Law Commons^™

Texas's "Operation Lone Star": The Supremacy Clause And Dual Federalism In Light Of Arizona V. United States, Reynaldo Ramirez, Jr

Texas A&M Law Review

The Supremacy Clause of Article Six of the United States Constitution was enacted to remedy the failures of the Articles of Confederation. Initially, the states enjoyed near-boundless state sovereignty in nearly all aspects of the first federalist government. However, in practice, the necessity of federal supremacy for conducting the business of governing obligated the states to prioritize national interests above the states’ sovereignty. To do so required revision of the Articles of Confederation. This drafting culminated in the contentious ratification of the Constitution in 1788, including the Supremacy Clause and the Tenth Amendment. That said, ratifying the Supremacy Clause and …

A Modern Defense Of Simple Rules For A Complex World, Richard A. Epstein

Texas A&M Law Review

My 1995 book Simple Rules for a Complex World articulated a general proposition that, in most situations, simple legal rules perform better in two key dimensions: (1) they are simpler to interpret and enforce, and (2) they generate efficient incentives on the parties to whom they apply. I then applied that view to matters of general legal theory, to matters of environmental law, and to disputes over labor. These principles apply to all forms of legal regulation, but in this Article, I shall limit my analysis to the five articles in this Collection. These are by Richard Revesz on global …

The "Independent" State Legislature In Republican Theory, Franita Tolson

Texas A&M Law Review

The independent state legislature theory provides that state legislatures are not constrained by their respective state constitutions in exercising the authority that the U.S. Constitution delegates to states over federal elections. In its most extreme form, the doctrine permits state legislatures, in overseeing the mechanics of federal elections, to disregard state court interpretations of state constitutions. Scholars have offered a number of criticisms of this doctrine, noting that it runs counter to the Founding Generation’s concerns about the lawlessness of state legislatures; is contrary to historical practice at the Founding; and undermines the constitutional structure in which the more democratically …

Toward Principled Background Principles In Takings Law, Rebecca Hansen, Lior Jacob Strahilevitz

Texas A&M Law Review

Oversights by lawyers, judges, and legal scholars have caused the Supreme Court’s opinion in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid to be deeply misunderstood. In Cedar Point, the Court rewrote much of takings law by treating temporary and part-time entries by the government or third parties onto private property as per se takings. Prior to Cedar Point, these sorts of government-authorized physical entries would have been evaluated under a balancing framework that almost invariably enabled the government to prevail. As it happens, there was a well-established rule of black letter law that California’s lawyers and amici failed to invoke …

Optional Price Discrimination, Lee Anne Fennell

Texas A&M Law Review

Price discrimination generates considerable angst. As merchants develop ever-more-powerful mechanisms for gathering and compiling information about consumers, the specter of fully personalized pricing seems to loom as an ominous threat. Yet a parallel phenomenon quietly coexists with all this distress over tailored prices: models that encourage people to voluntarily contribute, typically in varying amounts, the sums necessary to cover the fixed costs of producing particular goods and services. This Article proposes enabling customers to opt into price discrimination in a more structured way across a broader range of markets. Optional price differentiation can make markets fairer and more inclusive by …

Breaking The Ncaa's Two-Tiered System: Attaining Full Scholarships For Equivalency Sport Athletes, Mason Corbett

Texas A&M Law Review

In June of 2021, the Supreme Court released the Alston decision, invalidating NCAA restrictions on educational-related benefits for Division I football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball student-athletes. Alston laid the groundwork for future challenges to NCAA rules, with Justice Kavanaugh explicitly encouraging further challenges to NCAA rules in his concurring opinion. This Comment reviews NCAA rules limiting the number of scholarships below the number of scholarship roster spots for certain sports. If these rules were challenged under the Alston framework, they likely would not stand up under the antitrust review for NCAA rules established by Alston.

Furthermore, this Comment …

Discretionary Disfunction And Shivers V. United States: Consequences Of Assuming The Intent Of Congress, Emily B. Garza

Texas A&M Law Review

The discretionary function exception is a powerful departure from the Federal Tort Claims Act’s general waiver of sovereign immunity. This exception applies where government employees commit a tort while acting within the discretion of their position. While there has been a lengthy and varying jurisprudential history surrounding the application of the discretionary function exception, neither the Supreme Court nor Congress has addressed whether violations of constitutional rights fall within the scope of a discretionary act.

This lack of clarity proved harmful for individuals like Mackie Shivers in Shivers v. United States because the discretionary function exception swallowed his claim for …

Extinction Or Bust: Improving Species Recovery Under The Endangered Species Act By Amending The Funding Allocation And Recovery Planning Processes, Max Hayashi

Texas A&M Law Review

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (“ESA”) is among the most powerful environmental statutes passed in U.S. history and serves as a blueprint for government-sanctioned conservation efforts globally. At its core, the ESA seeks to protect listed plant and animal species by prohibiting actions that harm their chances of survival. While the ESA has generally succeeded in pursuing this goal as implemented, it has also led to a host of problems that undermine its effectiveness and generated widespread discontent among conflicting, disparate stakeholders, including environmentalists, industry groups, government agencies, and private landowners. Criticisms of the ESA generally focus on several …

The Matryoshka Model: Understanding The Relationship Between Delegation Provisions And The Broader Arbitration Agreements That Contain Them, Michael P. Bitgood

Texas A&M Law Review

This Note analyzes a 2021 decision in which a Ninth Circuit panel diverged from its sister circuits on whether an arbitrator may decide the enforceability of an arbitration agreement that excludes the application of federal law in the arbitration proceedings. In Brice v. Plain Green, LLC (Brice I), the Ninth Circuit panel considered several arbitration agreements that contained delegation provisions. A delegation provision is an additional agreement to arbitrate the validity, enforceability, or scope (collectively, “arbitrability issues”) of a broader arbitration agreement.

Analyzing the enforceability of the delegation provisions apart from that of the arbitration agreements, the panel …

My Body, My Choice: Should Physician-Assisted Suicide Be Legalized In The United States For Individuals With Chronic Mental Illness?, Angelika Anderson

Texas A&M Law Review

Many individuals with mental illness wish to die because the symptoms of their illness are unbearable. They shoot, suffocate, and poison themselves to make their pain go away. Because this is a statistical reality, a more certain and less violent means of death should be legalized. This Comment advocates for the legalization of physician-assisted suicide (“PAS”). As of 2022, nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized PAS for terminal illness, but this Comment argues that all fifty states should legalize PAS and not only for terminal illness, but for chronic mental illness as well. To do so, this …

Redressing Sustainable Fashion Practices: Upcycling As A Defense To Trademark Infringement, Victoria Lepesant

Texas A&M Law Review

Upcycling is a fashion trend that has recently gained popularity because it is a more sustainable option for those seeking to purchase new pieces for their wardrobes. Upcycling involves deconstructing pre-owned pieces of clothing, jewelry, and accessories and using the deconstructed materials to create “new” fashion items. While this practice is popular among those looking to make environmentally conscious shopping choices, it is incompatible with our current trademark statutes and common law doctrines. Under the Lanham Act, it is considered trademark infringement to use another’s trademark when it is likely to cause confusion among consumers. In most instances, the use …

An Imperfect Solution: The Due Process Case For Providing Court-Appointed Interpreters For Pro Se Plaintiffs, Abdullah Z. Khalil

Texas A&M Law Review

A federal law, the Court Interpreters Act, provides litigants with complimentary access to a qualified or professionally certified interpreter in actions instituted by the United States. The majority of pro se civil litigation in federal courts is initiated by the United States, and thus, those pro se litigants who speak little-to-no English need not pay for access to an exceptional interpreter. Indeed, federal courts offer interpreters proficient in a multitude of languages, and the courts work hard to ensure adequate interpretation in proceedings brought by the United States.

However, those limited-English-proficient pro se plaintiffs initiating their own lawsuits face a …

Should Prosecutors Be Expected To Rectify Wrongful Convictions?, Bruce A. Green

Texas A&M Law Review

In 2008, the American Bar Association amended the Model Rules of Professional Conduct to address prosecutors’ post-conviction conduct. Model Rules 3.8(g) and (h) establish the remedial steps a prosecutor must take after achieving a criminal conviction when confronted with significant new evidence of an injustice. They require prosecutors to disclose the new exculpatory evidence and to take reasonable steps to initiate an investigation, and if clear and convincing evidence then establishes the convicted defendant’s innocence, the prosecutors’ office must take reasonable steps to rectify the injustice. Since then, 24 state judiciaries have adopted versions of one or both rules. Although …

“In These Times Of Compassion When Conformity’S In Fashion”: How Therapeutic Jurisprudence Can Root Out Bias, Limit Polarization, And Support Vulnerable Persons In The Legal Process, Michael L. Perlin

Texas A&M Law Review

This Article considers the extent to which caselaw has—either explicitly or implicitly—incorporated the precepts of therapeutic jurisprudence (“TJ”), a school of legal thought that focuses on the law’s influence on emotional life and psychological well-being, and that asks us to assess the actual impact of the law on people’s lives. Two of the core tenets of TJ in practice are commitments to dignity and to compassion. I conclude ultimately that with these principles as touchstones, TJ can be an effective tool—perhaps the most effective tool—in rooting out bias, limiting polarization, and supporting vulnerable persons in the legal process. But this …

The Road To Hell Is Paved With Vague Intentions: Prosecutorial Development Of 18 U.S.C. § 666 And Its Effect On Local Officials, Theodore Richardson

Texas A&M Law Review

Over the past century, federal prosecution has expanded to cover behavior without a clear nexus to federal interests. At the same time, the powers of local governments have expanded to areas historically reserved for states. These two trajectories have created a collision course, pitting federal prosecutors against local officials in unexpected ways. Vaguely drafted laws have enabled federal prosecutors to expand their discretionary authority and reach conduct that sits well outside of traditional ideas of criminality.

Corruption is a serious issue that needs to be addressed correctly. But how corruption is addressed and who should address it are two important …