Last spring, local attorneys, law professors, and law students learned about defamation law through a creative continuing legal education program featuring South Texas College of Law Assistant Professor Haley Palfreyman Jankowski as Taylor Swift.
The program — directed by U.S. Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod and presented by Pupilage Group 6 of the Garland R. Walker American Inn of Court in Houston — placed second in the nation for the innovative CLE presentation “New York Times v. Sullivan at 60: Swift Justice in Any Era.” A number of South Texas Law students participate in this Inn of Court group.
The award was presented to Pupilage Group Leaders, which include Chief Judge Elrod, U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge, U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina A. Bryan, and Jim Cooper, a partner at Reed Smith. Judge Elrod also serves as a jurist in residence for South Texas Law.
The Garland Walker Inn is one of many American Inns of Court located across the nation. Inns are comprised of judges, practicing attorneys, law professors, and students who meet regularly to discuss and debate issues relating to legal ethics and professionalism.
Last spring’s award-winning CLE was a six-scene journey to help participants better understand defamation law. The imagined story written for the CLE started with global phenomenon Taylor Swift learning her ex-boyfriends had published a scathing op-ed in the New York Times. In the op-ed, they announced their intent to sue the popstar for defamatory statements they alleged Swift made in her song lyrics.
The program asked participants: “How will Swift defend herself against the lawsuit? And can she countersue for defamation?” To find out, the cast took Taylor (Prof. Jankowski) on an Eras Tour of their own. Following the structure of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the ghosts of Defamation Past (Alexander Hamilton), Not So Way Past (L.B. Sullivan), Present Dissent (Justice Clarence Thomas), and Future Risk (Jack Sparrow—aka Jonny Depp) guided Taylor through four “eras” of defamation law.
In the letter of congratulations from Hon. Consuelo M. Callahan, president of the American Inns of Court, she noted, “Each year, the Program Awards Committee receives hundreds of noteworthy submissions, but your program stood out for its quality and creativity, and for its embodiment of the ideals the American Inns of Court represents.”
Original source can be found here.