Type: In the Media
One thing you can say for Donald Trump’s presidency: He sure keeps lawyers busy. Within weeks of taking office, he suddenly rolled out immigration rules that banned entrance to travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries, creating chaos and great anxiety at many airports. But that action was immediately challenged by state attorneys general and held unconstitutional by federal judges. And…, Nwanguma v. Trump, , the protesters seek damages for the manhandling that they experienced, which would constitute assault and battery under Kentucky law, and also damages from Trump for inciting the violence. Trump's lawyers asserted the First Amendment as a bar to liability, and it is true that the U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that incendiary speech can only be sanctioned in a narrow range of…, Professor David Logan contributed this piece to RWU's 1st Amendment Blog .
Type: Article
Tweets and leaks. “Fake news” and “alternative facts.” The President of the United States and the “Enemy of the American People.”On a daily basis, the press and the president are locked in a bitter, high-stakes battle. In ", The Press & The President, ," a panel of experts from Roger Williams University, the press and the Republican Party will delve into what it all means for reporters and politicians, the public and our democracy. They’ll go in-depth on issues touched upon in the RWU 1st Amendment Blog , addressing past precedents and future implications, legal issues and journalistic practices, old-school campaigning and the new media…, The event begins at 7:00 at RWU's Providence campus, Wednesday, March 29, 2017., The event will be held in the third-floor lounge of the RWU Providence Campus, 1 Empire St., Providence, R.I. Also hear it via , LIVE STREAMING., Or , live, on RWU's radio station, , WQRI ., Panelists include: Omar Bah , journalist and refugee from The Gambia, RWU graduate, founder and executive director of the Refugee Dream Center; Brandon S. Bell , Rhode Island Republican Party chairman, trial attorney who co-founded Fontaine Bell law firm and RWU School of Law graduate; David A. Logan , law professor and former dean of the RWU School of Law, who has studied and written extensively…
Type: Article
David H. Gibbs will become the Director of Business Law Programs and the Corporate Counsel Externship at RWU Law later this month. David has both extensive practice experience and experience teaching at two law schools. Gibbs is a graduate of Tufts University and UC Berkeley Law. From 1978 until 2003 he was an associate and then a partner at Nixon Peabody in Boston, and from 2004 to 2013 he was…
Type: Article
As part of Roger Williams University School of Law’s Alternative Spring Break program, 61 law students are providing free legal services to impoverished communities in 17 locations ranging from the Bronx to Haiti. On the program’s first international trip, three RWU law students will offer know-your-rights presentations at the YWCA in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, talking to young women about domestic…, Suzanne Harrington-Steppen, , associate director of pro bono programs at RWU Law. “Also, we want our students out there, working with public interest lawyers so they can understand what public interest law is all about and so they can see the legal needs of low-income communities firsthand. That way, they’re not talking theoretically about access to justice – they’re looking it right in the eye.” The Alternative Spring…
Type: Article
A groundbreaking exhibit titled “Do Lord Remember Me: The Black Church in Rhode Island” will open at Roger Williams University on Tuesday, Feb. 28, and will feature a powerful performance by actor Joe Wilson Jr., plus a panel discussion., From Feb. 28 through March 6, RWU and RWU Law will host the traveling exhibit in the second-floor atrium of the School of Law building, on the university’s Bristol campus. The exhibit will be on display Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free and open to the public, the exhibit documents 250 years of service and survival, telling the story in images and text of American firsts: the first black philanthropic organization (the Free African Union Society, founded in Newport); the first black Episcopal delegation to a…, Ray Rickman, executive director of Stages of Freedom, , the nonprofit that mounted the exhibition traveling around the state. “Roger Williams University is the first institution to book the exhibit following its 2016 inaugural tour of the state, which attracted well over 1,000 viewers. We hope a large number of people will attend this exciting event.”, RWU President Donald J. Farish, said, “Our university’s namesake, Roger Williams, is noteworthy not only because he championed religious tolerance but also because he opposed slavery in an era when slavery was commonplace. Hosting events during Black History Month that bring attention to the history of the black church in Rhode Island is, therefore, very much in keeping with the values that guide our institution. In addition…, The Feb. 28 event will take place in the RWU School of Law Appellate Courtroom 283, on the university’s Bristol campus, at One Old Ferry Road. The exhibit will open at 4 p.m., and the program will begin at 6 p.m. with Wilson’s performance, followed by a panel discussion and question-and-answer session about the exhibit, “The Black Church in Rhode Island.” , The panel will include Rickman, RWU History Professor Charlotte Carrington-Farmer and the Rev. Sammy C. Vaughan, senior pastor at St. James Baptist Church, in Woonsocket. It is free and open to the public; no tickets are required., For more information, call (401) 254-3166. The exhibit is funded by , The Rhode Council for the Humanities, and , The Rhode Island Council on the Arts, , sponsored by , Opera Providence, , and mounted by , Stages of Freedom, , a nonprofit founded by Rickman and program coordinator Robb Dimmick.
Type: Article
RWU Law Professor Peter Margulies writes: In the wake of Edward Snowden’s disclosures, the United States administration faced a daunting series of challenges on surveillance, cybersecurity, and privacy. Congress was reluctant to enact comprehensive legislation. Moreover, Snowden’s revelations had triggered an international trust deficit. To deal with these challenges, the executive branch under…
Type: Article
Jared A. Goldstein , RWU professor of law, who teaches constitutional law and a former U.S. Department of Justice attorney, has contributed the following essay to the RWU First Amendment Blog ., President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday, Jan. 27, that violates the bedrock principles upon which Roger Williams founded Rhode Island . I’ve always been proud to work at a university named for Roger Williams, whose commitment to religious liberty for all peoples formed the basis for our nation’s commitment to separation of church and state and its dedication to the principle…, Korematsu v. United States, , in which the Supreme Court upheld the policy by which the government ordered over 100,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, most of them American citizens, to be held in internment camps. The internment policy was created out of a very similar fear as Trump’s Muslim ban, the fear that a particular population — Japanese-Americans then, Muslims now — included a small but unknowable number of people…
Type: Article
From the , National Law Journal, : " Syrian Refugees to Receive Law School Scholarships " by Karen Sloan., Roger Williams University School of Law , will provide two Syrian refugees with full scholarships as part of a large consortium of schools vowing to help those from the war-torn country., The Bristol, Rhode Island, law school is the first , among the Institute of International Education’s 60-campus Syria Consortium to offer a free Juris Doctor degree to Syrian refugees. Roger Williams will also host two graduate architecture students. The scholarship announcement came one day before President Donald Trump was expected to sign an executive order temporarily blocking Syrians from entering the country over terrorism concerns. It was…, said Roger Williams law Dean Michael Yelnosky, . “Even in a scenario where the United States prohibits Syrians from entering the country, there are displaced Syrians and refugees already here who would be eligible to participate in the program,” he said. A number of law schools have programs or initiatives for Afghan attorneys and students aimed at promoting the rule of law there, but there has thus far been less of a focus on Syria, which…, institute president Allan Goodman, . “An investment in education is a long-term investment in peace,” he said. “Syria needs students to continue their university education so that, even in the midst of crisis, the country is producing the leadership and knowledge necessary for a successful future.”, Kate Greene, the director of international program development at Roger Williams, , said the university selected the law and architecture schools to receive the Syrian students because rebuilding Syria’s infrastructure and rule of law will be vital to the country’s recovery. The institute’s Syria Consortium has thus helped 500 Syrian students continue their educations. The hope is that studying law at Roger Williams will be enriching for the Syrian law students and eye-opening…, For full story, visit the , National Law Journal, .
Type: Article
David E. Coombs, , the Chief Justice Weisberger Visiting Professor of Law at the Roger Williams University School of Law who has represented Chelsea Manning, issued the following statement regarding President Obama’s decision on Tuesday to commute the bulk of Manning’s sentence: “I am very thankful that the president decided to grant Chelsea’s commutation. I was shocked and overjoyed when I found out,” Coombs…, United States v. PFC Bradley E. Manning, . And he has been representing Manning, who is now known as Chelsea Manning, in her fight for appropriate medical care for her gender dysphoria and in her request for a commutation.
Type: Article
