Minnesota Law launched a new Gun Violence Prevention Clinic (GVP) earlier this year to train future attorneys to make an impact on gun laws and litigation. The clinic—a first-of-its-kind legal clinic in the nation— is already making a difference while ensuring that Minnesota continues to enforce its gun regulations.
Two teams of Law School students performed extraordinarily well in the regional competition of the National Moot Court Competition, held in Cleveland, Ohio on November 10 and 11, 2023.
Both teams advanced to the semifinal rounds and the team representing Petitioner/Respondent advanced to the national rounds of the competition, which will be held in New York City in February, 2024.
Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, former United Nations special rapporteur, was quoted by the Middle East Monitor in which she reiterated her “grave concerns” about violations of international law in the ongoing Israeli aggression in response to the attacks by Hamas. She said, “there is serious concern about violations of the rules of war and I — like many others, including the Secretary-General [António Guterres] — have been very clear that international law applies. This is not a lawless zone.
Professors Perry Moriearty and JaneAnne Murray were quoted in the Minnesota Reformer about a new Minnesota Law that says people no longer can be charged with murder unless they intended to cause a death or were a major participant in a murder. Because the new law is retroactive, it could also lead to the release of dozens of people now imprisoned for murder. Moriearty said it’s a “uniquely American phenomenon that we continue to use these laws so liberally” to lock people up while every other common law country has abolished felony murder laws.
Leaders of the Minneapolis NAACP and Urban League–Twin Cities had no idea that they were being surveilled online by Minneapolis police officers for as long as a decade until the Minnesota Department of Human Rights revealed the practice in its 2022 report on racially discriminatory policing in the city.
Professor Linus Chan was quoted by MPR regarding the importance of immigrants who are not yet citizens to understand distinctions of current cannabis laws. Cannabis is legal for adults 21 and older to use and possess in Minnesota. However, it is still illegal under federal law. Noncitizens could face immigration consequences for cannabis possession, even though it may be legal under state law.
Prof. Daniel Schwarcz was interviewed regarding a Minnesota Law study published in the Social Science Research Network. The study findings said that law students who use generative artificial intelligence (AI) like ChatGPT to help them complete classwork are more likely to finish their assignments sooner and that law students who are less familiar with the source material are more likely to see a higher grade when using AI to assist them in completing their classwork. Schwarcz said the use of generative AI will likely become one of the primary tools in the toolkit for law.
Professor Kristin Hickman was interviewed on the Bracewell Environmental Law Monitor podcast about the history and influence of Chevron deference. As the U.S. Supreme Court will reconsider Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, she discussed its potential implications, its significance in the current legal landscape, the separation of powers arguments, and the role of stare decisis in the context of Chevron deference.
Jasmin Hernandez DuBois ’24 was awarded first place by the American Association of Law Libraries’ annual student writing competition. Her paper, “The Intersection of Justice and Legal Education: Legal Education for America’s Prisoners,” focused on prison law library reformation and history throughout the United States. It also featured first-hand research by DuBois on the first two prisoners to receive their law degrees in Minnesota.
As part of his patent field placement, supervised by Patterson Thuente IP, Minnesota Law student Sean O’Brien ’24 traveled to Washington, D.C. for a hearing before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). O’Brien participated in the hearing through the USPTO’s Legal Experience and Advancement Program which allows patent practitioners with three or fewer substantive oral arguments in any federal tribunal to argue a case before the PTAB.
