tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65158816043290469582024-03-08T12:54:23.858-06:00S.A. LawA blog for and about the San Antonio legal community.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-86941235061682886302009-05-31T22:40:00.000-05:002009-05-31T22:40:32.048-05:00AnnouncementIn case you haven't heard, I'm closing up my solo practice and going to work for the Texas Office of the Attorney General, in the Open Records division. This means you probably won't hear much from me for awhile.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-2967494851354750102009-05-18T15:37:00.001-05:002009-05-18T15:37:59.639-05:00What Was She Thinking?Perhaps some of you in the San Antonio legal community haven't yet heard about the <a href="http://www.kvue.com/news/state/stories/01609kvue-ATTORNEYPOTARREST-mw.bcd8ce1.html">local attorney busted for marijuana possession</a> as she tried to enter the Bexar County Courthouse. The punchline to this story: <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/45145387.html">She claims she was holding it for a client</a>. (Note that the <em>E-N </em>article calls her a defense attorney, but <a href="http://www.texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=Member_Directory&template=/Customsource/MemberDirectory/MemberDirectoryDetail.cfm&ContactID=229974">her State Bar web page</a> lists her primary practice areas as labor law and construction.)<br /><blockquote>High-profile defense attorney Regina Criswell was arrested Thursday after courthouse officials reported finding a bag of marijuana and a chrome pipe in her purse. Her defense, according to the Sheriff's Office: The items belong to a client.<br /><br />Criswell, 50, told a security guard that she knew the marijuana and paraphernalia were in her purse and that she was holding it for a client, said Deputy Ino Badillo, a spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. Badillo said the items were discovered at a screening station at an entrance of the courthouse.</blockquote>Walking through a security checkpoint with pot on you isn't too smart, no matter what your profession. But for a lawyer to hold contraband for a client is even more foolish. Local blog <em>Strange in San Antonio</em> also notes the "<a href="http://strangesanantonio.blogspot.com/2009/05/bringing-pot-to-court.html">lack of good judgment</a>, at the very least," while <em>Man O' Law</em> just calls this stunt "<a href="http://manolaw.blogspot.com/2009/05/going-to-pot.html">pretty stupid</a>."<br /><br />Criswell, by the way, is the attorney who recently won <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/Ex-UTSA_prof_wins_suit_over_trashed_notes.html">$175,000 for a UTSA professor whose research notes got trashed</a> when they cleaned out his lab, but <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/Ex-UTSA_profs_jury_award_tossed.html">the federal judge tossed that verdict</a>. She <a href="http://lubbockonline.com/stories/050709/loc_437191835.shtml">plans to appeal the judge's decision</a> to overturn that award.<br /><br />And yes, she's a St. Mary's grad.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-27320577247692061642009-05-18T15:09:00.000-05:002009-05-18T15:09:51.052-05:00Don't ForgetAnother <a href="http://www.sayla.org/mc/page.do">San Antonio Young Lawyers Association</a> luncheon coming up this Tuesday at <a href="http://www.paesanos.com/">Paesano's at Lincoln Heights</a> (near the <a href="http://www.quarrymarket.com/">Alamo Quarry Market</a>).<br /><br />This month's CLE speaker is James Ehler of the State Bar of Texas <a href="http://texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=Chief_Disciplinary_Counsel&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=11676">Chief Disciplinary Counsel </a>. He will discuss <a href="http://data.memberclicks.com/site/sayla/May_2009_Luncheon.pdf">How to Avoid a Grievance and What to Do When You Get One</a>.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-36427442168571912422009-05-15T14:58:00.001-05:002009-05-15T14:59:02.474-05:00More Trouble for Lawyer in Forgery CaseA Waco attorney charged with <a href="http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/04/23/04232009wactammypolk.html">practicing law while her attorney's license was suspended</a> and with <a href="http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/03/07/03072009wactammypolk.html">forging a signature on a court document</a> is under scrutiny for <a href="http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/05/15/05152009wactammypolk.html?imw=Y">possible document tampering in another case</a>, the <em>Waco Tribune-Herald </em>reports:<br /><blockquote>The most recent case, from three years ago, probably would have gone undetected had [defendant Deloris] Carroll, 38, not violated the terms of her felony probation for the fraudulent use of identifying information. Files from the district attorney’s office show that an initial plea recommendation from former prosecutor Charissa Sloan was scratched through and changed from serving 12 months in a state jail to 18 months in a state jail but probated for five years.<br /><br />The original sentence called for no probation.</blockquote>On a related note, a McLennan County blogger discusses the circumstances of <a href="http://mclennancountyjustice.blogspot.com/2009/05/pope.html">Polk's attempt to turn herself in</a>:<br /><blockquote>Even though there is supposed to be a jail magistrate setting bonds, Polk was held in jail for 10 hours. Normally, a person who has a bondsman waiting to make their bond waits less than two hours to be processed. The sheriff abused his authority to make an impression on Polk.</blockquote>Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-79617254947187765422009-05-15T10:24:00.002-05:002009-05-15T10:25:32.807-05:00Piatt's Discrimination ComplaintIt came out a couple of weeks ago, but in case you haven't seen it,<em> Texas Lawyer</em> has <a href="http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?id=1202430263848">a story on Rosanne Piatt's discrimination complaint</a> against St. Mary's university:<br /><blockquote>A full-time instructor at the San Antonio law school since January 1999, Piatt alleges in a charge of discrimination she filed with the <a href="http://www.eeoc.gov/" target="new" el="http://www.eeoc.gov" lid="U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission">U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission</a> and <a href="http://www.twc.state.tx.us/customers/jsemp/jsempsubcrd.html" target="new">Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division</a> that St. Mary's University notified her a year ago that her contract would terminate on May 31, the end of the 2008-2009 academic year.<br /><br />In the charge, which Piatt filed in November 2008, she alleges her belief that St. Mary's law school has discriminated against her because of her age and gender. She is 57 years old.<br /><br />"If you're an older female at St. Mary's, you're at risk," Piatt alleges in an interview.</blockquote>There's also this <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/Your_Turn__May_1_2009.html">letter to the editor</a> (scroll down) in the <em>Express-News</em> which says the <a href="http://sanantoniolaw.blogspot.com/2009/04/e-n-story-on-st-marys-shakeup.html">dismissals of Rosanne Piatt and Cheryl George</a> are not because of discrimination, but due to academic politics:<br /><blockquote>All across the school, faculty and staff members who had any connections to <a href="http://leiterlawschool.typepad.com/leiter/2006/10/st_marys_law_de.html">former Dean Bill Piatt</a> are finding themselves without a job. Many of these people have excelled in their jobs and received excellent performance reviews, yet were let go with spurious excuses and little warning.</blockquote>Finally, here's <a href="http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legalwriting/2009/05/legal-writing-professor-alleges-contract-not-renewed-due-to-age-and-gender-bias.html">a question from a member of the academic community</a> on the Legal Writing Prof Blog:<br /><blockquote>One question that comes to mind is: why is the legal writing community hearing about this for the first time from the <a href="http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2009/05/law-prof-sues-.html">TaxProf blog</a>? And what are we doing to help her? Like the Marines, we don't leave our wounded behind. <a href="http://www.stmarytx.edu/law/content/faculty/piatt_r.html?height=400&width=500">Professor Piatt</a>, if you're reading this and need our help, let us know and we'll spread the word. Semper Fi.</blockquote>Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-5597487295378202462009-05-14T16:19:00.004-05:002009-05-14T16:37:52.635-05:00St. Mary's Law School Professor to Senate: Enhanced Interrogation ≠ TortureIn a hearing this week on the Bush Administration's <a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/04/torture_memos_released.php">torture memos</a>, Professor <a href="http://www.stmarytx.edu/law/content/faculty/addicott_j.html?height=400&width=500">Jeffrey F. Addicot</a>, Director of the St. Mary's law school's <a href="http://www.stmarytx.edu/ctl/">Center for Terrorism Law</a>, tells the U.S. Senate's <a href="http://judiciary.senate.gov/about/subcommittees/oversight.cfm">Administrative Oversight and the Courts subcommittee</a> that he does not consider "enhanced interrogation" methods such as waterboarding to amount to torture.<br /><br /><p>The witnesses at the hearing included two other law professors, a former State Department official, and a former FBI agent and interrogator. From <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104092457">NPR's coverage of the hearing</a>:</p><blockquote>Of the five witnesses who testified before the panel Wednesday, only one, Jeffrey Addicott of St. Mary's University School of Law's Center for Terrorism Law, defended the methods approved by the Bush White House.<br /><br />"In my legal opinion, the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques did not constitute torture," Addicott said.</blockquote><p><a href="http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/05/13/witness-bush-torture-memos-ethical-train-wreck/"><em>Politics Daily </em>coverage of the hearing</a> quotes the second law prof calling the torture memos an "ethical train wreck," and the third noting that just like with the World War II internment of American citizens of Japanese descent, "Good people, fearful for the safety of their fellow Americans, made bad decisions."</p><p>The former State Department official called the enhanced interrogation program a "<a href="http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/14/former-aide-harsh-interrogation-tactics-a-mistake/">collective</a> <a href="http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/may/14/enhanced-interrogation-a-mistake-rice-aide-says/">failure</a>." The ex-FBI agent also <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-interrogate14-2009may14,0,4657867.story">testified that these tactics were unreliable and ineffective</a>.</p><p><a href="http://72.3.233.244/pdfs/safefree/olc_08012002_bybee.pdf">The earliest torture memo</a> sets out ten "enhanced interrogation" methods the CIA wanted to use. They include: </p><ol><li><strong>attention grasp: </strong>the interrogator grabs you by the collar and pulls you toward him </li><li><strong>walling: </strong>you're stood against a flexible false wall, yanked forward, then pushed back into the wall</li><li><strong>facial hold: </strong>he puts a hand on each side of your face, holding your head immobile</li><li><strong>facial slap: </strong>what it sounds like</li><li><strong>cramped confinement: </strong>they put you in a dark box and restrict your movement--you can stand or sit in the larger one, where they stick you for 18 hours; you can only sit in the smaller one for up to 2 hours</li><li><strong>wall standing: </strong>you stand 4-5 feet from a wall and lean against it, putting all your weight on your fingertips; you can't reposition your hands or feet</li><li><strong>stress positions: </strong>"designed to produce physical discomfort associated with muscle fatigue"</li><li><strong>sleep deprivation: </strong>keep you awake for up to 72 hours</li><li><strong>insects placed in a confinement box: </strong>just like No. 5 above, but they tell you they're putting a stinging insect in there, too (relax, it's just a caterpillar)</li><li><strong>waterboarding: </strong>they strap you to an inclined board (feet up, head down) and put a water-soaked cloth to your face while pouring water on it for 20 to 40 seconds, creating a "perception of 'suffocation and incipient panic'"</li></ol><p>Prof. Addicott elaborates on why "enhanced interrogation" is not torture in <a href="http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/forumy/2009/05/no-torture-no-prosecution.php">an op-ed for <em>Jurist Legal News & Research</em></a>. He cites the 1978 <a href="http://www.echr.coe.int/echr/Homepage_EN">European Court of Human Rights</a> case <em><a href="http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?action=html&documentId=695383&portal=hbkm&source=externalbydocnumber&table=F69A27FD8FB86142BF01C1166DEA398649">Ireland v. United Kingdom</a></em>, which holds that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_techniques">five interrogation techniques</a> (wall-standing, hooding, subjecting to noise, sleep deprivation, and deprivation of food and drink) used by the British government are "inhuman and degrading," but do not sink to the depths of torture. The professor concludes:</p><blockquote>Considering the level of interrogation standards set out in the <em>Ireland</em> case, the conclusion is clear. Even the worst of the CIA techniques that were authorized – waterboarding – would not constitute torture (the CIA method is similar to what we have done hundreds and hundreds of times to our own military special operations soldiers in military training courses on escape and survival). </blockquote><p>Prof. Addicott refers to the <a href="http://www.gosere.com/about-sere.htm">Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape training</a>, which he has probably received himself. However, <a href="http://72.3.233.244/pdfs/safefree/olc_05102005_bradbury46pg.pdf">one of the torture memos</a> (on page 6) notes a huge difference between waterboarding military trainees and waterboarding prisoners: </p><blockquote><p>Individuals undergoing SERE training are obviously in a very different situation than the detainees undergoing interrogation; SERE trainees know it is part of a training program, not a real-life interrogation regime, they presumably know it will last only a short time, and they presumably have assurances that they will not be significantly harmed by the training.</p></blockquote><p>I have a lot of respect for Prof. Addicott, who taught me Federal Civil Procedure my first semester of law school. He might even be right as far as whether anyone can be prosecuted for any "enhanced interrogation." But leaving aside whether these techniques really are effective (and it doesn't look like they are) and whether the government should prosecute anyone over this, my main fear is that while now these methods are supposedly used only on "the bad guys," unless we put a stop to this immediately, one day we might see our government using them on us.</p><p><strong>ADDENDUM: </strong>This <a href="http://washingtonindependent.com/42873/hearing-lays-groundwork-for-torture-prosecutions">story by the <em>Washington Independent</em></a> offers further testimony and additional analysis:</p><blockquote>If it were torture, however, the Bush administration officials would be out of luck, Addicott continued. “Those who order, approve or engage in torture must be criminally prosecuted,” he said. “There is no way out of this. We have to prosecute under the torture convention. We can’t say, on the one hand, those people engaged in torture and not do anything. On the other hand, if we say they do not rise to level of torture then we’re not under any international obligation to prosecute.”<br /><br />Addicott did not mention, however, that the United Nations Convention Against Torture — the same convention cited by Addicott — signed by Ronald Reagan and implemented by U.S. federal law, forbids not only “torture” but “cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment”, which must also be prosecuted under the law. And it was the definition of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, in particular, that gave rise to the objections of Zelikow and others.<br /><br />That’s because, as later OLC memos acknowledged, the cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, according to the reservations included when the United States signed the anti-torture treaty, is to be interpeted in accordance with the U.S. Constitution. If the actions would be prohibited under the substantive due process clause of the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment, or by the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on Cruel and Unusual Punishment, then it would be likewise prohibited — and must be prosecuted — under the U.S. anti-torture statute. </blockquote>Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-814571745799971342009-05-08T16:31:00.002-05:002009-05-08T16:39:10.852-05:00Soliciting Plagiarism<a href="http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/lgl/1160770254.html">I saw this ad on Craigslist</a> from someone in Northwest San Antonio:<br /><blockquote>I need a two to three page legal opinion letter for a class assignment. I do not have time to do this assignment, so I am willing to pay $40 for a legal assistant, paralegal, or law student to do this assignment for me.</blockquote>I know it's unethical for students <a href="http://www.plagiarism.org/">to claim others' work as their own</a>. But what about the ethics of a legal assistant, paralegal, or law student who accepts this work? Seems to me that for a legal assistant or paralegal, as long as they spell out the fact that they're not giving out legal advice and don't commit the <a href="http://penalcode.austintexascriminaldefense.com/38.123.html">unauthorized practice of law</a>, they're (legally, if not morally) in the clear--just like anyone else who took money to perform a class assignment.<br /><br />Regarding law students, pretty much every law school bans plagiarism and other forms of cheating. For example, Rule 2.02(b) of the St. Mary's law school's Code of Student Conduct (found at page 50 of the <a href="http://www.stmarytx.edu/law/admissions/pdf/2008_2009/StudentHandbook.pdf">Student Handbook</a>) forbids conduct that might give "that student or another an unfair advantage in an academic matter." But does the Code refer just to St. Mary's students, or <em>any</em> student at any institution?<br /><br />I wonder what sort of class this assignment is for, and what sort of school (high school, community college, or four-year university). And I wonder how many classmates of this Craigslist advertiser--not to mention the instructor--would like to know what this student is up to.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-26721106578868003372009-05-04T12:56:00.001-05:002009-05-04T12:57:17.081-05:00Sponsoring the SAYLA ScrambleIf you want to be a sponsor for the <a href="http://www.sayla.org/mc/community/eventdetails.do?eventId=220704&orgId=sayla">2009 Scramble & Summer Barbecue</a>, presented by the <a href="http://www.sayla.org/mc/page.do">San Antonio Young Lawyers Association</a>, you better act soon. While the golf tournament isn't until June 12, the sponsorship deadline is fast approaching. The event is a fundraiser for the San Antonio Young Lawyers Foundation and <a href="http://www.bigmentor.org/">Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas</a>.<br /><br />The tournament includes 18 holes of golf at the <a href="http://www.silverhorngolfclub.com/homepage/start_page.php">Silverhorn Golf Club</a>, use of a cart, balls, a chance at prizes, and a barbecue dinner, and costs $100 per golfer. Sponsorship packages include the event title, golf balls, holes, and tee boxes or greens. Organizers note that the entry and sponsorship fees are 20 percent less than last year.<br /><br />In order for sponsors to get listed in the June issue of the <a href="http://saba.affiniscape.com/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=17"><em>Subpoena </em>newsletter</a>, they must submit their registration and payments by May 20.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-70533388627327171482009-05-01T17:53:00.001-05:002009-05-01T17:53:11.814-05:00Judge Lamberth Says Judicial Nomination System Is BrokenS.A. native <a href="http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/lamberth-bio.html">Royce C. Lamberth</a>, the chief judge of the <a href="http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov/">U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia</a>, , who <a href="http://sanantoniolaw.blogspot.com/2009/02/judge-lamberths-speech-to-san-antonio.html">spoke to the San Antonio Bar Association</a> in February, returned to the Alamo City this weekend (he and his wife have family here).<br /><br />The judge spoke at the Bar Association's <a href="http://www.abanet.org/publiced/lawday/2009/home.shtml">Law Day</a> luncheon (my thanks again to Burns & Black P.L.L.C. for sponsoring the table where I sat; one of the attorneys there gave <a href="http://www.rodriguezlaw.us/">James A. Rodriguez</a> some tickets, and he brought me and another classmate).<br /><br />With the <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/supremecourtjustices/2009-05-01-souter-whatsnext_N.htm">impending retirement of Supreme Court Justice David Souter</a> on lawyers' minds, Judge Lamberth spoke about how the judicial nomination process is broken:<br /><ul><li>He said he was disgusted by how some politicians criticized nominees for the U.S. Attorney General's office positions because of clients they had represented.</li><li>The judge noted that his confirmation in 1987 took six months; today there are some judicial nominees who have been waiting two or four years.</li><li>He said these partisan attacks come from both sides of the aisle, and each side needs to acknowledge that the other side has a point about the partisanship.</li><li>The judge said that the appointment of the most qualified candidates should be the goal of all Americans. </li><li>He added that this country needs the best and brightest; judge who will set aside their personal views and apply the law and the Constitution.</li><li>The judge said he's very impressed by President Obama's first three judicial nominations (to the Second, Fourth, and Seventh circuits).</li><li>He acknowledged the tradition of senatorial courtesy in signing off on the president's judicial nominations, but said that tradition is not absolute.</li><li>Judge Lamberth said that during the nomination hearings, special interest groups feed questions to their senators and attend the hearings to make sure the senators stick to the script.</li><li>He noted that the federal judiciary now has more than sixty vacancies--and twenty-two of them are considered judicial emergencies because of the excessive workload placed on their fellow judges.</li><li>He also mentioned one person unsuccessfully nominated to a judgeship during the Bush administration who asked the President not to resubmit her nomination because the process was so demeaning.</li></ul>All in all, it was an interesting speech, and I hope Judge Lamberth comes back to town soon for another talk.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-15948782846628836062009-05-01T16:57:00.001-05:002009-05-01T17:53:57.566-05:00Prado's (Indirect) ResponseEarlier, I <a href="http://sanantoniolaw.blogspot.com/2009/05/prado-for-supreme-court-justice.html">mentioned</a> a four-year-old movement to put Fifth Circuit Judge Ed Prado on the Supreme Court.<br /><br />Today at the San Antonio Bar Association's <a href="http://www.abanet.org/publiced/lawday/2009/home.shtml">Law Day</a> luncheon, one of the speakers was Judge Prado, who took the podium to talk about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavo_C._Garcia">San Antonio lawyer Gus Garcia</a>, one of the litigators in <em><a href="http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=347&invol=475">Hernandez v. Texas</a></em>, a key civil rights case.<br /><br />As he stepped up to the microphone, the judge pulled out his cell phone. "Hello Mr. President. Yes, Mr. President. It would be an honor." The audience laughed as he ended the "phone call."<br /><br />Judge Prado then told us that he had a better chance of singing with <a href="http://www.history-of-rock.com/supremes.htm">The Supremes</a> than becoming one of <a href="http://www.supremecourtus.gov/">the Supremes</a>.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-3294132957827751842009-05-01T09:04:00.001-05:002009-05-01T09:05:49.515-05:00Prado for Supreme Court Justice?With lawyers and policy wonks everywhere buzzing about the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/us/02souter.html?hp">impending retirement</a> of Supreme Court <a href="http://www.oyez.org/justices/david_h_souter">Justice David Souter</a>, the big question is, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ilXBKj48iKJ2mB21H70XsK6khUKgD97TEORO0">who will replace him on the nation's highest court?</a><br /><br />Right now, the <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/05/66240377/1">leading candidates</a> include Second Circuit Court of Appeals <a href="http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/Judgesbio.htm#SS">Judge Sonia Sotomayor</a> and Michigan <a href="http://www.jennifergranholm.com/site/PageServer?pagename=jmg_home">Governor Jennifer Granholm</a>--but there are plenty of <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/01/opinion/courtwatch/main4982170.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4982170">other names floating around</a>.<br /><br />However, there's also one local whose name has been discussed before: <a href="http://judgepedia.org/index.php/Edward_Prado">Fifth Circuit Judge Ed Prado</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.law.gwu.edu/Faculty/profile.aspx?id=3568">Law Professor Orin Kerr</a> notes over at the <em>Volokh Conspiracy</em> that four years ago <a href="http://volokh.com/posts/1241151771.shtml">a liberal group tried to get President Bush to nominate Judge Prado</a> to the Supreme Court:<br /><br /><blockquote>With the news that Justice Souter is retiring, and with thoughts turning to his possible successor, I'm reminded of the "independent grassroots campaign" -- headed by a group of liberal activists -- that <a href="http://volokh.com/posts/1118246328.shtml">received some attention</a> in 2005 to urge the President to nominate Fifth Circuit Judge Ed Prado for the Supreme Court.<br /><br />I admit I was dubious about the effort back in 2005. But I've been thinking about it a lot in last 4 years -- or at least in the last 4 minutes, since learning that Souter is going to retire -- and I think it's high time to take that campaign seriously.</blockquote>Unfortunately, <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20050621001046/http://draftprado.org/">the old movement</a> and Prof. Kerr's post both seem more like wishful thinking and trying to score political points than an actual desire to see Judge Prado move to Washington. Still, it would be nice if he ends up in the running.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-19196029480214596922009-04-30T15:33:00.003-05:002009-04-30T15:54:16.622-05:00The Hour ArrivesThe <a href="http://www.ble.state.tx.us/Results/pass_0209.htm">February 2009 Bar Exam results</a> are up. Congratulations to all those who passed.<br /><br />From <a href="http://www.ble.state.tx.us/Stats/stats_0209.htm">the February 2009 stats page</a>, here's how St. Mary's grads did:<br /><br /><ul><li><strong>First-timers: </strong>28 of 32 passed (87.50%)--St. Mary's came in fourth in the state (behind Baylor, UH, and Tech).</li><li><strong>Repeat takers:</strong> 15 of 27 passed (55.56%)--St. Mary's ranked fifth in the state (behind Texas, Baylor, Tech, and Wesleyan). </li></ul><p>Overall, 1118 people took the February Bar, and 732 of them passed--a 65.47% pass rate.</p><p>Congrats, new lawyers, and good luck finding work.</p>Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-69118000983324063412009-04-30T10:30:00.000-05:002009-04-30T10:30:49.772-05:00May Subpoena is OutYou can read the <a href="http://saba.affiniscape.com/associations/8808/May09.pdf">May issue</a> of the Subpoena, the official newsletter of the <a href="http://www.sanantoniobar.org/">San Antonio Bar Association</a>, online. Back issues are <a href="http://saba.affiniscape.com/displaynewsletter.cfm">available here</a>.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-35202223392085006352009-04-29T16:53:00.002-05:002009-04-29T16:56:30.893-05:00The Hour Approaches ...Candidates who sat for the February Texas Bar exam are bound to be getting a little antsy right now. Although the Texas Board of Law Examiners <a href="http://www.ble.state.tx.us/announcements/grade_release_pre.htm">says it will release the results on Friday</a>, they usually post the names of those who passed the Bar sometime in the afternoon of the day before the scheduled release. That means that all day long, bar takers will be glued to their computers, hitting the web browser's REFRESH button as they stare at <a href="http://www.ble.state.tx.us/">the entry page of the BLE website</a>, watching the hit counter increase as they wait for the pass list to show up.<br /><br />That's what I and my classmates did last November, all morning that Thursday before the results were posted that afternoon. Everyone was updating their Facebook status as the seconds slowed to a crawl.<br /><br />I was still working in my old law clerk position in the legal department of a local nonprofit corporation. Unfortunately for me, I had a CLE to attend that afternoon--the <a href="http://www.acc.com/chapters/sanant/">local chapter of the Association of Corporate Counsel</a>'s <a href="http://www.ethicsfollies.com/Home_Page.php">Ethics Follies</a>--and I expressed my frustration over being out of the loop on Facebook. My friend <a href="http://ralphperezlaw.com/">Ralph Perez</a> sent me a text message, promising to notify me once the results came out. I also asked one of the lawyers with us for the event if I could borrow her iPhone later on (no Internet on the cell phone I had) so I could check the results when they came out.<br /><br />As I sat in the shadowed balcony of the <a href="http://www.majesticempire.com/virtualEmpire.php">Empire Theater</a> watching the show, I kept glancing at my phone, but it remained dark. Finally, at 2:43:41 p.m., my phone buzzed with a text message ...<br /><br />It was from Ralph. It was three words: "You passed buddy!!!"<br /><br />I clenched my fist in triumph and silently mouthed "Yes!" Then I quietly asked the lawyer for her phone--I didn't want to say anything about this to anyone until I confirmed it for myself. So I called up the BLE website, found the results list for the July 2008 exam, and clicked on the <a href="http://www.ble.state.tx.us/Results/pass_0708.htm#h">H section</a>. Sure enough, my name was on it!<br /><br />I quietly told my coworkers--my fellow attorneys--that I passed. I then checked the list for my friends' names, as the congratulatory checks flowed in and out of my phone. At the next break, I called my parents and my girlfriend. I have to confess, the rest of the program kind of washed over me as I basked in the relief of not having to endure the bar exam again.<br /><br />Later that evening, as my friends and I compared notes and realized that there were several friends whom we didn't see on the list, I felt bad for those who didn't pass. Many of those who weren't on the list took the bar for the second time in February. I also know folks taking the bar for the first time. Either way, I hope they all see their names on that list tomorrow afternoon.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-87525443063648573302009-04-29T15:42:00.003-05:002009-04-29T15:48:11.718-05:00St. Mary's Law Grad Displeased with Changes to His Letter to Editor on professors articleFellow 2008 St. Mary's law graduate Jason Petty isn't too thrilled with the changes to <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/Your_Turn__April_29_2009.html">his letter to the editor</a> that the <em>Express-News</em> ran today. Jason was responding to the E-N's story on <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/St_Marys_students_protest_2_law_professor_terminations.html">St. Mary's law students protesting the dismissal</a> of two law professors. Here's his response when I asked him what happened:<br /><blockquote><p>Mack,</p><p>Forgive my fantastical ego trip. Below is the original letter I emailed to the Express-News in response to the April 25th report on the student protest:</p><blockquote><p>Dear Editors, I am a very recent St. Mary's Law alumnus. (Disclosure: I passed the bar, got a legal job, and love St. Mary's.) Your decision to frame the article "Students protest 2 St. Mary's law profs [sic] terminations" (Apr. 25, Metro p.3) as an expose on race and sex discrimination at St. Mary's confused me. Why does this paper insist on giving credit to a few students' claims of discrimination when none of the terminated professors/instructors/ administrators are making those claims themselves? There are only two possible outcomes of this publication decision on your part: one, a venerable San Antonio institution has its reputation lowered because it cannot defend itself against the accusations of students who are unable to distinguish correlation and causation; or two, these women, a few of whom I count among good friends, have their professional reputations tarnished because the university is forced to justify its decision to terminate them by making statements like "Not all minorities, even in a national context of pervasive if somewhat unconscious racism and sexism, are qualified.” </p><p>Not well done at all, Express-News. St. Mary, pray for us. </p><p>Jason C. Petty, J.D., St. Mary's, 2008</p></blockquote><p><a onclick="onClickUnsafeLink(event);" href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/Your_Turn__April_29_2009.html" target="_blank">Here</a> is what they put on their website:</p><blockquote><p>A hit on St. Mary's</p><p>I'm a recent St. Mary's Law School alumnus. I was confused by your decision to frame your April 25 report, “St. Mary's students protest 2 law professor terminations,” as an exposé on race and sex discrimination there.</p><p>Why did the newspaper give credence to a few students' claims of discrimination when neither of the terminated professors/instructors/ administrators made such claims themselves?</p><p>Two possible reasons:</p><p>• A venerable law school has its reputation lowered because it cannot defend itself against accusations by students who are unable to distinguish correlation and causation, or;</p><p>• These women, a few of whom I count among good friends, have their professional reputations tarnished because the university is forced to justify its decision to terminate them.</p><p>Not well done at all, Express-News. St. Mary, pray for us.</p><p>- Jason C. Petty, J.D., Alexandria, La.</p></blockquote><p>My original beef, motivated by my love of the school, is that the article doesn't give any information about credible allegations of sex or gender discrimination by St. Mary's against the professors themselves. All the article gives us is the students' suggestive protest. Yet at most all we have is a throwaway argument of retaliation for defense of other minorities in the EEOC complaint made by the beloved Instructor Piatt. Is Professor George alleging actual discrimination, or just saying that she, personally, felt uncomfortable at St. Mary's? We don't know. That's all the article gives us. In other words, where's the discrimination? </p><p>My new, entirely personal beef is that the change in my letter switches "two possible outcomes" of the report to "two possible reasons" for it, which would have me be some sort of crystal-ball wielding apologist for the reporter's insinuations. Are<br />cause and effect wholly obliterated in our post-metaphysical world? And then they don't change the grammatical construct of the two items they bullet, which would make sense if I were providing hypothetical effects rather than the causes they suggest. That just makes me look dumb and, I believe, undercuts any argument I might have. (Sort of like the comment box below the online version of the article, where one commenter self-identified as a "Steller Law Student.") </p><p>I loathed that April 25th report: no one comes out a winner. The school looks bad and the professors look bad. </p><p>jcp</p></blockquote><br />I know what Jason means about <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/St_Marys_students_protest_2_law_professor_terminations.html?c=y&viewAllComments=y">the online comments to that article</a>. I look at some of the spelling and grammar mistakes from supposedly educated people--not to mention the attitudes of some who posted--and I wince.<br /><br /><em>Disclosure: Jason and I worked on the <a href="http://www.stmarytx.edu/law/index.php?site=stMarysLawJournal">St. Mary's Law Journal</a> during our second year of law school.</em>Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-62362827365827412922009-04-25T15:19:00.001-05:002009-04-25T15:21:25.093-05:00E-N Story on St. Mary's ShakeupThe <em>Express-News</em> covers <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/St_Marys_students_protest_2_law_professor_terminations.html">student reactions to the ouster of two law professors</a>:<br /><blockquote>A group of students at St. Mary's University School of Law are protesting the school's decision to terminate contracts for two female professors, one of them black, saying the move is a blow to diversity on a faculty where women and minorities are already underrepresented.<br /><br />Raul Pelaez-Prada, the student leading the protest, has put up fliers on campus and collected around 150 signatures on a petition supporting Professors Cheryl George and Rosanne Piatt, who are both fighting their terminations.</blockquote>I'd be happy to post a copy of that petition, if someone will send it to me. The newspaper also posted a letter (<a href="http://media.mysanantonio.com/documents/AAUP+3-27-09+p1.pdf">page 1</a> and <a href="http://media.mysanantonio.com/documents/AAUP+3-27-09+p2.pdf">page 2</a>) from the <a href="http://www.aaup.org/aaup">American Association of University Professors</a> on Rosanne Piatt's <a href="http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/protect/legal/topics/defacto.htm"><em>de facto</em> tenure</a> claim, which I <a href="http://sanantoniolaw.blogspot.com/2009/04/piatt-claims-de-facto-tenure.html">wrote about earlier</a> this month. The letter states in part:<br /><blockquote>Because Ms. Piatt has served as a full-time lecturer in the law school for more than eight years, she would therefore be entitled under the above documents to the procedural protections that normally accrue with tenure. ... They include the right to a pre-termination hearing of record in which the administration bears the burden of demonstrating adequacy of cause for dismissal before an elected faculty committee.</blockquote>One possible reason for the dismissals? From the <em>E-N</em> article:<br /><blockquote>Students say the ousting is due in part to the professors' connection to former law school Dean Bill Piatt, who was <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/MYSA111206_01A_Piattouster_3614498_html5792.html">forced out in 2006</a> after a rocky tenure. Rosanne Piatt is married to the former dean, and claims she has earned de facto tenure after teaching for 10 years. George was hired by the former dean and has been a staunch supporter.</blockquote>In addition, the story notes that Bill Piatt tried to bring in four other African-Americans besides Prof. George to teach at the law school.<br /><blockquote><p>One was never hired and another worked as a visiting professor for a year. A third taught at St. Mary's for six years before accepting a tenure track position at another university. Reached at her office, the professor did not want to be identified, but said she too felt unwelcome at St. Mary's.</p><p>The fourth is Sharon Breckenridge-Thomas, director of the Office of Academic Excellence, <a href="http://sanantoniolaw.blogspot.com/2009/03/shakeups-at-st-marys.html">whose contract was not renewed this year</a>. Breckenridge-Thomas declined to comment. </p></blockquote>I'm more inclined to believe that it's office politics, not racism, that led to this result. However it happened, it sure makes the law school look bad.<br /><br />St. Mary's students and alumni should take a look at the <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/St_Marys_students_protest_2_law_professor_terminations.html?c=y&viewAllComments=y">comments on this article</a>. A few samples:<br /><ul><li>This has little to do with racism or sexism. This is an example of the incompetence of Dean Charles Cantu. ...</li><li>The termination of these two professors is just another bad mark on a Law program struggling to regain a positive reputation in this State. ...</li><li>Staffing decisions should not be based on race/gender. Professors who can't teach should be released. End of story. ...</li><li>These comments are embarrassing to those of us who are proud to be students at St. Mary's. ...</li></ul>Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-34360945568621652702009-04-23T11:47:00.003-05:002009-04-23T11:55:52.505-05:00Why You Should Pay Your Bar DuesYou might <a href="http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/04/23/04232009wactammypolk.html">get arrested</a> if you don't.<br /><blockquote>Waco attorney Tammy T. Polk was arrested Wednesday morning on four charges of “falsely holding oneself out as a lawyer” while her law license reportedly was suspended [for nonpayment of State Bar of Texas dues and the state occupational tax], charges her lawyer called “disgraceful.”</blockquote>Her attorney <a href="http://www.wacotrib.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/communities/breakingnews/entries/2009/04/22/waco_attorney_arrested_for_pra.html">wonders why no one else gets arrested</a> for this charge:<br /><blockquote>“It is disgraceful that they chose to do this knowing full well that there are literally thousands of lawyers who every year fail to timely pay their bar dues,” Soechting said. “My first job this afternoon is to find out how many times they have issued an arrest warrant for them. I am starting to think this looks like more than an impartial investigation.” </blockquote>This isn't Polk's first time on the other side of the table--in March she was arrested on a charge of "<a href="http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2009/03/07/03072009wactammypolk.html">forging the signature of a McLennan County prosecutor</a> on a case dismissal form." In that case, a court worker noticed that <a href="http://paralegalslo.blogspot.com/2008/10/waco-lawyer-accused-of-altering-court.html">the handwriting of the prosecutor's signature appeared different</a>--and the first name was misspelled.<br /><br />Interestingly, as of today (April 23, 2009), the <a href="http://www.texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=Member_Directory&template=/Customsource/MemberDirectory/MemberDirectoryDetail.cfm&ContactID=204473">State Bar website currently shows her</a> as eligible to practice law in Texas. For those of us keeping score, Polk is a graduate of Baylor law school.<br /><br />Hat tip: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8597101&postID=212690796485311031">This comment thread</a> at <em>Grits for Breakfast</em>.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-78893650957154211422009-04-21T10:39:00.003-05:002009-04-21T10:43:48.784-05:00Justice Dept. Names Interim U.S Attorney<a href="http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/offices/san_antonio.html">First Assistant U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy</a> will <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/Interim_US_attorney_picked.html">step in temporarily</a> to replace U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton, <a href="http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/press_releases/2009/sutton_resignation.pdf">who resigned</a> as the top prosecutor in the <a href="http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/index.html">Western District of Texas</a>. According to the <em><a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/Interim_US_attorney_picked.html">Express-News</a></em>:<br /><blockquote>Murphy has spent nearly 34 years in the Western District, 14 of them as the first assistant U.S. attorney. He will hold the job until the Obama administration nominates a U.S. attorney, a process that requires Senate confirmation.</blockquote>According to Murphy's State Bar of Texas <a href="http://www.texasbar.com/Template.cfm?Section=Member_Directory&template=/Customsource/MemberDirectory/MemberDirectoryDetail.cfm&ContactID=226165">member directory entry</a>, he's a 1972 St. Mary's grad.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-90592640437631227782009-04-20T14:47:00.000-05:002009-04-20T14:47:34.267-05:00April SAYLA LuncheonIt's that time again: This month's <a href="http://www.sayla.org/mc/page.do">San Antonio Young Lawyers Association</a> luncheon will take place Tuesday at the usual venue, <a href="http://www.paesanos.com/">Paesano's at Lincoln Heights</a> (near the <a href="http://www.quarrymarket.com/">Alamo Quarry Market</a>). <br /><br />In addition to the meal, attendees receive a 0.75-hour CLE on the <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/31/3729.html">False Claims Act</a>, with Dan Hargrove speaking on this subject.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-66716166163339741362009-04-13T17:47:00.001-05:002009-04-13T17:47:39.937-05:00Piatt Claims De Facto TenureLast month I blogged about how <a href="http://sanantoniolaw.blogspot.com/2009/03/shakeups-at-st-marys.html">three individuals will not be back to teach at St. Mary's law school after this semester</a>. I just received an email from one of the three, <a href="http://www.stmarytx.edu/law/content/faculty/piatt_r.html?height=400&width=500">Instructor Rosanne Piatt</a>. She said that because she has been a full-time faculty member at St. Mary's for ten years, she has <a href="http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/issues/tenure/">tenure</a>.<br /><br />Here's her email, in its entirety (links added by yours truly):<br /><blockquote>St. Mary's Law School is a member of the <a href="http://www.aals.org/">Association of American Law Schools</a> (AALS). One of the conditions of membership is that member schools agree to adhere to the standards regarding academic freedom and tenure of the <a href="http://www.aaup.org/aaup">American Association of University Professors</a> (AAUP). The AAUP standards describe two categories of full-time teachers: probationary (up to 7 years) and tenured. If a school continues a full-time teacher beyond seven years, that professor is tenured, per the AAUP (and AALS). Twice now the American Association of University Professors has written to St. Mary's, informing St. Mary's that I hold tenure and requesting my reinstatement, or the initiation of formal tenure revocation proceedings, with the burden on the university to show cause. St. Mary's has refused to comply. I will be able to share additional information within a week. Thank you for your interest.</blockquote>According to the AAUP, <a href="http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/protect/legal/topics/defacto.htm">de facto tenure</a> exists if, after the probation ends, a faculty member continues teaching or working at the school:<br /><blockquote>Upon continuance of full-time service beyond the maximum probationary period, faculty members who so serve should be recognized as having an entitlement to the procedural safeguards that accrue with tenure, even in the absence of institutional regulations to that effect or of specific action by a particular college or university.</blockquote>However, the case law on de facto tenure runs both ways. The <a href="http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/protect/legal/topics/defacto.htm">AAUP lists</a> a number of federal and state court cases on this subject, including a couple of federal cases from Texas:<br /><ul><li><em>Owens v. Board of Regents of Texas Southern University</em>, 953 F. Supp. 781 (S.D. Tex. 1986): Faculty manual adopted subsequent to plaintiff's appointment explicitly provided that tenure would be granted only upon affirmative action by governing board and would not be granted automatically. Factual question existed as to whether plaintiff had rights under earlier manual that administrator testified provided for tenure by default through length of service. Court denied university's motion for summary judgment.<br /></li><li><em>LaVerne v. University of Texas System</em>, 611 F. Supp. 66 (C.D. Tex. 1985): Under the applicable university regents' rules, there was no tenure by default, de facto, or "common law" tenure. When university published written tenure procedures, "the legitimacy of a claim to tenure acquired outside the procedures is vitiated because there is no basis for mutuality." Because no entitlement to continued employment existed, no property or liberty interest existed. </li></ul><p>I will post more on this subject as soon as I hear anything.</p>Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-91349327057623721902009-04-10T16:16:00.002-05:002009-04-21T10:42:50.162-05:00Who Will Be the Next U.S. Attorney?Now that <a href="http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/us_attorney/index.html">Johnny Sutton</a>, the <a href="http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/Sutton_resigns_as_US_attorney.html">somewhat controversial</a> U.S. Attorney for the <a href="http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txw/">Western District of Texas</a>, has <a href="http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/04/10/0410sutton.html">announced his retirement</a> (his last day will be April 19), who will take over his job?<br /><br />Maybe an attorney from San Antonio--one with a St. Mary's connection. According to news reports, potential replacements include:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.texasbar.com/flashdrive/materials/open_government_forum/Biographies/Escamilla_bio_OpenGov.pdf">Travis County Attorney</a> (and U.T. grad) <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/4/200/85b">David Escamilla</a></li><li><a href="http://www.sanantonio.gov/atty/">San Antonio City Attorney</a> (and St. Mary's alumnus) <a href="http://www.sanantonio.gov/atty/Bernard.asp?res=1280&ver=true">Michael Bernard</a></li><li><a href="http://www.tklaw.com/attorneys.cfm?u=MichaelMcCrum&action=view&id=99892&show_expanded_bio=1&bio_practice_id=0">private practice attorney</a> and former federal prosecutor (and former St. Mary's adjunct professor in trial advocacy) <a href="http://www.mccrumdefense.com/profile.htm">Michael McCrum</a> (read about him <a href="http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dchtq928_40px6tspgz">in his own words here</a>)</li></ul>I would love to see a San Antonio attorney step into this office, but who knows?<br /><em></em><br /><em>Hat tip: <a href="http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/">Grits For Breakfast</a></em>Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-20261304924293778722009-04-01T15:10:00.000-05:002009-04-01T15:10:44.810-05:00April Subpoena is UpThe <a href="http://saba.affiniscape.com/associations/8808/April09.pdf">April 2009 issue of the <em>Subpoena</em></a>, the official newsletter of the <a href="http://www.sanantoniobar.org/">San Antonio Bar Association</a>, has been posted online. Back issues of the <em>Subpoena</em> can be <a href="http://saba.affiniscape.com/displaynewsletter.cfm">found here</a>.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-75864100084706326542009-03-31T23:32:00.000-05:002009-03-31T23:32:36.400-05:00Peacemaker AwardsI attended the <a href="http://www.sabarfoundation.org/peacemakers.html">Peacemakers Awards Gala</a> on Friday, thanks to San Antonio attorney Michael Black of Burns & Black P.L.L.C.. His firm paid for a table at the event and one of the attorneys there gave my co-blogger <a href="http://www.rodriguezlaw.us/">James Rodriguez</a> some tickets to the awards banquet, and I tagged along. We shared the table with <a href="http://www.gunn-lee.com/Attorneys/TedLee.aspx">attorney Ted Lee</a> of the intellectual property firm <a href="http://www.gunn-lee.com/Default.aspx">Gun & Lee P.C.</a>, along with some members of the St. Mary's School of Law <a href="http://stmarytxsba.com/?tag=student-bar-association">Student Bar Foundation</a>.<br /><br />The event, of course, benefits the <a href="http://sabarfoundation.org/SABF/home.php/justice/san-antonio/sabf_home/">San Antonio Bar Foundation</a>, and this 2009 its 25th year of existence. The point of the evening (other than eating, drinking, and socializing) was to announce the 2009 Flight of Peace Peacemaker Awards:<br /><ul><li>Peacemaker Award: <a href="http://www.safoodbank.org/">San Antonio Food Bank</a><br /></li><li>Carolyn Thurmond Community Service Award: <a href="http://www.lawyers.com/Texas/San-Antonio/Thomas-J.-Smith-1702862-a.html?">Thomas J. Smith</a><br /></li><li>Business Community Service Award: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/rcavender">Richard H. "Rick" Cavender</a><br /></li><li>Outstanding School Peer Mediation Program Award: <a href="http://teacher.neisd.net/edtech/ComRel/campusdetail.cfm?cOrg=129">Encino Park Elementary School</a></li></ul>There were several judges in attendance, and I saw a bunch of people I knew from the <a href="http://www.sayla.org/">San Antonio Young Lawyers Association</a>, the <a href="http://www.bexarcountywomensbar.org/index.shtml">Bexar County Women's Bar Association</a>, , a few classmates I graduated with and some of my professors, along with some other local lawyers , including Nancy Shivers of Shivers & Shivers and mediator Dan Naranjo. All in all, it was a fun evening.Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-49047943847096511822009-03-29T16:12:00.002-05:002009-03-29T16:16:39.799-05:00Statesman Article on George TripThe <em>Austin American-Statesman</em> interviewed St. Mary's law school Assistant Professor Cheryl George and her 10-year-old son Gabriel about <a href="http://sanantoniolaw.blogspot.com/2009/03/professor-george-goes-to-washington.html">their trip to Washington, D.C.</a> to promote awareness of <a href="http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1221.asp#whatis">sickle cell disease</a>. From <a href="http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/03/29/0329philanthropy.html">the <em>Statesman </em>article</a>:<br /><blockquote><p>Last week, Gabriel, his mother and sickle cell advocates visited President Barack Obama in the Oval Office to discuss the disease. </p><p>"He was very nice and he was funny," Gabriel said of Obama. "He joked about things. He gave me a postcard and he signed it."</p></blockquote>Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6515881604329046958.post-53636608469099543462009-03-27T17:10:00.001-05:002009-03-27T17:11:22.874-05:00Professor George Goes to WashingtonSt. Mary's law school <a href="http://www.stmarytx.edu/law/index.php?go=fac_george">Assistant Professor Cheryl George</a> and her <a href="http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/info/poster.phtml">son Gabriel</a> recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to spread awareness about <a href="http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/about_scd/index.phtml">sickle cell disease</a>--and they met the President of the United States while they were in town.<br /><br />Prof. George emails that not only did they visit the offices of U.S. Rep. <a href="http://www.jacksonlee.house.gov/">Sheila Jackson Lee</a> of Houston, Rep. <a href="http://lee.house.gov/">Barbara Lee</a> of California, and members of Congress <a href="http://www.davis.house.gov/">from Illinois</a> and <a href="http://www.donnachristensen.house.gov/">from the Virgin Islands</a>:<br /><blockquote>But we met with President Obama for 10-15 minutes in the Oval Office. He joked with Gabriel about the gifts we gave he and his family. He was INCREDIBLY kind and took his time talking to Gabriel.</blockquote>The proud mom also said the <em><a href="http://www.statesman.com/">Austin American-Statesman</a></em> interviewed them about the trip; we should see an article in the paper this Sunday. She said in her email about the meeting:<br /><blockquote>It was a HUGE blessing!!!<br /><br />God is incredibly GOOD!!! :)</blockquote>George has wanted to meet Barack Obama for more than a year, since the 10-year-old <a href="http://janscripts.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/little-obama/">predicted Obama's election victory back in February 2008</a>. Congrats to the George family!Mack T. Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08706900589099177853noreply@blogger.com0