Law Commons^™

God Is Dead: Killed By Fifty Years Of Establishment Clause Jurisprudence., Raul M. Rodriguez

St. Mary's Law Journal

In 1980, the Supreme Court in Stone v. Graham addressed the issue of whether a statute requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in all public school classrooms was an unconstitutional establishment of religion. Applying the Lemon test the Court found the statute’s purpose to be religious and ruled it unconstitutional. Yet, had the state required the placement of the following “secular commandments” in every classroom, it is unlikely the Court would have found an Establishment Clause violation. Stone illustrates what the Supreme Court’s Establishment Clause jurisprudence has become. The Court has misconstrued the meaning of the “establishment of religion” …

In Sharp Contrast To The Past: The Demise Of The Per Se Rule Against Vertical Price Fixing., Christopher J. Pettit

St. Mary's Law Journal

Actions by the Department of Justice and the Supreme Court lessening vertical pricing protections under the Sherman Antitrust Act require Congressional intervention. By enacting the Sherman Antitrust Act, Congress intended agreements fixing vertical prices or having the ultimate effect of fixing vertical prices at any level be illegal per se. Vertical pricing agreements set, maintain, stabilize, raise, or depress prices of goods or services among the different levels of the product distribution chain. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken positive steps in limiting the per se rule of illegality by failing to pursue allegations of vertical price fixing and …

Alamo Lumber And Texas Usury Law: Playing With Fire In The Usury Forest., Terry W. Wright, W. Alan Wright, Scott G. Night

St. Mary's Law Journal

The effect of Alamo Lumber Co. v. Gold, and later cases interpreting third party assumption of debt as interest can be perilous to lenders. Lenders are in the business of offering loans to make money. Lenders achieve profit maximization by charging as much interest as possible in the market. Although economic and market factors are always considerations in a lender’s business, in Texas, lenders must also consider harsh usury laws that restrain the maximum amount of chargeable loan interest. Texas defines interest broadly. Statutes define interest as the receipt of compensation for the detention, forbearance or use of money. The …

Entering The Thicket - Mandamus Review Of Texas District Court Witness Disclosure Orders., David W. Holman, Byron C. Keeling

St. Mary's Law Journal

In the absence of statutory authorization of interlocutory appeal, the writ of mandamus usually is the sole convenient remedy for an egregious trial court decision prior to judgment. The increasing number of mandamus petitions which annually invade the Texas appellate courts reflects the importance of the writ of mandamus. While once described as the “extraordinary” remedy, it is not uncommon for proceedings in a trial court to cease while a party seeks mandamus review of a controversial discovery ruling. One type of discovery rule which has not escaped mandamus review is the admission or exclusion of the testimony of witnesses …

Nude Dancing Conveying A Message Or Eroticism And Sexuality Is Protected By The First Amendment But Can Be Limited Under State Police Powers Provided The Government Establishes A Substantial, Content-Neutral Purpose., Fred S. Wilson

St. Mary's Law Journal

In Barnes v. Glen Theatre, Inc., the Supreme Court held the First Amendment protects nude dancing as conveying an expressive message, but state police powers may limit protection if the government establishes a substantial, content-neutral purpose. It is a principal of constitutional law where an actor intends to convey a message by expressive conduct, the First Amendment protection extends to that expression. Traditionally, time, place, and manner regulations restricting expressive conduct based on either the subject-matter of the message or the viewpoint of the actor receive content-based classification. However, content-based regulation of expressive conduct is constitutional only when narrowly drawn …

Pyrrhic Victories And Glorious Defeats: Why Defendants Are Winning And Plaintiffs Are Losing The Struggle Over Actual Malice And Fictionalized Quotations., Richard A. Gonzales

St. Mary's Law Journal

This article reviews Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, a case of fabricated quotations. The article looks first at the legal background and Supreme Court's development of the actual malice standard. An analysis of the problem through journalistic ethics and investigation of the difficulties confronting libel plaintiffs will follow. Finally, the comment explores the misquotation problem from both a legal and a journalistic perspective.

Preserving Error On Appeal In Texas Civil Cases: A Practical Guide For Civil Appeals In Texas., John Hill Cayce Jr.

St. Mary's Law Journal

Fatal procedural errors can prevent appellees from preserving judgements and appellants from seeking review of court decisions on appeal. This article is a practical guide identifying critical concepts necessary to preserve the various rights of appeal. By examining the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, the author identifies procedural pitfalls attorneys may face when attempting to preserve appeals to the Texas Supreme Court or the appellate courts of Texas. Although the Texas Supreme Court has endeavored to eliminate procedural traps from civil appeals, a significant number of requests for appeal fail because lawyers do not follow the requirements necessary to preserve …

The Texas Tax Relief Act After Twelve Years: Adoption, Implementation &(And) Enforcement., Michael Weiss

St. Mary's Law Journal

The Texas Tax Reform Act, an amendment to the Texas constitution, undertook to create and enforce spending limits. The Texas Government first followed the spending limits in the 1982-1983 biennium. The threat of veto from Governor Clemments forced the legislature to adopt a budget below the limit. Unfortunately, Texas taxpayers did not see the savings of 1982 repeated in subsequent years. Meaning, the amendment, which passed by an eighty-four percent majority, failed in its purpose for limiting the government growth and spending. The noncompliance of the LBB is in contravention of the people’s will and the laws established to set …

Benign Classification Based On Race Must Be Narrowly Tailored To Achieve A Compelling Governmental Interest., Martha J. Hess

St. Mary's Law Journal

In City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co., the Supreme Court held a minority business utilization plan (Richmond Plan) was violative of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The Richmond Plan required all builders awarded city construction contracts to subcontract, at minimum, 30% of the contract value to Minority Business Enterprises. A state government enacting legislation that burdens one class of persons and benefits a similarly-situated class must provide sufficient justification for its action to survive equal protection analysis. When distinction is based on race or national origin—classes considered inherently suspect—a reviewing court subjects the governmental legislation to strict scrutiny, …

An Employer Cannot Avoid Its Obligation To Contribute To An Employee-At-Will's Pension Plan By Terminating The Employee., Carol Jendrzey

St. Mary's Law Journal

In McClendon v. Ingersoll-Rand Co., the Texas Supreme Court held an employer cannot avoid its obligation to contribute to an employee-at-will’s pension plan by terminating the employee. A minority of jurisdictions recognize an implied contract exception to the employment-at-will doctrine allowing termination only with cause. In these jurisdictions, employers who raise the defense of statute of frauds because there is no written employment contract may be defeated by the terms of employment articulated in employee handbooks and manuals. Though both the legislatures and the courts recognize a public policy interest in protecting employee pension plans, the United States Supreme Court …

Digital Audio Recording Technology: Challenges To American Copyright Law., Douglas Reid Weimer

St. Mary's Law Journal

This Article discusses the objectives of American copyright law, its development and its current day codification. The inception of digital audio recording technology (“DAT”) raises new challenges for American copyright law. American copyright is a constitutionally sanctioned and legislatively accorded form of protection for authors against the unauthorized copyright of their “original works of authorship.” A significant copyright issue is the ability of DAT to reproduce nearly perfect copies of copyrighted musical works. This Article further discusses certain aspects of copyright law, such as the fair use defense and the concept of “home” for the purposes of copyright protection. The …

Military Contractors Who Comply With Elements Of Government Contractor Defense Are Immune From Products Liability Suits Stemming From Design Defects., Matthew J. Sullivan

St. Mary's Law Journal

In Boyle v. United Technologies Corp., the United States Supreme Court held military contractors who comply with the elements of the government contractor defense are immune from products liability suits stemming from design defects. Lower courts consider the government contractor defense to be a combination of two separate defenses. The first is the well-settled contract specification defense which eliminates liability for contractors who properly follow client supplied specifications. The second defense is the doctrine of shared sovereign immunity shielding the contractor from liability based on public policy concerns.

In Boyle, the Court held defective design of military equipment will not …

Shouting Incitement In The Courtroom: An Evolving Theory Of Civil Liability Comment., Michael P. Kopech

St. Mary's Law Journal

Civil incitement is an evolving theory, intended to ascribe liability to a publisher. Civil incitement charges that the contents of a publication proximately caused the plaintiff’s physical injury, thus holding publishers civilly liable for the physical consequences of their communications. However, the validity of civil incitement as an actionable tort clashes with the principles of freedom of speech and press embodied within the First Amendment. Incitement, as a successful cause of action, demands following the standards set out in Brandenburg v. Ohio. Prior attempts to hold publishers civilly liable for the physical consequences of their communications have rarely survived motions …

Determining Mineral Ownership In Texas After Moser V. United States Steel Corp. - The Surface Destruction Nightmare Continues., David A. Scott

St. Mary's Law Journal

Total abandonment of the surface destruction test is essential for achieving mineral title certainty in Texas. Many instruments which grant or reserve mineral rights in Texas contain the words “other minerals.” When the instrument does not specifically list which substances the contracting parties include as minerals, a dispute often arises as to ownership of the unspecified substances. To resolve ownership disputes, Texas courts adopted the surface destruction test. This test focuses on the destructive effects removal of a particular substance would have on the surface of the land. Unfortunately, the surface destruction test yielded unpredictable results, causing uncertainty in mineral …

Economic Pressure In Collective Bargaining: Lockout And Permanent Replacements In The Fifth Circuit., Peter H. Carroll Iii

St. Mary's Law Journal

Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to offset employers’ superior power in collective bargaining with the utilization of strikes and other forms of economic pressure by employees. The Act addresses the balance between the policy prohibiting management from reprimanding its employees for applying economic pressure, and the policy allowing an employer to protect its economic interests for legitimate business reasons. Although the courts have traditionally prohibited certain forms of economic pressure, recent cases have expanded employers’ ability to utilize economic pressure. It is apparent that the extent to which an employer can use lockouts and permanent replacements is …

Real Estate Investments As Securities: The Sufficiency Of The Howey Test Student Symposium - Interpreting The Statutory Definition Of A Security: Some Pragmatic Considerations., John W. Mcleod

St. Mary's Law Journal

The purpose of this article is to examine the kind of protection afforded to real estate investors through the securities acts passed the 1930s. The Supreme Court decision in SEC v. W.I. Howey Co. (1946) held that a security exists when (1) there is an investment of money (2) in a common enterprise (3) with profits to come solely from the efforts of others. This study considers the criticisms of Howey by two legal commentators of the late 1960s, Professor Coffee and Professor Long, in its examination of three main types of real estate investments: land syndications, condominiums, and cooperative …

Approaches To The Regulation Of Franchises, Founder-Member Contracts, And Referral Sales Agreements Student Symposium - Interpreting The Statutory Definition Of A Security: Some Pragmatic Considerations., Patrick K. Sheehan

St. Mary's Law Journal

Franchises, founder-member contracts, and referral-sales agreements are marketing practices used to expand retail businesses and typically categorized as investment contracts. These marketing schemes continue to leave investors susceptible to fraud and misrepresentation because security regulations may fail to adapt to continuously varying methods in which promoters acquire capital. The Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Commission of 1934, and the Blue Sky Laws were attempts to regulate marketing schemes by establishing purposefully broad definitions of investment contracts. Securities laws were meant to have a liberal application for the purpose of being flexible and adaptive. In 1946, the landmark case …

Creditors' Self-Help Remedies Under Ucc Section 9-503: Violative Of Due Process In Texas., David Hughes

St. Mary's Law Journal

In Sniadach v. Family Fiance Corp. and Fuentes v. Shevin, the Supreme Court stated that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment requires notice and an opportunity to be heard before seizing property under color of state law. Accordingly, creditor self-help repossession under Section 9.503 of the Uniform Commercial Code, and its Texas counterpart, are now constitutionally suspect, which can be seen in the numerous constitutional attacks in federal courts. Because deprivation of due process requires some form of state action, numerous cases have litigated the scope of state action. To find state action, there must be conduct of …

Prisoners' Redress For Deprivation Of A Constitutional Right: Federal Habeas Corpus And The Civil Rights Act., Daniel J. Sheehan Jr.

St. Mary's Law Journal

Franchises, founder-member contracts, and referral-sales agreements are marketing practices used to expand retail businesses and typically categorized as investment contracts. These marketing schemes continue to leave investors susceptible to fraud and misrepresentation because security regulations may fail to adapt to continuously varying methods in which promoters acquire capital. The Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Commission of 1934, and the Blue Sky Laws were attempts to regulate marketing schemes by establishing purposefully broad definitions of investment contracts. Securities laws were meant to have a liberal application for the purpose of being flexible and adaptive. In 1946, the landmark case …

The Pyramiding Of Presumptions And Inferences In Texas., Carlos S. Cadena

St. Mary's Law Journal

Anti-pyramid rules are based in the idea that a finding based on nothing more than mere speculation should be rejected. Despite the frequent invocation of these rules, many Texas courts fail to utilize them correctly. Though countless decisions lay down the general rule that a presumption cannot be based on another presumption and several state judiciaries pointing out the futility of basing an inference upon another inference, it is rare for the rules to be properly applied. This can be seen in Texas cases referencing and applying the rule. While a few cases justifiably apply the rule, in most cases, …