The New York Law School Reporter, March 1998

digitalcommons.nyls.edu NYLS Publications Student Newspapers 1998 The ewN York Law School Reporter, March 1998 New York Law School Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/newspapers Recommended Citation New York Law School, "The eN w York Law School Reporter, March 1998" (1998). Student Newspapers. 23. https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/newspapers/23 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the NYLS Publications at DigitalCommons@NYLS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Newspapers by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@NYLS. TkR~ 1 The Lioness of Liberty A Look at Professor Nadine Strossen by Hansen Alexander Features Editor When Professor Nadine Strossen's hero, Justice Wllliam 0. Douglas, died in 1975, Presi dent Carter called him "a lion-like defender of liberty." The first woman and youngest person to become prestdent of the American Civil Lib erties Union, Nadine Strossen has carried on the defense of individual liberties embodied in the Constitution's Bill of Rights in the same flam boyant, controversial manner as Douglas. Strossen defends the Bill of Rights ev erywhere: On ABC's "Politically Incorrect." On "The Late Show" with Tom Snyder. On "The ~ - '-- Charles Grodin Show." On CNN. On Oliver North's radio program. On Court TV. On Charlie Rose. On Italian national television. Before the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution. In a Playboy interview. De bating Justice Antonin Scalia and Phyllis Schlafly. On the nation's premier personality page, the Style section of The Washington Post. Fighting for constitutional rights is "often an unpopular business. For example, Strossen wrote in volume 24 of the Fordham Urban Law Journal, at 455, "Too many ACLU clients who · Continued on page 31 A Life Less Ordinary Wallace Stevens '03 and a Century of Neglect for One yer. After a brief career in journalism and feel onstrates that both the law and Stevens' New ofNYLS's Most ing pressure from his father to go to law school, York Law School training influenced his prize Stevens decided to enroll at New York Law winning poetry. Komstein refutes the conclu Distinguished Graduates School in 1901. He graduated in 1903 after com sion of Stanford Law School professor Thomas pleting the two year course of study (standard at Grey's book The Wallace Stevens Case: Law by Michael J. Fahy and the Practice of Poetry, that Stevens's po Editor-in-Chief, NYLS Law Review ems reflect no legal influence. He attempts to disprove the beliefs that Stevens' two lives, lit Who is New York Law School's most erary and legal, were kept apart and that traces accomplished graduate? Any answer to this ques of his legal background cannot be found in his tion depends on the criteria one uses in consid poetry. Komstein does this by identifYing twelve ering a person's accomplishments. Obviously, characteristics evidencing the legal influence in becoming a Supreme Court Justice, a member Stevens' poetry, ranging from his explicit legal of Congress, or head of a company, positions in references to his style and method. Professor which New York Law School graduates have Komstein theorizes that by examining Stevens' gone on to serve, must be considered distin poetry-his choice of words, his ambiguity at guished accomplishments. times and clarity at others, and his advocacy However, in addition to the judges, poli throughout his work~ne can see evidence of ticians, and business leaders that may come to his legal training. mind, one has to place lawyer-poet Wallace However Professor Komstein's exami Stevens among the school's most accomplished nation of Stevens is more than just a biography graduates. In his article The Double Life of of a distinguished graduate and it is more than Wallace Stevens: Is Law Ever the "Necessary simply a discussion of legal influence on one Angel" of Creative Art?, Professor Daniel artist's work. It is an examination and explora Kornstein explores the life, the legal career, and tion of what Komstein terms the "double life" most of all the poetry of Wallace Stevens. The one in law, one in the creative arts. Komstein article, which is published in the latest issue of also boldly asks the question, as the title states, the New York Law School Law Review, illumi whether law nates the many achievements, both legal and lit or legal train erary, ofWallace Stevens, NewYorkLaw School mg IS neces class of 1903. sary to one's Professor Kornstein's work grew creative art. out of a presentation he gave last spring to the Kornstein New York Law School community. He wrote cites many ex the article to recognize a man who he believes amples of the has been neglected by New York Law School world's mas for almost a century. Komstein points out that terful creative 156 people, many of them not New York artists. Law School graduates, have received H e honorary degrees from this school. Kornstein uses the \Vork and the life tells us Wallace Stevens, the recipient ofthe 1947 t h at Bollinger Prize in Poetry, 1951 National of \Vallace Stevens to demonstrate poets Book Award, 1955 National Book that legal training and a career in such as Award, and 195 5 Pulitzer Prize, has never Edgar Lee Masters and Archibald been honored by New York Law School. la\v could be necessary to one"s art. MacLeish; writers such as Gustave According to Komstein, this lack of Flaubert, Leo Tolstoy, Franz Kafka, and the time), and was admitted to the bar in 1904. honor is an injustice Robert Louis Stevenson; composers such as Pe For several years Stevens struggled in private and his article is an at ter Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky, and Robert practice. Having trouble earning a living, Stevens tempt to do justice to Schumann; and painters such as Henri Matisse went "in-house" with an insurance company and Stevens for the years of and Edgar Degas all had legal training of some eventually settled in Connecticut with the Hart neglect. kind. Komstein uses the work and the life of ford Accident and Indemnity Company. It was Wallace Stevens to demonstrate that legal train there that Wallace Stevens developed into an ex Kornstein begins his ing and a career in law could be necessary to cellent lawyer and gained a national reputation work by giving us a one's art. He tells us that Stevens excelled in his in the field of insurance law. Stevens became rare look at the life of legal work and practiced law throughout his life. one of only four vice presidents of the company Wallace Stevens, his He then asks how such an enormous part of and continued working until his death in 1955. path to New York Law Stevens' life could not have influenced Stevens' In addition to presenting readers with School, and his suc Stevens' background, Komstein's article dem- cessful career as a law- continued on page 10 Does the Academic Responsibility Committee have too much leeway in deciding remedies? by David Drossman Professor Editor-in-Chief Samuels said, Recently I had the op portunity to speak at length with Professor Samuels regarding the Academic Responsibility Com mittee (ARC). 1he Reporter had been contacted by four former students and has assigned remedies." He continued, "It to an attorney who claimed to be preparing a law tally depends on the circumstances ... sometimes suit against NYLS for wrongful dismissal by the it depends on the person." ARC. They claim that the ARC's structure and Further, Samuels mentioned that recent rules give NYLS too much discretion when de rule changes allow the ARC to infer guilt from a ciding sanctions. student who remains silent. "Students have the right to remain silent but there are inferences that may be made from that silence." Also, the ARC has the right to take action if they feel that a The Reporter student's actions are not "appropriate profes sional conduct." Finally, Samuels said that NYLS New York Law School does not currently and, to his knowledge, has never compared its procedures and penalties to Editor-in-Chief those of other Jaw schools. These broad grants David Drossnum ofjurisd!ction should have been questioned and reviewed by students, but they have gone unno Features Editor hand-there's no politicking." Dean Wellington ticed. HGliSDI Alexander appointed Prof. Samuels to Chair the ARC three At every stage of our meeting, I felt like years ago. Samuels was holding something back. "This is E~ecutive Staff' Editor . Before that point, there were only 2-3 very tricky to even talk about," he said referring catboy cases a year. Unfortunately, the year Prof. to his ARC duties, "but I'm a very good law Samuels took over, the number ofcases skyrock yer. .. If you ask about it and you don't know Stafi'Editon eted to 9-10 annually. And although the number about it, I'm not going to tell you" or "you'll Mtll'lin AstltnWJ of cases for the 1996-97 academic year seemed hear that in due course" were typical of his side Matt BreW low when the last report came out in May (two stepping and vague responses. Although he con Clulrles Hy~ cases), the numbers have since climbed to meet tinually dodged tough questions, he gave a fac Cylttldii'Libntm the averages ofthe last few years. Said Samuels, tually informative interview. 11sii ¥Iller "In May oflast year we were happy. As of May, The ARC has been keeping law and or we had only two cases. We were delighted. But Jaaic~TO'K"'" der at NYLS for over 10 years.

Load more