Digital Commons Network^™

When One Is Not Enough, But Two Is A Company Union: A First Amendment Analysis Of The National Labor Relations Board's Restrictions On Employee Involvement At The Nonunion Workplace, Mark J. Mahoney

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

In this article it is argued that the National Labor Relations Board's longstanding application of Section 8(a)(2) of the 1935 Wagner Act, as amended, violates the First Amendment. It is argued that the principal constitutional defect with the Board's application of this section, which prohibits employers from "dominat[ing] or interfer[ing] with the formation or administration of any labor organization or contribut[ing] financial or other support to it," is that it largely eliminates the most effective means by which employers and nonunion employees can communicate regarding terms and conditions of employment: group discussion.

It is argued that the restrictions that the …

Something To [Lex Loci] Celebrationis: Federal Marriage Benefits Following United States V. Windsor, Meg Penrose

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

The new question relating to same sex marriage is not "who decides," but who is married. The federal government and many states have historically relied on the place-of-celebration rule, or lex loci celebrationis, to determine who is married. This ensures that married couples do not lose their marital status simply because they travel across state borders or relocate to a new home. Under lex loci celebrationis, if the marriage is legally valid where it was celebrated, then the marriage is legally valid everywhere else.

This article address the most pressing unresolved question of United States v. Windsor: Will the federal …

What Is Really So Bad About A Different Rule Of Law: The Afghan Legal System Reanalyzed, Dana Cook-Milligan

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

"Rule of Law" is a principle that politicians often discuss to evaluate the stability and progressive nature of another state. From the Western point of view-where Rule of Law is most commonly discussed-Rule of Law is predicated on sovereign, supreme, predictable, and fair legal systems. Failure to satisfy this formulation suggests that a state lacks Rule of Law. Rule of Law's absence, in turn, evokes negative connotations and is often synonymous with a lack of democracy. The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is war-torn, decentralized, and corrupt-but can it still have Rule of Law? Are these concepts mutually exclusive? Must Afghanistan's …

Modern Models Of Organ Donation: Challenging Increases Of Federal Power To Save Lives, Jonathan G. August

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

Much of today's scholarship on noninformed consent organ donation models has focused on either presumed consent or paid donation systems. Recently, however, individual states and foreign countries have begun to rethink their organ donation procedures in an attempt to increase donation rates.

Looking specifically at the informed consent model and the brand-new Israeli incentive program, this note first examines the success rates of these programs as potentially viable alternatives to traditional organ donation models. Next, this note argues that adopting these programs at the federal level will not violate the United States constitution under First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment challenges, …

A Familial Privacy Right Over Death Images: Critiquing The Internet-Propelled Emergence Of A Nascent Constitutional Right That Preserves Happy Memories And Emotions, Clay Calvert

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

In May 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit broke new constitutional ground in Marsh v. County of San Diego when it held that the constitutional right to privacy encompasses "the power to control images of a dead family member." This article provides an overview of Marsh. It then discusses the historical common law right to familial privacy over death images. In addition, it explores both judicial and legislative recognition of the Internet's power as a force in the battle to preserve privacy. Next, it illustrates how these twin forces-the preexisting common law right to familial …

Public Disclosure And Moving The World Forward: Why We Need The America Invents Act, Arman Matevosyan

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

This note discusses the shift in the United States from a first-to-invent scheme to a first-to-file regime in patents, as provided by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. It discusses the historical patent regime in the United States and abroad. It then the Leahy-Smith Act's provisions and the putative constitutional bases upon which the act was passed. Finally, the note argues that the Leahy-Smith Act, and its first-to-file regime, is in line with Supreme Court precedent, creates a better system, and conforms to international standards more closely than the previous first-to-invent regime.

Bans On Sex-Selective Abortions: How Far Is Too Far, Annie Moskovian

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

"My mother in law always tells me I am useless because I do not have a son. If I do not have a son, she says, they will send me back to India." These words come from a qualitative study on son preference and fetal sex selection among Indian immigrants in the United States in which women expressed the pressure to have sons from in-laws and husbands. Census studies also indicate that many Chinese and Korean Americans terminate pregnancies if the fetus is of the undesired sex.

Further, studies imply that sex selection is not a practice that can be …