Roger Williams University School of Law faculty are regularly called upon by news outlets around the state and the nation to provide expert opinion on a variety of legal, social and political topics.
The Washington Post (August 18, 2006) Jury Faults Merck for Not Warning Doctors
on Vioxx Heart Risks
Logan responded to the news of a $51 million verdict against Merck by asking, “How long can Merck carry the costs of these verdicts? None of these cases are coming back small.”
The Wall Street Journal (November 11, 2005) Vioxx Judge Wants Long-Use Cases Next “[Merck] would much rather defend two-month [Vioxx-use] cases than 18-month [Vioxx-use] cases. If you want to hit Merck where it hurts, you hit them with their own study …. [that] made 18 months the magic number [for increased risk of heart attack].”
Marketplace National Public Radio Program
(December 12, 2005) Judge declares a mistrial in the latest
Vioxx case
“Powerfully, every word that comes out of Merck’s mouth now may well be shrouded in a taint. This is a brand-new ball game.”
In response to reports that the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit proposed a rule permitting trial judges to select the jury foreperson or leave the selection up to the jurors, “Horwitz, who just published a law review article [on the subject] urged the court to go further by requiring jurors to select a foreperson themselves. ‘I argue that the judicial selection of the foreperson simply invites the jurors to draw conclusions about why that selection was made and permits the trial judge, not the jurors themselves, to grant to one juror a significant and disproportionate amount of power in the jury room.’”
Trial Magazine (May 2006) Rhode Island Lead Paint Victory May Be First of Many
“Community advocates are hopeful that the judge will order the paint companies to pay for lead abatements for every single home where lead paint was used [and] make Rhode Island the first lead-free state in the country.”
The Providence Journal (March 20, 2006) Lynch Asks High Court to Uphold Lead Paint Law
Jorge Elorza urged lawmakers seeking to amend a new lead paint law to wait until after the Rhode Island Supreme Court resolved a challenge to the law’s constitutionality. “[I]t is possible that the Rhode Island Supreme Court will declare the law constitutional,” said, Elorza, and [if you do not wait] “you may be reshaping a law that has no deficiencies.”
The Providence Journal (September 28, 2006) Habeas Corpus Must Not Be Sacrificed in War on Terror “Congress is now poised to do something it has never done before: Take away the right of prisoners to seek habeas corpus. . . . . The Courts must be available – as they have been for centuries – to make sure that the people we imprison really are our enemies. If Congress takes away the right of Guantanamo detainees to go to court, the government will be able to wrongly hold people forever. There will be nothing anyone can do about it.”
The Providence Journal (September 27, 2006) Judge Takes Responsibility for Derderian Pleas
“In a normal case, a case that’s not high publicity and emotionally charged, it’s not particularly unusual for a judge to agree to a disposition that isn’t what the attorney general wants. What is unusual is that it would happen in this kind of case.”
Rhode Island Bar Journal (May/June 2006) Police Prosecution in Rhode Island: The Unauthorized Practice of Law (with John Grasso ‘06) “Every day in Rhode Island, police officers are practicing law without a license in both the District Court and the Traffic Tribunal . . . . [T]here is nothing in any decision of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island or in any state statute that appears to permit or justify it.”
The Providence Journal (August 19, 2005) East Greenwich Teachers OK Pact
"Linda Short, co-chairwoman of the union’s negotiating committee, said the arrival of state appointed mediator Bruce Kogan . . . was key in jump-starting the talks. ‘He was very organized, and he had done his homework. He worked very, very hard and took the job very seriously.’”
The Providence Journal (August 2, 2005) Unprincipled Violence is no Answer to Terror
“Our task is indeed to eliminate terrorism; however, it is my position
that we should uphold our morals as we go about the task; and,
likewise, that our commitment to reason, science, and individual
rights should serve as our guide. If we abandon our morals and our
virtues … we would not only become terrorists ourselves, but we
would also create incentives for Islamic extremism so strong and
justifiable … that the war on terrorism would indeed become unwinnable."
The New York Times(October 12, 2006) American in Qaeda Tapes Accused of Treason “There is a real issue here as to whether the [government has met the] two witness requirement [for a treason charge].
The New York Times(September 8, 2006) Interrogation Methods Rejected by Military Win Bush’s Support “[The legislation proposed in Congress] seems to be trying to surgically remove from our compliance with [the] Geneva [Conventions] the section of Common Article 3 that deals with ‘humiliating and degrading treatment.’”
New York Times (April 20, 2005) Sept. 11 Suspect may be set to Agree to Plead Guilty
“There will be real issues about whether Moussaoui meets the competence standard. This is a man who’s made erratic
statements in the past and who’s been confined for well over three years, and prolonged confinement can produce
depression and cloud the decision-making process.”
New York Times (December 7, 2005) Setback for U.S. in Terror Trial
“For the prosecutors, this [acquittal of four defendants accused of operating a North American front for Palestinian
terrorists] is clearly embarrassing, and they were clearly outmaneuvered by some very good defense attorneys.”
The Providence Journal (December 29, 2005) Panel moves to block Cianci’s pension
“The [Providence] Retirement Board asked Professor Larry J. Ritchie to find out whether the city can challenge
[former Mayor Buddy] Cianci’s pension before he applies for it. Yesterday, Ritchie reported back a resounding yes.
‘There is no impediment,’ Ritchie said. ‘The [criminal] conviction should be the trigger to proceed.’”
The Providence Journal(October 9, 2006) Marriage in Mass. a Test for R.I. “The time has come; Rhode Island needs to articulate clearly what its public policy is [with respect to recognizing same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts].”
United States Supreme Court (June 27, 2005) Castle Rock v. Gonzalez, 125 S. Ct. 2796
(Stevens, J. dissenting)
“The Colorado General Assembly joined a nationwide movement of States that took aim at the crisis of police underenforcement
in the domestic-violence sphere by implementing “mandatory arrest” statutes. . . . Emily Sack, Battered Women
and the State: The Struggle for the Future of Domestic Violence Policy, 2004 Wis. L. Rev. 1657, 1662-1663
“The movement to strengthen arrest policies was bolstered in 1984 by the publication of the results of a study on
mandatory arrest in domestic violence cases that [concluded] arrest had a significantly greater impact on reducing
domestic violence recidivism.” Sack, at 1669.
Boston Globe (April 17, 2005) Unhappy with Courts? That’s Old News
“[H]eated attacks on the judiciary are nothing new, and they have come from both the right and the left. But these attacks
are dangerous, and we must all resist them regardless of our opinion of current judicial rulings. . . . [W]e must not only
endure, but treasure this independent judiciary, even when – perhaps especially when – it rankles or offends us.”
The Providence Journal(September 23, 2006) Will Questions About Fire Ever Be Answered? “Plea bargains . . . have plenty of benefits, such as reducing the risk of losing an important case, and plea deals also avoid costly trials. But trials have benefits. They let the public see all the facts. Sometimes victims want to tell their stories.”
Chicago Tribune (July 10, 2005) Lawmaker Prods Court, Raises Brows; Demands Longer Term in Chicago Drug Case
“I think it’s completely inappropriate for a congressman [Representative James Sensenbrenner] to send a letter to a
court [the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit] telling them to change a ruling.”
The Providence Journal (November 20, 2005) Judge Rails against Drug Sentencing
“The overwhelming majority of judges, both Republican and Democrat, believe that the 100-1 ratio [in the federal
sentencing guidelines, which treats 1 gram of crack cocaine the same as 100 grams of powder cocaine for sentencing
purposes] is irrational. . . . [C]rack provides a crucible for the whole problem [of judges’ power to deviate from the
guidelines after Booker].”
