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Prefatory Matter

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor, Courtney Squires

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

Free To Learn: Protecting Muslim Students In Public Schools, Case Precedent And Social Theory In The Fight To Protect Their Rights, Harold Hinds

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

In the aftermath of 9/11, anti-Muslim American sentiments surged. With social tensions escalating as a result of the ongoing Israel-Gaza war and, what many feel is xenophobic rhetoric from high profile political figures, discrimination against Muslim Americans has further grown. Muslim youth in this country have experienced acute discrimination that has the potential to make school an uncomfortable and hostile place. This article explains the different ways in which Muslim American students experience discrimination and provides a roadmap for how administrators, activists, attorneys, and advocates can use the long and storied history of American civil rights litigation to protect the …

Agricultural Labor Trafficking In The U.S.: An Exchange Network Analysis, Gary J. Kowaluk

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Labor trafficking occurs when individuals are forced to work by force, fraud, or coercion. In the United States, agricultural labor trafficking is both widespread and underreported. It is often carried out by farm labor subcontractors, who conduct the labor trafficking on behalf of U.S. companies. Labor trafficking in U.S. agriculture continues year after year, as trafficked immigrant workers fear being further punished if they attempt to redress their workplace grievances. The H-2A visa system is designed to protect workers from labor trafficking abuses, but the system is ineffective and in need of reform. To learn more about agricultural labor trafficking …

“Their Futures, So Full Of Dread”: How Barefoot’S Contamination Of The Death Penalty Trial Process Continues, Michael L. Perlin, Talia Harmon, Maren Geiger, Moana Houde-Camirand

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Forty years ago, in its most roundly-criticized criminal procedure decision in modern history, the Supreme Court of the United States, in Barefoot v. Estelle (463 U.S. 880 (1983))—a decision premised on testimony by the responses to a hypothetical of a witness who had never directly evaluated the defendant—ruled that such testimony as to future dangerousness (testimony that had concluded there was a “100% chance” the defendant would commit more crimes if released into society) was permissible. Over a stinging dissent by Justice Blackmun, the Supreme Court ruled in Barefoot that it was not constitutional error for psychiatrists to testify that …

From Community Science To Community Justice: Protecting Data Usability In Community Air Quality Monitoring Networks, Marley Manjarrez

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Community science holds significant promise for empowering communities to address air quality disparities and advocate for policy change. However, the usability and legal defensibility of community-collected data pose significant challenges. This article argues that with the help of low-cost tools such as air quality monitors, community members can take an active role in combating the disproportionate distribution of air pollutants hidden by our current regulatory scheme. By examining the regulatory frameworks under the Clean Air Act and opportunities for procedural justice at federal, state, and local levels, the article identifies pathways for incorporating community-collected data into air quality regulation and …

Bodies On The Line: An Analysis Of Incarceration And Assassination And Their Role In Civil Rights Movements, Courtney Mason

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

The history of American civil rights is understood largely through the context of various mass movements. Most famously, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s was a remarkable representation of collective action. The success of that movement becomes even more significant when considering the realities of life for Black Americans at the time. In the spirit of those movements, the 2010s and 2020s have brought about modern movements that continue to push against discrimination toward Black Americans and push for progress in the legal system. The movements each were and are met with opposition. This article focuses on …

Stopping The Cycle Of Abuse Before It Starts: An Evaluation Of Virginia’S Domestic Violence Primary Prevention Model In Schools, Amanda Palini

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

In 1994 the United States was faced with a domestic violence epidemic that led Congress to pass the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The Act was passed to respond to the needs of victims, particularly women, who are at the highest risk of victimization in crimes such as domestic violence and sexual assault. While domestic violence has been recognized as an important public health problem, most services provided are focused on after-the-fact interventions rather than prevention.

Many states, including Virginia, have since created domestic violence prevention programs, added preventative requirements to their state code, and tasked their respective Departments of …

Navigating The Intersection Of Mckinney-Vento And Idea, Patricia A. Popp, Martha Crockett

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Students with disabilities who are also experiencing homelessness face compounded challenges related to attending and participating in school. These children and youth are provided educational protection through two federal laws: the 2004 “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” (IDEA) and the McKinney-Vento (MV) Education of Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program. It is the responsibility of educators, school personnel, and families to carefully navigate the dual mandates in order to ensure equitable educational opportunities, while also meeting the unique needs of each student. The purpose of this article is to offer a foundation for understanding the intersection of the two laws …

Breaking Barriers: Examining The Impact Of Special Education Services On Juvenile Justice Involvement, Madison Neale

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

The following article is an exploration of the intersection between special education—namely, the long-repudiated practice of removing children with moderate disabilities from general education classrooms and placing them into “self-contained” classrooms away from their peers—and the involvement of those children in the criminal legal system. The article analyzes the parallels between the “othering” effect of segregating children with disabilities in schools, and the eventual segregation from their communities that they face in juvenile detention facilities. In a juvenile justice system where a disproportionate number of its children have been diagnosed with some form of intellectual or behavioral disability, this article …

Prefatory Matter

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor, Courtney Squires

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Symposium Editors, Nicole Evans, Erin Sweet

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

Symposium Transcript

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

504 Plans, School Gender Policy, And Gender Dysphoria: How The Case Of Kesha T. Williams May Change Education Policy, Clifford Clapp

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Gender dysphoria affects transgender people at significantly higher rates than other populations. In the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit case of Kesha T. Williams v. Stacey A. Kincaid, et al., 45 F.4th 759 (4th Cir. 2022), the Court found that the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, in denying Ms. Williams’ hormone replacement therapy for her gender dysphoria, had violated her right to equal treatment under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Court generally found that, despite the ADA being written with animus toward transgender people, even under that language, gender dysphoria was not excluded from protection …

From Suspension To Mass Incarceration: Punishment Of Students With Special Needs And The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Bailey Ellicott

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Since their inception in the late 1980s, zero-tolerance policies have been a cornerstone of American school discipline. Passed by legislators with the intent of protecting school children, these policies have disparately upended the education of marginalized students. School discipline of vulnerable students often paves the way to juvenile incarceration, which in turn exponentially increases the likelihood of adult incarceration. Moreover, students with disabilities, especially students of color with learning disabilities, are often physically pushed out of their classrooms through suspensions and other harsh disciplinary policies. This is only made worse by the presence of law enforcement in schools, who treat …

“Every Child Needs A Champion”: Foster Children With Disabilities And The Appointment Of Surrogate Parents Under Idea, Cassie A. Powell

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

When a parent is absent, children in foster care who receive special education services are entitled to the appointment of a surrogate parent. This appointment is especially necessary due to the importance of the parent’s role in special education law and the often enhanced educational needs of children in foster care. However, the logistics of how surrogate parents are appointed and trained vary widely across the country. This article examines the legal landscape of the appointment of surrogate parents for children in foster care who receive special education services both nationally and in Virginia. This article also reviews the training …

The Challenges Of Meeting The Needs Of Virginia Students With Disabilities Through Individualized Education Programs, Hank Bostwick, Courtney Pugh, Latonya Slade, Sara Platenberg, Melissa Waugh

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

The authors were honored to participate in a panel on “Understanding the IEP” at the Richmond Public Interest Law Review’s Symposium on October 27, 2023. The recommendations and strategies in this article are rooted in decades of combined experience and anecdotal observations from two special education attorneys and three special education advocates who serve Virginia’s children and families and help to develop appropriate Individualized Education Programs (“IEPs”) pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). Recent criticism of Virginia’s system of special education and related services by state and federal agencies has laid bare deep-seated inconsistencies in how schools …

Richmond Law Magazine: Spring 2024

Richmond Law Magazine

Courtney Paulk's endurance mindset

Come hell or high water

Reparations for Ukraine

Investigating Appraisal Discrimination, Carol Brown

Law Faculty Publications

Over the past five years, the question of whether real estate appraisers systematically undervalue homes purchased or occupied by Black and Hispanic households has emerged as a significant civil rights issue. Major media have highlighted some instances where the same home received a dramatically higher appraisal when the appraiser believed the client was white rather than Black. Some social scientists have argued that appraisal discrimination is the root cause of the lower housing prices that prevail in many urban minority neighborhoods— and thus an important source of the racial “wealth gap.” Candidate Biden expressed strong concern about the issue during …

Filling The Red State Federal Judicial Vacancies, Carl Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

District vacancies without nominees that plague red jurisdictions deserve emphasis in this Essay for several reasons. First, there are myriad district court jurists who trigger greater numbers of empty posts when they assume senior status, retire, or die, which triggers more issues. Legislators have created 677 active trial court positions, which dwarf the 179 active court of appeals judicial posts. The trial courts are tribunals of last resort for most cases; their numerous jurists are the only court members that many litigants encounter, and significantly more district court openings lack nominees. In contrast, appellate courts explicitly articulate considerable policy, include …

Appoint Judge Ana De Alba To The Ninth Circuit, Carl Tobias

University of Richmond Law Review

The United States Senate must rapidly appoint Eastern District of California Judge Ana de Alba to the Ninth Circuit. This appellate tribunal is a preeminent regional circuit, which faces substantial appeals, has the largest complement of jurists, and clearly includes a massive geographic expanse. The nominee, whom President Joe Biden designated in spring 2023, would offer remarkable gender, experiential, ideological, and ethnic diversity realized primarily from serving productively with the California federal district, and state trial, courts after rigorously litigating for one decade in a highly regarded private law firm. For over fifteen years, she deftly excelled in law’s upper …

Biopiracy: Using New Laws And Databases To Protect Indigenous Communities, Cleo-Symone Scott

Law Student Publications

Indigenous people have a historical link to those who inhabited a country or region at the time when people of different cultures or origins arrived. Traditionally, indigenous people have a special relationship with their ancestral environments. But their way of living has long been under threat. The land that indigenous people live on is home to over 80% of our planet’s biodiversity, but it continues to be appropriated and plundered due to bioprospecting or, as some call it, biopiracy. Bioprospecting is defined as “the exploration and information gathering of genetic and biochemical material to develop commercial products.” While innovation is …

Reports Of Cases In The Court Of Chancery From 1683 To 1688, William Hamilton Bryson

Law Faculty Publications

This collection of law reports brings together in one place the reports of cases in the Court of Chancery from the short tenure of Sir Francis North, lord Guilford, and that of Sir George Jeffreys, Lord Jeffreys, who was the Lord Chancellor during the reign of King James II. These reports have been scattered heretofore, but it is hoped that, by reprinting them in one place, they can be more easily comprehended individually and the jurisprudence of this court can be better understood. They come from the reigns of King Charles II and King James II, and date from 1683 …

First Comes Love: Advocating For A Revival Of Pre-Obergefell Estate Planning Vigor For Lgbtq+ Couples And Families, Kimberly N. Furtado

Law Student Publications

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Beyond the obvious devastation this opinion wreaked on abortion rights nationwide, it also unleashed a fear in communities that have gained substantive rights through the Court’s decisions based on similar reasoning. News organizations and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups quickly published stories discussing the fate of same-sex marriage in a post-Dobbs society. If the Supreme Court were to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, it would be a crushing loss to the LGBTQ+ community. Not only would it signal the lack of …

Taxing The New With The Old: Capturing The Value Of Data With The Corporate Income Tax In Virginia, Coleman H. Cheeley

Law Student Publications

The Commonwealth of Virginia markets itself as “The Largest Data Center Market in the World.” In 2019, the Northern Virginia market alone was the largest in the United States by inventory, with room to grow. In 2021, data centers in Northern Virginia required an estimated 1,686 megawatts of power; that number is expected to increase by 200 megawatts in the near future, reflecting data centers currently under development. For reference, in 2022, it was estimated that more than 100 homes could be powered by one megawatt of solar power in Virginia. Historically, data centers have been located in the Commonwealth …

Venture Capital's Esg Problem, Ryan A. Ashburn

Law Student Publications

Venture capital (“VC”) is repeatedly described as one of the “crown jewels” of the U.S. economy for its role in financing startups and innovation. However, recent corporate scandals, including fraud, have exposed a darker side of the VC industry and the startups in which venture capitalists (“VCs”) invest. For example, Theranos received $686 million in VC funding yet proved to be nothing more than a “house of cards” once it came to light that Theranos falsified blood test results. When Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of fraud, many VCs tried to distance themselves, saying Theranos was an exception and …

Reimagining The Deduction For Employee Compensation, Daniel Schaffa

Law Faculty Publications

U.S. businesses pay trillions of dollars in employee compensation, a substantial fraction of which is deductible for tax purposes. This deduction reduces the taxable income of businesses, ultimately lowering business tax burdens by hundreds of billions of dollars. With a few exceptions, the tax code confers the same deduction to a business for every dollar of employee compensation, regardless of whether that compensation goes to an employee earning millions or an employee earning minimum wage. This is consistent with a pure Haig-Simons income tax, under which any business expense incurred ought to be deductible dollar-for-dollar. But many, if not most, …

The Scales Project: Making Federal Court Records Free, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

Federal court records have been available online for nearly a quarter century, yet they remain frustratingly inaccessible to the public. This is due to two primary barriers: (1) the federal government’s prohibitively high fees to access the records at scale and (2) the unwieldy state of the records themselves, which are mostly text documents scattered across numerous systems. Official datasets produced by the judiciary, as well as third-party data collection efforts, are incomplete, inaccurate, and similarly inaccessible to the public. The result is a de facto data blackout that leaves an entire branch of the federal government shielded from empirical …

Building A Recovery Ecosystem For The Catawba Region, Mary Beth Dunkenberger, David Moore, Lara Nagle, Sam Rasoul

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

The opioid and addiction crisis has become a defining characteristic of

21st century America, profoundly affecting the Commonwealth of Virginia in

terms of lives lost, families devastated, communities compromised, and

economic and opportunity costs at multiple levels. This scenario originated

with a rapid increase in opioid prescriptions issued to patients by health care

providers for various pain diagnoses during the 1990s and into the early

2000s. Despite early warnings that the new opioid formulations were far

more addictive than indicated by faulty research trials and marketing claims,

treating pain as the “fifth vital sign” became a widespread practice as a …