Law Commons^™

My Patient Or Law Enforcement, Who Gets First Say?, Hollis T, Redden

Arkansas Law Notes

Law enforcement is often left struggling with determining how to appropriately respond to nurses who refuse their request to collect a suspect’s blood when that patient is suspected of intoxicated driving and the officer has a valid search warrant. These scenarios trigger compliance issues including a patient’s right to privacy and consent, “particularly when a medical entity’s compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) provisions directly conflicts with law enforcement needs and goals.” Once a suspect becomes a patient, whose interest prevails? Is it healthcare providers’ interest in abiding by the rights, health, and safety …

Thanks For The Lyft: Optimizing Rideshare Safety In Arkansas, Addison A. Tucker

Arkansas Law Notes

Rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft, also known as Transportation Network Companies (“TNCs”), are underregulated and provide little protection to passengers, despite the thousands of women who have reported instances of sexual violence during their trips. This Comment argues that Arkansas law should be modified to strengthen the criminal background checks of potential rideshare drivers, require surveillance during rides, and classify the impersonation of a rideshare driver as a felony.

Legislative Update From The 94th General Assembly: Arkansas Bills Affecting Pregnant And Postpartum Mothers, Garrett Bannister

Arkansas Law Notes

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org., the State of Arkansas was swift in restricting almost all abortions in the Natural State. Arkansas’s decision was met with plaudits from its supporters and reproval by its dissenters. In this unchartered legal territory, Arkansas’s 94th General Assembly—the first legislative session in the wake of Dobbs—has passed and proposed several bills that would provide pregnant and postpartum mothers and their children with medical and financial assistance. Specifically, these bills would provide pregnant and new mothers with health screenings, help high school-aged parents …

To Meet Or Not To Meet, That Is The Question: An Analysis Of The Meeting Requirement Of The Arkansas Freedom Of Information Act, Jerry L. Canfield

Arkansas Law Notes

The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) of 1967 provides open public access to “all meetings, formal and informal, special or regular, of the governing bodies of all municipalities, counties, townships, and school districts and all boards, bureaus, commissions, or organizations of the State of Arkansas.” Through the years, FOIA’s open meetings provision has been amended as to executive sessions, to provide for recording of meetings, and to provide for meetings via electronic means in the event of a declared disaster emergency. However, the basic requirement that meetings of governing bodies be open to the public has remained unchanged since …

A Rising Tide: An Argument For Requiring Municipal Liability Insurance For Public Utility Services In Arkansas, Christopher Brown

Arkansas Law Notes

Municipalities can contribute to sanitary sewer overflows through negligent maintenance, poor design, intrusion on sewer lines, and failure to replace aging sewer systems.Throughout the United States, an aging wastewater system is currently failing and is expected to degrade further, which contributes to sewage backups into residences. Arkansas is one of two states in the United States that prevents a resident from recovering damages from an overflow due to the negligent design or maintenance of sewage utilities by a municipality via statute. This Comment argues for a “middle ground” solution, whereby Arkansas municipalities should be required to obtain liability insurance sufficient …

A New Wound For Old Scars: Why Act 1036 Of 2021 Is Unconstitutional And Why The Arkansas Retroactive-Legislation Doctrine Should Change, Bryce Jefferson

Arkansas Law Notes

In 2021, the Arkansas General Assembly overwhelmingly approved Act 1036, the Justice for Vulnerable Victims of Sexual Abuse Act. This Act amends the statute of limitations for “vulnerable victims” of sexual abuse. The Act allows a person who was either disabled, a minor, or both at the time he or she was a victim of sexual abuse to bring a civil action against an alleged abuser until the age of fifty-five (55)—replacing the former statutory age limit of twenty-one (21). The Act also revives previously time-barred claims for a period not earlier than six (6) months after and not later …

Babe In The Woods: Why The Federal Rules Of Evidence Should Adopt A New Hearsay Exception To Protect Children, Marlee Rowe

Arkansas Law Notes

Child abuse is a public health problem affecting millions of children across the United States. Many states have adopted hearsay exceptions to prevent child victims of abuse from being forced to testify in front of their abusers. However, not all states provide these protections, and the exceptions vary widely from state to state. Because many states draft their rules of evidence to accord with the Federal Rules of Evidence, Congress should enact a hearsay exception on the federal level to promote uniformity and to ensure child victims of abuse are protected from further traumatization, regardless of what state they live …

Which Police Departments Make Black Lives Matter, Which Don’T, And Why Don’T Most Social Scientists Care?, Robert Anthony Maranto, Wilfred Reilly, Patrick Wolf, Mattie Harris

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

In part via skillful use of social media, Black Lives Matter (BLM) has become among the most influential social movements of the past half century, with support across racial lines, and considerable financial backing (Fisher, 2019). Will this translate into public policy reforms which save Black lives? After all, higher education is a key institutional backer of BLM, and a considerable literature dating back decades (e.g., Lindblom & Cohen, 1979) casts doubt on the effectiveness of social science in solving social problems, for numerous reasons. Often, the best social science is simple counting. This paper makes two unique contributions. First, …

Race And The Covid-19 Eviction And Housing Crisis, Bradey Camille Baltz

Arkansas Law Notes

Historical and present discriminatory housing, land use, property, and criminal policies and laws have contributed to an inaccessibility of homeownership and wealth accumulation for people of color in the United States. “People of color rent at higher rates than white people,” and thus, face a higher risk of eviction. People of color are also overrepresented in jobs most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, like the restaurant and hotel industries. As compared to white workers, Black and Latinx Americans are less likely to have access to paid sick leave and family leave, forcing them to choose to go to work when …

The Arkansas Code And Georgia V. Public.Resource.Org, Daniel Bell

Arkansas Law Notes

The United States Supreme Court decided Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc. (“PRO”) in late April, 2020, a case with major implications for those who rely on the Arkansas statutes. The case addressed whether extra materials Georgia includes in its official statutes, the annotations, can be copyrighted, or if they are in the public domain and can be freely distributed without permission. The case pitted two important competing interests against each other: the ability of citizens to freely access the official versions of laws of their state, versus the interests of a third-party publisher in being compensated for its work. Arkansas produces …

An Open Governor’S Seat, Open Constitutional Question, And The Need For An Answer, Samuel Steele Mclelland, James R. Baxter

Arkansas Law Notes

Another election cycle always means a renewal of fresh lawsuits and legal questions, and 2022 is no exception. the announcement of Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s run for Governor of Arkansas reignites an interesting aspect of Arkansas’s Constitution: must a candidate for Governor live in the State of Arkansas for seven consecutive years, immediately preceding taking office? A final ruling by the Arkansas Supreme Court will give clarity and stability going forward for the most important elected position in the state.

Heads Up! Arkansas Has A New Llc Act, Carol Goforth

Arkansas Law Notes

This past legislative session Senate Bill 601, sponsored by Senator Jonathan Dismang, was enacted into law, becoming Ark. Act 1041 on April 30, 2021. This act repeals the old LLC Act and adopts the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act (“ULLCA”), with minimal changes from the uniform language. This short piece points out some basic information about the Arkansas ULLCA and some of the major changes in Arkansas law applicable to LLCs. While lawyers will obviously need to consult the new statute when actual issues arise, this article should at least provide a “heads up” notice to practitioners with LLCs or …

Defending A Religious Institution Using The Charitable Immunity And Ecclesiastical Doctrine Defenses To Tort Liability, Michael M. Harrison

Arkansas Law Notes

efense attorneys in Arkansas are, not infrequently, called upon to defend religious institutions from tort suits brought against them for a variety of reasons. Such claims may arise out of a motor vehicle accident involving a church bus, a slip and fall accident on church premises, a claim of sexual molestation on the part of a church employee, or another type of claim. In defending claims against religious institutions, it is imperative that the defense of charitable immunity and, where applicable, the Ecclesiastical doctrine, be raised in the first responsive pleading to the Complaint, be that an Answer and/or a …

A-Void-Able Consequences: Void Sales & Subsequent Purchasers Under Arkansas’S Statutory Foreclosure Act, Hannah Hungate

Arkansas Law Notes

This Comment explores Arkansas’s Statutory Foreclosure Act and addresses the question of whether there can be a “subsequent purchaser for value” when a foreclosure sale is void from the outset. After a review of the Act itself, distinction between void and voidable foreclosures of property, findings of other state courts, and proper application of the Act, the author urges the Arkansas Supreme Court to make a formal declaration finding that purchasers of property foreclosed upon in a void sale are not “subsequent purchasers for value” under the meaning of the statute.

When Justice Should Precede Generosity: The Case Against Charitable Immunity In Arkansas, Courtney Jane Baltz

Arkansas Law Notes

This Comment discusses various aspects of the modern hospital and examines charitable immunity’s incompatibility with modern law.

First, Part II explains the historical justifications for immunity and presents the doctrine’s landscape in the United States. Part III examines the role precedent plays in continuing to adhere to the rule of immunity. Part IV takes an in-depth approach of the big business of hospitals by evaluating various financial aspects of charitable hospitals. Part V explores the reality of charitable immunity falling out of touch with concepts of modern law. Part VI takes a more specific look at the application of the …

An Everyday Lawyer’S Shakespeare, Carl J. Circo

Arkansas Law Notes

This summer, I enjoyed a unique opportunity to explore Shakespeare’s critique of law with a small group of students and a dear colleague in a study abroad program at the University of Arkansas Rome Center. I want to share my reflections on this singularly rewarding experience.

Racial Prejudice In The Criminal Justice System, Tori Cooper

Jessie O'Kelly Freshman Essay Award

Racial prejudice against African Americans has been the leading cause of high incarceration rates amongst the African American community. Within the United States, the census reported that African Americans make up about 17.9 percent of the population, with one-third of the people making up the incarcerated population in America. The disparity in those numbers highlights the current situation that is plaguing the nation. Blatant cases of racial profiling that have received media attention are a true testament of the broken law enforcement system from coast to coast. Racial prejudice cases have affected the black American community since the beginning of …

Say What You Mean! How Arkansas Courts Are Contradicting The Default Rule Of Tenancy In Common, Joel Hutcheson

Arkansas Law Notes

In 2015, the Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled that a warranty deed with the grantees listed as “Herbert Love and Gloria Love” vested the property in a tenancy by the entirety. There was no language in the deed designating the grantees as a married couple, such as “husband and wife” or “tenants by the entirety.” In fact, the only way someone reading the deed would know that the grantees were married was that the grantees were also the grantors, where it listed them as husband and wife. The court made its decision by looking to precedent case law which states …

Crowdfunding In Arkansas? Yes, You Can!, Carol Goforth

Arkansas Law Notes

Following enactment of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (also known as the JOBS Act) in 2012, the SEC expanded the options for issuers seeking an exemption from the registration requirement for the sale of securities under federal law, while simultaneously preempting inconsistent state law. One such innovation was Regulation Crowdfunding, generally referred to as Reg. CF, which currently allows compliant issuers to raise up to $1,070,000 in any 12-month period by seeking relatively small investments from a large number of investors.

Arkansas Teacher Salaries, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

This brief examines teacher salaries in Arkansas. Using data publicly available from the Arkansas Department of Education, we examine how teacher salaries compare to the nation and surrounding states. Further analyses examine differences in teacher salary within and between the regions of Arkansas. We identify the district factors most related to and make recommendations for utilizing this information.

Knowledge-Based Interventions Are More Likely To Reduce Legal Disparities Than Are Implicit Bias Interventions, Patrick S. Forscher, Patricia G. Devine

Psychological Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

We should note at the outset that this chapter is different from most others in this volume. Neither author is an expert of the law, legal proceedings, or the criminal justice system more generally. Instead, we are both psychological scientists who specialize in race and unintentional forms of bias. Our goal in this chapter is to review the extant work on implicit bias and interventions to change implicit bias. Though the work in this area is ever burgeoning, the evidence regarding the effectiveness of implicit bias interventions is rather mixed and the goals for the specific research efforts are quite …

School Discipline In Arkansas, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

This brief examines school discipline practices and outcomes in Arkansas. Using data publicly available from the Arkansas Department of Education, we examine state-wide discipline trends, summarize the analysis on school-level data demonstrating disparities in student discipline, and make recommendations for utilizing this information.

The Languishing Public Safety Doctrine, Brian Gallini

School of Law Faculty Publications and Presentations

Every semester, law students across the country read New York v. Quarles in criminal procedure. The Supreme Court’s 1984 decision in Quarles established the public safety exception—the first and only exception to the requirements of Miranda v. Arizona. But at the time of Quarles’s issuance, no one could have predicted just how long it would sit untouched by the Supreme Court. Application of Quarles to high profile defendants like James Holmes and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev illustrate the need for more clarity in the context of applying the public safety exception.Mores specifically, those cases demonstrate why the Supreme Court needs to re-examine …

Oil And Gas Case Law Update, Thomas A. Daily

Annual of the Arkansas Natural Resources Law Institute

No abstract provided.

The Demise Of The Recording Act As A Rule Of Property, Robert M. Honea

Annual of the Arkansas Natural Resources Law Institute

No abstract provided.

Baseball Mascots And The Law, Howard Brill

School of Law Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

Ferguson, Fisher, And The Future: Diversity And Inclusion As A Remedy For Implicit Racial Bias, Ann Killenbeck

School of Law Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article examines a number of key issues posed by the Supreme Court's recent decision to once again examine the constitutionality of the affirmative admissions system used by the University of Texas at Austin. Its focus is, however, not on the constitutionality of racial preferences, but rather on the obligations imposed on institutions that use such preferences. The article makes two unique contributions to the literature. First, it notes and discusses the role of implicit bias in the current American political and social scene and connects implicit bias to the affirmative action debate. Second, it focuses on legal education as …

2015 Legislative Summary, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

The 90th General Assembly opened its Regular Session on January 12 and recessed on April 9. Meetings of the House and Senate education committees were usually standing room only for discussions of a broad range of bills on early childhood, K-12, and higher education issues. The purpose of this policy brief is to review the K-12 bills that garnered the most attention and have been signed into law by firstterm Governor Asa Hutchinson. These highlights are organized into several categories as shown in This Brief

Grading Arkansas’ Schools, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

Report Cards for Arkansas schools released by the Arkansas Department of Education contain valuable information for stakeholders. As in past years, the report cards outline student demographics and academic achievement, as well as rates of attendance, graduation, dropout, grade inflation and college remediation. Report cards also contain information on teacher quality and school environment indicators. There are a few new pieces of information provided this year, specifically a school rating which assigns a letter grade to schools.

Broadband Access In Arkansas Schools, Sarah C. Mckenzie, Gary W. Ritter

Policy Briefs

With the computer-based Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) test, the Arkansas Digital Learning Act, and Governor Hutchinson’s efforts to increase participation in computer science courses, the Arkansas Legislature is discussing actions to take in order to close the “digital divide” in the state. This brief will explore the technological requirements of providing the recommended bandwidth to schools, the barriers to the provision of that service, and potential steps for the Arkansas Department of Education to take in order to ensure that every Arkansas student has fast, consistent access to the Internet to support their learning.