Law Commons^™

Can Consumers Bring State Claims For Furnisher Errors On Their Credit Reports, Catherine Bourque

Legislation and Policy Brief

In an increasingly digital world, it can often feel like numbers define us. Whether your social security number, your phone number, or your credit score, the cold truth is that your identity is often boiled down to a single number. In the financial world, your credit score traditionally defines your eligibility for credit and the cost of credit, but the uses of credit scores have expanded to include premiums for insurance, employment eligibility, and other non-financial determinations. Particularly in tough financial times, small fluctuations in credit scores can have large impacts on consumers’ access to affordable credit.

As furnishers and …

The Road To Abolition: How Widespread Legislative Repeal Of The Death Penalty In The States Could Catalyze A Nationwide Ban On Capital Punishment, Nicholas M. Parker

Legislation and Policy Brief

On December 17, 2007, former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed into law a bill that abolished his state’s death penalty, saying he felt a “moral duty to end ‘state-endorsed killing.’” With Corzine’s signature, New Jersey became the fourteenth state to eradicate the death penalty, and the first to do so legislatively since Iowa and West Virginia legislators did away with capital punishment in 1965. The vote by New Jersey lawmakers followed close, but ultimately unsuccessful, votes on similar bills in Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, and New Mexico earlier in 2007. And while it took more than thirty-one years for …

Circumventing The Electoral College: Why The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Survives Constitutional Scrutiny Under The Compact Clause, Michael Brody

Legislation and Policy Brief

It’s Election Night 2016. Brian Williams stands by at NBC, waiting to give the first returns of the night. “Kentucky to Christie,” Williams triumphantly announces to kick off the evening’s festivities. Kentucky turns flush red on NBC’s virtual election map. Williams continues: “Maryland to Clinton.” Now comes the hard part for Williams. Clinton won Maryland by an incredible two-to-one margin. NBC viewers intently watch the map, expecting to see the Old Line State turn blue. Instead, Maryland sits idly in its static grey color. This election has something new.

Confused NBC viewers keep watching, waiting for Williams to provide an …

The Disappearing Provision: Medical Liability Reform Vanishes From The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act Despite State Court Split, Rafael Andre Roberti

Legislation and Policy Brief

The legal and medical communities have debated the impact and necessity of medical liability reform for over twenty years. At the heart of the debate is the question of how to strike a balance between compensating patients and their families for the thousands of deaths and injuries resulting from medical errors that occur annually, and encouraging physicians to continue to care for patients across America. While several states have passed medical liability reform laws previously, on March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA)—colloquially known as the “health care bill”—that contains provisions on medical …

Finding Safe Harbor: Protection, Prosecution, And State Strategies To Address Prostituted Minors, Darren Geist

Legislation and Policy Brief

The common policy of treating sexually exploited minors as criminals represents a fundamental failing of the justice system. Prostituted minors should not be treated as delinquents requiring discipline but rather as severely traumatized and abused victims requiring specialized services and counseling. Yet, in most states, prostituted minors are re-traumatized through arrest, prosecution, and detention instead of receiving specialized services. Besides being unjust, this policy is counter-productive. Arresting, prosecuting, and detaining minors hinders law enforcement efforts to go after the real criminals – the pimps and the johns, and misses an important opportunity to rescue minors from a system of commercial …

Making The Case For Wilderness: The Bureau Of Land Management’S Wild Lands Policy And Its Role In The Storied History Of Wilderness Protection, Maureen O’Dea Brill

Legislation and Policy Brief

On December 23, 2010, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Ken Salazar, issued Secretarial Order No. 3310, commonly referred to as the Wild Lands Policy. The Wild Lands Policy established a two-step process through which the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency within the Department of the Interior, was to inventory and to manage its lands with wilderness characteristics (LWCs). The policy continued the requirement that the BLM maintain a current inventory of LWCs and evaluate these LWCs during the previously established land use planning process. The Wild Lands Policy further required that the BLM protect LWCs …

“Strong Words, Gentle Deeds”: Evaluating The Effectiveness Of The Maryland Immigration Consultant Act Five Years On, Cori Alonso-Marsden

Legislation and Policy Brief

On February 7, 2005, legislators introduced in the Maryland General Assembly a bill entitled “Consumer Protection – Immigration Consulting Services.” Designated as House Bill 691, the legislation sought to protect Maryland consumers through a series of civil and criminal provisions targeting consultants for unauthorized immigration legal practice. Primarily, House Bill 691 limited the types of services an immigration consultant could offer and the claims she could make regarding those services. In addition, the law required that the consultant provide the client with a posted disclaimer regarding the scope of the service, and a written contract prior to the provision of …

Staring Down The Sights At Mcdonald V. City Of Chicago: Why The Second Amendment Deserves The Kevlar Protection Of Strict Scrutiny, James J. Williamson Ii

Legislation and Policy Brief

In June of 2008, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, declaring that a District of Columbia law prohibiting the possession of handguns in a private home for personal protection violated the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Justice Scalia, writing for a 5-4 majority, recognized that the protections provided by the Second Amendment apply to individuals—not just “militias”—and emphatically declared that “the enshrinement of constitutional rights necessarily takes certain policy choices off the table. These include the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home.” After four years of …

Referenda And The District Of Columbia's Human Rights Act: Voting On Same-Sex Marriage In The Nation's Capital, Jacob Stewart

Legislation and Policy Brief

Beginning with Massachusetts in 2003, the courts and legislatures of many states have had to decide whether same-sex marriage is or should be a fundamental right under their respective constitutions. Although only five states and the District of Columbia legally perform same-sex marriages, a few other jurisdictions are in the process of proposing laws moving in that direction. However, the vast majority of states are holding fast to the traditional heterosexual definition of marriage. Thirty-eight states have adopted some sort of Defense of Marriage Act, constitutional amendment, or similar measure that defines marriage as the union between one man and …

"Going Green" The Wrong Way: How Governments Are Unconstitutionally Delegating Their Legislative Powers In Pursuit Of Environmental Sustainability, Brandon L. Boxler

Legislation and Policy Brief

Through either executive or legislative power, state and local governments are rapidly effecting policies that encourage environmental sustainability. Many of these policies have logically targeted buildings and infrastructure, both of which have a significant adverse impact on the environment. In the United States, 38 percent of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions and 67 percent of its electricity usage come from buildings. New laws and policies are attempting to decrease these figures by requiring construction projects to “go green” and implement sustainable building practices. These legal initiatives have the potential to create substantial environmental benefits by reducing energy consumption, greenhouse gas …