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Carol Anderson has been appointed as incoming chair of the programs committee of the NC Bar Foundation’s CLE Committee. The Bar Foundation is the CLE component of the NC Bar Association and is the largest provider of continuing legal education in the state. Professor Anderson will also be teaching a three-day basic trial skills seminar for the young associates from the various offices of Womble Carlyle in mid-June and will teach the Judicial Extern Program for two sessions of summer school. She has been invited to lecture on Direct and Cross Examination at the annual Building Trial Skills: National Session sponsored by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA) in Colorado.

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On June 3, the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Carol Corbett, a client of the Appellate Advocacy Clinic, in the case of Corbett v. Gray.  Recent graduates Jennifer Avriett and Patricia Mongan handled the appeal, with Jennifer making the oral argument and both sharing the research and drafting responsibilities.

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Two third-year students in the Appellate Advocacy Clinic recently argued before area appellate courts.  First, Jennifer Avriett argued to the North Carolina Court of Appeals, on March 19, in the case of Carol Corbett v. Cherry Gray.  Jennifer was the first law student ever to argue to a North Carolina state appellate court.  Jennifer represented the plaintiff-appellant, Ms. Corbett, in an automobile negligence case.  She was ably assisted by Trish Mongan, who co-wrote and researched the opening brief and reply brief and also sat at counsel table during the argument.  The issues on appeal are whether the trial judge correctly submitted the issue of the plaintiff’s contributory negligence to the jury and, if so, whether the trial judge erred in failing to submit the issue of the defendant’s last clear chance to the jury.  The appeal was heard at North Carolina Central University School of Law, in Durham, so numerous law students observed Jennifer’s argument.  Jennifer did an outstanding job making her case and fielding questions, and Trish similarly did a great job helping Jennifer prepare for the argument.

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Wake Forest law student, Meghan Poirier, spent much of her final spring semester in law school reviewing court records, writing briefs, and arguing in support of her Appellate Advocacy Clinic client, John Mooney.  Mr. Mooney had pled guilty to the charge of "being a felon in possession of a firearm" and was given a fifteen year prison sentence, the mandatory minimum under the applicable federal statute.  Mooney had filed a pro se petition for habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, contending that his lawyer provided him with ineffective assistance of counsel by advising him to plead guilty and not investigating whether there was a possible defense to the charge.  When the District Court denied his petition, he filed a notice of appeal to the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Virginia.  It was at that point that his legal path led him to Wake Forest’s Appellate Advocacy Clinic.

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Following is the most recent roundup of Wake Forest University School of Law’s faculty research, publications, presentations, honors and awards. Continue reading »

Bobby Chesney participated in a faculty workshop at the University of Iowa in September, presenting an article on the topic of terrorism prosecutions (“Beyond Conspiracy?  Anticipatory Prosecution and the Challenge of Unaffiliated Terrorism”) that will be published next spring by the Southern California Law Review.  The Iowa Law Review has agreed to publish a separate article by Professor Chesney – “Unraveling Deference: Hamdan, Judicial Power, and Executive Treaty Interpretations” – also next spring.  In October, Professor Chesney will participate in a symposium on the Supreme Court’s Hamdan v. Rumsfeld decision sponsored by the George Washington Law Review, which will subsequently be publishing his article “The Origins and Evolution of the State Secrets Privilege.”  The next week, he will participate in a panel discussing the most recent military commission legislation during the annual Air Force Judge Advocate General conference.

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