Washburn Law Journal
Editor's Note
Volume 46, No. 3 (Spring 2007)
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The articles in this issue derive from the first annual Washburn University School of Law Shamberg Symposium, held in November of 2006. The symposium addressed the topic of Judicial Independence and generated two fascinating pieces. In The Best Defense: Why Elected Courts Should Lead Recusal Reform, Deborah Goldberg, the keynote presenter from the Brennan Center for Justice, James Sample, and David E. Pozen outline threats to judicial independence and fairness that arise from unprecedented spending on judicial elections. The authors suggest a number of reforms to improve the recusal/disqualification process for elected judges and contend that such reforms are necessary to preserve the fundamental fairness of the American judiciary. In her companion essay, Judicial Independence: The Need for Education About the Role of the Judiciary, Judge Julie A. Robinson, another presenter, highlights some of the external threats to judicial independence and explains that the underlying cause of these threats is a lack of public understanding about the role of the judiciary. Consequently, Judge Robinson proposes increased civic education to more fully inform the public of the importance of an independent judicial branch.
In addition to the symposium pieces, this issue also contains one student-authored note and three student-authored comments. In his note, Leveling the Healing Field: Specialty Hospital Legal Reform as a Cure for an Ailing Health Care System, Mike J. Wyatt explores the specialty hospital debate and describes three legal reforms designed to promote fair competition between specialty and general hospitals, thus reducing health care costs and improving quality of care. Rachel E. Avey, in her comment, argues that the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit misconstrued remedy provisions in CERCLA, leaving parties who voluntary clean up environmental hazards without any right to recover their costs. In her comment, Lara Geer Farley contends that a recent United States Supreme Court decision weakens First Amendment protections for public employees without adding any clarity to an already-confusing area of law. Finally, David J. Stucky explores the implications of a recent Tenth Circuit decision regarding traffic stops and posits that the ruling ignores the importance of vehicle license plate requirements, risking increased danger to drivers and police officers.
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. To contribute to the School of Law, the group began to recognize and award one outstanding professor from the school each year. Because the group lived in various states, however, the members eventually concluded that the professor determination was too difficult to accomplish long-distance and thus decided to grant two awards to student writers on the Washburn Law Journal. Each year, the editorial board selects three notes and three comments for consideration. The members review these selections and then choose the best note and comment. The prize is presented at the annual spring banquet, and the winners must be present to claim their award.
This year, the GNIP-GNOP members selected Leveling the Healing Field: Specialty Hospital Legal Reform as a Cure for an Ailing Health Care System, by Mike J. Wyatt, as the best note. As this year's best comment, the GNIP-GNOP members selected Attention Kansas Water Right Holders: Be Nice to Your Neighbors, They're Policing Your Water Rights, written by Tyler A. Darnell.
John F. Kuether Awards
The faculty advisory committee for the Washburn Law Journal reviews each student-written work published in the journal and selects the best note and comment. This faculty award is named to commemorate long-time faculty advisor, John F. Kuether. The recipients of this year's awards were Mike J. Wyatt, for his note, Leveling the Healing Field: Specialty Hospital Legal Reform as a Cure for an Ailing Health Care System, and Dan E. Lawrence, for his comment, Just Add Plaintiff: The Seventh Circuit's Recipe for Instant Liability Under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
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. David R. Wolfe won the Spring 2006 award. Taylor J. Hight earned the award in the Fall 2006 competition.
As a board, we would like to thank the many individuals who provided invaluable service and advice during our publication process, including the reference librarians, facilities services, and those providing technical support. We would particularly like to thank our secretary, Tonya M. Worley, who just completed her twenty-fifth year of dedicated service to the journal. Her experience and assistance were critical in completing a quality volume this year. In addition, we are deeply grateful to our faculty advisory committee. Professors Tonya Kowalski and William G. Merkel joined the committee this year, and we appreciate the hours they invested in reading topic proposals, notes, and comments. Finally, we owe our faculty advisor, Professor Myrl L. Duncan, an enormous debt of gratitude. Professor Duncan's support, encouragement, and advice were absolutely essential to the success of Volume 46, and we are thankful for his mentoring and friendship.
I would also like to thank all of the staff writers, technical editors, and editorial board members for their commitment and dedication to the journal this year. Without the collaboration and diligence of each member of the journal, particularly from the members of the board, our success would not have been possible.
Finally, we would all like to thank our spouses (or those soon to be), our families, and our friends for their amazing patience with us throughout the year. Without their support and encouragement, Volume 46 would have never been completed.
Thank you.
M.J.S.
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. Professor David E. Pierce was the recipient of this honor for the 2006-2007 academic year.
Professor Pierce teaches Contracts, Property, Transactional Drafting, Oil and Gas Law, Advanced Oil and Gas Law, and Energy Law. He received his B.A. degree in 1974 from Pittsburg State University, his J.D. in 1977 from Washburn University School of Law, and his LL.M. (Energy Law) in 1983 from the University of Utah College of Law. Professor Pierce has worked as a solo practitioner in Neodesha, Kansas, city attorney for Cherryvale, Kansas, in-house counsel with Shell Oil Company in Houston, Texas, and of counsel with the Tulsa, Oklahoma law firm of Gable & Gotwals and the Kansas City, Missouri law firm of Shughart Thomson & Kilroy. In 1995 he was the Visiting Chair of Natural Resources Law at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law in Alberta, Canada. Professor Pierce is a member of the American Law Institute and is the Director of Washburn's Business and Transactional Law Center.
The class of 2007 selected Carl William "Bill" Ossmann as Adjunct Professor of the Year. Professor Ossmann is Chief of Litigation at the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. Professor Ossmann's teaching responsibilities include Trial Advocacy Workshops, Cross Examination Techniques and Taking and Defending Depositions.
The Washburn Law Journal is pleased to recognize the contributions of Professors Pierce and Ossmann by acknowledging them in Volume 46, Issue 3.
