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"I am not a teacher, but an awakener." – Robert Frost

This Special Edition of the Monday Morning Message is called CSU|LAW Faculty/Staff Focus. We are very fortunate to have outstanding full-time, adjunct, and emeritus faculty, leaders-in-residence, and staff. I am pleased to share this update on their recent scholarship, presentations, teaching, and service.

Faculty

• Professor Shih-Chun (Steven) Chien delivered several presentations over the summer.  His presentations included:  “Trial Is Not a Battlefield: How Taiwanese Prosecutors Perceive Criminal Trial,” Clarke Program in East Asian Law & Culture, Cornell Law School, Sept. 2024; “The Silent Influence of American Criminal Justice,” 2024 CrimFest, Cardozo School of Law, July 2024; “The “Bamboo Ceiling” in Law: Perceptions of Discrimination and Other Obstacles to Advancement in the Legal Profession,” The Russell Sage Foundation, June 2024; “From Classrooms to Chambers: The Role of Law Schools in Diversifying the Judicial Clerkship Applicant Pool,” Law and Society Association Annual Conference, June 2024; and, “Evidence-Based Criminal Justice 2.0,” 2024 Richmond Junior Faculty Forum, May 2024.  Additionally, he gave two lectures:  “Emerging Issues in American Criminal Justice: Why We Failed to Tame the Tyrant and the Path Forward,” Academy for the Judiciary, Ministry of Justice, Taipei, Taiwan, July 2024; and “Rogue Prosecutors: Power, Ethics, and Reform in the U.S. Criminal Justice System,” Angle Publishing, Taipei, Taiwan, July 2024 (commented by Tsai Pi-Yu, former president of the Academy for the Judiciary).The video is available here https://www.angle.com.tw/media/Web/Video/GroupDetail.aspx?1=1&iC=7169&iMG=5172#.  Professor Chien’s article, “Evidence-Based Criminal Justice 1.0: A Prologue,” is forthcoming in the Case Western Reserve Law Review. 
• Visiting Professor Debbie Hoffman created and has taught an online course on blockchain technologies at Albany Law School.  Recently, Albany Law School recognized Professor Hoffman with a Distinguished Teaching ward for her blockchain course.  See https://www.linkedin.com/posts/albany-law-school-online-graduate-programs_we-are-thrilled-to-announce-the-recipients-activity-7232389307762642946-AR2B?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios. Additionally, Professor Hoffman was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Women of ALICE, a nonprofit organization which is dedicated to being champions of women in the mortgage finance industry providing opportunities, creating connections and building community together.
• Professor Laura Hoffman presented her research on her upcoming article “Putting the ‘Social’ Into Social Determinants of Health: Why Policymaking for Improving Health Must Tackle Social Isolation and Loneliness” at the 47th Annual Health Law Professors Conference sponsored by the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics (ASLME) and Temple University Beasley School of Law in June 2024.  At the conference Professor Hoffman received the Perfect Presenter Award from the American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics for her commitment to excellence in presentation in health law.
• Professor Doron Kalir published two op-ed pieces in Cleveland.com.  The first was entitled, “Complete immunity – why the Supreme Court is about to give Trump a gift, and maybe the election.”  The second was published after the Supreme Court’s decision.  It is entitled, “Absolute immunity – SCOTUS grants Trump everything he asked for, and more.”  Separately, the Voice of America (VOA) program interviewed Prof. Kalir on several other aspects of the decision, including the new and improved pardon power, which may now allow the President the power of self-pardon.  Professor Kalir was quoted in Business Insider regarding whether Justice Samuel Alito’s displaying pro-Trump flags at his properties would disqualify him from hearing January 6th cases. Click here to read the full article.
• Professor Karin Mika was appointed as a member of the Association of Legal Writing Directors’ Feedback Circle. The purpose of the Feedback Circle is to mentor Legal Writing professors in their scholarship. The members of the Circle provide feedback, editing suggestions, and general support.  Her essay “Courage in the Legal Writing Classroom Redefined” was published in the AALS Legal Writing Section newsletter. The essay describes how Legal Writing professors are able to discuss topics related to equity and inclusiveness in situations where state legislatures are banning various topics from being discussed in university classrooms. Professor Mika also presented at the Global Legal Skills Conference held in Bari, Italy from June 4-7th. Her topic was, “Legal Education in the 21st Century: Establishing an Online JD Program with Global Outreach.” The presentation discussed how Legal Writing can be taught online, the potential international outreach of online JD programs, and how American law schools with online JD programs must be attuned to the needs (including shifting time zones) of any international students that may be entering an online program.
• Professor John Plecnik was cited in Adjunct Professor Shay Hawkins’ written testimony before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee for his proposal for an Inflation Tax Credit  See text here.
• Associate Dean Brian Ray co-authored the recently published The Sedona Conference U.S. Biometric Systems Privacy Primer (“Primer”).  This Primer is written as a resource for lawyers, judges, legislators, and other policymakers. It provides a general guide to the relationships among the technical, legal, and policy aspects of biometric systems—with a particular focus on privacy and related concerns these systems may raise.  Associate Dean Ray, was a panelist at the Cleveland Community Police Commission’s Community Forum on Police Surveillance.  He discussed the ways that other cities, like Oakland, California, have adopted ordinances requiring transparency, accountability, and community oversight.
• Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson testified at an Ohio Power Siting Board hearing pertaining to the proposed Frasier Solar energy development project.  The hearing concerned whether the OPSB should grant Frasier a Certificate of Public Necessity and Convenience, a necessary precursor to obtaining a permit to construct the facility.  Frasier Solar has proposed an industrial scale 120-megawatt solar energy project in Knox County, Ohio.  Knox Smart Development, among others, opposes the project.  To prepare Professor Robertson for testimony, Environmental Law Fellow Mark Bank, a second-year law student, worked through all of the citizen testimony from three separate public hearings on this matter.  Bank and Robertson sorted all of the citizen comments made in opposition to the project into four categories – those that were contrary to fact, those for which the concerns were mitigated through permit conditions or applicant concessions, those that were statements of opinion, and those for which the record neither supported nor disproved the statement. The purpose was to determine whether the citizen concerns amounted to “prominent, one-sided, and compelling opposition to the project – the OPSB’s stated standard for denying the requested certificate.  Robertson and Bank found that although comments in opposition outnumber comments in support of the project by more than a 2 to 1 margin, only a few of the comments were not factually incorrect, mitigated, or statements of opinion.  Robertson and Bank conducted this research in cooperation with the Ohio Environmental Council and Robertson’s testimony supported the OEC’s efforts to assist Frasier Solar’s effort to increase Ohio’s solar energy production capacity.  Additionally, Professor Robertson was interviewed by the Energy News Network and quoted in an article regarding Ohio’s legislative and regulatory approaches to oil gas development as compared with its approach to renewable energy development. . Click here to read the interview.  Professor Robertson has been appointed by the Board of Governors of the Ohio State Bar Association to a 3-year term on the Section Council for the organization’s Environmental Law Section.
• Professor Milena Sterio participated as a speaker and expert in a week-long Peace Negotiation Summer School, organized by the Public International Law and Policy Group, from July 15-19.  She also participated in a meeting of the U.S. Institute of Peace’s Expert Working Group on Accountability in an Era of Strategic Rivalry on May 29, 2024.  She spent a week in Nairobi, Kenya, in June 2024, where she trained a cohort of Kenyan Foreign Affairs Ministry officials on peace negotiation and mediation.  Professor Sterio delivered an online lecture on the topic of “Creating a Special International Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine” on August 2; the lecture was organized by the Center for Civil Liberties, a leading Ukrainian NGO which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023. She also participated in an episode of the radio show “Talking Foreign Policy” on the topic of “Foreign Policy and the 2024 Presidential Election.” Professor Sterio was quoted in a Politifact article regarding whether former President Donald Trump is a political prisoner, as he claims - in light of his guilty verdict.
• Professor Jonathan Witmer-Rich  appeared in local media discussing issues related to bail and pretrial release.  On August 12, Professor Witmer-Rich spoke with WKYC Channel 3 news about the case of Bobby George, a local restaurant owner charged with attempted murder and rape, who was released on a $200,000 bond.  Professor Witmer-Rich explained the considerations that go into the bond amount.  On August 21, Professor Witmer-Rich was interviewed as part of a Cleveland Heights Public Library public education program.  He discussed the 2018 Cuyahoga County Bail Task Force Report, of which he was the principal author.  Professor Witmer-Rich discussed the recommendations in that report, including the current state of bail reform in Cuyahoga County and in the state of Ohio.  Additionally Professor Witmer-Rich participated in a panel discussion of former President Donald Trump’s convictions on WCPN’s Sound of Ideas Reporter’s Roundtable.  Professor Witmer-Rich was a panelist at the Cleveland Community Police Commission’s Community Forum on Police Surveillance.  He addressed the Fourth Amendment issues raised by the dramatic increase in the Cleveland police’s use of these technologies.
• Dean Lee Fisher joined a number of other law deans in a public statement about the need to provide training for the next generation of lawyers about the rule of law and the values of our constitutional democracy. Dean Fisher wrote a column in the August issue of Community Leader Magazine, a publication of Cleveland Magazine: Reflections on Campus Protests: Free Speech or Hate Speech?  Dean Fisher wrote the foreword for a new book about the unique value that cities bring to society and the national economy: The Case for Cities (Foreword by Dean Lee Fisher) . On September 4, Dean Fisher spoke at the Columbus Metropolitan Club Forum: Advocacy Without Animosity: Restoring Civility to Public Institutions. The other panelists were former Ohio Attorneys General Betty Montgomery and Nancy Rogers and 10th District Ohio Court of Appeals Judge Laurel Beatty Blunt. Watch Dean Fisher Panel Discussion Recording. On September 6, for the third consecutive year, Dean Fisher spoke at the opening retreat of Leadership Cleveland on Change at the Speed of Leadership. Dean Fisher is a 1984 graduate of Leadership Cleveland, and has spoken at the opening retreat of Leadership Cleveland in each of the past five decades. On September 10, Dean Fisher moderated a virtual panel discussion on The Intersection of Leadership, Professionalism, and Professional Identity sponsored by AALS (American Association of Law Schools). Dean Fisher is the Chair of the AALS Leadership Section.

Leaders-in-Residence

• Legal Educator-in-Residence Howard E. Katz made two presentations at the Southeast Association of Law Schools (SEALS) Annual Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl, held from July 20 through July 27. He spoke about Designing an Effective Core Law School Course, as part of the Newer Law Professors Workshop, and gave advice to newer professors on a panel entitled Designing Your Course Package.  He also made a presentation at the annual AALS Workshop for New Law Teachers held June 6-8 in Washington, D.C. He conducted a session on Course Design, and also facilitated two group discussions. He has made presentations on teaching to new professors at this conference the last seven times it was held. The book Strategies and Techniques of Law School Teaching, which he co-authored with Professor Kevin F. O’Neill, was given to attendees. Also available to attendees were books from the Strategies and Techniques series edited by Professor Katz (including one of the most recent additions to the series, Strategies and Techniques for Teaching Environmental Law, written by Professor Heidi Gorovitz Robertson). Those books provide subject-specific teaching advice.
• Jurist-in-Residence Maureen O’Connor was honored with the prestigious Brennan Legacy Award.  Retired Chief Justice O’Connor was recognized for her relentless efforts to combat gerrymandering and uphold the principles of democracy in Ohio. The award honors individuals who have made significant contributions to both the legal community and the broader social fabric through their commitment to justice and democracy.

Emeriti Faculty

• Professor Emeritus Brian Glassman taught a six-week course at Case Western Reserve University / Siegal Lifelong Learning from April – May 2024: “Recovering Holocaust Art: A Fair Measure of Justice.”  He also presented at an event hosted by the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association on June 18, 2024: “The Movement of Art in Peacetime: Provenance and the Illicit Trade in Antiquities.”
• Dean Emeritus & Professor Emeritus Steven H. Steinglass published a guest column, The Business Case for Rejecting Ohio Gerrymandering see link, in the June 12, 2024, Ohio Capital Journal.  He was the Course Planner for the 6th annual program of the Ohio State Bar Association program on The Importance of the Ohio Constitution.  He also made  a presentation on the origin of home rule in Ohio, and he reviewed recent developments relating to the Ohio Constitution, including the two proposed amendment in 2023 and recent Ohio Supreme Court decisions.  On July 31, 2024, Dean Steinglass was a featured speaker in a  Buckeye Justice Forum program on The Past, Present, and Future of Home Rule Doctrine in Ohio.

Clinic Directors/Staff Attorneys

• Khalida Sims Jackson, Director of the Pardon, Clemency + Reentry Clinic was appointed co-chair of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association’s Judicial Candidates Rating Coalition sponsors of Judge4Yourself.The Coalition interviews and rates candidates for various judicial races that will be on the ballet in Cuyahoga County. The independent, non-partisan ratings can be found at Judge4Yourself.com.

Staff

• Laura Ray, Outreach & Instructional Services Librarian presented two posters at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries.  “Women in Baseball: Inclusion and Equity at the Plate” reviewed key historical legal developments concerning girls and women and baseball, such as National Organization for Women v. Little League Baseball, Congressional revision of Little League Baseball’s federal charter, and Title’s IX’s fostering of a “separate but equal” softball system.  The poster also highlighted 12 women over the last 100+ years who persevered to become baseball writers, MLB announcers, umpires, front office executives, team managers and coaches, as well as NCAA baseball players and MLB partner league baseball players. “DEI Resources Provided by ORALL Members & Their Organizations” described how the ORALL D&I Committee created a bibliography of diversity, equity, and inclusion resources from a review of ORALL members’ organizational websites.  The poster also highlighted different types of DEI resources provided by ORALL members and their libraries, firms, and institutions.  [ORALL - Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries].  Additionally, Laura received a grant from the Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries to support her attendance at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Law Libraries.  Laura Ray was appointed a member of the Marketing + Outreach Content Area Team of the 2024-2025 American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting Program Committee.  For its Content Area, Team members identify “must-have” program topics to be included in the Annual Meeting call for proposals, review program proposals, and recommend program proposals to the Annual Meeting Program Committee.  Team members are also assigned as liaisons to the coordinators of accepted and/or curated programs.

News of Note

• Congratulations to Professor Bob Triozzi, Khalida Sims Jackson, Director of the Pardon, Clemency + Reentry Clinic,  and Laura Greig, Director of the Terry Gilbert Wrongful Conviction Clinic for their recent excellent interviews on Cleveland Conversations, a production of the CSU School of Communication in the Levin College of Public Affairs and Education. Links to each interview can be found here Disparities in Treatment Pre and Post Conviction and here Wrongful Convictions and the Innocence Project.
• ·       On June 13-14, the College of Law hosted an MDL bench-bar leadership conference. The Rabiej Litigation Law Center brought to the school some of the best defense and plaintiffs’ attorneys in Multi-District Litigation, as well as special masters, vendors, and other stakeholders in this advanced civil procedure litigation mammoth. In particular, the Conference heard from federal Judges across the country - from Alabama to Illinois, from New Jersey to Kentucky, and, of course, our own Judge Dan Judge Polster, Northern District of Ohio - who has managed, supervised, and ruled on Multi-District Litigations. Professor Emeritus Michael Borden and Professor Doron Kalirmoderated the conference’s panels.

Have a great day. Have a great week.

The views and opinions expressed in my Monday Morning Message are solely my own and do not reflect the views and opinions of the law school or the university.

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My best,

Lee

Lee Fisher

Dean, Cleveland State University College of Law

Joseph C. Hostetler-BakerHostetler Chair in Law

1801 Euclid Avenue, LB 138 |Cleveland, Ohio 44115 -2214
216-386-8688 | lee.fishernull@csuohio.nulledu