News // Law School

Prof. Patricia Bellia appointed chair of Faculty Board on Athletics

2009-07-09T09:13:00-04:00

Patricia Bellia, professor of law and Notre Dame Presidential Fellow in the Notre Dame Law School, has been appointed chair of the University’s Faculty Board on Athletics and its NCAA faculty athletics representative, by Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Notre Dame’s president. Her appointment is effective Aug. 1.

“As a member of the Faculty Board on Athletics since 2005, and as a former student-athlete herself, Tricia knows firsthand the challenges associated with the difficult but achievable goal of maintaining both academic and athletic excellence at Notre Dame,” Father Jenkins said. “I appreciate her willingness to take on this assignment and look forward to working closely with her and the rest of the board.”

Bellia succeeds Don Pope-Davis, vice president and associate provost, who served as chair for the past three years.

Read the complete release here: http://newsinfo.nd.edu/news/11948

A dozen NDLS faculty show support for Sotomayor

2009-07-09T09:07:00-04:00

Twelve full-time and adjunct faculty members at Notre Dame Law School are among the nearly 1,200 professors of law across the country who signed a letter supporting the speedy confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States. The letter is addressed to Patrick Leahy, chair of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, and Jefferson Sessions, ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.

Notre Dame Professor of Law Joseph Bauer is one of the scholars backing Sotomayor’s confirmation. “Judge Sotomayor’s academic credentials are outstanding. She has extensive experience as a litigator, as a federal trial judge and, most recently, on the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit,” says Bauer. “As an academic, I have been very impressed by the high quality of her opinions. Her prompt confirmation will allow her to contribute to dealing with the heavy and difficult caseload facing the Supreme Court.”

According to the letter, which will be sent to Senators Leahy and Sessions today (Wednesday, July 8), Judge Sotomayor’s opinions “reflect careful attention to the facts of each case and a reading of the law that demonstrates fidelity to the text of statutes and the Constitution. She pays close attention to precedent and has proper respect for the role of courts and the other branches of government in our society.”

To read the letter in its entirety and view the list of signatories, click on this link.

Prof. Nagle discusses recent SCOTUS environmental decisions

2009-07-08T09:05:00-04:00

Greenwire, an energy and environmental policy news service, reviewed the Supreme Court’s recent environmental decisions, and turned to Notre Dame Professor of Law John Nagle for comment.

Greenwire wrote:

In five high-profile cases, the justices overturned decisions that favored environmentalists. They ruled in favor of the Navy in a case pitting national security concerns against the welfare of marine mammals; limited the scope of liability for a Superfund cleanup; and reversed a decision that held no cost-benefit test could be used to determine the best technology for withdrawing water from rivers to cool power-plant turbines. In addition, the court held that five conservation groups lacked standing to challenge U.S. Forest Service regulations and found that the Army Corps of Engineers, not U.S. EPA, has permitting authority over mining-waste discharges under the Clean Water Act.

Prof. Nagle told Greenwire that the consolidated CERCLA, or Superfund, cases could have an immediate impact on lower courts’ decision-making.

"Burlington Northern v. United States was the most surprising given that the majority ended up addressing issues that the Supreme Court had never really addressed but had been thought to have been resolved by the lower courts decades ago," he said.

For the entire article and more comments from Prof. Nagle, visit: http://www.eenews.net/Greenwire/2009/06/25/3/

Resources for Research Assistants

2009-07-07T10:03:00-04:00

Hello, RAs! After a month of intense research using HeinOnline, LexisNexis, and Westlaw, you may want to consider using some of the other electronic legal resources that are available to you. As a law student, you have access to many subject specific databases (e.g., business, environmental law, poverty law, terrorism, etc.) and current awareness services via the Electronic Resources link on the Kresge Law Library homepage. The “Electronic Resources” page includes twenty-seven subject headings (from Banking to Transportation) which you can click on to identify associated online resources. If you already know the name of the resource that you want to use (e.g., LegalTrac) you can “Find Legal Resources by Title” by clicking on the appropriate letter in the alphabet for quick access instead of locating the database in the library catalog. Most of these databases are IP-authenticated, but some of them require a password. If you see a green PW icon next to the name of an electronic resource, click on the icon and enter your NetID and password in order to discover the database password.

Other helpful law library web pages for RAs are Law Library Services for Research Assistants, which includes an overview of relevant library procedures (e.g., borrowing and copying library materials, carrel assignments, document delivery, interlibrary loan, obtaining court documents, etc.), and the ever-popular Cite Checker Resources page, which helps you locate documents in print and electronic format.

If you are doing interdisciplinary research, you should also consider exploring the resources available to you through Hesburgh Libraries. Kresge Law Library is autonomous, so when you search our catalog, you are only searching the law library’s holdings. However, when you search the Hesburgh Libraries catalog you are searching every other library (Business, Chemistry/Physics, Engineering, etc.) on campus. Just like the law library has an “Electronic Resources” page which identifies legal resources by topic, Hesburgh Libraries has a Research by Subject page which identifies relevant databases, journals, and books for research in economics, history, medicine and health, peace studies, and sixty-one other disciplines. Many of the librarians on campus have advanced degrees in the sciences and humanities, making them subject specialists in various fields. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to schedule a Research Consultation with them if you are pursuing research in one of those areas.

Hesburgh Libraries’ guides are primarily designed to support undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs at Notre Dame. Consequently, Hesburgh Libraries’ “Research by Subject” page does not cover every possible topic. However, many of the databases to which Hesburgh Libraries subscribe include fields of study outside of Notre Dame’s curriculum. Therefore, if you cannot find a guide for a particular subject at Hesburgh Libraries, you can look at other colleges’ and universities’ guides in order to identify relevant resources available to you at Notre Dame. Last, but not least, Hesburgh Libraries’ virtual Reference Shelf provides access to a variety of general resources (e.g., biographies, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, etc.) that allow you to answer many questions more authoritatively than either Google or Wikipedia.

Gosh, those are a lot of different possible starting points! If they don’t pan out, or if the number of choices seems too overwhelming for you to decide where to begin, remember that the research librarians are here to help you! For further assistance, drop by their offices (Suite 1110, Eck Hall) or contact them by phone, e-mail, or via askus@nd.edu.

-Chris O’Byrne

This article is from the July/August Law Library Newsletter.

Prof. Garnett on Supreme Court’s controversial political-speech decision

2009-06-30T10:57:00-04:00

According to Prof. Richard Garnett, among the Supreme Court’s most important decisions of its 2008-09 Term was its decision not to decide – at least, not yet – the case of “Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission,” also known as the “Hillary: The Movie” case. Today, the Justices called for the case to be re-argued in September, and they asked the lawyers to address specifically the question whether the Court should overrule one of its more controversial free-speech decisions.

“The Citizens United case presented the interesting, though fairly technical, question whether and how federal campaign regulations dealing with ‘electioneering communications’ applied to a full-length documentary film about then-Senator Clinton’s career and record,” explains Garnett. “The Justices’ ruling indicates their interest in taking a broader look at laws that deal with election- and campaign-related speech and spending.”

Nearly 20 years ago, in a case called Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Court ruled that, despite the First Amendment’s free-speech clause, governments could prevent corporations from using their money to support (or oppose) political candidates. “It has been clear for some time that several of the Justices believe Austin was wrongly decided, and that its holding is not consistent with our constitutional commitment to the freedom of speech,” says Garnett. “Today’s announcement suggests that the Court is at least considering abandoning that ruling, clarifying its campaign-finance case law, and limiting the ability of government of government to regulate election-related expression.”

Library Profile: Scott Hengert

2009-06-30T09:22:00-04:00

Scott Hengert came to the South Bend area nine years ago when he was offered a computer networking position with IKON Office Solutions. As a sub-contractor in technology with IKON, Scott came to campus often and became well acquainted with Notre Dame and Dan Manier, Director of the law School Information Technology Department. Dan hired Scott in October of 2008 as the Educational Technology Analyst for the Law School Information Technology Department. In this capacity, Scott enjoys using his talents writing software, creating new features to existing systems and adding intuitive refinement to software programs. Specifically, Scott adds electronic functionality and features to classroom control systems within the law school.He also instructs students and faculty in the use of these systems. Scott is adept at sharing his technical “know how” by translating technical jargon into every day English and presenting information in a way that is comprehensible to everyone.

Scott loves working with state of the art software and equipment at Notre Dame. In his office there is electronic equipment everywhere, including a master control board for video systems in the law school, a Linux computer test fixture for pilot testing of software and hardware control, and an impressive Crestron test-bed that is used to test Crestron software written in-house. In a side room is an enormous structure referred to as the “Rack,” which controls video switching for all the law school’s classrooms.

Scott is an understanding, empathetic, friendly, creative, and technically savvy person. He comes by these qualities naturally, avocationally, and academically. His mother was a teacher and his maternal grandfather, who had great impact on Scott, was his childhood hero. As Scott says, "Everything he did was amazing. He was a farm mechanic, meaning his craft was highly creative and versatile. He was also a welder who could fix or make anything. People came from all over for his help.” Scott, like his grandfather, is a mechanic, and like his mother, he has a natural understanding of what is required with hands-on instruction.

Scott’s hobbies include astronomy, computer science, electronics in general and model airplanes. He loves sharing his passion for astronomy with others and instructing them in the use of telescopes. Scott’s father, a business executive with GTE, introduced Scott to making and flying model airplanes and rockets; an activity they both enjoy doing together and with friends even today.

Academically, Scott majored in Electrical Engineering and Technology with four areas of concentration related to electronics and computer science, Biomedical electronics technology, and commercial communication electronic technology. He also minored in Psychology.

Scott also uses his talents to volunteer with the Red Cross providing emergency communications as a Ham Radio operator. But his real love is Buses by the Beach, which supports the national charity The Phoenix Burn Survivors’ Foundation. This organization raises funds for burn victims and helps them transition from victims to survivors through camping out in buses and socializing. “Since I am a mechanic, I volunteer my services fixing the old or broken down buses. They call me ‘Scotty the Bus Healer.’”

Scott was born in West Frankfort, Illinois and grew up in Bloomington, Indiana; Wilton, Connecticut; and Vincennes, Indiana, and Indianapolis. Today Scott lives in South Bend and has a 3 year old daughter, Grace, who is the love of his life.

-Susan Hamilton

This article is from the Library Newsletter, July/August 2009, Volume 1, Issue 2.

To read more about the library, see the Library Newsletter

Prof. Fick in D.C. to discuss foreign labor rights

2009-06-29T11:17:00-04:00

University of Notre Dame Associate Professor of Law Barbara Fick is in Washington, D.C. this week for a labor forum titled “The Role of the Labor Sector in Promoting U.S. Foreign Assistance Goals.” Fick will comment on the methodology for conducting labor sector assessments in foreign countries, specifically as it relates to analyzing the role of labor rights organizations and unions, within a country’s political economic context.

The forum is sponsored by the State Department’s Office of International Labor and Corporate Social Responsibility, and the Office of Democracy and Government’s U.S. Agency for International Development.

To learn more about Fick’s work, visit her faculty profile page.

Prof. Cassel’s research informs major court decision

2009-06-26T11:26:00-04:00

In an age when courts pay scant heed to most academic legal writing, a cutting edge decision by the prestigious federal district court for the Southern District of New York relies on Notre Dame Professor of Law Doug Cassel’s article, Corporate Aiding and Abetting of Human Rights Violations: Confusion in the Courts, 6 NW. U. J. INT’L HUM. RTS. 304 (2008).

In re South African Apartheid Litigation involves a suit under the Alien Tort Statute by victims of apartheid-era human rights violations against multinational corporations alleged to have aided and abetted the wrongs. The case is on remand from a 2007 ruling of the Court of Appeals, which could not agree on the mens rea standard for aiding and abetting. Last year the Supreme Court could not muster a quorum to hear the case, because several justices own stock in the defendant corporations.

Professor Cassel’s article argues that under international law it suffices that the aider and abetter has knowledge that his assistance will be used for unlawful purposes; there is no need to prove, as the defendants contend, a purpose to facilitate wrongful conduct. Referring to Cassel’s article as the work of a “prominent scholar,” the court agreed. Proceedings continue in the district court. In May the court declined to certify an interlocutory appeal from its ruling or to stay the ruling pending appeal.

Prof. O’Connell in Spain to deliver talk on drone attacks

2009-06-18T10:16:00-04:00

Mary Ellen O’Connell, the Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law and Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution—Kroc Institute at Notre Dame, delivers a paper in Spain this week titled “The Legal Limits on Drone Attacks in Pakistan”. Her talk at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law is part of a two-day workshop called “Shooting to Kill: The Law Governing in the Use of Lethal Force in Context.”

O’Connell says that combat drone attacks in Pakistan must end, in accordance with international law. “The U.S. use of combat drones in Pakistan between 2004 and 2009 failed to meet the international law rules governing resort to armed force and the conduct of armed force,” says O’Connell. “The U.S. has used drones in Pakistan to launch significant military attacks, attacks only lawful in the course of an armed conflict. The U.S. has not, however, restricted its attacks to situations of armed conflict. Moreover, Pakistan has neither requested U.S. assistance in the form of drone attacks nor expressly consented to them. Pakistan’s weak civilian authorities have protested on occasion, as much as they dare to presumably. There is no Security Council authorization for drone attacks, nor does the U.S. have a basis in the law of self-defense for attacking inside Pakistan.

“Drone attacks are proving counter-productive to the military objective of repressing militancy and terrorism,” continues O’Connell. “The strikes have been, to date, wildly disproportionate respecting civilian lives lost. The principle of humanity appears to have been disregarded, along with the requirement to take precautions.”

She teaches a number of courses in the international law area including international law, international law and the use of force, international art law, international dispute resolution, and international environmental law, as well as the law of contracts.

O’Connell is a member of the American Society of International Law, the International Law Association, the Germany Society of International Law, and the International Institute for Humanitarian Law.

For more information about Professor O’Connell, visit her faculty profile page.

Prof. Rougeau to deliver two keynotes in Chicago

2009-06-17T08:28:00-04:00

Notre Dame Professor of Law Vincent Rougeau will speak at The Lumen Christi Institute Law and Culture Forum-sponsored presentation titled “Faith and Citizenship in the New World Order” on Thursday, June 25. He will deliver a keynote address the following day at the annual Faith, Justice, and Civic Learning Conference, held this year at DePaul University in Chicago.

Rougeau’s Lumen Christi talk will focus on several chapters from his recent book, “Christians in the American Empire: Faith and Citizenship in the New World Order” (Oxford University Press, 2008). In the book, Rougeau uses principles drawn from Catholic social thought to review and critique the approach taken in American law to a number of pressing social issues. These include the country’s struggle for racial equality and the use of affirmative action to the plight of the poor and the problems created by recent welfare reform measures.

Rougeau’s keynote address at the Faith, Justice, and Civic Learning Conference will be an overview of his Just Communities Project, which he has been working on in London since 2006. Just Communities has focuses on citizen organizing as an effective method for Christian social engagement in multi-faith contexts. The practice brings faith and community groups together in broad-based alliances to act together on issues of common concern.

For more on the Just Communities Project, visit http://www.theology-centre.org/justcommunities.htm.

To register for the Lumen Christi talk, visit www.lumenchristi.org.

Prof. Kaveny says judges need empathy

2009-06-16T10:51:00-04:00

Notre Dame Professor of Law Cathleen Kaveny, a columnist for “Commonweal” magazine, wrote that “empathy” is a necessary quality for judges to possess. Her comments come in the midst of a debate about whether empathy is a help or hindrance to the pursuit of justice, which began after President Obama’s declaration that he wanted to appoint a Supreme Court Justice with “empathy” in addition to intellect and an adherence to the rule of law.

Kaveny points to an argument by prominent jurist and Catholic moralist John Noonan, who recently spoke at the University of Notre Dame’s Commencement ceremony. “Noonan argues that at the heart of the legal system are two equally essential components: rules and persons. We all know the importance of rules-they are impersonal, they are impartial, they are framed with a concern for the larger good of the whole community,” writes Kaveny. “Neglecting the claims made by rules produces judicial ‘monsters’ who strangle justice with bribery, arbitrariness, or bias. As Noonan notes, the Book of Deuteronomy describes God as a judge who ‘regardeth not persons nor taketh rewards.’ A good judge must have due regard for the rules.

“But rules are not enough,” continues Kaveny. She refers to Noonan’s words to illustrate that point: “There is no reason to suppose that justice is the only virtue required of a lawyer, legislator, or judge. If [judges] are not to cease to be human, they must cultivate the other virtues of humanity,” writes Noonan. Kaveny adds that, “A judge can hide behind rules to escape responsibility for the harm he or she is causing to other human beings.”

For Kaveny’s complete column, click on the link below.

http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/article.php3?id_article=2577

Prof. O’Connell Invited to Speak at Atlantic Council-Chatham House Workshop

2009-06-11T08:42:00-04:00

Mary Ellen O’Connell, the Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law and Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution—Kroc Institute at Notre Dame, will serve as a panelist for a workshop sponsored by the Atlantic Council of the United States and the Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House). Titled “The Use of Force and International Law,” the workshop will be held June 25-26 in Washington, D.C. It is part of an ongoing discussion series called “Transatlantic Dialogues on International Law.”

O’Connell will address the legality of the recent drone attacks in Pakistan in addition to legal issues arising in other cases of the use of force between states.

O’Connell is an expert on the international law governing the use of force. She chairs the International Law Association’s Committee on the Use of Force and is the author of the leading American law school casebook on the subject: International Law and the Use of Force, Cases and Materials (Foundation 2d ed. 2009). She is the lead author of the next edition of The International Legal System (Foundation 7th ed. 2010) as well as the author of The Power and Purpose of International Law (OUP 2008) and International Law and the “Global War on Terrorism” (Editions-Pedone 2007) among many other books and articles.

She teaches a number of courses in the international law area including international law, international law and the use of force, international art law, international dispute resolution, and international environmental law, as well as the law of contracts.
O’Connell is a member of the American Society of International Law, the International Law Association, the Germany Society of International Law, and the International Institute for Humanitarian Law.

For more information, visit Professor O’Connell’s faculty profile page .

Dean Edmonds presented at the 21st Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture

2009-06-09T13:16:01-04:00

Dean Ed Edmonds made a presentation at the 21st Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture co-sponsored by the State University of New York at Oneonta and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York on June 3, 2009. The title of the talk was “At the Brink of Free Agency – Creating the Foundation for the Messersmith-McNally Decision – 1968-1975.” This is the fourth year that he made a presentation at the Symposium. There were approximately 160 attendees.

To learn more about the Symposium, check the following two links:
http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/museum/symposium.jsp or on the homepage for the Hall – http://web.baseballhalloffame.org/index.jsp.

Prof. Garnett on the Legal Case for School Choice

2009-06-08T09:30:00-04:00

Notre Dame Professor of Law Richard Garnett spoke at The Lumen Christi Institute Law and Culture Forum’s panel discussion titled “The Moral and Legal Case for School Choice.” Joining Garnett on the panel in Chicago were the Rev. Timothy Scully, C.S.C., a political science professor at Notre Dame, and Marquette University education specialist Dr. Howard Fuller.

The conversation examined the moral, constitutional, and other legal issues surrounding the use of vouchers and tax credits to pay for tuition in private schools. The panelists discussed how vouchers and tax credits for private school tuition can empower parents and students to make choices that benefit children, families, groups, and society as a whole.

Garnett’s comments focused on the legal and constitutional dimensions of the issue, arguing that while the First Amendment permits school choice, barriers to meaningful choice-based educational reform—including the choice to attend a religiously affiliated school—remain.

“Today, the Supreme Court’s cases clearly support the proposition that governments need not discriminate against ‘religious ideas, religious people, and religious schools’ in the administration of general-welfare and education-assistance programs,” said Garnett. He pointed to Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, decided by the Supreme Court in 2002, which states that the Constitution permits religion-neutral private-choice programs.

Garnett went on to say that “although the Constitution of the United States permits school-choice experiments, formidable legal and constitutional obstacles still exist in the states…many state constitutions contain provisions that—Zelman notwithstanding—dramatically limit the possibilities for authentic education reform.” Additionally, in a 2004 case called Locke v. Davey, “the Supreme Court refused to take the post-Zelman step that many school-choice advocates were hoping for,” said Garnett. “The Court refused to say that the federal Constitution required the state of Washington to allow a college student to use scholarship money to major in theology at a religiously affiliated school.”

Ultimately, according to Garnett, “private and religious schools are not anomalies or outlaws, grudgingly tolerated; instead, they reflect our foundational commitments to freedom, pluralism, and limited government.”

Prof. Mayer Elected to National Board of Advisors

2009-06-05T08:38:00-04:00

Notre Dame Associate Professor of Law Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer was elected to sit on the National Center on Philanthropy and the Law’s (NCPL) Board of Advisors. The NCPL, established 20 years ago, is one of the most prestigious research centers on philanthropy in the nation. The Board of Advisors includes both leading academics and non-academic leaders in the field.

The NCPL was established at New York University School of Law to explore a broad range of legal issues affecting the nation’s nonprofit sector and to provide an integrated examination of the legal doctrines related to the activities of charitable organizations. The Center is developing a unified field of study that provides central focus and leadership to curriculum development, scholarly research, conferences, and career development in the nonprofit sector. This approach is intended to add to and improve the overall quality of education and scholarship among law students, legal scholars, nonprofit organizations, practicing attorneys, judges, executives, administrators, and other professionals in the field.

The Board’s current membership is listed at http://www1.law.nyu.edu/ncpl/abtframe.html.

Professor Mayer’s areas of research interest and expertise include advocacy by nonprofit organizations, the growing intersection of election law and tax law with respect to lobbying and other political activity, and the role of nonprofits both domestically and internationally.

Mayer joined the Notre Dame Law School faculty as an associate professor of law in 2005. He earned his A.B., with distinction and honors, from Stanford University in 1989 and his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1994. For more on Mayer, click here

ND Expert Video: The Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor

2009-06-04T11:53:00-04:00

William K. Kelley, Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame, offers an expert opinion on Barack Obama’s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Click here for video

For more on Professor Kelley, click here.

ND Helps Alums Move ONWARD in Careers

2009-06-02T08:58:00-04:00

The Notre Dame Alumni Association announces the creation of ONWARD, the University’s official Alumni Career Development Program, offering powerful career-development tools and advice. Visit http://career.alumni.nd.edu: to access all the career resources provided by Notre Dame, and to learn how to better connect with other Notre Dame alumni and professionals in your career field.

Whether you are currently out of work or simply looking to find something new, ONWARD is designed to focus and simplify your job search, and help you discover and use your own special skills and abilities to land that next position.

To access ONWARD, you must be registered with Irish Online. Once registered, you will have full access to the ONWARD program and all the support, response and benefits it provides.

Prof. Kaveny in NY Times re: Sotomayor’s Catholicity

2009-06-01T11:29:00-04:00

Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s pick to fill Justice David Souter’s seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, would be the sixth Catholic on the Court if confirmed. A May 30 “New York Times” article reported that “[t]here are indications that Judge Sotomayor is more like the majority of American Catholics: those who were raised in the faith and shaped by its values, but who do not attend Mass regularly and are not particularly active in religious life. Like many Americans, Judge Sotomayor may be what religion scholars call a “cultural Catholic” — a category that could say something about her political and social attitudes.”

University of Notre Dame Professor of Law and of Theology Cathleen Kaveny told the Times, “I don’t think there is any one Catholic stance on the law. Catholicism is a big tent, so different people are drawn to different aspects of it. A Dorothy Day Catholic is going to be different than an Opus Dei Catholic.”

Click here for full article:

Prof. Kelley in Boston Globe: Senate should thoroughly vet Sotomayor

2009-05-27T11:47:00-04:00

In an op-ed in The Boston Globe, Notre Dame Professor of Law William Kelley offers his thoughts on Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the United States Supreme Court, and addresses the need for a thorough vetting of the nominee by the Senate.

Kelley’s vantage point is that of former deputy counsel to President George W. Bush. In that role, he helped coordinate the nomination and confirmation processes for John Roberts and Samuel Alito.

Click here for full article:

Prof. Garnett on Obama’s Supreme Court Pick

2009-05-26T16:47:01-04:00

University of Notre Dame Professor of Law Richard Garnett spoke with Tom Ashbrook of National Public Radio’s “On Point” about Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s pick to replace Justice David Souter on the United States Supreme Court. Garnett was joined in the conversation by Los Angeles Times Supreme Court correspondent David Savage, and Dahlia Lithwick, legal affairs analyst and senior editor at Slate.

For the full hour of On Point, visit the link below. Prof. Garnett’s comments begin at 35:15 on the counter.

http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/05/obamas-supreme-court-pick: