SLU LAW Summations

In a watershed ruling regarding executive powers, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Trump v United States that presidents should be immune from prosecution for official actions they took while in office. While historically presidents have enjoyed some level of immunity, this ruling expands that greatly. To discuss this monumental ruling and the implications for the future of the presidency, we are joined by Professor Anders Walker. Professor Walker is an expert in constitutional law and American legal history.

With an election case involving who is on the ballot headed to the United States Supreme Court and various others bubbling to the surface, this election season promises to be filled with excitement. Between voter access, gerrymandering cases, elected officials pushed out of their district these are certainly unprecedented times. In this episode we are joined by election law expert Josh Douglas. Professor Douglas spent this past fall semester as a visiting professor here at SLU LAW. He is also currently back at his home institution of Rosenburg College of Law at the University of Kentucky. Professor Douglas is also the host of the new podcast, Democracy Optimist.

The Supreme Court decision banning race-conscious college admissions that was handed down over the summer has rocked higher education and has forced colleges and universities across the country to examine their processes. But the implications of this case go far beyond campus. The decision has unleashed a new wave of political and legal attacks against corporate America’s anti-discrimination policies. Are our hard-fought DEI initiatives in the workforce the next target? What does this mean for educators and employers? In this episode we are joined by Professor Marcia McCormick, the director of the William C. Wefel Employment Law Center, and Belinda Dantley, the assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the law school.

As a country, we are still grappling with the impact of the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health decision. There is no community of professionals more impacted than the medical professionals that treat women on a regular basis. In this episode we are joined by Professor Molly Wilson, an expert in law and psychology who holds a Ph.D. in psychology in addition to her J.D. She also serves the law school as the associate dean for research and engagement.

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed critical ambiguities in state law, especially in regard to the ownership and responsibility of public health orders. Governors often relied on a general statutory power to take 'necessary' actions in response to COVID's threats. Yet, some courts found this statutory authority was so vague that it violated the separation of powers, and they set aside vital public health orders. Meanwhile, some state legislatures attempted to terminate emergency declarations by joint resolution, which was unconstitutional according to one state supreme court. In this episode, we are joined by Professor Rob Gatter, the director of the Center for Health Law Studies and an expert in public health law. Professor Gatter is also currently serving as the Reporter on a project of the Uniform Law Commission to draft a model state law addressing these such ambiguities. *This episode was recorded live on October 20, 2022 as the final installment of this year's Health Law Live series.

In September, after spending 23 years of his life behind bars, Adnan Syed walked free. His case was popularized by the podcast Serial in 2014. At the age of 18, 17 when the crime took place, Syed was convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee and sentenced to life in prison. The case has brought to light many issues with the justice system, including deficient counsel and Brady violations. For this episode, we will focus on the larger issue of juvenile sentencing. We are joined today by Professor Lauren Bartlett who is the director of the law school's Human Rights at Home Litigation Clinic. Also joining us is one of our JLWOP clients, Ike Crawford. With the help of the Human Rights at Home Litigation Clinic, Ike was released on parole in February 2021 after being incarcerated for more than 29 years. Ike was sentenced to life without parole for a crime he committed when he was just 17 years old.

When the United States Supreme Court handed down a decision overturning Roe v. Wade earlier this year, they left us with a host of questions and scenarios to grapple with in the meantime. With the future of data privacy on the line, we turn to Dr. Michael Sinha, professor of law in the Center for Health Law Studies. Dr. Sinha is an expert in health law, intellectual property, and pharmaceutical policy. *This episode was recorded live on September 15, 2022 as part of the Health Law Live Series

We are now into the second month of the war in Ukraine. The war, the weapons and the response from the world seem to change with the tide of the conflict. In this episode we are joined by Professor Afonso Seixas Nunes. Fr Afonso is a Jesuit priest who joined the law school faculty this fall. He is originally from Portugal and is an expert in international criminal law and has spent much of the past few years researching and writing on the legality of autonomous weapons.