National Jurist - October 2007 - (Page 10) NEWS Continued College President William Beardsley said the state Board of Education has approved their proposal to offer law degrees. They are now petitioning the state Supreme Judicial Court to allow Husson graduates to take the state bar examination. If the court gives timely approval, the school hopes to begin offering classes by the fall of 2008. “We’re very, very pleased,” Beardsley said after the vote by the board. “This is a major step in the process, with the next important step being going before the Supreme Court this fall.” Robert Kuhn, a former corporate lawyer and Husson professor, is to serve as the school’s dean. The initial class would have 30 students, Beardsley said. The school would operate year-round and consist mostly of night classes. The program is to be modeled after Massachusetts School of Law. Failing the bar exam isn’t easy. Failing in the public eye is even harder. Six California law graduates decided to up the ante by allowing documentary filmmakers to capture everything from endless days of studying to the moment of truth as they checked online to find out if they had passed the exam. Not everyone did pass in the documentary, “A Lawyer Walks into a Bar,” which was to be released in September. Yale law students get their day in court Yale Law School students stepped in with free legal services to 30 undocumented immigrants after federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested them two days after a controversial New Haven Municipal ID Card Program went into effect. The program is raising concerns because the cards are offered to everyone, including illegal immigrants in the community. Federal officials have emphatically denied any link between the program and the June raids. With assistance from Yale professor Mike Wishnie, in conjunction with the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization, 28 of the 32 people arrested have been released on bond and are back with their families. Deborah Marcuse, a Yale law student, says the ID card program provides a convenient form of identification and many other services to a great diversity of New Haven residents. From the beginning, students and Wishnie worked with New Haven community groups to get the proposals adopted. Marcuse says she can personally attest to the city’s scrupulousness in enforcing the residency requirement for the municipal ID. “I was turned away the other day when I went to get a card because my application and driver’s license had different New Haven addresses on them,” she said. “And, I didn’t have enough other forms of ID with the same address.” Bram Elias, a Yale law student working on the case, said he just got his municipal ID last week. As far as New Haven becoming a target in the future, Wishnie said they will continue to be involved in the program. Marcuse says they will fight their cases and oppose the persecution of similarly situated individuals and communities in New Haven and across the country. “Clinical work has been by far the most valuable part of my law school experience,” she said. “We have all been very lucky to have been able to work with our clients, their families, local community organizations, the city of New Haven, and our clinical supervisors on these cases.” Sued BAR/BRI is being sued once again — $48 million this time around. The lawsuit, filed by graduates of Albany Law School, is on behalf of New York bar exam takers who purchased BAR/BRI review materials. Accused A former Idaho commissioner and vocal foe of illegal immigration has accused instructors and students at the University of Idaho Law School of committing felonies. Robert Vasquez says it’s illegal for the school to offer free legal representation to people who face deportation or other immigration proceedings. He says federal law states that anyone who aids an illegal alien in remaining in the United States is committing a felony. A UI professor says they assist clients to remain legally. October 2007 THE NATIONAL JURIST 10 http://www1.law.umkc.edu/Academic/Llm-tax/ http://www1.law.umkc.edu/Academic/Llm-tax/
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