SBM Blog

Lessons from China in Justice and Power

New York Times uses a story on a horrific bus accident last week in Gansu Province that killed 21 kindergartners to explore larger questions of justice and power:

There is an argument, buttressed by the Gansu tragedy, that what truly eats at people here is not so much the rich-poor gap as the canyon that separates the powerful from the powerless.

“Most Chinese aren’t angry about rising inequality,” said Martin K. Whyte, a Harvard sociologist who specializes in research on Chinese social trends. “It’s not rich versus poor. It’s the system of power and procedural injustices that they’re upset about.”

Justice In Texas: A Story of Dedication, Remorse, and Friendship

The Innocence Project has cast its net wide and the biggest fishing ground by most measures is  the state of Texas, which holds the nation's record for executions. In the Sunday New York Times, "Williamson Prosecutor Asserts a Change of Heart" tells an absorbing story of how a prosecutor's view of the Innocence Project changed.

LSAT-Free Law School Admissions: An Idea Whose Time Has Past?

As we noted last January, the chair of an ABA committee reviewing the standards for accreditation of law schools told the National Law Journal that a “substantial portion” of the ABA committee believes the rule that requires require law schools to ask applicants to submit the results of a "valid and reliable admission test" should be repealed. Well it now looks like even if the rule is repealed, law schools may be loathe to drop the LSAT.  The University of Michigan Law School, which had offered admission to U of M undergrads with stellar GPAs, was among the dozen or so law schools that were granted waivers from the requirement. Michigan is now dropping the program.  The University of Illinois College of Law, whose former assistant dean of admissions, Paul Pless, was fired for releasing false admissions statistics, has also dropped its program. The reason why any particular law school might choose to change its mind about the program is open to speculation, but Above The Law thinks it's all about Above The Law (and other law school bloggers).  Specifically, ATL suggests that the key to a change of heart may be the bad publicity occasioned by the disclosure of this cynical email from the disgraced former admissions official at the University of Illinois Law School:

I started a new program for U of I undergrads to apply in their junior year and we don’t require the LSAT. We have additional essays and an interview instead. That way, I can trap about 20 of the little bastards with high GPA’s that count and no LSAT score to count against my median. It is quite ingenious.

An investigative report about the UI Law School scandal elaborates:

The strategic aspect of iLEAP was not lost on Pless’s acquaintance, nor was Pless’s ingenuity: “That is clever. Jack up the GPA without risking the low LSAT (so long as their GPAs don’t crash after they’re accepted—you might want to keep the offer GPA-conditional in some way). But nice gaming the system; I’m so proud.”

Pless replied: “That will be a condition. Plus, if I don’t make them give me their final transcript until after they start, I report the GPA
that was on their application.”

To this, the acquaintance remarked: “nice.”

Law School Pedagogy Takes Another Mainstream Hit

If you're a regular reader of this blog you know that there's a steady stream of commentary out there on the many ways in which law schools today are said to be failing their customers -- prospective students, current students, would-be employees, and the public. If they are indeed failing, it may or may not be the fault of a) U.S. News and World Report; b) the ABA; c) Christopher Langdell; d) elitism; e) the economy; or f) technology . A feature story in this week's Sunday New York Times, "What They Don’t Teach Law Students: Lawyering," zeroes in on the dearth of practicality in traditional law school training, and the lower status of law school teachers who have actual experience at the practice of law:

It is widely believed that after lawyers have spent more than eight or nine years practicing, their chances of getting a tenure-track job at law school start to dwindle. ...  This might seem a paradox — experienced people need not apply — but the academy views seasoned pros with a certain suspicion. In fact, a number of veterans of legal practice who failed to land tenure-track jobs say that experience was a stigma they could not beat.

“It can be fatal, because the academy wants people who are not sullied by the practice of law,” said a longtime lawyer and adjunct professor, who did not want to be identified because his remarks might alienate colleagues. “A lot of people who are good at big ideas, the people who teach at law school, think it is beneath them.”

 

Breaking: Michigan Supreme Court Says Pension Tax Law Constitutional, Mostly

The opinion says that applying the personal income tax to pension income is okay, but that tying the rate to a household's total resources violates the state constitution's ban on a graduated income tax. Specifically, it holds that:

• Reducing or eliminating the statutory exemption for public-pension incomes as set forth in MCL 206.302 does not impair accrued financial benefits of a "pension plan [or] retirement system of the state [or] its political subdivisions" under Const 1963, art 9, § 24; and
• Reducing or eliminating the statutory tax exemption for pension incomes as set forth in MCL 206.30 does not impair a contractual obligation in violation of Const 1963, art 1, § 10 or US Const, art I, § 10(1).
• Determining eligibility for income-tax exemptions on the basis of date of birth as set forth in MCL 206.30(9) does not violate the equal protection of the law under Const 1963, art 1, § 2 or the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution; and
• Determining eligibility for income-tax exemptions and deductions on the basis of total household resources as set forth in MCL 206.30(7) and (9) does create a graduated income tax in violation of Const 1963, art 9, § 7.
• Pursuant to MCL 8.5, the unconstitutional portions of 2011 PA 38 can reasonably be severed from the remainder of the act, which is constitutional with respect to all the issues raised. 

 

 Download the opinion. (PDF)

 

Staff Error Update

An update to the post earlier this week about the Rhode Island attorney who pled "staff error" as the reason for billing misconduct, but it turned out he had no staff.  The Rhode Island Supreme Court has now ordered him to perform 20 hours of pro bono service. "Dear Poor Person: the good news is that your legal services are free.  The bad news is that your attorney is forced to provide these services to you as punishment for misconduct."

HT: Legal Profession Blog

For Whenever You Need Some Breathtaking Perspective

Prop 8 Case Now Has (Two) Legs

The California Prop 8 case on gay marriage, which has been in a stalling pattern over the question of who (if anyone) would represent the defenders of Prop 8, is now going forward.  From the NYT story:

The decision means that the case, Perry v. Brown, is now moving from a legal detour — the question of who has the right under California law to appear in court on behalf of a proposition under legal challenge — to the issue of merits: does a legal ban on same-sex marriage violate constitutional rights?

Lawyers on each side proclaimed victory within hours after the decision was released.

 See also the WSJ story, "Gay Marriage Challenge Gets a Boost in California."

Attorney Discipline Board Hearing Panel Issues Stefani Misconduct Report

The question of whether Michael Stefani's statements concerning text messages between former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty constitute professional misconduct received extensive explication, including dissent, in a 25-page report just released by an Attorney Discipline Board panel. Download the report (PDF).

The panel unanimously agreed that Stefani's statemetns in connection with settelement negotiations beginning October 17, 2007 violated various Rules of Professional Conduct, but that his deposition testimony in a FOIA action and statements before the Detroit City Council did not.  A majority of the panel found that Stefani's testimony in the McCargo disciplinary hearing did not vioalte the rules of Professional Conduct.See our earlier posts:  "Discipline Report Issued for Michael Stefani; No Suspension Ordered" and "Stefani Discipline Increased on Review."

Chief Judge Appointments Announced by Michigan Supreme Court Include "Super Chiefs"

In addition to the appointment of several "super chief judges" -- judges whose "chiefdom" extends to courts outside the jurisdiction of the court to which they were elected -- the order appointing the chief judges is also noteworthy for two comments, noted below.*

Court of Appeals Hon. William B. Murphy

Alcona, Arenac, Iosco, and Oscoda Counties Hon. Allen C. Yenior
Alger, Luce, Mackinac, and Schoolcraft Counties
11th Circuit Court Hon. William W. Carmody
Alger/Schoolcraft Probate District 5: Hon. Charles C. Nebel
Luce/Mackinac Probate District 6: Hon. W. Clayton Graham
92nd District Court Hon. Beth Gibson
93rd District Court Hon. Mark E. Luoma