Professors Ruser and Schmidt spent part of the summer imparting their experience and wisdom to others.
Ruser Teaches at National Training on Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions
Professor Kevin Ruser was a trainer and small group leader at the National Training on the Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions, sponsored by the Defending Immigrants Partnership. The Training was held in Denver, Colorado on May 7 and 8, and over 120 individuals from 34 states attended. The training was developed in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Padilla v. Kentucky, in which the Supreme Court held that criminal defense lawyers have a 6thAmendment obligation to advise criminal defendants of potential immigration consequences of criminal proceedings. The purpose of the Training was to providehelp and resources for the criminal defense bar so it can comply with its Padilla obligations. The Defending Immigrants Partnership is a national coalition comprised of the National Immigration Project, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and the Immigrant Defense Project. Professor Ruser was the small group leader for the Nebraska group, which consisted of 10 Nebraska lawyers, making it second only to Colorado in the number of lawyers represented at the Training.
Schmidt Leads Trial Advocacy Session at UNAM
Professor Steve Schmidt finished another trial advocacy training session at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) as part of the project that the College of Law has with the UNAM Facultad de Derecho. The UNL-UNAM partnership is designed to assist Mexico as they change their criminal justice system from a mixed inquisitorial model to an oral adversarial model. The current 3-day course is the capstone exercise in an Oral Trials in Mexico “diplomado” (similar to a continuing legal education program) that has been going on since January. The 80+ participants are practicing attorneys from Mexico City and beyond. Past courses conducted as part of the partnership have included Introduction to Oral Trials and Teaching Trial Skills courses.