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To Call Or Not To Call: Compelling Witnesses To Appear Before Congress, Daniel Curbelo Zeidman Apr 2016

To Call Or Not To Call: Compelling Witnesses To Appear Before Congress, Daniel Curbelo Zeidman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.


The Brooding Omnipresence Of Regulatory Takings: Urban Origins And Effects, Michael Allan Wolf Mar 2016

The Brooding Omnipresence Of Regulatory Takings: Urban Origins And Effects, Michael Allan Wolf

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.


The Commercial Sexual Exploiutation Of Minors, The First Amendment, And Freedom: Why Backpage.Com Should Be Prevented From Selling America's Children For Sex, Anna Makatche Mar 2016

The Commercial Sexual Exploiutation Of Minors, The First Amendment, And Freedom: Why Backpage.Com Should Be Prevented From Selling America's Children For Sex, Anna Makatche

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.


A Fair Trial: When The Constitution Requires Attorneys To Investigate Their Clients' Brains, Ellen G. Koenig Mar 2016

A Fair Trial: When The Constitution Requires Attorneys To Investigate Their Clients' Brains, Ellen G. Koenig

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The U.S. Constitution guarantees every criminal defendant the right to a fair trial. This fundamental right includes the right to a defense counsel who provides effective assistance. To be effective, attorneys must sometimes develop specific types of evidence in crafting the best defense. In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has found that defense attorneys did not provide effective assistance when they failed to consider neuroscience. But when must defense attorneys develop neuroscience in order to provide effective assistance? This question is difficult because the standard for determining effective assistance is still evolving. There are two leading approaches. First, in …


Democratic Dissolution: Radical Experimentation In State Takeovers Of Local Governments, Michelle Wilde-Anderson Feb 2016

Democratic Dissolution: Radical Experimentation In State Takeovers Of Local Governments, Michelle Wilde-Anderson

Fordham Urban Law Journal

While state interventions to stabilize the finances of struggling municipalities date back to the Great Depression, the current fiscal crisis has brought a startling escalation in the powers granted to state intervention authorities. Aptly observed by Abby Goodnough in The New York Times, cities and states have tried “myriad ways of righting their fiscal ships as the recession plods on,” but until very recently, “locking the mayor out of City Hall [was] generally not one of them.” In 2010 and 2011, Michigan and Rhode Island, which have been watched closely by other states, dramatically reformed their laws governing state receiverships …


Padilla V. Kentucky: Sound And Fury, Or Transformative Impact, Steven Zeidman Feb 2016

Padilla V. Kentucky: Sound And Fury, Or Transformative Impact, Steven Zeidman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Realizing Padilla’S Promise: Ensuring Noncitizen Defendants Are Advised Of The Immigration Consequences Of A Criminal Conviction, Yolanda Vàzquez Feb 2016

Realizing Padilla’S Promise: Ensuring Noncitizen Defendants Are Advised Of The Immigration Consequences Of A Criminal Conviction, Yolanda Vàzquez

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.


The Effect Of Rluipa’S Land Use Provisions On Local Governments, Alan C. Weinstein Feb 2016

The Effect Of Rluipa’S Land Use Provisions On Local Governments, Alan C. Weinstein

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Occupy The Parks: Restoring The Right To Overnight Protest In Public Parks, Udi Ofer Feb 2016

Occupy The Parks: Restoring The Right To Overnight Protest In Public Parks, Udi Ofer

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Rluipa: Necessary, Modest, And Under-Enforced, Douglas Laycock, Luke W. Goodrich Feb 2016

Rluipa: Necessary, Modest, And Under-Enforced, Douglas Laycock, Luke W. Goodrich

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Rluipa Is A Bridge Too Far: Inconvenience Is Not Discrimination, Marci A. Hamilton Feb 2016

Rluipa Is A Bridge Too Far: Inconvenience Is Not Discrimination, Marci A. Hamilton

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Funding Port-Related Infrastructure And Development: The Current Debate And Proposed Reform, Christopher T. Cook Jan 2012

Funding Port-Related Infrastructure And Development: The Current Debate And Proposed Reform, Christopher T. Cook

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Given the lack of consensus and certainty in how funding should best be generated to meet critical infrastructure and development needs, this Note proposes an amendment to the Shipping Act to provide port authorities with the express power to impose fees for the construction, operation, and maintenance of qualifying port-related infrastructure and development initiatives. The amendment would effectively spread the costs specific to qualifying initiatives over the useful life of the project. Part I discusses the relevant provisions and judicial standards associated with the Tonnage Clause and Shipping Act. Part II addresses the efforts by both Congress and port authorities …


Delegational Delusions: Why Judges Should Be Able To Delegate Reasonable Authority Over Stated Supervised Release Conditions, Eugenia Schraa Jan 2011

Delegational Delusions: Why Judges Should Be Able To Delegate Reasonable Authority Over Stated Supervised Release Conditions, Eugenia Schraa

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Note examines the constitutionality of allowing a probation officer the discretion to either impose or forego particular conditions of a supervised release, depending on the officer's assessment of the defendant's needs. Two federal Circuits allow probation officers to have such discretion; the majority have held that such arrangements violate Article III of the Constitution, which makes imposing a sentence an exclusively judicial task. In this Note, the author investigates the history of delegation of judicial function to non Article-III officers and examines the split in federal courts over this particular issue, ultimately advocating for the adoption of the so-called …


Gallenthin V. Kaur: A Comparative Analysis Of How The New Jersey And New York Courts Approach Judicial Review Of The Exercise Of Eminent Domain For Redevelopment, Ronald K. Chen Jan 2011

Gallenthin V. Kaur: A Comparative Analysis Of How The New Jersey And New York Courts Approach Judicial Review Of The Exercise Of Eminent Domain For Redevelopment, Ronald K. Chen

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article explores two explanations for why New Jersey and New York take different approaches to judicial review of exercises of eminent domain. Part I examines the approach of both states and their differing procedures for review of administrative agency determinations. Part II discusses how each states' courts and legislatures define "blight." Part III examines how New York's approach leaves municipal officials and redevelopers free to use the more flexible concept of "underutilization" as a proxy for "blight."


Public Use In The Dirigiste Tradition: Private And Public Benefit In An Era Of Agglomeration, Steven J. Eagle Jan 2011

Public Use In The Dirigiste Tradition: Private And Public Benefit In An Era Of Agglomeration, Steven J. Eagle

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Dirigisme is the "policy of state direction and control in economic and social matters. This Article examines dirigisme as it relates to state control of land use. It also analyzes the development of eminent domain law and the requirement that takings be for public use. The author argues that the New York Court of Appeals "subordinates constitutional protections for private property to centralized development," specifically examining the recent Goldstein and Kaur opinions. The Article also discusses the implications of condemnation for transfer for private redevelopment, including lack of transparency, secondary rent seeking, possibilities of corruption, and the inefficient use of …


The Use And Abuse Of Blight In Eminent Domain, Martin E. Gold, Lynne B. Sagalyn Jan 2011

The Use And Abuse Of Blight In Eminent Domain, Martin E. Gold, Lynne B. Sagalyn

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines the term "blight" and how it is used in eminent domain cases. Part I discusses the development of the term and how various states define it. Part II lays out a hierarchy which may be used to compare the private benefits on one hand and the public benefits on the other hand in redevelopment projects. In Part III, the Columbia University expansion in Manhattanville is examined, at both the New York Appellate Division and Court of Appeals levels. Part IV discusses how forty-three states redefined blight after the Kelo case. Part V discusses how political and business …


Condemning The Decisions Of The Past: Eminent Domain And Democratic Accountability, Christopher Serkin Jan 2011

Condemning The Decisions Of The Past: Eminent Domain And Democratic Accountability, Christopher Serkin

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Essay argues that there is a seldom-recognized purpose to eminent domain: preserving the ability of elected representatives to respond to the will of the people. The author proposes that eminent domain allows government to depart from the policy choices of administrations which came before and is therefore a tool for acquiring "democratic legitimacy." He explores this theory by examining examples such as breaking up the adult use zones in Times Square and reclaiming New York's waterfront, which had been essentially cut off by highways.


Let There Be Blight: Blight Condemnations In New York After Goldstein And Kaur, Ilya Somin Jan 2011

Let There Be Blight: Blight Condemnations In New York After Goldstein And Kaur, Ilya Somin

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article analyzes the New York cases of Kaur v. New York State Urban Development Corp. and Goldstein v. New York State Urban Development Corp. and asserts that the New York Court of Appeals erred in allowing such an expansive definition of "blight" and defining pretextual takings too narrowly. Part I Describes the two cases. Part II explains the concept of blight condemnation and how it was used in the two cases. Part III discusses how the two cases treat the federal constitutional standard for pretextual takings. The Article concludes that eminent domain reform requires a narrower definition of "blight" …


The Problem With Pretext, Lynn E. Blais Jan 2011

The Problem With Pretext, Lynn E. Blais

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines the problems with the Supreme Court's holding in Kelo v. City of New London that the concept of public use is expansive unless the government is asserting the public use as a "mere pretext" and the true purpose is private benefit. The author examines the level of scrutiny applied in such cases, the link between pretext and motive, and the tests applied to evaluate pretext challenges: the burden-shifting motives test, the sufficiency of the plan taste, and the benefits to the public test. The author concludes that pretext is an "unworkable mechanism" for evaluating public use cases.


Reclaiming The Promise Of The Judicial Branch: Toward A More Meaningful Standard Of Judicial Review As Applied To New York Eminent Domain Law, Paula Franzese Jan 2011

Reclaiming The Promise Of The Judicial Branch: Toward A More Meaningful Standard Of Judicial Review As Applied To New York Eminent Domain Law, Paula Franzese

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article asserts that the New York model of eminent domain and judicial review must be reworked to provide a meaningful balance between private property rights and concerns for public good. Part I sets forth current doctrine and procedure which New York agencies must follow when exercising the power of eminent domain. Part II explores how blight has become a "standardless standard" in New York. Part III examines New York courts' reluctance to overturn agency decisions and the potential for abuse that this creates. Part IV examines other jurisdictions which have imposed stricter standards when examining public use. Part V …


Eighth Amedment Gaps: Can Conditions Of Confinement Litigation Benefit From Proportionality Theory?, Alexander A. Reinert Jan 2009

Eighth Amedment Gaps: Can Conditions Of Confinement Litigation Benefit From Proportionality Theory?, Alexander A. Reinert

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article focuses on two separate issues deriving from the Eighth Amendment's "cruel and unusual punishment" clause. Specifically, it discusses classic conditions of confinement litigation and sentencing proportionality litigation. Confinement litigation includes cases challenging the lived experiences of prisoners such as overcrowding, excessive force, failure to provide adequate medical care, and deprivation of material needs. Sentencing proportionality litigation involves challenges to the length of a prison sentence or mode of punishment. The Article, unlike modern contemporary scholarship, attempts to draw connections between each doctrinal area, ultimately suggesting ways in which proportionality litigation can invigorate conditions litigation. Part I consists of …


Discrimination, Coercion, And The Bail Reform Act Of 1984: The Loss Of The Core Constitutional Protections Of The Excessive Bail Clause, Samuel Wiseman Jan 2009

Discrimination, Coercion, And The Bail Reform Act Of 1984: The Loss Of The Core Constitutional Protections Of The Excessive Bail Clause, Samuel Wiseman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Article examines the history and judicial interpretation of the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Bail Clause, which reads "excessive bail shall not be required." Debate on this topic has centered around two questions: whether the Clause binds only the courts or Congress as well and whether it creates any substantive right to bail. Specifically, the Article discusses the Bail Reform Act of 1984, and the Supreme Court's subsequent interpretation of the Act in United States v. Salerno. The Salerno court suggested that the Excessive Bail Clause limits only the judiciary and found, at a maximum, only an extremely limited substantive right …


Facial And As-Applied Challenges Under The Roberts Court, Gillan E. Metzger Jan 2009

Facial And As-Applied Challenges Under The Roberts Court, Gillan E. Metzger

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Resistance to facial challenges is a recurring theme of the Roberts Court’s early years. Yet close analysis of the Court’s decisions suggests that its approach to facial and as-applied challenges is largely consistent with prior practice. Despite occasional description of as-applied challenges in narrow terms, it has expressly preserved the possibility that as-applied challenges could be brought pre-enforcement and allowed an as-applied challenge to be the vehicle for broad relief. It has also followed the Rehnquist Court in asserting wide remedial discretion to sever statutes to fit constitutional requirements, and even its strategic use of the facial/as-applied distinction is not …


The Fourth Amendment And Immigration Enforcement In The Home: Can Ice Target The Utmost Sphere Of Privacy?, Marisa Antos-Fallon Jan 2008

The Fourth Amendment And Immigration Enforcement In The Home: Can Ice Target The Utmost Sphere Of Privacy?, Marisa Antos-Fallon

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Note discusses whether targeting and entering homes of non-citizens without court-ordered warrants raises problems under the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of "unreasonable searches and seizures." Specifically, this note argues that additional protections are necessary to ensure that ICE does not violate the Fourth Amendment rights of those they target and those who get swept up in their enforcement effort. This is particularly true with initiatives such as "Operation Return to Sender" and "Operation Community Shield" because they are carried out in private homes, the traditional sphere of greatest Fourth Amendment protection. Part I of this Note details the particular ICE …


Hazelwood V. Kuhlmeier And The University: Why The High School Standard Is Here To Stay, Christopher N. Lavigne Jan 2008

Hazelwood V. Kuhlmeier And The University: Why The High School Standard Is Here To Stay, Christopher N. Lavigne

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier, the Supreme Court evaluated the administrative control of a high school newspaper and held that public school officials could control speech in school-sponsored activities if they did so for legitimate pedagogical reasons. While the Court reserved the question of whether this standard should be applicable at the university level, various federal circuit courts have since applied this speech-restrictive standard to student speech at colleges and universities. In light of these circuit court opinions, there has been considerable debate about whether and to what extent the Hazelwood framework should apply to college and university students. …


Nonparty Remote Electronic Access To Plea Agreements In The Second Circuit, David L. Snyder Jan 2008

Nonparty Remote Electronic Access To Plea Agreements In The Second Circuit, David L. Snyder

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Widespread electronic access to case files gives rise to security concerns previously unrealized in the era of paper records. As the United States Department of Justice noted, the emergence of a "cottage industry" of websites that republish court filings online for the purposes of witness intimidation, retaliation, and harassment poses "a grave risk of harm" to cooperating witnesses and defendants. Accordingly, the benefits associated with remote electronic availability and dissemination of judicial documents may come at a considerable cost. This Note describes the options that district courts within the Second Circuit could implement to mitigate these concerns. Part I of …


Military Voting And The Law: Procedural And Technological Solutions To The Ballot Transit Problem, R. Michael Alvarez, Thad E. Hall, Brian F. Roberts Jan 2007

Military Voting And The Law: Procedural And Technological Solutions To The Ballot Transit Problem, R. Michael Alvarez, Thad E. Hall, Brian F. Roberts

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In this Article, we examine how the issue of military voting has changed over time from one beset by procedural difficulties, often intentional with states changing election laws to promote military voting only within a given set of parameters and to restrict voting by those deemed unworthy of the franchise, to a logistical and technological issue that focuses on how new technologies can fully facilitate military voting. Part II of this Article will briefly outline the scope of the military and overseas voting issue. Part III will outline and address the conflicting statutory frameworks between federal and state election laws. …


From Ashcroft To Larios: Recent Redistricting Lessons From Georgia, Ronald Keith Gaddie, Charles S. Bullock, Iii Jan 2007

From Ashcroft To Larios: Recent Redistricting Lessons From Georgia, Ronald Keith Gaddie, Charles S. Bullock, Iii

Fordham Urban Law Journal

In this Article, we explore the impact of a court-ordered and implemented re-crafting of state legislative districts in the state of Georgia. First, we explore the notion of “fairness” in legislative redistricting and identify the factors associated with a “fair” map. We then describe the partisan nature of the 2001 Georgia state legislative redistricting and the political consequences of this most effective gerrymander. We also describe the two legal challenges to the Georgia maps—Georgia v. Ashcroft and Larios v. Cox—and discuss the path of both cases to the U.S. Supreme Court. We then explore the expected and observed consequences of …


Expressive Merchandise And The First Amendment In Public Fora, Genevieve Blake Jan 2007

Expressive Merchandise And The First Amendment In Public Fora, Genevieve Blake

Fordham Urban Law Journal

Courts have struggled to strike a balance between the interests of individuals and cities with the application of intermediate scrutiny to content-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions, and several variations have emerged. This Comment will examine the breadth of those approaches as they affect the determination of what expression triggers First Amendment protection. Ultimately, the Note will argue for a re-thinking of how courts evaluate the scope of First AMendment protection and municipal regulation of expressive activity.


A Price On Volunteerism:The Public Has A Higher Duty To Accommodate Volunteers, Lauren Attard Jan 2007

A Price On Volunteerism:The Public Has A Higher Duty To Accommodate Volunteers, Lauren Attard

Fordham Urban Law Journal

This Comment first examines the issues presented in Bauer (including the holding that the Americans with Disabilities Act does not protect these volunteers from discrimination) and the court’s rationale for finding that volunteers are not protected under Title III. Part II explores the requirements and differences between Title I and Title III and provides some history of the definitions of “volunteer” and “employee.” Part III presents a public duty thesis arguing that the responsibility of providing accommodations should not belong solely to employers in the context of employees, or public accommodations in the context of patrons, but to all factions …