Below is the press release for the panel hosted by BC Law students (including myself) being held April 11 in Boston.

Citizens United Forum Presented by Students of Boston College Law School

A collaborative of Boston College graduate students will be hosting a panel on the subject of Citizens United and campaign finance reform in Jamaica Plain on April 11 at 7pm.  Panelists will include State Senator Jamie Eldridge (D-Acton), President of the New England Legal Foundation Martin Newhouse, constitutional law scholar Professor Lawrence Friedman and WGBH journalist and former Washington Post reporter Ibby Caputo. Admission to the forum is free and residents of Boston and the surrounding communities are encouraged to attend and learn the reasoning behind this important Supreme Court decision and the rationale of the opposition.

“People should care about the Citizens United decision because it is having an effect on the way democracy is practiced in this country, about the way elections work and who gets elected and why,” said Professor Lawrence Friedman, a professor of Constitutional Law at New England Law | Boston and a panelist for the forum.

In January of 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a decision on Citizens United v. FEC, which displaced crucial portions of the McCain-Feingold bill related to political campaign spending limits. Regularly thought to stand for the prospect that corporations are people, in reality it is a far more complicated decision based on Constitutional interpretation of the First Amendment’s right to free speech. The Citizens United decision has ultimately lead to the establishment of super PACs (Political Action Committees) which facilitate unrestricted spending on political advertising by corporations, labor unions and wealthy individuals, and which have allegedly resulted in a shift in the political landscape.

Though heavily criticized by some as a means by which certain parties will be permitted to unfairly influence elections, others, including panelist Martin Newhouse, believe the Citizens United decision replaces a poorly conceived statute and will create a better informed public.

The Citizens United decision has created a unique variety of responses.  It is one of the few highly controversial issues on which the traditionally conservative National Rifle Association and the traditionally liberal American Civil Liberties Union find themselves in agreement; both parties supporting the decision.  Despite that star-crossed alliance, there is a large and loud movement in opposition to the decision, some parties, including panelist Eldridge, proposing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would in essence reverse the Citizens United decision.

“For over a century, Congress and the states have limited the role of money in the political process due to its inevitably corrupting influence,” said State Senator Eldridge. “We need to take action to ensure that the right of free speech is preserved for citizens, not corporations and that we require new levels of disclosure and transparency for corporate political spending and prohibiting foreign corporations from influencing elections.”

The informed citizenry of the United States is rightfully abuzz with commentary on the subject of campaign finance reform and the Citizens United decision.  Attending the Citizens United public forum on April 11th or monitoring the supporting blog site at http://citizensunitedlegalforum.tumblr.com are easy ways to become better informed no matter what your political persuasion.

The panel will take place at the United Universalist Church located at 6 Eliot Street in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston and will begin at 7:00 PM.

Chief Justice Ireland holds a B.A. from Lincoln University (1966), a J.D. from Columbia University (1969), an LL.M. from Harvard Law School (1975), and a Ph.D. from Northeastern University (1998).  In  1969, following law school, Ireland worked as a staff attorney for the Neighborhood Legal Services and then later with the Roxbury Defenders Committee as executive director and chief attorney.  After that he worked as chief legal counsel for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Administration and Finance and chair of the Massachusetts Board of Appeals on Motor Vehicle Liability Policies and Bond.

After he received his LL.M. from Harvard, he was appointed to be a judge on the State  Juvenile Court in 1977, where he sat for thirteen years.  In 1990 he was appointed to the Massachusetts Appeals Court and served there as an appeals judge until 1997.  In 1997  he was appointed by Governor William F. Weld to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court as an Associate Justice.  He is the first African-American justice appointed to the SJC.  He later ascended to the position of Senior Associate Justice in 2008.  In December of 2010 Governor Deval Patrick appointed Ireland as the thirty-fifth Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.  Ireland is also the first African American Chief Justice on the Massachusetts SJC.

The Chief Justice also serves as an adjuct faculty member at Northeastern University School of Law as well as a member of the faculty at the Appellate Judges Seminar at New York University Law School.

Wal-Mart, however, contends that certifying the class in question conflicts with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, arguing that, “The named plaintiffs’ claims cannot conceivably be typical of the claims of the strangers they seek to represent.”  Therefore, they argue that certifying this class would in essence be enacting “a virtually boundless class definition that produces an across-the- board class pervaded by conflicts among its members.  This kaleidoscope of claims, defenses, issues, locales, events, and individuals makes it impossible for the named plaintiffs to be adequate representatives of the absent class members.”

In contrast, however, Dukes’ representatives contend that Wal-Mart’s arguments “find no support in Rule 23 or Title VII. Instead, they would subvert the goal of allowing workers to vindicate their rights as a class, precluding certification of all but the smallest employment discrimination cases, and would require this Court to overrule 45 years of civil rights and class action precedent.”

The Supreme Court is merely deciding whether this case can proceed as a class action, and there is more at stake here than the fate of Wal-Mart’s female employees.  According to The Guardian, Melissa Hart, director of the Byron R. White Centre for the Study of American Constitutional Law at the University of Colorado School of Law, has pointed out that a decision in favor of Wal-Mart would “make it increasingly difficult for women to challenge discrimination in the work place….[s]hould the courts rule in Dukes’ favor, lawyers expect a whole new set of discrimination class actions to be brought, not just on behalf of women, but also minorities or persons with disabilities.  A win for Wal-Mart would be a major blow for nationwide job-bias suits, making it harder to argue that employees who work in different stores and hold different jobs have enough in common to be a class.”

The decision is pending.

Vincent Rougeau, the new Dean of BCLS.

The President of Boston College, William Leahy S.J., has officially selected Vincent Rougeau to be the new Dean of Boston College Law School.  The official announcement will be made by the President’s office tomorrow morning.  The editors of Eaglei want to thank all of the candidates for the office, everyone who took place in the search committee, and especially our Interim Dean, George Brown, who did a fantastic job leading our law school during this transitional period.

From all of the students of Boston College Law School, we welcome our new dean, Vincent Rougeau.

Please congratulate the following students when you see them around the law school:

2011-2012 Board of Student Advisors Executive Board

BSA Chairpersons:

Julie Amrhein ‘12 & Kathryn Smith ‘12

Grimes Administrative Chairpersons:

Rebecca Ashby ‘12 & Andrew Eppich ‘12

Grimes Problem Writers:

Tommy Noda ‘12 & Meredith Regan ‘12

Mock Trial Chairpersons:

Alison Casey ‘13 & Elizabeth Olien ‘13

Negotiation Chairpersons:

Chris Floyd ‘13 & Sameer Sheikh ‘13

Client Counseling Chairpersons:

Claire Specht ‘13 & Laura Stoffel ‘13

Third-Year Representatives:

Taylor Black ‘12

Julia Bramley ‘12

Lauren Campbell ‘12

Cristina Caratzola ‘12

Bryana McGillycuddy ‘12

Second-Year Representatives:

Brett Kohlhofer ‘13

Dan Sindle ‘13

Rebekah Sokol ‘13

Editor-in-Chief

Beth Blair

Managing Editor

Andrea Martin

Associate Editor

Tommy Noda

Technology Editor

Bryan Barash

Ombudsman

Max Bauer

Editor in Chief: The EiC chairs the editorial board, serves as the organization’s general manager, and maintains relationships with Eagleionline’s core constituencies. The Editor in Chief is responsible for all facets of the website, and may task other staff members with specific assignments as needed.  Because the EiC is elected by the student body, there is no application for this position.  Nonetheless, the Editorial Board has resolved that the Editor in Chief-Elect must submit a two page “Statement of Interest” within one week following the election (i.e. on or before March 18, 2010) or the election will be void ab initio and the remaining members of the Editorial Board will elect a new Editor in Chief.  Candidates may find it helpful to write this before the election, as they will be asked to speak briefly before ballots are cast. If interested, please contact the current EiC, Ryan Morrison, to discuss responsibilities in more detail.

Managing Editor: The Managing Editor serves on the Editorial Board. Chief responsibilities include (i) assigning articles to, and managing the progress of, Staff Writers; (ii) managing the access to the Eagleionline.com calendar, which serves the student body and any student group; and (iii) posting approximately once per week. The Managing Editor may also have other responsibilities at the discretion of the Editor in Chief.

The following positions will be elected if interest is demonstrated, by contacting the current Editor in Chief at least two days before the elections meeting (by March 9 at noon):

Technology Editor: The Technology Editor is responsible for technological innovation on the Eagleionline web site.  Candidates should be tech-savvy and entrepreneurial.  The Website Editor sits on Eagleionline’s Editorial Board.

Associate Editor: The Associate Editor serves on the Editorial Board.  Chief responsibilities include (i) being the point of contact with particular student groups, at the discretion of the EiC; (ii) organizing ad hoc projects in concert with the rest of the Editorial Board, as may be assigned; and (iii) posting approximately once per week. The Associate Editor may have other responsibilities at the discretion of the Editor in Chief.

Ombudsman: Historically, the Editor in Chief has selected an Ombudsman to speak for the site’s core constituents; however, candidates should make themselves known to the newly elected EiC.  The Ombudsman sits on the Editorial Board and is available to the EiC for consultation. The Ombudsman’s main responsibility is to be available to the public to raise queries or qualms about the site’s core goals and organization, particularly in the free speech and privacy contexts.

As always, staff positions are available to any student who demonstrates an interest.  Eagleionline has two types of staff positions: Columnist and Staff Writer.  Click here for their respective roles and responsibilities.

NB: The elected Board will officially take office on April 15, 2011.

Robert Schapiro

Professor Robert Schapiro withdrew his bid to become the next dean of Boston College Law School earlier this week.  Although the administration may know why he withdrew, his statement released to the student body is typically politically correct and rather cryptic:

“I appreciated the opportunity to explore the possibility of helping to lead Boston College Law School into its bright future.  I enjoyed meeting with the faculty, students, staff, and alumni of the school, and I know that BC will continue to enjoy tremendous success as one of the great law schools in the nation.”

Speculation and rumors aside, no one discussing the matter openly seems to know his real reasons for withdrawing.

With the withdrawal of Schapiro, that leaves Vincent Rougeau, Michele Goodwin, James Repetti, and Russell Osgood in the running to become the next dean of Boston College Law School.  With interviews going on this week and the final decision-making not much later, it won’t be long until BCLS has its new dean.

Eagleionline Question of the Day: Why did Robert Schapiro withdraw from the opportunity to be the next dean of the law school?

And remember, as Above The Law states, “[i]f you’re looking for a job, now is a good time to be looking. Layoffs are down, hiring is up, and law firms are once again competing on bonuses.”

Just remember that even if you do get your job through Above The Law, you still don’t want to end up on their site this coming summer!