The Ethics of Implementation: Institutional Remedies and the Lawyer's Role

The issue addressed in this article is whether and to what extent a lawyer has an ethical responsibility to pursue implementation of the remedy in institutional reform litigation. Institutional reform litigation refers to cases in which an individual or class of individuals sues a large organization in order to vindicate constitutional or statutory rights. The types of cases with which this article is concerned are the "public law" type, such as school desegregation, prisoners' rights and patients' rights cases, although included under the rubric of institutional reform can be, inter alia, antitrust, reapportionment and bankruptcy cases. The implementation stage of institutional reform litigation arises after an individual or class of individuals prevails at the liability stage, or pursuant to a settlement, and a court orders the defendant organization to change in order to vindicate the plaintiffs' rights. At that point, the defendant organization, whether it be a prison, mental hospital or school district, usually has the burden of implementing the order. One conclusion drawn is that the ethical duty of the lawyer must always be consistent with the lawyer's "special responsibility for the quality of justice."

Winning On for the Gipper: Diversity Strategies and Initiative at Notre Dame

One of the enduring images linked to the University of Notre Dame is that of injured football player George Gipp imploring Coach Knute Rockne to "Win One for the Gipper. " Similarly, people of color and conscience at Notre Dame struggle with formidable challenges in implementing diversity into areas of faculty retention, university initiatives and community outreach, all while remaining sane. The panelists will discuss innovative successes and continuing efforts that can be adapted by others seeking a game plan for diversity.

Annual Report of Nebraska's Reading First

Thi report summarizes the results of the first year of the Reading First Initiative in Nebraska. Results show that teachers and schools have made a real effort to change. Student performance in the earlier grades has shown great promise for the following years, however, growth in fluency and comprehension in grades 2 and 3 were not as impressive and require additional attention. Overall, students make at least a year’s progress in most schools and most demographic groups. Schools can make much better use of the data they were collecting and need further direction in this area The assessment results were triangulated by observations in the classrooms, interviews, and teacher responses to professional development- teachers know how to teach PA and the alphabetic principle but were still struggling with: finding time and effective strategies for fluency training teaching comprehension strategies teaching self monitoring. Growing gaps for SPED, Ethnic minorities, and ELL students suggest an emphasis on the secondary and tertiary levels of intervention in the schools.