We are pleased to announce that our blog contributor, Professor S.I. Strong (University of Missouri School of Law), has been selected as a Fellow of the Supreme Court of the United States for the 2012-13 term. Professor Strong will be assigned to the International Relations Office of the Federal Judicial Center, where she will examine the federal judicial process and seek, propose, and implement solutions to problems in the administration of justice. The U.S. Federal Judicial Center will soon publish a guide written by Professor Strong, International Commercial Arbitration: A Guide for U.S. Federal Judges. She has provided expert assistance in the areas of international dispute resolutions and comparative law to many state agencies. On a related note, in the spring of 2012, Professor Strong served as the Henry G. Schermers Fellow at the Hague Institute for the Internationalisation of Law in the Netherlands. Scholarly papers by Professor S.I. Strong can be downloaded here. Please join us in congratulating Professor Strong!

Today, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, dismissed Lance Armstrong lawsuit against the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Agreement to Arbitrate The court held that Armstrong agreed to arbitrate at least some of his claims. The court found that Armstrong agreed to abide by USA Cycling’s rules and those rules incorporate the USADA Protocol, which requires athletes to contest doping sanctions through arbitration. In addition, the court, citing R- 7 of the Supplementary Procedures, concluded that “Armstrong clearly and unmistakably agreed to arbitrate the question of arbitrability.” See AAA Supplementary Procedure for the Arbitration of Olympic Sport Doping Disputes, Annex D of USADA Protocol. Due Process Challenges The court also held that USADA’s arbitration rules, which follow the American Arbitration Association Rules (AAA), are sufficient to satisfy due process. The court first highlighted the requirements of due process by stating that “An essential principle of due process is that a deprivation of life, liberty, or property ‘be preceded by notice and opportunity for hearing appropriate to the nature of the case.” The court found troubling the lack of detail in USADA’s notification of the charges. However, the court reasoned that enjoining USADA from proceeding further would have no practical effect because USADA could re-issue a more detailed letter and USADA’s counsel had agreed to provide Armstrong with more detailed disclosures of the charges at a time reasonably before arbitration. Citing Gilmer v. Interstate/Johnson Lane Corp., 500 U.S. 20, 30-32 & n.4 (1991), the court rejected Armstrong’s claims of bias of arbitration panels and said, “Like the Supreme Court, this court declines to assume either the pool of potential arbitrators, or the ultimate arbitral panel itself, will be unwilling or unable to render a conscientious decision based on the evidence before it. Further, Armstrong has ample appellate avenues open to him, first to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), where he is entitled to de novo review, and then to the courts of Switzerland, as permitted by Swiss law, if he so elects. Further, the record shows CAS routinely grants hearings in cases such as Armstrong’s, and this Court declines to presume it will break with tradition in this particular instance.” What’s Next? Armstrong can -prior to August 23, 2012: (i) accept the sanctions imposed by USADA, (ii) arbitrate the case, or (iii) appeal this Order to the U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Find the Order here. Related Posts: Armstrong v. Tygart | Federal Court to Rule Before August 23, Disputing, August 10, 2012 Armstrong v. Tygart | Hearing is Today, Disputing, August 10, 2012 Armstrong v. Tygart | Lance Armstrong Responds to USADA’s Motion to Dismiss, Disputing, August 8, 2012 Armstrong v. Tygart | Fairness of Arbitration Procedure, Disputing, August 8, 2012 Armstrong v. Tygart | Jurisdiction, Disputing, August 7, 2012 Armstrong v. Tygart | Existence of Agreement to Arbitrate, Disputing, August 6, 2012 The International Convention Against Doping in Sport of 2005, Disputing, August 2, 2012 USADA Case against Lance Armstrong | USADA’s Successful Arbitration Track Record, Disputing, August 1, 2012 USADA Case against Lance Armstrong | USADA Adjudication Process Part VI | Right to Appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Disputing, July 30, 2012 USADA Case against Lance Armstrong | USADA Adjudication Process Part V |USADA Expedited Track, Disputing, July 26, 2012 USADA Case against Lance Armstrong | USADA Adjudication Process Part IV | The Arbitration Hearing, Disputing, July 25, 2012 USADA Case against Lance Armstrong | USADA Adjudication Process Part III | The Appointment of Arbitrators, Disputing, July 24, 2012 USADA Case against Lance Armstrong | USADA Adjudication Process Part II | The Review Board Track, Disputing, July 23, 2012 Armstrong v. Tygart | USADA Files Motion to Dismiss Lance Armstrong’s Suit , Disputing, July 21, 2012 USADA Case against Lance Armstrong | USADA Adjudication Process Part I | USADA ‘Results Management,’ Disputing, July 19, 2012 Armstrong v. Tygart | Texas Federal Court Will Hear Lance Armstrong Case on August 10, Disputing, July 18, 2012 Armstrong v. Tygart | Lance Armstrong’s Suit and Restraining Order against USADA, Disputing, July 17, 2012 USADA Case against Lance Armstrong | What is the USADA? Disputing, July 16, 2012 USADA Case against Lance Armstrong | USADA Allegations, Disputing, July 13, 2012 Lance Armstrong | The Doping Controversy Continues, Disputing, July 12, 2012

by Holly Hayes The New York Times Health/Science blog posted an article titled, “The Bullying Culture of Medical School” by Pauline W. Chen, MD. The post states: For 30 years, medical educators have known that becoming a doctor requires more than an endless array of standardized exams, long hours on the wards and years spent in training. For many medical students, verbal and physical harassment and intimidation are part of the exhausting process, too. The need for a change in medical education has been a topic of discussion for many years. One medical school became a leader in adopting such changes. Starting in 1995, educators at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, began instituting a series of schoolwide reforms. They adopted policies to reduce abuse and promote prevention; established a Gender and Power Abuse Committee, mandated lectures, workshops and training sessions for students, residents and faculty members; and created an office to accept confidential reports, investigate and then address allegations of mistreatment. To gauge the effectiveness of these initiatives, the school also began asking all students at the end of their third year to complete a five-question survey on whether they felt they had been mistreated over the course of the year. The school has just published the sobering results of the surveys over the last 13 years. While there appears to have been a slight drop in the numbers of students who report experiencing mistreatment, more than half of all medical students still said that they had been intimidated or physically or verbally harassed. The National Patient Safety Foundation has published a free publication: Unmet Needs: Teaching Physicians to Provide Safe Patient Care that addresses reforming medical education to improve patient safety. Is healthcare ready to incorporate conflict engagement skills in the training of our next generation of caregivers? Holly Hayes is a mediator at Karl Bayer, Dispute Resolution Expert where she focuses on mediation of health care disputes. Holly holds a B.A. from Southern Methodist University and a Masters in Health Administration from Duke University. She can be reached at holly@karlbayer.com.  

Professor Kristen Blankley (University of Nebraska College of Law) has posted “Recent Supreme Court Arbitration Rulings Affect Employment and Class Action Arbitrations” on SSN. It is a short article discussing recent class action arbitration and employment arbitration cases. You may download the article (for free) here.