To the editor:

We write to point out some inaccuracies in your recent report on the 2007 Cardozo Cup, “3Ls win Cardozo.” Your reporter must not have attended the tournament. If she had, she would know that winner of the faculty/student game is not “still undetermined.” The faculty/staff team was in fact administering a hearty drubbing to the student all-star team when the game was interrupted. Just as our slugger, Professor Huss, picked up a bat and approached the plate, the lights went out. Res ipse loquitur. Obviously the student all-stars cut the lights in an attempt to spare themselves further humiliation at the hands of the faculty, staff and assorted ringers. The student all-stars voluntarily forfeited the game.

It is a shame that the majority of the article focused on what was in fact, an irrelevant consolation match between 2Ls and 3Ls (the “L” in this case standing for “losers”). It follows that your headline, “3Ls win Cardozo,” is incorrect, notwithstanding the photo you published of cowardly 3Ls holding up the purloined Cup after the faculty and staff had all left the park and returned to their usual pursuits — devoting their lives to serving our students. There is no need for you to issue a retraction or an apology. All that is called for is the prompt delivery of one cup-shaped trophy, inscribed “Cardozo Cup.”

With the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive,

Mark Adams

Penelope Andrews

“Brute”

“Killer”

Annie Lawrence

Marston Mundt

Melissa Mundt

Zahra Nwabara

“Slugger”

Jeremy Telman

“Thug”Ann Weitgenant

Alan White

On behalf of Faculty, Staff and Affiliated Members of the 2007 Cardozo Cup Championship Team

D. A. Jeremy Telman

Associate Professor of Law

Valparaiso University School of Law

Thank you for the recent copy of The Forum. As a VUSL grad (’98) and a former participant in the Swygert Memorial Moot Court Competition, I was pleased to read that Justice Scalia and other esteemed federal judges served on this year’s panel. What a highlight for VUSL! I was also intrigued by the topic of this year’s competition – dealing with time, place and manner restrictions on protesters at the funerals of soldiers killed in action.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned at VUSL was during my externship with Judge Ripple of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Ripple would remind me that each case has an enormous impact on the lives of the parties, and instructed us to be very sensitive to the short-term impact of the Court’s decisions on the parties. He would also remind us of the long-term impact a decision would have on society as a whole. Each of Judge Ripple’s opinions would be carefully crafted to ensure that the parties felt they had their opportunity to be heard, and were treated fairly, during the judicial process. In addition, Judge Ripple would carefully craft opinions so that non-parties could carefully understand the impact of the decision, and what (if any) changes the decision meant for citizens, businesses, etc.

The reason I write is that I want you to truly understand this important issue – each and every case you will work on will have an impact on the lives of the parties, but can also have a significant long-term impact on society as a whole. Since I graduated from VUSL, my wife and I have been active in high school and junior high youth ministry. I can still remember our first group of high school kids from a small church in a small town in mid-Michigan. They were probably my favorite group of our “youth group kids” my wife and I have ever had in all our years of youth ministry. In fact, even though we have moved away from the small town to return to our home of West Michigan, we still are in contact with this group of now young adults. Sadly, one of our “youth group kids” was killed in Iraq in March 2006. Attending his funeral was one of the most emotional experiences I’ve ever had in my life. Here was a young man who served his country with a smile on his face. Days before he gave his life in service to his country, he e-mailed his mother saying simply “Mom, what are you doing today? I’m saving the world!”

Driving the long drive from our home in West Michigan to the church in mid-Michigan, my wife and I were pretty quiet, as we were still in shock, not really knowing how to handle the situation. We had heard there would be protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, and we had seen the recent news coverage that this group had received as it toured the country protesting at soldiers’ funerals. Fortunately, the Patriot Guard shielded this group from us as we arrived at the church. Seeing 400-500 motorcyclists waving the American flag is a sight to behold, and honored this young man for his service to our country. Leaving the church after the funeral, the Patriot Guard formed an even more beautiful scene – lining both sides of the street with flags, which the funeral procession drove through on its way to the cemetery.

I am thankful I did not see the protesters that day. Watching the news that night, and reading the newspaper the next morning, I found out the protesters had signs and shouted words that said, among other things, “Thank God for IEDs,” “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” and “Corporal _______ is in hell.” I don’t know if I’ve ever been so angry in my life for the callous disregard these media-loving protesters had for a grieving family. I wanted to find a way to stop these people from interfering with the sanctity of a private funeral as a family laid their loved one to rest. A funeral is not typically a public affair, and to turn a private funeral into a political statement is pathetic – and I give some of the blame to the media for even acknowledging the sorry existence of this group, while giving credit to the Patriot Guard for pretending this group did not even exist. There was no violence that day, and I am thankful for that.

I am no longer angry at these protesters. I feel sorry for them and their misguided beliefs. Do they have a right to say these things and believe these irrational thoughts? Of course they do. They have every right to open their mouth and prove to the world they are idiots. Do they have a right to say these things outside of a church where a private funeral is taking place? I don’t think so. Had it not been for the peaceful presence of the Patriot Guard, an already emotional event would have turned into an ugly event. Let there be no mistake about it, telling a grieving family that their son is in hell, and that God is to be praised for IEDs and dead soldiers, is nothing more than hate words designed to get media attention for a pathetic political statement. They are fighting words carefully designed to inflict an emotional and public response. The government has every right to put time, place and manner restrictions in this area, and preserve the sanctity of a private funeral.

Congratulations to VUSL for tackling such a tough and timely issue in the Swygert Memorial Moot Court Competition. I am sure the briefs were well-written and thoroughly outlined the applicable law in this area. I hope the briefs addressed the emotion of the case, and the impact the Court’s decision would have on a grieving family, society, and yes, even the protesters. Please keep in mind the emotional background of every case you work on, and advocate for your clients by trying to walk in their shoes, and see how they look at the case. As for me, I would not be able to advocate for the protesters at this point, but stepping up to the microphone as an advocate for the government in a case like this would be easy:

“May it please the Court. Before addressing the legal issues, please give me the opportunity to tell you about Corporal Nyle Yates of the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army, his family, and his funeral.”

Joel W. Baar

Bolhouse, Vander Hulst, Risko & Baar, PC