have a strong network of people to rely on,” says Xia, whose extended family is in Shanghai. She realized that the law can be intimidating, particularly for immigrants. “The legal system is part of every aspect of life. If you don’t know how to navigate it, this country will never really feel like home.” In college, she met many wide-eyed and frightened patients while working at medical clinics in immigrant neighborhoods. Some families were confused by a diagnosis and concerned about costs; others worried that seeking help would affect their residency status. Giving them a few reassuring words would prompt a sigh of relief. “It’s terrifying when you don’t know what to do or what your rights are,” explains Xia. “Knowing how scary it was for my family, I want to be in a position to help people.” Last year, she helped the students at Hillhouse High School in New Haven. Volunteering in the QU Leads (Legal Education Advancing Diversity) program, she and other law students led a few classes to spark students’ interest in professional fields, such as law. “It was a fantastic experience. I felt like I was able to bond with the kids,” says Xia, of the students who come from diverse cultural backgrounds. In 2008, she and her parents became naturalized citizens, but for most of her life she’s walked—sometimes uncomfortably—between cultures. She parlayed this experience into motivation to achieve. “Growing up in Connecticut, all I wanted to do was fit in,” she says. “Now, all I want to do is stand out.” SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

Human rights conferences give law students insight into Nicaragua’s

LEGAL LANDSCAPE BY ALEJANDRA NAVARRO PHOTOS BY MATT ANDREW BA ’10

ight men with sun-toasted, leathery skin described their days working in the sugar cane fields and at a sugar refinery in Chinandega, Nicaragua. A few in their audience gasped when one retired worker, called a cañero, shared that he spent 70 years in the cane fields, beginning the arduous work when he was 10. Another former worker told of the labor involved in cutting the cane and the 12-hour days it requires, although he’s heard conditions have improved in recent years. A third described how he mixed bags of rat poison and spread it in the fields with his bare hands. Students from the Quinnipiac School of Law and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua (or UNAN) in León, Nicaragua, listened in amazement. These stories, told at a conference on international human rights in Nicaragua, provided a glimpse into working conditions that most—particularly Americans protected by stringent labor and environmental laws—had never experienced. More impressive, however, was that these men were alive to tell their stories. Many of them have watched an unusually high number of co-workers and neighbors die, all from chronic renal failure (kidney disease). Although some have worked in the fields for decades, the health problems seem to coincide with the use of pesticides in the fields. The men are now working with an international legal center in Washington, D.C., to investigate and remedy the situation. Later in the day, one Nicaraguan student wondered aloud whether the American companies who produce pesticides are just as responsible as Nicaraguan companies who use them. The question sparked a lengthy, sometimes passionate, discussion on American laws requiring warning labels and the agencies that oversee the use of hazardous materials, as well as the international laws addressing multinational companies. The exciting dialogue was exactly what students in Quinnipiac’s International Human Rights Law Society had hoped for when they organized this international human rights conference and two others

addressing mediation and domestic violence, in León, Nicaragua. The students, professors and several Connecticut lawyers collaborated with their counterparts to develop the trio of daylong conferences in May. “The point of the conference is to exchange ideas,” said Karen Donnelly ’10, a student leader for the mediation conference. The student-driven conferences were a first for the law school, and an impressive feat that placed a Quinnipiac group deep within the mechanics of a legal system that is young and quickly evolving, and struggling to enforce laws in a society with a fragile democracy. “It’s powerful to meet with people who are suffering and have few opportunities to make change in their lives, but are organizing against injustice nevertheless,” said Photo at left: Law students and professors learned about harsh Danielle Robinson Briand conditions for sugar cane workers during their trip to Nicaragua this past ’10, co-president of the May. Above: Professor Jeffrey Meyer, left, and legal aid lawyer Jane school’s International Grossman ’98 with Magistrate Armando Campuzano Villagra. Human Rights Law Society. Fluent in Spanish, Briand often translated legal systems. QU law students gathered during the presentations. legal professionals from both countries to “Many of us have an interest in promotparticipate, with assistance from the ing justice around the world, and we really Albert Schweitzer Institute at Quinnipiac wanted to hear the workers speak for and the community educational organizathemselves,” she said. tion Alianza Americana in León. Quinnipiac students worked with proThe first mission fessors and lawyers to develop presentaBriand met the cañeros in 2009 when she tions on the American legal system. Other and Donnelly were part of the law school’s partners included the León District Attorfirst student trip to Nicaragua, which was ney’s Office, and UNAN’s Institute for joined by Professor Jeffrey Meyer. On that Human Rights, as well as its Center for trip, 11 students met with lawyers, judges, Mediation. The Quinnipiac group included professors, law enforcement officers and 16 students; professors Jennifer Brown, women’s rights advocates, as well as two Jane Grossman ’98, Carolyn Kaas, and sugar cane workers. Meyer; Charles Pillsbury, executive direcThe conversations sparked an interest tor of Mediation Beyond Borders; Erika in creating a comparative law forum to Tindill, executive director of the Connectishare information about each country’s cut Coalition Against Domestic Violence; SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

and attorneys Amy Eppler-Epstein and Sheila Hayre of the New Haven Legal Assistance Association (where Grossman works as well).

A country in transition Quinnipiac students arrived in Nicaragua at a pivotal moment in the country’s history, said Darren Pruslow, a third-year student and co-president of the International Human Rights Law Society. Less than two decades have passed since the end of the violent Contra War that left the nation divided. The bus ride from León to the rural town of Chinandega, the site of the human rights conference, enabled students to observe vastly different living conditions. León, surrounded by 11 volcanoes, is a bustling city with colonial architecture, a cultural center and a historic cathedral. Leaving the city, the neat rows of homes and businesses morphed into small stucco structures with cracked, peeling paint and rusted tin roofs—a contrast to the lush, rural landscape. The bus, slowed occasionally by horsedrawn wagons carrying families, also passed a fairly new manufacturing plant and patches of sugar cane fields. Today, nearly half of the country’s 6 million people live in poverty. The Nicaraguan per capita income is $2,627, a fraction of the U.S. number ($46,381), according to the International Monetary Fund. Nicaragua is grappling with extreme debt, a weakened government and an underfunded and overburdened legal system. “Usually we’re reading cases that have happened a while ago and learning about legal systems that are well-established. Here, we’re seeing the transformations that are taking place in the legal system and meeting the people struggling with Above, Darren Pruslow, a thirdyear student, seeds a community garden. Below, Third-year student Alex Kuehling rolls paint on a schoolhouse wall. 16

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the policies and issues,” Pruslow said. “It’s interesting to see in a country that has challenges with stability, how the laws are changing, and if those laws will increase— or decrease—stability.” Nicaragua is shifting from an Inquisitorial legal system, which primarily uses judges to ask questions of both parties in a case, to a more adversarial legal system, similar to the one used in the U.S., where

attorneys represent each party. The Nicaraguan civil legal system is based on its new constitution, established in the 1980s, and nation laws. It does not rely on case law, as the U.S. does. Mediation also is a widely used alternative.

Legal and cultural differences Introduced in the early 1990s, mediation has become an effective tool for resolving legal disputes that would typically land in U.S. civil courts. Pillsbury, who presented during the mediation conference, said Americans could learn from the mediation work in Nicaragua. “We have been doing mediation longer in Connecticut, but you have become more advanced than we are in a short period,” Pillsbury said during the conference. Brown discussed the debate in the American legal system regarding increased use of mediation in criminal cases, which is common in Nicaragua, to rehabilitate those who commit crimes. Nicaraguans, for example, use mediation in domestic violence cases. U.S. lawyers do not because of the imbalance of power between the abuser and victim. In Nicaragua, victims often don’t have the resources to leave, so resolving the dispute is necessary. Addressing domestic violence in Nicaragua has two major challenges, said Grossman, who discussed U.S. laws protecting victims, as well as the resources available to them, at the domestic violence conference. First, the country is fairly traditional, and domestic violence often is seen as a private matter. Second, the response from the police and the courts is inconsistent, which deters victims from relying on the system. The country has made progress in providing more resources for domestic violence victims, such as adding more female police officers. Women hold prominent roles in the Nicaraguan legal system.

“The majority of the prosecutors and judges are women, which I think is interesting and fantastic,” says Grossman, who spent several months in the country learning the language two years ago. Another benefit of the conferences was the opportunity for students to work with people from another culture. Given the diversity of the U.S., the trip is valuable experience for any lawyer, especially those interested in international law.

Honest conversations sparked Like a machete to sugar cane, the discussions during the week chopped away at misunderstandings about Nicaraguan and American legal systems, as well as the misconceptions about each country’s citizens. Briand said she was concerned that some Nicaraguan students might resent Americans for the U.S. government’s support of the Contras. Nicaraguan students, although slightly apprehensive at first, were eager to get to know the American students. “The most interesting aspect for me was the honest conversations we had with the Nicaraguans,” said Alexander Kuehling, the incoming co-president of the International Human Rights Law Society. One of the Nicaraguan students shared his opinions on the connection between Nicaraguan politics and its legal system, which not many people are willing to do. “His path into law was based on his beliefs about his government,” explained Kaas. “He was incredibly honest with the group.” During the conferences, lively debates surfaced on topics ranging from violence in American schools to proving the validity of a domestic violence claim. “It was refreshing to have an open forum about some of the environmental issues in both Nicaragua and the U.S.,” said Mike Miller, a second-year student and president of Quinnipiac’s Environmental Law Society. Miller was surprised to learn of the lax enforcement of laws relating to the environment. He has developed a few ideas on environmental topics for future conferences in Nicaragua. At the human rights conference, Meyer presented a transnational duel between the U.S. and Nicaraguan legal systems, suggest-

CHILDREN BENEFIT FROM SERVICE PROJECT, GIFT BAGS

etween conferences in Nicaragua, the Quinnipiac contingent of students, professors and lawyers put down their pens and legal pads and picked up paintbrushes and shovels. The group spent a day painting a classroom with bright blue and white paint and planting a vegetable garden at a school in La Ceiba, a town outside of León. The classroom was built by previous delegations of Quinnipiac students in service projects organized by the Albert Schweitzer Institute. The school serves children from elementary to high school. Jen Amdur, a second-year student, was hesitant about the service project at first. “I thought it was a great thing to do, but I wasn’t sure how it tied into the International Human Rights Law Society’s purpose,” she explains. Later, she dubbed it perfect. “When we were painting the school and saw the children’s faces light up, I realized that providing children with a clean, bright and happy place to go to school and learn is an important human right.” Professor Jennifer Brown and her daughter, Anna, who came on the trip, donated school supplies collected from teachers at Foote School and clothes collected from parishioners at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, both in New Haven. The group also donated five laptop computers: two to Alianza Americana, a community organization in León; and three to the León prosecutor’s office. The QU students also gave a basket of food and supplies to each sugar cane worker who spoke at the human rights conference. Many of the law students were moved by the youngsters’ excitement over the bags of pencils, notebooks and stickers. As the children headed home, trucks loaded with sugar cane rumbled by with weary workers sitting on top of the heap. The scene was a reminder that such work might lie in the future for these children and illustrated a point made by Danielle Robinson Briand ’10: to support education is to perhaps give this younger generation more opportunities.

ing that it illustrated the difficulties in adjudicating transnational human rights claims. In a lecture—in both Spanish and English—he discussed the longstanding but unsuccessful efforts of thousands of Nicaraguan banana workers to recover damages for sterility that they claim resulted from exposure to a pesticide known as “DBCP.” It was made by U.S. companies and used on U.S.-owned plantations in Nicaragua. The companies persuaded U.S. courts to dismiss claims against them so they could be litigated in Nicaragua. Concerned that these claims would flood its overburdened courts, Nicaragua enacted a special law expediting trial procedures. This has led to more than $2 billion in judgments against U.S. companies that now oppose efforts to have the judgments enforced by U.S. courts. The companies contend that the Nicaraguan courts and laws were unfair. Allegations of fraud by some of the plaintiffs and attorneys

have complicated the ongoing litigation. At the end of the conference, Kaas reminded the law students of their role in solving the problems that have plagued both countries. She encouraged them to work not only for nonprofit organizations, but also for corporations, such as chemical companies. “You are not a puppet of a company— you need to be the conscience of a company,” Kaas said. Motioning to the sugar cane workers, she added, “Together, I hope we can save and protect their children, wherever they have to work.” For the students, the work to organize the conferences was worthwhile, or as Briand said in Spanish, “vale la pena.” “We’ve been able to develop relationships here that represent the potential for future collaborations,” she said. To see video highlights of the trip, go to www.quinnipiac.edu/lawnicaragua2010.xml. SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

Laying down the law degree From “The People’s Court” to Common Ground, some law alumni thrive in nontraditional jobs B Y JA N E T WA L D M A N

iring dirty laundry in public may be embarrassing, but it’s definitely lucrative for the plaintiffs and defendants who choose to spar in “The People’s Court.” Walter Gorelczenko ’00, senior legal researcher for the show taped on Fifth Avenue in New York City, explains that appearing on camera is a win-win proposition, even for the losing litigant. Any monetary judgment awarded to the plaintiff is paid from a producer’s fund; thus, the plaintiff is assured that payment will be made. Although Gorelczenko does not practice law, he would not be able to perform his duties without the knowledge he gained in law school. He combs smallclaims court dockets in New York for pro se cases that might make “interesting TV,” collaborates with producers, and works to get the litigants to agree to appear on the show. He briefs Judge Marilyn Milian on the cases she will hear and researches any 18

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applicable laws from the state in which they were filed. Another alumnus engaged in a nontraditional or alternative law career is Katy Frankel ’08. Her JD was a stepping-stone to what she calls her dream job. In March 2009, Frankel began working for Common Ground, a New York City-based nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness through innovative housing solutions. She blends her passion for sustainable design and her legal education as the organization’s Connecticut housing development project manager. Common Ground has developed more than 3,000 units of housing nationwide for formerly homeless and low-income individuals, often renovating historic buildings that have fallen into disrepair. Doretta Sweeney, associate director of career services for the law school, says there have always been students who pursued law degrees to enhance established careers, but she has noticed an upswing in alumni pursuing alternative careers since

the economy’s downturn in 2008. In April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the legal sector shed 1,100 positions during the month, which came on the heels of 1,000 lost jobs in March, according to an article in the Connecticut Law Tribune. And between April 2009 and April 2010, the bureau reported that the legal industry has lost a total of approximately 28,000 jobs while the national unemployment rate hovers around 10 percent. “Traditional opportunities have contracted because of the economy, and a lot of firms have cut back on new hires or have had layoffs,” Sweeney says. She notes that health care and financial compliance are hot right now for job-seeking lawyers.

Courting litigants Gorelczenko has been a fan of “The People’s Court” since Judge Joseph Wapner presided in the ’80s and early ’90s. To Gorelczenko, a good case is one in which

articulate litigants prepare well to present the facts of their case from behind the two familiar lecterns labeled plaintiff and defendant in the oak-paneled studio where “The People’s Court” is taped. Milian’s decisions are binding. He says nothing annoys Milian more than unprepared litigants who fail to bring documents to support their cases. A peek behind her desk reveals a computer monitor on which a producer can communicate information to her during the taping. Next to the monitor is a collection of reading glasses in different hues so she can match her blouse choice of the day, and over to the side, latex gloves for examining evidence. The gavel rests on top. Cases run the gamut from dog bites, faulty car repairs and stained clothing to tenant-landlord squabbles and fitness club memberships, says Gorelczenko, a resident of Rego Park, Queens. Before Milian, he worked with “People’s Court” Judges Edward Koch, the former mayor of New York City; and Jerry Sheindlin. Milian, who began in 2001, is open to what both sides have to say, but her strength is in cutting to the chase, he says, adding that she is “completely different from other TV jurists who are more in your face.” His favorite case involved a Connecticut plaintiff who appeared twice over a few years before Koch and Milian. “The context of the cases was almost exactly the same. He befriended women at their place of work in New Haven and offered them rides home because they didn’t have cars,” he explains. When the women did not want to socialize with him further, Gorelczenko said the plaintiff sent them a bill for the rides and filed a court action. “There was no true merit to the case, but he was a character, a bit of an older gentleman whose presence in the courtroom made the cases interesting and outright funny. Needless to say, he lost both times,” Gorelczenko says. He has fostered working relationships with court clerks who sometimes provide a heads-up on an interesting case. “They are glad that we take them because pro se cases are the biggest burdens on the court,” he explains. Just when he thinks he’s seen it all, a new case comes along.

Gorelczenko earned an undergraduate degree in political science at Fordham University in 1990. He worked in the human resources field for a while, and issues he dealt with, such as sexual harassment, stirred his interest in law school. At the end of his first year at Quinnipiac, he was looking for a paid summer position in the legal field. His brother, Andrew, now production manager of “The People’s Court,” told him the show was starting production in New York with Ed Koch. They interviewed and were hired a few months apart. After graduating law school, his position became full time. The most difficult and sometimes frus-

trating part of the job is making sure litigants show up on time. They cancel for reasons that range from no babysitter to snowy weather to simple cold feet. “It’s a big blow to me and to the producer because without litigants, there is no show.” Even when two parties agree to appear, Gorelczenko must make sure their cases are continued in the courts of origin in case one of the parties backs out. One would presume that the losing litigant would be happy the judgment did not come out of his or her wallet, but for many, it’s not about the money. Gorelczenko says, “People just want to be heard. Often, it’s the principle.”

Walter Gorelczenko ’00 in front of Judge Marilyn Milian’s desk in “The People’s Court” SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

Thinking like a lawyer Common Ground’s flagship Connecticut development is the former Capitol building on Bushnell Park, renamed The Hollander. It contains 70 apartments, 56 of which are occupied by a variety of people who qualify for low-income housing. Frankel’s office, on the roof of this building, affords a commanding view of downtown Hartford. The city’s first green roof––4,000 square feet of flowering plants and vegetation––lies outside her office window. Frankel was always interested in architecture. While earning an undergraduate degree in history at Cornell University, she worked for an architect and soaked up information on urban planning issues. “I knew I wanted to work in this field, but didn't know what my role could be,” she says. Before law school, she worked as an editor and contributing author on a variety of design publications, including “Spectacle” by architect David Rockwell and “Design Like You Give A Damn,” a book profiling humanitarian design projects around the world by nonprofit Architecture for Humanity. One of her articles was about

The Andrews House, a former lodging house on the Bowery of Manhattan rehabilitated by Common Ground. During that assignment, she met Common Ground founder Rosanne Haggerty, who encouraged her to go to law school. At Quinnipiac, she focused on environmental law and headed the Environmental Law Society. She also was drawn to intellectual property, especially copyright law. After her first year, she took on an extracurricular internship or externship each semester and summer. She recalls Professor John Morgan emphasizing that there was more to law school than books. “He said, ‘You have to get out there and see how lawyers do their work.’” While an intern at Creative Commons in San Francisco, Calif., she authored an article titled “Copyright Protection for Architectural Works: How Can Creative Commons Encourage Collaboration Among Socially Responsible Architects?” that was published in the ABA’s SciTech Lawyer in Spring 2007. During law school, she maintained a research position with Creative Commons and clerked for Judge Howard T. Owens Jr. in the Connecticut

Hartford’s first green roof lies outside the Common Ground office of Katy Frankel ’08. 20

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Superior Court. She also interned with an intellectual property firm in Stamford, Conn. She passed both the Connecticut and New York bars, but jobs were scarce. “After I graduated law school (in 2008), the legal job market was imploding and the world was upside down,” she said. Frankel took a job as a legal researcher for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, completed a pastry apprenticeship and taught skiing in Vermont on the weekends. During this time, Frankel reached out to Haggerty for advice. Recalling her work reporting on The Andrews House, Haggerty asked her to write, edit and manage the production of a book cataloging the reinvention of The Andrews. Once the book was done, Haggerty sent Frankel to Hartford to support the launch of the newly finished Hollander building. Now, she is working on a 56-unit apartment building called Cedarwoods in Willimantic, Conn. “I am securing the project financing with various state agencies while simultaneously working with our architects and lawyers on building contracts.” Her environmental law class with Professor Jeffrey Meyer has come in handy, as has her land use class with Associate Dean David King. She stays in touch with Professor Neal Feigenson, whom she considers a mentor. “He is a dynamic thinker and I find that with all the QU law professors. The best part is, you don’t feel like a number. They really get to know you, are accessible and really love to teach—and that’s not easy to find.” Frankel has returned to the law school to audit poverty law and nonprofit law classes and plans to take tax and real estate transactions to round her skills. She says she refers to her law textbooks on her office shelf regularly. At Quinnipiac, she learned to think like a lawyer. “I can flex my muscles because I studied these areas,” says Frankel. Her sister, Sara, earned her JD from QU’s School of Law this past May. “For example, I use my legal skill sets to translate what the lawyers say to the architects. There’s no shortage of challenges or needs, and every day is different.”

Flirting, with trouble Lawmakers grapple to make punishment fit the crime of sexting BY RHEA HIRSHMAN

ake the children’s game of “playing doctor,” add a few years to the age of the players, introduce cell phones, which make sending text messages possible, and you have the phenomenon of “sexting” among teens and young adults. Recently in Ohio, a 13-year-old boy was arrested on a felony charge after school officials found a sexually explicit image of an eighth-grade girl on his cell

phone. Alabama authorities arrested four middle-school students for exchanging nude photos of themselves. A 14-year-old girl in New Jersey faced child pornography charges and potential sex offender registration after posting nude pictures of herself on the social networking site MySpace. SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

As the above cases show, “Sexting falls into a messy place in the law,” says Alexander Halavais, associate professor of communications. Is an indiscreet 14-year-old or a vindictive 17-year-old really a purveyor of child pornography who should be subject to a state’s full criminal penalties? The term sexting generally refers to sending, receiving or forwarding nude or sexually suggestive photos or sexually suggestive messages through text messages, email or related electronic media. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children notes that “most people’s understanding of sexting generally does not include situations in which young people send sexually explicit images of themselves to adults.” A 2010 report issued by Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society offers this context: “Youths use technological tools to take and distribute sexually explicit images, including cell phones, computers, web cameras, digital cameras and video game systems. While sexting is perceived as a relatively new trend, it is important to recognize that young people have been

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taking sexually provocative photographs since the [invention of the] Polaroid. The difference now is that such images can be produced, transmitted, reproduced and retransmitted with ease, without the subject’s approval or even knowledge, and quickly can reach a much wider audience.” The transmission to that “wider audience”—while often simply embarrassing— can be the darkest side of sexting, with reported instances of bullying, ostracizing and worse resulting from the distribution of what was meant to be private material. In one high-profile case, Jesse Logan, a bright, popular Ohio high school student, had sent nude pictures of herself to her boyfriend. She committed suicide in response to merciless harassment she suffered when her boyfriend spread the images around school after they broke up. Fortunately, most instances of sexting do not have such dire consequences, and several recent national surveys show the degree to which sexting has permeated the culture. A 2008 survey conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy reports that 20 per-

cent of teens ages 13 to 19 have sent or posted nude or seminude pictures or video of themselves, while 39 percent (37 percent of teen girls and 40 percent of teen boys) have sent or posted sexually suggestive messages. Additionally, the vast majority of teen sexters––about 69 percent—have shared these images with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Jeffrey Meyer, professor of law, says discussions about responses to sexting involve conflicts between well-entrenched notions about morality—notions written into our legal systems—and evolving ideas about privacy brought about by rapidly changing technologies. “No one is suggesting that child pornography is any more acceptable than it used to be. Instead, the questions that sexting and similar activities have raised are, in this new landscape, what constitutes the outer boundaries of child pornography, and what is the role of the law when a child or even the victim herself is the one who initiates the activity?” he asks. The impulses that drive sexting—flirtatiousness, silliness, mischievousness, the

wish to be liked and accepted among peers, and even the desire for revenge—are nothing new, and young people have always pushed at the boundaries of socially acceptable behaviors. As Halavais notes, the general phenomenon of kids transmitting suggestive material didn’t start with electronic media. “But it’s now more prevalent and more complicated. We’re having to think about privacy, legally and socially, in ways we have not had to before. We used to have much more distinct public and private spheres, but technology has blurred the lines. There are multiple spheres, and we’re grappling with understanding where one space ends and another begins,” Halavais says. The sexting conundrum can be situated within the larger concern that the legal system be able to respond appropriately as technological developments—from the automobile to in vitro fertilization—drive changes in human activities and expectations. Halavais points out that as a society, “We tend to develop social norms around new technologies, and then law evolves as those technologies become integrated into our lives.” Problems arise when the law tries to “get in front of technology.” He cites the example of the Communications Decency Act. Passed by Congress in 1996, its primary aim was the overall regulation of Internet pornography, but the Supreme Court overturned it the following year because of ambiguity (in its use of terms like “indecent” and “patently offensive”), and its potential for a “chilling effect” on free speech. But here, as in most areas of the law, minors are regarded differently from adults. As a rule, says Martin Margulies, emeritus professor of law, “Federal constitutional law trumps state criminal law, and the First Amendment bars the government from dictating what we see, read, speak or hear.” However, in New York v. Ferber, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in 1982 that “the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse of children constitutes a government objective of surpassing importance,” and that child pornography “bears so heavily and pervasively on the welfare

“

…in this new landscape, what constitutes the outer boundaries of child pornography, and what is the role of the law when a child or even the victim herself is the one who initiates the activity? —Professor Jeffrey Meyer

”

of children engaged in its production, we think the balance of competing interests is clearly struck and that it is permissible to consider these materials as without the protection of the First Amendment.” The fact that sexting is done primarily by young people among their peers is a major factor in its complexity as a legal issue. For instance, as Meyer points out, “The victim is the one transmitting the potentially illegal material.” Margulies adds, “One of the oldest principles in common law is that when law is created to protect a class, you don’t punish people in that class for violating that law.” Halavais outlines additional questions: “Can someone not of legal age be a creator of child pornography? Are we talking about the nature of the material being communicated, or the status of the creator, or the status of the consumer? Once the image is created, does it become pornography if distributed, or if redistributed to anyone for whom it was not originally intended, no matter the age of the person doing the distributing? Is the material illegal by nature, or by its consumption and/or by the context in which it’s consumed? And what about the harassment factor?” With questions like these, with cases like the ones mentioned earlier, and with headlines like “Sexting Shatters Lives, Turns Children Into Sex Offenders” (Hartford Courant, Summer 2009), the pressure has been building on legislators and policymakers to figure out appropriate legal and public policy responses. According to the 2010 Berkman Center study, the most common legislative response has been to “modify criminal laws by downgrading certain child exploitation-related felony offenses to misdemeanors or status offenses when committed in the context of sexting.

These provisions generally call for lesssevere punishments, exclusion from sex offender registries, and expungement of juvenile records where the subject, possessor and sender of the sexually explicit image are minors close in age… A similar legislative response provides that if the accused minor is the only subject of the image at issue, or if the possessor or distributor of the image is a minor close in age to the depicted minor and the depicted minor consented to the production of the image, the accused is not guilty of violating the child pornography laws.” Some states have focused on bills that would create educational programs for juveniles who are criminally charged for sexting. In Connecticut, the Legislature unanimously passed a bill last spring that created a lesser category for punishing minors who may knowingly possess and transmit any visual depiction of nude or seminude images by means of an electronic communication device. State law currently treats possession of such images as child pornography, which is a felony that requires those convicted to register as sexual offenders. The law, which takes effect in October, reduces the charge related to such images to a class A misdemeanor for teens between 13 and 18 years of age if the facts of the case determine it should be a lesser threshold. “This legislation both sends a message,” says Meyer, “and gives prosecutors greater flexibility. Sexting is not totally decriminalized. But most cases won’t involve bringing charges. Instead, referrals to authorities can ensure that responsible adults are intervening in situations that probably more often require broad-based social remediation than the involvement of the criminal justice system.” SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

HEALING Broken Families School of Law co-sponsors training for court-appointed child guardians B Y A L E JA N D R A N AVA R RO

isa Dumond ’10 will begin working as a guardian ad litem once she passes the bar. Her charge will be to investigate families who are embroiled in custody disputes and recommend parenting plans based on the best interests of the children. It can be tough to peel the layers of truth that surround any family, especially a fractured one. She will visit schools and homes, comb medical and academic records, interview teachers and neighbors, and talk to the child or children involved. The job is more challenging when the child at the center of the dispute is an infant who can’t describe what he is experiencing, much less what he needs. But it’s not impossible, Dumond has learned. “You can tell things from their conduct. Their actions show if they are being neglected or feeling stressed from the situation,” says Dumond, referring to an infant’s cries and body language. “I had not been aware of the differences at every stage of

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development. The psychological aspect is important in the fact-finding process.” The finer points of child development were not something she had encountered in her 22 years as a paralegal in family law; however, they were a key part of one psychiatrist’s presentation at a statewide training program for guardians ad litem, or GAL, and attorneys for minor children, or AMC. Dumond participated in the program and helped develop it as part of her externship.

The Connecticut Judicial Branch, the Connecticut Commission on Child Protection and the Quinnipiac School of Law’s Center on Dispute Resolution sponsored the training program, which was held from December 2009 to March 2010 on the Mount Carmel Campus. This was the first time the state offered a comprehensive training program for guardians ad litem and attorneys for minor children, which might soon be required for all appointees in Connecticut. While there are differences in the role and function of these professionals, they both serve as important advocates for children in family court proceedings. “One of my goals in taking the responsibility of chief administrative judge was to ensure that all of our guardians ad litem and attorneys for minor children had the same foundation in training,” says Superior Court Judge Lynda B. Munro, who spearheaded the statewide training program. She co-chaired the planning committee with Carolyn Kaas, associate professor and director of Quinnipiac’s legal clinics.

Munro sees the need for these professionals increasing. “They are there to understand what parents’ strengths are, and try to help the parents and the courts get to the place where the child benefits from these strengths and are shielded from [parents’] weaknesses,” Munro says. Currently, a court can appoint any lawyer as an AMC, or any lawyer or mental health professional as a GAL, regardless of their training. Parents usually pay the fees for these professionals. For indigent families, the state pays a set rate, but only for those who have had training. Munro plans to propose a rule that would require the successful completion of this 30-hour course, which includes sessions on procedures of custody cases, psychology principles, interviewing techniques, and tools for testifying in court, as well as workshops on creating “child-centered” custody plans. “Even those of us who are very experienced learned something,” says Kaas, who received a positive response from participants. “If you have been doing this for a while, it’s good to go back to basics. It’s a good refresher.” The first training program had a roster of 100 participants; a second session beginning in September already has 200 enrolled. A waiting list has been created for a session in Spring 2011 for another 200 participants. Once those currently working in the field are trained, the program will be offered annually to newcomers. “Most of us who do this work consider representing kids the most important work you can do. If you’re appointed to be a guardian ad litem, or as an AMC, that usually means there is a serious problem in the family,” Kaas says. Even parents with good intentions may suggest child custody arrangements that aren’t in the best interest of the child. The classic example is an evenly split week between parents, which might seem fair for adults, but can be tough on some children, especially those who may need more consistency, Kaas explains. One session speaker said he reminds parents that a GAL or AMC can only scratch the surface of what’s happening in a family, and a judge will learn even less about the situation through testimony.

Lisa Dumond ’10 plans to become a guardian ad litem once she passes the bar.

“There’s no way the judge can know your child as well as you do,” Kaas relates. “You need to come up with the plan that is best.” More important, a GAL or AMC must be able to distinguish which cases must go to trial, such as when a child has an abusive or mentally impaired parent. Dumond says the session in which lawyers read from the actual transcripts of a GAL on the witness stand was extremely helpful. The sample case illustrated how an investigation can influence the direction of a case and how challenging it is to testify. “You don’t know all the different scenarios that might come up in a case until

you actually see someone under fire on the witness stand,” she explains. “The GAL really did a thorough job investigating and turning over every stone.” The curriculum was developed and presented by judges, lawyers and mental health professionals. The training inspired participants to create interdisciplinary “academies” across the state that will offer ongoing mentoring, support and advanced training. Dumond appreciates the sense of community that emerged among the professionals from various fields. “When you’re dealing with children’s lives and parents and their lives, having had this experience is just priceless,” Dumond says. SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

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Bat Man Employment lawyer Michael Paes ’92 hits homer with hobby By David Leiper Photo by Gale Zucker

efore steroids, TV contracts and turf His bats have been displayed in the Henry Ford Museum in fields, baseball was just a game featuring Dearborn, Mich., the Museum of Science in Boston, and the Fairgentlemen in short-brimmed caps and field Museum in Connecticut. baggy uniforms swinging long, narrow bats When he’s not recreating the past, Paes is “fighting the good at hand-stitched balls tossed underhand in fight” with his wife, Fern, defending their clients against workplace open pastures. discrimination and helping both individuals and companies cope Michael Paes ’92 spends his summers with employment issues. reliving the bygone era of “base ball,” as it was known in the 19th “Right now we deal with a lot of age discrimination,” Paes says. century. He barnstorms the Northeast as a first baseman for the “And of course with the economy right now, we’re dealing with a Newtown Sandy Hooks, playing vintage base ball, a pastime that is lot of people who come in because of layoffs.” both sport and history lesson. One thing that many clients don’t understand, Paes says, is “A lot of people think of it as just a historical reenactment, but that employees in Connecticut are employees at will. “Unless it’s not––it’s competitive ball,” says Paes, who practices employthey have a contract, they can be fired for any reason or no reament law with his wife and partner, Fern Hodin Paes ’93, in their son, unless it is an illegal reason, which generally is limited to disNewtown, Conn., firm, Paes & Paes, LLC. crimination issues.” From uniforms and equipment to rules and sportsmanship, vinPaes is amazed at the number of cases he sees in which compatage base ball is played as the game was more than a century ago. It nies have made illegal decisions based upon protected classes, such has grown quickly over the last two decades as race, sex, age, religion or disability. “You with several hundred teams now located wouldn’t expect it nowadays,” Paes says. “Supthroughout the U.S. and Canada. The biggest posedly we have a more enlightened society, THE PAES FILE difference between the vintage and modern but it does go on.” games, Paes says, is the equipment. The ball The law can be frustrating at times, but Education — JD, QU School of was softer, players did not wear gloves, and when you have the opportunity to do the right Law, 1992; BA, psychology, bats were much longer and heavier. thing for someone, the work can be really satSUNY Binghamton, 1987 Sometimes vintage games are played on isfying, he says. Adds Fern, “I think whether modern ballfields, but flat grassy fields are we defend or prosecute, my favorite part is Employment — Paes & Paes, preferred––“they are closer to how things helping people.” LLC, February 1993–present; were back then,” Paes says. The home field for Throughout their 17 years of marriage and Director of Insurance, the Sandy Hooks is at McLaughlin Vineyards many years as law partners, the couple has Metropolitan Life, August in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown. found that they work well together both at 1987–88 Paes handcrafts the bats they use in his work and at play. Fern is a fixture at home workshop. He has turned his hobby Michael’s games and sometimes sews the into the Bulldog Bat Company, the second largest vintage wood bat bases they use. They have a son, Jonathon, 11. business in the country. When it comes to their law practice, their differences create “The bat business has morphed into more of a business than I their strength. “I tend to be very detail-orientated,” says Fern. “He ever thought it would, but it’s nice when a hobby makes some tends to be a big picture guy, and we will discuss back and forth money rather than costing you money!” what the major issues are. Sometimes I can’t see the forest for the He began making the bats after Fern presented him with a lestrees; sometimes he can’t see the trees for the forest.” son in ‘turning’ bats as a Christmas gift in 2004. She knew he loved Ever the sportsman, Michael compares their relationship to baseball history, and had done woodworking with his grandfather, a that of two teammates who know what the other is going to do gunsmith. “As vintage base ball caught on in our area, people found without saying a word. out that I was making them, and the business took off.” “There are times that if we are in court together or working on something together, we know what the other is thinking without looking at each other,” he says. Michael Paes ’92 stretches before a vintage ball game at McLaughlin Vineyards. SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

QULAW•ALUMNI —1980— LEWIS GRIFFIN of Fort Wayne, IN, announced his candidacy as judge of Allen County, IN, Superior Court/Criminal Division. He is a member of the Indiana State and Allen County bar associations practicing in the areas of criminal law, family law and tax litigation. He is also a part-time deputy public defender.

—1984— MICHAEL MCBRATNIE is a partner in the law firm of Fox Rothschild LLP’s Exton, PA, office. His practice involves a broad range of tax, estate and trust matters. He is co-chair of the firm’s tax and estates department and serves on the firm’s executive committee. He lives in Dowingtown, PA.

—1985— PETER JONGBLOED of Madison, CT, will serve as executive assistant United States attorney.. He has been an assistant United States attorney since 1987, and has served in various supervisory positions.

professor in the Quinnipiac School of Law. He lives in Westport, CT.

—1987— JOEL JOLLES owns his own law firm, the Law Office of Joel M. Jolles, in Hamden. The firm focuses on civil litigation primarily involving commercial and construction matters as well as commercial collections and subrogation claims. He lives in Hamden with his wife Kay, and their three children, Jason, Jacqueline and Zachary. MICHAEL KERIN of Kerin Law Offices, in Milford, CT, has been selected as one of the 2010 Connecticut Super Lawyers. He practices in the areas of workers’ compensation and personal injury.

—1991— CHARLES FILARDI of Branford, CT, has been selected as one of the 2010 Connecticut Super Lawyers. He owns his own law firm, Filardi Law Offices, LLC in New Haven.

Richelle (Searing) Burr ’89 is vice president and general counsel of Photronics in Brookfield, CT, where she lives.

CARL SECOLA of Hamden has been selected as one of the 2010 Connecticut Super Lawyers. He practices with the New Haven firm of Kinney, Secola & Gunning, LLC. MARK SOBOSLAI is president of the Dispute Settlement Center, a southwestern Connecticut nonprofit mediation agency offering skilled conflict resolution services. He also is a part-time 28

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—1992— ANTHONY SLIMOWICZ of Gillette, NJ, has joined O’Toole Fernandez Weiner Van Lieu, LLC, as of counsel in the Verona, NJ, office. JAMES WALSH was elected to the Fairfield Board of Selectmen. He is a partner at Miller, Garrell & Walsh, LLC, in Fairfield, CT, where he lives. His practice focuses

on commercial and residential real estate, corporate and business law, estate planning and administration and civil litigation. He is also the Connecticut Counsel for Titleserv, Inc., a provider of title insurance, appraisal and settlement services.

—1993— LISA ARPAIA of Trumbull, CT, received a Commitment to Justice Award from inMotion for her volunteer legal service representing battered immigrant women seeking legal immigration status. JOSEPH BAVARO of Huntington, NY, is a name partner in the law firm Salenger, Sack, Schwartz, Kimmel & Bavaro, LLP, which has offices in Manhattan and Woodbury, NY. He is vice president of the board of directors of the NassauSuffolk County Trial Lawyers Association. He was named to the New York Super Lawyers in 2009. KURT KOEHLER is senior vice president and senior personal trust relationship manager with the Northern Trust Company in Stamford, CT. He lives in Darien, CT. RALPH MONACO of Essex, CT, is a boardcertified trial lawyer with Conway & Londregan, P.C. in New London, CT. He is the 87th president of the Connecticut Bar Association for the 2010–11 term, being the second youngest person to hold the position. He practices civil and commercial litigation.

—1995— ROBERT RAINVILLE of East Greenwich, RI, announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for attorney general. He owns a real estate title

Amy Drega ’08 Alumni president fosters spirit of involvement By Janet Waldman wo years out of law school, Amy Drega ’08 describes herself as still in “sponge mode, watching, listening and taking it all in.” As an associate for Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP in Hartford, Drega practices in the areas of civil litigation, focusing primarily on commercial disputes in state and federal court, labor and employment law, and insurance defense. In November, she will make her debut as first chair at a trial involving a car accident case. Spare time is rare, but she made time to serve on the Connecticut Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section Executive Committee from July 2009–10. Always eager to challenge herself, she recently was elected to serve as president of the executive board of the School of Law Alumni Association. She knows some alumni may think she’s a bit young for the role. “But, I have a very recent connection to the school and to Dean [Brad] Saxton… My challenge is to convince a broader alumni group that I am able to serve their needs,” she says, noting that John Davenport ’88, a former alumni board president, has agreed to serve as vice president. “John has already done wonders for the Alumni Association and has a connection to the alumni who graduated before my arrival at Quinnipiac,” she adds. At work, one of the more exciting cases on which she worked occurred in July 2009 when their client, a Connecticut newspaper, attempted to gain access to a police report concerning the corruption investigation into former Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez. Lawyers for the state of Connecticut and various involved individuals wanted to make the public report private to protect people whose names and reputations might be tainted by association with Perez. A grand jury agreed with the state litigators, but Hinckley, Allen & Snyder appealed, and the Connecticut Supreme Court took the case. The firm was only given a few days to file briefs, with oral arguments taking place about a week later. “The case was not only provocative because of the characters involved but also because it raised unique issues concerning the grand jury system in Connecticut,” Drega explains. She assisted two of the firm’s partners with researching legal issues surrounding Connecticut’s grand jury system. “Here I was a year into practice, and I got to walk into the state’s Supreme Court and sit with counsel, and I even got my name on the brief,” she recalls. Although there was a mixed verdict—the court ruled that the interim report could be made public, but the final one would remain private—Drega was thrilled to be a part of the proceedings. The Middletown, Conn., resident earned her bachelor’s degree in 2003 at Yale University. Although she got good grades and enjoyed her time on the diamond as a member of Yale’s varsity

softball team, she found the sheer size of that university a bit intimidating and missed feeling a sense of community. She found that at QU. “The law faculty are open and helpful, and interested in getting to know you.” She took on the role of alumni board president in gratitude for the great experience she had at QU. “It’s so cliché, but true. I got more than I expected here.” The School of Law eventually will relocate on Quinnipiac’s North Haven Campus. Drega thinks perspectives from alumni in the legal field can be useful as the school adapts to meet the evolving demands of the profession. “For example, most of us use online resources for the bulk of our research, so do we really need a traditional law library at the new campus?” she asks. Another of her goals as board president is to increase opportunities for students to connect with the legal community. “Times are tough now in the legal profession. My heart breaks for students looking for jobs,” she says. One example of such a connection might be pairing a solo practitioner who can’t afford a paralegal with a law student who’d be happy to work for an hourly rate. Drega speculates that there are many alumni with good ideas. She wants to hear them all. See her letter on page 31 and drop her a line at adrega@haslaw.com. SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

QULAW•ALUMNI company and is a solo legal practitioner, focusing on estate planning, litigation and government relations.

—1996— ANDREW ROMANOW is deputy general counsel for CoBank of Greenwood Village, CO. He lives in Castle Rock, CO, with his wife, JULIA (NAVARTE) ROMANOW, and their children, Wylie and Max.

—1998— PATRICIA (PERNICIARO) BEAUREGARD joined Pullman & Comley LLC’s trusts and estates department as a partner in the firm’s Bridgeport, CT, office. She is

an instructor for the Westport and Trumbull continuing education programs and a board member of Statewide Legal Services. She lives in Trumbull, CT.

AMY (CARPINO) LAZZARO was appointed by the Town Council of Glastonbury, CT, to the Board of Education. She lives in Glastonbury with her husband, Anthony, and daughters, Julia and Katherine.

—1999—

—2002—

HEIDI (LEONARD) ANDERSON is a partner in the law firm Leonard, Sciolla, Hutchison, Leonard & Tinari, LLP in Philadelphia, PA. She is a member of the Pennsylvania and New Jersey bar associations. Her practice areas include personal injury, workers’ compensation and family law litigation, estate administration and planning. She lives in Bala-Cynwyd, PA.

MICHELLE (LATORRACA) LIGUORI is a partner in the law firm Kuss & Liguori, LLC. She practices in the areas of elder law, estate planning, wills, trusts, conservatorships, Medicaid eligibility and estate administration. She lives in New Milford, CT, with her husband, MICHAEL LIGUORI, and daughter, Natalie. DARCY MCALISTER of Bridgeport, CT, has been selected as one of the 2010

A GIFT IS AN INVESTMENT IN YOUR OWN DEGREE

he School of Law can trace its growing reputation largely to one of its most coveted resources: its faculty. Our professors are dedicated and effective teachers as well as scholars, and our plan for continued academic excellence and national prominence depends on our ability to attract and retain the best faculty through endowed professorships and support of research activities. As the law school’s success and our professors’ work generates increasing national attention, we are at risk of losing some of our most productive faculty members to the nation’s top-ranked law schools. To support the Quinnipiac law faculty and invest in the value and legacy of your own degree, please contact Kristen Mengold, director of development and alumni affairs at the School of Law, 203-582-3403 or lawalumni@quinnipiac.edu

QUINNIPIAC LAW • SUMMER 2010

Connecticut Rising Stars. She is a partner with Rucci Burnham, Carta & Carello, LLP in Darien, CT.

—2004— RICHARD TERBRUSCH of Ridgefield, CT, joined Andrew J. Buzzi to form the partnership of Buzzi & Terbrusch Attorneys and Counselors at Law in Danbury, CT. He practices in the areas of civil litigation, family law, divorce, estate planning, elder care, real estate, foreclosure and bankruptcy.

—2005— MELANIE (HASLAM) KOLEK and her husband, Robert Kolek announce the birth of a son, Tyler Joseph, on March 7, 2010. The family lives in Moodus, CT. COLIN MAHON married Cynthia Erickson on June 13, 2009, at the Harkness Chapel, Connecticut College in New London, CT. He is a partner at Mahon, Quinn & Mahon, P.C., in Meriden, CT. His practice focuses on personal injury, workers’ compensation, Social Security disability, and general litigation. The couple lives in West Hartford, CT. JUSTIN STANKO attended the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy 10-week training program at Quantico, VA. He is a Derby, CT, police officer in charge of the department’s detective bureau. He lives in Stratford, CT.

—2006— JOSEPH BARNES is a practicing attorney with the Reardon Law Firm, P.C. in New London, CT. He lives in Old Lyme, CT. LAUREN IPPOLITO of Middletown, NJ, is an associate in the litigation department with Phillips Nizer LLP in the firm’s New Jersey and New York offices. Her practice focuses on complex litigation and other civil litigation in both New York and New Jersey federal and state courts. She has been named one of the 2010 New Jersey Rising Stars.

D E A R L AW A L U M N I

y name is Amy Drega and I am excited to write to you as the newly elected president of your Alumni Association. Humbled and grateful for the opportunity, I wholeheartedly embrace the chance to lead this organization during a time in which the School of Law continues to admit well-rounded and highly-qualified students, secure leading scholars to join the gifted and energetic faculty, and produce lawyers who are smart, compassionate and adaptable. I am an associate at Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP in Hartford. As president, my goal is to continue to support the initiatives already undertaken by the Alumni Association, broaden participation in the association’s endeavors and increase opportunities for law students and the Alumni Association to benefit from our connections. Quinnipiac University School of Law students and alumni have great ideas. I know that lawyers like to share their thoughts, to put it nicely! So, please, I want to hear from you. So much of the ongoing strength and vitality of the law school and the Alumni Association is in our hands. You can reach me at adrega@haslaw.com or contact Kristen Mengold, director of law school development and alumni affairs, at kristen.mengold@quinnipiac.edu. Sincerely, Amy E. Drega ’08 President, Executive Board Quinnipiac University School of Law Alumni Association

—2007—

—2008—

MICHELLE (THOMAS) KRUPA, BA ’03, JD ’07 of Stamford, CT, is an associate with the law office of Thomas M. Shanley in Greenwich, CT. Her practice areas include divorce, matrimonial law and domestic relations.

ALLISON DEPAOLA, BS ’05, JD ’08, is an attorney and counselor at law at Canton Floman in Orange, CT, with a focus on business transactions and contracts, wills, trusts, estate planning and real estate transactions. She is vice president of Open Your Heart, Help the Community, a nonprofit organization based in Northford, CT, helping Connecticut families in need. She lives in North Branford, CT.

ALLISON SEIDMAN married Adam Weiss on Feb. 20, 2010. She is an associate with Marshall, Conway, Wright & Bradley in New York City. The couple lives in Staten Island, NY.

Let your fellow alumni know where you’re working and what you’ve been up to. Submit your class note at www.quinnipiac.edu/qulawnet.xml

SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

IN•CLOSING Courageous early classes paved the way David King, the author of this article, is associate dean of the School of Law. He has been a member of the faculty since 1978.

n May 12, the law school held a reception for graduates who attended when the school was part of the University of Bridgeport. It was a great pleasure to get reacquainted with many of these alumni. As I chatted with them, I was most impressed with the variety of ways they were using their law degrees. All seemed to be enjoying their work, whether with businesses, small or large firms, or government. Those of you who attended during the UB days were courageous and dedicated. Some of you began your legal studies in 1977 or 1978, when the law school was unaccredited and housed in a converted dormitory. Not a very impressive venue. You didn’t know if we could obtain ABA approval, without which you wouldn’t be able to take the bar examination. You had no idea what the faculty members were like, because there were no alumni who had experienced them to advise (or warn) you. Nevertheless you came, you studied hard and you succeeded. Many more of you entered in the mid-1980s when the law school had moved into Carlson Hall. By then, it was accredited by the ABA and had begun to establish itself in the Connecticut legal community. We were still the new school in the state, without a large alumni base with which to network. You, too, studied hard and succeeded. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, the law school was more successful, with an increasingly favorable reputation. But then UB began to have financial difficulties that adversely affected the law school, culminating in the proposed transfer of the University to a branch of the Unification Church and a threat to its ABA approval and its very existence. Those of you enrolled at that time played a 32

QUINNIPIAC LAW • SUMMER 2010

critical role in preserving the law school by demonstrating to the ABA the importance of continuing our accreditation and approving the move to Quinnipiac. Today we are privileged to be located in a spectacular building on a beautiful campus, vastly different from the facility at UB. Many of the faculty and staff members are the same people you knew when you were students. The essence of the law school—the teaching philosophy and pedagogy—has not changed much from your student days. Some students who currently attend the law school may take for granted the building, the campus and the alumni network available

to help and advise them. They shouldn’t, because none of it would be possible without you, the alumni who attended the law school in Bridgeport, who staked your future careers as lawyers on a new law school that was trying to build a reputation while part of a troubled university. You took a chance, and because you did the Quinnipiac University School of Law exists today. Without you, it wouldn’t. All of us— faculty, staff, recent alumni and current students—are in your debt. We are grateful that you enrolled in this law school and proud to call you alumni. I hope to see you at future law school events.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

The School of Law hosted a reception (photos 1–4) for those participating in the New Haven County Bar Association’s mentoring program that pairs seasoned lawyers with new ones who recently passed the state bar. 1. Dean Brad Saxton addresses the guests at the reception. 2. Mentees David Riches ’09, left, and Kevin Tuttle of Mass Mutual Financial, Hartford. 3. From left, Lewis H. Chimes, of Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Chimes, Richardson & Fitzgerald, P.C., New Haven; Carrie Witt, executive director of the New Haven County Bar Association; and Nagu Kent, communications coordinator for NHCBA. 4. Mentees Kevin Casini ‘09 and Matthew Lascelle ‘09. 5. Susan Filan ’91, right, at the Metropolitan Club in New York City with Gwen Ifill, recipient of Quinnipiac’s 2010 Fred Friendly First Amendment Award. Filan spoke at a joint School of Business/Law reception last spring.

6. Karen Donnelly ’10 with Greg Mortenson, author of “Three Cups of Tea,” at a booksigning before his lecture in March on campus. The pirate-themed PILP auction (photos 7–8) had the most alumni participation ever.

7. Top left: Erika Tyler ’10; Tiffany Groglio; Michael Roy; Kerri Anderson; Jason Maur ’10. Bottom from left: Andrea Finan; Kate Boucher ’10; Caitlin McGrory; Melissa Roy; Katie Cruickshank. 8. Law alumni executive board officers, from left: Tushar Shah ’07, secretary; Amy Drega ’08, president; and John Davenport ’88, vice president.

SUMMER 2010 • QUINNIPIAC LAW

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Burlington, VT Permit No. 151 275 Mount Carmel Avenue Hamden, Connecticut 06518-1908

Address Service Requested

JOIN US FOR THESE EVENTS Oct. 15 — 7th Annual John A. Speziale ADR Symposium, School of Law Center. Free. Oct. 26 — Hartford Area Law Alumni Reception, 6-8 p.m., Max Downtown, 185 Asylum St., Hartford. Sponsored by Sinoway, McEnery, Messey & Sullivan P.C. Oct. 26 — Majora Carter, urban environmentalist, will present a lecture at 7:30 p.m., Burt Kahn Court, Athletic and Recreation Center, Mount Carmel Campus. Free. Sponsored by QU’s Sustainability Committee. Oct. 28 — Moot Court Honor Society Final Bench, 6:30 p.m., Grand Courtroom, School of Law Center, Mount Carmel Campus. Nov. 4, 5, 6, 12 & 13 — Certificate Mediation Training, 40-hour course for lawyers and other professionals. Participants must attend all five days. Find registration brochure at http://law.quinnipiac.edu/prebuilt/pdf/2010FallMediationBROCHURE.pdf Nov. 17 — Law Alumni Reception and Bar Results Party, 6–8 p.m., Union League Café, 1032 Chapel St., New Haven, sponsored by Sinoway, McEnery, Messey & Sullivan P.C.

*Register online at www.quinnipiac.edu/events.xml