News Archive

From August 30 through September 3, the law school once again hosted colleagues from the Faculdades Espirito Santenses (FAESA) law school in Vitória, Espirito Santo, Brazil . This was the second year for the "Program in U.S. Law" conducted by Professor Lloyd T. "Tom" Wilson.

In 2009 the focus of the program was the common law and the jury system. This year the Brazilians requested an emphasis on the U.S. Constitution. The program included four half- days of class at the school. Two classes addressed the commerce clause and incorporated pleadings and briefs from cases in Florida and Virginia in which 22 states attorneys general challenged the national health care law. A third class focused on the 14th Amendment and included a lecture by Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Paul D. Mathias and public attorney Anna Onaitis Holden '05 on emerging due process rights for persons who face criminal charges but lack the mental capacity to assist their counsel. The final class considered immigration issues and the birth citizenship clause of the Constitution and included a lecture by Indiana Supreme Court Justice Frank Sullivan, Jr.

The program also included law-related field trips. The Brazilian delegation visited the Indiana State Senate, where they met with Senators Phil Boots (R) and Mike Delph (R) (a third-year student at the law school who will graduate in December 2010). The students and faculty members from FAESA also met with Justice Frank Sullivan in the Indiana Supreme Court courtroom, where they learned about the history and role of the state’s highest court. At the offices of Baker & Daniels, Partner Jackie Simmons, spoke about the firm’s international practice, and law school alumna Brita Horvath '02, described the firm’s diversity & pro Bono activities.

Cultural tourism was also a part of the program and included a Brazil-U.S. Student Forum at Wabash College, as well as the Colts v. Bengals game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Professor Wilson, who left immediately after the Brazilian's departure for his semester fellowship at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, said, "This year’s visit by our FAESA colleagues was productive and enjoyable. It also provided an opportunity to further strengthen the law school’s ties with a law school in one of South America’s most dynamic countries." Professor Wilson will conduct the third annual program in American law for the Brazilian law school in early September 2011.