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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Law
Scotus Short Title Turmoil: Time For A Congressional Bill Naming Authority, Brian Christopher Jones
Scotus Short Title Turmoil: Time For A Congressional Bill Naming Authority, Brian Christopher Jones
Brian Christopher Jones
This past summer saw the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in United States v. Windsor, and while the case has generated copious amounts of commentary and scholarship, relatively little attention has been paid to the case’s discussion of bill short titles. Central to the case’s analysis was a dispute over the role of short titles in inferring legislative purpose, and given this dispute, this Remark will argue that it’s time for a Congressional bill naming authority to ensure sensible, descriptive bill names.
Don’T Be Silly: Lawmakers “Rarely” Read Legislation And Oftentimes Don’T Understand It . . . But That’S Okay, Brian Christopher Jones
Don’T Be Silly: Lawmakers “Rarely” Read Legislation And Oftentimes Don’T Understand It . . . But That’S Okay, Brian Christopher Jones
Brian Christopher Jones
During the debate over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), the reading and understanding of legislation became one of the most controversial issues mentioned in Congress and throughout the media. This led many to state that lawmakers should “read the bill,” and led one academic to propose a read-the-bill rule for Congress, where legislators would not vote or vote “no” if they had not read the full text of the legislation. My essay argues that in contemporary legislatures such proposals are unfeasible, and would ultimately produce lower quality legislation. In doing so, the piece uses interviews with legislative …
Personalized Bills As Commemorations: A Problem For House Rules?, Brian Christopher Jones
Personalized Bills As Commemorations: A Problem For House Rules?, Brian Christopher Jones
Brian Christopher Jones
The proliferation of personalized bills in Congress has occurred despite a prohibition on commemorations in the House of Representatives. This Essay provides a close examination of the wording behind the ban, especially the definition of “commemoration.” It uses examples from the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 and other statutes to demonstrate how many contemporary personalized bills fall underneath the prohibition, and therefore should not be introduced or considered in the House.
One Redeeming Quality About The 112th Congress: Refocusing On Descriptive Rather Than Evocative Short Titles, Brian Christopher Jones
One Redeeming Quality About The 112th Congress: Refocusing On Descriptive Rather Than Evocative Short Titles, Brian Christopher Jones
Brian Christopher Jones
For all intents and purposes the 112th Congress has been deemed a massive failure by most; fewer laws enacted and contemptuous debates characterized the session’s most lambasted qualities. However, one redeemable aspect was present: a focus back on descriptive and technical words for short titles, rather than evocative or tendentious terms. When compared to the 111th Congress, the use of evocative words slowed while the use of technical terms increased. This is the first time this has happened since the 101st-102nd Congress (1989-1993). Additionally, it is the largest separation between technical and evocative words since the 103rd Congress (1993-1995). Yet …
Westminster's Impending Short Title Quandary: And How To Fix It, Brian Christopher Jones
Westminster's Impending Short Title Quandary: And How To Fix It, Brian Christopher Jones
Brian Christopher Jones
Discusses the likelihood that, in the absence of official guidelines on the choice of short title for new Bills submitted to the Westminster Parliament, increasingly the US practice of giving Bills "sloganising" or personalised short titles will be emulated. Reports on the views of parliamentarians about the use of evocative language in Bill titles. Outlines the formal and informal rules and practices followed by Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in the naming of Bills, and suggests five guidance points for the selection of a short title.
Processes, Standards And Politics: Drafting Short Titles In The Westminster Parliament, Scottish Parliament, And U.S. Congress, Brian Christopher Jones
Processes, Standards And Politics: Drafting Short Titles In The Westminster Parliament, Scottish Parliament, And U.S. Congress, Brian Christopher Jones
Brian Christopher Jones
Investigating the similarities and differences between the US Congress, Westminster Parliament and Scottish Parliament in regard to short titles of Bills and Acts, this article finds there to be a significant divide between Congress and the UK institutions in regard to both the content included in titles and the methods by which they are drafted. Though the three institutions provide recognized points of comparison, it demonstrates that Congress is severely out-of-step with their transatlantic neighbors. The roles of drafters, legislators, House Authorities, drafting guidelines and some constitutional/legislative processes issues that vary between the lawmaking bodies are examined in order to …
A Triumph Of Ill Conceived Language: The Linguistic Origins Of Guantamo’S “Rough Justice”, Brian Christopher Jones
A Triumph Of Ill Conceived Language: The Linguistic Origins Of Guantamo’S “Rough Justice”, Brian Christopher Jones
Brian Christopher Jones
Throughout the years, the Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay has witnessed an abundance of intriguing linguistic words and phrases. For example, “Freedom Vanilla” replaced French Vanilla ice cream in the mess hall, and the area where journalists and others were often sequestered during their visits to the base was re-named “Camp Justice.” The list goes on. However, the language that has had the most significant impact throughout the years has been the words and phrases used in the administration of justice regarding the detainees being held on terrorism charges.Wall St. Journal Supreme Court reporter Jess Bravin’s book, The Terror Courts: …
Book Review - 'The Elements Of Legislation' By Neil Duxbury, Brian Christopher Jones
Book Review - 'The Elements Of Legislation' By Neil Duxbury, Brian Christopher Jones
Brian Christopher Jones
No abstract provided.
Plain Language Prospects In American Public Law: Insiders Weigh In, Brian Christopher Jones
Plain Language Prospects In American Public Law: Insiders Weigh In, Brian Christopher Jones
Brian Christopher Jones
While many international lawmaking jurisdictions have incorporated plain language principles for statutory drafting, the United States remains reluctant, and subsequently has no official policy on employing such principles for the drafting of federal legislation. Though Executive Orders and congressional statutes regarding plain writing have recently been enacted, these have been aimed at Executive Agency regulations and communications, not statutes. This article explores the current prospects of plain language implementation for U.S. statutory law, relying primarily on interviews from Congressional insiders, including lawmakers, staffers and legal/political journalists. Responses demonstrated that plain language standards for statutory law in the U.S. do not …
The Congressional Short Title (R)Evolution: Changing The Face Of America's Public Laws, Brian Christopher Jones
The Congressional Short Title (R)Evolution: Changing The Face Of America's Public Laws, Brian Christopher Jones
Brian Christopher Jones
In order to show how Congressional short titles have evolved throughout the years, a targeted quantitative study was performed on Acts from the 93rd – 111th Congress (1973 – 2011). The results demonstrate that such titles did not merely evolve, but in fact there was a short title revolution in Congress. The major findings from the article indicate that: short title use has become much more popular; Acts on name changing in the US Congress have increased dramatically; average short title word length has increased; the number and prevalence of “personalized” bill titles has increased; the number of short titles …
Manipulating Public Law Favorability: Is It Really This Easy?, Brian Christopher Jones
Manipulating Public Law Favorability: Is It Really This Easy?, Brian Christopher Jones
Brian Christopher Jones
Can favorability for public laws be manipulated merely by changing the short title of the bill or act? Based on an exploratory survey of undergraduate students from the University of Stirling, the results suggest that naming may indeed play a small but significant part of the assessment. Employing five different types of short titles, it was found that “evocative” titles attracted higher favorability ratings than the “descriptive/ technical” titles. Additionally, the survey found that most participants were satisfied with a short vignette of information on the bill or law rather than further explanation, and a notable number of participants supported …
Book Review: 'Living Legislation' By Jeffery A. Jenkins & Eric M. Patashnik (Eds), Brian Christopher Jones
Book Review: 'Living Legislation' By Jeffery A. Jenkins & Eric M. Patashnik (Eds), Brian Christopher Jones
Brian Christopher Jones
No abstract provided.