Regent Law News

Law Professor David Velloney was a guest on both CBN News and WVEC-TV in Norfolk last Friday to comment on the indictment of Somali pirates in the United States. Law alumnus Joseph Schmitz’s (’06) law firm, Hartsoe & Associates, P.C., has been nominated for a Webby Award, touted by the New York Times as the highest honor on the Internet. Other nominees in the Society/Law category include The American Bar Association and Immigration Advocates Network. The winners will be announced on Tuesday, May 4. Hartsoe & Associates describes itself as a law firm “founded on Christian principles.”

Congratulations to Regent Law’s first-time Virginia Bar exam takers, who in the February exam had the second highest pass rate among all Virginia schools. 85.7% of Regent’s first-time takers (and 80% of all Regent takers) passed the exam, a pass rate 19% above the state-wide average and just behind the #1 school, Washington & Lee. See the complete Virginia Board of Bar Examiners results here . “We have spent the last three years working and praying with these men and women,” said law school Dean Jeffrey Brauch. “This outstanding pass rate is a tribute to our students’ hard work, to a rigorous curriculum—especially in the areas of writing and legal analysis, and to great set of faculty colleagues who train with excellence. We praise God for our graduates’ success.” Click here for more on Regent Law.

Law Professor Robert "Skip" Ash was a guest Wednesday on Regent RSG alumnus ’98 John Anthony Simmons' radio program Right Here, Right Now on WSCA in Portsmouth, N.H., to discuss whether enemy combatants should be tried in civilian or military courts. Law Professor Brad Jacob appeared on CBN's NewsWatch on Tuesday to talk about gay rights and religious freedom with regard to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. View Professor Jacob's interview below:

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez , a case that will have a lasting impact on how religious student groups are treated by public universities. Martinez is the dean and acting chancellor of the Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco and the defendant in this case after his law school refused to give official recognition to the Christian Legal Society, thereby denying it funding and any right of access to school facilities. Regent University filed an amicus brief in support of the petitioner. Follow the case on Regent Law faculty member Mike Schutt’s Redeeming Law blog. Schutt directs the Institute for Christian Legal Studies, a cooperative ministry of Regent University School of Law and the Christian Legal Society.

Law Professor Brad Jacob was quoted in this Orlando Sentinel article regarding property rights in the case of a Florida man who has turned his home and yard into a "colorful code-enforcement protest." Law Professor Lynne Marie Kohm appeared on CBN News on Tuesday to discuss international adoption in light of the story about the Tennessee mother who has sent her adopted son back to Russia.

Many still believe that abortion is the only issue being debated in the bioethics arena. But according to third-year law student Antionette Duck, it’s not. “Bioethics now encompasses euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, cloning, stem-cell research, human hybrids and the question of whether human value should be determined based on cognitive ability alone,” says Duck. In addition to her life as a law student, this year Duck served as the Chairman of Regent Students for Life (RSFL), a University-wide organization dedicated to putting the pro-life message into action. Spurred on by her legal interests and her dedication to human life, Duck recently led RSFL in hosting a highly successful symposium featuring a panel of renowned bioethicists who spoke on these controversial yet deeply significant topics. The symposium, "The Human Continuum: Determining the Value of Human Life," centered on the questions: Are human beings intrinsically valuable and does value exis...

Regent Law’s Federalist Society and Journal of International Law recently hosted an on-campus symposium discussing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), an international convention setting out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the convention 1989. The United States, however, has abstained from joining the 194 other countries who have ratified it. The issue is hotly debated in not only government and legal circles, but in those of social services, education, and special interest groups as well. Three nationally acclaimed panelists representing varying positions on ratification made the evening a lively one. Michael Farris, Chancellor of Patrick Henry College; David Smolin, Professor at Cumberland School of Law; and Johan Van der Vyver, Professor of Law at Emory University offered provocative thoughts on the implications of U.S. ratification. They considered first th...

Law Professor Kathleen McKee published an article titled "Mediating Aging Issues" in Resolutions , a publication of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Law Professor Bradley Jacob participated in an interview about religious liberty, which was published in the Assemblies of God Enrichment Journal .

Regent Law students at Food Frenzy table in Robertson Hall. The annual Legal Food Frenzy initiative to help feed the hungry is officially open to the entire Regent University community until April 16, 2010. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell '89 (Law and Government) founded the program to end hunger in the Hampton Roads area. This year, the Virginia Bar Association Law School Council is partnering with the Student Bar Association to raise 50,000 pounds of food, 30,000 pounds more than what was raised last year. "Many people in the Hampton Roads area have experienced layoffs, pay cuts and other harsh realities as a result of the economic downturn," said Regent Law student Valerie Johnson. "Individuals who have never relied on the Foodbank for support are now seeking their services. Donating to the Foodbank gives us the opportunity to lavish love on those in need as well respond to a rising hunger crisis. It's a privilege to meet the needs of our own local c...