Vanderbilt Law News

Fitzpatrick, a complex litigation expert, proposes a way to end qualified immunity while still discouraging frivolous lawsuits against police and government officials in a June 25 opinion piece published in The Hill: eliminate qualified immunity for liability, but keep it for attorneys' fees. Read More

The Supreme Court's DACA decision has given Dreamers new hope, but it could have dangerous implications for anti-discrimination law, by suggesting that courts should not consider the biased statements of policymakers in evaluating whether their policies were motivated by discriminatory intent. Read More

Ricks is one of 10 scholars from across Vanderbilt University selected for the honor, which includes additional funding for research and opportunities to exchange ideas with scholars from other schools. Read More

In a forthcoming California Law Review article, Slobogin proposes the establishment of separate federal courts specializing in criminal cases, backed by a National Court of Criminal Appeals, along with a “modernized regime” of indeterminate sentencing to relieve overcrowded dockets in the federal justice system and reduce the federal prison population. The article is discussed in a June 12 article, "The Case for Federal Criminal Courts and Sentencing Reform," published by The Crime Report. Slobogin directs the Criminal Justice Program at Vanderbilt. Read More

The award, named for former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota III '65 (BA'60) honors a judge who has demonstrated extraordiary devotion and dedication to the improvement of the law, the legal system and the administration of justice in Tennessee. Read More

Ricks and Giancarlo were among four witnesses whose testimoney addressed “Inclusive Banking during a Pandemic: Using FedAccounts and Digital Tools to Improve Delivery of Stimulus Payments." They testified before the House Financial Service Committee Task Force on Financial Technology during a virtual hearing June 11. Read More

Report by eight prominent criminal justice scholar proposes urgently needed reforms to address enduring problems in American policing. Read More

Judge Trauger was appointed to the Middle District of Tennessee in 1998 after serving as a federal bankruptcy judge. Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw '81 (BA'79), who nominated her for the award together with other Sixth Circuit colleagues, said, "Judge Trauger has demonstrated extraordinary industry, character and intellect in every position she has held in her distinguished career. Even more remarkable is the fact that, throughout her career, she has been the first or one of the first women to hold each position.” Read More

The story, "Millions have been invested in the emerging field of neurolaw. Where is it leading?", highlights the results of projects sponsored by the Research Network and features its director, Owen Jones, who holds the Glenn M. Weaver, M.D., and Mary Ellen Weaver Chair in Law, Brain and Behavior. Read More

New research by Owen Jones, Christopher Jaeger '09 and two colleagues may explain why we sometimes overvalue items we’ve acquired—to an irrational degree—irrespective of their market or sentimental value. The endowment effect can lead people to make unpredictable economic decisions and has far-reaching implications for legal policy relating to markets and business. Jones holds the Glenn M. Weaver, M.D. and Mary Ellen Weaver Chair in Law, Brain, and Behavior, and Jaeger is an acting assistant professor of lawyering at New York University who also holds a Ph.D. in psychology from Vanderbilt. Read More