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Posted: October 12, 2009
Mitchell faculty in the news, through Oct. 23
Following is a summary of William Mitchell faculty and programs recently featured in the media.
Professor Afsheen John Radsan was quoted in an Oct. 26 article in The New Yorker. In "The Predator War" by Jane Mayer, Radsan said defining who is and who is not too tangential for the U.S. to kill can be difficult. "You can’t target someone just because he visited an Al Qaeda Web site," he said. "But you also don’t want to wait until they’re about to detonate a bomb. It’s a sliding scale. If it’s Osama bin Laden in a house with a four-year-old, most people will say go ahead. But if it’s three or four children? Some say that’s too many. And if he’s in a school? Many say don’t do it." Such judgment calls are being made daily by the C.I.A., which, Radsan points out, "doesn’t have much experience with killing. Traditionally, the agency that does that is the Department of Defense."
- Professor Afsheen John Radsan was quoted in the October 2009 issue of The American Lawyer. In "The Company’s Lawyers" by Seth Hettena, Radsan said there are fewer attorneys at the CIA who have attended top ten law schools. He described the office of General counsel as "a place for good lawyers, not great lawyers."
- The American Lawyer article.
Professor Ted Sampsell-Jones was quoted in the Sunday, Oct. 18 Star Tribune on Tom Petters’ decision to go to trial in his fraud case. If Petters would decide to forgo a trial and make a deal with prosecutors, he’d have to settle for next to nothing. “What is the government going to give Petters?” Sampsell-Jones said. “They want him to go to prison for life. At his age, even if they offer him 30 years, that’s essentially life, anyway.” Sampsell-Jones also contrasted Petters and Bernard Madoff, who decided in March to plead guilty of running what has been described as a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Madoff admitted to 11 counts of fraud and received a 150-year sentence. But he argued that a stock-trading business operated by his brother and two sons was legitimate, a move that potentially allowed his wife and kids to remain rich, Sampsell-Jones said. “With Petters, there’s nothing to get,” Sampsell-Jones said. “He’ll lose money anyway if he’s found guilty, so you may as well spend the money on attorneys. Even if he thinks he has a 1-in-100 chance, it’s something.”
Resident Adjunct Professor Bradford Colbert was quoted in an article in the Sunday, Oct. 18 LaCrosse Tribune on “Minnesota high court to determine whether counties can use ‘pay for stay.’” The case, argued before the Minnesota Supreme Court by Colbert, could determine whether Winona County and other counties can continue to charge inmates for their time behind bars. The case centers on Andrew Tyler Jones, a 24-year-old Olmsted County man arrested for aggravated robbery who argues it was unfair punishment to be charged while he was presumed innocent. He also says the program amounts to unequal treatment because those who can afford bail avoid the cost. Colbert says it was wrong to charge Jones for the time before he was convicted because he was presumed innocent. He also argues that the Olmsted County Sheriff should have considered Jones’ financial situation before giving him the bill. “It adds insult to injury,” Colbert said. “If you are wealthy enough to (make bail and) get out, you do. Otherwise, it’s a double whammy.” The Court is expected to rule on the case in the fall or winter.
Professor Daniel Kleinberger was quoted in the Oct. 14 Star Tribune about a U.S. District Court ruling that Jerry Trooien and his aircraft leasing businesses owe more than $23 million to Bank of America for defaulting on loans on airplanes that already have been repossessed by the bank. Kleinberger said lenders that reclaim assets frequently ask to also be repaid money they’re owed under loan agreements. "That’s the entirety of the debt," he said.
- Star Tribune article.
President and Dean Eric Janus was quoted in an Oct. 11 editorial in the Sunday Star Tribune, “Take steps to curb domestic violence.” The editorial addressed a project called The Blueprint, a collaboration of the St. Paul Police Department, the nonprofit Praxis International and the St. Paul Domestic Abuse Intervention Project examining how the criminal justice system handles domestic abuse cases, from the first 911 call to sentencings, and recommending city and statewide improvements. Janus provided expert legal analysis on the project for the Minnesota ACLU. He evaluated the constitutionality of a recommendation to use guidelines adopted by national organizations to assess an offender’s risk of committing serious violence in the future when setting bail. “It’s a good way to use the developing field of risk assessment in this context,” Janus said. - Star Tribune editorial.
Adjunct Professor and Public Health Law Center attorney Maggie Mahoney was quoted in an Oct. 10 article in the Galveston County Daily News about legal challenges to smoke-free laws, based on regulatory takings arguments. An association of bar and restaurant owners in Galveston, Texas, asked the city to conduct an economic assessment of how the city’s recently passed smoke-free ordinance will affect its member businesses. The group is interested in negotiating with the city to amend the ordinance, which prohibits smoking in bars and restaurants, and is set to take effect Jan. 1. In the article, “Smoking Ban Fight Faces Long Odds,” Mahoney explains that the vast majority of laws that prohibit smoking in public areas have been upheld when challenged. She points out that the “takings” argument is becoming less common in legal challenges to smoke-free laws and does not tend to be successful.
Professor Mike Steenson was quoted in a front-page article in the Oct. 9 issue of Minnesota Lawyer about a home security company negligence case. U.S. District Court Judge John Tunheim quoted Steenson’s 2004 law review article on joint and several liability in his decision. In the article, “Federal judge finds security company may be jointly liable in murder case,” Steenson said the decision was probably the right outcome in this situation. It seems “unfair in a way” to let a defendant substantially or completely off the hook just because an intentional tortfeaser was also liable, he said. But difficulties to arise under the comparative fault statute, which, with a few exceptions, allows only several liability, he noted. “It’s a nice legal question—how do you fit that (conclusion) into the statutory framework?” Steenson said. “There does seem to be that missing link.”