Mark Rabil spent 20 years working for the release and exoneration of Darryl Hunt, a young black man who was convicted of the rape and murder of a white female newspaper editor. For Rabil, who was an assistant capital defender from 2003 to 2012, the case has shaped his career.

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(Reuters) – North Carolina’s governor, hoping to resume executions in his state, on Wednesday signed the repeal of a law that has allowed death row inmates to seek a reduced sentence if they could prove racial bias affected their punishment. Continue reading »

Professor Sid Shapiro moderated a national webinar on “Environmental Noise: Public Health Effects and Legal Remedies,” sponsored by The Network of Public Health, on June 20, 2013.  Continue reading »

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has been signaling he may pick a fight on filibuster reform this summer, and a major litmus test will be whether Republicans block a handful of President Barack Obama’s key nominees in the coming weeks. But for now, Republicans can’t even agree on how to proceed. Continue reading »

In the old television series, Cheers, barfly and braggart Cliff Clavin was a guy who was forever “talking through his hat,” offering up an endless supply of ridiculous factoids and explanations. Cliff made for good television, but the same cannot be said for the Senate Republicans who seem to be borrowing his approach. That’s what’s at work with the Republican effort to block President Obama’s nomination of three distinguished lawyers to fill longstanding vacancies on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals by eliminating the open positions. The GOP claims the appointments are unnecessary because the circuit doesn’t need the judges — describing the nominations as “court packing.” Continue reading »

RALEIGH, N.C. – A state House panel endorsed a bill Wednesday that repeals a procedure for condemned inmates to challenge death sentences on racial grounds, sending the measure to the full House for final passage.

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Wake Forest Law’s Innocence and Justice Clinic Director Mark Rabil says if the North Carolina Legislature is successful in its attempted repeal of the 2009 Racial Justice Act, it will not end the litigation. Continue reading »

Emily Hammond started law school with the goal of better understanding the many environmental regulations that had governed her work as a civil engineer. But while at University of Georgia School of Law, she was inspired by her professors’ dedication to teaching, scholarship, and service. Continue reading »

The process of teaching law students how to research legal information has changed little over the last 500 years. But in a world that is flooded with information, it’s more difficult for law students to use the information they find well. Continue reading »