University of Pittsburgh School of Law Faculty Blog

Professor Lawrence Frolik’s article, “Needed: The Right of a Retiree to Convert a 401(k) Account into a Federally Guaranteed Annuity” was published in 17 Journal of Pension Benefits 7 (Summer 2010). In the article, Professor Frolik argues that retirees are generally not capable of successfully managing a lump-sum distribution from a 401(k) plan over the 30 or more years of retirement. Instead, they need to be able to purchase a federally guaranteed lifetime annuity.

Professor John Burkoff was quoted in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in a story covering the question of recusal of a federal district judge in Pittsburgh in matters in which the federal Public Defender’s Office appears.

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Professor Charles C. Jalloh published a JURIST op-ed titled “(Re)Writing History After Rwanda’s Genocide: A Response to Peter Erlinder,” on August 31, 2010.

A quote:

In the final analysis, as the Trial Chamber observed when it rendered oral judgment in the Military I case on December 18, 2008, it is clear that immense human slaughter and suffering took place during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Whether Professor Erlinder is right or wrong on how history should judge those events, despite the best intentions of well meaning lawyers and academics, we must always be mindful that “the process of a criminal trial cannot depict the entire picture of what happened in Rwanda”.

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Professor John Burkoff was interviewed by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in connection with a report that attorneys for Pittsburgh teenager Jordan Miles are an injunction against  police officers accused of beating Mr. Miles.

University of Pittsburgh law professor John Burkoff said Miles is unlikely to obtain the permanent injunction, because judges can only order public officials to perform actions they’re legally required to carry out, not ones where they have discretion.

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Professor David Harris was interviewed August 30 on KDKA AM concerning media reports that the U.S. Department of Justice has decided not to pursue federal civil rights charges against the three officers accused of beating Pittsburgh CAPA High School student Jordan Miles last January.  He explained the difference between federal and state charges in such cases, and stated that the failure of the federal government to pursue charges does not, as many people think, preclude the Allegheny County District Attorney from pursuing charges against the police officers.

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Professor David Harris was interviewed by the Pittsburgh Tribune Review concerning statistics that show a drop in Taser use extending over 2008, 2009, and into 2010.  He explained that once officers become accustomed to new weapons and tactics and have a better idea of how to get results with them, they are sometimes less inclined to use them in situations in which they can do without them.  “It does take time for these things to shake out.  The thing we know for sure is, this is a cycle every new device goes through.”

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Professor Deborah Brake was interviewed about her book, Getting in the Game: Title IX and the Women’s Sports Revolution (NYU Press 2010) for the program “Think” on Dallas public radio.  The one hour program was taped live on August 30, 2010.

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Professor Haider Ala Hamoudi was interviewed by BBC Radio for London broadcast recently, respecting a recent Saudi case where a man was potentially being sentenced to be paralyzed by a hospital as punishment for his paralyzing a person during a fight.

Professor Rhonda Wasserman was quoted by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in a story about class action litigation.

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Professor Ronald Brand was invited to write an article for the Harvard International Review Summer 2010 issue, and that article, “Exporting Legal Education: Lessons Learned From Efforts in Transition Countries,” has now been published, here.

Professor Brand discusses curricular developments at U.S. law schools, not from the perspective of internal matters, but from the perspective of external impact on a global basis. He argues that curricular changes should be made only with consideration of the impact of US professional legal education on efforts to provide positive change throughout the world, and especially in transition countries.

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