School of Law

A Utah juvenile court judge;s decision regarding the foster child of a lesbian couple expose the possible limits of the Supreme Court’s ruling this summer on gay marriage, said Susan Appleton, a national expert in family law.

The trial of former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Hotlzclaw, accused of 36 charges resulting from assaults against several black women while on duty, has begun. Though African Americans make up approximately 16 percent of the population of Oklahoma County, there are no black jurors among the eight men and four women serving. The jury selection process allowed for the controversial makeup, said Peter Joy, JD, a criminal justice expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is considering adoption of anti-discrimination regulations that would apply to all health care providers and build upon the Affordable Care Act mandate prohibiting discrimination “on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.” These new rules would help reduce disparities in the health care system, said Elizabeth Sepper, JD, associate professor of law.

The Obama Administration announced Nov. 10 it will seek United States Supreme Court review of a ruling blocking President Barack Obama’s executive actions on immigration. Timing is crucial, says Stephen H. Legomsky, JD, DPhil, an expert on immigration law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Nancy Staudt, JD, PhD, dean of the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, has been installed as the inaugural Howard and Caroline Cayne Professor of Law. A lecture and reception to celebrate the occasion were held Oct. 22 in the Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom in Anheuser-Busch Hall.

The United States Supreme Court agreed Nov. 6, for the fourth time in three years, to rule on challenges to the Affordable Care Act. This time the court will rule on the birth control mandate. A decision siding with large nonprofit corporations in this new case means that employers would prevail at significant cost to employees, said Elizabeth Sepper, JD, religious freedom and health law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

The School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis is hosting this year’s National Board of Trial Advocacy Tournament of Champions, one of the premier law school trial competitions nationwide. The competition runs Oct. 28 through Oct. 31 at the Thomas Eagleton Federal Courthouse in St. Louis and at the School of Law.

​David M. Becker, JD, Joseph H. Zumbalen Professor of the Law of Property Emeritus, will be honored during a ceremony Nov. 14 with a $25,000 tribute from the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award Trust for motivating a former student to make a difference in his or her community.​

Three people from Washington University in St. Louis have been appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court’s newly formed Racial and Ethnic Fairness Commission. They are: Kimberly Norwood, JD; Geetha Sant, JD; and Karen Tokarz, JD.

Robert J. Iversen, a third-year student in the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis, died recently. Iversen was 39. An accomplished and involved law student, Iversen was expected to earn a juris doctoris in May 2016.