July 2005 News
Paul Whitfield Horn Professor Marilyn Phelan will present “Entity Selection for Charities and Asset Protection for Nonprofits” at the Charitable Giving and Representing Nonprofit Organizations CLE on August 5, 2005. The CLE is sponsored by the TexasBarCLE and the Business Law Section of the State Bar of Texas. It will be held in Houston, TX.
HEARING ON THURSDAY IN LUBBOCK ON PROPOSED CODE OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT REVISIONS
The Texas Supreme Court will hold a hearing in Lubbock on Thursday about the revisions to the Code of Judicial Conduct proposed by a task force the Court created after the U.S. Supreme Court's 2002 decision in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White that certain restraints against judicial speech were unconstitutional.
The hearing will begin at 1:30 pm on July 21 in the Texas Tech University School of Law courtroom. All are welcome to observe and to comment.
The proposed revisions reach further than changes in the Code approved by the Court immediately after the White decision. Rather, the Task Force was charged to review thoroughly the state's Code of Judicial Conduct. This was the first full review of the Code in more than 10 years.
In January, the Task Force issued its final report. The final report, as well as transcripts of the Task Force's meetings and other helpful background information, are posted on the Court's Web site.
Other hearings on the proposed revisions will be July 28 in San Antonio at St. Mary's University School of Law and August 11 in Dallas at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law.
Any interested person or organization may also submit written comments to Lisa Hobbs, Rules Attorney, The Supreme Court of Texas, P.O. Box 12248, Austin, Texas 78711.
On July 14, 2005, Professor Sutton, Director, Center for Biodefense, Law and Public Policy, will speak at the NIAID Conference on Biodefense Product Development in Bethesda, MD, on "Legal Aspects of Public Private Partnerships in Biodefense Product Development."
On July 17, 2005, Professor Sutton will participate in a panel discussing "Deadwood: The Power of Film to Teach Foundations in Native American Treaty Law and U.S. Territorial Law" at the American Association of Law Libraries Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX.
On June 28, 2005, Associate Dean Richard D. Rosen, Director of the Texas Tech Center for Military Law & Policy, testified in Washington, D.C., before the Independent Review Panel studying the relationship between the Military Department General Counsel and the Military Service Judge Advocates General. The Panel is co-chaired by former Secretary of the Air Force F. Whitten Peters and former Secretary of the Army John O. Marsh, Jr. Retired Judge Advocate General of the Army, Dean Walter B. Huffman, is a member of the Panel. The Panel was chartered by Congress in this year’s Defense Authorization Act to study the legal elements of the military departments and to recommend statutory, regulatory, and policy changes to improve the effectiveness of the relationships between legal offices and to enhance the legal support provided to the armed forces.
Professor Gerry Beyer presents two articles at the 29th Annual Estate Planning and Probate Course sponsored by the State Bar of Texas.
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Case Law Update -- This article discusses recent judicial developments relating to the Texas law of intestacy, wills, estate administration, trusts, and other estate planning matters. The discussion of each case concludes with a moral, i.e., the important lesson to be learned from the case. By recognizing situations which have lead to time consuming and costly litigation in the past, estate planners can reduce the likelihood of the same situations arising with their clients.
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Trusts and Planning Issues for the Family Pet or Other Valuable Animal -- The primary goal of the pet owner’s attorney is to carry out the pet owner’s intent to the fullest extent allowed under applicable law. Accordingly, the attorney should select a method which has the highest likelihood of working successfully to provide for the pet after its owner’s death. This article discusses the variety of techniques currently available and comments on the advisability of each.
Professor Cochran quoted in a front-page article in the Houston Chronicle. The article addresses the Vioxx case that Lanier is set to try on the 11th. Click here to read the full article.
Professor Gerry Beyer lectures for the Bar/Bri Review Course in Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City. His topics are Commercial Paper and Secured Transactions.
His recent publications include the 2005 Pocket Parts to Texas Law of Wills (volumes 9 & 10 of the Texas Practice Series) and the June 2005 issue of Estate Planning Developments for Texas Professionals (a newsletter distributed by Frost Bank) entitled Recent Developments from the Texas Courts (June 2005).