Katherine Pawlik, who believes she has a personal obligation to practice public interest law, was named the 2001 Lucy Sprague Public Service Scholarship winner at the June graduation ceremonies.

Pawlik was selected for the Lucy Sprague Scholarship for her academic standing, commitment to helping others and her willingness to do public interest law.

The $25,000 scholarship was established in the memory of Lucy Sprague who was a second-year student at The John Marshall Law School when she was murdered in December 1996. Her parents, Lee and the Honorable George R. Sprague, a district judge in Cambridge, Mass., brother, Alexander, and sister, Cynthia, established the scholarship to assist another student interested, as Lucy was, in a profession in public interest law.

"I believe that there is a large section of society that is underserved by the legal community, and I know I must do whatever I can to help fill that void," Pawlik told the selection committee. "There is a large section of society that is in desperate need of quality legal assistance and as a whole should not be penalized with inadequate or nonexistent legal assistance simply because of their station in life."

The $25,000 monetary award of the Sprague Scholarship must be used to pay off law school loans, which "present a real and formidable obstacle" Pawlik admitted, "but they will not deter me from my goal. I would rather work hard and make little money but help people than have everything handed to me and not make a difference in someone's life. I know that if I work hard, I will appreciate what benefits I do receive and I know those benefits will not be monetary."

Pawlik has already been introduced to the work of public service law. She interned with the Illinois State Appellate Defender's Office while a student at Ripon College. She was the only intern not enrolled in law school, but the experience convinced Pawlik that she wanted to become an attorney.

Since enrolling at John Marshall, she has been a law clerk for the Chicago Volunteer Legal Services where she was awarded a Public Interest Law Initiative internship, and was named a Chicago Bar Foundation intern.

"I was given an amazing look into the criminal arena while I was employed by the Cook County Public Defender's Murder Task Force where I was able to see cases from the initial charge of murder and the bond hearing through to the final disposition by the judge or jury and every step in the middle," Pawlik said.

At the Office of Cook County Public Guardian, Pawlik clerked in the Adult Guardianship Division where she was involved in each step of intake and investigation through the adjudication process and then the asset collection, security property and in the determination and implementation of a care plan for a person who has been adjudicated disabled.

Using her 7-11 license, Pawlik has been assisting in trial preparation and in the actual presentation of the evidence before a judge in a bench trial.

Pawlik's desire to help others began when she was a volunteer lifeguard for the Garden Center for the Handicapped in Oak Lawn, Ill. She also was a volunteer coach for the Special Olympics and a day camp counselor for children with special needs.

In college, she was a volunteer lifeguard for the Reserve Officer Training Corp during physical training exercises, and was awarded the ROTC Civilian Service Award for her work with the Fox Valley ROTC Battalion.

Professor Ronald C. Smith will assume the office of Chair of the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association during the ABA's 2001 Annual Meeting next week in Chicago. The Criminal Justice Section is one of the most senior and important sections in the ABA. With more than 7,000 members, it is the only national forum where state and federal prosecutors, private and public defense attorneys, judges, and academics meet to debate and formulate standards for the criminal justice system, propose legislation at the national and state level, publish cutting-edge books and magazines, and provide continuing legal education programs (such as the National White Collar Crime Institute, the National Health Care Fraud Institute, and the new annual National Cybercrime Conference to be held at The John Marshall Law School). Because of its importance as a policy section, the Criminal Justice Section's executive offices are located in Washington, D.C., rather than in the ABA's main office in Chicago.

The John Marshall Law School will host this year's reception for the ABA Criminal Justice Section on August 3. Professor Smith is listed as a "special host" of the reception, which is sponsored by the Section, the Law School, the law firm of Jenner & Block, Terence MacCarthy (the Federal Defender of the Northern District of Illinois), and Patrick G. Reardon, John Marshall class of 1975. John Marshall hosted this reception in 1990 and 1996, and many prominent national and international figures attended these previous events.

Professor Smith will chair the ABA Presidential Showcase Program, "Persuading the Jury in the 21st Century: New Approaches, New Kinds of Jurors, and New Attacks on the Jury System." Harvard Professor (and PBS luminary) Charles Ogletree will moderate the panel of experts, which includes Marc Whitehead (co-author of the recently published ABA book, Jury Trial Innovations): Illinois Appellate Court Justice Warren Wolfson; renowned Florida defense attorney Albert Krieger; federal defender Terence MacCarthy; Sonya Hamlin (author of the new book, What Makes Juries Listen Today); and Thomas Munsterman, the nation's leading scholar on jury diversity. The program takes place on August 5, from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 151 E. Wacker Dr., Stetson Suite F, 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Professor Timothy P. O'Neill

Publications

His article Beyond Privacy, Beyond Probable Cause, Beyond the Fourth Amendment: New Strategies For Fighting Pretext Arrests, 69 University of Colorado Law Review 693 (1998) has been cited in the following treatises and textbooks: LaFave's Search and Seizure (3d ed.); Whitebread & Slobogin's Criminal Procedure (4^th ed.); Tomkovicz &White's Criminal Procedure (4^th ed.); and Saltzburg and Capra's American Criminal Procedure (6^th ed.).

Professor Mark E. Wojcik

Publications

His article on "Amended Illinois Supreme Court Rules Expand Protection of Individual Rights" appeared in the June 2001 Issue of Constitutional Law and Liberty, a newsletter of the Illinois State Bar Association Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities.

July 31

Lorman Educational Services Seminar, Room 1200, 9:00 a.m.

Law Consortium for Palestinian Legal Education Meeting, Room 1203, 4:00 p.m.

August 1

Professor Kendall Meeting, Room 1200B, 8:00 a.m.

August 3

National Conference of the Women's Bar Association, Room 1200, 8:00 a.m.

IP Advisory Board Meeting, Room 1101, 1:30 p.m.

ABA Criminal Justice Reception, Room 200, 5:30 p.m.

August 4

Law Review Candidacy Orientation, Room 1200, 1:00 p.m.

August 6

Office of Alumni Programs Reception at the ABA Annual Meeting, Hyatt Regency Chicago, 5:30 p.m.

August 7

Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits Open House, Room 1200B, 5:00 p.m.

August 8

Lorman Educational Services Seminar, Room 1200A, 9:00 a.m.

CMDS Users Meeting, Room 529, 10:30 a.m.

Center for Information Technology and Privacy Law Adjunct Luncheon, Room 1200B, 12:00 p.m.

August 9

Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Room 1200A, 9:00 a.m.

Center Directors' Meeting, Room 1200B, 12:00 p.m.

August 10

Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Various Rooms, 9:00 a.m.

August 11

Accelerated Trial Advocacy, Various Rooms, 9:00 a.m.