Originally published in Student Lawyer magazine, February 2006 (Vol. 34, No. 6). All rights reserved.

CIRCUIT BOARD

To find out which ABA Law Student Division circuit your school is in, click here. To report on news from your school, e-mail your circuit governor and studentlawyer@abanet.org.

First Circuit. In a lecture at the University of Maine School of Law, New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer questioned whether institutions in a free-market society are capable of self-regulation and spoke about the evolving balance of power between state and federal government in enforcing accountability.

Second Circuit. Brooklyn Law School hosted a daylong conference on developments in LGBT law. The conference was sponsored by LeGal, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Law Association Foundation of New York.

Third Circuit. Carol Anderson, author of Eyes Off the Prize: The UN and the African American Struggle for Human Rights, spoke at Penn State University School of Law. She discussed attempts to eradicate racism in the United States.

Fourth Circuit. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg spoke at Wake Forest University School of Law on her life as a law student, wife, mother, lawyer, professor, and judge. Ginsburg told the audience about her experience in the 1950s as one of only nine women in a class of 500 at Harvard Law School. She also commented on recent nominations to the Supreme Court.

Fifth Circuit. Ten students from the Pro Bono Student Organization at Florida Coastal School of Law hosted a Fall Festival for children at Hubbard House, a local domestic violence shelter. About 25 children played carnival games and enjoyed candy and prizes.

Sixth Circuit. The Federalist Society chapter at Ohio State University College of Law hosted a debate on the role of the Senate in judicial confirmations, featuring Robert Alt with the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University and Ohio State law professor David Goldberger…. Students at Thomas M. Cooley Law School attended the first-annual Fall Career Symposium. Practicing lawyers participated in six panels dealing with various areas of law, including administrative, business, litigation, lobbying, patent law/intellectual property, and sports.

Seventh Circuit. More than 150 people participated in the 16th-annual Race Judicata at the University of Wisconsin Law School. The 5K race/walk raised more than $4,000 to fund summer positions for students at public law organizations.

Eighth Circuit. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer visited Drake University Law School and held an hour-long question-and-answer session for students. Students asked a variety of questions about the recent status of the Supreme Court.

Ninth Circuit. The Whittier Public Interest Law Foundation (PILF) hosted its annual Casino Night, which raises money to fund public interest positions for graduates…. The Sports Law Society at Thomas Jefferson School of Law hosted a symposium on Up for Grabs, a documentary on the legal battle for ownership of Barry Bonds’ historic 73rd home run ball.

Tenth Circuit. Students at the University of Tulsa College of Law participated in a program called Trick-or-Treat (Safe Halloween). Children from the community were invited to trick-or-treat at the student dorms, and the law school hosted activities and crafts such as face and pumpkin painting.

Eleventh Circuit. The Street Law organization at the George Washington University Law School hosted more than 80 students from Washington, D.C.’s Francis Junior High School for the First Annual Mock Legislature. Students learned about the legislative process and were given a chance to put their new knowledge to the test by participating in mock committees and legislative sessions.

Twelfth Circuit. Willamette University College of Law hosted a Fall Domestic Violence Seminar with a local domestic violence prosecutor. Students from Lewis and Clark College School of Law and the University of Oregon School of Law were invited to attend with lawyers and judges from the area…. At a capital punishment seminar at Seattle University School of Law, Juan Melendez spoke about the 17 years he spent on death row in a Florida federal prison before he was released due to new evidence that proved he was not guilty.

Thirteenth Circuit. The University of Houston Law Center held the fifth-annual Andrews Kurth Debate titled “Considering Civil Rights in Times of Terror.” Panelists included professors from across the country and a former deputy assistant attorney general from the U.S. Office of Legal Counsel…. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy spoke at Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, which dedicated its renovated, state-of-the-art facility in downtown Fort Worth.

Fourteenth Circuit. The Environmental Law Society at Stanford Law School led an orientation hike at the Russian Ridge Open Space Preserve near the Stanford campus. The society also hosted a talk on invasive species, featuring environmental law clinic director Debbie Sivas and former clinic student Peter Morgan, who discussed their recent victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in a case involving invasive species.

Fifteenth Circuit. Students at Brigham Young University Law School participated in an annual “Stump the Professor” event to raise money for the Women and Children in Crisis Center.

Compiled by Karen Taylor

Return to top of page

Student Lawyer home page