Provost Announces Law School Dean Search
Emory University Provost Dwight A. McBride has announced the search for the next Emory School of Law dean. Goizueta Business School Dean Erika James is heading the search advisory committee, McBride said. During the search, the search firm consultants and the search advisory committee will host town halls and other meetings to hear from the Emory Law community to identify priorities in finding the next dean. Interim Dean James B. Hughes stepped in after former School of Law Dean Judson Graves’ departure.
Poll: Ga. Gubernatorial Race Neck-in-Neck
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp are nearly tied in their bids for governor, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll conducted last week. The poll shows Abrams trailing Kemp by half of a percentage point with a margin of error of 3.1 percent. If Abrams is elected, she would be the first black female governor in U.S. history and first Democratic governor of Georgia since 2002. President Donald Trump has endorsed Kemp, while Abrams won the endorsement of former President Barack Obama.
Atlanta to No Longer Hold ICE Detainees
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms signed a Sept. 6 executive order ending detention of U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) detainees and mandating all remaining ICE detainees held in city jail to be transferred elsewhere. Bottoms made the decision after Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy on illegal immigration, saying that the policy “intentionally inflicts misery on a vulnerable population.”
India Strikes Down Gay Sex Ban
The Indian Supreme Court unanimously decriminalized consensual gay sex on Sept. 6, according to The New York Times. Homosexual behavior was deemed “unnatural” sexual offenses in an 1861 law. A violation of the law carried a maximum sentence of life in prison. The ruling declared that sexual orientation is protected under a person’s right to privacy.
Kavanaugh Confirmation Hearing Concluded
The Senate Judiciary Committee concluded Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing on Sept. 7, according to the Associated Press. During the week of Sept. 2, senators questioned Kavanaugh on his view of the Roe v. Wade ruling, the landmark 2015 decision on same-sex marriage and on U.S. Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Democrats unsuccessfully attempted to postpone the nomination process after 42,000 documents related to Kavanaugh’s records were only released the night before the hearing. The committee is expected to hold its confirmation vote on Kavanaugh Sept. 20, with the Senate floor expected to vote a week after.
