Lawyer 2 Lawyer

Last month, Justice Antonin Scalia passed away unexpectedly sparking a huge reaction from the legal and political world. Justice Scalia was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 and is known for his conservative position in his rulings. Since his death, there has been great controversy over his replacement on the High Court and the nomination process under President Obama. In this episode of Lawyer 2 Lawyer, hosts Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams join Tony Mauro, the Supreme Court correspondent for the National Law Journal and Kevin P. Martin, an appellate and regulatory litigation partner and co-chair of Goodwin Procter’s Appellate Litigation Group and Justice Scalia’s former law clerk, as they discuss the passing of Justice Scalia, his legacy, the controversy over a replacement, and the impact his death will have on the future of the Supreme Court and the laws of the land. Special thanks to our sponsor, Clio.

There is presently a public health crisis plaguing Flint, Michigan. Lead contamination in the water has led to a major public health danger. Back in 2014, Flint changed its water source from the treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department water to the Flint River. Since then, Flint’s drinking water has had a host of problems. This Flint River water then caused lead from aging pipes to seep into the water supply, causing extremely high levels of lead. Between 6,000 and 12,000 children have been exposed and they may experience a range of serious health problems. On January 21, 2016, the E.P.A. issued an emergency administrative order finding that “the city of Flint’s and the state of Michigan’s responses to the drinking water crisis in Flint have been inadequate to protect public health and that these failures continue.” On Lawyer2Lawyer, hosts J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi join professor Peter Jacobson, professor of health management and policy at the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan and professor Peter J. Henning from Wayne State University, as they take a look at the Flint water crisis, the violation of public health laws, liability, the impact on the Flint community and their health, litigation and long-term effect.   Special thanks to our sponsor, Clio.

On January 25, 2016, in a 6-3 opinion written by Justice Kennedy, the Supreme Court ruled that those sentenced as juveniles to mandatory life imprisonment for murder, “should have a chance to be resentenced or argue for parole.” This ruling plays off of the 2012 decision in Miller v. Alabama, which struck down mandatory life terms without parole for juveniles. This now must be applied retroactively and could affect at least 1,000 inmates in similar situations across the country. In this episode of Lawyer 2 Lawyer, host Bob Ambrogi joins Emily C. Keller, a supervising attorney at Juvenile Law Center, and professor Christopher Slobogin from Vanderbilt Law School as they look at the recent Supreme Court decision, inside Montgomery v. Louisiana and Miller v. Alabama, the impact on past and future cases involving juveniles, the decision’s impact on the families of victims and juvenile justice reform. Emily C. Keller engages in litigation and policy efforts to improve the child welfare and justice systems, including efforts to eliminate juvenile life without parole. Emily served as co-counsel for Henry Montgomery in Montgomery v. Louisiana before the U.S. Supreme Court and co-authored an amicus brief in Miller v. Alabama, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2012 case banning mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles. Emily has also submitted amicus briefs in cases around the country challenging the imposition of life without parole and other extreme sentences on juvenile offenders. Professor Christopher Slobogin occupies the Milton Underwood Chair at Vanderbilt Law School, where he directs the criminal justice program.  He has authored several books, including Juveniles at Risk: A Plea for Preventive Justice, published by Oxford University Press. Links: http://www.jlc.org/ http://www.jlc.org/about-us/who-we-are/staff/emily-keller http://law.vanderbilt.edu/bio/christopher-slobogin

On January 5, 2016, President Obama announced he would be taking executive action to reduce gun violence. Surrounded by families of the Sandy Hook tragedy and other mass killings, he vowed to not allow guns to get in the wrong hands. In the past decade, more than 100,000 people have died as a result of gun violence. So, will the President’s recent action impact gun control or will all remain the same? In this episode of Lawyer 2 Lawyer, host Bob Ambrogi joins David B. Kopel, adjunct professor of advanced constitutional law at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and Laura Cutilletta, senior staff attorney at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence as they take a look at this executive order on guns, “smart guns”, state laws, public reaction, and the impact this executive order could have on gun violence.   Special thanks to our sponsor, Clio.

When many of us think of actor and comedian Bill Cosby, we think of the jovial dad, Cliff Huxtable from the Cosby Show. Over the past year, at least 58 women have come forward alleging that Bill Cosby had drugged and sexually assaulted them at different times and in various locations. Amidst a multitude of allegations from these women over the years, now, Bill Cosby faces criminal charges for allegedly drugging and sexual assaulting former Temple University staffer Andrea Constand back in 2004. In this episode of Lawyer 2 Lawyer, host Bob Ambrogi joins attorney Scott Greenfield, criminal defense attorney out of New York, and attorney Murray Newman, a former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney out of Houston as they take a look at the legal issues surrounding Bill Cosby. We will discuss the allegations, prosecution vs. defense strategy, his arrest, the recent criminal charge of sexual assault, the statute of limitations on sexual assault, the impact on his public image, and what the future holds for Mr. Cosby. For more than 30 years, Scott Greenfield has represented clients charged with crimes or the targets of investigations in state and federal courts across the United States. Scott also writes the Simple Justice blog, a criminal defense blog. Since graduating from the University of Houston Law Center in 1999, Murray Newman has handled criminal cases ranging from driving while intoxicated to capital murder. He served as an assistant district attorney until 2008, leaving the Harris County District Attorney's Office as a felony chief prosecutor. In private practice since 2008, Murray continues to represent clients charged with criminal offenses in the State of Texas.  In addition, Murray works as a legal consultant for the TNT television show Cold Justice and author of the well-known blog, Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center​. Special thanks to our sponsor, Clio.

Back in 2005, Legal Talk Network created a weekly show spotlighting current legal topics.  That show became Lawyer 2 Lawyer. The masters-that-be plucked two lawyers from obscurity, one from the east, one from the west, turning them into overnight sensations. Back then, podcasting was just starting out and eventually took the world by storm. Fast forward to 2015, and Lawyer 2 Lawyer is still going strong, reaching listeners around the globe. From the debate over the death penalty, to Steve Jobs’ impact on the legal profession, to DOMA and Prop 8 rulings, we have covered a wide range of topics and have enjoyed ourselves in the process. So, today on Lawyer 2 Lawyer, we will visit with an old lawyer friend and musician and get in the holiday spirit, then we will take a look back at 10 years of podcasting with some special guests! ​Lawrence Savell is a New York lawyer, writer, musician, and songwriter. In 2012, after 30 years at Chadbourne & Parke, Larry moved with a number of his colleagues to form the first U.S. office of the international law firm ​Herbert Smith Freehill​s. He continues to concentrate on litigation defense and counseling. Larry’s musical take on the legal world started with performances at the University of Michigan Law School’s “Law Revue” (alleged) talent show in the early 1980s. It continued with solo and in-house band performances at summer and holiday functions at his former law firm, where his poking good-natured fun at lawyers and the legal profession was (thankfully) well received and encouraged. Over the years he recorded many of these songs, producing vinyl records, cassette tapes, and then ‘CDs’ which he gave each holiday season to family, friends, colleagues, clients, and people he met on airplanes. You can find out more about Larry and his music at lawrencesavell.com. Special thanks to our sponsor, Clio.

On the evening of November 13, 2015, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks occurred in Paris, France, killing and maiming hundreds of people. Ultimately, the terror organization ISIS took responsibility for the attacks in retaliation of French airstrikes targeting ISIS on Syrian and Iraqi soil. These attacks rattled the world and put a spotlight on terrorism. So, with a complete and utter disregard for the rules of war by terror organizations, what needs to change? In this episode of Lawyer 2 Lawyer, hosts Bob Ambrogi and J. Craig Williams join Dr. Lyal S. Sunga, head of the Rule of Law program at the Hague Institute for Global Justice in The Netherlands. They take a look at the recent Paris attacks, terrorism today vs. the terrorism of yesteryear, the Geneva Conventions and international law’s role, and what needs to be done legally to stay current in our fight against terrorism. Dr. Lyal S. Sunga has conducted monitoring, investigation, reporting, technical cooperation, education and training in some 55 countries over the last 25 years in human rights, humanitarian law, and international criminal law. He is head of the Rule of Law program at the Hague Institute for Global Justice in The Netherlands and visiting professor at the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Lund, Sweden. Special thanks to our sponsor, Clio.

Back in August of 2014, Lawyer 2 Lawyer hosted a show on the death penalty where we explored whether the death penalty was considered cruel and unusual with standout guests Judge Alex Kozinski from the United States Court of Appeals for The Ninth Circuit, exonerated death row survivor Ronald Keine from Witness to Innocence, and M*A*S*H actor Mike Farrell from Death Penalty Focus.  That episode focused on the merits of firing squads vs. lethal injections and corruption in the judicial system. Presently, the death penalty is the law in in 31 states and the debate continues. Today on Lawyer 2 Lawyer, we revisit the death penalty debate. Host, J. Craig Williams joins attorney Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center and Judge Alex Kozinski, who sits on the bench of the United States Court of Appeals for The Ninth Circuit. Robert and Judge Kozinski take a look at the death penalty debate within our society and in our courts, exploring forensics, the fate of the death penalty, and whether we will see the constitutionality of death penalty argued before the Supreme Court.

Ten years ago, the Authors Guild filed a lawsuit against Google, Inc. in an alleged copyright infringement case involving Google’s book scanning project. This project involved creating a searchable database that allows a user to search the content of all books that have been scanned into that database. After many years in the courts, a federal appeals court recently ruled that the project is fully protected by fair use and does not infringe on the copyrights of authors. In this episode of Lawyer 2 Lawyer, host Bob Ambrogi joins Attorney William H. Frankel from Brinks Gilson & Lione, Attorney Kenneth D. Crews from Gipson Hoffman & Pancion and Attorney Jeremy S. Goldman from Frankfurt Kurnit Klein + Selz, PC. Together, they discuss the ruling in Authors Guild v. Google, Inc., explore fair use, review the case, evaluate the Authors Guild’s potential appeal and analyze how this landmark ruling will impact the book industry and the general public of readers. Special thanks to our sponsor, Clio.

Over the years, sexual assault on college campuses has been a huge problem and Washington has taken notice through various legislation and initiatives. Between the Clery Act, pending legislation of the Campus Accountability and Safety Act (CASA) and the Safe Campus Act, and Vice President Biden and President Obama’s “It’s On Us” Campaign, there has been a call to action implementing specific guidelines that colleges and universities need to adhere to when faced with allegations of sexual assault. But it is not all black and white—so, how are colleges handling allegations? Once accused, are those students receiving due process within administrative hearings? And are the alleged victims receiving the maximum protection from colleges? On Lawyer 2 Lawyer, hosts J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi join Attorney Laura Dunn, executive director of SurvJustice and Attorney Brett A. Sokolow, the president and CEO of The NCHERM Group, as they take a look at the latest on sexual assault on college campuses, how colleges across the country are handling allegations, due process of accused students, victim protections and the importance of educating students and faculty on sexual assault. Special thanks to our sponsor, Clio.