Last week, the Rehnquist Center hosted an event of national import at the College of Law, when Justices Scalia and Breyer discussed their respective approaches to interpreting the Constitution to a live television audience of 500 at the Leo Rich Theatre in Tucson. The event was well-covered locally and throughout the state, as well as on blogs and in national newspapers. Representative coverage can be found here:

• Arizona Daily Star, Oct. 27, 2009:  www.azstarnet.com/sn/dailystar/314766.php
• East Valley Tribune, Oct. 27, 2009:  www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/146308
• New York Times, Adam Liptak column, Nov. 10, 2009:  www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/us/10bar.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1257868866-TXFlKogd+UGj6A3Upxs8Bw

You can watch the event on demand at:

• Arizona Public Media
  http://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2009/10/26/kuat-a-conversation-on-the-constitution/
• C-SPAN
  http://cspan.org/Watch/Media/2009/10/31/AC/R/24809/Justices+Scalia+Breyer+on+the+Constitution.aspx

The Fall 2009 issue of the Arizona Law Review (Vol. 51, No 3)has been released. It is a themed issue dedicated to one of the most important topics of our time: The New Regulatory Era. Particularly now, with the debate over healthcare at the epicenter of a media storm, and massive reforms of the failing financial regulatory systems, it is clear that we must think probingly and critically about the motivations behind and mechanisms of government regulation.

The issue begins with The J. Byron McCormick Lecture given last March by George Packer. The lecture was dedicated to a discussion of the “New Liberalism,” a yet-to-be defined era marked largely by the decline of conservative ideology in the realm of government regulation.

In an introduction to the articles, Professor Barak Orbach discusses our shifting regulatory landscape and identifies some of the triggers responsible for this shift, including: the relationship between personal responsibility and regulation, fallacies of the invisible hand model, the utility of regulation in addressing externalities, and concern over the alleged slippery-slope of regulatory action. These factors are interwoven in the issue’s remaining articles. In “Regulatory Trust,” Rebecca Bratspies (CUNY) discusses regulation vis-à-vis the underlying dynamics of trust between society and the acting government body. Herbert Hovenkamp (Iowa) then re-examines the seminal work of Ronald Coase, The Problem of Social Cost, and credits Arthur Cecil Pigou with originally introducing many of the economic concepts underlying Coase’s Theorem. Christine Klein (Florida State) delineates the lessons learned from the national economic crises and argues for their applicability to environmental regulations. And Mario J. Rizzo (NYU) and Douglas Glen Whitman (Cal State Northridge) examine the danger of escalating regulation associated with “new paternalism.”

The issue also includes some wonderful pieces from our own writers, including Notes by 3Ls Christopher Hering and Eric Moores. Chris examines the Fourth Amendment implications of community urinalysis monitoring and argues for state legislatures to take action to address the privacy concerns raised by this new technology. Eric explores the abuses that still exist under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act and outlines a statutory plan for further reform of the system.

Electronic versions of essays, articles, and notes from the current issue and other recent issues of the Arizona Law Review are available at http://www.arizonalawreview.org.

Every semester, the Program in Criminal Law and Policy hosts a speaker series on relevant topics. This year's preliminary schedule is listed below.

This semester, the program is pleased to co-sponsor events with the Arizona Law Women’s Association and the Arizona chapter of the Federalist Society.

• August 26. Greg Kuykendall and Annamarie Valdiva Frank, Kuykendall & Associates. Defending Foreign Nationals in Death Penalty Cases: The Mexican Government’s Role.
• For background information, see Greg Kuykendall, Mitigation Abroad:  Preparing a Successful Case for Life for the Foreign National Client, 36 Hofstra Law Review 989 (2008) (available at http://law.hofstra.edu/academics/Journals/LawReview/lrv_issues_v36n03.html), discussing Medellín v. Texas, 552 U.S. ___ (2008), available at www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/06-984.ZS.html), and the Case Concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (International Court of Justice), available at www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?pr=605&code=mus&p1=3&p2=3&p3=6&case=128&k=18.
• September 2. James Nesci, Nesci St. Louis and West. Source Code and the Right to Confrontation: What it is and why the defense needs it.
• September 9. Justin McCrary, UC Berkeley School of Law. Why Does the U.S. Spend So Much on Corrections, and So Little on Policing? www.econ.berkeley.edu/~jmccrary/lee_and_mccrary2009.pdf
• September 16. Professors Andy Silverman and Jonathan Rothschild, The University of Arizona Civil Rights Restoration Clinic.
• September 23. Chief Roberto A. Villasenor, Tucson Police Department.
• September 30. Laura Conover and Heather Williams, Federal Public Defender’s office. The Girlfriend Problem: Female Co-defendants in Criminal Cases. Co-Sponsored with the Law Women’s Association.
• October 7. Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever, Author Bill Daniel, Executive Producer Larry Demster. The Shootout At Miracle Valley Revisited. Book available here: www.amazon.com/Shootout-Miracle-Valley-William-Daniel/dp/1604941529; KOLD story on the Shootout available here: www.kold.com/global/story.asp?S=9801248.
• October 14. Jacob Sullum. Libertarian Perspective on Drug Policy. Responder: Pima County Attorney’s Office (Tenatative). Co-sponsored with the Federalist Society.
• October 21. Marie Sotelo, Counsel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Counseling Law Enforcement at the Border. Co-Sponsored with the Law Women’s Association and the Immigration Law Students Association.
• October 28. Nicol Green, Deputy Pima County Attorney. Prosecuting Domestic Violence Cases. Co-Sponsored with the Law Women’s Association and Law Students for Reproductive Justice.
• November 4. Thomas Jacobs. Arguing Arizona v. Gant, 552 U.S. (Apr. 21, 2009) in the U.S. Supreme Court. Opinion here: www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/07-542.pdf.
• November 11. Veteran’s Day. No Speaker.
• November 18. Terri Rahner, Clinical Coordinator, Mental Health, Pima County Superior Court. Competency to Stand Trial and Restoration to Competency in Arizona Courts. Co-Sponsored with the Law Women’s Association.
• December 2. TBA.

All events except as noted will be Wednesday at 12:00 in Room 164, at the Rogers College of Law, 1201 E. Speedway Blvd. (Room 164 is an outdoor classroom which is on the Helen Street side of the College of Law). Events are free and open to the University community, legal community, and the public. Pizza will be served at 12:05 p.m., the talk will start at 12:15 p.m., and end by 1:20 p.m. This schedule is subject to change; for the latest information, please consult http://uacj.typepad.com. CLE credit for Arizona attorneys is available.

The Environmental Breakfast Club, a diverse grouping of faculty from various departments, programs and colleges on the campus, who meet monthly at Arizona Law to discuss works in progress on the environment and natural resources, have just released their schedule for the coming year. Topics include Groundwater Declines, Climate Change and Approaches to Adaptation; Forest fires and climate, policy, etc.; and Zooarchaeology and Environmental Conservation. All presentations will be on the first Friday of each month (January and May excepted), from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., in the Law College Faculty Lounge (Room 237).

Prof. Anaya, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous People, addressed the UN Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural) on October 19, 2009. A detailed press release on his presentation and comments by representatives is available here. On the same day, Prof. Anaya held a UN press conference; a press release covering the conference is available here, while a webcast of the 53 minute conference is available here.

Professor Graeme Austin has been invited by Cambridge University (U.K.) to deliver its Fifth Annual International Intellectual Property Lecture on April 27, 2010. Hosted by Emmanuel College, Cambridge, this is one of the key intellectual property lectures in the United Kingdom. Professor Austin’s lecture will be titled Copyright’s Private Domain.

Professor Ted Schneyer, a national leader in the area of legal ethics and the regulation of law practice, has been appointed to a new, high-level task force that will review the rules of legal ethics and the regulation of lawyers in the U.S. Carolyn B. Lamm, the incoming President of the American Bar Association, announced the creation of the fifteen person panel during the ABA’s annual meeting last week, citing ethical issues as one of her top priorities for the coming year.

The task force will be known as the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 because, according to Lamm, its work will require a clear vision of the future. The Commission’s charge will be to look at existing ethics rules and the regulation of lawyers in light of changes in technology and the impact of globalization on the practice of law. “These developments,” Schneyer said, “are changing the legal profession rapidly and in ways that were not anticipated in drafting the current rules of ethics and structuring the current regulatory process.&rdquo

The commission will also review the major regulatory reforms that are underway in the U.K. and Australia, including reforms that permit lawyers to practice in multidisciplinary partnerships and law firms owned in whole or in part by outside investors and reforms that regulate law firms and not just individual lawyers. Schneyer said that he has been “studying those reforms in detail over the past two years.”

A well-known author and speaker in his field, Professor Schneyer joins a distinguished group of scholars, attorneys, bar leaders, and state and federal judges on the Commission. He has taught at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law since 1986, and has held the Milton O. Riepe Professorship in Law since 1987.

Judge Reiss was confirmed by the Senate to be a U.S. District Judge for the District of Vermont on November 19, 2009. See Senator Leahy's press release here.

President Obama announced his intent to nominate Judge Reiss to the United States District Court for the District of Vermont on October 9, 2009. Judge Reiss previously served as a State Judge in the Lamoille District of the Vermont Superior Court and Vermont District Courts.

The November 9, 2009, article, which can be read here, covers Mr. Wilson's new activities in the radio industry.

Mr Burke was sworn in as Arizona’s newewst U.S. Attorney on September 16, 2009. Read more about him and his responsibilities in this article from the Yuma Sun.

Ernest Calderón ('82) became president of the Arizona Board of Regents on July 1, 2009, after serving on the Board since 2004. Read the profile here.

Congress enacted legislation on October 21, 2009, to enhance the Udall Foundation, located in Tucson, Arizona, and simultaneously honor one of the great public servants and foremost environmental visionaries of the era, Stewart L. Udall. The bill renames the federal agency the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, in recognition of the historic Interior Secretary's contributions. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Raul Grijalva in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senator Jeff Bingaman U.S. Senate, passed both houses by unanamous consent. Read more about Stewart Udall and the foundation here.

Roxana Bacon, a longtime supporter and friend of Arizona Law, has accepted an appointment as Chief Counsel to the Citizenship and Immigration Service, the office in the Department of Homeland Security that oversees lawful immigration to the United States. Ms Bacon will supervise the 150+ attorneys in the office and their staff as well as participate in developing the administration’s comprehensive immigration reform proposals.

Ms Bacon was the first woman to serve as president of the State Bar of Arizona, the first woman to serve as General Counsel for both the 7,000 member American Immigration Lawyers Association and its Foundation, and the first woman lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. She received the 2001 Sarah Herring Sorin Award (highest award give to a woman attorney) and the 2003 State Bar Distinguished Service Award (highest award given to a Arizona State Bar member). From 2000 to 2003, she chaired the James E. Rogers College of Law Board of Visitors. In 2007, she received the ABA's Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award for her leadership and service to the profession. She endowed the Bacon Immigration Law and Policy Program at Arizona Law.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States will hear a case filed by the Border Action Network (BAN), a nonprofit group represented by students and faculty from the Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program (IPLP) at the James E. Rogers College of Law.

The case alleges human rights violations by the United States for allowing anti-immigrant vigilante groups to operate along the US/Mexico border. The Commission’s decision, which allows the case to move forward to the merits stage, comes after four years of legal submissions and a hearing before the Commission in Washington, D.C. BAN also asked the Commission for an interim order to stop vigilante violence while the case is being heard, in response to a series of incidents, most recently including the murder of a family in Southern Arizona allegedly by members of Minutemen American Defense.

The Commission’s decision to hear the case is, in itself, a significant achievement, according to Seánna Howard, an attorney for BAN. “The Commission only processes about 10% of the petitions they receive. This important milestone allows the case to move forward and the Commission to determine whether the U.S. government has a duty to prevent and sanction these vigilante groups.”