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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 Laura Hoffman has been named 2024 Program Chair for the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Section on Law and Mental Disability.
• Professor Doron Kalir was quoted in an article in The Columbus Dispatch regarding a Franklin County Municipal Judge’s ex-parte communication in a case involving the City of Columbus and Greyhound Bus.  The Columbus Dispatch article can be found here: Professor Kalir was quoted in Business Insider regarding the case before the Supreme Court to determine whether President Trump is disqualified from appearing on the Colorado ballot.  Click here to read the full article.  Professor Kalir presented at Florida International University Law School’s “Law vs. Antisemitism” conference.  The title of his speech was “The Rise of White Christian Nationalism & Antisemitism: A True Threat.”
• Professor Christa Laser was featured on the Silicon Valley Investor Club podcast, where she covered the lawsuit filed by the New York Times against Microsoft and OpenAI, alleging copyright infringement and business damage due to the use of the newspaper’s content in training AI tools like ChatGPT and Bing Chat.  To hear the complete podcast, click here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea0SLSzSyyA
• Professor Karin Mika made two presentations to Ukrainian law students through zoom:  The first was a presentation discussing the American Legal System, how the courts work, and how federal courts work in conjunction with state courts.  The second was a presentation discussing what American lawyers typically do, what job opportunities there are for attorneys, and how one is admitted to law school in the United States. Her article, "Lists in Legal Drafting: How Brain Science Can Help Student Drafters Produce Documents That Are Easier to Read and Comprehend" was published in Volume 21 of the Scribes Journal of Legal Writing.  The article is currently only available in physical format. Professor Mika was appointed as an editor of the AALS Section on International Law Yearly Review, and she was appointed to serve on the Legal Writing Institute Artificial Intelligence Committee.  Professor Mika graded briefs for the Capital Law School Child Welfare Moot Court Competition.
• Professor Milena Sterio contributed as a co-author to a White Paper addressing "Seizure of Russian Corporate Assets: Prosecution of Russian Corporations for War Crimes in Ukraine as a Precursor to Seizure of Frozen Corporate Assets in Foreign Jurisdictions." Professor Sterio has been selected to serve as an Observer on behalf of the American Society of International Law at the 68th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. This session will take place from March 11-22, 2024, at United Nations Headquarters in New York, New York.  Professor Sterio (co-authored with Professors Leila Sadat and Patrick Keenan) "The International Criminal Court in a Nutshell." This publication - part of West's Nutshell series - focuses on the International Criminal Court and addresses issues such as the Court's jurisdiction, its operations, its most fundamental case law, etc.  This publication is available here.  She also recently published a blog post entitled "The ICJ Provisional Measures Order in the South Africa v. Israel Case: Unsurprising; Politically and Legally Significant" on Opinio Juris. The blog post can be found here.  Professor Sterio participated in a training of Sudanese women's groups coordinated by UN Women. This initiative focused on the topic of prosecuting atrocity crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.  Professor Milena Sterio participated as a panelist in an upcoming episode of the "Talking Foreign Policy" radio show, discussing the topic of "Ukraine Endgame." Professor Milena Sterio presented at a conference at Florida International University Law School on the topic of "Prosecuting the Crime of Gender Persecution at the ICC.”  She will author a law review article on the same topic, which will be published by FIU Law Review.  Professor Sterio delivered a presentation at the International Criminal Law Forum, hosted by several Ukrainian organizations, focusing on "The Treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs) in Accordance with International Humanitarian Law." The event was held in Kyiv, Ukraine, with Professor Sterio joining remotely.  Professor Sterio was recently quoted in a PassBlue news article titled “Ukraine Warns the World: It’s Now or Never for Prosecuting Putin.”  The full article is available here: https://www.passblue.com/2024/02/21/ukraine-warns-the-world-its-now-or-never-for-prosecuting-putin
• Dean Lee Fisher wrote a column, Will Cleveland's Waterfronts Finally Be Transformed? The 17th Try May Be the Charm. in Community Leader Magazine, a publication of Cleveland Magazine. Hemoderated a discussion at the Cleveland City Club with Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz.  A Conversation with Justice Janet C. Protasiewicz | The City Club of Cleveland | March 15, 2024.  He also moderated a discussion with historian Heather Cox Richardson, author of Democracy Awakening, at the law school.  The discussion also included Professor Abby Moncrieff and CSU Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Andrew Kersten. See video of the event here: A Conversation & Book Signing with Heather Cox Richardson (panopto.com)  Dean Fisher was a panelist on a National Association for Law Placement (NALP) webinar about leadership development programs in law schools and law firms. NALP Leadership Development Roundtable  Dean Fisher judged the finals of University School’s Sherman Prize Speaking Contest. He also spoke to students at John Carroll University about his public service career and to students at Oberlin College about Ohio economic development.

Leaders-in-Residence

• Legal Educator-in-Residence Howard E. Katz gave a presentation on teaching for a plenary session of the inaugural Northeastern University School of Law Junior Scholars Conference. The conference featured over 100 participants workshopping their papers, along with panels on tenure and promotion, hiring, and writing, as well as the panel on teaching, which featured Howard and co-panelist Professor Hiba Hafiz of the Boston College Law School.

Emeriti Faculty

• Professor Emeritus Sandra Kerber recently participated in Judge4Yourself (at the Metro Bar). It is a coalition of five bar associations to educate Cuyahoga County voters about judicial candidates' qualifications. The coalition convened for a full day to evaluate the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas candidates based on their comprehensive questionnaires and personal interviews of each one who is running in the May Primary election. Subsequently each member of the coalition votes using the specific criteria of integrity, knowledge, experience, and diligence  to establish the ratings that are released to the public.
• Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus Steven Steinglass has published a guest column in the Plain Dealer on What is the ‘Gerrymander’ and Will It Be Slain (Feb. 4, 2024) in which he discusses the 1812 origins of the term “gerrymander” (formerly “Gerry-Mander”), its use in Ohio, and the effort to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to “kill” it. Click here to read the full column. This column complements an earlier one in December, Partisan gerrymandering and the mobilization of Ohio voters” in which he discussed the two ballot measures for constitutional amendments in 2023 and the implications of the mobilization of voters on the proposed amendment to bar partisan gerrymandering.  Here is a link to the earlier column.  Dean Steinglass is also the Course Planner for the 6th annual program of the Ohio State Bar Association on The Importance of the Ohio Constitution.  Program participants are, among many others, four justices of the Ohio Supreme Court, including Cleveland State University law school alumni Hon. Melody Stewart and Hon. Michael Donnelly. The virtual program is scheduled for April 29, 2024, from 12:30 to 4:30 pm., and law students will be able to view it without charge. 

Adjunct Faculty

• Adjunct Professor Zach Germaniuk gave a presentation alongside Dr. Timothy Kobie of the City of Cleveland and Fair Housing Center Senior Policy Analyst Frank Ford to the national Center for Community Progress' Rental Research Committee of Practice. The presentation centered around the paper Germaniuk, Kobie, and Ford helped to co-author which detailed the rapid growth of out of state investor-owned rental property in substandard condition since the 2008 Housing Market crash. Since being published in 2021, the paper has become an influential source of housing policy recommendations across the State of Ohio for municipalities, counties, and the State.

Staff 

• Laura Ray, Outreach & Instructional Services Librarian, has been appointed the 2024 Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee of the Ohio Regional Association of Law Libraries.  The Committee identifies issues relating to the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion within ORALL membership and the law librarian profession within ORALL member states; promotes diversity-related activities and resources and raises membership’s awareness of diversity-related issues, and supports ORALL’s diversity, including but not limited to racial diversity, sexual and gender diversity, cultural diversity, religious diversity, and diversity of ability.  Laura has also been appointed the 2024-2025 Chair of the Education Committee of the Baseball Caucus of the American Association of Law Libraries.  The Committee coordinates Caucus educational activities, including submitting proposals for the AALL Annual Meeting.  Laura was also recently appointed a member of the 2023-2026 Committee on Communications & Marketing of the American College of Rheumatology.  The Committee helps shape strategic internal and external communications, marketing, and related activities through a broad variety of ongoing and special projects including online professional and patient education resources, ACR on Air (podcast), and The Rheumatologist newsmagazine.

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.

My best,

Lee