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May 15 - 21, 2005 |
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Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine will be
the speaker at the May 22 commencement ceremonies for The John Marshall Law
School. He also will receive an honorary degree.
The law school will award 319 degrees—276 J.D.
and 43 LL.M.—at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers. The program begins
at 3 p.m. in the Chicago Ballroom.
Devine has been a trial lawyer handling civil and
criminal cases for more than 35 years. He has been the Cook County State's
Attorney for nine years, having won re-election to a third term in November
2004. During his tenure he has established the office's first Domestic Violence
Unit, which is now nationally recognized. The Department of Justice has singled
out the office's victim/witness program for its support of victims and their
families.
Devine is credited with reforming the juvenile
justice system in Illinois. He also created a five-office Community
Prosecutions Unit, a DNA Review Unit and a Cold Case Unit to investigate
unsolved murders.
The Cook County state's attorney had established a
Capital Case Committee to conduct reviews of potential capital cases before a
decision is made on whether the office would seek the death penalty. It was no
surprise that Devine was one of the first prosecutors in Illinois to support
Gov. George Ryan's Death Penalty Commission when it was established in 2002.
The state's attorney also established a policy in
1999 of videotaping murder confessions. Following his lead, the Illinois
Legislature approved a bill that requires the taping of homicide
interrogations, starting in July 2005.
A graduate of Northwestern University School of Law,
he has argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, the 7th Circuit
Court of Appeals, the Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Appellate
Court.
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Swift Specialty School students will be given the
opportunity to demonstrate the litigation skills they learned during 10 weeks
of classroom training, at a May 21 mock trial competition held at The John
Marshall Law School.
The case, People v. Carter, is adapted from
the Criminal Justice in America study guides from the Constitutional
Rights Foundation Chicago. Swift students were asked to prepare both
prosecution and defense arguments in the case of an alleged drive-by shooting.
For 10 consecutive Saturdays, Melanie Neely, a John
Marshall graduate, worked with 18 seventh- and eighth- grade students were
taught, by Melanie Neely, a John Marshall graduate, and second-year student
Janene Carter, the intricacies of direct examination, cross examination,
opening and closing statements and jury selection, as well as the substantive
law that covers the issue.
Their hard work will be put to the test during the
two-round competition. The eighth-graders form four teams of students, and the
seventh-graders will act as witnesses. The winning teams of the first round
will face off in the final round to compete for the first place prize. The
Swift competitor with the best individual score will receive a partial
scholarship if and when he qualifies for admission to The John Marshall Law
School.
The mock trial competition project is part of The
John Marshall Law School's second year of programming since it partnered with
Swift and Loyola University's GEAR UP program. It offers Swift students
educational opportunities that may not otherwise be available to them.
Partial funding for the competition was provided by
the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis.
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Incoming BLSA officers for 2005-2006 are (from
left) Andrew Gonzalez, advocate general; Kelly Presley, secretary; Alfred
Norman, vice president; and Constance Wright, president. 
Robyn Donaldson (left), BLSA president; and Dean
Patricia Mell (right) congratulate Joy Cunningham (J.D. '82) as she is honored
as a distinguished alumna. 
Professor Kevin Hopkins (right) joins in
conversation with Tracy Holtshirley (left), who returned to his studies after a
tour of duty in Iraq; and Samirah Day (J.D. '00) now in private practice.
Welcoming faculty members Joanne Hodge (second from
right) and Ann Lousin (right) to the Black Law Students Associations spring
2005 reception are (from left) Robyn Donaldson, outgoing president; Taj Smith,
outgoing vice president; and Gwendolyn Drake. 
Constance Wright (left) offers a bouquet of thanks
to Robyn Donaldson as she completes her term as president of the Black Law
Students Association.
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During a recent visit to China, Dean Patricia Mell
(right) met with Pinhui Lin, deputy commissioner of the State Intellectual
Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO). The law school has
been working with SIPO for a dozen years, and more than 100 attorneys at SIPO
have earned LL.M. degrees in intellectual property law from John Marshall.
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Professor John D. Ingram
Publications 
His article, "Damages for Loss of the Enjoyment of
Life," 24 J. Marshall L. Rev. 423 (1991), was cited recently in 85
B.U.L. Rev. 1, 7 (2005). The author sent him a copy of his article, and
said he had found the article very useful.
His article, "Surrogate Gestator: A New and
Honorable Profession", 76 Marq. L. Rev. 675 (1993), was cited recently
in 93 Ill. Bar J. 240 (May 2005).
Professor Michael Polelle
Activities 
In addition to co-teaching a comparative law course
in Parma, Italy from May 30 through June 7, 2005 with Italian professors from
the University of Parma, Prof. Michael Polelle has been invited to attend an
international forum on comparative defamation law. The forum will take place in
Mainz, Germany on June 8 and June 9, 2005. Academics, journalists, and
practicing lawyers from various countries, but primarily from Germany, England,
and the United States will attend. He has been invited to be a presenter on
group defamation at the Mainz forum. He has accepted and his discussion paper
is entitled, "The Black Hole of Group Defamation in American Law: A Proposed
Remedy."
Professor Mark E. Wojcik
Activities 
He was appointed as a member of the Illinois State
Bar Association's Standing Committee on Legal Education, Admission, and
Competence. The ISBA standing committee studies all phases of preparatory
and legal education requirements for admission to the bar and standards for bar
examinations. The committee also reviews and makes recommendations about
continuing legal education, competence, and lawyering skills. His
appointment by ISBA President Robert K. Downs is for the 2005-2006 term.
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May 16 - 18
May 16
- Torts II Multiple Choice Workshop, Room 529, 3:00
p.m.
May 17
- Chinese IP Attorneys Program, Room 1200, 9:00
a.m.
- Development and Alumni Relations Meeting, Room
1102, 9:30 a.m.
- Chinese IP Attorneys Luncheon, Room TBD, 12:00
p.m.
- Alumni Association Scholarship Committee Meeting,
Room 1101, 4:00 p.m.
- Domestic and Foreign Patent, Trademark, Trade
Secret and Copyright Documentation Course, 6:00 p.m.
May 18
- ABA Arbitration Training Institute, Room 1200,
9:00 a.m.
- ITCC Board Meeting, Room 800 of the CBA, 12:00
p.m.
May 19
- ABA Arbitration Training Institute, Room 1200,
9:00 a.m.
- Center for Real Estate Law M.S. Program
Information Session, Room 428, 12:00 p.m.
- Parma Program (Polelle), Room 413, 2:00 p.m.
- Alumni & Development Staff Meeting, Room 403,
2:00 p.m.
- Lawyering Skills Reception, Room 3East, 4:30 p.m.
May 20
- ABA Arbitration Training Institute, Room 1200,
9:00 a.m.
- Cap & Gown Pick-Up, Room 201, 12:00 to 6:00
p.m.
- Graduation Photos, Room 300, 12:00 to 6:00 p.m.
- Regalia Reception, Room 200, 12:00 to 6:00 p.m.
- Alumni Board Nominating Committee Meeting, Room
1102, 4:00 p.m.
May 21
- ABA Arbitration Training Institute, Room 1200,
9:00 a.m.
- Swift School Mock Trial Competition, Room 3East
and Courtroom, 9:00 a.m.
May 22
- Commencement, Sheraton Chicago Hotel &
Towers, 301 E. North Water Street, Ceremony at 3:00 p.m.
May 23
- Deans Meeting, Courtroom, 12:00 p.m.
May 24
- IPLAC Paralegal and Patent Agent Committee
Meeting, Room 216, 11:00 a.m.
May 26
- City of Chicago Training, Room 1200, 9:00 a.m.
- Staff Appreciation Lunch, Room 3East, 12:00 p.m.
- ITCC Networking Event, Room 200, 5:00 p.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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