Law Commons^™

Montana Water Rights Protection Act, United States 116th Congress

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

The purposes of this Act are: (1) to achieve a fair, equitable, and final settlement of claims to water rights in the State of Montana, and in recognition of article I, and section 3 of article IX, of the Montana State Constitution for (A) the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation; and (B) the United States, for the benefit of the Tribes and allottees; (2) to authorize, ratify, and confirm the water rights compact entered into by the Tribes and the State, to the extent that the Compact is consistent with this Act; (3) to authorize …

Navajo-Utah Water Rights Settlement Act, United States 116th Congress

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

The purposes of this section are: (1) to achieve a fair, equitable, and final settlement of all claims to water rights in the State of Utah for (A) the Navajo Nation and (B) the United States, for the benefit of the Nation; (2) to authorize, ratify, and confirm the agreement entered into by the Nation and the State, to the extent that the agreement is consistent with this section; (3) to authorize and direct the Secretary (A) to execute the agreement and (B) to take any actions necessary to carry out the agreement in accordance with this section; and (4) …

Aamodt Litigation Settlement Completion, United States 116th Congress

Native American Water Rights Settlement Project

Amends the Aamodt Litigation Settlement Act (Pub. L. 11-291) to increase funding for Pueblo Water Facilities from $106.4 million to $243.4 million and making available $137 million for Regional Water System funding.

Default Culpability Requirements: The Model Penal Code And Beyond, Scott England

Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines section 2.02(3) of the Model Penal Code, both as proposed by the ALI and as modified by MPC states, and recommends new default culpability rules to replace it.

The Model Penal Code’s default culpability provision, Section 2.02(3), plays a central but often overlooked role in the Code’s celebrated culpability scheme. Section 2.02(3) “reads in” a requirement of recklessness when an offense is silent about the mental state required for an offense element. The provision has profound implications for criminal law because thousands of state offenses fail to prescribe culpability requirements. Without a default culpability rule like Section …

Kob-4 Interviews Serge Martinez: Landlords, Tenants Feel Impact Of State Eviction Moratorium, Serge A. Martinez

Faculty Scholarship

"A lot of folks in New Mexico have month-to-month leases that come up for renewal every 30 days or so, and even folks that have longer leases, it's been nine months since the Supreme Court issues their order so a large percentage of leases in New Mexico have come up for renewal in that time period,” said Serge Martinez, a professor at UNM School of Law.

View story at KOB-4

New Mexico In Depth Interviews Vinay Harpalani: Complexity Of Colorism, Vinay Harpalani, Claudia Silva

Faculty Scholarship

“Our discourse on race in this country has largely been framed around black or white,” said University of New Mexico civil rights law professor Vinay Harpalani.

But assumptions about varying shades of skin color can, for example, lead someone who is Indian, like himself, to be mistaken as Hispanic, he said.

Academics who’ve studied racial discrimination say discrimination based on a person’s skin-tone exists across many racial and ethnic groups and generally manifests as a systematic preference for lighter skin over darker skin.

Harpalani explains it can be the other way around in some instances, such as the bullying Clark …

Kob-4 Interviews Josh Kastenberg: Mother Wants Answers After Son Found Dead In New Mexico Jail, Joshua Kastenberg, Tommy Lopez

Faculty Scholarship

In the court file, there’s no explanation of why he wasn’t simply let go. Legal experts say judges need to give that explanation.

"You have to explain, if you’re a judge, to the defendant why it is that you’re assessing them money," said former judge and UNM professor Joshua Kastenberg.

Archuleta had a long record, and Kastenberg believes that’s a big factor in the judge setting bail.

"You want judges to be able to exercise their discretion, but without a ruling, we don’t know what this particular judge had in his or her thought processes," he said.

He says the …

Unm Newsroom Interviews Nathalie Martin: Unm Law Professor Practices Yoga And Meditation In Stressful Times, Nathalie Martin, Maggie Branch

Faculty Scholarship

A professor at The University of New Mexico School of Law has become a very accomplished Yogi – someone who studies and is proficient in yoga. Nathalie Martin, who has been a part of the UNM law faculty since 1998, was featured in a magazine put together by the Property Brothers and HGTV regarding her Yogi status.

Albuquerque Journal Interviews Joshua Kastenberg On New Benchmarks For Evidence Rules, Joshua Kastenberg, Isabella Alves

Faculty Scholarship

Joshua Kastenberg, University of New Mexico School of Law professor, said the opinion means eyewitness testimony will have to undergo more corroboration before being allowed into evidence. For example, he said there will also have to be surveillance camera footage or more than one person accurately describing the suspect before eyewitness testimony can be admitted.

Studies over the past three decades show that people are terrible at giving eyewitness testimony on people who are outside their own demographic, Kastenberg said. Police, generally unconsciously, played into that.

Before, federal law put eyewitness credibility in the “lap of the jury,” Kastenberg said. …

The New York Times Interviews Joshua Kastenberg On Election Day And Deployment Of The National Guard, Joshua Kastenberg, Dave Phillips

Faculty Scholarship

Federal troops have not been used to guard against election violence since the years after the Civil War when the Army was stationed across the South to put down the Ku Klux Klan and protect Black voters, said Joshua Kastenberg, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and military judge who teaches military law at the University of New Mexico School of Law.

“Presidents have historically been very reluctant to call out the Army. They’ve used the authority briefly and responsibly,” he said. But, he cautioned, there are almost no checks on the president’s power to send in troops. Challenges in …

Is It Time To Revisit Qualified Immunity?, Joseph A. Schremmer, Sean M. Mcgivern

Faculty Scholarship

The right to sue and defend in the courts of the several states are essential privileges of citizenship. Eight generations ago, this right was unavailable to black people, because descendants of African slaves were never intended to be citizens. Then, and for years to come, local governments failed to protect African Americans from violence and discrimination and were sometimes complicit in those violations.

Qualified immunity was born in 1982 when the Supreme Court decided Harlow v. Fitzgerald. With an outflow of questionable court decisions shielding officers solely because they act under color of state law, it is time for the …

Looking Back, Looking Forward: Women In Criminal Justice Task Force, Maryam Ahranjani

Faculty Scholarship

Since the Criminal Justice Section’s Women in Criminal Justice Task Force launched in November 2018, we have heard from women in criminal law around the country about their experiences with (1) hiring, (2) retention, and (3) promotion of women in criminal justice. We set many goals for ourselves, including hosting listening sessions, publishing columns, and collecting data, and we are proud of all we have accomplished over the past nearly two years.

Housing & Education Roundtable Discussion, Serge A. Martinez, Deb Haaland

Faculty Scholarship

View the Video: https://www.facebook.com/RepDebHaaland/videos/393076688380815/

Congresswoman Deb Haaland (NM-01), held a Facebook Live discussion on access to education and affordable housing. During her address, Congresswoman Haaland discussed the importance of accessible education during this pandemic. Haaland also mentioned the role evictions and financial stress play in education. COVID-19 risks have moved schools to virtual learning from home beginning in the Spring of 2020. Provisions in the CARES Act that protected families from falling behind financially including a $1200 stimulus payment, $600 additional weekly unemployment benefits, and eviction protections expired at the end of July, raising concerns about an increase in evictions …

Access To Education And Affordable Housing (Panel Discussion), Serge A. Martinez, Deb Haaland

Faculty Scholarship

"Housing is not just about housing--there's a straight line from housing stability to educational achievement and other issues including public health, physical and mental health and community development."
- Professor Serge Martinez.

Congresswoman Deb Haaland held a discussion on access to education and affordable housing, particularly the importance of accessible education and the role evictions and financial stress play in education.

If the video is not playing, watch the panel discussion on Facebook (log-in not required).

Argument Analysis: On First Day Of New Term, Supreme Court Seems Skeptical Of Texas’ Arguments In Interstate Water Dispute With New Mexico, Reed D. Benson

Faculty Scholarship

Find out more information regarding Texas v. New Mexico at SCOTUSblog.

Read more about Professor Reed Benson's involvement on the UNM Law News Page.

"Toughen Up, Buttercup" Versus #Timesup: Initial Findings Of The Aba Women In Criminal Justice Task Force, Maryam Ahranjani

Faculty Scholarship

"Practicing criminal law as a woman is like playing tackle football in a dress.” Andrea George, Executive Director of the Federal Public Defender for Eastern Washington and Idaho, began her testimony to the American Bar Association’s Women in Criminal Justice Task Force with that powerful observation. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, the ABA has focused on ways to enhance gender equity in the profession and in the justice system. The Criminal Justice Section of the ABA has invested significant resources in the creation of the Women in Criminal Justice Task Force (WCJ TF), which launched its work in …

Fears Of Tyranny: The Fine Line Between Presidential Authority Over Military Discipline And Unlawful Command Influence Through The Lens Of Military Legal History In The Era Of Bergdahl, Joshua E. Kastenberg

Faculty Scholarship

This article is divided into three sections, each with an analysis on the relationship between the commander in chief and military justice. Section I defines unlawful command influence and presents an overview of unlawful command influence prior to 1950 with an instance of presidential influence which would amount to the deprivation of the right to a fair trial. Section II of the article presents a legal history of three pre-Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) Court opinions for the purpose of showing the existence of judicially recognized constitutional restraints against commander in chief influence over courts-martial. These opinions present historic …

Case Preview: In Newest Chapter In Long-Running Water Dispute, Court Will Hear First-Ever Challenge To Ruling By Interstate River Master, Reed D. Benson

Faculty Scholarship

Find out more information regarding Texas v. New Mexico at SCOTUSblog.

Read more about Professor Reed Benson's involvement on the UNM Law News Page.

Kob Interviews Joshua Kastenberg About Constitutional Rights During Covid-19, Joshua Kastenberg, Brittany Costello

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Civil Military Relations Panel, Joshua E. Kastenberg

Faculty Scholarship

In the first week of this month, the nation was surprised to learn that retired general officers (generals and admirals) including James Mattis, Colin Powell, Michael Glenn Mullen, and William McRaven (to name a few) spoke out against President Donald Trump’s response to demonstrations across the United States. President Trump threatened to unilaterally invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act and federalize the National Guard as well as use the active duty Armed Forces of the United States as a “super police force.”

The conduct of the retired generals is not without detractors. The Constitution was constructed with the idea that a …

Albuquerque Journal Interviews Maryam Ahranjani, Many Want Police Out Of Schools Across Nm, Maryam Ahranjani, Shelby Perea

Faculty Scholarship

In Albuquerque, University of New Mexico School of Law associate professor Maryam Ahranjani and Hope Pendleton, a board member of the Black Law Student Association at UNM, are saying now is the time to remove officers from schools.

“There’s a lot of unfortunate downstream negative repercussions for children from having police officers in schools,” Ahranjani said.

Pendleton and Ahranjani helped write a letter to APS Superintendent Raquel Reedy and her leadership team that says funds earmarked for the APS Police Department would be better spent addressing this counselor-to-student ratio and investing in other personnel.

“Reallocating funds away from law enforcement …

Civil Procedure Update 2020: New Mexico Annual Judicial Conclave, Verónica C. Gonzales-Zamora, George Bach

Faculty Scholarship

These materials are part of a presentation on civil procedure given to magistrate, district, appellate, and tribal court judges, justices, and staff attorneys in New Mexico courts. These materials include the language of approved and proposed amendments to the state and federal rules of civil procedure as well as summaries of relevant appellate cases issued by the New Mexico Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Supreme Court of the Navajo Nation between May 1, 2019 to May 1, 2020.

• Amendments to the New Mexico Rules of Civil Procedure include NMRA Rule …

Racial Stereotypes, Respectability Politics, And Running For President: Examining Andrew Yang's And Barack Obama's Presidential Bids, Vinay Harpalani

Faculty Scholarship

In the wake of the pandemic, Andrew Yang’s response to anti-Asian American violence was criticized for placing responsibility on Asian Americans rather than those perpetrating the hate crimes. This article explores how "warring ideals for people of color can cause a lot of internal dissonance about what to say and how to act in certain situations.

See Original Blog Post on Internet.

Aaron Burr Jr. And John Pierre Burr: A Founding Father And His Abolitionist Son, Sherri Burr

Faculty Scholarship

Aaron Burr Jr. (Class of 1772), the third Vice President of the United States, fathered two children by a woman of color from Calcutta, India. Their son, John Pierre Burr (1792-1864), would become an activist, abolitionist, and conductor on the Underground Railroad.

Join With Me, Won't You? Civic Engagement, Covid-19, And The Millennial Generation Of Law Professors, Joseph A. Schremmer

Faculty Scholarship

My goals in this essay are to place legal education’s COVID-19 crisis into this broader context and illuminate the unique opportunity that millennial law professors have to create the conditions for more robust community participation within and outside of our law schools. Part I summarizes the decline of civic engagement and social capital in preceding decades and its consequences for law, public discourse, and quality of life. Part II outlines how this deficit of social capital exacerbates the challenges facing law schools and professors in delivering legal education and constructing community during the coronavirus pandemic. Part III explores the unique …

"Mommy Track" On Steroids: How The Pandemic Is Further Derailing "Moms Of Law", Lysette Romero Córdova

Faculty Scholarship

As students or professors with children to raise, we inherently experience law school differently from our male and childless peers—and not in a good way. Even before the pandemic hit, the Moms of Law were at a disadvantage because we must divide our time and attention between the demands of law school and parenting. Thus, while the pandemic has created challenges for everyone involved in legal education, the inequitable impact on those raising young children has brought new meaning to the term “mommy track.” Part I of this essay describes the mommy track experience and how the inequity that it …

Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me Breath: A Call For Economic Justice, Verónica Gonzales-Zamora

Faculty Scholarship

In Part I of this essay I interpret this unique moment in history through a retelling of the folk story La Llorona in order to identify the monsters and ghosts of the past and the present. Domino Renee Perez describes her own critical reflection of La Llorona as reinforcing 'a valuable lesson about power and authority' because her family’s 'storytelling circle was more than simply an arbitrary setting; it was a safe place for them to create, however problematically, a world of words, where they faced the dangers and challenges of life, embodied by a woman, and survived.' The lore …

An Introduction To The Collection [Get In Good Trouble: A Collection Of Essays By Millennial Law Scholars], Verónica Gonzales-Zamora

Faculty Scholarship

Get in Good Trouble: A Collection of Essays by Millennial Law Scholars Introduction by Verónica C. Gonzales-Zamora with essays by Kinda Abdus-Saboor, Ernestine Chaco, Marcus Gadson, Verónica Gonzales-Zamora, Camilo Romero, Lysette Romero Córdova, Morenike Saula, Joseph Schremmer, and Hon. Roshanna Toya. Afterword by Marcus Gadson. In response to the global pandemic, legal education in the United States shifted almost immediately to new tools and methods of delivery. Unsure of the lasting impact of these shifts, law faculty and law students around the country remain in limbo preparing for different scenarios when instruction resumes. Millennial law professors and scholars, with decades …

Deconstructing Foundational Principles Of Trusts And Estates Law, Sergio Pareja

Faculty Scholarship

REVIEW: Naomi R. Cahn, Dismantling the Trusts and Estates Canon, 2019 Wis. L. Rev. 165 (2019).

All areas of the law have certain foundational principles or beliefs that are widely shared. These underlying assumptions often go unchallenged. In the trusts and estates field, these principles include: (1) giving a certain amount of ongoing control to the transferor, or in the case of a decedent, to the “dead hand,” (2) respect for formality, (3) the importance of the traditional, legally-recognized family, and (4) the “wealth” narrative that focuses on the transmission of conventional forms of wealth.

In her …

Kob-4 Interviews Sonia Gipson Rankin And Joshua Kastenberg On The Use Of The Arnold Tool Is Setting Bail, Sonia M. Gipson Rankin, Joshua Kastenberg, Joy Wang

Faculty Scholarship

“The Arnold instrument is a tool that the judges have at their disposal and what you'll notice from the order that the judge released today is she did use it as a tool and as a recommendation, but what she did take into account was the seriousness of the new criminal charge that has been filed,” said UNM Professor of Law, Sonia Gipson Rankin.

“Let's say that you have a person who's loitering and they're charged with possession of methamphetamine and let's say that they're a methamphetamine addict and they've been arrested and charged five times in misdemeanor court. Under …