Bar Passage Rate Reflects Student and Faculty Efforts
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Iraq: Time for a new strategy? Do longer sentences deter? Cleveland offers art and culture Some politicians are Prison populations in the Despite being viewed calling for U.S. troop United States continue as a city in decline, withdrawal in Iraq. The to increase. The Gavel Cleveland’s cultural Gavel columnists debate looks at whether longer institutions are among the effectiveness of mandatory minimum the world’s fi nest. The current strategies and sentences are an effective Gavel looks at some propose solutions for the deterrent for potential of what the city has to war. offenders. offer. BROADSIDE, PAGE 5 OPINION, PAGE 7 LAW, PAGE 3 THETHE GGAVELAVEL VOLUME 55, ISSUE 3 DECEMBER 2006 THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT CLEVELAND-MARSHALL COLLEGE OF LAW C-M students Bar passage rate snub awards ceremony refl ects student By Kevin Shannon and faculty efforts STAFF WRITER By Joanna Evans bar exam. During the two months On Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006, STAFF WRITER leading to the July 2006 bar, C-M C-M held its annual awards cer- The 2006 Cleveland-Marshall professors gave one-hour presen- emony for students. There were College of Law graduates passed tations where they broke down bar many awards and monetary gifts the July Ohio bar exam by 84 questions and gave students the given to students who excelled Photo by Catherine Reichel percent, and C-M’s over-all pas- opportunity to ask questions about academically in various areas over sage rate rose from 60 percent approaching bar material. These the past year. in 2005 to 75 percent. C-M’s presentations coincided with sub- Many students received mon- passage rate places the school in jects and material covered in bar etary gifts for achieving the high- fi fth place, along with Ohio State review courses offered by Barbri est grade in a particular subject University, which also had an 84 and Supreme Bar Review. or for being the best student in a percent passage rate, amongst In addition to the presenta- particular area of law. Ohio law schools. The rate in- tions, times and locations were The ceremony was well run, crease is largely a result of hours made available for students to with many faculty and alumni of studying by bar takers. practice taking the Multistate Pro- presenters. However, there was a “I talked to people in the li- fessional Test, MPT, because bar glaring problem with the awards Students Scott Kuboff, Dipali Parikh, Kelly brary, and they said that this past takers and those responsible for ceremony. Many, in fact a major- Means and Karen Swanson Haan argued to the bar period, they saw more people putting together bar prep courses ity, of students who received these panel at Moot Court Night on Nov. 8, 2006. studying for the bar in the library tend to ignore it, Williams said. awards did not attend. than any other time in recent “The MPT is so different that it Dean Lifter, the event’s orga- The three-judge panel from the U.S. District Court history,” said Assistant Dean for seems to catch a lot of students off nizer stated that she was somewhat named Parikh best oralist at for the Northern District of Student Affairs Gary Williams. guard. Students are used to taking disappointed with the turnout and the event. The panel included Ohio and Lindsay C. Jenkins, The efforts of C-M staff and a test where there is a narrative thought that this year’s event had Judge Donald C. Nugent and an associate with Jones Day in faculty are another reason why problem telling what the facts are. Judge Kathleen M. O’Malley Cleveland. graduates performed well on the See CEREMONY page 3 See BAR PASSAGE page 2 Center works to improve elections By Brenda Hruska primary took place. the Board of security, and it is troublesome The most STAFF WRITER Elections had a signifi cant short- that the private sector is more Cleveland did not fare well age of poll workers. Hoke offered fully engaged in understanding in the national spotlight for its the help of CSU students. the technology behind tabulation popular work administration of elections in “CSU filled every training equipment than the Board of Elec- November 2004 and May 2006. place and 100 percent showed tions, Hoke added. abroad spots The Center for Election Integrity, up,” Hoke said. Students have This lack of expertise in the part of both C-M and Cleveland continued to step in. This fall, 280 technical side of elections also State University’s urban affairs students signed up and worked in hurts the election-day staff. “Staff The following is a list of the most popular college, hoped to turn that around Cuyahoga County. are being asked to implement work abroad locations for lawyers who speak this year. “This community stepped up e-voting systems without be- English. Candice Hoke, a C-M law pro- beautifully,” said Hoke. “It was a ing given effective training and fessor and the Center’s Director, real exciting refl ection of the pub- support … and then they’re the along with the Cuyahoga County lic commitment of this university. ones accused of incompetence, 1. The Netherlands Election Review Panel, issued a CSU is seen as one of the best mismanagement or even fraud,” 2. Germany 200-page report on how the Board allies in fi lling support jobs.” said Hoke. “It’s not a rational way 3. Great Britain of Elections can improve. Student poll workers, how- to get a high quality system, and 4. Austria “It’s an indefensible chaotic ever, are just a part of the effort as an educator, I’m particularly system,” Hoke said. One of the to improve the administration of offended.” 5. Hong Kong Panel’s main suggestions was to elections in Cuyahoga County. Students enrolled in Hoke’s 6. Australia improve poll worker recruitment “For several years, the attitude election law course also took part 7. Spain training. This is where C-M and tended to be ‘this will blow over,’ by participating in the elections. 8. Ireland CSU students stepped in during and it did until the next election,” From their experience, the stu- 9. Luxembourg the November 2006 election. said Hoke. “We are slowly getting dents made recommendations for “The Center has been going away from complacency.” reform, and Hoke is integrating non-stop since last April,” Hoke Major improvements are still them into the Board of Elections Source: The National Jurist, Vol. 16, No. 3 said. A week before the May needed in technical training and report on the November election. THE GAVEL Page 2 Law December 2006 Dean pleased with BLSALaw promotes film on crisis in Darfur bar passage results, By Tiffany Elmore 90’s. The BBC article stated that the troops fell victim to attacks resulting STAFF WRITER government is suspected of aiding in injury and death during stabilization praises students The National Black Law Students the Janjaweed in its exploits. The operations. Association held International Day of Sudanese government has denied any At this time, an estimated two By Geoffrey Mearns - link to the group and has “promised to million people have been displaced On October 27, 2006, we received some very good news: Service on Nov. 9, to urge local chap ters to educate members and the law disarm” the group. and living in refugee camps in both our graduates who took the Ohio bar examination for the community about the ongoing conflict In May, efforts to elicit peace under Darfur and its neighbor, Chad. The first time in July 2006 passed at a rate of 84 percent. That in Darfur, Sudan. The BLSA chapter at the Darfur Peace Agreement were frus- Janjaweed is linked to the deaths of percentage is our highest passage rate since the passing trated by rebel leaders who told Hu- 200,000 people and the destruction of score was raised approximately ten years ago. C-M collaborated with BLSA at Case man Rights Watch “they rejected the hundreds of villages, reported Human Indeed, the highest passage rate we attained during that Western University to promote the DPA because it failed to sufficiently Rights Watch. Civilians continue to be period was 75 percent, which we achieved twice. This viewing of the documentary, “Darfur address key issues including a victim’s attacked and the conflict has spilled year, our graduates exceeded that previous Diaries: Message from Home”, held compensation fund, power-sharing, into Chad, threatening those who have benchmark by nine percentage points! at Case. The documentary exposes rebel representation in government sought refuge. In relative terms, these results were the internal conflict that has ravaged and disarmament of the Janjaweed According to Human Rights equally impressive. Our passage rate tied Darfur for the last three years. Non-government organizations militias.” Further, division among Watch, the United Nations Security us for fifth – with Ohio State – among the like Human Rights Watch have fo- opposing groups resulted in the forma- Council recommended sanctions for nine Ohio law schools. For the July exam, cused attention on the conflict since tion of the National Redemption Front a number of Sudanese officials for we have only finished fifth on two previous its early stages. According to Human group and continued complication in committing human rights violations. occasions during the last ten years – and we Rights Watch, the Sudanese militia peacekeeping attempts. Additionally, the International Crimi- The have never finished higher than fifth. called “Janjaweed” has fought with As of Nov. 16, Darfur has agreed nal Court has opened an investigation Dean’s Our passage rate was even higher - to deploy about 7,000 African Union into the Darfur situation, however, at than some of the so-called “national” law rebel groups called the Sudanese Lib Column eration Army/Movement, SLA/SLM, troops rather than concede to the this time no officials have been sanc- schools, such as the University of Michi- United Nations peacekeeping mis- tioned or tried in connection with the gan.