The University of Maryland Diamondback recently reported on a case that Sandler Reiff Young & Lamb partner Joseph Sandler argued in support of the Maryland DREAM Act. After Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed the bill last year, opponents of the new law have attempted to put the law to a referendum, where Maryland voters can decide its fate.
Under the DREAM Act, undocumented students can receive in-state tuition to Maryland public colleges if they graduated from a Maryland public high school, complete 60 community college credits, and prove they or their parents had paid state taxes for the past three years. Mr. Sandler, who is arguing the case on behalf of Casa de Maryland, told the Diamondback that the bill is essentially a spending bill because the community college requirements will lead to an increase in state-funding to two-year colleges. If the law is indeed considered a spending bill rather than a policy bill, it would be disqualified from being put to a vote.
“The law is of the type that we believe is not subject to referendum,” Mr. Sandler said. “It includes appropriations; it is essentially a spending bill.”
The case has also drawn media attention for other regional outlets, including the Washington Post.
Sandler, Reiff, Young & Lamb partner Joseph Sandler was quoted today in a Washington Post article regarding loopholes in lobbyist registration. The article discusses how Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich worked for many years after leaving Congress as a de facto lobbyist, yet never met the requirements that would have forced him register as one. Mr. Sandler, who last year co-chaired an American Bar Association task force on lobbying reforms, is quoted in the article as saying “It is very easy to escape the need to register. There are thousands of people in Washington who lobby without being lobbyists.”
Sandler, Reiff, Young, & Lamb associate Liz Howard was recently profiled by the College of William and Mary Law School. As a law student at the College, Howard co-founded the Election Law Society, which according to the profile, led her to take classes on campus in Williamsburg, Virginia and in Washington, D.C. According to the profile, being in Washington let her interact with election law experts and practitioners. Said Howard, “The opportunity to learn from practitioners in DC was truly phenomenal. In essence, real-time learning using real-life scenarios.”