Harvard Law Record
The Independent Newspaper
November 12, 2010
COMPENSATING THE INCOMPENSABLE Mock Trial
‘Pay Czar’ Feinberg Discusses His Role in
Distributing Funds to Victims of U.S. Tragedies
BY TAREAH IKHARO
In his own words, "bad
things happen to good peo-
ple everyday."
It is only in special cases,
however, when faced with a
tragedy that leaves an indeli-
ble mark on the United
States and its citizenry, that
Kenneth Feinberg is called
upon to decide how best to
compensate victims.
On Nov. 3, Feinberg lec-
tured to a packed house of
professors, students, and
community members at Har-
vard Law School as part of
its Views from Washington
series. Introduced by Dean
Martha Minow as "the mas-
ter of problem solving,"
Feinberg launched immedi-
ately into a discussion of his
role as Special Master in
charge of compensating vic-
tims of some of the country's
greatest public policy crises
in recent times, including
the Virginia Tech shootings,
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
and, most recently, the BP
Gulf oil spill.
His distinct Boston accent
and oratory skill on full dis-
play, the reluctant "pay czar"
described his methods of ap-
proaching national crises,
why his strategies have been
successful in different situa-
tions, and why mastery, cre-
ativity, and flexibility have
proven key ingredients to
career success.
Sometimes the conven-
tional way of resolving a
dispute in the courtroom
does not or cannot work,
Louis Henkin ‘40, ‘Father of Human Rights,’ Dies
BY JOEY SEILER
Columbia Law Professor
Louis Henkin ‘40, often
called the Father of Human
Rights, died on Oct. 14 at the
age of 92.
According to the New York
Times, Henkin applied to
Harvard Law School on a
whim after graduating from
Yeshiva University in 1937.
He went on to edit the Har-
vard Law Review and clerk
for Judge Learned Hand at the
United States Court of Ap-
peals for the Second Circuit in
Manhattan before serving in
the Army during World War
at Harvard Law School
www.hlrecord.org — twitter @hlrecord Vol. CXXXI, No. 2
Team Wins in
Puerto Rico
BY TAREAH IKHARO
Spend five minutes in the lounge of
the Criminal Justice Institute (CJI) and
you are bound to be overwhelmed. Stu-
dents run from small office to small of-
fice, commandeer the copy machine, and
vigorously debae the merits of an ob-
scure law review article. It is no wonder
this program produced the victors of the
National Puerto Rico Trial Advocacy
Competition for the second consecutive
year, held this year in San Juan on Oct.
28-30.
CJI’s trial advocacy team is composed
of four student advocates, handpicked by
the dedicated leaders tasked with coach-
ing them to success. “The goal was to
defend [last year’s] title,” said Clinical
Instructor Dehlia Umunna, who, along
with CJI Deputy Director Soffiyah Eli-
jah, coaches the CJI team. “It was not
enough to do well.”
This year’s team was comprised
Ieshaah Murphy ‘12, Anthony Hen-
dricks ‘12, Mostofa Abdelkarim ‘13, and
Nneka Ukpai ‘13. Murphy, who won
best advocate after a statistical tie with
Ukpai — the two were separated by a
small fraction of a point — participated
in mock trial competitions throughout
her undergraduate career and has her
sights set on the public defender’s office.
DAVID BRODY/HL RECORD STAFF A spot on the CJI trial advocacy team
Kenneth Feinberg, the independent administrator of a $20 million fund set up seemed a natural fit.
to compensate victims of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, told Harvard The trial team argued a case involving
Law students that dispute resolution and managed funds help to remove an armed robbery and murder commit-
pressure from the legal system, which cannot always handle the volume of ted within days of the defendant’s re-
lease from prison for a separate armed
claims that arise after a large tragedy.
robbery charge. The prosecution, staffed
said Feinberg. In such situa- tragedy] makes the legal compensation for victims of by Abdelkarim and Hendricks, called
tions, as after Sept. 11, dis- system inefficient, which is national tragedies. The deci- two police officers who testified that the
pute resolution and a terrible label to put on the sion to establish a fund for defendant confessed to committing the
mediation may prove more system," said Feinberg. the families of Sept. 11 vic- crimes to them. In response, the defense
useful tools. Instead, dispute resolution tims, for example, was "a called the defendant’s parents, who
"The sheer volume of and managed funds help re- very unique response to an
served as alibi witnesses. When asked
claims [that would arise as a move pressure from the sys- unprecedented event," said why the defense made the decision not
result of a monumental tem and provide FEINBERG, cont’d on pg. 8 to call the defendant to testify on his own
behalf, Akpai remarked, “that’s not a
INSIDE
TRIAL, cont’d on pg. 2
II. During his service, Henkin rights, including "Foreign Af-
convinced a German force of fairs and the Constitution,''
78 soldiers to surrender to his "The Rights of Man Today,''
The HL Record
13-man group and earned the "How Nations Behave,'' and
Silver Star. Upon his return, "The Age of Rights." Collec-
Henkin clerked for Justice tively, the New York Times
Felix Frankfurter at the referred to his work as "re-
United States Supreme Court. quired reading for govern-
News
Still, Henkin's most remem- ment officials and diplomats." • Law School Gets Crafty at Fair
bered achievements are his "Loius Henkin was a giant
• Suk Awarded Tenure
contributions to Human in the field and a pioneer in
Rights scholarship and advo- the cause of human rights in
cacy. Henkin founded Colum- the United States," said Pro- Culture
bia's Center for the Study of fessor James Cavallaro, Exec-
• Soul Food Exists in Cambridge
Human Rights in 1978 and its utive Director, Harvard Law • Costumed Revelers Celebrate
Human Rights Institute in HLS YEARBOOK/PHOTO COURTESY School Human Rights Pro-
1998. He authored forceful Henkin appears in HLS’ gram. Halloween with Boos and Booze
works in the field of human 1940 yearbook.
 Mock Trial Team Wins Puerto Rico Competition
Page 2
TRIAL, cont’d from pg. 1
good idea in general.” Doing so,
he explained, has the potential to
shift the burden of proof from
the prosecution to the defense.
“Every school we went against
called the defendant,” said
Akpai, noting that such tactical
decisions routinely make or
break cases for attorneys.
The relationship between the
Puerto Rico competition team
members and their coaches can
only be described as one of mu-
tual admiration. “I’m not a drill
sergeant—yet,” said Umunna
with a laugh, noting that those
students lucky enough to make
the CJI team already have the
talent and fundamentals essen-
tial to advocacy. “Our job is
simply to hone those skills for
success.”
The coaches are not, however,
dictatorial — part of their men-
torship process involves provid-
ing a great deal of autonomy to
student advocates and allowing
them to develop their own case
theories. “It’s really more of a
caring, mentoring relationship,”
said Ukpai. “They are like my
family.” Ukpai, the most expe-
rienced member of the Puerto
Rico team, having won a place
on numerous trial teams, includ-
ing last year’s Puerto Rico team,
describes her relationship with
her teammates in similar terms.
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While they may have passionate
debates on whether to introduce
a piece of evidence or on the
merits of calling a certain wit-
ness, disagreements are voiced
respectfully. “Reasonable minds
can differ,” she said. One key to
success is figuring out a method
for working through disagree-
ments in a constructive manner.
“We get into passionate eviden-
tiary debates, people bring for-
ward supporting law for their
positions, we discuss, and then
we come to a group consensus,”
said Ukpai. In the end, what
matters for the success of the
team, after spending countless
hours together debating in-
tensely, is the maintenance of
cohesion. “It is much easier to
manage a team when they agree
on principle and realize that the
team unit matters more than any
individual, “ said Umunna. “In
that sense, this team in brilliant.
Committed. Passionate. Proba-
bly one of the best teams we
have ever had.”
And members seem to have
much appreciation for the skills
each person brings to the team.
Abdelkarim is described by his
teammates as the great story-
teller of the bunch, with the abil-
ity to captivate the courtroom
completely. “The prosecutor
told me Mostofa’s closing argu-
ment moved her to tears,” said
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Harvard Law Record November 12, 2010
NNEKA UKPAI/PHOTO COURTESY
(l-r) Anthony Hendricks '12, Mostafa Abdelkarim '11, Ieshaah Murphy '12, and
Nneka Ukpai '11 pose with Judge Jay A. Garcia (center), a federal judge for the
United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.
Ukpai with a smile. “And she laugh at all — he just looked For Ukpai, who plans to be a
helped write the problem!” me dead in the eye!” trial lawyer, the benefits gar-
Murphy elaborated that when Hendricks, an affable and nered from participation on the
in character, Abdelkarim takes proud Oklahoman, is described team outweigh the hard work
his role very seriously. “During as the epitome of poise and and long hours she puts in
one really intense and long calm in the courtroom. “He’s along the way. “We get an in-
practice session, I said a “mur- the everyday guy,” said Mur- credible amount of one-on-one
dery” instead of a murder and phy. “Nice, easy to get along criticism and feedback that we
robbery. Mostofa, who was with... you want to listen to would not normally have the
Suk Awarded Tenure
playing a witness, did not what he has to say.” chance to receive,” she said.
BY STEPHANIE YOUNG Many have celebrated Suk for being
Harvard Law School awarded Pro-
the first Asian-American woman pro-
fessor to receive tenure at the Law
fessor Jeannie Suk ‘02 tenure in Octo- School. While acknowledging the im-
ber, making her the first portance of her accomplishments to her
Asian-American woman to gain tenure ethnic community, Suk says she finds
at the school. the Harvard Law environment support-
One of the most striking features of ive and inclusive and feels comfortable
Suk’s work is the sheer diversity and among her peers and colleagues.
depth of her research interests, from She described a very different expe-
criminal law to intellectual property to rience in her time as a student here.
domestic violence. Dean Martha When Suk attended Harvard Law, each
Minow lauded the interdisciplinary na- 1L was just one member of a 120-stu-
ture of her work. dent section with far less social cohe-
"Jeannie Suk's imaginative, probing, sion and no feeling of, as she put it,
and sometimes provocative scholarship “esprit de corps.” Now she observes
builds bridges between criminal and strong section solidarity. Section Four
family law, between law and the hu- students from past years now feel an
manities, and between theory and prac- immediate connection with her as its
tice," Minow wrote in a statement leader this year, she said.
announcing Suk's tenure. Suk, a dancer since childhood, has
In an interview with the Harvard also connected with many students
Law Record, Suk described herself as with backgrounds in the fine arts. Her
“multilingual”: she said she enjoys experience as a disciplined ballerina
switching between different subject served, she says, as her “first training
areas and following several ideas. ground for aiming for excellence.”
Once she has explored a topic, she More specifically, her history has in-
moves on to other areas, but does not formed her current interests in law and
“close the file” in her intellectual life, the arts. In a recent article for the Stan-
she said. ford Law Review, she advocated that
She is currently working on her next
copyright protection be extended to
book. which will examine the develop- fashion. New York Senator Charles
ment of the concept of trauma and how Schumer's most recent fashion copy-
it connects with and influences many right bill draws from the work done by
different areas of the law. Her work as Suk and co-author C. Scott Hemphill, a
a Guggenheim Fellow and Humanities professor at Columbia Law.
Fellow at Harvard College this past ac- Suk is currently co-teaching a course
ademic year allowed her to research the on Performing Arts and the Law with
topic and its intersections with other acclaimed dancer Damian Woetzel.
disciplines.

November 12, 2010
Cowardice is the Greatest Enemy of the Liberal Party
BY VICTORIA BARANETSKY
Moderates are the greatest enemy of
today’s liberals. On Saturday, Oct. 30,
Jon Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity”
was attended by borderline apathetic
hipsters who were more interested in
their witty, neon-colored posters than the
substance of their political messages.
Estimated at 200,000 people, the crowd
that filled sixteen square blocks of the
National Mall symbolized the biggest
gathering of militant moderates D.C. has
ever seen.
Standing before them was the greatest
moderate of all of them, Jon Stewart.
Asked whether people should vote,
Stewart replied, “They should do what
moves them. It’s not my place to make
that choice for them.” Instead he said
that he and Steven Colbert “just hope
that people continue to like [their shows]
so that Comedy Central can continue to
sell beer to young people.”
Calling Jon Stewart, the Comedy Cen-
tral king of liberal satire, a moderate
might seem inaccurate. But moderate he
was in encouraging signs like “Legalize
Conan,” “If you keep shouting like that
you’ll get big muscles all over your
face,” and “Is this the line for Justin
Bieber Tickets?” over his encourage-
ment of a liberal vote.
As Scott McLemee of Inside Higher
Ed wrote, the “anti-ideological spirit of
the event is dangerous. The attitude that
it's better to stay cool and amused than
to risk making arguments or expressing
too much ardor -- this is not civility. It’s
timidity.”
This moderate or timid behavior has
consequences. Just two days after the
Rally, the Democrats suffered a poignant
loss as the Republicans picked up 60
seats in the House, the largest House
sweep since 1948 in the mid-term elec-
tion, removing Nancy Pelosi as Speaker
of the House.
One reason for the loss was that only
roughly 20 percent of Americans under
the age of 30 voted in Tuesday's midterm
OPINION
RALLYING FOR APATHY
Some signs at the “Rally to Restore Sanity,” held in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 30, made reference to
political affairs; others made light of pop culture, telling officials to “Legalize Conan.”
elections, according to the Center for In-
formation and Research on Civic Learn-
ing and Engagement. In other words, the
exact demographic present at the Mall
was the same demographic missing at
the polling stations just two days later.
Despite this turnout being in the nor-
mal range for midterm elections, this
was three percentage points lower than
the 2006 election.
However, not everyone agrees that the
youth were to blame. Quoted in a Chron-
icle of Higher Education article about
the midterm elections, Heather Smith,
president of Rock the Vote said, "What
we saw was not an enthusiasm gap"
among young voters, "but a leadership
gap from these candidates."
One political leader many have
blamed is President Barack Obama. In
March of 2009, the New York Times re-
ported a “moderate” David F. Hamilton
was to be President Obama’s first nom-
ination to the Court of Appeals. Similar
observations have been made about
Obama’s other nominations, his legisla-
tive reforms, and political statements.
Since Hamilton’s confirmation, The
Atlantic, The New Republic, and even
the Wall Street Journal have all joined
the New York Times and described
Obama and his administration as mod-
erate. His administration’s turn to mod-
erate politics has also been blamed for
the apathy within the party.
Just days before the Rally, Jon Stew-
art intimated this to President Obama in
an on-air interview, stating, “You ran on
very high rhetoric, hope, and change,
and the Democrats this year seem to be
DAVID BRODY/HL RECORD STAFF
Page 3
DAVID BRODY/HL RECORD STAFF
running on, ‘Please baby, one more
chance.’” Moreover, Stewart called the
healthcare plan “timid,” “political,” and
a mediocrity which only “papered over
a foundation which is corrupt.”
Certainly Stewart is not all wrong.
Marshall Ganz, a veteran union organ-
izer and lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy
School hired as an Obama campaign of-
ficial, agreed that Obama’s administra-
tion faltered when it lost its powerful
rhetoric from the campaign. Values, ac-
cording to Ganz' Los Angeles Times op-
ed, are what dropped out of the
Democratic politics.
In addition to rhetoric, certainly ad-
vocates of changing corrupt practices in
Congress like Prof. Lawrence Lessig
would agree that the Obama adminis-
tration should have attacked faulty pro-
cedures in Congress that led to a
weakened healthcare bill. However,
Stewart missed a point.
But at the end of the interview Presi-
dent Obama asked his host if he could
make just one plug to the audience. He
then said, “vote.”
In contrast, Stewart never asserted the
same message in his rally. Instead, he
asked left and right pundits to “take it
down a notch for America” and dispar-
aged what he called “the country’s 24-
hour political pundit perpetual panic
conflictinator.” Instead of taking soft
swings at the media, perhaps he could
have uttered one important political
word: “vote.” He should have asked
that moderates become political.
Certainly Stewart is not to blame for
the election. He is just a symptom of a
larger sickness. But it isn't just Stewart’s
refusal to become political while stand-
ing on the most political geographic
landmark of our country that we should
call out. We should all question our own
behavior: Are we too timid to become
political? Had we found the courage to
vote, to write an article, to picket, to en-
gage, and to take a stand, then perhaps
we could have returned to progress.
 HUNGRY FOR SOUL FOOD? IT’S BUT A T RIDE AWAY.
Page 4 Harvard Law Record November 12, 2010

Kendall Square Spot Puts its Twist on Southern Traditions

BY EDMUND MOKHTARIAN
When I’m really in the mood for a
feast — the kind that’s going to leave
me reeling in a fit of foodie bliss —
there’s always one cuisine I can rely
on: Southern, real Southern. Unfortu-
nately, or so I thought, I'm in Boston.
But then I found Hungry Mother,
somewhat of a local cult classic and
right in Cambridge. This tiny restau-
rant, nestled in an inconspicuous cor-
ner on an equally inconspicuous
street, brings Southern cuisine from
down home to the city. The Kendall
Square spot serves up everything from
cornbread and boiled peanuts to grits
and catfish — the exact remedy I
needed for my insatiable craving for
the heavy, the starchy, and the fried.
But Hungry Mother isn’t a shack;
inside you'll encounter a restaurant
packed to the brim with foodies. It's
not a hole-in-the-wall joint, though
some diners come for the homey,
unassuming vibe. And while it keeps
things simple with bland, white walls
and small, cramped tables, every one
is packed with a mouth-watering dis-
play. Plus you get to drink out of a
mason jar.
Regardless, it's the food people
EDMUND MOKHTARIAN/PHOTO COURTESY
Southern cuisine at Hungry mother isn’t your stereotypical fried fare.
Diners can order chicken-fried Vermont quail as an appetizer. Plated
with Mutsu apples and Tabasco honey, the dish is “sweet, crunchy,
sour, spicy, savory, and greasy,” all at the same time.
come here for. Southern cuisine tends gredients, it can’t be elegant, complex,
to suffer from a negative stereotype. or novel. Hungry Mother, though,
Because it uses simple, traditional in- flips that all on its head, and adds its
own spin to the classics, for flavor-
through-the-roof results.
Take, for instance, the brilliant
chicken-fried Vermont quail ($13), my
appetizer for the night. Normally,
you’d get a bird breaded, fried, and
served with something starchy. Here,
however, the quail was nearly per-
fectly counterbalanced with Mutsu ap-
ples and Tabasco honey. The outside
was crunchy, but never too much. In-
stead, I could taste the quail, which lit-
erally burst with natural juices as I bit
into it. The Tabasco honey gave the
dish a lightness to help take my mind
off the grease from the fry job, pro-
viding a slightly spicy kick at the end
that left my tongue tingling. The ap-
ples were slightly mushy from their
exposure to the sauce, but their sour-
ness played off very nicely against the
sweetness of the honey. Finally, there
was just enough salt to leave me
smacking my lips. In one dish, then, I
got sweet, crunchy, sour, spicy, sa-
SOUTHERN, cont’d on pg. 5

HLS to host
Nobel Prize
winner, ex-
Haitian PM
BY JENNY PAUL
A Nobel Prize winner and the for-
mer prime minister of Haiti are among
the speakers who will discuss how to
tackle development challenges nations
face after natural disasters at a sym-
posium to be held at the law school
Friday, Nov. 19.
Amartya Sen, a Harvard professor
who was awarded the 1998 Nobel
Prize in Economic Sciences, and for-
mer Haitian Prime Minister Michele
Pierre-Louis will be the keynote
speakers at the HLS Law & Interna-
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SOUTHERN FARE MIGRATES TO CAMBRIDGE
November 12, 2010
Chicken-Fried Quail Roosts in Kendall Square
SOUTHERN, cont’d from pg. 4
vory, and greasy. This is not simple
Southern cuisine.
Next up was my cornmeal catfish
($19), again elevated to a higher level
with an assortment of delectable, if
not slightly odd, accompaniments:
dirty rice, mustard brown butter, and
chow chow (American pickled relish).
I have to admit, this dish was more of
a stretch for me, a bit overloaded with
gratuitous ingredients. The sour-sweet
chow chow was piled needlessly on
top of the catfish more for presenta-
tional flair than actual tasting delight.
Regardless, once I sliced the catfish,
soft as butter, and saw the steam burst
out, I knew I was in for a treat. The
catfish was, in fact, cooked perfectly,
and the cornmeal dusting gave it an
interesting grittiness to contrast the
melt-in-your-mouth texture of the fish
itself. While the season-less catfish
occasionally veered towards the
bland, the dirty rice compensated with
earthy mushrooms, refreshing spices,
and smoky, slightly spicy ham that left
my mouth puckered with its delicious
grease. The sauce, too, was a success,
combining the tangy, the sweet, and
the creamy in one, though the mustard
at times overpowered the other ingre-
dients. Nonetheless, the dish passed
with flying colors, and I’m not even a
Harvard Law Record Page 5
sweetness on the dish, didn't help.
Worst of all, though, was that the pie
itself was technically flawed—some-
thing I honestly didn’t expect after the
technical excellence of the other
dishes. The crust and plums were both
tasteless to the point that I wondered
how ripe the plums had been. I do,
however, give the dessert credit for its
dough, savory, nutty, and salty, as well
as an incredible yogurt sorbet/ice
cream.
Still, for a three-course meal, I can’t
complain. The dessert underwhelmed,
but Hungry Mother gave me a phe-
nomenal meal. Here in Cambridge,
you can still find Southern good
enough to hold its own against many
of the selections on the other side of
the Mason-Dixon Line.
EDMUND MOKHTARIAN/PHOTO COURTESY
Hungry Mother is located at 233
Hungry Mother, a Kendall Square establishment, serves up South- Cardinal Medeiros Avenue, Cam-
ern food with a twist. This cornmeal catfish came with various ac- bridge, Mass.
companiments, including dirty rice and chow chow.
fan of catfish. chefs try to stay true to their roots Edmund Mokhtarian is a food critic
The one disappointment of the night while at the same time spreading in a and blogger. At his blog, The Food
came with the dessert, a plum pie new direction. It can work wonders, Buster (www.thefoodbuster.com), he
($10) that seduced me with its irre- but nothing on this dish could mesh reviews restaurants, bakeries, wines,
sistible-sounding accompaniments: with any other part. The plums had an and chocolates from around the na-
Greek yogurt, candied walnuts, and interesting sourness, but the thicker tion and the world. For more reviews
frangipane (almond filling). This dish yogurt suppressed those plums with and photos of the Boston food scene,
goes to show the tension inherent in a tartness. The scarcity of the candied check out The Food Buster .
restaurant like Hungry Mother. The walnuts, the only significant source of
 OPINION
Harvard Harvard Law Community Gets
Page 6 November 12, 2010

Law Crafty With More Than Just Words

Record BY JOEY SEILER
Tables and cloths were rolled out in
pieces. "It's hard to find the time."
"You guys have a lot less time," said
Cathy Conroy, associate director for
hung up rather than relegated to mar-
gins, or leaving seats empty to go
practice guitar. In off time, we craft
Ropes Gray last Wednesday for what
discovery and access at the library, ex- Halloween costumes, paint to relieve
ESTABLISHED MCMXLVI
could be the first annual Harvard Law
plaining why she had an impressive stress, play in jazz groups, or keep up
School Crafts Fair. Seventeen mem-
table full of knit items and eye-catch- with dance and figure skating. Still,
Publisher
Naira Der Kiureghian bers of the Law School community
ing stained glass. Conroy, who has there's always plenty of work to come
signed up to distribute their wares, but
been working with the Law School for back to.
only two were students.
Editor-in-Chief
Joey Seiler more than 25 years, began to spin her Some of it, though, is less a time
This isn't the first time the campus
own yarn over the past year. issue than a culture. Consider Ropes
has played host to a crafts fair,
Conroy picked up her knitting habit
though. According to participants, the
Managing Editor
Jenny Paul faculty assistants held their own
smaller fair that died away over the
years. The new version has expanded
Senior Reporter
Severin Randall to include students, faculty, family
members, staff, and friends.
"We're always looking for ways to
Contributors

bring the entire community together,"

Raquel Acosta
Victoria Baranetsky
said Dean of Students Ellen Cosgrove.
David Brody
As for the small number of student
Tareah Ikharo
crafters, Dean Cosgrove admitted
Edmund Mokhtarian there was little notice for the event,
Stephanie Young but hoped for more participation next
year. "We want to make this an annual
tradition. We had lots of students in
record@law.harvard.edu here buying. Next year we'd like to get
Submit Letters and Editorials to:

or more distribution."
Harvard Law Record Cosgrove estimates that several
Harvard Law School hundred community members passed
Cambridge, MA 02138-9984 through Ropes Gray over the two-
hour block — and those shoppers
were excited by what they saw.
Letters and opinion columns will be Faculty Assistants Melinda Eakin
published on a space-available basis. and Lauren Schauff ("If a professor
The editors reserve the right to edit works in criminal law, we probably
for length and delay printing. All work with them," joked Eakin) said
letters must be signed. Deadline for they had no artistic skill of their own,
submissions is 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. but were already variously draped in
or carrying "gorgeous necklaces" and
The Harvard Law Record is a publication
earrings they had picked up while
of The Harvard Law School Record Cor-
poration. All rights reserved. The Harvard making their rounds. Many were gifts
Law School name and shield are trade- purchased in advance of the holidays.
Their purchases were typical. Ac-
marks of the President and Fellows of
cording to Dean Cosgrove, crafters
Harvard College and are used with permis-
sion from Harvard University. said they did well, especially those
selling pottery and jewelry. Several
said they had done better than at pre-
vious staff craft fairs. Mira Singer,
Want to daughter of Dean Martha Minow and
Professor Joseph Singer, almost sold
out of her photography and books. An-
write for the other table sold out of knit items for
babies and moved on to taking orders.
Harvard Law One student who was doing well in
sales was Flora Amwayi '13. Amwayi,
originally from Kenya, earned her un-
Record? dergraduate degree from MIT several
years ago in Electrical Engineering
and spent time before coming to the
Law School consulting in New York
News, City, eventually at Morgan Stanley. In
her last year there, she picked up jew-
book reviews, elry design from one of her friends at
the same time she began applying to
interviews, law schools.
points of view — "Most of this is from before I came
to law school," Amwayi said, indicat-
all are welcome. ing her table full of necklaces and ear-
rings. (She prefers to design the
earrings for their variety of colors and
designs: "Necklaces can be as easy as
Contact attaching an extension.")
Amwayi sold several pieces while
harvardlawrecord
we spoke, but immediately began
@gmail.com to get packing up her things, still halfway
through the event. She had class at 1
involved! p.m.
"It's too much work right now,"
Amwayi said of designing more
Flora Amwayi ‘13 picked up jewelry design from a friend while work-
ing as a consultant in New York City before coming to law school.
She made many of the necklaces and earrings she was selling at the
Harvard Law School Crafts Fair before her 1L year began.
while working at Harvard Medical
School. A co-worker who commuted
from Andover brought her own work
in to the office and taught Conroy.
Now she is a part of a 25-woman knit-
ting group at the Law School, mostly
made up of library staff.
While there was a constant crowd
around her table, Conroy said she had
not sold much. Mostly she was taking
orders as the items on display were
spoken for, frequently by Conroy her-
self.
"I make almost all my own clothes,"
she said. "I don't want to sell my
closet."
Time may be more of an issue for
law students than staff. At a place like
Harvard, almost every student has at
least one knack or hobby they've ex-
celled at beyond the law. It's just the
function of gathering 1,600-odd Type
A's to one campus. Dean Minow's
recitation of each class' previous ac-
complishments in her welcoming
speech is a litany of commendations
and odd, but impressive quirks. But
that's all before 1L.
To be sure, many students have
maintained their side pursuits. In any
given lecture hall you can find stu-
dents racking up virtual poker chips,
idly doodling caricatures that could be
JOEY SEILER/HL RECORD STAFF
Gray, center of much of HLS' social
scene. Every photographer I spoke to
at the Craft Fair commented on the
poor lighting. Even in real life, the art
can look washed out. That's the archi-
tecture, but there are also the people. I
asked Amwayi if she'd told her sec-
tion-mates that she'd be selling jew-
elry that afternoon. No, it was a bit
"embarrassing."
That's a shame. As the sign above
the library water fountain points out,
lawyers can be some of the best peo-
ple in the world to drink with. As the
various comedians, writers, chefs, and
artists to ditch their esquires for cre-
ative successes can attest, they can —
just maybe — be some of the best
people to imagine with.
Fortunately, it's not necessarily so
restrictive at Harvard Law. The crowd
cycling through Ropes Gray that af-
ternoon is evidence.
And, as Professor Daniel Halperin
quipped while standing next to his
wife's pottery display, it's not univer-
sal.
"When I first went into teaching
[my wife] was a science teacher, and
everyone at Penn was married to
artists," he said. "Now here they're all
married to lawyers. I stay behind the
times."
November 12, 2010 OPINION Page 7

Prop. 19 failure means advocates have clean slate

BY ALLISON MARGOLIN a $100 fine. ical purposes . Cocaine, likewise, is a Schedule I
I believe that the next time around, the legalization drug. We need to make it clear to our federal legisla-
The passage of Proposition 19 in California would
bill should completely legalize the cultivation, use, tors that they should reschedule marijuana and that
have marked the beginning of the end of the drug war
and sale of marijuana. Furthermore, it should be writ- no one on either side of the political fence can really
in the United States. Sadly, the ballot initiative failed,
ten by attorneys and marijuana legalization advocates challenge providing marijuana to those who need it
but even the fact of it making it to the ballot, not to
who appreciate the current hurdles in the law regard- and immunizing those who grow for aid from prose-
mention garnering over 40 percent of the vote in a
ing marijuana and understand how they can be over- cution.
non-presidential election year is a success. Even if
come. The next Prop. 19 campaign in California needs to
we have not the found the beginning of the end, we
I believe that we have the inalienable right to alter focus on the sadness of the mothers and fathers, sis-
have started chipping away at the mentality that led
our consciousness and that criminalizing drug use ters and brothers, and sons and daughters of those in-
us to this irrational and immoral place.
and sales is not the way to deal with the public health carcerated for drug offenses. We must not forget the
Prop. 19 was a bill whose passage would have le-
effects of drug abuse. incarcerated themselves. These individuals, some of
galized and regulated marijuana as well as allowed
whom must spend time in custody when they can’t
for the use, cultivation, and sale of marijuana with
afford bail, face sub-animal conditions, cops on
some limitations.
steroids, and, of course, the violent defendants they
The initiative would have also allowed cities to “I believe that we have the are housed with.
allow and tax sales, though the proposed statute did
not provide a mechanism for state taxation. inalienable right to alter Drug use and abuse are social and pubic health is-
sues. But these drug laws started as purity laws in a
The initiative also indicated that employees should
not be subject to discrimination in hiring practices
our consciousness, and progressive effort to stop pharmaceutical companies
nor be fired on the sole basis that the employer is able that criminalizing drug from addicting their unknowing customers to sub-
stances like heroin and cocaine added to common
to ascertain that they use marijuana. Nothing permit-
ted marijuana use by employees at work or in any use and sales is not the products like cough medicine and soft drinks. We

way to deal with the

have lost sight of these original goals.
way that impaired work. In fact, under the statute,
The idea of families being forced to turn on their
any industry could decide that use was a safety issue
and arguably be immune from the general language public health effects friends and neighbors and other members of their
community, is the 1984-esque reality of mandatory
of the statute.
minimums and misguided policy. Unfortunately, the
Unfortunately, the message did not get out about
Currently, people face life sentences in federal stigma against hard drug and even marijuana use has
Prop. 19, at least not the correct one. Many in the
court and in some states for drug crimes. The federal led to a political reality where those most affected by
medical marijuana community voted against it. Some
law still has severe mandatory minimum sentences drug laws are disenfranchised. That’s why we need to
did for greedy reasons, thinking that legalizing recre-
for drug offenders, including some marijuana defen- rally for them and end the human suffering that con-
ational use and sales would cut into their businesses.
dants. Defendants with only one prior misdemeanor stitutes the drug war.
Others were offended by the proposed increase in
can face potential sentences of ten years to life for
criminal penalties for furnishing marijuana. Prop. 19
growing over 1000 marijuana plants and can only
proposed an amendment to Section 11361 of the Cal-
avoid these penalties by informing or by negotiating Allison Margolin ‘02 is LA’s self-described “dopest
ifornia Health and Safety Code that would have cre-
a plea that generally involves prison time of over attorney.” In addition to the criminal law practice
ated a new misdemeanor for those persons aged 21 or
three years. she heads with her father, she has written and lec-
over who furnish marijuana to persons aged 18, 19,
The Controlled Substances Act currently classifies tured about sex and drug law.
or 20. Currently, furnishing under an ounce of mari-
marijuana as a Schedule I drug, a drug with no med-
juana is a misdemeanor punishable by no more than
Feinberg shares compensation stories at HLS
Page 8 Harvard Law Record November 12, 2010

FEINBERG, cont’d from pg. 1
Feinberg, one he believes is rivaled
only by World War II, the bombing of
Pearl Harbor, and the assassination of
President John F. Kennedy in terms of
national significance. The decision to
introduce compensation as an option
for victims depends greatly on how a
tragedy affected the country as a whole,
Feinberg explained, rather than on how
it is perceived by individual victims.
Feinberg also addressed his own atti-
of mediating some of the country's most
prominent crises.
"You've got to love what you do, and
you've got to believe that you are doing
something in the public good," he said.
One attendee posited that the key to
Feinberg's success at getting individu-
als to join victims' funds rather than
pursuing lawsuits was in his bedside
manner. Feinberg agreed wholeheart-
edly.
"I would've been better off with a di-
he joked, explaining that success in his
line of work depends on his ability to
effectively and compassionately appre-
ciate the emotional component of indi-
vidual cases and to step beyond his
formal role as an attorney.
Feinberg graduated from New York
University Law School in 1970 and is
an adjunct professor at various law
schools in addition to his role adminis-
tering compensation funds.
Audience members got the opportu-
assertions. One man inquired about the
arbitrariness of placing a value on lost
lives and, in a sense, playing God. After
all, Feinberg's task is, in part, to deter-
mine which lives deserve compensation
and how much each life is worth. Fein-
berg explained that judges and juries
around the country, in deciding how to
compensate the negligent death of a
banker versus that of a busboy, value
lives similarly every day.
"I am judge and jury structurally," he

Masquerade, Mischief, and More:

tude towards his work and his methods vinity degree or a psychology degree," nity to push back on many of Feinberg's noted, "but nothing illogically."

Law School Lets Loose on Halloween

With interview season mostly over and the weather Top right: A mysterious masked
flip-flopping back to fall, about 400 Harvard Law stu- L.L.M. from down under dons a
dents swapped suits for costumes at an on-campus Hal- sheep mask, or as the Aussies
loween party Oct. 30. might say, a jumbuck mask, before
The party, sponsored by Student Government, the 3L
entering Ropes Gray to enjoy the
Class Marshals and the L.L.M. Class of 2011, was held
in the Ropes Gray room. The event featured food, danc- festivities.
ing, and a cash bar.
Although last year's event featured an open bar, Stu- Bottom: Tracy Branding ‘13 smiles
dent Government President Jennifer Dein said the 3L and stops to pose, as other stu-
Class Marshals picked up the tab for most of this year's dents mill about outside the party.
event and could not afford to buy drinks for the entire
school. Last year, L.L.M. students weren't invited, while -Photos by Raquel Acosta
this year all Law School students and their guests were
invited to attend, she said.
"The 3L Marshal budget just can't cover it for the
whole school," Dein said. "The consensus is [student
groups] would rather have everyone be invited than
leave out one sector of the community."
Before the event, Dein said she thought the party
would provide a much-needed study break for Harvard
Law students.
"I think it's a nice time, especially for the 1Ls, since
so many students have been studying so hard up to this
point," she said. "It's an important time to have an event
for the entire community to get together."
-By Jenny Paul Pumpkin by K. Peirce