Law professors at California Western School of Law are taking their expertise from the classroom to the iPod. On Law in 10, California Western’s weekly podcast, professors provide legal analysis on current news topics, all in 10 minutes or less.‚ÄúAlthough a handful of other law schools use podcasts for lectures and speaker events, we believe California Western is the first law school to offer a weekly news commentary,‚Äù says David Bowers, assistant dean for external affairs at the San Diego law school. ‚ÄúOur purpose in launching this effort is to introduce our faculty members to ‚ÄòGen iPod,‚Äô the 19-24 year old college student with an interest in legal issues. We believe others will develop an interest as well.‚Äù

A recent podcast looks at the JonBenet Ramsey case (MP3).

The show is divided into two segments, each featuring a different legal expert and topic of interest.

The podcast debuted on August 24, and featured criminal law Professor Justin Brooks and constitutional law Professor Marilyn Ireland. Brooks–also director of the California Innocence Project–discussed media coverage, false confessions, and DNA testing concerning the 10-year-old JonBenet Ramsey murder. Ireland–a long-time San Diego resident and First Amendment specialist–talked about the ongoing San Diego Mt. Soledad Cross controversy.

In the second Law in 10 episode, presented August 30, Professor James Cooper offered his thoughts on whether the current ceasefire resolution between Israel and Hezbollah can be successful and Professor Jackie Slotkin gave her analysis on generational gaps contributing to changes in the legal workplace. The latest podcast (number three in the series so far) features Professor Ruth Hargrove on the police shooting incident involving San Diego Chargers linebacker Steve Foley and associate dean Janet Bowermaster discusses the case against polygamist Warren Jeffs, along with legal and cultural aspects of polygamy.

‚ÄúOur podcast will showcase the great variety of legal experts we have here at the law school,” says Franki Fitterer, associate director for marketing and communications and host of Law in 10. ‚ÄúWe are thrilled to launch this project, and believe it will prove to be an informative and useful tool for a myriad of audiences.‚Äù