Law Commons^™

Buckeyes Against The Boycott: Why Ohio's Law Opposing Bds Is Protected Under The First Amendment, Hannah Kraus

Cleveland State Law Review

In 2016, Ohio became the fourteenth state to enact legislation denouncing the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel. Codified as § 9.76 of the Ohio Revised Code, this legislation prohibits any state agency from contracting with a company that boycotts Israel during the contractual period. While the constitutionality of § 9.76 has not been challenged, anti-BDS statutes passed by other state legislatures have faced First Amendment challenges. This Note argues that § 9.76 of the Ohio Revised Code complies with the First Amendment under the government speech doctrine. In 1991, the Supreme Court applied the government speech doctrine in …

Opportunity In Ohio: Rethinking Northeast Ohio's Opportunity Zones With Local Legislation, Patrick J. Lipaj

Cleveland State Law Review

Welcome to Census Tract 1186.02! Here, in a small sliver of Cleveland’s Glenville neighborhood, tucked between Superior and Hough Avenues, you will uncover a lot. You will discover a rich history of the city’s ethnic and cultural roots. You will also find gang violence, underperforming schools, a median household income of $9,526, and a poverty rate of 66.5 percent. Something you will not find in 1186.02 is investment. Private or public, money is not flowing in to 1186.02 and it has not for a long time. The substantial toll of continuous underinvestment on the residents of this neighborhood, one of …

Ohio's Modern Courts Amendment Must Be Amended: Why And How, Richard S. Walinski, Mark D. Wagoner Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

A 1968 amendment to the Ohio Constitution granted the Supreme Court of Ohio the authority to promulgate “rules governing practice and procedure” for Ohio courts. The amendment also provided that “[a]ll laws in conflict with such rules shall be of no further force or effect after such rules have taken effect” and that no rule may “abridge, enlarge, or modify any substantive right.”

Although the amendment was explicit about automatic repeal of existing laws, it says nothing about whether the General Assembly may legislate on a procedural matter after a court rule takes effect. That silence has caused enduring confusion. …

How Big Money Ruined Public Life In Wisconsin, Lynn Adelman

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article discusses how Wisconsin fell from grace. Once a model good government state that pioneered many democracy-enhancing laws, in a very short time, Wisconsin became a state where special interest money, most of which is undisclosed, dominates politics. This Article identifies several factors as being critical to Wisconsin’s descent. These include the state’s failure to nurture and build on the campaign finance reforms enacted in the 1970s and both the state’s and the United States Supreme Court’s failure to adequately regulate sham issue ads. As evidence of Wisconsin’s diminished status, this Article describes how several of the state’s most …

Whatever Happened To Military Good Order And Discipline?, Colonel Jeremy S. Weber

Cleveland State Law Review

Discipline is often called “the soul of an army.” If this is so, the United States military seems to be experiencing a spiritual crisis. Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) allows commanders to punish acts prejudicial to “good order and discipline,” but the reach of this provision has been increasingly limited in recent years. Appellate courts have repeatedly overturned convictions of conduct charged as prejudicial to good order and discipline, and in recent years, the military’s high court has issued a series of decisions limiting the reach of the UCMJ’s “general article.” Congress has also recently …

Does Congress Find Facts Or Construct Them - The Ascendance Of Politics Over Reliability, Perfected In Gonzales V. Carhart, Elizabeth De Coux

Cleveland State Law Review

The disparity between the rules of courts and the rules of Congress gives rise to this question: is the rigor-or lack of it-with which Congress evaluates the reliability of evidence an appropriate factor for courts to consider in deciding whether to defer to a congressional finding? In this Article, I consider whether Congress should adopt rules to fill the void. In Part I, I give a brief summary of the development and use of Congressional Committees. In Part II, I analyze several modern-day congressional hearings in an effort to examine the degree to which Congress and its committees require that …

Are Contemporary Community Standards No Longer Contemporary, Roman A. Kostenko

Cleveland State Law Review

This note concurs with the decision reached by the Third Circuit. The federal obscenity law, which incorporated the contemporary community standards test is unconstitutional as applied to expression on the internet because it has chilling effect on the exercise of freedom of speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Because freedom of speech would be restrained by any incorporation of community standards in federal regulation of the internet, the legislature should refrain from adopting a standard that would apply in all internet situations. Rather, with respect to obscenity, the internet should be left …

Bankruptcy Reform: An Orderly Development Of Public Policy , William T. Bodoh, Lawrence P. Dempsey

Cleveland State Law Review

In legislating the pending bankruptcy "reform," Congress has made many of the key decisions behind closed doors. In fact, the process has been characterized as a congressional effort to pass a "stealth bankruptcy bill." This secrecy brings into question the democratic nature of congressional deliberation. When the Framers designed the legislative branch, open debate was envisioned as the rule, not the exception. Unfortunately, Congress has adopted a secretive, approach to pushing through recent bankruptcy legislation. In a sharp departure from the decades-long congressional approach to bankruptcy legislation, "Congress stopped seeking expert advice and instead turned to special interest lobbyists…” Thus, …

The Constitutional Legitimacy Of The Civil Provisions Of The Federal Wiretap Act - A Suggestion To The Supreme Court In The Case Of Bartnicki V. Vopper, Jess Gamiere

Cleveland State Law Review

Title III of the Federal Wiretap Act, as amended, remains the "primary law guarding the privacy of personal communication [among private citizens] in the United States." This piece of legislation will serve as the focal point of this Note. This Note will first discuss the history and context of the statute under which two cases have arisen. It will then survey various Supreme Court cases addressing the tension between the First Amendment and the right to privacy so as to provide the reader with a better understanding of the conflict between these two constitutional rights. Then it will outline and …

The Religious Liberty Protection Act: The Validity Of Using Congress' Commerce And Spending Powers To Protect Religion, Jennifer Dorton

Cleveland State Law Review

Although the Religious Liberty Protection Act appears, on its face, to be simple, there are many constitutional issues which call into question the validity of the proposed bill. This note will focus on the constitutional problems of using Congress' commerce and spending powers to protect religion. It will examine the problem of attaching religious conditions to the States' receipt of federal funds, and the potential problem that may result from using the spending power to protect religious exercise. The note then turns to the commerce clause justification for the RLPA. It will point out the major flaw in using the …

The Beltway And Beyond: The Struggle For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual And Transgender Equality, Rebecca Isaacs

Cleveland State Law Review

I will focus primarily on the struggle in the legislative arena in Washington, DC and more importantly, in states and local communities. And I will focus on three key issues for the GLBT community: families; civil rights and the intersection with religious liberty rights; and finally, violence and hate crimes. In summary, the GLBT community is pushing ahead of these and other issues in all 50 states.

Predatory Lending: Practices, Remedies And Lack Of Adequate Protection For Ohio Consumers, Anna Beth Ferguson

Cleveland State Law Review

This note focuses on remedies available to borrowers who fall prey to predatory lending practices on their home equity loans where their homes are used as collateral. Part II gives basic background information on predatory lending: what predatory lending is, examples of common predatory lending techniques, and, who benefits and who is hurt by predatory lending practices. Part III discusses and critiques current federal laws that borrowers have used to combat predatory mortgage lending practices. Part IV explains the current forms of relief available in Ohio and the limitations of these remedies. Part V discusses remedies in other states, focusing …

Mr. Justice Holmes's Constitutionally Crooked Path Part Ii: The State Sovereignty Jurisdictional Stopgap , Mitchell B. Weiss

Cleveland State Law Review

This article analyzes the last turn in Justice Holmes's constitutionally crooked path, largely by penetrating to the very core of the Supreme Court's recent decision in Alden v. Maine. Part I therefore traces the Court's waffling attitude towards the division of regulatory power between the state and federal governments. Then, against this backdrop, Part II takes the jurisdictional turn by analyzing the Court's most recent attempt to resuscitate the Tenth Amendment's check on Congress's Commerce Power. To sharpen the focus, much of this article will focus on the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal statute that always seems to sit …

The Origins Of American Democracy, Or How The People Became Judges In Their Own Causes, The Sixty-Ninth Cleveland-Marshall Fund Lecture , Gordon S. Wood

Cleveland State Law Review

The awesome power of this democratic polity, with people becoming judges in their own causes, was such that our political leaders over the past two centuries have struggled to constrain and mitigate its effects. In fact, that is what our current concern with campaign financing is all about. From the very beginning of our national history we Americans have used a variety of devices and institutions to immunize ourselves from the harmful consequences of too much democracy, too much factious promotion of private interests in the name of the people. No doubt the most important of these devices has been …

The Parent-Child Testimonial Privilege - Has The Time For It Finally Arrived, Amee A. Shah

Cleveland State Law Review

Academics and courts in the United States have been grappling with the issue of compelled parent or child testimony for more than twenty-five years. This article uses the bills of the late-1990s proposed in the House and Senate to analyze the parent-child privilege debate. First, this article will discuss the history of the parent-child privilege. Next, the proposed bills will be evaluated to determine their effectiveness in achieving their goals and in resolving the debate. This article will then discuss the effects that the passage or nonpassage of these bills (particularly the House bill) would have. Finally, this article proposes …

Legislative History In Ohio: Myths And Realities, Maureen Bonace Mcmahon

Cleveland State Law Review

In this article I will explore what seems to be a prevailing formal view about Ohio legislative history, and the contradictory signals expressed by the Ohio Revised Code and the courts, particularly the Ohio Supreme Court. In Part Two, I consider the prevailing assumptions about legislative history in Ohio. In Part Three, I examine the reality of judicial use of legislative history in Ohio; Part Four describes the Ohio Legislative Service Commission and its non-partisan legislative staff. Part Five compares federal and Ohio legislative history, and argues that Ohio's legislative process and history are rooted in its political culture. In …

Ozone Transport And The Clean Air Act: The Answers Are Blowin' In The Wind, Shari R. Desalvo

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note addresses the major provisions of the Clean Air Act that deal with the transport of ozone from one state to another. After an overview of the Act and specific sections dealing with ozone transport, the Note discusses the Environmental Protection Agency's (the "EPA") inconsistent interpretation and application of the Act, as exposed through the limited case law addressing this issue to date. Next, using the illustrative cases of Pennsylvania and Ohio, the Note discusses how Northeastern states are suffering economically and physically due to Midwestern pollution. This Note concludes that it is time for the EPA to stop …

The Clean Air Act Amendments Of 1990 And An Unbridled Spending Power: Will They Survive On The Supreme Court's Road To Substantive Federalism, Mark A. Miller

Cleveland State Law Review

The question remains as to how far the Supreme Court will go in its refortification of the Tenth Amendment. This Note explores emerging federalism trends and evaluates the CAA in light of a stronger state sovereignty that is appearing on the constitutional horizon. Parts II and III examine the CAAA and the constitutional problems engendered by the Act. Part IV examines current Tenth Amendment and Spending Clause jurisprudence, and illustrates that the CAAA is a classic example of how Congress has been able to circumvent the Tenth Amendment with its Spending power. Part V presents a new view of federalism …

On Seeking Controlling Law And Re-Seeking Death Under Section 2929.06 Of The Ohio Revised Code , Margery B. Koosed

Cleveland State Law Review

This article explores and analyzes the two-pronged legal dilemma that confronted the court in State v. Marshall: in Ohio, finding the correct sentencing law is often difficult; and a recent amendment to the resentencing portion of that law, S.B. 258, destroys the efficiency that was characteristic of Ohio's previous resentencing framework. Consequently, Part II of this article examines the facts and holding of State v. Marshall and suggests that finding the applicable law must be simplified. Practitioner handbooks are often confusing and incomplete, in part as the Ohio legislature generates an ever-changing body of law. Justice and the lives of …

Airbag Products Liability Litigation: State Common Law Tort Claims Are Not Automatically Preempted By Federal Legislation , Stephen D. Lichtenstein, Gerald R. Ferrera

Cleveland State Law Review

This article addresses an important and recurring issue of federalism, and attempts to resolve the tensions that exist between federal and state laws in the context of recent automobile airbag litigation. The authors trace the evolution of the preemption doctrine as it relates to airbag litigation, and write further as to how manufacturers adapt, developing business and ethical strategies of compliance to concurrent state and federal regulation. Two recent important decisions involving no airbag litigation, Tebbetts v. Ford Motor Co. and Wilson v. Pleasant, are interpretive of two provisions of the Safety Act. The former case discussed a preemption clause, …

Centralized Wisdom - Derolph V. State And The Rise Of Judicial Paternalism, Joseph P. Rodgers, John F. Rodgers

Cleveland State Law Review

This Comment critically evaluates DeRolph v. State and asserts that the supreme court's decision is dangerous precedent, inasmuch as it dispirits the sacrosanct role a legislature assumes in a democratic society and overtly legitimizes judicial policymaking. This Comment suggests the court's vision of a thorough and efficient school system, via more economic parity, ultimately undermines the General Assembly of the State and will not extricate Ohio schools. Part II explores the current system of financing public schools in the State of Ohio. This section will not delve into the minutia that have come to define school finance, but will instead …

Ohio House Bill 419: Increased Openness In Adoption Records Law, Wendy L. Weiss

Cleveland State Law Review

Across the country, states have been enacting legislation to provide more information to adoptees about their birth. In 1995, the Ohio legislature passed House Bill 419. The bill will reform Ohio's adoption law, especially in the area of open adoption records. This Note will analyze House Bill 419 amidst the current move toward increased openness and the controversy surrounding this move. First, this Note will examine the history of secrecy in adoption in the United States and in Ohio. Second, it will explain the changes in adoption records enacted by House Bill 419 and the effects of the abortion controversy …

Hazardous Jurisdiction/Chatham Steel Corporation V. Brown: A Note On Personal Jurisdiction And Cercla, Martin A. Mccrory

Cleveland State Law Review

In 1986, the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) was amended to include, among other things, a provision for nationwide service of process. This provision greatly increased the choice of federal forums in which to sue defendants in CERCLA cases. In Chatham v. Brown, the court broke from this line of thinking and analyzed the case using a traditional constitutional Due Process analysis. Although the Chatham court ultimately held that it had personal jurisdiction over the defendants, the analysis it used may be a harbinger of things to come. That is to say, the constitutional analysis in Chatham …

The Communications Assistance For Law Enforcement Act And Protection Of Cordless Telephone Communications: The Use Of Technology As A Guide To Privacy, Basil W. Mangano

Cleveland State Law Review

While it is now illegal to intentionally intercept cordless telephone conversations, cordless telephone users have not always been protected. Prior to October 1994 the Federal Wiretap Act did not protect cordless telephone users from private persons or law enforcement agencies who intentionally intercepted their conversations. In fact, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) amended Title III of the of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to expressly exclude cordless telephone transmissions from the definition of "wire" and "electronic" communications. With the advent of new cordless technology and the ubiquitousness of the cordless telephone, Congress …

Altruism In The International Environment, Lea Brilmayer

Cleveland State Law Review

My topic is foreign aid, certain of the attitudes that we have towards foreign aid, and what if any moral grounding those attitudes might have. While it is likely that the most drastic proposals to slash the foreign aid budget will be defeated, there is no denying that some fairly drastic measures are on the table and are being taken rather seriously. Regardless of what happens in Congress this year, and regardless of what our president decides to do about any measures that Congress does adopt, the issue is likely to crop up as important during the next presidential election. …

Drive-Through Deliveries: Indiscriminate Postpartum Early Discharge Practices Presently Necessitate Legislation Mandating Minimum Inpatient Hospital Stays, Tracy Wilson Smirnoff

Cleveland State Law Review

"Drive-through deliveries," women delivering their babies and leaving the hospital only a few hours, rather than days, later are increasingly becoming the standard of care in the United States. This Note argues that legislation mandating minimum inpatient postpartum hospital stays is presently the best possible solution to the overreaching control MCOs have over doctors, the standard of care, and the length of hospital stays based on their willingness to cover treatment. Part H of this Note reviews the development of postpartum care during the twentieth century. This section also discusses the reasoning for the concerns regarding the early discharge of …

What Is Experimental Medical Treatment: A Legislative Definition Is Needed, Melody L. Harness

Cleveland State Law Review

This note focuses on the highly publicized coverage disputes involving HDCr/ABMT for the treatment of breast cancer to illustrate the problems inherent in courts judging medical technology and legislatures politicizing medical technology. The problems exist, however, with respect to every developing medical technology for which there is no consensus on its safety and effectiveness. Part II of this note depicts the typical scenario involving a patient with metastatic breast cancer. Part III outlines the drug approval process and off-label drug use. Part IV describes HDCT/ABMT treatment and discusses the lack of consensus regarding its efficacy for the treatment of breast …

Copyright On The Internet: A Critique Of The White Paper's Recommendation For Updating The Copyright Act And How The Courts Are Already Filling In Its Most Important Shortcoming, On-Line Service Provider Liability, George Smirnoff Iii

Cleveland State Law Review

The current technological challenge for American copyright law is the National Information Infrastructure (NII), which is a network of networks used to carry digital transmissions through thousands of computer networks using a common set of protocols. Currently, the Copyright Act does not expressly include works created, copied, transmitted, or performed on the NII. President Clinton formed the Information Infrastructure Task Force (the Working Group) "to articulate and implement the Administration's vision for the National Information Infrastructure." On September 5, 1995, the Working Group released the White Paper which addresses special intellectual property concerns and issues raised by the development and …

Osha Criminal Penalty Reform Act: Workplace Safety May Finally Become A Reality, Timothy G. Gorbatoff

Cleveland State Law Review

Present criminal penalty provisions under the Occupational Safety and Health Act are outdated and inadequate. They provide no meaningful deterrent to potential violators of workplace safety and health standards. This Note is written to assist the reader in understanding the statutory barriers which have hindered criminal enforcement of the OSH Act, and how the OSHA Criminal Penalty Reform Act breaks down these barriers to provide for a more effective criminal penalty structure. It begins with a brief history behind the enactment of the OSH Act and its enforcement record since 1970. Section III moves to a discussion of enhanced criminal …

Evaluation Of Recycling Legislation Pending Before The 119th Session Of The Ohio General Assembly, Christopher D. Knopf

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article summarizes and analyzes the recycling bills before the 119th Session of the Ohio General Assembly. Part I of this Article reviews the requirements and recommendations of H.B. 592 and the State Plan. Part II provides an overview of the recycling bills and identifies the three basic approaches to recycling represented by these bills. Parts III, IV, V, and VI summarize and evaluate the recycling bills. This Article uses three criteria to evaluate the recycling bills: (1) consistency with H.B. 592 and the State Plan, (2) effectiveness in preventing the disposal of solid waste in landfills, and (3) efficiency …