Sturm College of Law News
Race & Politics: The “Obama Phemomena” conference
September 03, 2008
Scholars descend on law school to debate the ‘Obama Phenomena’
By Chase Squires
August 29, 2008— More than 100 scholars and students from around the country rolled into Denver as the Democratic National Convention was pulling out Aug. 29, ready to dissect Barack Obama’s rise to power and four days of history at the DNC.
At an all-day conference at DU’s Sturm College of Law titled “Obama Phenomena: Facets of a Historic Campaign,” multi-generational, non-partisan panels presented thoughts on the forces at play as a junior senator from the Midwest rose to become the country’s first African-American to earn a major party’s presidential nomination.
Frank Rudy Cooper, co-organizer of the event and associate professor of law at Suffolk University, said he was working with DU associate law Professor Catherine Smith in June when they came up with the idea for a scholarly study of Obama’s rise. He said they were surprised to find how few academics were studying the politics at play.
“What might this all mean,” he asked, as he pondered Obama’s popularity. “That’s what this whole conference is about.”
Smith, who delivered a talk, “Race and the Obama Phenomenon: Change We Can Build On,” said she’s been looking at how race is playing into politics. People tend to move in social groups, identifying themselves by race, gender, sexual orientation or other element, she noted. Obama, she said, is subtly addressing those groups and triggering approval in many of them.
“He’s the Tiger Woods of politics,” said Camille Nelson, professor of law at Saint Louis University, presenting her talk, “Examining Our Post-Racial Selves: Obama as a Balm for What Ails Us.”
She was referring to the African-American golfer who is dominating the largely-white professional golfing tour and winning fans across all races.
Other talks included examinations of the Internet’s role in politics, the role of Obama’s wife, Michelle, tax and race, and the role of religion in politics.
Harvard University law professor and prolific author Randall Kennedy delivered the keynote address, “Barack Obama and the Optimistic Tradition in American Racial Commentary,” probing the attitudes and tone of the Obama candidacy.
Obama, he said, has chosen to look at race relations in America through a positive lens, seeing progress made and envisioning continued improvement. His mission, Kennedy said, is to press beyond those who seek to undercut hope with pessimism, and he radiates that optimism.
“Obviously, he has to believe in his bones that it is possible for him to prevail,” Kennedy said.
Sturm College of Law Dean José R. (Beto) Juárez said recent talk of politicians courting the “New West” plays into not only the Rocky Mountain region’s history of pioneering new lands, but also into how the Obama camp came to Denver to pursue new ways of doing things.
“There really is the opportunity here to do new and different things,” he said. “That’s what this conference is about — this idea that we don’t have to fit into the old paradigms. We have broken molds out here for a long time.”
Greenwood Press Publishes Topical Book by DU Law Professor Robert Hardaway
September 02, 2008
Longtime election law scholar and expert in the inner workings of the American electoral system, University of Denver Sturm College of Law Professor Robert Hardaway knows all too well the procedural problems associated with this system, including those associated with the advent of computerized voting. His seminal book, Crisis at the Polls: An Electoral Reform Handbook, zeroes in on events in United States electoral history, revealing an intricate and startling web of systemic failures that lie at the heart of the democratic electoral process.
Professor Hardaway teaches Civil Procedure, Evidence and Preventative Law at the University of Denver College Sturm College of Law. A frequent contributor to national and major regional newspapers and an occasional media commentator, he is also the author of No Price Too High: Victimless Crimes and the Ninth Amendment (Praeger, 2003) and The Electoral College and the Constitution: The Case for Preserving Federalism (Praeger 1994), among other works.
Latin American Ambassadors Visit DU
September 02, 2008
DENVER – Ten Latin American ambassadors to the U.S. visited the University of Denver last week and discussed resource allocation, energy security, environmental stewardship, and sustainable development.
The “Latin America Business Forum,” organized by the Inter-American Economic Council, took place in conjunction with the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver.
The ambassadors, who were joined by a large crowd, heard senior advisors from the presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Barack Obama speak about Mr. Obama’s perspectives on U.S.-Latin American relations.
Ambassadors attending the event were:
H.E. Federico A. Humbert Arias (Panama);
H.E. D. Arturo Sarukhán Casamitjana (Mexico);
H.E. Felipe Ortiz de Cevallos (Perú);
H.E. Carlos Alberto Gianelli Derois (Uruguary);
H.E. F. Tomas Dueñas (Costa Rica);
H.E. Flavio Darío Espinal (Dominican Republic);
H.E. Mariano Fernández (Chile);
H.E. Luis Benigno Gallegos (Ecuador);
H.E. Bernardo Alvarez Herrera (Venezuela);
H.E. Antonio Aguiar Patriota (Brazil); and
H.E. Francisco Villagrán (Guatamala)
Each ambassador spoke about challenges and opportunities, particularly with respect to natural resource development, in his country. U.S. Congressman Gene Green of Texas also addressed the meeting regarding the ties between Latin American energy producers and the U.S.
Don C. Smith, director of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy graduate program, was one of the individuals invited to attend the business forum.
Distant train at the depot - The Denver Post
September 02, 2008
University of Denver Sturm College of Law’s “Obama Phenomena” conference mentioned in the Denver Post.
Read the Denver Post article »
DU Law Hosts the Colorado Court of Appeals
August 19, 2008
During the week of the Democratic National Convention – August 25-27 – the Colorado Court of Appeals will hear formal oral arguments at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. “We’re centrally located in the midst of DNC activities,” says Polly Brock, deputy clerk of the Colorado Court of Appeals. “In order to make it more convenient for counsel and judges to maintain their regular oral argument calendar, the Court of Appeals will hear formal oral arguments in the moot court room at the Sturm College of Law. We are very grateful to the law school for the use of their facilities.” The Court of Appeals will also utilize the facilities at DU’s School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management for law clerk training.
August 29 - DU Law hosts “Obama Phenomena” post-DNC conference
August 07, 2008
Nationally known scholars examines Democratic nominee’s explosive rise to prominence
DENVER— Scholars from around the country will gather at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law one day after the Democratic National Convention wraps up to examine the rapid rise and grassroots campaign of history-making Democratic nominee Barack Obama.
The day-long event Aug. 29, “Obama Phenomena: Facets of a Historic Campaign,” will examine the cultural wave that has lifted Obama from first-term senator to the first African-American major-party presidential nominee. A diverse, intergenerational collection of scholars will examine the meaning of Obama’s candidacy, looking at aspects including race, gender, and religion. In addition, panels will discuss the changing nature of campaign organization and Obama’s potential impact on affirmative action law, election law and U.S. foreign policy.
Harvard law professor and controversial author Randall Kennedy will deliver the keynote address at 12:30 p.m., “Barack Obama and the Optimistic Tradition in American Racial Commentary.”
Other panels, beginning at 8:30 a.m., include: “From Domain Names to Video Games: The Rise of the Internet in Presidential Politics;” “Obama’s Strategies, Changing the Status Quo;” “Race and the Obama Phenomenon: Change We Can Build On;” and “Predicting the Supreme Court in an Obama or McCain Presidency.”
Scholars from universities in at least 13 states are expected to descend on DU for the event, which offers fertile ground for journalists seeking commentary and analysis of a news-filled four days in Denver. A full schedule of topics and list of experts scheduled to attend, as well as registration information, is online here »
Law School “Boot Camp” Gives Future Lawyers a Head Start
August 07, 2008
By CHASE SQUIRES
They came from around the country on their summer vacation, to be worked almost to death.
And the more than 30 attendees at the American Bar Association’s Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) summer program actually applied to be part of what many called a “boot camp” atmosphere, cramming months of legal knowledge into six weeks.
The CLEO program, founded in the wake of the Civil Rights movement, held its first summer program at the University of Denver school of law in 1968. Forty years later, it returned to the Sturm College of Law for the first time, after decades of being held at a rotating list of law schools. CLEO is aimed at helping a diverse field of students, including minorities, economically disadvantaged and non-traditional students returning to school after years away. It’s designed to sharpen their skills and prepare them as they enter law school in the fall. In many cases, law schools offer admission on the condition the student take part in a CLEO summer program.
“We’re talking about a boot camp,” said Wayne Fowler, a 44-year-old father from Texas who spent his first career as an engineer. “It’s not intended to be easy, it’s intended to force you into the structure you’re going to need when you get to law school. It’s not play.”
Another CLEO student, Omar Martinez, got terrific grades at the University of Florida, where he graduated this year with dual degrees in political science and sociology. But his law school entrance exams exposed a potential weakness. The recent émigré from Cuba only learned to speak English five years ago, and his writing skills lag.
“I really wanted to come here to learn to write better, to learn the skills I’ll need in law school,” said the Indiana University-bound freshman. “I’m the first one in my family to even go to college.”
Already, Martinez has big plans, including developing legal centers in Puerto Rico, and establishing a legal aid program on Cuba with the daughter of Cuban president Raul Castro.
Sturm Dean José R. (Beto) Juárez congratulated the class as they wrapped up their term July 25, noting that simply surviving the weeks of intense drilling should give them the confidence, and the knowledge base, they’ll need to survive their first year of law school, wherever they go.
“You have worked really, really hard, and you have passed the test,” he said. “You all are the future of the legal profession. I look forward to welcoming you to the bar. You are going to go on to do amazing things.”
Allana Forte-Branch went through CLEO last year, after running her own office supply store in Barbados for seven years. She had decided to pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer (“Running an office supply store isn’t that exciting,” she noted), but going back to school had her concerned.
“Law school is always a shock, but CLEO makes it less of a shock,” she said, fresh from completing her first year at Stetson Law School in St. Petersburg, Fla.
To show how much she believes in the program, Forte-Branch was back this summer as a teaching assistant.
The CLEO program, held in 2008 at the University of Denver and the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, moves the locations of its summer programs each year. Since its inception, some 8,000 students have been through the program.
Sound the “Retreat”: Historic Lodge Donated to Sturm College of Law
August 07, 2008
In a bittersweet ceremony that ties the past to the future, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law this summer officially accepted the donation of the historic Spruce Lodge II mountaintop retreat from the estate the late Robert B. Yegge.
As commemoration speaker Ken Goss told the assembled crowd June 28, the dedication was an event “decades in the making,” a story that dates back to the 1930s.
Yegge, a beloved instructor who led the University of Denver school of law as dean from 1965-1977 and again as acting dean in 1997 and 1998, used his family’s mountaintop property as a retreat, conference center and vacation home for years before his passing in 2006.
But the story really goes back to his father’s earliest days as a lawyer, and even as a law student at DU. Ronald Van Kirk Yegge found a cabin in the woods to study in the Jefferson County mountains southwest of Denver. It was in 1930 when a neighbor asked the newly-minted lawyer to represent him on a criminal case, in payment, the senior Yegge accepted a nearby mountaintop, now officially recognized on government maps as Yegge Peak.
Following graduation from the University of Denver College of Law in 1959, the younger Yegge, Robert, began to use the mountaintop property and a home there known as Spruce Lodge as he built his law practice. In 1964, according to a history of the property, his father presented him with the land through an ancient transfer practice called a “livery of seizing.” The ceremony involves passing a part of the property, in the form of sod or twigs from the land, to the recipient.
Time passed as Yegge built his ties to DU, frequently hosting events at the lodge. When it burned to the ground in 1980, he rebuilt it with the help of friends, reopening the facility as Spruce Lodge II.
On June 28, with friends and colleagues from the Sturm College of Law assembled, the university accepted his estate’s donation of the center through, fittingly, a livery of seizure.
“This day has been in the planning for decades,” Goss, Yegge’s longtime friend, said at the ceremony. “Bob’s parents, Ronald and Fairy, and later Bob, always believed that a fitting transition for this beautiful place would be from his family to the law school.”
Goss, who served as co-personal representative with Jack Hanley for the estate, thanked Greg and Betty Standley, Barbara Huff, and a host of dedicated volunteers who prepared the property for transfer and laid the legal work for the transition, including legal counsel Steve Flansburg.
“Steve has helped us navigate through some extraordinarily challenging situations,” he said. “I know if Bob were here today, in classic Yegge fashion, he would say to you, ‘You done good, kid.’”
Dean José (Beto) Juárez welcomes the gift and expects it to remain a fitting tribute to Yegge’s legacy and to his family.
“Spruce Lodge II was the site where Dean Yegge gathered with faculty and staff to plan the future of the College of Law,” he said. “All of us at the Sturm College of Law look forward to continuing Dean Yegge’s tradition of visionary work at Yegge Peak – even while building fellowship and having fun.”
“This Yegge Peak and Spruce Lodge II will be an important part of the college of law for many generations to come,” Goss said before inviting the assembled crowd to toast “our beloved friend, Bob Yegge.”
DU Law Hosts CLEO Summer Institute
July 25, 2008
When DU Law was selected to host the national Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO) Summer Institute this year, in many ways, the program was returning home. CLEO, now a renowned and multi-faced program that reaches out to law student hopefuls from diverse backgrounds, originally stemmed from the Ford Foundation Grant started by Dean Emeritus Robert Yegge many years ago. The American Bar Association eventually took the program over and in 1968 founded CLEO as a non-profit project of the ABA Fund for Justice and Education.
The CLEO Summer Institute, a six-week pre-law program held at rotating law school campuses across the country, is the core of CLEO’s programming. Graduating college seniors and recent graduates from diverse backgrounds either interested in or slated to attend law school, participate in a mini-semester of legal courses taught by experienced instructors. Students attend classes, guest speaker lectures and participate in networking events with local law firms and state and federal courts during their six week stay. At the end of the institute, students are given a final exam and evaluated and issued a final grade. “We are honored to host the prestigious CLEO Summer Institute at DU Law,” said Forrest Stanford, associate dean for administration and multi-cultural affairs. “It further solidifies the law school’s commitment to diversity.”
The institute is designed to prepare participants to be more competitive law students by introducing them to rigorous legal curriculum while acclimating them to the law school environment. Nearly all CLEO graduates eventually matriculate into law schools across the country and go on to enjoy successful legal careers.
Friday, July 25 marked the “graduation” of the DU Law CLEO Summer Institute. The law school held a ceremony and luncheon during which Dean Juárez spoke to the class and participants received certificates of completion.
View CLEO Reception Slide Show Video »
DU hosted the 2nd Annual Colloquium on Current Scholarship in Labor and Employment Law
July 21, 2008
The University of Denver Sturm College of Law, together with the University of Colorado Law School, hosted the 2007 Colloquium on Current Scholarship in Labor and Employment Law.
The Colloquium started at Marquette Law School in 2006 as a response to the perceived need for a forum in which scholars in this field could share and receive feedback on their work. The 2006 Colloquium was a success, both for the event and for DU. Five DU Employment Law faculty presented at that event. As a result of this impressive showing, we were able to persuade the conference organizers to allow us to host the Second Annual Colloquium in September 2007.
The 2007 Colloquium at DU was a resounding success, drawing roughly 80 labor and employment scholars from around the country and throughout the world (as far away as Melbourne, Australia). A number of local employment lawyers joined, as well. Roughly 65 papers were presented over two days, including presentations by DU Professors Rachel Arnow-Richman, Christine Cimini, Roberto Corrada, Marty Katz, and Nantiya Ruan. All were well-received.
A schedule of presentations, abstracts of the presentations, and other information about the Colloquium, is available at http://www.colorado.edu/law/laborandemployment/.