Faculty News 11 - College of Law

Rebranding the Department of Defense is a miss, Curtis writes

ROTC members take part in the Illinois Homecoming parade

In an opinion piece written for Stars and Stripes, Professor Yulanda Curtis shares her feeling that rebranding the Department of Defense as the “Department of War” is a damaging decision. She draws on her background as the daughter of service members as well as the founder of the Veterans Legal Clinic at the College of Law to share uncommon insight into the issue. “I see firsthand the mental and physical sacrifices service members make. As the daughter of veterans, I watched my parents serve this country for decades,” she writes. “There’s a high risk our troops will experience a lasting moral injury as they are ordered to act as political instruments.”

Read the full editorial on Stars and Stripes.

Aronson writes op-ed about protecting immigrant students

Professor Lauren Aronson teaches a class.

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) allows abused, abandoned, or neglected children a pathway for lawful permanent residence, and eventually US citizenship, once a state court judge determines they have suffered maltreatment and it was not in their best interest to return home. The Trump administration stopped considering SJIS applicants for deferred action, stating “a juvenile court determination relating to the best interest” of children is not a “sufficiently compelling” reason to protect them from deportation and allow them to legally sustain themselves while here. Writing at Common Dreams, Professor Lauren Aronson shares her view of this shift in policy.

“Many SIJS kids, like Sonia, lived their entire lives dreaming of this kind of freedom, which those of us born in the United States take for granted. They deserve, as all children do, the chance to be children,” Aronson writes.

Read her full editorial on Common Dreams.

Wexler and Ghiotto pen two-part series on military lawyers in civilian law

The Trump administration’s decision to use military lawyers to enforce civilian law was found to violate the Posse Comitatus Act in the Northern District of California, but the simple act of using military lawyers as prosecutors in federal courts and judges in immigration cases is alarming, write Professors Lesley Wexler and Tony Ghiotto. In a two-part series for Justia Verdict, they examine the consequences of the increasing use of the military domestically and why such use should be concerning to all Americans.

“This Administration’s…lawful, but awful policies leave us…hoping for effective political pushback from the public,” they write.

Read part one and part two on Justia Verdict.

Thomas cited in article on disappearing jury trials

Today, juries decide only about 1% of civil cases, a far cry from 1962 when juries decided about 6% of civil cases. An article examining this trend, published by The Conversation, the authors cite Professor Suja Thomas’ book “The Missing American Jury” to illustrate their point about how the trend has the effect of less fairness. “They…benefit political and economic elites by wresting away some of the power that formerly belonged to juries. The cumulative effect is fewer community judgments and more private, judicial and legislative control over outcomes,” the authors write.

Read the full article on The Conversation.

AI in Cancer Surgery and Care Conference features wide range of expertise and fosters interdisciplinary dialogue

A panel discussion featuring two females and one male, during the AI in Cancer Surgery and Care Conference

In partnership with the Cancer Center at Illinois, the University of Illinois College of Law hosted the AI in Cancer Surgery and Care Conference on September 4th and 5th, 2025.

Organized by Sara Gerke, Associate Professor of Law & Richard W. & Marie L. Corman Scholar at the University of Illinois, the conference brought together a diverse group of experts to explore the transformative impact of AI on cancer diagnosis, treatment, and surgery. Keynote addresses were delivered by Dr. Ronan Cahill (University College Dublin) and Dr. Ravi Parikh (Emory University), and panel discussions featured 17 additional speakers from within academia and the medical field. The conference facilitated dialogue across disciplines and addressed not only medical and technical breakthroughs, but also the ethical and legal implications of these innovations.

A male speaker presents during the AI in Cancer Surgery and Care Conference

Timothy Fan, a presenter at the AI in Cancer Surgery and Care Conference, holds a microphone and speaks

Dr. Ronan Cahill delivers a keynote address during the AI in Cancer Surgery and Care Conference

A woman holds a microphone and speaks during the AI in Cancer Surgery and Care Conference

Professor Sara Gerke and other panelists enjoy a reception during the AI in Cancer Surgery and Care Conference

Dr. Rohit Bhargava delivers a keynote address during the AI in Cancer Surgery and Care Conference

Anderson and Lawless write about crypto and retirement for Bloomberg

The sun rises over the Illini Union. The Illini Union, which was dedicated in 1941, serves students and the campus in many ways, including housing the Illini Union Hotel, a credit union, a convenience store, information services, CITES (Campus IT) instructional facility, quick-service restaurants, a bowling alley and arcade, student performance spaces, and office space for Registered Student Organizations, student government, Student Legal Services, Student Tenant Union, LGBT Resource Center, and Union administration.

In a new opinion article published by Bloomberg, Professors Sean Anderson and Robert Lawless explain why they believe the Trump administration’s decision to allow workers to invest retirement savings in cryptocurrency and private equity is a bad decision for the workers. “There is no reason to expect that inviting plans to offer these alternative investments will lead to better outcomes overall for participants—especially considering the higher fees and expenses that typically come with them,” they write. “But there is ample reason to think these investment options will make things worse by increasing the risk of large losses for participants, most of whom can ill afford them.”

Read their full editorial.

Is flag burning always protected? Amar and Mazzone consider supporting cases

An American flag flies over Memorial Stadium.

In the wake of an executive order asking the Department of Justice to prioritize enforcement of criminal and civil laws against desecration of the United States flag, Professors Vikram Amar and Jason Mazzone examine some relevant cases decided by the Supreme Court and others. Writing at Justia Verdict, they conclude “singling out flag desecration would remain problematic because flag destruction reflects a particular (albeit somewhat capacious) viewpoint that is undeniably critical of government policy and the status quo.”

Read their full article on Justia Verdict.

Straight Arrow News quotes Leipold on Grand Jury in social media case

A woman accused of threatening President Donald Trump on social media had her case heard and dismissed by a Washington D.C. grand jury in September, with the jury has declined to bring charges. Writing about the case, Straight Arrow News quoted Professor Andrew Leipold, who shared that this was a rarity, as grand juries rarely reject cases.

Read the full article online.

Sherkow delivers speech at Michigan Intellectual Property workshop

On October 27, Professor Jacob Sherkow will be speaking at the Intellectual Property Workshop at Michigan Law School. He will be presenting a paper on the law of inducement in the pharmaceutical patent infringement cases, which is forthcoming in the Stanford Law Review.

Event details are available from the University of Michigan Law School.

Lawless discusses new book with Illinois News Bureau

In his new book, Debt’s Grip: Risk and Consumer Bankruptcy, Professor Robert Lawless and co-authors Pamela Foohey and Deborah Thorne examine the stories and the data behind people who file for bankruptcy in the U.S., finding the human nuance in the bankruptcy system. “When we thought about writing this book, we asked ourselves, ‘What do we have from the data that we think people would want to read?’” Lawless told the Illinois News Burea. “We also wanted to write a book that had a broader reach, so we realized that we had to show both the data and the personal stories of the people who show up in bankruptcy court.”