Law Commons^™

A Municipal Police Officer's Jurisdiction To Arrest Without Warrant, Gerald S. Reamey

Faculty Articles

It is difficult to discern the jurisdictional boundaries of a Texas peace officer's warrantless arrest authority. This is due in part to the variety of “peace officers” recognized in Texas law, and in part to the numerous imprecise statutes which govern the issue. Arrest “jurisdiction” may mean the authority to arrest for certain kinds of offenses, or it may refer to the power to make an arrest in a certain territorial area. Territorial jurisdiction is most difficult to resolve in Texas. The determination of whether an arresting officer is a “peace officer,” and if so, what kind of officer, is …

Rare Book And Special Collections Bibliography, Beatrice S. Citron

Rare Books and Special Collections

No abstract provided.

Toward Domestic Recognition Of A Human Right To Language, Bill Piatt

Faculty Articles

There is no clearly defined “right to language” in the United States. Yet, there do exist sources of such a right. For example, a constitutionally protected right to express oneself or receive communications in a language other than English is supported by a number of federal court decisions. Further, there may be a first amendment right to receive broadcast programming in languages other than English, and some federal statutes even provide a guarantee of the exercise of language rights in a number of public and civic contexts.

In spite of these sources for a right to language, it is an …

Warrantless Arrest Jurisdiction In Texas: An Analysis And A Proposal, Gerald S. Reamey, J. Daniel Harkins

Faculty Articles

Within the State of Texas, there exist a great number of “peace officers” who are granted a wide range of power and authority. This includes the power to make warrantless arrests and searches pursuant to those arrests. Significant ambiguity exists regarding a peace officer’s jurisdiction. The confusion is largely due to imprecise statutory language and varying judicial interpretations.

Article 998 of Texas Revised Civil Statutes, for example, bestowed on city police officers the same powers, authority, and jurisdiction as city marshals. The statute, though, neglected to define the extent of that jurisdiction, or even what “jurisdiction” meant in that context. …

The Politics Of Law (Teaching) (Book Review), Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

The satiric novel, as a “message” novel, can provide unvarnished truths about the object of satire. Institutions of higher learning, particularly law schools, and the denizens of those institutions, are prime subjects for satire because they take themselves so seriously. Unfortunately, though, The Socratic Method by Michael Levin takes itself as seriously as the law school it is criticizing.

One of the hazards of the satiric novel is that the message may overwhelm the plot and characterization. Levin, in his zeal to awaken the reader to the torture of the law school, and particularly the torture of the law school …

Products Liability: An Argument For Product Line Liability In Texas, Charles E. Cantú, David S. Goldberg

Faculty Articles

In today’s fast-paced business world, buyouts, takeovers, mergers, and other acquisitions are common occurrences. As a consequence of this corporate turnover, the consumer plaintiff injured while using a defective product may find the search for the proper defendant is futile, simply because the product is now marketed by a different legal entity. Generally, the consumer has no recourse against the manufacturer of the particular product which caused the injury if that manufacturer has since dissolved.

This apparent unfairness, coupled with an increase in litigation of this nature over the last decade, has led to the judicial recognition of an exception …

Reflections On Section 402a Of The Restatement (Second) Of Torts: A Mirror Crack’D, Charles E. Cantú

Faculty Articles

Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts forever changed the means by which an individual would be held liable for placing defective products into the stream of commerce. Strict liability, which had previously been restricted to cases involving dangerous activities and wild animals, became a new cause of action in almost all product cases. As a result, this section of the Restatement has been a catalyst to a multitude of litigation. More causes of action have been brought alleging strict liability for injuries caused by a defective product than in any other area of tort law.

Now that almost …

Solicitation Of Law Firm Clients By Departing Partners And Associates: Tort, Fiduciary, And Disciplinary Liability, Vincent R. Johnson

Faculty Articles

May a departing attorney, with or without firm consent, contact clients of the firm, in person or in writing, for the purpose of soliciting their present and future legal business? This is the question being asked because in recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of attorneys switching firms, many of whom seek to take with them the business of their former firm’s clientele. While the contours of permissible departure-based solicitation were once clearly and narrowly circumscribed by the rules of legal ethics, the continued validity of those restrictions is seriously placed in doubt by the …

Law And Mystery: Calling The Letter To Life Through The Spirit Of The Law Of State Constitutions, Emily A. Hartigan

Faculty Articles

If law is anything today, it is dispirited. It lacks life, vitality, enchantment, and vision. Neither law nor its practitioners sing—or even hum. However, there is something more, already present in America’s state constitutions if practitioners dare turn to hear it. It is the voice of the spirit of the laws of the land. It sings of a vision.

There is a strain of constitutional law, anchored by actual judicial language about the spirit of law, which participates in the discourse identified in two key law review articles—Suzanna Sherry’s “The Founders’ Unwritten Constitution,” and Thomas Grey’s “Origins of the Unwritten …

The Skeleton In The Closet: The Battered Woman Syndrome, Self Defense, And Expert Testimony, Victoria M. Mather

Faculty Articles

The criminal justice system must deal fairly, through the use of expert testimony, with the battered woman who strikes back at her abuser with deadly results. Society-at-large does not understand the battered woman, the batterer, and their relationship; historically, the criminal justice system’s response to the predicament of the battered woman has been ineffective.

The use of expert testimony in homicide cases where an allegedly battered wife kills her abuser and then claims self-defense is a controversial proposition. The evidence, however, shows that women are frequently the victims of abuse, that patterns of behavior associated with battering relationships usually exist, …

Liability Of Parents For Conduct Of Their Child Under Section 33.01 Of The Texas Family Code: Defining The Requisite Standards Of ‘Culpability’, L. Wayne Scott

Faculty Articles

Section 33.01 of the Texas Family Code uses archaic terms and needs to be updated to eliminate confusion. This section provides an expansive statutory avenue for recovering from the parent damages previously unavailable at common law for a child's acts. However, the extent of parental liability under both of the available statutory provisions—negligence and strict liability—is disputable. While section 33.01 currently uses the terms "willful" and "malicious," these terms should be excluded in favor of "intentional" and "grossly negligent conduct."

In an age when tort liability is determined more from an insurance theory than a fault theory, section 33.01 of …

When Soldiers Are Defendants, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

In O’Callahan v. Parker, the U.S. Supreme Court adopted a “service connection” requirement for court-martial subject matter jurisdiction. For almost two decades that requirement caused numerous problems of interpretation and application. In Solorio v. United States, the Court overruled its decision in O’Callahan. While assigned to a Coast Guard unit in Juneau, Alaska, the accused committed numerous acts of sexual abuse against two minor daughters of other Coast Guard members. The crimes were not discovered, however, until after he had been transferred to Governors Island, New York, where he committed additional acts of sexual abuse on other daughters of Coast …

Born As Second Class Citizens In The U.S.A.: Children Of Undocumented Parents, Bill Piatt

Faculty Articles

Courts must guarantee that native-born citizens of undocumented parents are not second class citizens. Historically, courts intervened to prevent administrative officials from making the educational or economic circumstances of citizen children more difficult because of their parents' undocumented status, as in Plyer v. Doe. However, courts generally show greater reluctance in preventing officials from making the circumstances of children of undocumented parents more difficult when their parents are removed from this country by deportation.

As a result of the holdings in Kleindienst, Fiallo, and Wang, it is not likely that courts will scrutinize the congressional policy choice of allowing imposition …

Suicidal Rights, Michael S. Ariens

Faculty Articles

The legal debate regarding the right to commit suicide requires a critical review of the relationship between the individual and the community in present liberal political thought. Modern liberal political thought postulates that the government or community must be neutral about what is good both for members of the community and the community itself. It also postulates that there exists a sphere of action which affects solely an individual.

The neutrality postulate and the harm of self/harm to others dichotomy are best explicated by John Stuart Mill in his essay On Liberty, in which Mill separates and categorizes the individual …

Presumption Instructions And Juror Decision Making, John M. Schmolesky

Faculty Articles

Examined the effects of 3 types (conclusive, mandatory, permissive) of presumptions (“PRs”) on verdicts in a 4 (defendant culpability) by 6 (PR instruction) factorial design. 264 undergraduates read a case summary and completed a questionnaire about the summary. Only the conclusive PR significantly increased overall guilty verdicts. Additional analyses indicated that as defendant culpability decreased there was a greater tendency to nullify the PR instructions. The mandatory PR instruction intended to shift the burden of production elicited the most misapplications of the PR instructions (guilty verdicts that are inconsistent with the PR instruction).

Investigative Detentions For Purposes Of Fingerprinting, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

This article focuses on constitutional issues associated with fingerprinting suspects in investigative detention. Following a series of barracks larcenies, Naval Investigative Service (NIS) investigators fingerprinted approximately 100 servicemembers. All those ordered to report to the NIS office for fingerprinting had been present in the unit at the time of the offenses, and among those was the accused, who was later linked to the crime through his fingerprints. Before the accused reported to the NIS office there was no probable cause or reasonable suspicion to believe that he was in any way involved in the crimes. Were the fingerprints admissible?

United …

Criminal Law And Procedure, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals annually decides , or in some other way disposes of, several hundred cases which might be considered to fall within the topic of criminal law and procedure. Several conclusions can be drawn from the cases decided by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals during this survey period.

First, the court continues to adhere to a posture which reflects trust in the trial and pretrial process. That is, like most appellate courts, it views its role not as simply another forum for correcting all of the mistakes that have occurred in either the pretrial or …

Privacy, Charles E. Cantú

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Arbitration And Litigation Of Public Customers' Claims Against Broker-Dealers After Mcmahon Symposium - Business Tort Litigation., Joseph L. Hoon Jr.

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Franchise Litigation In Texas: Analyzing Claims And Defenses Symposium - Business Tort Litigation., John G. Lewis

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Torts - Municipal Liability - Exemplary Damages Available Against Municipality Performing Proprietary Function If Willful Or Malicious Conduct Directly Attributable To City Official(S) Symposium - Business Tort Litigation - Case Note., Jeffery V. Strahan

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Warrantless Arrest Jurisdiction In Texas: An Analysis And A Proposal., Gerald S. Reamey, J. Daniel Harkins

St. Mary's Law Journal

Within the State of Texas, there exist a great number of “peace officers” who are granted a wide range of power and authority. This includes the power to make warrantless arrests and searches pursuant to those arrests. Significant ambiguity exists regarding a peace officer’s jurisdiction. The confusion is largely due to imprecise statutory language and varying judicial interpretations. Article 998 of Texas Revised Civil Statutes, for example, bestowed on city police officers the same powers, authority, and jurisdiction as city marshals. The statute, though, neglected to define the extent of that jurisdiction, or even what “jurisdiction” meant in that context. …

Unlimited Branch Banking In Texas: The Next Step In Deregulation Comment., Mark A. Giltner

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Copyright Protection For Intellectual Property Rights To Recombinant Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A Proposal Comment., Donna Smith

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Criminal Law - Mail Fraud - Mail Fraud Statute Restricted To The Protection Of Property Rights And Doesn Not Extend To The Protection Of The Intangible Right To Honest And Impartial State Government Case Note., Keith S. Hampton

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Constitutional Law - First Amendment - Public Figures And Public Officials May Not Recover For Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress For Publication Of Ad Parody Absent A Showing That Publication Contained A False Statement Of Fact Made With Actual Malice Recent Development., Evelyn T. Ailts

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Texas Civil Procedure - Bill Of Review - Meritorious Defense Requirement In Bill Of Review Proceeding To Vacate Default Judgment, Without Effective Service Of Process Or Propert Notice Of Default Judgment, And Resulting In Adverse Consequences, Violates The Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause Recent Development., William B. Nash

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

The Evolving Concept Of Preemption Removal: An Expansion Of Federal Jurisdiction., Scott Roberts

St. Mary's Law Journal

Federal jurisdiction based on preemption removal should extend to federal laws which meet the requirements of Franchise Tax Board v. Construction Laborers Vacation Trust and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company v. Taylor. The well-pleaded complaint rule restricts federal removal jurisdiction. The well-pleaded complaint rule requires a federal question appear on the face of the plaintiff’s complaint for federal jurisdiction to attach. Therefore, the defendant’s right to a federal forum depends upon whether the plaintiff chooses to invoke a federal claim in its complaint. Courts routinely criticize the linking of removal jurisdiction to the well-pleaded complaint rule for giving plaintiffs incentive to …

Rule-Making In Texas: Clarifying The Judiciary's Power To Promulgate Rules Of Civil Procedure., Bruce L. Dean

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Consumer Protection - Deceptive Trade Practices - Breach Of Implied Warranty Requiring Goods Or Property To Be Modified Or Repaired In Good And Workmanlike Manner Actionable Under Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act Symposium - Business Tort Litigation - Case Note, N/A N/A

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.