Fall Semester Date Change

Classes for the Fall 1998 semester will begin on Thursday, August 20. This is a change from the previously scheduled date of August 24.

Contents

Board of Trustees

Fall Semester Date Change

Faculty Activity and Publications

Legislators Intervene Following Peru's Prisoner Transfer Dismissal

Board of Trustees

The Honorable William E. Peterson, a member of The John Marshall Board of Trustees, died on July 18 in Northwestern Memorial Hospital. A retired Cook County judge who had been denied admission to law school in his home state of Mississippi, Judge Peterson had served on the board since 1987. He was also a past president of the Cook County Bar Association and the National Bar Association, the nation's largest group of black lawyers.

Dean Robert G. Johnston described him as "a remarkable man. There are whole generation of people out there whom he has helped advance their careers." The law school will award a Dean's Scholarship in his name. "The recipient will be told about him and his ideals so as to encourage the recipient to be a lawyer of whom Judge Peterson could be proud," said Dean Johnston.

Legislators Intervene Following Peru's Prisoner Transfer Dismissal

Illinois and California congressional leaders are calling for a special September meeting with Peruvian Ambassador Ricardo Luna as an intervening step in the continuous inaction by Peru in the case against Jennifer Davis of Danville, Ill., and Krista Barnes of Redondo Beach, Calif., who are held in a Lima jail.

The two women remain incarcerated despite being found guilty and sentenced and ready for a transfer to the United States, following the Peru Supreme Court's nullification of the sentences and prison transfers.

In a letter, signed by Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Carol Moseley-Braun (D-Ill.), and Reps. Thomas Ewing (R-Ill.), Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), John Porter (R-Ill.) and Jane Harman (D-Calif), the legislators called upon Peru to schedule a meeting for Sept. 9, 10 or 11 to "personally discuss the current situation regarding two American prisoners, Jennifer Davis and Krista Barnes." Davis is a resident of Ewing's Congressional district, and Barnes is a resident of Harman's district.

Arrested at the Lima airport in September 1996, Davis and Barnes spent more than a year in jail waiting for charges to be filed against them, and another six months for a trial. In March 1998, the women pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine, and testified against the Peruvian drug smuggling ringleaders who had recruited them to bring the cocaine out of Peru.

Davis and Barnes were each sentenced to six years in prison and a fine. The Peruvians, too, were found guilty and sentenced to 20 years and substantial fines. The Peruvians appealed their sentences. Under Peruvian law, if one defendant appeals, all parties appeal. Thus, Davis and Barnes have been forced into a legal quagmire. They were awaiting transfer to the United States to serve their sentences when the Peruvian Supreme Court last month threw out their convictions and agreed to reopen the case for additional discovery and retrial.

Dennis Davis, Jennifer's father, is urging Congress to act forcefully.

"If Peru does not allow my daughter to be transferred to an American prison immediately, I will ask the Illinois delegation to move on imposing economic sanctions against Peru; denying or reducing foreign assistance to Peru; and denying Peru's request for more money for its drug war."

In addition, Professors Ralph Ruebner and Mark Wojcik of The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, representing the women pro bono, filed an emergency petition with the Inter-American Human Rights Commission asking that it immediately mandate a transfer of Davis and Barnes to the United States.

"We are getting nowhere with the judicial process in Peru," said Ruebner. "This is a travesty of justice and a clear repudiation of Peru's obligations to respect the rule of law and to adhere to international human rights covenants and treaties."

Ruebner points to the support for transfers that were made before the Peruvian Supreme Court by Dr. Alberto Huapaya, the National Director General of the Ministry of Justice, and Dr. Oscar Levano, the Legal Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Supreme Court rejected Huapaya's and Levano's petitions for the separation of Barnes and Davis from the three Peruvian co-defendants and confirmation of their sentences.

Faculty Activity and Publications

Professor Mark E. Wojcik

Activities

He spoke about the history of the Uniform Code of Military Justice at the 1998 Annual Meeting of the American Bar Association. His presentation before the ABA focused on the treatment of gays and lesbians in the military. He was invited to speak in his capacity as former chair of the CBA Committee on Military Law and Veterans Affairs, which he chaired for two years before joining the Board of Managers of the CBA.