Law Commons^™

Waiver, Certification, And Transfer Of Juveniles To Adult Court: Limiting Juveniles Transfers In Texas., Emily Ray

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

The adult criminal justice system is worse for juveniles who commit crimes. Underlying principles upon which the juvenile justice system was founded remain viable and worthy goals, and Texas law should reflect that understanding. Part II traces the development of juvenile justice in this country, including the evolution of the first American juvenile courts, and summarizes the due process rights afforded to juveniles by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Part III, I argue juvenile transfers to adult court should be limited in Texas with a special emphasis on young peoples' development, decision-making and reasoning abilities, and insights scientific research provides …

Judging Myopia In Hindsight: Bivens Actions, National Security Decisions, And The Rule Of Law, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

Liability in national security matters hinges on curbing both official myopia and hindsight bias. The Framers knew that officials could be short-sighted, prioritizing expedience over abiding values. Judicial review emerged as an antidote to myopia of this kind. However, the Framers recognized that ubiquitous second-guessing of government decisions would also breed instability. Balancing these conflicting impulses has produced judicial oscillation between intervention and deference. Recent decisions on Bivens claims in the war on terror have defined extremes of deference or intervention. Cases like Ashcroft v. Iqbal and Arar v. Ashcroft display a categorical deference that rewards officials' myopia. On the …

Introduction: Dukes V. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Scholarly Works

This short introduction to Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. aims to explain the case and to set the table for what promises to be thought-provoking roundtable discussion hosted by Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc. Accordingly, what follows is a concise overview of the legal background and current debate over the two procedural issues that the Ninth Circuit explored in detail – how to evaluate Rule 23(a)(2)’s commonality when common questions heavily implicate the case’s merits, and when a Rule 23(b)(2) class can include relief apart from injunctive or declaratory relief without endangering due process.

Roche V. Worldwide Media, Inc.: Evaluating Where Minimum Contacts Meets Cyberspace, Ryan Thomas

Golden Gate University Law Review

In Roche v. Worldwide Media, Inc., the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia discussed the issue of personal jurisdiction in the context of cyberspace. The court determined that Worldwide Media's web site was passive and that asserting personal jurisdiction based solely on the maintenance of a web site, without more, would violate the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Roche decision reaffirmed the Eastern District of Virginia's position on personal jurisdiction in the context of cyberspace. Specifically, this decision applies the logic of the "sliding scale" test borrowed from the United States District Court …

Criminal Procedure - United States V. Nordby, Adriano Hrvatin

Golden Gate University Law Review

The Nordby court held that a finding of drug quantity under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b) by the district court at sentencing pursuant to a preponderance of the evidence violated the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment and the notice and jury-trial guarantees of the Sixth Amendment when drug quantity was used to increase the prescribed statutory maximum penalty. In requiring that drug quantity be submitted to the jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt, the Ninth Circuit overruled nearly fifteen years of its own precedent.

Expanding The Jurisdictional Reach For Intentional Torts: Implications For Cyber Contacts, Christopher Allen Kroblin

Golden Gate University Law Review

Originally, the foundation of jurisdictional jurisprudence in the United States rested on the premise that no state could exercise jurisdiction over a person outside its territorial borders. With the advent of modern industrial society, solely territorial based notions of sovereignty and jurisdiction became strained and unworkable. The concept that a state has control over everything within its borders and nothing beyond began to erode. As a result, during the twentieth century, the courts began to shift their focus from a territorial concept of jurisdiction to a notice-based concept. State courts exercised jurisdictional powers beyond their geographical territory so long as …

The Fiduciary Theory Of Governmental Legitimacy And The Natural Charter Of The Judiciary, Luke A. Wake

Luke A. Wake

In legal academia, there are various claims as to the proper role of the courts and the standard of review to be employed in evaluating claims of right. These competing judicial philosophies have been the subject of great debate in recent years. Yet underlying these debates is the question of rights and whether men are entitled, in justice, to assurances of personal autonomy, or whether the concept of rights is a mere legal fiction.

In a recent article in the Journal of Law and Philosophy, Evan Fox-Decent argues that individuals are entitled, at a minimum, to certain guarantees of bodily …

Perpetuating Ageism Via Adoption Standards And Practices, Sara C. Mills

Sara C Mills

More than a quarter of Americans consider adoption at some point in their lives. During the adoption process, courts strive to promote and foster the children’s best interests, but this often involves discriminatory decisions that deprive older adoptive parents of the same opportunities as younger adoptive parents. Discrimination in adoption proceedings is nothing new, and legislators, courts, and scholars have explored how it impacts minorities, same-sex couples, single parents, and divorcees. However, age discrimination in adoption also exists, and courts condone it by approving placements that are dictated by private agencies’ discriminatory ideologies. This article thus provides the first systematic …

State V Fowler: North Carolina Dwi Procedure Considered, Jeffrey Martin

Jeffrey Martin

This case has its origin in attempts by the government of North Carolina to reduce drunk driving fatalities and improve road safety.

Robinson At Large In The Fifty States: A Continuation Of The State Bills Of Rights Debate In The Search And Seizure Context, Perry A. Schaffer, Richard D. Harmon, Terry J. Helbush

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Filling The Due Process Donut Hole: Abuse And Neglect Cases Between Disposition And Permanency, Josh Gupta-Kagan

Josh Gupta-Kagan

A state child protection agency removes a child from his mother and convinces a family court judge to rule that the child’s mother neglected him and to place the child in foster care. The judge orders the agency to work with the mother to remedy the conditions that led her to neglect him with the plan of reunifying the child with her. One year later the family returns to family court. The social worker files a report asserting that the mother has not cooperated with the agency’s efforts to help her and remains incapable of taking care of the child. …

Security Council Targeted Sanctions, Due Process And The 1267 Ombudsperson, Grant L. Willis

Grant L Willis

Since its inception the Security Council’s 1267 sanctions regime has come under fire from UN member states, listed individuals and entities, domestic and international courts and tribunals, human rights NGO’s and even other organs of the UN, that all claim the 1267 sanctions regime does not secure targeted individuals’ procedural due process rights, particularly the right to an effective remedy. For instance, in June 2009 a Canadian Federal Court Judge noted that the 1267 sanctions regime creates a situation for the listed individual that is “not unlike that of Josef K. in Kafka’s The Trial, who awakens one morning, and …

Civil, Criminal, Or Mary Jane: Stigma, Legislative Labels, And The Civil Case At The Heart Of Criminal Procedure, W. Ball

W. David Ball

In criminal cases, any fact which increases the maximum punishment must be found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. This rule, which comes from Apprendi v. New Jersey, looks to what facts do, not what they are called; in Justice Scalia’s memorable turn of phrase, it applies whether the legislature has labeled operant facts “elements, enhancements, or Mary Jane.” Civil statutes, however, can deprive an individual of her liberty on identical facts without needing to meet the beyond a reasonable doubt standard of proof. If Apprendi is, indeed, functional, why is it limited to formally criminal cases? Why does …

Cy Pres Relief And The Pathologies Of The Modern Class Action: A Normative And Empirical Analysis, Samantha Zyontz, Martin H. Redish, Peter Julian

Faculty Scholarship

Since the mid 1970s, federal courts have taken the doctrine of cy pres relief from the venerable law of trusts and adapted it for use in the modern class action proceeding. In its original context, cy pres was utilized as a means of judicially designating a charitable recipient when, for whatever reason, it was no longer possible to fulfill the original goal of the maker of the trust. The purpose of cy pres was to provide “the next best relief” by finding a recipient who would resemble the original donor’s recipient as much as possible. In the context of class …

International Law And United States Policy Issues Arising From The United States' Conflict With Al Qaeda, Gregory S. Mcneal

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is It Admissible?: Tips For Criminal Defense Attorneys On Assessing The Admissibility Of A Criminal Defendant's Statements, Part Two, John H. Blume, Emily C. Paavola

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Part One of this article addressed the Fifth Amendment issues to be considered when analyzing the admissibility of a criminal defendant's out-of-court statements. Part Two discusses the Sixth Amendment, the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause and impeachment issues.

Vol. 1 No. 2, Spring 2010; Iraq Veterans' War With The U.S. Department Of Veterans Affairs: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Claims Under A Procedural Due Process Analysis, Purvi Shah

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

This Comment explores the Department of Veterans Affairs and its current disability compensation and medical care systems for soldiers who have returned from the War on Terror with mental health disabilities, such as post traumatic stress disorder. More specifically, this Comment analyzes two assertions made by veterans groups — Veterans United for Truth and Veterans for Common Sense — against the VA: (1) there is a lack of neutral decision-makers for veterans who would like to appeal their compensation amount , and (2) there is a lack of an additional procedure allowing a veteran with a mental health emergency to …

Changing The Rules Of The Game: Deriving New Rules And Practices From Caperton V. A.T. Massey Coal Co., Aman L. Mcleod

Aman L McLeod

In 2009, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Co., in which it ruled that judges must recuse themselves in cases involving those who have provided a disproportionate amount of financial support to their campaigns. This decision has forced states to reconsider their campaign finance laws and their judicial recusal rules. This article proposes practical and modest reforms that states could adopt that would effectively respond to the Caperton decision.

Lethal Discrimination 2: Repairing The Remedies For Racial Discrimination In Capital Sentencing, J. Thomas Sullivan

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Equal Access And The Right To Marry, Nelson Tebbe, Deborah A. Widiss

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

How should courts think about the right to marry? This is a question of principle, of course, but it has also become a matter of litigation strategy for advocates challenging different-sex marriage requirements across the country. We contend that courts and commentators have largely overlooked the strongest argument in support of a constitutional right to marry. In our view, the right to marry is best conceptualized as a matter of equal access to government support and recognition and the doctrinal vehicle that most closely matches the structure of the right can be found in the fundamental interest branch of equal …

Albany's Dysfunction Denies Due Process, Eric Lane, Laura Seago

Pace Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Children As Property, Kevin Noble Maillard

Kevin Noble Maillard

Despite the collective view in law and social practice that it is intrinsically taboo to consider human beings as chattel, the law persists in treating children as property. Applying principles of property, this Article examines paternity disputes to explain and critique the law’s view of children as property of their parents. As evidenced in these conflicts, I demonstrate that legal paternity exposes a rhetoric of ownership, possession, and exchange. The law presumes that a child born to a married woman is fathered by her husband, even when irrefutable proof exists that another man fathered the child. Attempts by the non-marital …

Judicial Recusal & Expanding Notions Of Due Process, Andrey Spektor, Michael A. Zuckerman

Cornell Law School J.D. Student Research Papers

The merits of judicial elections have been litigated in journals around the country. In light of the recent Supreme Court decisions in White and Caperton, this debate will only intensify. Rather than revisit the arguments for and against electing judges, this Article argues that applying the Mathews v. Eldridge test in cases where a litigant’s due process is threatened by an elected judge—a possibility that the Court initially dismissed in White against Justice Ginsburg’s protests, and then took head on in Caperton—will balance First Amendment rights that judicial elections breed against the rights of the litigants that the Constitution protects. …

The Future Of Discriminatory Local Ordinances Aimed At Regulating Illegal Immigration, John Ryan Syllaios

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Bringing It All Back Home: Establishing A Coherent Constitutional Framework For The Re-Regulation Of Homeschooling, Timothy B. Waddell

Vanderbilt Law Review

Bobby and Esther Riddle, the Supreme Court of West Virginia conceded, "did an excellent job" teaching their children, Jill and Tim- possibly better than the public schools could do."' Like many fundamentalist parents, the Riddles believed the Bible required them personally to teach their children, protect them from heresy and worldly influence, and resist government intrusions that could imperil their eternal salvation. Moreover, they believed they had constitutional rights to do so. Jill and Tim Riddle studied the same subjects as public schoolchildren, but their studies were interwoven with religious lessons based upon their parents' idiosyncratic view of Christian doctrine. …

Specialized Courts For Terrorism Trials, Sudha Setty

Sudha Setty

On the campaign trail in 2008, presidential candidate and then-Senator Barack Obama promised to restore America’s place in the world by breaking with many of the national security policies put into effect by President George W. Bush. In January 2009, President Obama made numerous changes to United States foreign policy, including signing an executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and announcing that the United States would not engage in interrogation techniques that constitute torture. In some aspects of national security law and policy, however, Obama has followed the example of President Bush—for example, in his announcement …

Gender Autonomy, Transgender Identity And Substantive Due Process: Finding A Rational Basis For Lawrence V. Texas, Jillian T. Weiss

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

John Paul Stevens And Equally Impartial Government, Diane Marie Amann

Scholarly Works

This article is the second publication arising out of the author's ongoing research respecting Justice John Paul Stevens. It is one of several published by former law clerks and other legal experts in the UC Davis Law Review symposium edition, Volume 43, No. 3, February 2010, "The Honorable John Paul Stevens."

The article posits that Justice Stevens's embrace of race-conscious measures to ensure continued diversity stands in tension with his early rejections of affirmative action programs. The contrast suggests a linear movement toward a progressive interpretation of the Constitution’s equality guarantee; however, examination of Stevens's writings in biographical context reveal …

Debacle: How The Supreme Court Has Mangled American Sentencing Law And How It Might Yet Be Mended, Frank O. Bowman Iii

Faculty Publications

This Article argues that the line of Supreme Court Sixth Amendment jury right cases that began with McMillan v. Pennsylvania in 1986, crescendoed in Blakely v. Washington and United States v. Booker in 2004-2005, and continued in 2009 in cases such as Oregon v. Ice, has been a colossal judicial failure. First, the Court has failed to provide a logically coherent, constitutionally based answer to the fundamental question of what limits the Constitution places on the roles played by the institutional actors in the criminal justice system. It failed to recognize that defining, adjudicating and punishing crimes implicates both the …

Justice Carter’S Role In The Caryl Chessman Cases: Due Process Matters, Susan Rutberg

Publications

No abstract provided.