Minnesota Law Students Win the Jeffrey Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition

Three 2024 Minnesota Law graduates capped their law school experience with a first-place finish in a prestigious national moot-court competition.

Maria Pfister ’24, Poojan Thakrar ’24, and Hanna Weil ’24 were members of the Minnesota Law team that took away top honors at the Jeffrey G. Miller National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition at Pace University in New York. The team competed against 53 other teams in the largest event of its type in the U.S.

Director of Moot Court programs Prof. Randall Ryder'09, Coach Emily Polachek, Hanna Weil ’24, Maria Pfister ’24, Poojan Thakrar ’24, and Coach Rachel Kitze-Collins ’14

Professor Richard Painter was interviewed on NPR’s Here & Now about whether Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito should recuse himself from any Jan. 6 or Trump cases. The symbol of many insurrectionists, the upside down American flag, was flown outside of Alito’s home just after the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Prof. Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, helped to prepare Justice Alito for Senate confirmation hearings in 2006.

Professor Jill Hasday discussed a new Minnesota law requiring employers to include salaries or salary ranges in job postings. Hasday previously testified in support of this legislation.

Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin was quoted at length in the Washington Post about 28 Yemenis who had been allowed to take refuge in Oman following their detainment at Guantánamo Bay. Beginning in July, they will be stripped of their benefits and legal residency and will have to return to Yemen. Oman’s move comes as another transfer of Guantánamo detainees hangs in the balance. Last fall, the Biden administration had planned to send Oman 11 more Yemenis. The transfer has been on hold since the outbreak of war in Gaza.

Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic Receives Honorable Mention at AALS Annual Conference on Clinical Education for ‘Somali 92’ Case

The University of Minnesota Law School’s Federal Immigration Litigation Clinic, part of the James H. Binger Center for New Americans, received an honorable mention for the Clinical Legal Education Association’s (CLEA) Award for Excellence in a Public Interest Case or Project at the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) 2024 Conference on Clinical Legal Education in St. Louis earlier this month.

CLEA

Prof. Alan Rozenshtein was quoted in United Press International about the legal dispute between TikTok and the federal government. TikTok parent company ByteDance filed a lawsuit earlier this month, challenging what it calls an “unprecedented step” taken by Congress to either force the sale of the app or ban it in the United States. Prof. Rozenshtein said ByteDance’s claim of First Amendment right of free speech is a strong argument, but he is not convinced it will win in court. “It's the best argument they could make.

Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, in her role as former U.N. Special Rapporteur, was interviewed on an LA Progressive podcast about the current status of prisoners who remain at Guantánamo Bay. More than half of these prisoners have been told they can leave.

Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin participated in a conference on “Prosecuting Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Armed Conflict: The Use of Sex as a Means of Intimidation International and Domestic,” held on April 10 in person and virtually via Zoom.

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