{ prima facie } the Temple Law newspaper

by Scott Kuhagen, Staff Writer

The law school's new website will go live "as soon as possible," potentially in a matter of weeks, according to Assistant Dean for Computer and Information Technology Shyam Nair.

Nair stated that most websites have a lifetime of three years, and that with the current Temple Law site in its sixth year the time had come for a new online presence for the law school.
The design for the new site was chosen last spring, when the Temple Law community overwhelmingly chose one design over two other candidates.

The content on the current site, contained on at least 2,000 pages, will mostly be transferred to the new site, because the school did not want to generate completely new content. However, because the technology underlying the current site is no longer supported, the school chose to switch to using the Microsoft Sharepoint technology that allows for the old content to be converted into a format that can be used on the new site.

The latest edition of Temple Prima Facie boasts a whole new staff and new print layout. The PDF version of the print edition is available for download. Look for text versions of the articles on this website in the future. For now, please use the text-searchable PDF.

Download Temple Prima Facie, Volume 3, Issue 1, Winter 2010 (546 kb)

Contents include . . .

Temple Section:
-- Inside Klein: Real talk with Jane Charles-Voltaire, page 3
-- A Light At The End Of The Tunnel… That Is Not The Broad Street Line, page 5

National Section:
-- Bar Application Deadlines, page 8
-- A Truly Bipartisan Effort – Impeachment, Page 8

Arts and Culture:
-- The Brand New Fresh Grocer At 1501 N. Broad, page 10
-- An Affordable Night out in Philadelphia’s Theater District on the Avenue of the Arts, page 14

Opinion:
-- Turning Jurisprudence Into Practice: The Gerald Ung Legal Defense Fund, Inc., page 16
-- The Rational Case Against Gunning for the "DCP", page 18

[The following is the full text of a letter sent by e-mail from announce@temple.edu on Dec. 17.]

Dear members of the Temple University community:

Thanks in large measure to grassroots advocacy efforts of students, parents, faculty, staff and alumni, the state House of Representatives Monday approved Temple’s $181.6 million Commonwealth appropriation for the current fiscal year. Governor Rendell signed the appropriations bill today. After an almost six-month delay, this is wonderful news. The funding represents more than 20 percent of Temple’s operating budget.

US News ranked Temple University Beasley School of Law at #7 in the nation, in the 2009 ratings of part-time law school programs.

Temple Law was ranked #33 in the nation for the best law school value, based on tuition, employment rate, and first-time bar passage rate.

The list, which appears in the September issue of "The National Jurist," (http://www.nationaljurist.com/) was compiled from information in the LSAC's 2009 edition of their "Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools."

Temple's annual Commonwealth funding was unanimously approved today by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, in spite of Rep. John Taylor's earlier opposition, according to a Temple University announcement.

Taylor had previously said he wanted to withhold all of Temple's funds -- $175 million dollars -- because he disagreed with the university's recent decision to convert a university-run hospital to an ambulatory care center.

Temple announced the latest vote in an e-mail from Temple's Ken Lawrence Jr., Senior Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs. Lawrence provides twitter updates on the topic at http://twitter.com/TUGovtAffairs.

A final state budget has not yet been completed, so Temple's funding is not yet guaranteed for the coming year. Temple University has posted a petition to support Temple's funding, which the public can sign, at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/join-the-fight-for-the-cherry-and-the-w....

The university has created a web page to track public policy issues like the funding debate, at: http://www.temple.edu/newsroom/TUGovtAffairs/index.htm, according to Lawrence.

The popular US News rankings once again listed Temple University Beasley School of Law in the top third of the nation's law schools in 2009 and among the top ten law schools in three different specialty categories -- a feat no other school in the region accomplished.

Only 12 law schools in the nation were ranked among the top ten in more than two specialties, as was Temple Law, with top ten placement in Trial Advocacy, Legal Writing and Part-Time Programs.

Coming in at #65 in the overall rankings, Temple Law School is tied with nearby Penn State Law (formerly Dickinson Law), ranked just one point below neighboring Villanova Law, and ranked slightly above neighboring Rutgers-Camden Law School and University of Pittsburgh Law School. The only law school in the region ranking above this closely matched group was the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Law School, at #8.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives could determine the fate of Temple University's annual allotment of $175 million in Commonwealth funds as early as August 17, when the House of Representatives returns to Harrisburg.

Pennsylvania Representative John Taylor and other Pennsylvania representatives want to withhold the entirety of Temple University's Commonwealth funding, in the amount of $175 million dollars, because they disagreed with the university's recent decision to convert a university-run hospital to an ambulatory care center.

The House members will cast a vote on the funding when they return, according to an Aug. 11 e-mail to the Temple University community from Ken Lawrence Jr., Senior Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs.

"We have received tremendous bipartisan support as a result of [university supporters'] e-mails and calls," Lawrence wrote in his e-mail. "State Representative Curtis Thomas, State Representative Jewell Williams and State Senator Shirley Kitchen, who represent Temple University's main campus and many of our students, have been tremendous with their leadership."

Temple University staff have created a Twitter account at http://twitter.com/TUGovtAffairs to provide "updates on the Commonwealth appropriation and other legislative issues facing Temple University," Lawrence said.

A university web page devoted to the Commonwealth funds topic lists Pennsylvania representatives and senators who have pledged their support for Temple University and who will vote to provide the usual annual funding this year.

TU funding update: http://www.temple.edu/newsroom/2009_2010/08/announcements/state_funds.ht...

By Jesse Chen
2L, Temple Law

At approximately 3 p.m. on Monday, a commotion in the Klein Hall library caught the attention of many students, faculty and staff. A student, who allegedly assaulted several other students, was eventually tracked down by a group of law students and campus security guard Vincent Griffon. Campus police arrived shortly thereafter and detained the alleged attacker, who is now under hospital observation.

The incident began when a student, whose name has not been released by the law school, allegedly hit another student. The alleged attacker then fled through the library stacks.

By James Barger, Prima Facie Editor-in-Chief

Students listed numerous reasons why they dislike Temple Law's grading policy, at a recent breakfast with several members of the faculty. Students particularly focused on their disapproval of the relatively low GPA median at the center of the grading curve.

The discussion took place at a November “leadership breakfast” attended by members of the Faculty Administrative Committee and invited student leaders, such as representatives from student organizations. The four faculty members were Profs. Theresa Glennon, Richard Greenstein, David Hoffman, and James Shellenberger. Dean Marylouise Esten also attended.