National conference to focus on smart decarceration of American criminal justice system
A national conference held at Washington University in St. Louis Sept. 24-27 will begin a conversation on finding a lasting solution to America’s incarceration problem. Organized by Carrie Pettus-Davis, PhD, assistant professor at the Brown School, the conference will discuss and evaluate proposals for sustainable and effective decarceration of America’s jails and prisons.
Washington People: Nancy Staudt
Nancy Staudt, JD, PhD, dean of the School of Law and the Howard & Caroline Cayne Professor of Law, talks about her return to Washington University, her collaborative work around campus and her vision for the law school.
Brown School dean search committee formed
Provost Holden Thorp, PhD, has appointed an
eight-member committee to identify candidates for the position of dean
of the Brown School. Eddie Lawlor, PhD, the William E. Gordon
Distinguished Professor, announced he will step down as
dean at the end of the academic year, June 30, 2016.
WashU Expert: NLRB decision reflects evolving labor market
Contract employees and other temporary workers will be able to bargain more effectively with the business entity that controls their working conditions and wages after an Aug. 27 decision by the National Labor Relations Board. The ruling signals a shift toward a more realistic and fact-dependant analysis of the evolving nature of employment in the modern labor market, said noted Washington University in St. Louis labor law expert Marion Crain.
Center for Empirical Research in the Law to launch tribal law digitization project
Washington University School of Law’s Center for
Empirical Research in the Law is partnering with the Oglala Sioux
Tribe in South Dakota to create an online searchable database of the tribe’s extensive
body of laws and court decisions. By increasing the transparency of tribal law, the project aims to strengthen the institutions of tribal government and promote
tribal self-determination.
WashU Expert: ‘Right to Try’ medications need more informed debate
In 2014, so called “Right to Try” laws, which gave terminally ill patients access to investigational medications, were enacted in five states. More state legislatures are now considering such laws. While time will tell whether these investigational drugs have any significant impact on quality of life or longevity, the legislative debate over such laws must be more informed than it has been, argues Rebecca Dresser, JD, expert in biomedical ethics and law at Washington University in St. Louis.
Obituary: Neil Bernstein, JD, professor of law emeritus
Neil Bernstein, JD, professor of law emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis, died Friday, Aug. 7, 2015. He was 83.
Municipal court reform a year after Ferguson
Following the death of Michael Brown a year ago this August, one of the key issues to emerge was a critical examination of the municipal court system in the individual communities that make up St. Louis County. Many of the courts were accused of not working primarily for justice, but as a way to raise funds for municipalities. Three faculty members from the School of Law, all of whom are involved in court reform efforts, express their thoughts on the reform process.
WashU Expert: DOJ report on St. Louis County Family Court raises new concerns about discrimination
The U.S. Department of Justice released July 31 a report critical of the St. Louis County Family Court, alleging racial bias and unfair treatment of black youth, among other accusations. Mae Quinn, JD, professor of law and director of the Juvenile Law and Justice Clinic at Washington University in St. Louis, is hopeful the report will lead to some measure of change and reform.
Brown School launches new degree programs
The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis
has launched three new joint-degree programs and a dual-degree program
with Fudan University to begin this fall, expanding class offerings and
learning opportunities both in St. Louis and around the world.
View More Stories