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KU invites developers to submit proposals for campus gateway project
LAWRENCE – The University of Kansas is taking an important step in developing its new campus gateway at the intersection of 11th and Mississippi streets. KU today issued a request for proposals (RFP) inviting partners to bid on the project, which will include a conference center and additional mixed-use development opportunities, as well as the transformation of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Interested partners can visit the university’s procurement website to access the RFP, along with a financial feasibility and economic impact analysis for the project conducted by Hunden Partners.
Law professor writes that Supreme Court ruling allowing ‘self-intervention’ is in error, poses new problems
LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas law professor has published a new scholarly article arguing the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in error allowing states and other parties to intervene in their own legal cases. That 2022 ruling allows more than one entity — including officials not elected to represent states — to intervene in cases, split legal representation and ignore court precedent and the law, according to Lumen Mulligan, Earl B. Shurtz Research Professor of Law at KU.
KU Law’s moot court program ranks in top 10 for first time
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Law’s moot court program is 10th in the nation, according to rankings published recently by the University of Houston Law Center. This is the highest KU Law has ever been ranked and the first time the school has been featured in the top 10. KU Law has finished in the top 30 nationally for the past eight years.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Joe Monaco, Office of Public Affairs, 785-864-7100, [email protected], @UnivOfKansas
KU invites developers to submit proposals for campus gateway project
LAWRENCE – The University of Kansas is taking an important step in developing its new campus gateway at the intersection of 11th and Mississippi streets.
KU today issued a request for proposals (RFP) inviting partners to bid on the project, which will include a conference center and additional mixed-use development opportunities, as well as the transformation of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. Specifically, the RFP invites master developers, mixed-use developers and venue operators to bid on relevant components of the project.
The RFP also calls for proposals from partners interested in providing concessions for all Kansas Athletics facilities.
Interested partners can visit the university’s procurement website to access the RFP, along with a financial feasibility and economic impact analysis for the project conducted by Hunden Partners.
KU first announced its plans for the new campus gateway in October 2022 and has since been working with architectural firms and other partners to develop plans, budgets and timelines. Earlier this year, KU was awarded a $50 million challenge grant by the Kansas Department of Commerce for the project. In April, crews began renovations to Anderson Family Football Complex.
“This campus gateway is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform our campus in a way that benefits students, faculty, staff and the broader region,” said Chancellor Douglas A. Girod. “In particular, this project will create a new gathering place for our campus community and guests, enable us to host conferences and events, and provide Kansas Football the facilities it needs to compete at the highest level. We are excited to share this request for proposals for partners to help us move this project forward.”
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Contact: Mike Krings, KU News Service, 785-864-8860, [email protected], @MikeKrings
Law professor writes that Supreme Court ruling allowing ‘self-intervention’ is in error, poses new problems
LAWRENCE — The popular television show where people confront their loved ones to help address addiction is called “Intervention,” not “Self-Intervention.” Because an intervention requires other parties. Or does it?
A University of Kansas law professor has published a new article arguing the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in error allowing states and other parties to intervene in their own legal cases. That ruling allows more than one entity — including officials not elected to represent states — to intervene in cases, split legal representation and ignore court precedent and the law, according to Lumen Mulligan, Earl B. Shurtz Research Professor of Law at KU.
The article, titled “Self-Intervention,” was published earlier this month in the University of Colorado Law Review.
In North Carolina State Conference of NAACP v. Berger, the former party sued to challenge state voter identification law, arguing they violated the Voting Rights Act as well as the 14th and 15th amendments. As the state’s attorney general was defending the laws in court, North Carolina’s speaker of the House of Representatives and president pro tempore of the state senate sought to intervene in the suit, as they did not agree with the AG’s tactics. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled the speaker and president pro tempore could join the suit, even though the state was already represented by the AG.
That 2022 ruling is not only contrary to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24(a)(2), regarding who represents a state when sued, it presents numerous potential problems for how states can be represented in litigation at the state level and more, according to Mulligan.
“My position is that ruling is contrary to law. The fight is over who gets to be the state,” Mulligan said. “I argue the Supreme Court’s ruling is contrary to rule 24(a)(2) and the entire precedent of the court’s rulings. My position is that the attorney general and speaker of the house cannot both be the state.”
Mulligan summarized several other cases that played out in a similar fashion, with more than one party seeking to represent a state. He also reviewed the history of rule 24(a)(2) and how the SCOTUS ruling contradicts the 11th Amendment, which restricts the powers of individuals to bring action against states in court. Mulligan also examined how the Berger decision contradicts Ex parte Young doctrine, which operates as an exemption to the 11th Amendment, providing privilege to states not to be sued without consent in federal court.
Ex parte Young and its listing of specific government officials who can be parties in suits against the state is what Mulligan called “the most important Supreme Court case you’ve never heard of,” noting that it is debatably the second or third most important ruling ever handed down by the court. However, the Berger ruling contradicts that and presents numerous potential problems, especially at the state court level, he said.
“Ninety-eight percent of litigation happens in state courts. Now, states won’t be bound by Ex parte Young and for that reason shouldn’t follow the Supreme Court’s Berger decision,” Mulligan said.
Allowing more than one party to represent a state in contradiction of federal rules amounts to “self-intervention,” a term Mulligan coined to criticize the practice. By federal rule, attorneys general, elected on a statewide basis, are to represent states when sued. However, the Berger decision allows officials such as speakers of the house to join suits, which they tend to do when they have political disagreements with the AG. That presents myriad potential problems, Mulligan wrote, such as allowing politics, not law, to influence legal defense.
In states such as Wisconsin, where state officials such as the governor and AG are Democrats, but the statehouse is controlled by Republicans, that presents situations where others have sought to join suits when they disagreed with the AG’s politics and method of defense, Mulligan noted. While a problem in heavily gerrymandered states, it could also potentially be a problem within parties as well if a speaker of the house or state level representative felt the AG, a member of their party, was too liberal or too conservative. Additionally, it allows a state-level representative who only won one district equal footing with an official such as an attorney general who was elected by the entire state, according to Mulligan.
“It allows all sorts of folks who didn’t win statewide office to say, ‘I deserve to be here, too,’” Mulligan said. “It’s a mess of allowing multiple parties to argue they represent the state.”
The fallout could threaten state constitutions and create challenges to states defending their laws in courts at all levels, the author wrote. The solution would be for Congress, or one of its committees, which draft rules of federal procedure, to address the issues now presented by “self-intervention.” In the meantime, state courts should take caution not to repeat the same mistake as the Supreme Court, according to Mulligan.
“Neither the text, history nor practice under rule 24(a)(2) would allow self-intervention. The courts should not allow the Ex parte Young fiction to alter this approach. And finally, allowing legislative intervention as a matter of federal law obscures a functional separation-of-powers violation,” Mulligan wrote. “For these reasons, the courts should limit the impact of the Berger decision. The state supreme courts, exercising their independent interpretative authority over rules of procedure, should not replicate the U.S. Supreme Court’s errors. And the lower federal courts should cabin the Berger opinion as much as possible from impacting other non-corporeal entities.”
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Contact: Emma Herrman, School of Law, [email protected], @kulawschool
KU Law’s moot court program ranks in top 10 for first time
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Law’s moot court program is 10th in the nation, according to rankings published recently by the University of Houston Law Center.
This is the highest KU Law has ever been ranked and the first time the school has been featured in the top 10. KU Law has finished in the top 30 nationally for the past eight years.
“We have had a strong moot court program for decades,” said Pam Keller, moot court program director. “In the last decade or so, we have had increased financial support from donors, allowing us to send more talented students to national and international competitions. I am grateful for that support.”
The continued support of donors and faculty alike contributed toward the success of this year’s season where KU Law brought home two national championship titles: the National Native American Law Student Association (NNALSA) Moot Court Competition and the Federal Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition.
This year marks the third year in a row that KU Law has won the NNALSA Moot Court Competition and the third year in a row that recent graduate Emily Depew was a member of the winning team. She was recognized for her advocacy skills during this year’s hooding ceremony, receiving the Polsinelli Advocacy Award. Her partner this past year, third-year student Chris Birzer, plans to continue the tradition.
“I am grateful to the coaches and faculty for their dedicated instruction and support and to Emily Depew for being an excellent partner,” Birzer said. “The NNALSA competition gave me the opportunity to learn about Indian law and to think about novel legal issues. Next year, I plan to compete in the National Moot Court Competition with third-year student Maverick Edwards. I am looking forward to another competitive year for the KU moot court program.”
Recent graduates Ally Monson and Amanda McElfresh argued against the defending national champions in the in the final round of the Federal Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Memorial Moot Court Competition to clinch the win. McElfresh also won Best Oralist in the final round.
In fact, KU Law students performed at a high level in every competition they entered, making 2022-2023 the most successful moot court year ever.
Additional results from the competition season:
1. Karlie Bischoff and Hailey Reed progressed to the final round of the Wagner National Labor & Employment Law Moot Court Competition.
2. Emily Depew and Jessica Kinnamon made the final four of the Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship. Both students received a scholarship award for their semifinal finish, and Depew received an award for Third Best Oral Advocate in the competition.
3. Madeline Calcagno and Josh Sipp made the final four of the Wechsler National Criminal Law Moot Court Competition.
4. Caleb Hanlon and Maddy Tannahill made the final four of the Prince Memorial Evidence National Moot Court Competition.
5. Kat Girod and Helen Phillips won the Regional Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, bringing home the Shapero Cup. Girod also received the award for Best Oral Advocate. They continued on to the 31st annual Duberstein Bankruptcy Moot Court Competition, where they advanced to the elite eight.
6. Rachel Henderson, Haley Koontz and Caitlin McPartland reached the quarterfinals in the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition.
7. Jade Kearney and Alex Valin reached the elite eight at the NNALSA competition.
Most KU Law students who competed in national tournaments were the top finishers in the school’s in-house moot court competition during their second year of law school. Competitions generally consist of writing an appellate brief and presenting a mock oral argument before an appellate court.
Past KU Law rankings by the University of Houston Law Center:
1. 2022: No. 14
2. 2021: No. 13
3. 2020: No. 22
4. 2019: No. 14
5. 2018: No. 26
6. 2017: No. 17
7. 2016: No. 19.
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