Dean Peter Pitegoff named co-Chair of Juvenile Justice Task Force

Dean Peter Pitegoff was recently named co-Chair, with Chief Justice Leigh Saufley, of a state-wide, mulitidisciplinary Juvenile Justice Task Force. Because "Maine can not afford to lose one more youth to prison, to homelessness, or to helplessness," Co-Chairs Chief Justice Saufley, First Lady Karen Baldacci, and Dean Pitegoff have convened a collaborative task force to ensure that resources are directed in constructive and cost-effective ways, thereby reducing crime and the number of youth housed in Maine's correctional facilities. The Task Force includes individuals from the executive, legilsative, and judicial branches of state government, and representatives from a range of organizations concerned with these important issues. The Task Force will meet and develop recommendations over the next year.

Professor Jennifer Wriggins publishes chapter on race and racism in tort law in new book

Associate Dean for Research and Sumner T. Bernstein Professor of Law Jennifer Wriggins just published a chapter entitled Whiteness, Equal Treatment, and the Valuation of Injury in Torts in a book published by Stanford University Press entitled "Fault Lines: Tort Law as Cultural Practice." Professor Wriggins' chapter examined ways that race and racism have influenced tort law (tort law, generally speaking, is the law of personal injuries). Professor Wriggins' scholarship has made ground-breaking contributions to the study of race and tort law, and she is currently at work on a book which deals with the subject. "Fault Lines" was edited by Professors David Engel and Michael McCann and contains contributions by prominent scholars such as Marc Galanter and David Nelken. The book has an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural focus. Here is a link to more information about the book: http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=11374