Law Commons^™

Is Groton The Next Evenwel?, Paul H. Edelman

Michigan Law Review Online

In Evenwel v. Abbott the Supreme Court left open the question of whether states could employ population measures other than total population as a basis for drawing representative districts so as to meet the requirement of "one person, one vote" (OPOV). It was thought that there was little prospect of resolving this question soon as no appropriate instances of such behavior were known. That belief was mistaken. In this Essay I report on the Town of Groton, Connecticut, which uses registered voter data to apportion seats in its Representative Town Meeting and has done so since its incorporation in 1957. …

An Incomplete Revolution: Feminists And The Legacy Of Marital-Property Reform, Mary Ziegler

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

As this Article shows, the conventional historical narrative of the divorce revolution is not so much incorrect as incomplete. Histories of the divorce revolution have focused disproportionately on the introduction of no-fault rules and have correctly concluded that women's groups did not play a central role in the introduction of such laws. However, work on divorce law has not adequately addressed the history of marital-property reform or engaged with scholarship on the struggle for the Equal Rights Amendment to the federal Constitution. Putting these two bodies of work in dialogue with one another, the Article provides the first comprehensive history …

Community Redevelopment, Public Use, And Eminent Domain, Patricia E. Salkin, Lora A. Lucero

Patricia E. Salkin

Published just weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court handed down their controversial decision on Kelo v. City of New London in 2005, this article, in correctly predicting the outcome of the Supreme Court opinion, explores in Section I how the concept of what constitutes a public use has evolved over the decades from traditionally accepted uses such as public roads, buildings (e.g., government buildings and schools), and utilities to urban redevelopment. It explains how the broad concepts of community redevelopment have been stretched to encompass needed economic development projects that promise jobs, tax revenue, and other public benefits similar to …

The Impact Of Connecticut's Clean Election Law: An Empirical Quick Look, A. E. Rodriguez, Lesley A. Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

The State of Connecticut’s General Assembly passed a Clean Elections Law in 2005. In this paper we conduct a preliminary appraisal of the law’s performance based on recently published data on the voting results of the 2010 and 2008 state-wide office elections. The Clean Elections Law was considered among the most stringent in the nation at the time of its passage. It established full public financing for all elections to state offices, including the state legislature. The law applied to primaries as well as general elections. It allowed for supplemental monies in unbalanced contests pitting a privately-financed candidate against a …

Introduction, The Constitution Of The State Of Connecticut, Gary L. Rose

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Gary Rose has written the introduction to The Constitution of the State of Connecticut, published by Sacred Heart University Press in 2011. This introduction outlines the history of the document drafted in "The Constitution State". The constitutional tradition can be traced to the Fundamental Orders of 1639, drafted by representatives from three Connecticut River towns. In 1662 the Fundamental Orders were replaced by a Royal Charter, formally recognizing Connecticut's system of self-government. Later, the Constitution of 1818 proved to be very effective and served the people of Connecticut until 1965, when a new constitution was again drafted and adopted. …

The Politics Of Reorganizing Connecticut State Government: Altering Administrative Structures In The Land Of Steady Habits, Lesley A. Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Despite numerous attempts to reorganize state government aimed at streamlining, reducing, and creating greater efficiencies, the size and scope of Connecticut’s administrative apparatus has grown considerably over a fifty year period. This study will trace the political history of previous reorganization efforts with a particular emphasis on more recent attempts such as the Gengras (1970), Filer (1976), Thomas (1991), and Hull and Harper Commissions (1992). Observed trends follow national patterns: 1) reorganization commissions are cyclical in nature more likely to be undertaken in the wake of similar efforts at the federal level and 2) they are more likely to be …

The Constitution Of The State Of Connecticut, Sacred Heart University Press

Sacred Heart University Press Books

Text of the Constitution of the State of Connecticut, including Preamble and Amendments to the Constitution. Preface by Deborah G. Stevenson, J.D. and Gary L. Rose, Ph.D.

The text of the Constitution is from the Secretary of the State of the State of Connecticut, Register Manual, Constitution of the State of Connecticut at < http://www.sots.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view.asp?A=3188&Q=392288 >

Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District: History, Politics, And The Maverick Tradition, Gary L. Rose

Sacred Heart University Press Books

Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District: History, Politics, and the Maverick Tradition is a case study of one of the most unique congressional districts in the United States. Located in Fairfield County, the fourth district is a bedroom community close to New York City. The district's close proximity to Wall Street, the tendency of the district's constituents to elect free-thinking congresspersons, and the wealth and celebrity status of many district residents have resulted in a setting which can be described as an anomaly in the larger context of congressional politics. Contents: Introduction -- Connecticut's Fourth Congressional District: geography and demographics -- A …

Can Allocation By Sortition Resolve The Connecticut Education-Financing Impasse?, A. E. Rodriguez, Lesley Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

It has been over 40 years since Connecticut amended its Constitution to ensure citizens a right to a free public education. Despite the constitutionally prescribed right, dramatic inequities in educational conditions continued to characterize the state's K-12 educational system, especially between suburban/rural white and urban minority school districts. In the 1970s plaintiffs challenged the prevailing mechanism for allocating education funds with a host of court cases that tackled the thorny question of how much financial responsibility the state should assume to equalize the spending disparities between school districts. Prodded by court decisions, many formulas and approaches have been proposed by …

From Equity To Adequacy: Evolving Legal Theories In School Finance Litigation: The Case Of Connecticut, Lesley A. Denardis

Political Science & Global Affairs Faculty Publications

Since the landmark school finance decision Serrano v. Priest (1971) ruled that California’s reliance on the property tax to finance public schools violated equal protection provisions in state and federal constitutions, a wave of school finance litigation swept the United States. Connecticut followed with Horton v. Meskill (1977) and most recently with CCJEF v. Rell (2005). The Connecticut State Supreme Court has been a key actor in the policy making process concerning school finance reform in Connecticut. This study will trace the history of school finance litigation in Connecticut and the evolving legal theories used to undergird major court cases. …

Slides: Next Evolutionary Steps In State Instream Flow Programs, Lawrence J. Macdonnell

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Lawrence J. MacDonnell, attorney and consultant, Boulder, CO

27 slides

Slides: Rapanos And The Courts: Navigating Through The Fog, Jim Murphy

Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry (Martz Summer Conference, June 3-5)

Presenter: Jim Murphy, Wetlands and Water Resources Counsel, National Wildlife Federation, VT

25 slides

Connecticut Government And Politics: An Introduction, Gary L. Rose

Sacred Heart University Press Books

Connecticut Government and Politics: An Introduction is a thoroughly revised and updated version of the author’s book, Connecticut Government at the Millennium (Sacred Heart University Press, 2001). Like the first edition, it is intended to introduce students and general readers to the historical development and current operation of Connecticut’s political system. Individual chapters explore constitutional history in “The Constitution State,” the transformation of Connecticut politics, the various mechanisms through which citizens can participate in political affairs, the structure and powers of the three branches of government, and the pivotal role of the mass media, newspapers in particular, in protecting the …

Community Redevelopment, Public Use, And Eminent Domain, Patricia E. Salkin, Lora A. Lucero

Scholarly Works

Published just weeks before the U.S. Supreme Court handed down their controversial decision on Kelo v. City of New London in 2005, this article, in correctly predicting the outcome of the Supreme Court opinion, explores in Section I how the concept of what constitutes a public use has evolved over the decades from traditionally accepted uses such as public roads, buildings (e.g., government buildings and schools), and utilities to urban redevelopment. It explains how the broad concepts of community redevelopment have been stretched to encompass needed economic development projects that promise jobs, tax revenue, and other public benefits similar to …

The Challenge Of Inner-City Education, Lois Libby

Education Faculty Publications

There are two Connecticuts described in public education circles: One Connecticut includes a set of school systems that are suburban, educating primarily white and/or Asian students. The other set of Connecticut schools systems is urban, comprised primarily of students of color, and of low socio-economic status. The purpose of this chapter is to focus on the latter set of schools, provide some history of their development, look at the indicators of poor progress in more detail, review options of ameliorating the urban school systems, including assessments of state efforts so far, and offer some perspectives and conclusions.

Law And Disputing In Commercializing Early America, Cornelia Dayton

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Neighbors and Strangers: Law and Community in Early Connecticut by Bruce H. Mann

Soil Erosion, Agrichemicals And Water Quality: A Need For A New Conservation Ethic?, Christine Olsenius

Water Quality Control: Integrating Beneficial Use and Environmental Protection (Summer Conference, June 1-3)

24 pages.

Contains references.

State Legislative Options For Protecting Groundwater Quality, Larry Morandi

Water Quality Control: Integrating Beneficial Use and Environmental Protection (Summer Conference, June 1-3)

13 pages.

Contains references.

The Process Is The Punishment: Handling Cases In A Lower Criminal Court, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Book Notice about The Process Is the Punishment: Handling Cases in a Lower Criminal Court by Malcolm M. Feeley

Constitutional Law - Substantive Due Process - Statute Prohibiting Use Of Contraceptives, Erik J. Stapper S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

A Connecticut statute prohibits the use of contraceptives to prevent conception. Plaintiff-doctor sought a declaratory judgment to have the statute declared unconstitutional as an unreasonable restraint on his right to practice his profession inasmuch as his advice would render him an accessory to a violation of the statute. Three companion cases were also brought, one by a patient to whom another pregnancy would present serious danger, and two by married couples who could not give birth to normal children. The patients claimed that the statute deprived them of the doctor's best medical advice which would relieve them of a dangerous …

Conflict Of Laws-Domicile Of Child Living With Mother, Charles E. Becraft S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff and defendant, husband and wife, were domiciled in New York. Because of temporary unemployment, plaintiff took his wife and minor child to Connecticut. He later returned to New York and resided in the apartment the family had formerly occupied. The wife and child did not return to New York, and the court found that she had at all times intended to remain in Connecticut and establish a domicile there. Plaintiff at all times intended to make New York his permanent residence. When defendant would not return to New York, plaintiff brought action for separation in a New York court, …

Landlord And Tenant - Disability To Recover Rent For Failure To Comply With Tenement Law, Theodore R. Vogt

Michigan Law Review

A Connecticut statute provides: "No building constructed as . . . a tenement house shall be occupied . . . until the issuance of a certificate . . . that said building conforms . . . to the requirements of this chapter . . . . " (Section 2592.) It is further provided (Section 2593): "If any building . . . be occupied . . . in violation of the provisions of section 2592, during such unlawful occupation no rent shall be recoverable by the owner or lesee . . . and no action or special proceedings shall be maintained …

Municipal Corporations-Power Of Board Of Appeals To Vary Application Of Zoning Ordinance

Michigan Law Review

Although there was some dispute among the earlier authorities, it is the rule today that comprehensive zoning ordinances, if enacted under proper legislative authority, are constitutional and will be upheld in so far as they are reasonable in application. In order to give aggrieved property owners an opportunity to obtain relief upon the basis of the ordinance itself without attacking its constitutionality, it has become common practice to give the board of appeals the power to vary the operation of the ordinance in specific cases.

Statutes-Indefiniteness As Affecting Vaudity

Michigan Law Review

Plaintiff sought to enjoin the enforcement of Public Acts Conn. 1929, c. 296, section 4 of which prohibits the "sale or delivery of lubricating oil for use in motor vehicle engines, that shall not be 'equal to or better in quality and specifications' than that !mown as United States Government Specifications for Motor (Class D) Lubricants." Section 5 provides for all tests to determine quality to be made in accordance with methods contained in a certain technical paper of the Bureau of Mines, made a part of the act. The act further provided fines and imprisonment for violations. The district …

The Initiation Of Criminal Prosecutions By Indictment Or Information, Raymond Moley

Michigan Law Review

One of the most pronounced changes in criminal procedure proposed by the new criminal code prepared under the direction of and approved by the American Law Institute is that which proposes "all offenses heretofore required to be prosecuted by indictment may be prosecuted either by indictment or information.'' This would radically affect the present criminal procedure of one-half of the states. In twenty-four states prosecution of practically all cases may now be by information. The reform thus officially proposed by the Institute has been widely recommended by commissions and committees interested in the reform of criminal procedure. In many of …

Declaratory Judgments, Edson R. Sunderland

Articles

The Connecticut legislature passed an act in 1921 authorizing courts to make binding declarations of rights. The act was attacked as unconstitutional on the same ground raised by the supreme court of Michigan against the Michigan Declaratory Judgment Act in the case of Anway v. Railway Co., 211 Mich. 592, 12 A. L. R. 26i namely, that declaring rights was not a judicial function. But the Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut sustdined the act as in no way contravening the constitution.