Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
-
- Law (28)
- Public Law and Legal Theory (12)
- Courts (11)
- Criminal Law (10)
- Judges (10)
-
- State and Local Government Law (8)
- Supreme Court of the United States (8)
- Criminal Procedure (6)
- Family Law (5)
- Juvenile Law (3)
- Law and Race (3)
- Education Law (2)
- Human Rights Law (2)
- Law and Politics (2)
- Legislation (2)
- Other Law (2)
- Civil Rights and Discrimination (1)
- Energy and Utilities Law (1)
- Evidence (1)
- Food and Drug Law (1)
- Health Law and Policy (1)
- Inequality and Stratification (1)
- Law and Psychology (1)
- Leadership Studies (1)
- Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility (1)
- Politics and Social Change (1)
- President/Executive Department (1)
- Race and Ethnicity (1)
- Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance (1)
- Social Justice (1)
- Keyword
-
- Abolition (1)
- African Americans (1)
- BLM (1)
- Biden Administration (1)
- Carceral (1)
-
- Child support (1)
- Controlled Substances (1)
- Crime (1)
- Criminal justice reform (1)
- Death Penalty (1)
- Debt governance (1)
- Evidence-based reform (1)
- Family law (1)
- Federal circuit court (1)
- Judges (1)
- Judicial Scrutiny (1)
- Judicial selection (1)
- Judicial selections (1)
- Politics (1)
- Predictive policing (1)
- Public benefits (1)
- Race (1)
- Regulation (1)
- Regulatory Taxes (1)
- Risk assessment (1)
- Social justice (1)
- Taxation (1)
- Trust law (1)
- War on Drugs (1)
- Wealth inequality (1)
- Publication
- Publication Type
Articles 1 - 30 of 30
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Cannabis Law, Lisa Moran Mcmurdo, Steven D. Forbes, Stewart R. Pollock, Christian F. Tucker
Cannabis Law, Lisa Moran Mcmurdo, Steven D. Forbes, Stewart R. Pollock, Christian F. Tucker
University of Richmond Law Review
On July 1, 2021, Virginia became the sixteenth state to permit recreational use of cannabis. As of 2022, thirty-nine states have legalized the medical use of cannabis, and nineteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized the adult use of cannabis for recreational purposes. “A CBS News/YouGov poll released in April 2022 found that two-thirds of Americans want recreational [cannabis] use to be legalized under federal law and in their own state.” This Article summarizes the history of cannabis regulation and examines the current legal landscape in Virginia governing the possession, cultivation, manufacturing, and sale of cannabis.
Covid-19 And Energy Justice: Utility Bill Relief In Virginia, Joel B. Eisen
Covid-19 And Energy Justice: Utility Bill Relief In Virginia, Joel B. Eisen
University of Richmond Law Review
Energy justice has captured national attention as scholars have spotlighted inequities in energy production and distribution activities, energy and utility regulation, and the clean energy transition. Within this broader context, this Article reflects on the successes and setbacks for the movement toward energy justice through a case study focusing on legislative, executive, and regulatory attempts between 2020 and 2022 to provide relief for Virginia utility customers harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Article begins by defining the problem of energy insecurity and demonstrating that the pandemic exacerbated existing energy insecurity for vulnerable citizens of Virginia. It then traces the efforts …
Richmond Law Magazine: Summer 2022, University Of Richmond
Richmond Law Magazine: Summer 2022, University Of Richmond
Richmond Law Magazine
The Power of Second Chances
Dispatches from Afar
A New Legacy?
Completing Expungement, Brian M. Murray
Completing Expungement, Brian M. Murray
University of Richmond Law Review
The limits of expungement are where the hope for real reentry meet the desire for criminal justice transparency. That a criminal record, ordered expunged by a judge after a long and arduous process, continues to exist in the world of private actors is a cold, harsh reality for those attempting to reenter civil society. It is also reassurance for parents hiring a babysitter, school districts seeking new employees, and employers concerned about workplace liability. Not to mention, the thought that all records of criminal justice adjudication could be purged forever intuitively sounds Orwellian, even in an age where surveillance, whether …
Humanize, Don't Paternalize: Victim-Offender Mediation After Intimate Partner Violence, Ren Warden
Humanize, Don't Paternalize: Victim-Offender Mediation After Intimate Partner Violence, Ren Warden
University of Richmond Law Review
Retributive legal systems fail survivors of intimate partner violence. In criminal cases, when the government and the offender are the parties to the matter, the legal status of a survivor is reduced to that of a mere witness. Survivors then must surrender their agency in the fight against their own trauma. Survivors of intimate partner violence (“IPV”) who turn to civil litigation to recover after their experiences may experience further trauma as a result of time-consuming, extensive, and often invasive contact with the legal system. Even restitution, a largely restorative remedy, lacks the agency, finality, and emotive opportunities that IPV …
How President Biden Can Fill The Central District Of California Bench, Carl Tobias
How President Biden Can Fill The Central District Of California Bench, Carl Tobias
University of Richmond Law Review
President Joseph Biden confronts an enormous opportunity to seat highly qualified, mainstream federal judges in plenty of appeals court and district court openings which former President Donald Trump neglected to fill in his four-year term. The remarkable California trial level vacant emergency slots, particularly in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, are the United States’ worst-case scenario and consummate promise. The Central District of California tribunal had experienced as many as ten lengthy open court slots among twenty-eight posts during the Trump administration, but it encounters six vacancies today.
Crime Pays: How Black Americans Became Central To The Carceral State, Will Brooks
Crime Pays: How Black Americans Became Central To The Carceral State, Will Brooks
Honors Theses
Over the course of American history, Black Americans have been intentionally criminalized at moments of ostensible social progress. This legacy of intentional criminalization of minority communities has both created the perception that African Americans are innately criminal and given rise to a prison-industrial complex that now depends on Black bodies. Now, predictive policing technology reinforces perceptions of Black criminality necessary for the justification of the carceral state and the survival and expansion of the prison-industrial complex.
Disrupting The School-To-Prison Pipeline: Reforming The Role Of The School Resource Officer, Olivia Seksinsky
Disrupting The School-To-Prison Pipeline: Reforming The Role Of The School Resource Officer, Olivia Seksinsky
Richmond Public Interest Law Review
A School Resource Officer (“SRO”) is a law enforcement officer employed
by local law enforcement agencies to provide security to public schools. As
a result of fatal and highly publicized school shootings such as Columbine
and Parkland, SROs have become a fixed aspect of many school communities.
There are tens of thousands of SROs patrolling the halls of Virginia’s
public elementary and secondary schools every year. Despite their intended
purpose to keep students safe and prevent crime, SROs too often contribute
to the school-to-prison pipeline. When SROs are brought into the classroom
to address “disruptive” behaviors, students are at an …
Choosing Children: Preventing Intra-Family Conflict From Feeding The Prison Pipeline, Samantha D. Mier
Choosing Children: Preventing Intra-Family Conflict From Feeding The Prison Pipeline, Samantha D. Mier
Richmond Public Interest Law Review
Parents struggling to raise challenging children often lack needed community
support. These parents turn to law enforcement when they feel their
child cannot be controlled. Problematically, law enforcement officers are
trained to respond to crime, not simple parent-child domestic disputes. Thus,
when parents call police during disagreements, the argument may end in arrest
and contact with the juvenile court system. Interaction with the juvenile
justice system carries a myriad of risks. This comment outlines the risks inherent
in calling the police and entering the juvenile court system. The author
evaluates existing alternatives to calling law enforcement and recommends
that communities …
A Gardener's Tale: Confronting Racial Discrimination At The Intersection Of The School-To-Prison Pipeline And Adolescent Health, Sogand Falahatpour
A Gardener's Tale: Confronting Racial Discrimination At The Intersection Of The School-To-Prison Pipeline And Adolescent Health, Sogand Falahatpour
Richmond Public Interest Law Review
Racism is a public health crisis and it is killing Black youth. Systemic racism
in education is a root cause of a long list of inequities faced by Black
youth. These inequities compound over the years and create extreme hurdles
to academic success and, in many cases, are hazardous to overall health.
The school-to-prison pipeline is a severe health equity issue affecting
Black children and adolescents. Racism is a core social determinant of health
that has a profound impact on child and adolescent health. Moreover, health
is not just an individual matter; institutional and structural forces influence
who has access …
Unshackled: Stories Of Redemption Among Serious Youth Offenders, Julie E. Mcconnell
Unshackled: Stories Of Redemption Among Serious Youth Offenders, Julie E. Mcconnell
Richmond Public Interest Law Review
In a series of decisions concerning child defendants, the United States Supreme
Court has embraced the understanding, based on adolescent brain
development, that the legal system must recognize children are different than
adults concerning criminal culpability and sentencing. That recognition, culminating
in Miller v. Alabama and Montgomery v. Louisiana, led to the opportunity
for thousands of individuals across the country, initially sentenced
to death-in-prison sentences when they were minors, to gain a meaningful
opportunity for release. These cases permanently banned mandatory life sentences
for children. In Virginia, the legislature now allows reconsideration
of these cases through hearings before the parole …
Sparking A Movement: A Coordinated, Bottom-Up Approach To Increase Voluntary Pro Bono Service And Mend The Justice Gap, David W. Lannetti, Jennifer L. Eaton
Sparking A Movement: A Coordinated, Bottom-Up Approach To Increase Voluntary Pro Bono Service And Mend The Justice Gap, David W. Lannetti, Jennifer L. Eaton
Richmond Public Interest Law Review
For decades, the legal profession has tried and tried again to increase pro
bono representation and reduce the ill effects of the Justice Gap. A common
and increasing theme has been a top-down approach focused on laudable
platitudes, jurisdictional reporting policies, and aspirational guidelines to
inspire attorneys to voluntarily serve low-income Americans. These efforts
have enjoyed very little success, however, and with the Justice Gap only getting
worse, a new solution is needed. This Article shifts the focus away from
these top-down methods and mandates, which lack accountability and incentives,
to a bottom-up approach that offers a more viable solution …
A Year Of Monumental Change: A Review Of Virginia's 2021 General Assembly Regular And Special Sessions, Andrew Mullen
A Year Of Monumental Change: A Review Of Virginia's 2021 General Assembly Regular And Special Sessions, Andrew Mullen
Richmond Public Interest Law Review
Between the abolition of the death penalty and the continued fallout from
the COVID-19 pandemic, the Virginia General Assembly had a full plate of
legislative priorities in 2021. This Article will provide a summary of the major
bills that were introduced, passed, or that failed during the 2021 Regular
and Special Sessions. The other articles within this issue cover the following
topics in depth: reproductive justice, criminal justice legal reform, housing
policy concerns during the pandemic, cannabis legalization, and environmental
justice. This Article summarizes legislation grouped in the following
parts: I. Civil and Criminal law, II. Education, III. Labor and …
Empowering The Defense To Confront The Government's Powers: Virginia Criminal Justice Legal Reform, Bryan Kennedy, Catherine F. Zagurskie
Empowering The Defense To Confront The Government's Powers: Virginia Criminal Justice Legal Reform, Bryan Kennedy, Catherine F. Zagurskie
Richmond Public Interest Law Review
During the 2021 Session and 2021 Special Session, Virginia took steps to
restore the balance between individuals ensnared in the criminal legal system
and the government. These new laws allow people who are involved in
the criminal legal system to emphasize their humanity and to hold the government
to its various burdens at all stages of the case, including pre-trial,
trials, sentencing, and appeal. This article discusses four of the most important
changes to Virginia law that ensure a more level playing field between
the government and the accused.
First, eliminating the presumption against bail challenges the government’s
power of …
First In The South: Cannabis Legalization In Virginia, Jm Pedini, Cassidy Crockett-Verba
First In The South: Cannabis Legalization In Virginia, Jm Pedini, Cassidy Crockett-Verba
Richmond Public Interest Law Review
In 2021, Virginia made history when it became the first state in the
South to legalize cannabis for responsible use by adults. Though legalization
is now the law of the land, which today includes personal possession
and cultivation, there remains much work to be done before Virginians are
able to legally purchase cannabis outside of the medical program. Concerns
over social equity provisions, retail sales dates, and the reenactment
clauses added during the 2021 legislative session have drastically slowed
the process of expanding the regulated marketplace to adult-use consumers.
With many key components requiring reenactment by the 2022 General Assembly …
Reforming Age Cutoffs, Govind Persad
Reforming Age Cutoffs, Govind Persad
University of Richmond Law Review
This Article examines the use of minimum age cutoffs to define eligibility for social insurance, public benefits, and other governmental programs. These cutoffs are frequently used but rarely examined in detail. In Part I, I examine and catalogue policies that employ minimum age cutoffs. These include not only Medicare and Social Security but also other policies such as access to pensions and retirement benefits, eligibility for favorable tax treatment, and eligibility for discounts on governmentally provided goods and services. In Part II, I examine different rationales underlying eligibility and discuss the imperfect fit between these rationales and the use of …
How Biden Could Keep Filling The Federal Circuit Court Vacancies, Carl Tobias
How Biden Could Keep Filling The Federal Circuit Court Vacancies, Carl Tobias
Law Faculty Publications
In October 2020, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speculated that the fifty-four talented, extremely conservative, and exceptionally young, appellate court judges whom then-President Donald Trump and two relatively similar Grand Old Party (GOP) Senate majorities appointed had left the federal appeals courts “out of whack.” Problematic were the many deleterious ways in which Trump and both of the upper chamber majorities in the 115th and 116th Senate undermined the courts of appeals, which are the courts of last resort for practically all lawsuits, because the United States Supreme Court hears so few appeals. The nomination and confirmation processes which Trump …
Abolishing The Evidence-Based Paradigm, Erin Collins
Abolishing The Evidence-Based Paradigm, Erin Collins
Law Faculty Publications
The belief that policies and procedures should be data-driven and “evidence-based” has become criminal law’s leading paradigm for reform. This evidence-based paradigm, which promotes quantitative data collection and empirical analysis to shape and assess reforms, has been widely embraced for its potential to cure the emotional and political pathologies that led to mass incarceration. It has influenced reforms across the criminal procedure spectrum, from predictive policing through actuarial sentencing. The paradigm’s appeal is clear: it promises an objective approach that lets data – not politics – lead the way and purports to have no agenda beyond identifying effective, efficient reforms. …
Debt Governance, Wealth Management, And The Uneven Burdens Of Child Support, Allison Anna Tait
Debt Governance, Wealth Management, And The Uneven Burdens Of Child Support, Allison Anna Tait
Law Faculty Publications
Child support is a ubiquitous kind of debt, common to all income and wealth levels, with data showing that approximately 30% of the U.S. adult population has either been subject to paying child support or has received it. Across this field of child support debt, however, unpaid obligations look different for everyone, and in particular the experiences around child support debt diverge radically for low-income populations and high-wealth ones. On the low-income end of the spectrum, child support debt is a sophisticated and adaptive governance technology that disciplines and penalizes those living in or near poverty. Being in child support …
Crack Taxes And The Dangers Of Insidious Regulatory Taxes, Hayes R. Holderness
Crack Taxes And The Dangers Of Insidious Regulatory Taxes, Hayes R. Holderness
Law Faculty Publications
An unheralded weapon in the War on Drugs can be found in state tax codes: many states impose targeted taxes on individuals for the possession and sale of controlled substances. These “crack taxes” provide state officials with a powerful means of sanctioning individuals without providing those individuals the protections of the criminal law. Further, these taxes largely escape public scrutiny, which can contribute to overregulation and uneven enforcement.
The controlled substance taxes highlight the allure to lawmakers of using tax law to regulate behavior, but also the potential dangers of doing so. Surprisingly, the judiciary has an underappreciated role in …
Ensuring Black Lives Matter When The Penalty Is Death, Sidney Balman
Ensuring Black Lives Matter When The Penalty Is Death, Sidney Balman
Law Student Publications
"Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. These are several of the names that come to mind when we think about the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. They are the faces of institutional oppression of Black men and women in their daily interactions with law enforcement. Thus far, the BLM movement has focused on police brutality against Black communities—the vagaries of violence perpetrated on minority communities by those whose duty is to protect them. But there is another place where Black Lives should Matter, but don’t—the death penalty." [..]
Filling Lower Court Vacancies In Congress' Lame Duck Session, Carl Tobias
Filling Lower Court Vacancies In Congress' Lame Duck Session, Carl Tobias
Law Faculty Publications
In this midterm election year of 2022, the nation’s divided political parties are in a battle royale to win the exceedingly close Senate majority. One important explanation for the fight is that the party which assumes the next Senate majority will necessarily have considerable power to affect the confirmation of federal judges. For example, during Donald Trump’s presidency, Republicans controlled the Senate; therefore, the chief executive and the upper chamber proposed and confirmed fifty-four accomplished,
extremely conservative, young appeals court, and 174 district court, jurists. The Republican White House and Senate majority confirmed judges by rejecting or deemphasizing the rules …
Traumatic Justice, Teri Dobbins Baxter
Traumatic Justice, Teri Dobbins Baxter
University of Richmond Law Review
In the recent past, allegations of police misconduct have periodically led to widespread community protests, but usually only when the incident is sufficiently high-profile and the harm is severe, such as when a police officer beats or kills an unarmed Black person. More often the spotlight and outrage have faded quickly, as victims were discredited and no charges were brought, or no convictions obtained. But citizens have increasingly harnessed the power of cell phone videos and social media to bring attention to acts of racial violence and hold accountable those who are responsible, particularly in cases of alleged police misconduct. …
Underprosecution Too, Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
Underprosecution Too, Michal Buchhandler-Raphael
University of Richmond Law Review
This Article makes two main contributions to existing literature. First, it asserts that in deciding whether to pursue sexual assault charges, prosecutors should not rely on the convictability standard. Assessing evidentiary sufficiency in sexual assault cases through the lens of a hypothetical jury is misguided because it incorporates a myriad of jurors’ extralegal considerations of victims’ behaviors, consisting of racialized, gendered, class, status and other prejudices and biases against victims.35 Declining to prosecute sexual assault based on the convictability standard not only perpetuates unwarranted misconceptions about certain victims, but also reinforces their marginalization by exacerbating the legal system’s unequal and …
Richmond Law Magazine: Winter 2022, University Of Richmond
Richmond Law Magazine: Winter 2022, University Of Richmond
Richmond Law Magazine
Free Britney (and other legal lessons from the headlines)
The Making of a More Perfect Union
Richmond Law: A Story in 7 Objects
Why Not Both Nature And Nurture: Using Behavioral Genetic Markers As Sentencing Factors, Seely Kaufmann
Why Not Both Nature And Nurture: Using Behavioral Genetic Markers As Sentencing Factors, Seely Kaufmann
Law Student Publications
"On the evening of July 1, 2013, Amos Wells was upset that his pregnant girlfriend, Chanice Reed, would not answer his calls. He then drove to where she, her mother Annette, and ten-year-old brother Eddie, lived. After arguing with Chanice and yelling at the top of his voice in a “bone-chilling scream,” Wells retrieved a handgun from his Chevrolet Tahoe parked in front of the house, and shot Chanice in the front yard as she screamed, “No, no, no.” Her mother then tried to bat the gun away before he shot her too. Further shots were heard before Wells finally …