March 2005 News

The March 12th edition of the CrimProf [Criminal Law Professors'] Blog features a profile of Professor Larry Cunningham. Each week, the CrimProf blog features a profile of a different criminal law or procedure professor from around the country.

Click here to read the profile

Prof. Larry Cunningham and student attorneys Ken Richey and Greta Braker filed a brief on March 3, 2005, in support of clients who were convicted of delivering a controlled substance to a child. The "children" in question were fetuses at the time the offense occurred. The clients---the children's mothers--- were pregnant at the time and are alleged to have committed the offense by transmitting drugs to their fetuses in utero. This is a case of first impression in Texas. The clinic is assisting court appointed counsel Joe Dawson on a pro bono basis. This case---and the Clinic's work---is featured on the CrimProf law blog here.

Professor Marilyn Phelan has been designated as a Paul Whitfield Horn Professor by the Texas Tech Board of Regents. This is Texas Tech's most prestigious academic designation - there are only 25 Horn Professors throughout the university - and it is a very appropriate recognition of the extraordinary scholarship, teaching, and service Professor Phelan has given to our students, our law school, and our profession during her singularly outstanding and diverse career.

About Horn Professorships
"Horn Professorships, the highest honor that the university may bestow on members of its faculty, are granted to professors in recognition of their attainment of national and/or international distinction for outstanding research or other creative, scholarly achievement" (Source: Texas Tech Operating Policy and Procedure Manual - OP 32.09)

Professor Calvin Lewis is one of only nine professors at Texas Tech to be selected to receive the Texas Tech Alumni Association New Faculty Award for 2005. He will be recognized at the Faculty Honors Convocation on April 12, 2005.

Professor Susan Saab Fortney is the recipient of the 2005 Texas Tech President's Excellence in Academic Achievement Award. Professor Fortney will be recognized at the Faculty Honors Convocation on April 12, 2005.

Professor James Eissinger has been selected as the Texas Tech President's Excellence in Teaching Award recipient for 2005. Professor Eissinger will be recognized at the Faculty Honors Convocation on April 12, 2005.

Dean Walter Huffman will speak on March 5th at Georgetown University in Washington on The Legal and Ethical Role and Responsibilities of the Military Physician in the Medical Care and the Interrogation of Prisoners of War. The conference is co-sponsored by the Academy of Medicine of Washington and Georgetown University. The conference Chair is Dr. Harvey Fineberg, President of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences.

Associate Dean Brian Shannon and Horn Professor Daniel Benson had the 3rd edition of their popular book, Texas Criminal Procedure & the Offender with Mental Illness, released in February. The book project was developed through a grant by the Texas Bar Foundation in conjunction with NAMI-Texas, the Texas affiliate of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. That organization is shipping free copies to Texas judges, prosecutors, and criminal defense attorneys. Shannon and Benson donated their time to the project on a pro bono basis. For more information and access to a web-based version of the book, see http://www.namitexas.org.

Tech Law Mock Trial team of Brandon Benoit and Melissa Morgan won the Texas Young Lawyer's Association Mock Trial Regional Championship in Dallas. The Texas Tech School of Law congratulates the coaches  and the team on this significant achievement. We wish them good luck in the National Competition.
Team Coaches: Adjunct Professors Murray Hensley and Dick Baker.

Congratulations to Tech's Kimberly Clark, Deborah Dictson, Pamela Ferguson and Samantha Peabody (all 2Ls) for reaching the semi-final round of the Jessup International Law Moot Court regional competition. The students demonstrated exceptional skill and knowledge and we are extremely proud of their achievement. Since Tech returned to the Jessup arena three years ago, this is the second time that our school has reached the semi-finals.

Gara Hill and Brandon Hill (2L students) competed in the ABA Regional Client Counseling Competition on February 19 in Houston. They narrowly missed making the final round by only 2 points even though prevailing over 1 of the 2 teams making it to the final round in head-to-head competition during the preliminary rounds. Law schools from Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah participated in the competition.

Thanks to the generosity of alumni and friends, Dean Walter B. Huffman proudly announces the establishment of one of the largest endowed professorships in the history of the Texas Tech University School of Law. The Governor Preston Smith Regents' Endowed Professorship will be announced formally at a press conference on Friday, February 18, 2005 at 2:00 p.m. in the Law School Forum. Governor Preston Smith, now deceased, was the person who both championed and signed the legislation creating the Texas Tech University School of Law.

Click here to see the complete list of donors.

Tech Law 2L's Mandy Gundlach and Joy Gibbs placed second at nationals in the ABA Law Student Division Negotiation Competition held in Salt Lake City February 13th. Gundlach and Gibbs placed higher than 22 of the 24 teams competing as the top representatives of their regions. They negotiated in three rounds on issues relating to art law. Team coaches: Deans Brian Shannon and Nancy Soonpaa.

Professor Ann Graham will deliver a paper and presentation on "Sarbanes-Oxley Issues for Texas Banks" for the 31st Annual Legal Conference hosted by the Texas Savings & Community Bankers Association (TSCBA) and the Independent Bankers Association of Texas (IBAT). The Conference is March 31 - April 1, 2005 in Horseshoe Bay, Texas. Attendance will be more than 100 Texas lawyers and bankers.