Law Commons^™

Overwriting And Under-Deciding: Addressing The Roberts Court's Shrinking Docket, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

No abstract provided.

Something To [Lex Loci] Celebrationis: Federal Marriage Benefits Following United States V. Windsor, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

The new question relating to same sex marriage is not "who decides," but who is married. The federal government and many states have historically relied on the place-of-celebration rule, or lex loci celebrationis, to determine who is married. This ensures that married couples do not lose their marital status simply because they travel across state borders or relocate to a new home. Under lex loci celebrationis, if the marriage is legally valid where it was celebrated, then the marriage is legally valid everywhere else.

This article address the most pressing unresolved question of United States v. Windsor: Will the federal …

Getting It Right: Title Ix's Role In Adjudicating Sexual Assault Claims, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

Article Extract:

I want to start with a very important point: sexual assault is a crime. We have a serious issue in the United States with sexual assault and sexual harassment. We are seeing this play out right now, and I think the “Me Too” campaign has brought important attention to this issue. An issue that impacts not only our college residence halls, but, as we have seen, the halls of Congress. Serious people are not debating whether sexual assault and sexual harassment pose a societal problem. Rather, serious people are debating how to adequately address these issues without compromising …

Getting It Right: Title Ix's Role In Adjudicating Sexual Assault Claims, Mary Margaret "Meg" Penrose

Meg Penrose

Sexual assault is a crime. We have a serious issue in the United States with sexual assault and sexual harassment. We are seeing this play out right now, and I think the “Me Too” campaign has brought important attention to this issue. An issue that impacts not only our college residence halls, but, as we have seen, the halls of Congress. Serious people are not debating whether sexual assault and sexual harassment pose a societal problem. Rather, serious people are debating how to adequately address these issues without compromising fairness to all involved.

The Way Pavers: Eleven Supreme Court-Worthy Women, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

Four women have served as Associate Justices on the United States Supreme Court. Since the Court’s inception in 1789, 162 individuals have been nominated to serve as Supreme Court Justices. Five nominees, or roughly 3 percent, have been women. To help put this gender dearth in perspective, more men named “Samuel” have served as Supreme Court Justices than women. Thirteen U.S. Presidents have nominated more people to the Supreme Court than the total number of women that have served on the Court. Finally, there are currently more Catholics serving on the Supreme Court than the number of women appointed in …

Tinkering With Success: College Athletes, Social Media And The First Amendment, Mary Margaret Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

Good law does not always make good policy. This article seeks to provide a legal assessment, not a policy directive. The policy choices made by individual institutions and athletic departments should be guided by law, but absolutely left to institutional discretion. Many articles written on college student-athletes’ social media usage attempt to urge policy directives clothed in constitutional analysis.

In this author’s opinion, these articles have lost perspective – constitutional perspective. This article seeks primarily to provide a legal and constitutional assessment so that schools and their athletic departments will have ample information to then make their own policy choices.

Something To (Lex Loci) Celebrationis?, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

This essay is the first in a series exploring the implications of the recent landmark Supreme Court case, United States v. Windsor. This discussion was inspired by Meg Penrose’s article, UNBREAKABLE VOWS: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO DIVORCE, published in Volume 58:1. The series is meant to serve as an open forum for scholars and practitioners to weigh in on one of the most significant Supreme Court decisions of the 21st century.

Lest We Fail: The Importance Of Enforcement In International Criminal Law, Mary Margaret Penrose

Meg Penrose

No abstract provided.

Sharing Stupid $H*T With Friends And Followers: The First Amendment Rights Of College Athletes To Use Social Media, Mary Margaret Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

No abstract provided.

Creating An International Prison, Mary Margaret Penrose

Meg Penrose

This Article asserts that a permanent international prison is a necessary, if not indispensable, component of any effective international criminal justice system. It begins by first addressing the historical approach to international sentencing. Next, it discusses the inadequacies of the status quo. Finally, it argues the time has come to construct a permanent international prison, rather than adhere to the ad hoc approach in dealing with international criminals and convicts.

Assisted Suicide: A Tough Pill To Swallow, Mary Margaret Penrose

Meg Penrose

The first part of this Comment will present the historical and theological views towards suicide. This background material will be helpful in understanding present-day society's response to the assisted suicide debate by tracing many of the condemnations back through common law development. The second portion of this Comment will focus on the current status of the assisted suicide debate. Although most courts have passed on the issue" and most legislatures do not have laws addressing assisted suicide, there is a great deal of activity shaping the legal future of this topic. This section emphasizes the importance of key nonlegal players …

The Sistren: Ranking The Top 10 Female Supreme Court Justices, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

Of all the “best” and “worst” Supreme Court lists published, there has never been a listing of the Top Ten female Justices. The reason for this scholarly void is simple: only four women have served on the Court. Indeed, only five women have been nominated. I am pleased to present the first, though admittedly incomplete, listing of the Top Ten female Justices.

Sharing Stupid $H*T With Friends And Followers: The First Amendment Rights Of College Athletes To Use Social Media, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

This paper takes a closer look at the First Amendment rights of college athletes to access social media while simultaneously participating in intercollegiate athletics. The question posed is quite simple: can a coach or athletic department at a public university legally restrict a student-athlete's use of social media? If so, does the First Amendment provide any restraints on the type or length of restrictions that can be imposed? Thus far, neither question has been presented to a court for resolution. However, the answers are vital, as college coaches and athletic directors seek to regulate their athletes in a constitutional manner.

Tinkering With Success: College Athletes, Social Media And The First Amendment, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

Good law does not always make good policy. This article seeks to provide a legal assessment, not a policy directive. The policy choices made by individual institutions and athletic departments should be guided by law, but absolutely left to institutional discretion. Many articles written on college student-athletes' social media usage attempt to urge policy directives clothed in constitutional analysis. In this author's opinion, these articles have lost perspective-constitutional perspective. This article seeks primarily to provide a legal and constitutional assessment so that schools and their athletic departments will have ample information to then make their own policy choices.

A Return To States' Rights Model: Amending The Constitution's Most Controversial And Misunderstood Provision, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

This Article seeks to return to the intent of the Symposium, which was to stimulate a meaningful dialogue on the modern Second Amendment. More specifically, it proposes a return to the states' rights model that predated the Supreme Court's narrow decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago by using the Article V process set forth directly in the Constitution to address modern concerns about firearms. The proposal flows from a healthy skepticism about the role of the federal government in interpreting gun regulations, as well as a desire to avoid the inevitable follow-up decisions …

Miranda, Please Report To The Principal's Office, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

The age of an alleged criminal offender undoubtedly affects his or her ability to appreciate the consequences of confessing to criminal behavior. Courts have long accepted that youth and inexperience impact an individual's ability to make a voluntary confession. Accordingly, this Article addresses whether Miranda v. Arizona--the seminal Fifth Amendment decision providing procedural rights to those enduring custodial interrogation--should apply to students interrogated by school officials during school hours. To answer this difficult question, this Article first provides a brief overview of the law of minors and confessions. Next, it considers the increasing law enforcement presence on our school …

Unbreakable Vows: Same-Sex Marriage And The Fundamental Right To Divorce, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

This Article considers whether there is a fundamental constitutional right, through the liberty component of substantive due process, to divorce. This right to divorce becomes particularly important for same-sex couples whose marital rights are incomplete, at best. Surely, if divorce were outlawed by any state, the masses would rise up against such tyranny with cries that divorce must be constitutionally protected. But place divorce in the context of same-sex marriage and the response is predictably more tepid. “Those” marriages are not legal anyway, so what harm is there in excluding them from divorce? States that refuse to recognize same-sex marriage, …

Tattoos, Tickets, And Other Tawdry Behavior: How Universities Use Federal Law To Hide Their Scandals, Mary Margaret Penrose

Meg Penrose

This Article seeks to expose the inappropriate, if not improper, inversion of FERPA by universities falsely in the name of "student privacy." As will be seen, universities do not hesitate to embrace student-athletes' FERPA waivers when the news is good: Academic All-Americans should have their grades trumpeted to the mountaintops, or at least on ESPN. Bad boys and girls, however, particularly those whose behavior initiates NCAA investigations or criminal charges, are routinely and aggressively shielded by the university. This Article will demonstrate that the use of "student privacy" and FERPA defenses by universities are not genuinely invoked for student well-being, …

Something To [Lex Loci] Celebrationis: Federal Marriage Benefits Following United States V. Windsor, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

The critical issue the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA") resolves is: who decides? Who decides whether, when, and to what extent same-sex marriages created in one American state will be recognized by other state governments, and by the federal government? That structural issue is the most important issue at stake in the controversy about interstate recognition of same-sex marriage in the United States. It is a question legal proceduralists and legal structuralists--such as conflict of laws --scholars can, should, and largely do understand and appreciate. The structural matters of respect for the constitutional allocation of government, and adherence to legitimate …

No Badges, No Bars: A Conspicuous Oversight In The Development Of An International Criminal Court, Mary Margaret Penrose

Meg Penrose

If the ICC is truly to become a world criminal court, then this body should begin to clothe itself with all the traditional components of a criminal justice system. A successful international criminal court cannot be dependent on the political will of so-called cooperating states. Crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC should be subject to prosecution by the court, which requires that there exist some body or agency capable of enforcing indictments and arresting suspected individuals. A court is but one piece of a greater body of criminal justice. In addition to the need for contemporaneous and …

The Emperor's Clothes: Evaluating Head Of State Immunity Under International Law, Mary Margaret Penrose

Meg Penrose

To date, most attempts at prosecuting heads of state have fallen short. At best, such attempts, even the modern attempts stretching from Iraq to Yugoslavia to Sierra Leone, have occurred under less than ideal circumstances, often far, far away from the actual place of alleged crime, or so distant in time to have lost some of its meaning. While academics, international lawyers and human rights advocates all praise the "Pinochet precedent" as paving the way for prosecuting deposed despots and ending the luxurious exiles of former dictators, in the end Pinochet was released from custody and returned home to Chile …

A Short And Plain Solution To The Medical Malpractice Crisis: Why Charles E. Clark Remains Prophetically Correct About Special Pleading And The Big Case, Mary Margaret Penrose, Dace A. Caldwell

Meg Penrose

Antitrust. Patent infringement. Civil rights. Employment discrimination. And now, medical malpractice. The common thread among each of these categories of cases is that judges and advocates have, at one time or another, sought to elevate the pleading requirements in federal court for these so-called "big cases." To date, every such effort has failed.6 But none of the previous attempts have garnered the wide range of support now coming from such influential sources as the majority of physicians, Congress, and the President of the United States.

Our country is in the middle of a similar predicament-a medical malpractice crisis that is …

Free Speech Versus Free Education: First Amendment Considerations In Limiting Student Athletes' Use Of Social Media, Mary Margaret Penrose

Meg Penrose

This article considers the First Amendment implications regarding limitations placed on student athletes' use of social media. Schools have a vested interest in controlling their athletes' public expressions, whether such expressions are found in tattoos, public interviews or tweets. Like it or not, a great deal of damage can occur in "140 words or less." And, displeased student-athletes have choices. Twitter or touchdowns. Facebook from your dorm or facetime on television hitting three-pointers. While universities are generally places that encourage robust speech and debate, there are defensible, and arguably lawful, reasons why schools should limit student-athletes' use of social media. …

Outspoken: Social Media And The Modern College Athlete, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution grants American citizens the right to free speech. However, in the case of college athletes, this right is not without limitation. In exchange for the privilege of participating in college level athletics, college athletes voluntarily agree to terms that restrict their abilities to speak freely, specifically in the context of social media platforms. This article details situations in which college athletes have made offensive statements via social media for which they later needed to delete, explain, and apologize. These examples support the notion that restrictions on college athletes' speech are not only …

Shedding Rights, Shredding Rights: A Critical Examination Of Students' Privacy Rights And The Special Needs Doctrine After Earls, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

On June 27, 2002, the United States Supreme Court held that all students participating in extracurricular activities in public schools may be subjected to random, suspicionless drug testing. The holding, in itself, is not terribly remarkable, as the decision in Board of Education of I.S.D. 92 of Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma v. Earls follows a developing pattern among public schools in this country. Further, the Earls case simply broadens the right of the state to randomly drug test students, without individualized suspicion, that this same court announced a mere seven years earlier in Vernonia v. Acton. What is remarkable about …

I Said No, Mary Margaret Penrose

Meg Penrose

I SAID, "NO" For those who would disallow me the freedom to love

It's Good To Be The King: Prosecuting Heads Of State And Former Heads Of State Under International Law, Mary Margaret Penrose

Meg Penrose

This Article criticizes historical practices regarding the prosecution of sitting and former heads of state. It argues that such persons should stand trial for their alleged crimes. However, as the Article illustrates, state practice and international law as they currently exist offer only limited help toward advancing this goal. Although the Pinochet precedent offers evidence that states may be shifting toward a willingness to prosecute heads of state, Professor Penrose advocates the enactment of prosecutorial rules and regulations and urges countries to take the necessary steps to create an international criminal court so that criminal defendants may be tried in …

Spandau Revisited: The Question Of Detention For International War Crimes, Mary Margaret Penrose

Meg Penrose

Drazen Erdemovic. The name may be unfamiliar to many outside the former Yugoslavia. The name will surely be unknown by most people outside the international community and those committed to the universal protection of human rights through criminal prosecution. Drazen Erdemovic is a confessed killer. Drazen Erdemovic has confessed to killing somewhere between seventy and one hundred unarmed Muslims in a mass execution as a member of the Bosnian Serb army in July 1995. In this regard, he is the first convicted defendant to stem from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) established by the United Nations …

Beyond Observable Prejudice-Moving From Recognition Of Differences To Feasible Solutions: A Critique Of Ian Ayres' Pervasive Prejudice?, Mary Margaret Penrose

Meg Penrose

As a female professor working within the academic ranks of a law school, I did not have to read Ian Ayres' work, Pervasive Prejudice? Unconventional Evidence of Race and Gender Discrimination, to know that the odds remain quite high that blacks and women will be subjected to greater instances of discrimination in the marketplace, in medical facilities, and in judicial proceedings than their white male counterparts. Although I would not suggest that such conclusion is axiomatic, it certainly is observable on an experiential level by those falling within the two categories (race and gender) discussed in Professor Ayres' book. …

Impunity- Inertia, Inaction, And Invalidity: A Literature Review, Mary Margaret Penrose

Meg Penrose

Impunity is the torturer's most relished tool. It is the dictator's greatest and most potent weapon. It is the victim's ultimate injury. And, it is the international community's most conspicuous failure. Impunity continues to be one of the most prevalent causes of human rights violations in the world. As we near the new millennium, we must find effective ways to combat this vexing predicament. Impunity knows no territorial bounds and speaks no specific language. It is not unique to any religion or race, and is not limited to any particular geographical region. Impunity remains a world wide problem. The end …