Law Commons^™

Fool Me Once, Shame On Me; Fool Me Again And You’Re Gonna Pay For It: An Analysis Of Medicare’S New Reporting Requirements For Primary Payers And The Stiff Penalties Associated With Noncompliance, Monica A. Stahly

Law Student Publications

This article discusses the new requirements and the issues that currently face insurers, claimants, and attorneys in cases involving Medicare-eligible beneficiaries.

Sextual Healing: Solving The Teen To Teen Sexting Problem In Virginia, Samuel T. Bernier

Law Student Publications

This comment analyzes how teen-to-teen sexting is presently addressed under the Code of Virginia. It also addresses the statutes under which Janie and her friends may be convicted for their various indiscretions as well as some of the long term consequences of those convictions. Additionally, it addresses the recent Virginia State Crime Commissions report on teen-to-teen sexting.

Making Virtual Copyright Work, Matthew R. Farley

Law Student Publications

This Article proposes measures that attempt to strike the balance between creation and access. The virtual-world community is not likely to persevere with the little copyright protection it currently enjoys. Creativity will dwindle and the rich, energetic settings that make virtual worlds so attractive to businesses and entertainers will follow suit. At the same time, because much of the creativity in virtual worlds is derivative in nature, virtual creators are also unlikely to benefit from strong copyright protections. Therefore, current interpretation of copyright law must be revisited and revised before applying it to virtual worlds. Part I details virtual worlds …

Towards A New Lens Of Analysis: The History And Future Of Religioius Exemptions To Child Neglect Statutes, Gregory Engle

Law Student Publications

In order to analyze the religious exemptions, this paper will begin with their history. Part II looks at the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974 (CAPTA) the statute that precipitated their spread, as well as the justifications that it was bolstered upon: Free Exercise of religion and parental rights. The Equal Protection critique follows as Part III, followed by Part IV that discusses the traditional critique, grounded in the Establishment Clause. In Part V, the article will finish with an explanation of why the Equal Protection critique is a much stronger criticism.

Master Mariners And Their Maritime Law: A Book Review, John Paul Jones

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Equally Insured? Lasting Insurance Industry Reform Came Only With A Rethinking Of Race, Mary L. Heen

Law Faculty Publications

Earlier this decade, some of America’s best-known life insurance companies quietly settled multimillion-dollar civil rights lawsuits challenging race-based life insurance rates and benefits. As a result, those companies closed a chapter of American economic history that began after the Civil War with the door-to-door marketing of small individual life insurance policies to poor workers, including former slaves, and their families. The closing of this chapter in history also marked the end of a form of Jim Crow race discrimination largely invisible to the American public.

Jamming The Revolving Door: Legislative Setbacks For Mental Health Court Systems In Virginia, Sheila Moheb

Law Student Publications

Part II of this comment will discuss the existing issues that effectuate the tension between the criminal justice system and mentally ill offenders, which provides important context to the debate surrounding the establishment of MHCs. Part III will examine the recent federal support for alternative approaches to handling mentally ill offenders and the different operational tactics implemented by existing MHC programs. Finally, Part IV will study the launch of Virginia’s first MHC in Norfolk, while exploring the latest legislative defeat in Virginia, Senate Bill 158 of the 2010 General Assembly, which sought to establish MHCs statewide.

Access Denied: Sexual Victimization Of Juveniles In Correctional Facilities -- How Senate Bill 585 Could Have Helped, Jillian Malizio

Law Student Publications

The right to counsel is a fundamental right, one the framers of our Constitution intended to apply to all American citizens. Virginia statutes and case law have protected the rights of incarcerated adults and it is now time to grant those same protections to the juveniles in their custody. Part II of this comment will review the requirement of a prisoner’s right to “meaningful access” to the courts from both an adult and juvenile’s perspective. An examination of jurisprudence from the Supreme Court of the United States, and Circuit Courts, reveals the history and importance of “meaningful access” and shows …

The Ptos Fast Track Takes Us In The Wrong Direction, Kristen Jakobsen Osenga

Law Faculty Publications

On June 3, 2010, the Patent Office issued a press release touting an initiative to reduce patent pendency by allowing patent applicants to pick the speed at which their applications are examined. Patent pendency has been an increasing problem in the Patent Office, jumping to 34.6 months last year from 26.7 months in 2003. The proposal has two main prongs: first, provide three paths to patent examination, and second, rely more heavily on foreign patent office efforts. While the press release provides some preliminary details about the proposal, further information is expected to be published in the Federal Register on …

Please Check One—Male Or Female?: Confronting Gender Identity Discrimination In Collegiate Residential Life, Katherine A. Womack

Law Student Publications

While litigation in this field has rarely involved colleges and universities, collegiate environments are often the “forefront for social activism,”5 so it is likely the issue of transgender housing discrimination will soon explode on campus. It is now critical that colleges, universities, and the counsel who represent them either prepare to address these issues when they arise or explore possibilities to preempt the legal issues that will surely arise at their schools. Part II of this comment discusses the legal definition of transgender. Part III examines the history of the treatment of transgender persons in American courts, as well as …

Prosecute The Cheerleader, Save The World?: Asserting Federal Jurisdiction Over Child Pornography Crimes Committed Through “Sexting”, Isaac A. Mcbeth

Law Student Publications

This comment explores the possible scenarios in which sexting could give rise to prosecution under Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977 (“PCASEA”) for transporting, distributing, receiving, or possessing child pornography.2 Part II provides background information on the practice and prevalence of sexting. Part III discusses the definition of child pornography within the meaning of federal law and applies that definition to sexting. Part IV presents the concept of the transporting or shipping in interstate or foreign commerce jurisdictional hook and its potential relation to sexting. Part V applies the principles of statutory interpretation to the relevant provisions …

Your Retirement To-Do List: Enjoy Each Day, Suzanne B. Corriell

Law Faculty Publications

Author provides a variety of activities and entertaining options for retired professionals.

Corporate Governance In The Courtroom: An Empirical Analysis, Jessica M. Erickson

Law Faculty Publications

Conventional wisdom is that shareholder derivative suits are dead. Yet this death knell is decidedly premature. The current conception of shareholder derivative suits is based on an empirical record limited to suits filed in Delaware or on behalf of Delaware corporations, leaving suits outside this sphere in the shadows of corporate law scholarship. This Article aims to fill this gap by presenting the first empirical examination of shareholder derivative suits in the federal courts. Using an original, hand-collected data set, my study reveals that shareholder derivative suits are far from dead. Shareholders file more shareholder derivative suits than securities class …

Contract Law's Two "P.E.'S": Promissory Estoppel And The Parole Evidence Rule, David G. Epstein

Law Faculty Publications

This article is about "P.E." Not the physical education class that you looked forward to in junior high school, but the two "P.E.'s" you dreaded in your first-year law school contracts class: (1) promissory estoppel and (2) the parol evidence rule.' Each is plenty complicated standing alone. This article considers what happens if the two bump into each other. More specifically, this article asks and answers the question: Should the parol evidence rule apply to promissory estoppel cases?

Dilemmas Of Modernity: Bolivian Encounters With Law And Liberalism (Book Review), Jan Hoffman French

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Recent scholarship on Bolivia has focused primarily on indigenous rights, multiculturalism, political and cultural issues surrounding the growing of coca, and the election of Evo Morales. Mark Goodale's project is different. By taking a "telescopic" view, Goodale steps away from ethnographic detail in a remote district of Bolivia to examine the sweep of "liberal legality" since independence in 1825. Setting the stage, Goodale takes the position that neither neoliberal economic policies of the 1980s nor the election of Morales are breaks with the past. Rather, the "patterns of intention" initiated with the early constitutions of the new republic, the ethos …

The Upside Of Intellectual Property's Downside, Christopher A. Cotropia, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

Intellectual property law exists because exclusive private rights provide an incentive to innovate. This is the traditional upside of intellectual property: the production of valuable information goods that society would otherwise never see. In turn, too much intellectual property protection is typically viewed as counterproductive, as too much control in the hands of private rightsholders creates more artificial scarcity and imposes more costs on future innovators than the incentive effect warrants. This is the traditional downside of intellectual property: reduced production and impeded innovation. This Article turns the traditional discussion on its head and shows that intellectual property’s putative costs …

Reforming Fairness: The Need For Legal Pragmatism In The Wto Dispute Settlement Process, Webb Mcarthur

Law Student Publications

The World Trade Organization (“WTO”) dispute settlement system is intended to be the central pillar of the international trade system by which trade disputes involving WTO member states are adjudicated, whether regarding trade in goods, services, or in intellectual property rights. However, an innocuous statement such as this, when closely considered, indicates potential problems for the system.

Legal Preparedness For Pandemic Influenza: Is Virginia Ready?, Kristen Digirolamo

Law Student Publications

This paper attempts to identify the legal issues at stake during a pandemic and how those issues need to be discussed as a whole when preparing. Part II of this paper will give a brief description of pandemic influenza and look at the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. Part III will examine the origins of legal authority during a pandemic at the federal, state, and local levels of government. Part IV will look at some of the specific legal issues that may arise during a pandemic and discuss what decision-makers need to be thinking about in order to plan comprehensively. …

Medical Rights For Same-Sex Couples And Rainbow Families, Anisa Mohanty

Law Student Publications

The present state of the law regarding medical rights for same-sex couples and their families is highly inconsistent. A handful of states permit same-sex marriage. Another handful of states recognize same-sex marriages from other states, allow civil unions with state-level spousal rights for same-sex couples, or extend some or nearly all state-level spousal rights to unmarried couples in domestic partnerships. With these widely disparate levels of recognition, it becomes difficult for same-sex couples to navigate their options and rights when a loved one—a partner or child—has a medical emergency or is in the hospital. In Part II, this Comment will …

Not So Hip?: The Expanded Burdens On And Consequences To Law Firms As Business Associates Under Hitech Modifications To Hipaa, Benjamin K. Hoover

Law Student Publications

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) governs the management of protected health information (“PHI”) by covered entities (e.g., health care providers) and their business associates. However, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH”), contained within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, drastically alters the scope of HIPAA regulations with regard to business associates, including law firms that routinely handle the PHI governed by HIPAA. Under the HITECH Act, the definition of “business associate” is expanded, and these entities are treated as “covered” for purposes of the HIPAA security regulations; this …

Particularizing Patent Pleading: Pleading Patent Infringement In A Post-Twombly World, Jonathan L. Moore

Law Student Publications

The Supreme Court's recent jurisprudence has reinvigorated the role of pleading in civil litigation. As a result, in order to survive a motion to dismiss, plaintiffs must now include more detailed allegations that demonstrate a plausible entitlement to relief. This article examines how these changes interact with the pleading requirements for patent infringement litigation. In recent years, the number of patent infringement lawsuits has increased dramatically, in part because of lax notice pleading requirements. This patent litigation explosion imposes exorbitant costs on defendants and has a detrimental effect on innovation. As courts begin to apply the new plausibility pleading regime, …

Offshore Windfall: What Approval Of The United States' First Offshore Wind Project Means For The Offshore Wind Energy Industry, Michael P. Giordano

Law Student Publications

This comment explores the Cape Wind project with an emphasis on its role as the first United States offshore wind energy project. Part II of this comment explains the potential energy resource that offshore wind provides and examines some of the economic, technological, and regulatory challenges facing the development of offshore wind projects in United States waters. Part III of this comment introduces the Cape Wind project as a case study by briefly describing the particular political struggles and permitting challenges faced by its developers. Part IV of this comment analyzes how DOI approval and the eventual construction of Cape …

When It Reins It Pours, Noah M. Sachs

Law Faculty Publications

Imagine if the board of a Fortune 500 company required the company’s vice presidents to obtain board approval before implementing any decision. Now imagine that the board is highly polarized and its members are at each other’s throats. A recipe for corporate gridlock, right?

Amazingly, House Speaker John Boehner, Senator Jim DeMint, and other prominent Republicans are embracing this dubious chain-of-command for the federal government. They are promoting a bill called the REINS Act (Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny), which would stop any major regulation issued by any federal agency from taking effect until it receives approval …

Legal Education Prepares Students To Weather Tough Times, Tara L. Casey

Law Faculty Publications

The author discusses how law students are facing a daunting problem—a competitive job market in the midst of an economic recession. But because of the training they receive both inside and outside of the classroom, law students are uniquely poised to weather this storm.

Measured Sovereignty: The Political Experiences Of Indigenous Peoples As Nations And Individuals, David E. Wilkins

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

On June 18, 2001, in Washington, D.C., Jack Abramoff, a powerful Washington lobbyist, met with Michael Scanlon, a former congressional communications director, to secretly discuss a partnership centered around a firm known as "Capi­tol Carnpaign Strategies" (CCS). Their strategy, later labeled as "Gimme Five," was designed to put in $5 million a year to CCS, revenue that was to be secured from several Indian nations that had grown wealthy through gaming operations. Later, the expression "Gimme Five" was understood as entailing major kickbacks to Abramoff from payments made by any of Scanlon's American Indian clients to Scanlon. By late 2004, …

Women And Subprime Lending: An Essay Advocating Self-Regulation Of The Mortgage Lending Industry,Symposium On Law As Transformative Agent: Thinking And Doing Law In New Categories, Carol N. Brown

Law Faculty Publications

The subsequent national mortgage foreclosure crisis that seemed almost 5 uncontrollable by 2007 ignited a mortgage-related financial crisis that affected the global market place. News media, business reports, government investigations, 6 regulatory inquiries, and citizen suits focused national attention on the housing crisis and the problems attending what soon came to be known as the “mortgage meltdown.” A dual mortgage market had emerged in which subprime lending 7 disproportionately affected minorities (particularly blacks and Hispanics), women, and the elderly.8 Evidence of the disparate impact felt by certain minority borrowers is abundant and the evidence of gender disparities in subprime lending …

Arkansas, Timothy L. Coggins

Law Faculty Publications

An update to the 2007 State-by-State Report on Authentication of Online Legal Resources.

Why Should International Law Be Concerned About State Failure?, Chiara Giorgetti

Law Faculty Publications

In the last fifty years, the international community has undergone a transformation, as social, economic, and political dynamics have been altered. In fact, the international power structure has shifted towards a more complex structure, economies have been largely liberalized, new powerful international actors have emerged, and security threats have altered significantly. These transformations impacted all nation States. Indeed, a new standard of governance emerged that resulted in increased responsibility to each State's nationals. Similarly, States have become increasingly interindependent and have additional (both in numbers and substance) obligations towards each other and the international community in general. Certain States, however, …

Rethinking Adverse Possession: An Essay On Ownership And Possession, Carol N. Brown

Law Faculty Publications

In the wake of the present real estate crisis, there has been prolonged discussion of the wrongdoing that led to systemic failures in the national real estate market. The mortgage crisis caught the nation’s attention because of its large scale and its rippling effect throughout the economy. Equally nefarious is the impact of adverse possession on the rights of individual property owners. While a single adverse possession does not affect the national market in the same way as the mortgage crisis did, to the individual owner, the wrongdoing, in the form of a trespass, that ripens into title, is just …

A Fourth Circuit Photograph, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals issued a report and proposals after carefully evaluating the appellate system for a year, while the data have minimally changed since the report's issuance. The Commission's principal focus was the Ninth Circuit, as Congress had instructed, yet the Commission assembled much useful information on each circuit court of appeals and found that all operate efficaciously. Because how the Fourth Circuit addresses a large docket is critical to appellate justice, the Commission's analysis of the tribunal and the court itself merit scrutiny, which this Article undertakes.

Part I of this …