News
Grisham tells story of Innocent Man
Speaking before a packed house in Hart Auditorium on Feb. 23, best-selling author John Grisham showed he could tell, as well as write, a really good story. The event was organized as part of the Criminal Justice Reform Month (CJRM) program series, and was sponsored by Goodwin Proctor LLP.
Abdelwahab, 1L, wins ADR competition
by Joshua Nelson, 2L
Law Weekly
March 3, 2009
On Sunday March 1, the finals of the Barristers’ Council’s Intra-School qualifying Negotiations Competition. Shareif Abdelwahab, 1L, emerged victorious, followed by Ryan Selis, 2L, and Lauren Champaign, 1L, in third place.
Peace Corps director promotes the value of service
Law school is devoted to the details. Even the theoretical underpinnings of legal theory are devoted to the balancing of narrow, defined objectives, which is why Acting Director of the Peace Corps Jody Olsen’s general musings on service provided Georgetown Law students a welcome shift to a broader perspective.
Panel disucusses problems with federal sentencing
For almost 20 years, federal criminal sentencing was defined by a system of mandatory guidelines. Created by a federal commission in response to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, the guidelines helped to increase uniformity and predictability in criminal sentencing—but at the cost of radically reducing judicial discretion.
U.S. Muslim population examined
On March 3, 2009, Dalia Mogahed, Mohamed Younis, and Magal Rheault from Gallup unveiled an in-depth study of the Muslim American community at the Newseum in Penn Quarter. The study was undertaken over the course of ten months in 2008, with more than 1000 people interviewed every day.
Women in prison face challenges
On Wednesday, March 4, members of Georgetown Law’s student body presented Any One of Us: Words from Women in Prison, an ensemble performance piece about the detrimental effects of American law enforcement policy on the lives of women incarcerated for non-violent crimes.
Students use Spring Break to help out
“When you get to law school, you start acquiring a skill set, and it made sense to me to try to put that to work on issues I care about,” says Yaamini Rao, 2L. Rao was part of a group of 27 students who spent their Spring Break in New Orleans doing volunteer legal work in a city that is still slowly rebuilding itself.
California Court looks at gay marriage
Last November, California voters approved Proposition 8, a ballot initiative to amend the California Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. The controversial initiative was specifically designed to overrule an early California Supreme Court decision that extended marriage rights to homosexual couples. In 2008 the fight over Prop. 8 surpassed every campaign in the country in spending except the Presidential election.
Clinic Guide
The following guide is an overview of the 12 clinics offering courses in the 2009-2010 academic year. In addition to a brief description of each clinic’s work, the guide indicates the duration of the clinic, the number of credits awarded, the eligibility guidelines, and information on any scheduled open house or information session.
Candidates state SBA positions
This week, Feb. 25 to 27, the Student Bar Association will have its Spring elections. There is one important change. For the first time, joint degree students have the opportunity to elect their own representative. The race is competitive for many positions this year, so it’s important to make an informed vote.
Please take this opportunity to read the candidates’ statements to the voters and familiarize yourself with the candidates and their positions. And of course, please do your part for student government at Georgetown Law and remember to vote!