When Professor Perry Moriearty put a call out for Minnesota Law students and recent graduates to help individuals arrested protesting the tragic killing of George Floyd, she had no idea that, only four hours later, she’d have 100-plus volunteers register for training.
“It was incredible,” said Moriearty, who had asked only a handful of students to get the word out.
Minnesota Law will host a webinar on “Policing, Racism, and the Law” on Thursday, June 11 from noon to 1:00 p.m. (Central).
The hour-long panel discussion will explore current realities, policy, and legal solutions to racial violence and bias in policing.
Panelists include:
Professor Smith was quoted discussing emerging issues with the CARES Act's stimulus checks issued by the IRS. Professor Smith noted remaining problems for the process of issuing payments to married taxpayers where one spouse owes back-due child support but the other spouse does not.
Professor Alan Rozenshtein was quoted in the Star Tribune about the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency's use of a Predator surveillance drone to monitor protests in the Minneapolis connected to the death of George Floyd. He noted the difficulties in governing the use of new technology by law enforcement: "It raises these hard questions of how effective do we want law enforcement to be and what is the cost of that effectiveness,” he said. “Every day we are getting closer and closer to a decision point on that.”
The Law School's Black Law Students Association (BLSA) last week issued the following statement to the Minnesota Law community on the tragic death of George Floyd.
Dear Peers,
Sally Rae Mooty, who with her husband Melvin R. Mooty ’51 generously supported the Law School and its students, died peacefully at her home in Edina, Minnesota, on May 7. She was 87.
A former teacher, Sally Mooty was devoted to her family and to the causes she believed in. In 2010, she and Melvin—along with their son, Paul Mooty ’85, and daughter, Mary Mooty Kileen—founded the Melvin R. Mooty Scholarship at Minnesota Law. The fund benefits Law School students with academic promise, leadership skills, and a passion for community service.
Hennepin County District Court Judge Theodora Gaïtas ’94 has been appointed to the Minnesota Court of Appeals by Governor Tim Walz.
Gaïtas will filli a vacancy created by the departure of retiring Judge John Rodenberg.
On Saturday, May 16, the Law School held its first-ever virtual commencement ceremony. A video program that lasted approximately a half hour celebrated the class of 2020, which includes: 204 J.D. graduates, 49 LL.M. graduates, and 10 M.S.P.L. graduates.
A traditional commencement event at Northrop was not possible this year in light of COVID-19-related restrictions on public gatherings. However, in addition to Saturday's virtual event, the Law School plans to hold an in-person event to honor 2020 graduates in spring 2021.
