The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/law/page/2/)
Two Cornell professors, Prof. Michael Dorf, law, and Prof. Sarah Kreps, government, took to the stage on Wednesday night to debate the legal and political concerns surrounding the third-ever impeachment.
The talk will be held in Statler Auditorium in Statler Hall and will start at 4:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a public reception from 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Statler Hotel Carrier Ballroom.
“I am here to convince you that an assault weapons ban would not violate the Second Amendment,” Charles said. “This is a fraught and contentious debate, and the people and their representatives — not lawyers in robes — should be the ones to decide whether an assault weapon ban best serves the public interest.”
“The essence of the criminal justice reform model in the popular press has focused on the lowest of the low hanging fruit — the nonviolent drug offender in prison for possession of controlled substances,” Prof. Joseph Margulies, government, law, said in a lecture Thursday afternoon. But, according to Margulies, this narrative often embraced by the media is wrong. Margulies is a self-described “student of the American criminal justice system,” according to his bio on the Cornell Law School website. He has defended numerous people “caught up in the excesses of the so-called war on terror,” such as Abu Zubaydah — a Saudian Arabian national held at CIA black sites and interrogated in 2002 and 2003, the public discovery of which led to the infamous Bush Administration “torture memos.”
He disputed the popularly-held notion that the United States incarcerates large numbers of low-level non-violent offenders for minor possession charges and sentences them to disproportionate sentences — calling that perception the “holy grail” of incarceration. “We don’t send those people to prison … the search for the low-level non-violent drug offender is like the hunt for a snark …They may exist but they are vanishingly rare,” he said.
In the inaugural lecture at the newly founded Cornell India Law Center, former U.S. ambassador to India Richard Verma spoke about India’s increasing relevance in international affairs, the evolution of U.S.-India ties and the importance of learning from the history between the two nations. The lecture, which took place on Thursday, was the first in a series hosted by the Cornell India Law Center in the law school, which seeks to provide Cornell law students with the opportunity to study Indian law as well as obtain a more in-depth understanding and connection with India through a variety of programs, including speaker series, summer internships in New Delhi and a dual-degree program with Jindal Global Law School in Sonipat, India. According to Verma, by 2030 “India will lead the world in almost every category.” But while India’s strategic location and its position as a democracy “in a tough part of the world” make it an important ally, the country still faces many “risk factors” such as significant climate risks, governance issues across the country, and for many of its citizens, a lack of access to clean water and electricity. “When you go to India, you can feel the excitement, you can feel the energy. People know that this is an exciting time.” Verma said.
“It is kind of like asking what you think about white while you are staring at the sun,” said lawyer Neal Katyal on the prospect of analyzing presidential power and the role of the executive branch in the time of Trump.
From astrophysics to industrial and labor relations, from a “crappy apartment” in Collegetown to the dean’s office in Ives Hall, Alexander Colvin Ph.D. ’99 has plans to reinvigorate the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
On Tuesday, former death row inmate and anti-death penalty advocate Debra Milke shared her story with the Cornell community. Milke was invited by Prof. John Blume to speak to his LAW 4051: Death Penalty in America class, and the event was open to the public.
Prof. Robert Summers — an internationally renowned scholar and citizen of the law school outside of the classroom — died on March 1 in Canaan, Conn. at the age of 85. The prolific author of 55 books and over 100 articles was perhaps best known as the co-author of the Uniform Commercial Code.
The newly-formed Professional Fraternity Council held a recruitment fair in Baker Portico on Sunday, an opportunity for prospective members to get to know nine of the campus’s 11 pre-professional fraternities. According to Kumar Nandanampati ’20, vice president of recruitment for PFC, the driving force behind the showcase was simple. “What can we do to make recruitment fair?”
The fair’s main goal was to present the fraternities in an “egalitarian manner,” according to Nandanampati. Attendees were encouraged to walk around and interact with current members and leaders from each organization. The timing of the event was early in the semester, Nandanampati said, so that potential new members could familiarize themselves with all pre-professional organizations before any specific rush process began.