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Spring/Summer 2018

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Pediatric Advocacy Clinic Supports a DNR Bill

Michigan Law’s Pediatric Advocacy Clinic (PAC), under the direction of Clinical Professor Debra Chopp, has been working on legislation that would give parents in Michigan greater control over end-of-life care for their children.

The legislation would amend the Michigan Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR) Procedure Act to ensure schools are obligated to honor a DNR order in place for a student without being held liable for doing so.

Chopp testified in February on behalf of the amendment, which would apply to a miniscule, but growing portion of society—school-aged children with terminal illnesses. The legislation was introduced by Senators Rebekah Warren and Rick Jones.

The legislation stems from a PAC case involving Willy Pickett, a child who was born with a brain condition that, doctors speculated, might allow him to reach age 2. He outlived doctors’ predictions by nine years, but not without multiple health setbacks that made his parents sign a DNR for him.

Washtenaw Intermediate School District, where he was enrolled, refused to honor the DNR without a court order. Sadly, Willy passed away while litigation against the district was pending.

“With updated medical care and procedures, children with incurable diseases are living much longer,” Chopp says.

“This bill was not just about Willy, but about kids like him, whose parents will know that when the time comes, their child will leave this life as painlessly as possible.”—KD

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The Legal Climate of Climate Change: Preparedness and Recovery

As Hurricane Sandy bore down on the East Coast of the United States in 2012, Damon Vocke, ’89, stepped into his Connecticut yard with his two dogs, Winston and Diva. For Winston, it was business as usual—he seemed oblivious to the approaching storm. But Diva knew something was wrong. She was scared and wanted back into the house, where she then went to hide.

Spring/Summer 2018 In Practice

Opportunity and Complexity in the Middle East

“Why have I been able to be successful there? Largely because of my U-M legal training,” Bajwa says. “Yes, I have language and technical skills that help. But the Middle East is trying to develop a U.S. capitalist model, so you can do a lot of good by bringing the M&A know-how you acquired in the United States into the region.”

Spring/Summer 2018 In Practice

Bringing Cybercrimes to Justice and the Law up to Speed

“This is an area where the law hasn’t caught up to people’s conduct, and where victims have limited access to legal counsel,” says Van Engelen. “It takes real people on the ground, working every day as a team, to bring a cybercriminal to justice.”

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The Intersection of Health and Law

Research has shown that one in six people needs legal care to be healthy. One in six. That figure informed our decision to highlight the intersection between health and law in this issue of Law Quadrangle. From the Law School's Pediatric Advocacy Clinic to WebMD, this issue's stories illustrate that the overlap between health and law is vast. And it is a safe guess that the junction will only become more complex and varied over time.