Topic: The Judiciary
33 results
@UMICHLAW Fall 2023
Affirmative Action: The Cliff Where Diversity in Higher Education Now Teeters
Senior Assistant Dean Sarah Zearfoss, ’92, has led the Law School’s admissions and financial aid offices since 2001. In this essay, which originally appeared on bet.com, she weighs in on two recent Supreme Court cases, Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admission v. University of North Carolina.
Impact Fall 2023
John Bulgozdy, ’84: From Poetry Class to the Courtroom
On the surface, litigation and poetry don’t have much in common. But John Bulgozdy says that the analytical skills he used throughout his legal career can be traced to an undergraduate poetry class at the University of Michigan.
Features Fall 2023
Susanne Baer, LLM ’93: “It's the Highest Honor to Serve”
With her election as a justice on Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court in 2011, Susanne Baer made history. She became only the second nominee of the country’s Green Party and the first out and elected lesbian and radical feminist to serve as one of the court’s 16 justices.
Features Fall 2023
Rossa Fanning, LLM ’00: “I Am the Government's Lawyer”
When Rossa Fanning became attorney general of Ireland in late 2022, he didn’t need to endure the confirmation process of his counterpart in the United States. Instead, in two head-spinning days, he transitioned from his successful legal practice to a seat in the cabinet of Ireland’s prime minister.
Features
Behind the Bench at the Supreme Court
For 20 years, Jeffrey Minear’s dealings at the Supreme Court followed a familiar pattern. As a litigator in the Office of the Solicitor General, he would prepare a brief, present argument, and await the ruling—a process he repeated more than 50 times. That all changed in 2006, when a new mandate became his daily task at the Court: perform such duties as may be assigned by the chief justice.
Features
Jeff Titus Celebrates Life (on the) Outside
Titus, a Michigan Innocence Clinic client, was exonerated and released from prison in February. He was convicted in 2002 of killing two deer hunters in a state game area in the southeast corner of Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
In Practice Spring/Summer 2023
Nadia Shihata, ’03: The Women Who Finally Stopped R. Kelly
Nadia Shihata, ’03, had taken down drug dealers, an Albanian crime boss, and other nefarious characters. This time, she and a team of prosecutors were leveling charges against Robert “R.” Kelly, an R&B superstar.
In Practice Spring/Summer 2023
Christopher Perras, ’11: Hate on Trial
Christopher Perras, ’11, specializes in prosecuting hate crimes as a special litigation counsel in the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice.
Features Fall 2022
Problem Solving Course Untangles a Web of Tribal Sovereignty and Policing
Earlier this year, students in Michigan Law’s Problem Solving Initiative course Policing by Indian Tribes had the opportunity to take a deep dive into the legal challenges that complicate law enforcement in Native American communities. In doing so, they found that there are rarely simple answers to the questions that arise.
In Practice Spring 2021
Dan Bergeson, ’82: Adapting to a New Normal in California Courts
Going to trial in the era of COVID-19 has introduced a new twist into once-familiar proceedings, especially for the complex business litigation that is typical of Bergson’s practice. “You don’t have those face-to-face moments where you have that feeling of connectivity from seeing the judge or juror’s reaction.”