December 2005 News

Adjunct Professor and Director of the Innocence Project, Jeff Blackburn, quoted in the December 19, 2005, issue of Newsweek. Read more...

Noaman Azhar, a Tech Law second-year student, won the Best Oralist award at the John Marshall International Moot Court Championship. The competition was held on October 29, 2005 in Chicago. The Moot Court team was coached by Professor Don Hunt. Law School Dean, Walter B. Huffman says that, “It is an extraordinary achievement to be voted the best oral advocate at a major international moot court tournament, and we are extremely proud of Noaman for his hard work and exceptional talent.”

The Texas Tech University administration has approved professor Bryan T. Camp's application for a one semester sabbatical to work on a book on tax administration.The sabbatical will not become official until the Board of Regents approves the application. Professor Camp has proposed to write a book on the competing and conflicting legal theories underlying federal tax administration. The book will continue his scholarship on the nature of inquisitorial process in the modern bureaucratic state and will be a timely addition to the currrent debate over tax reform. While most debate on tax reform concerns what should be taxed (income, wealth, or consumption), an important part of tax reform involves how the federal government should administer the tax laws, regardless of their substantive content. That issue has not been adequately studied or thought about and this book will fill the vacuum. As one commentator has noted, "Professor Camp’s is the most theoretically sophisticated work being done today in tax procedure. I anticipate that his book will be a major resource for all working in the area of tax procedure."

The Texas Tech Law team of third year law students, Brandon Hill and Gara Hill, won First Place at the ABA Regional Negotiation Competition held at the Texas Tech University School of Law November 12-13. They will advance to the National finals in Chicago to be held February 2006. The team of Dawn Newell and Rachel Anthony (both second year students) finished in 3rd place. Leigh Mauer and Mike Lee (both third year students) finished fifth out of the 20 teams competing, and Leila Kallel and Derek Knolton (second year students) finished 7th. Congratulations to the teams and to the Tech Law Coaches, Associate Dean Brian Shannon and Professor Cristina Knolton.