Law Commons^™

The Past As Present, Unlearned Lessons And The (Non-) Utility Of International Law, Susan M. Akram

Faculty Scholarship

The contemporary moment provides an acute illustration of the dangers of historical amnesia—as if the Trump Administration’s policies of exclusion, extremist nationalism, and presidential imperialism were singular to ‘now,’ and entirely reversible in the next election. This Article argues to the contrary; that we have been down this road before, and the current crisis in immigration and refugee policies is the inevitable development of trends of racism, including anti-Arab, anti-Muslim racism and xenophobia, that have only become normalized by the populist resurgence of Trumpism. If this premise is correct—that we are experiencing a culmination of a historical trajectory—what lessons from …

Domestic Violence Convictions And Firearms Possession: The Law As It Stands And As It Moves, Kate E. Britt

Law Librarian Scholarship

Legislatures have attempted to curb instances of gun use in fatal and nonfatal domestic violence by passing statutes restricting possession of firearms for perpetrators of domestic violence. This article explains federal and Michigan law as it stands and discusses current efforts to further limit perpetrators’ access to firearms.

The Elusive Object Of Punishment, Gabriel S. Mendlow

Articles

All observers of our legal system recognize that criminal statutes can be complex and obscure. But statutory obscurity often takes a particular form that most observers have overlooked: uncertainty about the identity of the wrong a statute aims to punish. It is not uncommon for parties to disagree about the identity of the underlying wrong even as they agree on the statute’s elements. Hidden in plain sight, these unexamined disagreements underlie or exacerbate an assortment of familiar disputes—about venue, vagueness, and mens rea; about DUI and statutory rape; about hate crimes, child pornography, and counterterrorism laws; about proportionality in punishment; …

Neglecting Nationalism, Gil Seinfeld

Articles

Federalism is a system of government that calls for the division of power between a central authority and member states. It is designed to secure benefits that flow from centralization and from devolution, as well as benefits that accrue from a simultaneous commitment to both. A student of modern American federalism, however, might have a very different impression, for significant swaths of the case law and scholarly commentary on the subject neglect the centralizing, nationalist side of the federal balance. This claim may come as a surprise, since it is obviously the case that our national government has become immensely …

Law School News: 'Hate And Bigotry Have No Place In America' April 18, 2019, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

From Stele To Silicon: Publication Of Statutes, Public Access To The Law, And The Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act, Frederick W. Dingledy

Library Staff Publications

For a legal system to succeed, its laws must be available to the public it governs. This article looks at the methods used by different governments throughout history to publicize legislation and the rulers’ possible motivations for publication. It concludes by discussing how the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act provides the next logical step in this long tradition of publicizing the law.

Disclosing Deviations: Using Guidelines To Nudge And Empower Physician-Patient Decision Making, Melissa Ballengee Alexander

Faculty Articles

Americans fail to receive recommended care roughly half the time, reflecting poor decision making that threatens their health. This Article offers an innovative solution: require physicians to disclose clinical practice guideline recommendations to patients during informed consent. Behavioral economics suggest that insisting physicians and patients discuss guidelines, before deviating from them, could be surprisingly effective at nudging more rational care choices. At the same time, such disclosure should also educate and empower patients, serving autonomy.

Previous scholarship on unwarranted variances in care has focused primarily on malpractice reforms, largely ignoring the role of cognitive bias and the importance of patients …

S19rs Sgb No. 1 (Rules Of Court), Victoria Pitre

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A Bill

To Amend the Rules of Court

S19rs Sgb No. 3 (Delegate Amendments), Alaysia Johnson

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A Bill

To amend the Student Government Bylaws Article XV: Delegation to include Caucuses.

S19rs Sgb No. 2 (Funding Amendment), Jacob Cheatwood

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A Bill

To amend the student government bylaws

S19rs Sgb No. 4 (Student Bill Of Rights And Responsibilities), Catherine Mckinney

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A BILL

To Establish the Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities in tandem with the LSU Faculty Senate

S19rs Sgb No. 6 (Budget), Jack Green

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A BILL

to amend the Student Government budget.

S19rs Sgb No. 5 (Graduate School Apportionment), Jordan Landry, Alaysia Johnson

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A BILL

To Amend the Student Government Constitution Regarding the Apportionment of Student Senate Seats to the Graduate School

S19rs Sgb No. 7 (Surplus Account), Jack Green

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A Bill

To amend the Student Government Bylaws

S19rs Sgb No. 8 (Election Code Amendment), Catherine Mckinney

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A Bill

To amend the Student Government Bylaws

S19rs Eo No. 2 (Special Needs Program), Stewart Lockett

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

AN EXECUTIVE ORDER

To Establish the “Special Needs Program Temporary Committee”

S19rs Eo No. 1 (Higher Ed Report), Stewart Lockett

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

An Executive Order

Establishment of “Higher Education Report Card Committee”

S19rs Sgfb No. 11 (Stainless Steel Straws), Georgacopoulos, Mcgovern, Menon, Bryant

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

To Appropriate a maximum of Four Thousand Five Hundred ($4,500) from the Student Senate Initiatives Account to purchase 2,000 reusable stainless steel straws to promote sustainability on LSU Campus

S19rs Sgfb No. 5 (Sxsw Conference), Cheatwood

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A FINANCE BILL

To allocate six thousand five hundred dollars and zero cents $6,500 from the Legislative Contingency account to fund the registration costs of the students attending the 2019 SXSW conference in Austin, Texas March 8-12

S19rs Sgfb No. 6 (National Conference On Contemporary Cast Iron Art And Practices), Quadir, Veneracion

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A FINANCE BILL

To allocate one thousand Twenty dollars and zero cents $1,020 from the Legislative Contingency account to fund the registration costs of the students attending The National Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art & Practices (NCCCIAP) in Birmingham, Alabama April 3-6, 2019

S19rs Sgfb No. 13 (Geaux Vote Inaugural Legislative Breakfast), Mckinney, Legrande, Miguez, Stark, Cox

Student Senate Enrolled Legislation

A FINANCE BILL

To Allocate a Maximum of two thousand three hundred and eighty dollars and eleven cents ($2,380.11) From the Legislative Initiatives Account to fund the Student government and Geaux Vote Inaugural legislative Breakfast.

The Americans With Disabilities Act: Legal And Practical Applications In Child Protection Proceedings, Joshua B. Kay

Articles

Parents with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual disability and/or mental illness, are disproportionately represented in the child protection system.1 Once involved in the system, they are far more likely than parents without disabilities to have their children removed and their parental rights terminated. The reasons for this are many. Parents with disabilities are relatively likely to experience other challenges that are themselves risk factors for child protection involvement. In addition, child protection agencies, attorneys, courts, and related professionals often lack knowledge and harbor biases about parents with disabilities, increasing the likelihood of more intrusive involvement in the family. Yet research …

Why The Latest Ruling In The Sandy Hook Shooting Litigation Matters, Heidi Li Feldman

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

On March 19, 2019 the Connecticut Supreme Court officially released its opinion in Soto v. Bushmaster Firearms International, LLC. Because the decision greenlights civil discovery and trial for the Sandy Hook plaintiffs seeking compensation from the maker, distributor,and retailer of the gun used by the shooter, the ruling received much attention in the popular press. It is, however, very easy to get the wrong impression about the significance of the Connecticut Supreme Court’s decision and the avenues it creates for both the plaintiffs and the defendants in the litigation. The decision is both more and less significant than it seems …

Does My Vote Count? Analyzing The Motivations Of American Voters And The Obstacles They Face, Kalika Mahato

Honors Theses

One of the most indispensable rights Americans are promised is the opportunity to vote at the polls. After the women’s suffrage and civil rights movements, all American citizens above 18 and who haven’t committed a felony have the right to vote. The election process in America is viewed by many as egalitarian. However, upon a rudimentary examination into the election process, it becomes clear that this equality that America promotes is consistently at battle with classism and hierarchy. Every election, thousands of eligible voters do not vote because of inadequate information and support, barriers in the process, and other forms …

Defining Authentic: The Relationship Between Native Art And Federal Indian Policy, 1879-1961, Aurora Kenworthy

Honors Theses

Between 1879 and 1961, non-Native perceptions of what constituted authentic Native art shifted. These changing perceptions were influenced by, and then in turn influenced, federal policy and legislation. While non-Native individuals and groups worked to improve conditions for Native communities and to protect “authentic” Native art forms, Native reformers also attempted to enact change to help Native communities and Native artists exercised control over their own art and identity.

The Games They Will Play: Tax Games, Roadblocks, And Glitches Under The 2017 Tax Legislation, David Kamin, David Gamage, Ari Glogower, Rebecca Kysar, Darien Shanske, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Lily Batchelder, J. Clifton Fleming, Daniel Hemel, Mitchell Kane, David Miller, Daniel Shaviro, Manoj Viswanathan

Articles

The 2017 tax legislation brought sweeping changes to the rules for taxing individuals and business, the deductibility of state and local taxes, and the international tax regime. The complex legislation was drafted and passed through a rushed and secretive process intended to limit public comment on one of the most consequential pieces of domestic policy enacted in recent history. This Article is an effort to supply the analysis and deliberation that should have accompanied the bill’s consideration and passage, and describes key problem areas in the new legislation. Many of the new changes fundamentally undermine the integrity of the tax …

The Attorney General's Forgotten Role As Legal Advisor To The Legislature: A Comment On Schmidt V Canada (Attorney General), Andrew Martin

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In Schmidt v Canada (Attorney General), the Federal Court of Appeal interpreted a series of provisions requiring the Minister of Justice to inform the House of Commons if government bills or proposed regulations are “inconsistent with” the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms or the Canadian Bill of Rights. The Federal Court of Appeal, like the Federal Court below, held that these provisions are triggered only where there is no credible argument for consistency. In doing so, both Courts relied, in part, on a separation of powers argument. They stated that the Minister of Justice and Attorney General is not …

Efficacy Of Clery Act Timely Warning And Emergency Notification Messages, Travis W. Douglas

Arlen Specter Center Research Fellowship

The Clery Act (20 U.S.C. § 1092(f)) was passed following the rape and murder of Jeanne Clery in 1986 at Lehigh University. The intent of the law was to improve campus safety by making information about crime as well as safety and security policies more accessible to students, parents, employees, and others. This study explored the efficacy of the emergency notification and timely warnings provisions of the law. The study found these messages to be useful in promoting campus safety, particularly by informing people about safety issues and impacting people’s behavior related to self-protection. However, safety related behavior changes are …

Proposed State Offshore Oil & Gas Legislation And Resolutions: 2017-18, Marine Affairs Institute, Roger Williams University School Of Law, Megan Betts

Sea Grant Law Fellow Publications

No abstract provided.

Appropriations And Stem Cell Research Arlen Specter’S Senate Legacy, Sean Q. Kelly

Arlen Specter Center Research Fellowship

Pennsylvania Republican Senator Arlen Specter sat at the center of battles over stem cell research. Focusing on Specter’s efforts allows sustained exploration of policy entrepreneurship in the Senate. Building on Fenno’s seminal work on Arlen Specter, which focused mostly on Specter’s first term in office. Specter’s early work on criminal justice policy helped to prepare him for the weighty work involved in the stem cell debate. However, it was his ascendance on the Senate Appropriations Committee, and his position on the Labor, Health, and Human Services subcommittee in particular, that allowed him to become a leader on the stem cell …