Education Law

Former BigLaw IP Partner Gets 1 Year in $389K Billing Fraud re Autistic Son’s Expenses

A former life sciences practice leader at Morrison & Foerster has been sentenced to one year in a $389,000 billing fraud concerning medical and educational expenses for his autistic son. The county jail sentence for Jonathan Dickstein, 44, who agreed to pay $260,000 in restitution, disappointed prosecutors, reports the Bay…

Nov 16, 2011 1:23 AM CST

Defense Lawyers Doubt Wisdom of Ex-Penn State Coach Sandusky’s Comments re Child Sex-Abuse Case

Asked by NBC’s Bob Costas whether he was sexually attracted to children, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky seemed to hesitate in saying no. He repeated the question, twice, and, stammering a bit, said he enjoys boys and loves to be around them. Then he denied: “Uh, I,…

Nov 16, 2011 12:01 AM CST

Former Phila. DA to Represent Charity Founded by Ex-Penn State Asst. Coach Charged with Child Abuse

Among a number of individuals and organizations apparently bracing for civil litigation after news that a former assistant football coach at Penn State has been charged with multiple counts of child sex abuse is the child-oriented charity that the coach founded in 1977. The Second Mile has retained Lynne Abraham,…

Nov 14, 2011 6:43 PM CST

Merck CEO to Investigate Penn State Football Scandal; Ex-Coach Paterno Hires King & Spalding Leader

In an effort to address charges of child sex abuse against a former assistant football coach at Penn State and accusations that other school officials didn’t do enough to alert law enforcement about what they knew of the situation years ago, a prominent alumnus and attorney has been put in…

Nov 12, 2011 12:51 AM CST

Judge Jails Ex-Harvard English Major Convicted re Application Lies for Putting Harvard on New Resume

It appears that a series of alleged omissions and lies on college applications, as well as claimed plagiarism on at least one prestigious scholarship application, has finally caught up with Adam Wheeler. Kicked out of Harvard University in 2009 after this history came to light, he was criminally charged in…

Nov 9, 2011 10:23 PM CST

Teacher Who Called Her Students ‘Future Criminals’ on Facebook Should Lose Her Job, ALJ Rules

A first-grade teacher in New Jersey is planning an appeal after an administrative law judge ruled she should lose her tenured job because of a Facebook post. The post read, “I’m not a teacher—I’m a warden for future criminals,” the Record reports. Jennifer O’Brien has said she posted the controversial…

Nov 9, 2011 5:47 PM CST

ABA Standards Review Committee: New Blood, New Direction?

The ABA Standards Review Committee that will meet later this week in Chicago bears little resemblance to the one that met last July in Minneapolis. The 14-member committee, which has spent the past three years working on a comprehensive overhaul of law school accreditation standards, has since gotten a new…

Nov 9, 2011 5:06 PM CST

Law Prof Targets Catholic University Again, This Time over Lack of Muslim Prayer Rooms

Updated: A law professor who targeted Catholic University of America over its plan to bring back same-sex dorms has filed a new complaint that criticizes the school’s treatment of Muslim students. George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf filed his complaint with the Washington, D.C., Office of Human Rights, according…

Oct 31, 2011 1:50 PM CDT

Grutter Ruling on Use of Diversity in College Admissions Could Be Overturned, Experts Say

The use of affirmative action in university admissions is in jeopardy because of a cert petition pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Experts say the court is likely to grant cert in the case of Abigail Fisher, the New York Times reports. Fisher, a white student, claims the University of…

Oct 19, 2011 10:30 AM CDT

11th Circuit Blocks School and Alien Registration Provisions in Alabama Immigration Law

A federal appeals court has blocked two provisions in Alabama’s tough immigration law, including a requirement for public schools to check the immigration status of students. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today issued an order granting the stays, report CNN, the Associated Press and Bloomberg News. The…

Oct 14, 2011 7:00 PM CDT

Senators Seek Decade of Detailed Law School Placement, Bar Passage and Student Debt Data

Two U.S. senators have asked federal educational officials to turn over detailed information about law school enrollment, tuition, finances, job placement, bar passage and student debt rates over the past 10 years. In a statement Friday, the two—Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)—said they were acting in…

Oct 14, 2011 6:24 PM CDT

10 of the ‘Irvine 11’ Are Convicted for Disrupting Israeli Ambassador’s Speech

Ten Muslim college students were criminally convicted today by a California jury of disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador to the United States at the University of California-Irvine last year. The Orange County Superior Court case has been controversial because critics contend the students, who were convicted of conspiracy…

Sep 24, 2011 1:26 AM CDT

Federal Judge OKs Teen’s Suit Over School’s Refusal to Let Her Wear Tuxedo in Senior Photo

A federal judge in Mississippi has given the green light to a lawsuit filed by a lesbian teenager over her high school yearbook senior photo. U.S. District Judge Dan Jordan last week denied a motion to dismiss Ceara Sturgis’ claim that the Copiah County School District discriminated against her by…

Sep 22, 2011 3:05 PM CDT

Suit Claims Cops Forced 13-Year-Old Boy to Take Alcohol Breath Test After School Complaint

A Michigan teen claims in a lawsuit that police in Livonia forced him to take an alcohol breath test at a school picnic in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The 13-year-old boy says he was wrongly accused, and the breath test registered a zero, the Detroit Free Press reports. An…

Sep 22, 2011 11:00 AM CDT

8th Circuit Considers Whether Little Rock Schools Are Still Entitled to Desegregation ‘Carrot’

A federal appeals court will hear arguments today on whether three Arkansas schools districts are entitled to continue collecting money for desegregation. The state pays the school districts about $70 million a year under a 1989 desegregation settlement, report the Associated Press and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. The…

Sep 19, 2011 2:53 PM CDT