The Federalist Society will be holding a meeting Tuesday December 4 at 3PM in Room 101. They will be meeting to discuss upcoming speaking events. Everyone that is interested is welcome to attend. 

The purpose of the Pierce Law Federalist Society is to foster critical thought and debate about the application of conservative principles to the law. The Society embraces the principle that the state exists to preserve freedom; that the separation of governmental powers is central to the integrity of the Constitution of the United States of America; and, that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is - not what it should be. The Society seeks both to promote an awareness of these principles and to further their application through its activities. This entails reordering priorities within the legal system so as to place a premium on individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law. It also entails restoring recognition of these norms among lawyers, judges, law students, professors, and other interested persons.

Members of the Pierce Law Community are cordially invited by the International Law Section of the NH Bar Assn. and the U.S. Department of Justice to welcome and participate in a dialogue with Abdulla Mohamed Al Malki, First Deputy Prosecutor for the Qatar Office of Public Prosecution and his distinguished delegation of prosecutors from Qatar.

7:15 p.m., Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Franklin Pierce Law Center, Room 200

The delegation from the State of Qatar, an Arab emirate in the Middle East, is visiting the US for 2 weeks through an exchange program with the US Dept of Justice,Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance & Training.  Their visit brings them to their final one day stop in NH as our guests, and offers a unique opportunity for NH attorneys and law students to join in a roundtable discussion on matters of justice and the rule of law.  The format is:

Presentation:  Abdulla Mohamed Al Malki will provide a brief preview of the Qatari Judicial System (Islamic Law) and his role as a prosecutor.

Roundtable Discussion:  Following the brief presentation by Mr. Al Malki, the other members of the Qatari  delegation will engage in a dialogue (facilitated by interpreters) with NH Bar members and students on how the Qatari justice system and its Office of Public Prosecution works.  US Panelists include Rep. and former Assistant Attorney General David Hess, Franklin Pierce Law Professor Buzz Scherr, and 2007 Daniel Webster International Lawyer of the Year and Arabic linguist Phillip Walker.  

Audience Q & A follows.

With finals right around the corner, get fueled wtih FREE Subway Subs and drinks TODAY at 2:00 in the Jury Box.

This event is sponsored by the Student Bar Assocation (SBA).

This weekend will be busy for most Pierce Law students (studying for finals, watching the Patriots keep their perfect season alive).  But more snow is predicted for this weekend across the Granite State, so get out and visit one of our dozens of beautiful mountains!!!   We have some of the best trails in New England for skiers and boarders of all abilities.  So take a break, grab your skis or boards (if you don't have one you can always rent them, and most mountains offer lessons everyday!), and enjoy winter in New Hampshire!  For more information, visit www.skinh.com.

Pierce Law Hillel will be holding a Bagel Brunch in the Jury Box this coming Saturday, Dec. 8th starting at 11:00am and going until 2:00pm (or whenever the food runs out).  Bagels, lox, cream cheese and juice will be served.

The bagel brunch is open to the entire FPLC community.  There is no cover charge – Come relax and eat some delicious food!

Franklin Pierce Law Center's Hillel is part of the national organization that addresses Jewish life on a university campus. The organization welcomes people of all beliefs and the entire community is encouraged to participate in all activities and events.  For more information, send an email to hillel@piercelaw.edu.

Students who wish to add or drop classes may do so on CAMS.  For more information, stop by the Registrar's Office!

On Tuesday December 4, the New Hampshire Bar Assocation hosted an International Law Roundtable Discussion at Pierce Law.  The discussion began with a presentation by five prosecutors from Qatar, who were visiting the United States as part of program organized by the United States Justice Department.  The delegation outlined the stucture of their judicial system and their process for trying criminals.  They also responded to questions from a panel of New Hampshire legal experts, including Pierce Law Professor Buzz Scherr.  The discussion covered many topics, including the secular and relgious roots of Qatarian laws, the inclusion of women in their judicial system, and rights related to criminal prosecutions.

 

Apologies: Next Week could not be published last week. 

News

It's Study and Exam Period! 

Fred Millett '08, worked on the brief in a death penalty case before the Supreme Court this week, Snyder v. Louisiana, as part of his externship this semester at the Southern Center of Human Rights. Fred attended the arguments Tuesday, which were reported on by Slate's indomitable Dahlia Lithwick. 

Last week Adjunct Professor Jim Silva became the new Chairman of the Merrimack Valley Regional Housing Consortium. This consortium is a quasi-government committee that promotes the creation of affordable housing in the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts.  Currently, 8 Massachusetts towns are part of this group:  Billerica, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Dunstable, Dracut, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough and Westford. Congratulations, Jim!

 

Saturday, December 8 

Fall 2007 Bagel Brunch: Take a break for a bagel and a schmear, courtesy of Hillel and the SBA. In the Jury Box from 11:00 a.m. until 2:00pm (or whenever the food runs out).  Bagels, lox, cream cheese and juice will be served.

Sunday, December 9

In France, the law separating church and state was passed on this day in 1905.

 

Monday, December 10

Today is Human Rights Day.

 

Tuesday, December 11

Ten years ago today: The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change opened for signature. Australia is the latest country to sign on to the Protocol.

 

Wednesday, December 12

Professor Mitchell Simon is a featured panelist at the legal ethics training required for all new New Hampshire lawyers who passed the July Bar exam. This mandatory CLE is being held at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord.

The League of Women Voters of New Hampshire and the Brennan Center for Justice present a Special Town Hall Conversation: Restoring Checks & Balances. 6:30 p.m. in the Rich Room.

 

Thursday, December 13

Administrative Team Meeting, 10:00 a.m. in the new Board/Reading Room.

Faculty Colloquia on Scholarship, 11:30 to 1:30, Room 205 

Health Care forum for staff and faculty, 1:30pm in Room 200. Talk with representatives from Anthem about the newly simplified health care plan we now have with Anthem. Spouses/partners are welcome to attend. 

 

Friday, December 14

Happy Birthday Justin Maleson!

 

Saturday, December 15

Buy a book in Esperanto! Today is Esperanto Literature Day.

 

Got news for the next Next Week @ Pierce Law? Send your events and notices to pbyfield@piercelaw.edu no later than 12 noon on the previous Wednesday. NW@PL is produced by the Pierce Law Communications Office and distributed to faculty, staff, and students towards the end of each week. 

The Dean is in Washington, D.C. today, testifying in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the legal rights of Guantanamo detainees.

He told the committee:

"The prison at Guantanamo Bay has been a black eye on the face of the United States for far too long. Closing it should be at the top of the detention and interrogation policy 'to-do' list....

"The real problem is not where to hold the detainees, it is what to do with them. Presently, we have two legal processes to deal with them, the Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRTs) and military commissions. Both are irredeemably flawed." 

Read the Dean's entire testimony. 

Dean Hutson was interviewed for a segment on ABC's 20/20, which will air on Friday December 14 at 10:00pm.

 

The segment involves the gang rape case of a women, Jamie Leigh Jones, at a KBR camp in the Green Zone in Iraq.  It has been two years and charges have still not been filed.  

 

Legal experts say Jones' alleged assailants will likely never face a judge and jury, due to an enormous loophole that has effectively left contractors in Iraq beyond the reach of United States law.

 

"It's very troubling," said Dean John Hutson of the Franklin Pierce Law Center. "The way the law presently stands, I would say that they don't have, at least in the criminal system, the opportunity for justice."

Pierce Law will be hosting a program on "Habeas Corpus in a Post 9/11 World" featuring Robert C. Kirsch, Esq.

Mr. Kirsch has been a partner at WilmerHale in Boston, MA since 1983.  He is a member of the team that represents six detainees pro bono at Guantanamo and makes visits to them regularly in Cuba.  He recently returned from Washington, DC, where the detainee-habeas case was argued before the US Supreme Court on December 5, 2007.

Please join Mr. Kirsch on Friday December 14 at 5:00pm for this informative and apropos discussion. 

This program is co-sponsored by the NH World Affairs Council and the International Law Section of the NH Bar

This will be the last edition of Next Week for 2007. We'll see you again when classes resume in 2008!

 

Monday, December 17

It's Wright Brothers Day, commemorating Wilbur and Orville's first successful airplane flight.

 

Tuesday, December 18

What Exit? It's New Jersey Day, celebrating the Garden State's ratification of the U.S. Constitution, becoming the third state in the union.

 

Wednesday, December 19

Pierce Law’s chapter of The Federalist Society will be hosting an unprecedented presidential candidate discussion about Executive Power under the Constitution. It will be held in the Rich Room beginning at 7:00 p.m. and is scheduled to last for approximately 2 hours. This event is open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

 

Thursday, December 20

Happy Birthday Robert J. Van de Graaff, who made it fun, shocking, and hair-raising to learn about electicity with his invention of the Van de Graaff Generator. 

 

Friday, December 21

On this day in 1913, the first crossword puzzle was published in the pages of the New York World. Give it a try.

 

Saturday, December 22

Welcome, Yule! Today the Winter Solstice occurs at 1:08 a.m. Winter begins and the days start to lengthen.

 

Looking Ahead

December 24-January 1st: Pierce Law will be closed for the holidays. 

January 7-11: The Germeshausen Center for the Law of Innovation and Entrepreneurship will hold its 16th Annual Advanced Licensing Institute (ALI)

January 14: Spring Classes Begin. 

Got news for the next Next Week @ Pierce Law? (Jan 13-19) Send your events and notices to pbyfield@piercelaw.edu no later than 12 noon on the previous Tuesday (Jan. 8). NW@PL is produced by the Pierce Law Communications Office and distributed to faculty, staff, and students towards the end of each week. 

The Pierce Law Federalist Society will be hosting a discussion on Executive Power with Presidential Candidates Ron Paul (R-TX) and Mike Gravel (D-AK) tomorrow evening Dec. 19th at 7pm in the Rich Room. Everyone -- students, faculty and the public -- are encouraged to attend what should be a very interesting discussion.