Law Commons^™

Would You Make It To The Future? Teaching Race In An Assisted Reproductive Technologies And The Law Classroom, Sonia Gipson Rankin

Faculty Scholarship

Would you make it to the future? For the last five years, I have started my Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) lecture in Family Law with this question. Students take the query seriously. They ponder their lived experiences such as home training, medical history, education, financial well-being, personality traits, work ethic, and social graces when determining if they would be the “model DNA” someone might select in a future society. The good-natured jokes about being nearsighted, having a pitiful jump shot, and wearing orthodontic headgear turn reflective when someone raises the question: would someone in the future select my race? In …

Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics (Stem) Project-Based Learning (Pbl) Education: A New Mexico Case Study For Equity And Inclusion, Kimberly A. Scheerer

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

This research addresses how student participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) project-based learning (PBL) education activities encourages underrepresented minority student achievement in STEM career field trajectories. Seven New Mexico high school counselors and 12 STEM organization personnel were interviewed during this study. Their responses represent the nuanced professional voices where New Mexico public education intersects with STEM student interest and cultural influence.

For students, STEM PBL can foster deep integration across educational disciplines and enhance STEM career trajectory interest and readiness. STEM education converged with PBL methodologies has the ability to leverage community support while broadening student networks. …

Appellate Court Forum, Verónica Gonzales-Zamora

Faculty Scholarship

State Bar of New Mexico, Annual Meeting 2022

A plenary presentation at the annual meeting, the forum informed the bar about the state of the appellate practice in New Mexico and provided an opportunity to exchange ideas for improvement.

More Than #Freebritney: Remedying Constitutional Violations In Guardianship For People With Disabilities, Hannah Shotwell

New Mexico Law Review

Adult guardianship is used as a method to restrict the decisionmaking rights of some individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities who have been deemed “incompetent.” However, the use of guardianship to remove someone’s decisionmaking rights violates the equal protection rights granted by the New Mexico Constitution. Discrimination against people with developmental disabilities must be substantially related to an important governmental interest, and the current state of guardianship fails to meet that bar. Further, guardianship violates the state constitutional guarantee of due process because it infringes on the fundamental right to the least restrictive means of care. New Mexico must adopt …

What’S (Race In) The Law Got To Do With It: Incorporating Race In Legal Curriculum, Sonia Gipson Rankin

Faculty Scholarship

Gen Z is defined as including persons born after 1996 and, in 2018, the first Gen Z would have been twenty-two years old, the historically traditional age that many complete undergraduate studies and enter law school. With Gen Z entering law schools, the legal academy has been wholeheartedly preparing for the arrival of the first truly digital native generation in a myriad of ways. However, law training has been slow to progress in addressing the unspoken complexities of context and unconscious bias in the classroom with this population. Today’s Gen Z students were predominately raised in de facto segregated schools …

The Political Urgency Of Black Manhood: Frederick Douglass On Constitutional Theory, John M. Kang

Faculty Scholarship

How did Frederick Douglass—one who was born a slave, one who had been denied all formal education, one who had been sundered from his family, one who had been starved, tortured, and, on occasion, nearly killed—manage to muster the courage to do something as bold as challenge the United States Supreme Court? This Article suggests that Douglass, in order to assert his right as an American citizen, first had to assert his right as a man in an explicitly gendered sense. That is, Douglass had to muster a powerful sense of manliness that could elevate him psychologically to assert his …

Front Matter, New Mexico Law Review

New Mexico Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dedications To Dean Frederick M. Hart, New Mexico Law Review

New Mexico Law Review

No abstract provided.

Using Insurance To Regulate Food Safety: Field Notes From The Food Produce Sector, Timothy D. Lytton

New Mexico Law Review

Foodborne illness is a public health problem of pandemic proportions. In the United States alone, contaminated food sickens an estimated 48 million consumers annually, causing 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths. Nowhere is this crisis more acute than in the fresh produce sector, where microbial contamination in growing fields and packing houses has been responsible for many of the nation’s largest and deadliest outbreaks.

This Article examines emerging efforts by private insurance companies to regulate food safety on farms that grow fresh produce.

Previous studies of using insurance to regulate food safety rely on economic theories that yield competing conclusions. Optimists …

The Political Urgency Of Black Manhood: Frederick Douglass On Constitutional Theory, John M. Kang

New Mexico Law Review

How did Frederick Douglass—one who was born a slave, one who had been denied all formal education, one who had been sundered from his family, one who had been starved, tortured, and, on occasion, nearly killed—manage to muster the courage to do something as bold as challenge the United States Supreme Court? This Article suggests that Douglass, in order to assert his right as an American citizen, first had to assert his right as a man in an explicitly gendered sense. That is, Douglass had to muster a powerful sense of manliness that could elevate him psychologically to assert his …

Legal Benefits Of Homeownership, Nino C. Monea

New Mexico Law Review

The law prizes expensive, single-family homes above all other forms of housing. This Article details the many ways that the law benefits homeowners and distains renters, mobile-home owners, and the homeless. There are seven topics: (1) zoning laws mandate single-family homes and ban localities from requiring affordable housing, (2) the Tax Code allows homeowners to write off innumerable expenses but virtually nothing for renters, (3) lenders seeking to foreclose on a mortgage must surmount many hurdles, but landlords may act with nearly a free hand to evict, (4) federal, state, and local institutions all work to support the housing market …

A Model Of Collegial Judicial Decision-Making: The Ransom-Montgomery Years On The New Mexico Supreme Court, Michael B. Browde, Mario E. Occhialino

New Mexico Law Review

After first providing brief biographies of the justices and their personal relationship, the article examines two subject matter areas where their differing views were most fully developed and made a significant contribution to the development of the law:

• First, the restructuring of the law of negligence with an emphasis on the creation and nature of a duty of care; and
• Second, the legal principles governing the jurisdiction of the New Mexico appellate courts and the resulting tension between legislative and judicial authority over provisions governing access to the appellate courts.

The article concludes with our assessment that sound judicial development …

Oil’S Well That Ends Well—An Application For A New Mexico-Texas Transboundary Well And Its Implications, Molly Samsell

New Mexico Law Review

Oil and gas frequently cross jurisdictional lines—such as those between counties or states—creating a complex commingling of state, local, and private interests left to the states to resolve independently through statutes and regulations. Historically, the federal government’s regulation of oil and gas was limited to leasing operations on federal and Indian lands, interstate transmission related to commerce, natural gas rates, emergencies related to war, imports, oil pricing, regulation of antitrust issues, allocation of manufacturing, and federal taxation. States retain all other powers, such as policing and imposition of taxes. State administrative processes only address local issues, while multistate correlative rights …

A Deliberate Difference?: The Rights Of Incarcerated Individuals Under The New Mexico State Constitution, Carson Thornton González

New Mexico Law Review

Historically, to bring claims against government officials for unconstitutional prison conditions, individuals incarcerated in New Mexico had one vehicle for redress: Section 1983 claims based on the protections of the Federal Constitution. If an individual seeks relief via Section 1983 for prison conditions that are in violation of the Eighth Amendments protections against cruel and unusual punishment, courts apply a “deliberate indifference” standard to determine the liability of prison officials. This defendant-friendly standard requires that incarcerated plaintiffs suffer an objective harm and—crucially—that the relevant officials have a culpable state-of-mind of deliberate indifference. In 2021, the New Mexico Legislature passed the …

To Infinity And Beyond: Shifting The Space Regulatory Framework To Create Conservation-Minded Expansion, Brandon M.G. Dekema

Natural Resources Journal

The early days of American expansion were categorized by policies that emphasized resource extraction and utilization. In turn, these policies created major conflicts with overuse, ownership, and rehabilitation−, many of which continue to this day. Now, the United States has begun to shift its focus to the next untapped frontier: outer space. As resource extraction in space grows more feasible, the United States has begun to shape a regulatory framework. In doing so, the United States is copying early American resource policy, leaving open the same gaps for conflicts arising from overuse, ownership disputes, and restoration. This paper analyzes historical …

Deciphering Lessons From The Ashes: Saving The Amazon, Shannon K. Woulfe

Natural Resources Journal

For over forty years, Brazil, its subnational governments, Indigenous communities, other nations, non-governmental organizations, corporations, and individuals have worked to conserve the Amazon rainforest through a staggering number of diverse international initiatives. While some initiatives have supported Brazil in decreasing the rate of deforestation over the past fifteen years, the 2019 fires demonstrated that destruction continues. Left unchecked, this irreversible destruction promises to amplify. Fortunately, the long history of global involvement in Amazon conservation provides ample lessons for effective, place-based deforestation prevention. Thoughtful and coordinated international action can address the current lethal combination of destructive factors: Brazil’s environmentally hostile federal …

Book Review: Under A White Sky: The Nature Of The Future, J. Spenser Lotz

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

America's Public Lands: A Sketch Of Their Political History And Future Challenges, John Leshy

Natural Resources Journal

John Leshy is emeritus professor at U.C. Hastings College of the Law and former Solicitor (general counsel) of the U.S. Department of the Interior. On March 1, 2022 Yale University Press published his book Our Common Ground. It’s the first comprehensive history of America’s public lands, those managed by the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management, in more than a half-century. It recounts the political decisions that led to the U.S. government stewarding this nearly one-third of the nation’s real estate primarily for conservation, recreation and other …

Front Matter, Natural Resources Journal

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Development Of The Law Of The Sea Convention: The Role Of International Courts And Tribunals, Kalista Wilson

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Bringing Technological Transparency To Tenebrous Markets: The Case For Using Blockchain To Validate Carbon Credit Trading Markets, Gary E. Marchant, Zachary Cooper, Philip Gough-Stone

Natural Resources Journal

Carbon reductions have become a priority as companies and other entities emitting greenhouse gases seek to comply with regulatory requirements and commit to voluntary goals that are consistent with their sustainability pledges. These carbon reductions are accounted for by carbon credits, which are tradeable units of carbon reduction that can be used to comply with regulatory or voluntary carbon reduction credits. Many companies are making such carbon reduction promises, and are frequently relying on credits generated by non-traditional mitigation sources such as agriculture or forestry to achieve those reductions and credits. However, the credibility and reliance on such carbon credit …

Who Is In Charge Of The Mud?, Mike Dehoff

Natural Resources Journal

The Returning Rapids Project is a team of ordinary people who took an interest in the changes in Cataract Canyon. Our project is a bit of the beginning of a bad joke – a librarian, a pilot, a river guide, and a welder walk into a bar . . . but instead, they go on a trip and spend time talking about what a fast rate of change they are observing . . .

Civil Procedure Update 2022 (Handout And Slide Deck), Verónica C. Gonzales-Zamora, Julio C. Romero

Faculty Scholarship

This presentation aims to 1) review recent amendments to the state and federal rules of civil procedure; 2) help you understand the impact of recent federal and state published opinions interpreting and applying the rules of civil procedure; and 3) assess your understanding of the updates.

Sprinting A Marathon: Next Steps For Gender Equity In Criminal Law Employment, Maryam Ahranjani

Faculty Scholarship

In an era when women’s hard-fought and hard-earned participation in the workforce is in peril, the ABA Criminal Justice Section’s Women in Criminal Justice Task Force (TF) continues its groundbreaking work of documenting challenges in hiring, retention, and promotion of women criminal lawyers. Sprinting a Marathon follows up on the initial findings of the TF as published in the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law and the ABA Criminal Justice magazine and on the ABA Criminal Justice Section website. This Article describes the results of a survey of diverse criminal lawyers and judges conducted at the end of 2020, as well …

Creating Lightbulb Moments: Developing Higher-Order Thinking In Family Law Classrooms Through Court Observations, Sonia Gipson Rankin

Faculty Scholarship

This article fills a critical gap in the family law literature by arguing that teaching doctrinal family law in conjunction with the application of established learning theory and pedagogy yields a deeper engagement with the subject matter and leads to more practice-ready lawyers. ABA Standards 301, 303, and 304 do not clearly articulate the distinction between experiential education and experiential learning; doctrinal law classrooms are often bereft of experiential learning activities. By incorporating active learning and inclusive pedagogy in the doctrinal classroom and following recommendations from the MacCrate Report and Family Law Education Reform Project, students will be better prepared …

Stated Culpability Requirements, Scott England

Faculty Scholarship

This Article comprehensively reviews the law of stated culpability requirements in Model Penal Code (MPC) jurisdictions. Part I provides an overview of section 2.02(4), explaining how the provision works and its role in the MPC’s culpability scheme. Part II then identifies section 2.02(4)’s main weaknesses, drawing on both the provision itself and the Code’s commentary. Next, Part III reviews the law in the twenty-five states with culpability provisions influenced by the MPC, identifying specific problems that section 2.02(4) has created in the case law. Finally, Part IV recommends new stated-culpability rules that improve section 2.02(4) and more rigorously enforce the …

Against Political Speech, John M. Kang

Faculty Scholarship

The Supreme Court has dedicated itself to the proposition that political speech, more than any other category of speech, is deserving of the highest protection. A succession of cases amply supports this proposition. In Virginia v. Black, the Court announced that "lawful political speech [is] at the core of what the First Amendment is designed to protect." The Court similarly declared in Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy that the First Amendment "has its fullest and most urgent application" to political speech. In McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission, the Court held that "handing out leaflets in the advocacy of …

Moving Law Schools Forward By Design: Designing Law School Curricula To Transfer Learning From Classroom Theory To Clinical Practice And Beyond, April Land, Aliza Organick

Faculty Scholarship

Calls for reform of legal education are long-standing and have been renewed with vigor and an increasing demand for “practice-ready” lawyers. As part of these reforms, changes to the American Bar Association Standards have been made that now require law schools to provide experiential learning opportunities, to define specific objectives, and to show that students are making progress toward those objectives. A rapidly developing area of study regarding professional identity formation stresses the importance of supporting and guiding students through experiential learning throughout the course of law school. Additionally, as part of its accreditation process, the ABA will now evaluate …

If You Draw It, Students Learn It: An Approach To Teaching Contracts And Other Doctrinal Courses, Paul Figueroa

Faculty Scholarship

Spring 2019 was my first semester as a tenure-stream law professor. That semester I taught Legal Remedies and Contracts II—two subjects that overlap in their coverage of contract damages. I felt very comfortable teaching contracts, given my nearly twenty years of experience on contractual matters in both the private and public sectors. My first few classes went well, which validated my initial confidence. However, my optimism about the semester evaporated when I attempted to teach the parol evidence rule (“PER”).1 It was a Monday, and before starting my Contracts II class I asked the students, “How was the weekend?” followed …

Judicial Philosophy 2022: Ethics & Professionalism In Appellate Decision-Making, Verónica Gonzales-Zamora

Faculty Scholarship

Handout

Virtual Continuing Legal Education Program, Judicial Education Center, University of New Mexico School of Law

Judicial philosophy often plays a role in judicial appointments and elections. Members of the public ask candidates about their approach to the decision-making and law-making functions of the courts. The panel will delve into the ethical implications and challenges of serving on a court whose primary functions are error correction, statutory and regulatory interpretation, determinations of public policy, and development of common law. In discussing their personal philosophies and the challenges of deciding cases in panels, the panelists will also emphasize the impact of …