Susan C. Hascall, M.A., J.D.
Assistant Professor of Law
Duquesne University
600 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15282
412-396-4634
480-251-9152 (cell)
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
DUQUESNE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
Assistant Professor of Law, 2008-Present
Courses and Areas of Interest:
Commercial Law
Contracts
Banking Law
Business Associations
Comparative Law
International Law
Appellate Practice/Advocacy
Civil Procedure
Islamic Law/Islamic Commercial Law
Native American Law
Indigenous Peoples/Roma (“Gypsies”) and Human Rights
Jurisprudence/Legal Pluralism
Cross-Cultural Legal Instruction
PUBLICATIONS
Book:
An Introduction to Legal Pluralism: Inter-Legality in Context (Ashgate, London, forthcoming 2015). To be published in the Cultural Diversity and Law Series.
In this book I explain the philosophical, legal and sociological theories that form the basis of the jurisprudence surrounding legal pluralism. Legal pluralism is an interdisciplinary theory of jurisprudence that attempts to explain and articulate the phenomenon of overlapping legal systems in a single socio-political space. I set forth a number of chapters in this book to offer real world examples of the different kinds of legal pluralism and explore the challenges that a legal system faces in light of these overlapping systems. For example, I discuss the mixed jurisdictions in West Africa that include in their official legal systems common law or civil law courts, Shari’ah courts and customary courts. I also discuss Native courts in the United States and explain the pluralistic setting of these courts within the U.S. legal framework. Moving from officially recognized court systems, I begin a discussion of legal systems that exist within state legal systems but lack official recognition. I briefly discuss religious legal systems, with which most readers are familiar such as the Beth Din courts, and then move on to a discussion of the Roma (“Gypsy”) legal systems in the United States and in Europe and the interaction between these legal systems and the official legal systems. Finally, I discuss the interaction of the U.S. legal and regulatory systems with Shari’ah based concepts. In this section I focus on Islamic family law concepts in the U.S courts and the ever-expanding Shari’ah-based banking and finance industry in the U.S.
Articles:
Islamic Commercial Law and Social Justice: Shari’ah Compliant Companies, Workers’ Rights, and the Living Wage, __ St. John’s Law Review 88 (2014) (available on SSRN accepted papers series).
Restorative Justice in Islam: Should Qisas Be Considered a Form of Restorative Justice? 4 Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern and Islamic Law 35 (2011) (available on SSRN accepted papers series).
Book Review: Ron Shaham, The Expert Witness in Islamic Court: Medicine and Crafts in the Service of Law. 60 American Journal of Comparative Law 3 (2012) (soon to be available on SSRN accepted papers series).
Legal Pluralism and Religious Law in Africa, Spiritan Journeys (September 2011). Article describing the pluralistic aspects of law in colonial and post-colonial African societies, focusing on the role of religious law and legal systems in contemporary Nigeria and comparing aspects of Shari’ah courts in Africa to the historical role of religious tribunals in Europe. Article requested by the editor of Spiritan Journeys, the periodical of the Spiritan Order of Catholic priests.
Shari’ah and Choice: What the United States Should Learn from Islamic Law about the Role of the Victims’ Families in Death Penalty Cases, 1 John Marshall Law Review 44 (2010) (available on SSRN accepted papers series).
Why Islamic Law? The Duquesne Lawyer: The Duquesne University School of Law Magazine for Alumni and Friends, 18-20 (Fall 2009).
Comment, Constitutional Law: The Lack of Constitutional Protection against Verbal Sexual Harassment in Schools [Abeyta Ex. Rel. Garcia v. Chama Valley Independent School District, 77 F.3d 1253 (10th Cir. 1996)], 36 Washburn Law Journal 303 (1997).
The Chimpanzees of Sedgwick, 21 Lambda Alpha Journal 38 (1992). Publication of original data gathering and analysis techniques using both qualitative and quantitative methods, designed by the author and utilized by two student assistants for a one year period. We assessed hierarchical behavior of a captive troupe of chimpanzees at the Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, Kansas, in cooperation with the Jane Goodall Institute.
Book Chapter:
The Role of Non-Religious Claims and Community Activism in Protecting the Sacred Spaces of Native Americans, chapter published in Droit, Pouvoir et Religion (La Foundation Allemande Hanns Seidel and L’Institute Francais, in cooperation with L’Ambassade de France en Tunisie, Tunis, 2010).
WORKS IN PROGRESS
Book:
Shari’ah in America: How Islamic Law is changing the Legal Landscape of the United States. Focuses on Islamic commercial law and Shari’ah tribunals in the United States, and argues that Islamic law is being integrated into the legal system as both a parallel legal system that is not officially recognized or incorporated into the legal system, and as a new form of lex mercataria that is gaining official recognition by regulators, businesses and the courts. Recommended for publication by the editors of the Cultural Diversity and Law Series, Ashgate Publishers, London, U.K.
Interdisciplinary Research Project:
The Health Effects of Negative Portrayals of Muslims in the United States. This project will use both qualitative and quantitative methodology to measure the effects of the negative portrayals of Muslims and Islam on three communities in the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania area. Individuals from Muslim, Christian and Jewish worship communities will be surveyed and interviewed regarding their reactions to certain instances of negative portrayals of Muslims in the media and any consequential effects on their mental and physical health and well-being. Collaborative effort with colleagues from the Duquesne University Schools of Nursing and Theology.
Scholarly Presentations, Conferences and Workshops
Moderator: African Law Section and the Comparative Law Section joint panel session for the 2015 annual meeting of the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) entitled “Comparative Law Expanded: Methodology and Public Law in Nontraditional Comparative Legal Systems.” (January 2015).
Sustainability and the Living Wage: Workers’ Rights in Shari’ah Compliant Companies. Presented at the113th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) in the Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Development Section. By invitation and peer review by the General Anthropology Division of the AAA. Selected papers to be published in the “Global Bioethics Journal,” in cooperation with the International Institute for Humankind Studies. (2015). Abstract to be published in the proceedings of the 113th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association.
Islamic Commercial Law, guest speaker presentation at CBL International’s summer abroad program focusing on international business law at Oriel College, Oxford, U.K. (July 2014).
Indigenous Knowledge and Criminal Punishment: Restorative Justice in the Islamic Shari’ah. Paper selected for presentation at The International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) 17th World Congress, Commission on Indigenous Knowledge and Sustainable Development, Manchester, U.K. Unable to attend the Congress due to lack of funding. Paper read by the Co-Organizers of the Commission at the World Congress, Manchester, U.K. Abstract published in the 17th World Congress of the IUAES book, p. 67 (2013). (Competitive selection) (August 7, 2013). Paper presented at Akron University School of Law to the faculty as part of their faculty colloquia series of invited presentations. (By invitation) (October, 2013).
Round Table Discussion and Conference Planning Meeting for a Symposium on Shari’ah Councils in the U.K., University of London, SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) Faculty of Law. Participants met to “organize a wide-ranging colloquium, drawing together all the various parties concerned, including the many academic researchers who have been engaged with Shari’ah councils over a number of years.” (June 6, 2013).
Cross-Cultural Issues in Family Law, Pennsylvania Bar Association Family Law Section Annual Meeting, National Harbor, Maryland. Presentation with a panel of family law experts regarding the intersection of Islamic law and Jewish law and secular U.S. family law. (Invited participation) (July 12, 2013).
Drones and Just War Theory, CLE program presented by Duquesne University and the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Social Justice Committee, Pittsburgh, PA. Lecture regarding the application of the Islamic law of war and criminal law to the use of drones for the targeted killing of suspected terrorists and collateral damage therefrom. (Invited participation) (April 2013) Recorded program to be aired on PCTV (Pittsburgh Community Television Network) in 2013 and 2014.
Incorporation of Shari’ah in the Egyptian Constitutions, presentation at Duquesne University School of Law sponsored by the Duquesne University School of Law International Law Society. (Invited presentation) (April 2013).
Fierce Mothering and the Law: Lessons from the African Diaspora, response to lecture presented by Dr. Dianne Diakité, associate professor of religion and African-American studies at Emory University entitled: Mother Symbol and Africana Women's Religious Practices of Peace Building. Sponsored by Duquesne University’s Center for African Studies and by the Rev. Pierre Schouver, C.S.Sp., Endowed Chair in Mission and by the Center for Women's and Gender Studies. (March 2013).
Intercultural Interaction and Islamic Law in the United States, presentation for the Martin Luther King Day Celebration and Training for AmeriCorp volunteers in Pittsburgh, PA. (Invited presentation) (January 2013).
Islamic Law, three-hour CLE at Duquesne University School of Law (December, 2012).
Concluding Rapporteur at the International Symposium: Current Constitutional Issues in the Americas. Invitation-only International Symposium sponsored by the by Duquesne University School of Law in cooperation with the Inter-American Bar Association. Presented concluding remarks and led the final discussion. (Invited participation) (November 9th and 10th, 2012).
The Role of Shari’ah Supervisory Boards in Islamic Finance, Case Western Reserve School of Law, Cleveland, Ohio. Invited to be a speaker in the Case Western fall lecture series for faculty. (October 2012).
Islamic Business Ethics and Islamic Financial Systems, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Invited to be a guest speaker at CBL International’s study abroad program on international business law in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. (December 2011).
Workers’ Rights, Shari’ah and Labor Practices in Saudi Arabia: How Can Saudi Arabia Claim to be a Muslim State and Also Deny Domestic Workers Protection Under Its Labor Code?, presented at Labor Dispute Resolution Systems Around the World, international conference at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, U.K. (July 2011) (Invited participation).
Islamic Commercial Law, guest speaker presentation at CBL International’s summer abroad program focusing on international business law at Oriel College, Oxford, U.K. (July 2011).
Living Up to the Law: Shari’ah and Worker’s Rights in Companies Claiming Shari’ah Compliance, presented at The Theology of Work interdisciplinary conference at St. John’s University. (March, 2011) (Invited participation).
Islamic Compliant Financial Practices and the Globalization of Financial Institutions: What the West Can Learn from the Islamic Prohibition Against Gharar, presentation for the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES), Inter-Congress, Perth Australia. Unable to attend the Inter-Congress due to institutional budgetary constraints. Abstract published in the proceedings of the conference. (Competitive selection) (July, 2011).
Concluding Rapporteur at the International Symposium: Constitutional Litigation: Procedural Protections of Constitutionalism in the Americas . . . And Beyond. Invitation-only international symposium co-sponsored by Duquesne University School of Law and the Inter-American Bar Association. Lead the commentary for the concluding discussion panel. (Invited participation) (November, 2010).
Protecting Indigenous Sacred Spaces from Development: The Role of International Law, Community Activism and Enlightened Corporations, presented at The International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) Inter-Congress, “From the Crossroads of Civilizations: Understanding Cultural Diversity to Connect Societies.” Antalya, Turkey. (Competitive selection) (2010).
Participated in a Round Table Discussion and Book Launch for “Muslim Marriage in Western Courts,” one of the three books in the Ashgate series on Cultural Diversity and Law. Grey’s Inn, London, U.K. (November 2010).
Islamic Law, invited to present a three hour continuing legal education course for the practicing Pennsylvania Bar. Duquesne University School of Law. (2010).
Attended the American Anthropological Association’s annual conference in Philadelphia. (2010).
Islamic Business and Banking Law: Principles and Practice, presented at the Allegheny County Bar Association's Business Law Section annual meeting, Pittsburgh, PA. Invited to be the speaker at the Section’s annual dinner. (2009).
Islamic Banking and Finance, presented at Understanding Islamic Frameworks in a Global Context, University of Pittsburgh. Workshop for regional faculty. (Invited participation) (2009).
The Role of Non-Religious Claims and Community Activism in Protecting the Sacred Spaces of Native Americans, presented at Colloque International: Droit, Pouvoir et Religion. Sponsored by the Association Tunisienne de Droit Constitutionnel, Gammarth, Tunisia. (Invited participation) (2009) (see publications).
The Constitutional Judiciary in the Muslim World: Its Influence on the Interpretation of Constitutional and Legislative Texts 1970 to 2008, the Islamic Legal Studies Program, Harvard Law School, November 12-14, 2008. Participated in a closed-door workshop bringing together high-ranking judges and outstanding law professors from the Muslim world. (Invited participation) (2008).
Attended the Association of American Law Schools Workshop for New Law School Teachers. (2008).
Native American Gaming as Sustainable Development: The Kickapoo Experience, presented at the 14th Annual International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, Williamsburg, Virginia, in the scientific session Cultures and Sustainable Development for Humankind in the 21st Century. (Competitive selection) (1998).
GRANTS AWARDED
Duquesne University President’s Scholarship Award Grant. Competitive grant awarded to complete a scholarly work in progress. Awarded to fund travel for fieldwork/interviews in the U.K. and Hungary for completion of the book, An Introduction to Legal Pluralism: Inter-Legality in Context (Ashgate, London, forthcoming 2014). To be published in the Cultural Diversity and Law Series. (April 2014).
Duquesne University Faculty Development Grant. Competitive grant awarded to complete research on an interdisciplinary project “The Health Effects of Negative Portrayals of Muslims in the United States,” and described in the “works in process” section of this vita. (2011-2012).
TEACHING
Courses Currently Taught:
Civil Procedure I (Civil Procedure and Drafting)
Civil Procedure II
Sales
Banking Law
Islamic Law
Emerging Legal Systems (Legal Pluralism)
Introduction to the American Legal System (for exchange students and LL.M students)
Federalism and Native American Sovereignty in Contemporary and Historical Contexts (University of Cologne)
LL.M. for Foreign Lawyers:
Chaired five thesis committees
Member of two other thesis committees.
Member of the LL.M. for foreign lawyers committee: screened applications, especially those from Middle Eastern countries, advised students, set policies, and recruited for the program.