Law Commons^™

Prefatory Matter

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor, Courtney Squires

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

From Suspension To Mass Incarceration: Punishment Of Students With Special Needs And The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Bailey Ellicott

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Since their inception in the late 1980s, zero-tolerance policies have been a cornerstone of American school discipline. Passed by legislators with the intent of protecting school children, these policies have disparately upended the education of marginalized students. School discipline of vulnerable students often paves the way to juvenile incarceration, which in turn exponentially increases the likelihood of adult incarceration. Moreover, students with disabilities, especially students of color with learning disabilities, are often physically pushed out of their classrooms through suspensions and other harsh disciplinary policies. This is only made worse by the presence of law enforcement in schools, who treat …

504 Plans, School Gender Policy, And Gender Dysphoria: How The Case Of Kesha T. Williams May Change Education Policy, Clifford Clapp

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Gender dysphoria affects transgender people at significantly higher rates than other populations. In the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit case of Kesha T. Williams v. Stacey A. Kincaid, et al., 45 F.4th 759 (4th Cir. 2022), the Court found that the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office, in denying Ms. Williams’ hormone replacement therapy for her gender dysphoria, had violated her right to equal treatment under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Court generally found that, despite the ADA being written with animus toward transgender people, even under that language, gender dysphoria was not excluded from protection …

“Every Child Needs A Champion”: Foster Children With Disabilities And The Appointment Of Surrogate Parents Under Idea, Cassie A. Powell

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

When a parent is absent, children in foster care who receive special education services are entitled to the appointment of a surrogate parent. This appointment is especially necessary due to the importance of the parent’s role in special education law and the often enhanced educational needs of children in foster care. However, the logistics of how surrogate parents are appointed and trained vary widely across the country. This article examines the legal landscape of the appointment of surrogate parents for children in foster care who receive special education services both nationally and in Virginia. This article also reviews the training …

The Challenges Of Meeting The Needs Of Virginia Students With Disabilities Through Individualized Education Programs, Hank Bostwick, Courtney Pugh, Latonya Slade, Sara Platenberg, Melissa Waugh

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

The authors were honored to participate in a panel on “Understanding the IEP” at the Richmond Public Interest Law Review’s Symposium on October 27, 2023. The recommendations and strategies in this article are rooted in decades of combined experience and anecdotal observations from two special education attorneys and three special education advocates who serve Virginia’s children and families and help to develop appropriate Individualized Education Programs (“IEPs”) pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). Recent criticism of Virginia’s system of special education and related services by state and federal agencies has laid bare deep-seated inconsistencies in how schools …

Letter From The Symposium Editors, Nicole Evans, Erin Sweet

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

Navigating The Intersection Of Mckinney-Vento And Idea, Patricia A. Popp, Martha Crockett

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Students with disabilities who are also experiencing homelessness face compounded challenges related to attending and participating in school. These children and youth are provided educational protection through two federal laws: the 2004 “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” (IDEA) and the McKinney-Vento (MV) Education of Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program. It is the responsibility of educators, school personnel, and families to carefully navigate the dual mandates in order to ensure equitable educational opportunities, while also meeting the unique needs of each student. The purpose of this article is to offer a foundation for understanding the intersection of the two laws …

Symposium Transcript

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

Breaking Barriers: Examining The Impact Of Special Education Services On Juvenile Justice Involvement, Madison Neale

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

The following article is an exploration of the intersection between special education—namely, the long-repudiated practice of removing children with moderate disabilities from general education classrooms and placing them into “self-contained” classrooms away from their peers—and the involvement of those children in the criminal legal system. The article analyzes the parallels between the “othering” effect of segregating children with disabilities in schools, and the eventual segregation from their communities that they face in juvenile detention facilities. In a juvenile justice system where a disproportionate number of its children have been diagnosed with some form of intellectual or behavioral disability, this article …

Richmond Law Magazine: Spring 2024

Richmond Law Magazine

Courtney Paulk's endurance mindset

Come hell or high water

Reparations for Ukraine

Appoint Judge Ana De Alba To The Ninth Circuit, Carl Tobias

University of Richmond Law Review

The United States Senate must rapidly appoint Eastern District of California Judge Ana de Alba to the Ninth Circuit. This appellate tribunal is a preeminent regional circuit, which faces substantial appeals, has the largest complement of jurists, and clearly includes a massive geographic expanse. The nominee, whom President Joe Biden designated in spring 2023, would offer remarkable gender, experiential, ideological, and ethnic diversity realized primarily from serving productively with the California federal district, and state trial, courts after rigorously litigating for one decade in a highly regarded private law firm. For over fifteen years, she deftly excelled in law’s upper …

Biopiracy: Using New Laws And Databases To Protect Indigenous Communities, Cleo-Symone Scott

Law Student Publications

Indigenous people have a historical link to those who inhabited a country or region at the time when people of different cultures or origins arrived. Traditionally, indigenous people have a special relationship with their ancestral environments. But their way of living has long been under threat. The land that indigenous people live on is home to over 80% of our planet’s biodiversity, but it continues to be appropriated and plundered due to bioprospecting or, as some call it, biopiracy. Bioprospecting is defined as “the exploration and information gathering of genetic and biochemical material to develop commercial products.” While innovation is …

Reports Of Cases In The Court Of Chancery From 1683 To 1688, William Hamilton Bryson

Law Faculty Publications

This collection of law reports brings together in one place the reports of cases in the Court of Chancery from the short tenure of Sir Francis North, lord Guilford, and that of Sir George Jeffreys, Lord Jeffreys, who was the Lord Chancellor during the reign of King James II. These reports have been scattered heretofore, but it is hoped that, by reprinting them in one place, they can be more easily comprehended individually and the jurisprudence of this court can be better understood. They come from the reigns of King Charles II and King James II, and date from 1683 …

First Comes Love: Advocating For A Revival Of Pre-Obergefell Estate Planning Vigor For Lgbtq+ Couples And Families, Kimberly N. Furtado

Law Student Publications

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Beyond the obvious devastation this opinion wreaked on abortion rights nationwide, it also unleashed a fear in communities that have gained substantive rights through the Court’s decisions based on similar reasoning. News organizations and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups quickly published stories discussing the fate of same-sex marriage in a post-Dobbs society. If the Supreme Court were to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, it would be a crushing loss to the LGBTQ+ community. Not only would it signal the lack of …

Taxing The New With The Old: Capturing The Value Of Data With The Corporate Income Tax In Virginia, Coleman H. Cheeley

Law Student Publications

The Commonwealth of Virginia markets itself as “The Largest Data Center Market in the World.” In 2019, the Northern Virginia market alone was the largest in the United States by inventory, with room to grow. In 2021, data centers in Northern Virginia required an estimated 1,686 megawatts of power; that number is expected to increase by 200 megawatts in the near future, reflecting data centers currently under development. For reference, in 2022, it was estimated that more than 100 homes could be powered by one megawatt of solar power in Virginia. Historically, data centers have been located in the Commonwealth …

Venture Capital's Esg Problem, Ryan A. Ashburn

Law Student Publications

Venture capital (“VC”) is repeatedly described as one of the “crown jewels” of the U.S. economy for its role in financing startups and innovation. However, recent corporate scandals, including fraud, have exposed a darker side of the VC industry and the startups in which venture capitalists (“VCs”) invest. For example, Theranos received $686 million in VC funding yet proved to be nothing more than a “house of cards” once it came to light that Theranos falsified blood test results. When Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of fraud, many VCs tried to distance themselves, saying Theranos was an exception and …

Prefatory Matter

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda: How Virginia’S Everchanging Politics Creates (Missed) Opportunities For Major Policy Decisions, Carlos Hopkins, Abigail Thompson

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Benjamin Franklin may have been discussing the new United States

Constitution when he penned this note to his friend, French scientist Jean-

Baptiste Le Roy, but he could easily have been referring to politics in

Virginia. Virginia House of Delegates members and members of the

Congressional House of Representatives serve two-year terms. Members of

the Virginia Senate serve four-year terms. United States Senators serve sixyear

terms. And the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General

all serve four-year terms with only the Governor constitutionally limited to a

single four-year term. With all of these terms being staggered across the

various offices, …

Letter From The Editor, Courtney Squires

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

Family Time: A Selection Of Bills From The Virginia 2023 Legislative Session Relating To Family, Intimate Partner Violence, And Child Welfare, Valerie L'Herrou

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

In 2023, the Commonwealth of Virginia was forced to operate without a

finalized state budget following the adjournment of the regular session of its

legislative body. The Commonwealth waited (luckily without bated breath)

for its “caboose” budget for the 2023–2024 budget cycle for nearly six

months after the General Assembly adjourned sine die, which it did on its

normal date for a “short” (odd-numbered) year on February 25, 2023.

However, most other actions taken by the Virginia General Assembly during

its 2023 session did go into effect on July 1, 2023, as usual. These include a

number of bills that …

Building A Recovery Ecosystem For The Catawba Region, Mary Beth Dunkenberger, David Moore, Lara Nagle, Sam Rasoul

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

The opioid and addiction crisis has become a defining characteristic of

21st century America, profoundly affecting the Commonwealth of Virginia in

terms of lives lost, families devastated, communities compromised, and

economic and opportunity costs at multiple levels. This scenario originated

with a rapid increase in opioid prescriptions issued to patients by health care

providers for various pain diagnoses during the 1990s and into the early

2000s. Despite early warnings that the new opioid formulations were far

more addictive than indicated by faulty research trials and marketing claims,

treating pain as the “fifth vital sign” became a widespread practice as a …

The Success Of Establishing Legislative Commissions To Address Complex And Critical Needs: Examining The Early Recommendations And Outcomes Of The Commission On School Construction And Modernization, Matthew P. Stanley

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

The 2020 creation of the Virginia Commission on School Construction and

Modernization proved to be a pivotal moment in addressing the longstanding

issue of school construction and modernization in the state. With

$1.25 billion in new resources allocated for school divisions in 2022,

including an increased Literary Fund and a flexible formula-based grant,

legislators took decisive action to support school infrastructure. The creation

of the School Construction Fund and School Construction Assistance

Program, with ongoing funding provided through taxes on casino revenues,

marked a significant step forward in providing ongoing resources for school

projects.

Despite several successful legislative outcomes, some …

The Way Forward: A Review Of Virginia’S 2023 Regular General Assembly Session, Benjamin Raab, Mariam Rasooli

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

The 2023 General Assembly Session can best be defined by the success of

bipartisanship. In an era of heightened polarization, Virginia legislators

were able to meet across the aisle on a number of relevant issues. This article

will provide a summary of key bills that were passed during the 2023 Regular

and Special Sessions. The other articles within this issue touch upon the

following topics: the Virginia Commission on School Construction and

Modernization, family law, and the opioid and addiction crises. This article

summarizes legislation passed with bipartisan support in the areas of: drugs,

mental healthcare, labor and commerce, public …

Wills, Trusts, And Estates, Allison A. Tait, Hunter M. Glenn

University of Richmond Law Review

This year’s legislative and judicial activity surrounding wills, trusts, and estates did not bring any radical shifts in the law, but rather expansions and clarifications. In the legislative realm, the bulk of the activity centered on expanding protections for parties under guardianship, with a sensitivity to safeguarding vulnerable parties from neglect or even predation. The new rules aim to increase transparency in process, preserve confidential financial information, and ensure minimums of care and contact. The rules affect these goals by providing for more transparency through notice requirements as well as required written filings. Moreover, they protect parties under guardianship by …

Legal Representation Of Parents In Child Dependency Cases In Virginia, Eric J. Reynolds

University of Richmond Law Review

Virginia’s current system of providing court-appointed legal counsel for parents involved in child dependency cases is unsustainable and inadequate, requiring swift and dramatic action from the state government. Inadequate legal representation for parents often leads to poor outcomes for children and a lack of protections for the parents’ due process rights. While attempts to improve the system have been made in recent years, they are often quickly dismissed. The largest hindrances in the current system, this Article suggests, is that court-appointed attorneys for parents are typically underpaid, undertrained, and consequently unable to meaningfully advocate for their client. Due to the …

The Current State Of Abortion Law In Virginia Leaves Victims Of Domestic And Sexual Violence Vulnerable To Abuse: Why Virginia Should Codify The Right To Abortion In The State Constitution†, Courtenay Schwartz

University of Richmond Law Review

All people must have access to safe and legal reproductive health care—especially victims of sexual and domestic violence who can and do become pregnant because of the violence they experience. This year, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. In doing so, the Supreme Court held that the Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion. Though abortion access is currently protected in Virginia, this could change with each new General Assembly session. To guard against the danger that this poses to …

Taxing The New With The Old: Capturing The Value Of Data With The Corporate Income Tax In Virginia, Coleman H. Cheeley

University of Richmond Law Review

The Commonwealth of Virginia markets itself as “The Largest Data Center Market in the World.”In 2019, the Northern Virginia market alone was the largest in the United States by inventory, with room to grow. In 2021, data centers in Northern Virginia required an estimated 1,686 megawatts of power; that number is expected to increase by 200 megawatts in the near future, reflecting data centers currently under development. For reference, in 2022, it was estimated that more than 100 homes could be powered by one megawatt of solar power in Virginia. Historically, data centers have been located in the Commonwealth due …

Taxation, Craig D. Bell

University of Richmond Law Review

This Article reviews significant recent developments in the laws affecting Virginia state and local taxation. Its Parts cover legislative activity, judicial decisions, and selected opinions from the past year. Part I of this Article addresses taxes administered by the Virginia Department of Taxation (the “Tax Department” or “Department”). Part II covers local taxes, including real and tangible personal property machinery and tools, license taxes, and other discrete local taxes.

The overall purpose of this Article is to provide Virginia tax and general practitioners with a concise overview of the recent developments in Virginia taxation that are most likely to impact …

Preface, Alexandra M. Voehringer

University of Richmond Law Review

The University of Richmond Law Review proudly presents the thirty-eighth issue of the Annual Survey of Virginia Law. Since 1985, the Annual Survey has served as a guiding tool for practitioners and students to stay abreast of recent legislative, judicial, and administrative developments in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Today, the Annual Survey is the most widely read publication of the Law Review, reaching lawyers, judges, legislators, and students in every corner of the Commonwealth.