The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog

Video: Law School Faculty on United States v. Jones

Today the Supreme Court handed down a decision in United States v. Jones which held that attaching a GPS device to a vehicle and then using the device to monitor the vehicle’s movements constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. In November, after the Court heard arguments, we interviewed several faculty members about the case. Care to see how their predictions turned out? See the video embedded below.

Video: Dean Schill Presented with CHPC's Impact Award for Excellence in Housing

Back in April, Dean Michael Schill was presented with the Impact Award for Excellence in Housing from New York City's Citizens Housing and Planning Council. Dean Schill was recognized for his work as the founding director of NYU's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. His acceptance speech is embedded below, and you can find out more about the ceremony here.

Audio: Two Epstein SCOTUScasts

Hat tip to George Best, '97, who alerted us to two Federalist Society SCOTUScasts featuring Richard Epstein, one on Christian Legal Society v. Martinez and one on Bilski v. Kappos.

Federalist Society Honors Todd Henderson with Paul M. Bator Award

The Federalist Society has posted a short video on its YouTube channel of Assistant Professor of Law M. Todd Henderson accepting the 2010 Paul M. Bator Award (presented by Chicago 3L Prerak Shah). The award is given annually to "a young academic (under 40) who has demonstrated excellence in legal scholarship, a commitment to teaching, a concern for students, and who has made a significant public impact." The video is embedded below, and you may also wish to read the Law School's news item regarding the announcement of the award back in October.

Video: Martha Nussbaum, "Same-Sex Marriage and the Constitution"

In October of last year, The University of Chicago Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) Alumni Group presented a lecture by Ernst Freud Distinguished Service Professor Martha Nussbaum, lecturing on the legal and moral debates surrounding same-sex marriage in the U.S. The post-lecture discussion was led by Melanie Rowen, AB'99, JD'04, attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. This talk was recorded October 22, 2009.

Video: Lee Fennell Discusses Her Book, "The Unbounded Home"

The University News Office recently produced a short video interview with Professor of Law Lee Fennell, in which she talks about the ideas in her recent book, The Unbounded Home. According to the book's publisher, it

grapples with a core modern reality -- that the value and meaning of a home extend beyond its property lines to schools, shops, parks, services, neighbors, neighborhood aesthetics, and market conditions. The resulting tension between the homeowner’s desire for personal autonomy at home and the impulse to control everything that could affect the home’s value fuels continual conflict among neighbors and communities. 

The home’s unbounded nature implicates nearly every facet of residential life, from the financial vulnerability of homeowners to the persistence of segregation by race and class. This book shows how innovations that increase the flexibility of property law can address critical issues of neighborhood control and community composition that have been simmering unresolved for decades -- and how homeownership itself can be reinvented to better deliver on its promises. 

The video interview is embedded after the jump.

Audio: Leiter, Nussbaum, and the Top 10 Most Pressing Philosophical Issues for the 21st Century

Philosophy Talk, a weekly, one-hour radio series, recently celebrated their 200th episode with a discussion of the "Top 10 most pressing philosophical issues for the 21st century." The discussion included Chicago's own Brian Leiter and Martha Nussbaum. Listen to the show here.

Audio: Epstein on Bilski

Continuing with today's Epstein/Fed Soc theme, the Federalist Society has posted a recording of Prof. Epstein discussing Bilski v. Kappos. The SCOTUS heard oral argument in the case on November 9. According to the Fed Soc site,

The issue in this case is whether a "process" must be tied to a particular machine or apparatus or transform a particular article into a different state or thing in order to be eligible for patenting under 35 U.S.C. § 101.

You can download the podcast here.

Video: Richard Epstein on the Redistribution of Wealth

Over on the Federalist Society's YouTube Channel, they've posted an 11-part series entitled "Redistribution of Wealth," recorded at the 2009 National Lawyers Convention on Thursday, November 12, 2009. Our own Richard Epstein was one of the discussants.

Other participants included Steve Forbes, Chairman and CEO of Forbes Inc. and Editor of Forbes Magazine; Prof. Jed Rubenfeld of Yale Law School; Andrew L. Stern, President of the Service Employees International Union; and Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit as the moderator.

Video: Richard Posner on Fiscal Irresponsibility and the Future of the U.S.

The Council on Foreign Relations has posted a video of Judge Posner discussing the topic "Fiscal Irresponsibility Clouds the Future of the United States." The discussion is part of the CFR's C. Peter McColough Series on International Economics.