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November 3 - 9, 2002 |
Safe Walk Program
Would you like to walk with others to your car or to the train station, or be a volunteer accompanying students when they leave the law school? If so, please meet at the sign located near the Admission Office in the lobby of the law school.
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Ingram Family Presents Memorial Scholarship
Third-year student Amber Mohabbat has been selected as the first Dwight and John Ingram Scholarship recipient.
The scholarship was established by Professor John Ingram in his name and that of his late father, Dwight Ingram, who was a long-time member of the John Marshall Board of Trustees. The endowed fund will enable a partial scholarship to be presented annually to second- or third-year students with preference given to students admitted through the summer Conditional Program.
"I was excited to receive this award," Mohabbat said. "It is a wonderful recognition for all the work I've done. I knew I had the ability to do law school, but I just needed the chance. The conditional program gave me that chance, and it helped me prove to people that I could do it."
Mohabbat, who will receive a J.D. in June 2003, has been accepted into the LL.M. program for international business law. She hopes to use her degree "to open the door to the Near and Middle East. I can play a pro-active role in bridging the U.S. economy with that of the Near and Middle East."
Mohabbat, whose father is from Afghanistan, was raised in St. Louis, Mo. She is fluent in both the Pashto and Farsi languages, and is a member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Afghan Association of Greater St. Louis.
At John Marshall, she is a student member of Phi Alpha Delta.
Mohabbat came to John Marshall after earning a bachelor's degree in English and communications from Loyola University.
Amber Mohabbat (center), a third-year student, is the first recipient of the Dwight and John Ingram Scholarship established by Professor John Ingram (left) in his name and that of his late father, Dwight Ingram, who was a long-time member of the John Marshall Board of Trustees. The endowed fund will enable a partial scholarship to be presented annually to a second- or third-year student with preference given to students admitted through the summer Conditional Program. Congratulating Mohabbat are Ingram family members (from left) Mrs. Ginnie Ingram, Elizabeth and Charlie.
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Justice of Russian Federation Supreme Court Visits John Marshall
Kenneth Kandaras, director of the Center for Trial Advocacy and Dispute Resolution at The John Marshall Law School (far right) and John Marshall Professor Karen Halverson (second from left) welcomed (from left) Judge Michael M. Mihm with the U. S. District Court of the Central District of Illinois; Yuriy Ivanovich Sidorenko, justice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and chairman of the Council of Judges of the Russian Federation; Judge George Marovich of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois; and Ryabstov Yury Aleksandrovich, deputy general director of the Supreme Court of Russian Federation Judicial Department, to the law school for an Oct. 14 program. John Marshall trial advocacy faculty explained and demonstrated how trial advocacy is taught in American law schools. The program was followed by Sidorenko's presentation on "The Status of Judicial Reform in the Russian Federation."
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New Security for Women's Restrooms
Starting Tuesday, November 12th, as a purely precautionary security measure, women's restrooms in the 315 and 304 buildings will be locked. Only a current women's John Marshall-issued ID card, or guest pass, will unlock those doors. This is similar to the library's ID requirement in effect since January.
Guest ID cards will be issued to department heads. Sponsors of conferences, programs, seminars and competitions are responsible for giving the Computer Services Department advanced written requests to de-activate the locks on floors involved in high-traffic activities.
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Information Session about Taxation and Employee Benefits Law
On Monday, November 4th, Kathryn Kennedy and Barry Kozak will conduct an information session on taxation and employee benefits as a career choice, the Joint JD/LLM degrees in Tax Law and Employee Benefits and the LLM Programs in Tax Law and Employee
Benefits. The session will take place at noon and be repeated at 5 p.m. (both sessions in Room 1203).
Each session should last about an hour. For more information, contact Kathy Winiczay, Center for Tax Law & Employee Benefits, at 312.987.2380 or 6winicza@jmls.edu.
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Schedule of Events
November 3
- Decanal Search Interview with Allen Easley
- PMBR Bar Review Course, Room 200, 9:00 a.m.
November 4
- Decanal Search Interview with Allen Easley
- Advanced PCT Course, Standard Club, 9:00 am.
- Tax and Employee Benefits Information Session, Room 1203, 12:00 and 5:00 p.m.
November 5
- Decanal Search Interview with Allen Easley
- Advanced PCT Course, Standard Club, 9:00 am.
- Tax and Employee Benefits Luncheon, Room 3East, 12:00 p.m.
- Career Services /Women's Law Caucus Program - "Alternative Careers Panel", Room 3East, 12:45 p.m.
November 6
- Decanal Search Interview with Allen Easley
- Career Services/CBA "Famous Trial Attorneys Series, Room 3East, 12:00 p.m.
- Alumni Association Board Meeting, Room 1102, 12:00 p.m.
November 7
- Career Services - "Lunch & Conversations with Alumni", Room 1200B, 12:45 p.m.
- Young Alumni Meeting, Room 502, 5:30 p.m.
November 9
- ISBA Young Lawyers Division, Room 200, 8:30 a.m.
November 11
- Faculty Assembly, Room 1200, 12:00 p.m.
November 12
- Freedom Award Committee Meeting, Room 1203, 12:00 p.m.
- Career Services - "1L's Resume & Cover Letter Workshop", Room 300, 12:45 and 5:00 p.m.
- Corboy Scholarship Reception, Room 1200B, 5:30 p.m.
November 14
- Corporate Relocation Council of Chicago Seminar, Room 1200, 9:00 a.m.
- CIPL Author's Lecture Series with Ira Winkler, Room 1200, 5:00 p.m.
November 15
- Ceridian Year-End Seminar, Room 1200, 9:00 a.m.
- Alumni Mentor Lunch, Room 3East, 12:30 p.m.
November 16
- IL Assn of Defense Trial Counsel Meeting, Room 1200, 8:00 a.m.
- Career Services Program - "Practice Tracks", Chicago Kent Law School, 10:00 a.m.
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A complete online listing of events scheduled at The John Marshall Law School can be found at the following URL: http://www.jmls.edu/calendar.htm
Editor's Note
Up & Coming is the weekly newsletter of The John Marshall Law School. Editor: Assistant Dean John M. McNamara, room 1212, ext. 393. All information to be published in Up & Coming must be placed in the UPCOMING directory on the H drive of The John Marshall Law School's computer network by 12 p.m. each Tuesday.
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Contents
Other LinksReturn to The John Marshall Law School Home Page
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Professor O'Neill Petitions State for Clemency on Murderer's Conviction
John Marshall Professor Timothy O'Neill argued before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board for leniency on behalf of convicted murderer Jacqueline Williams asking that her death penalty sentence be reduced to life without parole.
O'Neill addressed the board Oct. 16 on its second day of precedent-setting hearings at the Thompson Center in Chicago. Hearings were also conducted in Springfield. Williams was one of three persons found guilty in 1998 of murdering Debra Evans, cutting her unborn child from her womb and murdering her two older children.
"Calling the facts of this case `tragic' would be the understatement of the year," O'Neill told the board's members. "Calling what happened to the Evans family `horrible' would be the understatement of the century."
But, O'Neill said, the death penalty verdict against Williams may have been different had her attorneys questioned the jurors on their feelings and views on racial issues.
The clemency hearings were an effort to determine whether death row inmates were fairly tried and convicted. Illinois has released 13 death row inmates after investigations showed they were wrongly convicted. Gov. Ryan has established a moratorium on executions until it can be proven that Illinois' system fairly treats those in death penalty cases.
O'Neill, who has been working on Williams' appeals since 2000, believes the system will better serve defendants because of the establishment in 2001 of the Capital Litigation Trial Bar. Members of the bar are attorneys with specific expertise to argue death penalty cases.
At the time of Williams' trial, attorneys representing defendants in death penalty cases were not obligated to be part of the Capital Litigation Trial Bar. O'Neill contends that Williams' attorney did not question all potential jurors about their perceptions on race issues. In this case, Williams is black, and the victim was white. The U.S. Supreme Court set up a special rule for selecting a jury in a death case where the defendant and the victim are of different races, O'Neill said.
"These courts give defense attorneys in death cases a lot more leeway in questioning potential jurors about their feelings and views on racial issues than criminal defense attorneys normally get in other felony cases," O'Neill testified.
Questions can be asked about a potential juror's racial views; jurors can be made aware of the races of the victim and defendant; and they can be asked if racial difference might affect their job as impartial jurors.
O'Neill found that in the Williams case, only half the jury was informed of the racial differences between the defendant and the victim; half the jury was never asked about how they felt about this fact; and half the jury was never asked whether this fact might affect their ability to reach an impartial verdict and sentence.
"Even more crucial," O'Neill testified, "one juror was not only not told of the interracial nature of this case, he was not asked one single question by anyone _ the judge, the prosecutor, or the defense attorney _ about his views on racial matters."
The attorney for co-defendant Laverne Ward asked the questions of each potential juror. Ward was not sentenced to death.
O'Neill said statistics show in a black defendant/white victim case, a jury containing just one black male returned a death sentence only 42.9 percent of the time.
"Am I saying that the jury that sentenced Ms. Williams to death was racially prejudiced?" O'Neill questioned. "No, I could not possibly say this. The problem is the risk that racial prejudice may have played in the imposition of the death sentence."
That risk could have been eliminated had the jurors been properly questioned, O'Neill contends.
TV crews capture the proceedings as Professor Timothy O'Neill (seated) addresses the issues for clemency for his client Jacqueline Williams who was convicted of murder.
Professor Timothy O'Neill (left) presents clemency petition papers for his client Jacqueline Williams to Craig Findley (right), a member of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board.
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Student Activities
November 4
A candidate for the Deanship of the School will be present in the student lounge at 5:00 p.m. Please stop and feel free to ask questions. Pizza will be served.
Today is the deadline to submit donations to the SBA for the "Faculty Auction". Please bring to the SBA office or to Miss Criss's office.
Would you like a class ring? Jostens will be present in the student lounge.
November 5
The Women's Law Caucus and the Career Services office will sponsor a panel discussion at 12:45 p.m. "Alternatives to the Legal Profession" will be the topic of interest.
The Black Law Student Association will meet at 4:30 p.m. in room 216.
November 7
The International Law Society and the International Business and Trade Law will host the distinguished Chief Judge of the United States Court of International Trade, Gregory W. Carman. 12:30 p.m.
The Decalogue Society will feature a speaker at its meeting at 12:15 p.m.
The Christian Legal Society will meet at 11:45 a.m. in room 402.
November 8
Phi Alpha Delta Founder's Day - see Amanda Stein for more details.
November 9
Phi Alpha Delta party downtown.
Have you noticed small paper houses placed around the school? The Women's Law Caucus is trying to collect pop tabs to send to Ronald McDonald House to help fund its annual operating expenses. Please consider dropping them in the little house. It is for a good cause.
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Faculty Activity and Publications
Professor John D. Ingram
Publications
His article, "The Insured's Expectations Should Be Honored Only If They Are Reasonable", 23 Wm. Mitchell L. Rev. 813 (1997) was cited recently in 45 Villanova L. Rev. 581.
Professor Kathryn J. Kennedy
Activities
She participated in the Cook County Expedited Child Support Training Program on October 25, 2002. She explained the importance of qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs) and qualified medical child support orders (QMCSOs) to judges, administrative hearing officers, state's attorneys, public defenders and administrative support staff who handle child support cases in the Cook County Domestic Relations Division.
Professor Ronald C. Smith
Activities
On October 20, he was a featured judge for the championship round of the Northeast Regional Criminal Trial Advocacy Competition, held at Quinnipiac University School of Law (Hamden, Connecticut), and co-sponsored by the American Bar Association's Criminal Justice Section. The University of Maryland School of Law edged out the host school to win the competition and also win a slot in the National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition held at John Marshall Law School next April 3-5.
On October 26, Professor Smith, immediate past chair of the ABA Criminal Justice Section, was in Washington, D.C. to attend the Section's White Collar Crime Committee meeting at the firm of Arnold and Porter. He also met with representatives of Georgetown University Law Center's White Collar Crime Trial Advocacy Competition. Georgetown is one of the twenty schools invited to participate in the Thirteenth Annual National Criminal Justice Trial Advocacy Competition next April.