(what "publishing" meant before the internet)
There is a very ambitious fellow in our class at Law School. His name is Paymon Khatibi. One day Paymon decided that our class should start an independent journal of law related articles. We would write student notes just like the official Law Reviews and publish them online in a digital journal. Sounds easy, right?
Well it took a lot of work and management to have all the pieces fall into place. Incredibly, Paymon was relentless and did not give up on this dream of his. Today, that dream has become a reality. And for that we are all very grateful.
The Loyola Journal has been published online and is open to all readers. The inaugural issue has 76 pages and includes an interview with famed litigator Robert Shapiro as well as articles about immigration, domestic violence and Guantanamo Bay among others.
When Paymon asked who would be interested in writing for the journal, I volunteered. I like writing and thought it would be a great experience.
As we were studying Felony Murder in Criminal Law I met an incredible woman named Professor Gilda Zwerman from New York. She was taking a little break from New York and was staying in Venice. One Shabbos she decided to drop into the Shul on the Bwach where I am the Rabbi. We met a few times subsequently and she joined my family and some other guests for a Shabbos lunch.
Professor Zwerman told me about a famous Felony Murder conviction in my hometown of Monsey NY! A young Jewish woman (at the time, in 1980) was involved in a well-known Brinks truck robbery. We talked extensively about the case as Ms. Zwerman has become a strong advocate for the release of the now middle aged Jewish woman who has turned her life around while incarcerated.
I strongly urge you all to read her story at JudithClark.org.
Hearing Judith Clark’s story and reading up on Felony Murder while we were studying it in class really gave me a lot to think about. I decided to try and understand the doctrine and realized that in my opinion the whole thing is a huge mistake.
So I decided to write an article explaining how it came to be that we have such an unfair rule in our legal system. It is pretty interesting and is written in a way that a non-lawyer / law student should be able to understand it.
I hope you will take a few minutes to read it and feel free to sound off in the comments.
Loyola Journal link: http://loyolajournal.com/
Link to my article on Felony Murder: Felony Murder: A Dinosaur Living in the Criminal Justice System
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