In the 2019-2020 year, the Calvert Inn of Court teams have
presented the following presentations:
"A Thanksgiving Legislative Update: Legal Questions You'll Have
to Answer Over Turkey"
The
Robert W. Calvert Inn held its second CLE-approved meeting this Inn
year on November 12, 2019 at the Headliner's Club in Austin. The
program was A Thanksgiving Legislative Update: Legal Questions
You'll Have to Answer Over Turkey, which brought a little levity to
a legislative update from the Texas 2019 Legislative Session by
presenting on recent changes to the law that the lawyer in the
family might need to know for holiday gatherings. The presentation
covered a variety of changes to the law across an array of legal
practice areas, including criminal law, employment law, property
owners association law, the Public Information Act, the Texas
Anti-SLAPP statute, and law affecting litigation. The presentation
also covered broader legal topics like laws affecting the
judiciary, and changes to the Texas Driver Responsibility Program.
To close out the program, Team 2 took a look at several pieces of
legislation that were proposed in 2019, but did not make into law.
These included substantive and controversial issues from censorship
to abortion, and some lighter matters, like scooter regulation and
"rolling coal." Special thanks to Austin Legal Video for the
excellent videography services.
"Hemp, Hemp, Hooray?"
On
December 3, 2019, the members of the Robert W. Calvert Inn of Court
received a timely presentation (led by team leader Danielle
Ahlrich) on recent hemp and marijuana legislation in Texas and
across the U.S. The presentation covered an overview of the recent
Texas hemp legalization bill and related legislation as well as a
granular look at how marijuana laws impact criminal, employment,
and family law and the healthcare industry. Team members
specifically presented, among other things, legislative action (and
non-action) in Texas; agricultural considerations and the lack of
regulation; legal implications of medical and recreational
marijuana use; and healthcare benefits of CBD products.
"A Town Hall on Homelessness"
The
Robert. W. Calvert Inn of Court located in Austin, Texas, met on
January 14, 2020, where Calvert Inn Team 4 gave an interactive
presentation on the issue of homelessness. The presentation was
focused on a fictional American city called Pleasantville that is
struggling with how to properly address issues surrounding
homelessness in that City. The presentation took place as a town
hall meeting led by the City's mayor, during which time several
individuals made presentations to the mayor concerning various
homlessness-related topics, including issues including how special
populations are affected by homelessness, constitutional issues,
mental health issues and community efforts to address homelessness.
The presenters also addressed how various American cities deal with
homelessness, including a deep look at the City of Austin, Texas
homeless ordinance and its recent changes. The presentation was
interactive, educational and fun.