Penn State Law

Tanya Cramoy serves as steward of the ocean at NOAASewage and garbage. Those are two of the dozens of things that get Tanya Cramoy ’13 excited about her summer internship in the International Section of the Office of the General Counsel for NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). Currently, she is working on a new Polar Code which will amend existing international maritime regimes with mandatory provisions specific to the poles.

Penn State Law announces partnership with Dubai Judicial InstituteTo pave the way for an exchange of research and educational opportunities, Penn State University Dickinson School of Law and the Dubai Judicial Institute signed a collaboration agreement.

Penn State Law and School of International Affairs launch new interdisciplinary publicationPenn State has created a new online forum for interdisciplinary analysis, the Penn State Journal of Law and International Affairs.

Vice Admiral James W. Houck joins Penn State LawVice Admiral James W. Houck, who retired from his position as the 41st Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the U.S. Navy, has joined the of Penn State University Dickinson School of Law. Houck plans to focus his teaching and scholarship on international and national security law as well as maritime law and policy.

Center for Immigrants’ Rights provides tools to help immigrant survivors of domestic violenceAdvocates and attorneys who work with victims of domestic violence need to understand the dynamics of power and control and how they affect the safety of their clients. This understanding is especially important in working with non-citizen victims who often face additional hurdles compared to American citizens. The Center for Immigrants’ Rights has published “Immigration Relief for Victims of Abuse and Domestic Violence,” a toolkit to help practitioners in representing immigrant victims of domestic abuse.

Michael Gill ’13: Spending the summer at the intersection of law and financeFrom a very young age Michael Gill knew he wanted to be a lawyer, but he didn’t know what kind of lawyer until his first year of law school. One thing, however, that he was certain about was his interest in finance, so he decided to look for opportunities to use a law degree with a finance degree. This summer Gill is doing that as an intern at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s Development Finance Institution that makes loans to projects in developing countries that also have a U.S. company nexus.

First Teaching Excellence Award winners announcedDean Phil McConnaughay announced that Professors John Lopatka and Nancy Welsh have been selected for the 2010 Teaching Excellence Award.

Lawyers and Judges get Penn State Law experience in IstanbulTurkish Tax Court Judge of seven years Sukru Say is among the group of international legal practitioners who completed the Intensive Introduction to U.S. Law & Advocacy today. “I was tremendously impressed by the interchange of ideas between students and faculty and also by the opportunity to obtain critical understanding of law in its socio-legal, comparative and interdisciplinary context,” he said. The program was held at Yeditepe University in Istanbul and taught by members of the Penn State Law faculty.

Supreme Court Justices ponder Professor David Kaye’s expert evidence treatiseThe U.S. Supreme Court has decided three cases over the last three years on the Sixth Amendment right of criminal defendants to confront the forensic scientists or technicians who perform laboratory tests. Professor Kaye and his two co-authors of The New Wigmore, A Treatise on Evidence: Expert Evidence (2d ed. 2011) were among the first academic lawyers to analyze the issue in detail. In the latest case on the subject, Williams v. Illinois, decided June 18, the Supreme Court took notice.

Kristi Martel interns with the Montana Innocence ProjectAt least 300 wrongfully convicted individuals nationwide have been exonerated and freed from prison thanks to the efforts of various Innocence Projects in the United States. This summer, Kristi Martel ’13 is helping to increase that number as an intern at the Montana Innocence Project.