Washburn Law Journal
Editor's Note
Volume 43, No. 3 (Spring 2004)
Since 1999, Professor Charlene Smith has organized the Ahrens Advanced Torts Seminar at the Washburn University School of Law. This year's symposium, Genetically Modified Organisms, marks the final symposium because Professor Smith has moved on to the Inter-American Center for Human Rights at Nova Southeastern University. Since the symposium began, the presenters' remarks have formed the basis for the articles appearing in the third issue of the Washburn Law Journal. We extend our thanks to Professor Smith for her work, her support of the journal, and her dedication to the students at Washburn.
Dr. Wes Jackson of the Land Institute presented the keynote address for the symposium. In addition to Dr. Jackson's address, this issue features the work of Professor Roger McEowen, Kansas State University; Professor Jane Matthews Glenn, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Professor Drew Kershen, University of Oklahoma College of Law; and Todd D. Epp, attorney and alumnus of Washburn University School of Law. Our own Professor Jim Wadley provides a response to Professor McEowen's symposium presentation.
This issue also includes three pieces written by student authors. In keeping with the theme, Starla L. Borg analyzes the United States' and the European Union's positions on genetically modified organisms using a poker analogy in her Note, Waiting for the River: The United States and European Union, Heads Up and High Stakes in the WTO--Genetically Modified Organisms in International Trade. Lora M. Jennings authors a Comment, Paying the Price for Privacy: Using the Private Facts Tort to Control Social Security Number Dissemination and the Risk of Identity Theft, which considers ways to protect individuals facing identity theft when social security numbers have not been kept confidential. Finally, Dionna K. Taylor explores the felon in possession statute and the Second Circuit's failure to consider a foreign conviction in The Tempest in a Teapot: Foreign Convictions as Predicate Offenses Under the Federal Felon in Possession of a Firearm Statute.
GNIP-GNOP Awards
In 1947, nine graduates of the Washburn University School of Law organized the Free Society of GNIP-GNOP, deriving the name from the members’ love of ping-pong. Initially, the group recognized an outstanding law professor. Because the group lived in various states, the members eventually concluded that this determination was difficult and thus decided to grant two awards annually to the Washburn Law Journal student writers. The editorial board chooses three Notes and three Comments for consideration. The members then review this work and select the best Note and Comment. The prize is presented at the spring banquet. Writers must be present to claim the award.
As this year’s best Note, the GNIP-GNOP members selected Waiting for the River: The United States and European Union, Heads Up and High Stakes in the WTO—Genetically Modified Organisms in International Trade, written by Starla L. Borg. The members selected Paying the Price for Privacy: Using the Private Facts Tort to Control Social Security Number Dissemination and the Risk of Identity Theft, authored by Lora M. Jennings, as the best Comment.
John F. Kuether Awards
The faculty advisory committee reviews each student-written work published in the journal and selects the best Note and Comment. The faculty award is named to commemorate long-time faculty advisor, John F. Kuether. The recipients of this year’s awards were Luke R. Spellmeier, for his Note, A Winning Hand or Time to Fold? State Taxation of Fuel Sales on Kansas Indian Reservations, and Andrea D. Walker, for her Comment, "The Murderer Shall Surely Be Put to Death": The Impropriety of Biblical Arguments in the Penalty Phase of Capital Cases.
John D. Ensley Memorial Award for Excellence in Legal Writing
The Washburn Law Journal conducts a writing competition twice each year. The student who writes the top memo in each competition receives the John D. Ensley Memorial Award for Excellence in Legal Writing. Vincent M. Cox earned the Spring 2003 award. Peter Britton Bieri earned the award in the Fall 2004 competition.
This year the law journal joined the Washburn community in celebrating two special events. First, Washburn University School of Law is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Even as I write, the journal is preparing an anniversary issue to commemorate the event. The 2002-2003 Board of Editors put the wheels in motion for this issue; the 2003-2004 Board worked on the technical aspects. Cathleen Hobson, Executive Editor for 2003-2004, shouldered much of the responsibility for organizing the completion of this issue. Her attention to detail has served the journal well. The second significant event of the year has been the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Professor Ron Griffin organized a symposium to honor the occasion. The journal published the remarks of many of the presenters. Cathleen Hobson served as Editor-in-Chief for this issue.
We would like to thank the many individuals who shore up the whole journal process, including our secretary, the reference librarians, and those providing technology support. In addition, we are wellsupported by a tremendous faculty advisory committee. Professor Myrl Duncan has provided encouragement and insight, served as our institutional memory, and always seemed to know when to simply listen. Professors David Pierce and Alex Glashausser have formally joined our faculty advisory committee this year. We thank them for their positive energy and willingness to help us in any way we needed to get the job done.
I would like to thank the staff writers and the editorial board for their work on the journal this year. The journal was blessed with an abundance of excellent writers, all of whom also dedicated themselves to making the journal a better publication through careful source and citation checking. I have especially enjoyed the opportunity to work with the members of the Board of Editors as we grew from a group of individuals who barely knew each into a functional team. I have learned to appreciate the unique skills and talents that each member brought to the journal and have developed a deep respect for all.
Finally, I would like to say "thank you" to the spouses, partners, and families of the journal members for their patience and understanding as we pulled each issue together. Without you, this could not have happened.
R.K.C.
Professor of the Year
Each year, the graduating class votes to honor a member of the Washburn University School of Law faculty as the William O. Douglas Outstanding Professor of the Year. Associate Professor of Law Megan J. Ballard was the recipient of this honor for the 2003-2004 academic year.
Professor Ballard received her B.A. from Lewis & Clark College in 1984, her M.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987, her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1994, and her LL.M. from University of Wisconsin Law School in 1999. Professor Ballard's teaching responsibilities include Property I, Civil Procedure II, and Trusts and Future Interests.
Following law school, Professor Ballard served as a law clerk to now Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. She went on to practice with Perkins Coie in Seattle, focusing primarily on complex trusts and estates litigation. After earning her LL.M. degree, she joined the estate planning group at Foley and Lardner, in Madison, Wisconsin. Professor Ballard taught Trusts and Estates as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School prior to joining the faculty at Washburn in the fall of 2000.
The class of 2004 selected John C. Fritz as Adjunct Professor of the Year. Mr. Fritz holds a B.A. degree and a J.D. degree. He teaches the Juvenile Offender course. Mr. Fritz is the District Attorney in Johnson County, Kansas.
The Washburn Law Journal is pleased to recognize the contributions of Professors Ballard and Fritz by acknowledging them in Volume 43, Issue 3.
