Monthly Archives: May 2010

Good Reading

Posted on May 6, 2010 by Michael Froomkin

You might want to look at

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Chaired (Temporarily)

Posted on May 6, 2010 by Michael Froomkin

rotating-chair2.jpegI've just been appointed this coming year's Laurie Silvers & Mitchell Rubenstein Distinguished Professor of Law. It's a one-year, rotating, appointment, and I'm the second person to have it, following in the large footsteps of my colleague Bruce Winick. Needless to say, I'm floored.

UM is unusual in that we don't have many chairs — at present only two us have permanent chairs. The rotating chair idea is also something new for us.

Here is the Dean's message to the faculty:

I am delighted to announce that during the 2010-11 [academic year] Michael Froomkin will be the Laurie Silvers & Mitchell Rubenstein Distinguished Professor of Law. As you know, Bruce Winick was the first recipient of this award and, given his great body of widely-praised work, set the bar quite high for subsequent recipients. Michael's projects, repeatedly exploring problems of internet governance, widely recognized not only nationally but internationally, plainly meet the standard. When we work out the details, we will invite all faculty to join us and other members of the larger university community in celebrating this award and, of course, the generosity of Laurie Silvers and Mitchell Rubenstein.

Among their other claims to fame, Silvers and Rubenstein are founders of the Sci Fi Channel, although the cable channel is now controlled by others (who changed the name to SyFy so they could trademark it). This should make watching Stargate Universe even more fun.

Admittedly, there's something slightly ironic about being so honored in the midst of the (involuntarily) fallowest period in my career, but I guess this is one more incentive to get well quickly and attempt to prove I deserve it.

Posted in Personal | 7 Comments

Hypothetical Question: DUI Law Prof

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Michael Froomkin

So I'm reading Coach's Mistake Becomes a Teaching Moment (you can tell someone is taking it real easy if they have time to read the NYT's sports section). It's an unhappy story about Hofstra's new basketball coach, just signed for a $3 million five-year contract, wrecking his coaching career by driving while seriously drunk. The coach immediately resigned, and the Times's estimable George Vecsey thinks this was right and proper and indeed necessary.

And I'm wondering: what if this happened to a law professor? Would that be grounds for firing or resignation-in-advance-of-firing?

On the one hand, it would seem odd to have a lower standard for a law professor — whose business after all is teaching people about the law, and producing future officers of the court — than for a coach.

On the other hand, the law prof deals with older students, is likely to be much less of a dominant role model, and has tenure (at a far, far lower salary) rather than a contract.

My first instinct was no; my later rational thought was well, maybe yes. In this context, it may be relevant that the thrust of the Times column was that drunk driving today — at least, seriously drunk driving — is now seen as a much more serious offense than it was a couple of decades ago. Indeed, one might almost say that drunk driving today (or at least drunk driving where one is seriously over the limit) is now seen as a crime involving moral turpitude.

I'd be most interested in hearing other views. Let me emphasize that the question is purely hypothetical (and in my case, given the very tight alcohol limits imposed by my cardiologist, very likely to stay hypothetical!).

Posted in Law School | 15 Comments

More Links

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Michael Froomkin
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I’m Still Here

Posted on May 4, 2010 by Michael Froomkin

Got nothing interesting to say right now. Here are some links:

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That 50-State Strategy Needs Work

Posted on May 2, 2010 by Michael Froomkin

I was a big fan of Gov. Dean's “50-state-strategy”. Running candidates all over forces the other side to spread its resources. Allowing anyone to go unopposed means that their campaign funds can go to more marginal seats. Plus, by running candidates even if they don't win you build up infrastructure and good will, and that makes it easier to win when the tides and demographics turn.

So I was disappointed to see that the Democratic party failed to field a congressional candidate in four Florida congressional districts: the 1st, 4th, 6th and especially the 21st (where Mario Diaz-Balart is switching from the 25th district).

In case you are wondering (I was), the only Democratic candidate here in Florida's 18th is Rolando A. Banciella. I sure hope he ups his web presence soon — I couldn't find anything worth linking to.

Incidentally, there are “Tea Party” candidates in the 8th, 12th and 25th Districts — the latter being the one where Joe Garcia is making a second try, at what is now an open seat since Mario Diaz-Balart has jumped to the 21st. Will Joe Garcia hire Joe Trippi again, despite Trippi's taint of working on the sure-to-be-destructive Jeff Grenne campaign?

Posted in Politics: 2010 Election, Politics: FL-18, Politics: FL-25/FL-27 | 2 Comments