I am currently in Boston serving as coach to two teams of Marquette law students who are competing in the National Appellate Advocacy Competition’s Boston Regional Competition. The teams are Alyssa Dowse, Rachel Helmers, and Nicholas Harken (this month’s student blogger); and Jesica Ballenger, Lindsey Johnson, and Allison Ziegler. This evening at 5:30 p.m. both teams argued off brief in their first round. I am delighted to report that both teams won!
The next round happens tomorrow evening. Both teams will be arguing on brief, so I am feeling very optimistic about their chances. Wish the teams luck! I will keep you posted.
(Note: The Liberty Hotel, pictured above, which is hosting most of the out-of-town competitors, is in Beacon Hill on the site of the historic Charles Street Jail.)
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The Milwaukee Public Schools system should be replaced with ten to twelve smaller school districts, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker said Thursday in an “On the Issues” session at Marquette Law School.
Asked by host Mike Gousha, the Law School’s Distinguished Fellow in Law and Public Policy, what he would do about problems facing MPS, Walker said, “I’d legally eliminate it and start all over. . . . Wipe it out, start over again, legally redefine the school district.”
Walker, Milwaukee County Executive since 2002, said his two children attend schools in Wauwatosa and a district of that size or smaller is better managed, can better focus on students, and can benefit from more of a sense of community supporting it. The existing MPS structure is too big, and it is too difficult to make effective improvements, he said.
Walker also said he supported “putting more power and force behind the choice movement and the charter movement in Milwaukee.” That would include lifting the cap of 22,500 students on the program that currently allows more than 20,000 children to attend religious and other private schools in the city, and making it easier for schools to receive charters that entitle them to operate with public ... Read more..
Three slices of this week’s education pie being served around here:
Slice one: It’s one thing if Milwaukee School Board members want to go all night talking about the matters in front of them – it might not be a very good way to do business, but it only affects Board members, some MPS administrators, and a handful of others. It’s another thing when they have public hearings that go deep into the night. On Tuesday night, a Board committee considered fifteen requests to open new charter schools, renew contracts with existing charter schools, or close existing charter schools. The 6:30 p.m. meeting didn’t end until around 1 a.m. The committee was still taking up new requests after 11:30 p.m. There were people from out of town who waited for more than five hours while entirely different business was considered. Hundreds of people were present, including parents and students, and many endured lengthy waits before the item they cared about was brought up. This is a chronic problem. It’s rude. It discourages public participation. And it could be changed so easily – how about spreading discussions across several evenings? How about issuing a schedule with set times (7p.m. for this item, 7:30 ... Read more..
It has now been two years since 12-year-old Nujood Ali ended her marriage to her husband—a man in his 30s—and now the girl has achieved fame around the globe for her bold actions.
The case, heard in a courthouse in Sanaa, Yemen, brought attention to then 10-year-old Ali and the culture of child brides in the country. At the time, the case caused much stress for Ali and her family, making them the center of the debate on tradition and culture in Yemen.
A whirlwind of controversy surrounded Ali’s divorce case, according to CNN, and for the reporter to even get a pre-arranged interview was quite a feat. By demanding a divorce from her 30-something husband, Ali threw her nation into somewhat of a frenzy—breaking the traditional mold of Yemen’s culture.
At age 10, Ali exuded the essence of a child in every way—from her laugh and smile to her childish mannerisms that any girl her age should possess. CNN reporters found during their interview that there was another side to the girl entirely.
In her marriage to a man more than 20 years her senior, Ali had been abused and threatened—but she was no quitter and she fought for, even demanded a divorce ... Read more..
Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Mark R. Filip warned at Tuesday’s Hallows Lecture that disparities in sentencing by federal judges are returning since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled five years ago that sentencing guidelines are only advisory.
Filip, who also is a former federal judge and now practices with a Chicago law firm, said that United States v. Booker in 2005 reduced the import of sentencing guidelines that dated to the late 1980s, “returning us to an era of indeterminate sentencing.” While he said that commentary on Booker from both judges and defense lawyers has been generally favorable, data on sentencing patterns since the decision show that in different parts of the country, significantly different sentences are being given for comparable convictions.
Overall, Filip said, in fiscal year 2008, only 59 percent of sentences fell into the non-binding range given in the guidelines, with the figure ranging from about 40 to 70 percent in different federal circuits.
Filip criticized “the corrosive effect of this disparity,” adding, “It hardly promotes respect for the judicial system” when, as has been reported, defendants and inmates talk in jails and prisons about which judge gives more lenient sentences.
Filip urged that federal judges spend time collaborating on how to set sentences ... Read more..
