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April 17 - 23, 2005 |
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For an argument before the U.S. Supreme
Court, there's the exhilaration of certiorari followed by the endless
preparation, then the nervous energy in the presentation, and finally the
anticipation of a decision, according to speakers at the American Constitution
Society (ACS) program "A Chance of a Life Time: Arguing Before the U.S. Supreme
Court."
The John Marshall chapter of ACS
welcomed Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to join Professors Michael
Seng, Glenn Schwartz and F. Willis Caruso for an April 4 discussion of what
happens when you argue before the court.
Each speaker agreed that the
preparation is the most important part of the attorney's work.
"You should know every single case"
that is cited in your brief, because "you want to be able to answer every
question asked of you," Madigan said. She argued a 4th amendment case involving
a traffic stop that ended in a drug arrest after a canine unit found drugs in
the car. In preparation for the case, Madigan even spent time with the Illinois
State Police to learn how dogs are trained.
"You never know what questions will be
asked. The best thing is to be in the case from the beginning" so you can draw
on all the facts, said Caruso. He was given the opportunity to re-brief his
fair housing case after the court had heard three arguments on fair housing
cases and reversed all three just weeks after accepting his case.
Caruso went up against an attorney who
tried to tell the court the actions by realtors were "puffing." The strategy
didn't work for at least one justice who told him that what really was
happening was lying about the effects of the realtors' actions.
Schwartz argued a tax case. He spent
the summer preparing the brief trying to get to the finer points of the
argument. Although Schwartz recognized that the court rarely sides with the
petitioners in tax law cases, he said arguing before the court "was a
privilege."
The attorneys said they all reviewed
past court decisions to learn how the justices had ruled on similar cases, but
even then there's no guarantee that you will find a friend in the court. Seng
lost his 1971 case, Kirby v. Illinois, on a 5-4 vote. The court would
have been more friendly to him, Seng believes, if Justice William Renquist
hadn't just been appointed to the bench by President Richard Nixon.
Madigan said she thought she would have
a majority on the court, and she prepared her argument to persuade that
majority. As soon as questioning began, Madigan said "you're on the firing line
for the whole 20 to 30 minutes. I got maybe two-and-a-half sentences out before
the questions started. There are questions you truly can't prepare for. You
can't finesse the question. You have to answer it. The justices are not a group
of people you can bamboozle whatsoever."
Preparation for court argument also
includes moots and attendance at Supreme Court arguments. The attorneys all
agreed their demeanor before the court was as important as the argument. Proper
attire is essential, and common courtesies are expected.
There is no direct route to a U.S.
Supreme Court argument. Although Madigan says her office will send several
cases a year to the court for review, not all are accepted. Caruso argued his
case while working for a not-for-profit, and Schwartz got his case through a
friend in the Washington, D.C. bar. 
American Constitution Society welcomed
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (second from right, front row) as a
guest speaker for its program on arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court. Joining
her are (front row, from left) presenter Professor Michael Seng; Professor
Gerald Berendt; and Rina Infelise, and (back row, from left)Mario Sullivan;
Michael Walsh; presenter Professor Glenn Schwartz; Vice Dean John Corkery, and
Associate Dean Rory Smith.
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The Children's Law Society at John
Marshall recently presented "Hands on Abuse," which consisted of a lobby visual
display, available statistics on abuse in America, volunteer information, and a
ribbon sale. Student members who volunteered to help with the presentation were
(standing, from left) Kelly Preston, Laura Presto, Kristin Kurczewski, and
(seated, from left) Sarah Simonson and Blair Wheat.
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Dean Patricia Mell
Activities 
On Thursday, May 12, she will be a panelist for the
segment "Overcoming Obstacles Against Women in Society and the Workplace" at
the 6th annual Women Everywhere: Partners in Service Project for
young women in high schools throughout the Chicago area. The program is
co-sponsored by the Illinois State Bar Association Committee on Women and the
Law, the Women's Bar Association of Illinois, the Black Women Lawyers
Association of Greater Chicago, the Chicago Bar Association Alliance for Women,
the DuPage Association of Women Lawyers, the Hispanic Lawyers Association of
Illinois and the Hadassah Attorneys Council.
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Professor Celeste Hammond
Director, Center for Real Estate Law
Activities 
She will present her paper, "Predatory Lending: A
Legal Definition and Update," at the annual meeting of the American Real Estate
Society (ARES) in Santa Fe on April 15, 2005. ARES is an organization of
academics and scholars involved in teaching commercial real estate and related
courses in the nation's business schools. While there, she will also report on
the event for the Association of American Law Schools, Real Estate Transactions
Section, that wants to promote more interaction between law school and business
school professors in the field of real estate transactions. A summary will be
published for AALS members in the newsletter for the Section.
Professor Mark E. Wojcik
Activities 
He served as a panelist on "LGBT's in the
2004 Election" on April 8, 2005 at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Midwest
Political Science Association in Chicago, Illinois. The
other panelists were Professors Kenneth Sherrill of Hunter College, City
University of New York; Ellen Anderson of Indiana University and Purdue
University Indianapolis; Jeffrey Edwards of Roosevelt University; Steven
Haeberle of the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Douglas Strand of the
University of California at Berkeley; and Dorian T. Warren of the University of
Chicago.
He also served as a discussant on "New Approaches
to International Law and Organization" on April 9, 2005 at the Midwest
Political Science Association Annual Meeting. He discussed
international law theories of "hard law" and "soft law" put forth by Patrick
Cottrell and David M. Trubeck of the University of Wisconsin, revisions to
keeping track of international conflicts proposed by Lisa M. Danish of the
State University of New York at Buffalo, and aspects of democratization in the
Turkish context analyzed by Beken Saatciogulu of the University of Virginia.
He conducted a workshop on "Teaching Tips for Quiet
Classrooms" on April 11, 2005 for the faculty of the Salmon P. Chase College of
Law at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky. The
presentation was based on one of his contributions to the book Techniques
for Teaching Law.
He spoke on the subject of "Genocide and the
International Criminal Court" at North Park University in Chicago on April 12,
2005.
Publications
Mark E. Wojcik, The Illinois Human Rights Act:
What the New "Sexual Orientation" Amendment Does (and Does Not) Require,
Human Rights, vol. 31, no. 3, at 1 (March 2005).
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April 18
The International Law Society will meet at 5:00 p.m.
in room 201.
Phi Alpha Delta will meet at 12:30 p.m. in room 216.
Pizza will be served.
April 19
The Black Law Student Association will meet at 4:00
p.m. in room 201.
April 20
The Association of Trial Lawyers will meet at 5:00
p.m. in room 216. Pizza will be served.
April 21
Delta Theta Phi and Phi Alpha Delta are
co-sponsoring a mock trial program with the Swift School.
April 22
The Annual Alumni Reception sponsored by the Black
Law Student Association will be held at 6:00 p.m. in room 1200.
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April 18
- Deans' Meeting, Courtroom, 12:00 p.m.
- NCA Team/Faculty Meeting, Room 1200, 12:00 p.m.
- Academic Affairs Committee Meeting, Room 1105,
1:00 p.m.
- NCA Team/Students Meeting, Student Lounge, 4:30
p.m.
- Career Services - Fall Interviewing: What You
Need to Know Now, Room 1200A, 5:00 p.m.
April 19
- NCA Team/JMLS Reception, Room 3East, 4:30 p.m.
- Domestic and Foreign Patent, Trademark, Trade
Secret and Copyright Documentation Course, 6:00 p.m.
April 20
- JCIL Open House, JCIL Office - Room 605, 12:00
p.m.
- UIC - Forensic Medicine Program, Courtroom, 1:00
p.m.
- ATLA Meeting, Room 216, 5:00 p.m.
- Fire Drill, 7:00 p.m.
April 21
- HLSA Program, Room 3East, 12:00 p.m.
- Centers Directors Meeting, Room 428, 12:15 p.m.
- Tax Law Info Session, Room 1105, 12:30 p.m.
- Alumni & Development Staff Meeting, Room 403,
2:00 p.m.
- Increasing Diversity in the Legal Profession -
Encouraging Students of Color to Pursue a Law Career, Room 503, 3:30 p.m.
- NALP Foundation Focus Group, Room 1200B, 4:00
p.m.
- Illinois Native American Bar Association Meeting,
Room 1202, 5:30 p.m.
April 22
- NALP Foundation Focus Group, Room 1200B, 8:30
a.m.
- Law Journals Honors Banquet, Room 3East, 5:00
p.m.
- BLSA Annual Spring Alumni Reception, Room 1200,
6:00 p.m.
April 24
- Multistate Diagnostic Exam, Room 413, 9:00 a.m.
April 25
- Deans' Meeting, Courtroom, 12:00 p.m.
April 26
- Tea Time with the Deans, Student Lounge, 4:30
p.m.
- Domestic and Foreign Patent, Trademark, Trade
Secret and Copyright Documentation Course, 6:00 p.m.
April 27
- Freedom Award Committee Meeting, Room 1101, 12:00
p.m.
April 28
- Institutional Advancement Meeting, Room 1101,
10:00 a.m.
- IP Lunch and Learn, Room 1200A, 11:30 a.m.
- Dispute Resolution Barrister's Board Meeting,
Room 3East, 5:00 p.m.
April 30
May 1
- Reading Period Begins
- SALT Meeting, Room 1200, 8:00 a.m.
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In the
Loop is published by The John Marshall Law School, Chicago,
Copyright 2005
Editor: Assistant Dean John M. McNamara; Contributors:
Marilyn Thomas, Director, Public Relations and Advertising; Andrea Koklys,
Assistant Director, Public Relations and Advertising
All information to be included in In the Loop must be placed in the INTHELOOP folder
on the H drive of the law school's computer network by 12 p.m. each Wednesday.
When the volume of submissions exceeds the available space in the printed
version of In the Loop, additonal material
will appear only in the online version of the Newsletter, which can be found on
the law school's website at www.jmls.edu.
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