Entries in "School of Law"
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January 25, 2007
Was Saddam trial fair? Yes, says legal expert
Cleveland Jewish News, January 25, 2007
Captured on cell-phone video, the execution of Saddam Hussein was a horrifying coda to a war-crimes trial rife with courtroom outbursts, boycotts, judges resigning, and the murder of three-defense counsel. Such a disastrous spectacle makes it hard to find any positive precedents amidst the mayhem. But Michael Scharf, an expert in international law who helped train judges and prosecutors for the Iraqi High Tribunal, says there is much to learn from the experience of the Saddam trial. "How do you prosecute someone like Saddam?" asked the Case Western Reserve University law professor in a speech last week to the City Club Forum. Read article. Listen to the podcast.
January 24, 2007
Military judge orders modest bail for Damra
The Plain Dealer, January 24, 2007
Fawaz Damra, the former spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of Cleveland, was ordered released from an Israeli prison on modest bail Tuesday. However, Israeli authorities exercised a right to delay the release to give them 72 hours to decide whether to appeal the judge's decision. Damra remained in prison in northern Israel, but maybe not for long. "These things are decided pretty quickly, particularly in light of the fact he's been ordered released," said Amos Guiora, a Case Western Reserve University law professor and once a judge on Israel's military court. Read article.
January 03, 2007
Coach told not to pay medical bills of victim
The Plain Dealer, January 3, 2007
A youth-baseball coach convicted of assaulting a concession worker who later died does not have to pay nearly $20,000 in medical bills because they were related to keeping Robert Abrams alive, not to the assault. A law professor believes restitution is warranted. "I think there is a clear causal connection," said Case Western Reserve University professor Lewis Katz. "It seems to me that all the expenses flowed from the crime he was convicted of." Read article.
December 20, 2006
A moral test for fighting terror
Baltimore Sun, December 19, 2006
Op-ed by Amos Guiora, director of the Institute for Global Security Law and Policy at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
Last week, the Israel Supreme Court rendered one of its most anticipated and important judicial rulings with respect to counterterrorism fighting terrorism. The case concerns Israel's policy of preventive strikes against known terrorists in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Starting in February 2000, with the beginning of the second intifada, Israel's policy of "targeted killings" resulted in the deaths of close to 300 known terrorists through the end of 2005. However, more than 30 attempts failed during that time, and approximately 150 civilians were killed. Hundreds of other civilians were wounded. Read article.
December 19, 2006
Latest editions
BBC World Service, December 14, 2006
A radio link features Amos Guiora, law professor and director of the Institute for Global Security Law and Policy at Case Western Reserve Univesity. Guiora, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Israeli defense forces, spoke with the BBC about the recent Supreme Court ruling on so-called "targeted killings." Read article.
December 18, 2006
Quick Takes: Case Western's new chief
Inside Higher Ed, December 18, 2006
Barbara R. Snyder, provost of Ohio State University, was named the next president of Case Western Reserve University. In an e-mail interview, Snyder said she was confident she could collaborate with professors. "An effective shared governance process is necessary for the university to achieve its goals," she said, adding that "nothing promotes trust more than being trustworthy." Read article.
Onetime Case prof is its new president
The Plain Dealer, December 16, 2006
The appointment of Barbara R. Snyder, the current provost at Ohio State University, as the new president of Case Western Reserve University is a homecoming of sorts for the esteemed administrator. Snyder, 51, began her academic career at Case's law school and credits her mentors there for believing in and supporting her and getting her "off to a great start." Now the job isn't teaching students to be lawyers but rather elevating the entire university's reputation. Read article.
Case appoints new president
Crain's Cleveland Business, December 15, 2006
Case Western Reserve University has hired its first female president in Barbara Snyder. Currently the executive vice president and provost at Ohio State University, Snyder will begin July 1, 2007, according to a December 15 letter to the community from Frank Linsalata, chairman of Case's board of trustees. "She is an articulate and energetic proponent for the integral role research universities play in determining the scientific, cultural and political future of our world," Linsalata said. Read article.
December 05, 2006
Cities see death knell ringing on 'home rule'
The Plain Dealer, December 4, 2006
This year alone, the legislature has passed at least three bills that vaporized local laws in Cleveland and elsewhere. Another such bill is pending in the Senate. The way the legislature sees it, the so-called "home rule" provision of the Ohio Constitution—which lets cities pass local laws—is barely worth the paper on which it is printed. In passing bills encroaching on home rule, the legislature deems these items to be of statewide concern, which is reason enough to bypass the local power rule, said Case Western Reserve University law professor Jonathan Entin. Read article.
November 06, 2006
Attorney claims illegal Medina County jury selection
The Plain Dealer, November 4, 2006
A defense attorney claims Medina County court officials have not followed state laws that dictate how jurors should be selected. Defense attorney Robert Schultz alleges "wholesale violations of the Ohio jury code" that he says warrant a dismissal of every criminal indictment this year as well as any civil or criminal jury verdicts. That kind of sanction could leave the county vulnerable to hundreds of lawsuits and reopen countless court cases. Two Case Western Reserve University law professors don't think the allegations call for such drastic measures, but they say that, if Schultz's claims are true, court authorities might have a little housekeeping to do. Case law professor Robert Lawry had a similar opinion. His colleague, professor Lewis Katz, agrees. Read article.
No time limit on Hussein appeal
CNN.com, November 5, 2006
The death sentences handed down Sunday against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and two of his co-defendants triggers an automatic appeal to the Iraqi Criminal Tribunal. There is no time limit for the appeals court to make its decision, but a court official told The Associated Press that the process would likely take three or four weeks after formal paperwork is submitted. Michael Scharf, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University and the co-author of "Saddam on Trial," told CNN that it could take even longer because of the complicated issues involved. "Ultimately this case was not a factual case. The facts were not in dispute because of all the documents that came into evidence. Even Saddam Hussein admitted the basic facts," Scharf said. Read article.
Hussein trial was flawed but reasonably fair, and verdict was justified, legal experts say
New York Times, November 6, 2006
The yearlong trial that ended yesterday with a sentence of death by hanging for Saddam Hussein had serious legal flaws that left doubts about whether he was allowed to present a full defense, international legal experts said. But even critics of the trial said the five Iraqi judges who heard the case had made a reasonable effort to conduct a fair trial in the face of sustained pressure from Iraqi political leaders for a swift death sentence. However, several American criminal lawyers said the prosecution marshaled surprisingly convincing documents, including those showing Mr. Hussein's signature on orders of execution. "Saddam was convicted on the strength of his own documents," said Michael Scharf, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law who advised the Iraqi tribunal during the trial. Read article.