New Comments Address Fraud Sentencing and Deferred Prosecution Agreements


Written on August 25, 2010 – 1:21 pm | by Noah Moroney

The latest issue of the Marquette Law Review features a student comment by Ryan Parsons on the treatment of “temporary victims” under the federal sentencing guidelines.  In crimes such as bank fraud, individual accountholders that have been defrauded are often reimbursed by the bank and, therefore, made economically whole.  Such reimbursed accountholders are often ignored for purposes of sentencing enhancement, even though reimbursement may not occur without time and effort expended by these temporary victims.  Parsons describes how various courts have dealt with this phenomenon, as well as the Federal Sentencing Commission’s recent decision to include all such temporary victims in the enhancement calculation regardless of whether the defrauded accountholders even knew about the fraud.  Parsons argues that in order for a sentence to accurately reflect the severity of the crime, temporary victims should be taken into account to the extent that they suffered actual, monetizable losses (e.g., time spent pursuing mitigation).

This issue also includes Rachel Delaney’s comment analyzing the use of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) in the corporate crime context, ultimately calling for congressional regulation of prosecutorial discretion.  

Tr

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Tags: Sentencing, Sentencing Deferred

Atul Gawande


Written on August 25, 2010 – 11:50 am | by Imogen Fahey

There are 3 core requirements for success in “any endeavor that involves risk and responsibility,” writes Atul Gawande in his book Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance.

1. Diligence (“giving sufficient attention to detail to avoid error and prevail against obstacles”)

2. Doing right (dealing with “human failings, failings like avarice, arrogance, insecurity, misunderstanding”)

3. Ingenuity (“thinking anew…a willingness to recognize failure, to not paper over the cracks, and to change…obsessive reflection on failure and a constant searching for new solutions”).

Since we’re obsessed with performance – exactly how good are the teachers who come out of our program – we look for ideas outside of the normal K-12 world, like Gawande’s.

I asked my colleague Laura how she thought our teacher preparation follows Gawande’s precepts, and she replied:

1. Diligence

We are hyper-attentive to detail in every way. We show our trainees the “right

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Tags: Atul Gawande, Gawande

Federal-Intrusion Talk on Common Standards: A Win-Win?


Written on August 25, 2010 – 12:30 am | by Justin Fraser

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If you’ve been following the common-standards initiative, you know that the “don’t tread on me” spirit has proved to be one of the flashpoints in that work. And even now, with three-quarters of the states having already adopted the standards, we’re still hearing states rattle their sabers at the feds over the common standards (headline version: “States to Feds: Stay the Hell Away From My Standards”).

The federal-intrusion sentiment pre-existed Race to the Top, of course. That resentment was one of the ingredients in the implosion of earlier attempts at national standards. Keen awareness of that history shaped the name and rhetoric around this effort (think state, not national, standards). But Race to the Top incentives for common-standards adoption activated those Jungian federal-intrusion archetypes, creating, as Yogi Berra once said, that sense of deja vu all over again.

That put the leaders of the common-standards work in the position of having to disentangle the initiative from the Education Department’s support of it.

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Tags: Common Standards, Standards

Even bizarre college clubs get students more engaged


Written on August 21, 2010 – 2:43 pm | by Christopher Tulloch

Joining clubs is one of many ways students network and develop lasting friendships, says John Gardner, president of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education and author of Your College Experience: Strategies for Success.

Students interact, learn more

David Bebeau, 20, founded the Humans vs. Zombies club at the University of Wisconsin in 2009. Bebeau describes Humans vs. Zombies, which has become popular on campuses across the country, as a “massive game of tag.” Players are split into two groups; humans who are tagged by zombies become zombies themselves, and the game ends when the last human is tagged.

As many as 300 students play the week-long game that goes on 24/7. Bebeau says the club brings together a diverse group of students who wouldn’t otherwise interact.

“We get athletes with the hardest of the hard-core nerds, and people who would never actually play together have become very good friends,” he says.

Though the main purpose of some clubs is just to have fun, others extend the learning experience.

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Tags: Students, Students Engaged

School year starts with bigger classes, reduced resources


Written on August 21, 2010 – 10:51 am | by Justin Fraser

School is back in session in most local districts, and students and staff are noticing big changes.

Last year, public school districts started the year with fewer teachers, bigger classes and reduced resources.

This year, it’s worse.

Classes of 30-plus students are now commonplace in Sacramento-area schools, as districts have laid off teachers to balance deflated budgets.

Many students are starting the year with little or no access to a library or school bus. There are fewer nurses, counselors and administrators. And sports, music, art, shop and other programs have become luxuries some districts simply can’t afford. Most students will attend school for fewer days and could be on an entirely different calendar.

Here is a sampling of this year’s school changes:

School libraries cut back

Principal Michelle Jenkins spends her mornings in the Elitha Donner Elementary library in Elk Grove shelving books. In the afternoon, she checks them out for students.

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Tags: Bigger Classes, Reduced

Top Ten Reasons to Study Abroad in Giessen, Germany


Written on August 20, 2010 – 8:22 am | by Noah Moroney

Here are the top ten reasons to attend the Summer Session In International and Comparative Law in Giessen, Germany sponsored annually by the Marquette University Law School and the University of Wisconsin Law School:

10. You can start a blog about your experience. 

9. Avoid the Milwaukee Brewers’ annual mid-season collapse.

8. Frankfurt is the perfect jumping off point for side trips around Europe.

7. Get to know law students from exotic places like Brazil, Norway and Racine (see photo 1).

6. German mosquitos are itty bitty compared to Wisconsin mosquitos.

5. Beer mixed with lemon juice tastes MUCH better than you think.

4. Rumor that Fallone grades more leniently outside of the continental United States.

3. Relaxed dress code for faculty is surefire conversation starter at the bar after class (see photo 2).

2. Compare Great Cathedrals of Europe to Eckstein Hall.

1. Take

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Tags: Germany, Ten Reasons, Top Ten, Top Ten Reasons