Law Commons^™

When It Comes To Prosecuting Trump, Merrick Garland Needs To Decide Already, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

Collected biweekly contributions to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news site.

Dynamic Disclosure: An Exposé On The Mythical Divide Between Voluntary And Mandatory Esg Disclosure, Lisa Fairfax

All Faculty Scholarship

In March 2022, for the first time in its history, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed rules mandating disclosure related to climate change. The proposed rules are remarkable because heretofore many in the business community, including the SEC, vehemently resisted climate-related disclosure, based primarily on the argument that such disclosure is not material to investors. This resistance is exemplified by the current lack of any SEC disclosure mandates for climate change. The proposed rules have sparked considerable pushback including allegations that the rules violate the First Amendment, would be too costly, and focus on “social” or “political” issues …

Law School News: Rwu Law Team Will Compete At National Moot Court Finals 11-28-2022, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

The Uscis Policy Manual: Exercising Questionable Authority Through Obscure Language, Marcy Pineda

ERSJ Blog

In 2022, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began creating a centralized online repository for USCIS's immigration policies called the USCIS Policy Manual ("the Manual"), a tool to assist and further consistency in the decisions rendered by immigration officers. The Manual also establishes procedure around certain nuances of immigration policy. Consequently, USCIS has established new procedures around the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petition.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice website on November 28, 2022. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

Landlord Duties To Combat Tenant-On-Tenant Discrimination Under The Fair Housing Act, Nicholas Cinquina

ERSJ Blog

Congress passed the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) during the Civil Rights movement, seeking to dispel discriminatory practices in the United States housing market. Relevant here, the FHA makes it unlawful to discriminate against protected class members in the “terms, conditions, or privileges of...rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection therewith....” Additionally, under the FHA, it is unlawful to “...interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of...any right granted or protected...in this title.” Whether the FHA can be construed to make it unlawful for a property owner to acquiesce in tenant-on-tenant discriminatory …

The Legality Of Russian Gray-Market Imports, Ruben Attia

CICLR Online

In its efforts to cope with Western sanctions implemented in response of its invasion of Ukraine, Russia launched the parallel imports scheme, allowing the importation of many goods without the consent of their intellectual property right-holder. Such goods are called grey market goods because they have been formulated or packaged for a particular jurisdiction and are imported into a different jurisdiction in contradiction to the brand owner’s intention. The value of parallel imports in Russia may well attain $16 billion by the end of 2022, as reported by Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Manturov. The Russian scheme also protects …

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 11.28.22, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Notre Dame Law Review hosts symposium on 'Liberalism, Christianity, and Constitutionalism'
• Judge Theodor Meron delivers ND Law’s 2022 Peace Through Law Lecture in London
• DEI Podcast, Episode 3: Understanding Imposter Feelings
• The Religious Liberty Clinic represents Sikhs, Muslims, Bruderhof, and Jewish groups defending a Rastafarian inmate forcibly shaved bald
• Sadie Blanchard's article, "Contracts Without Courts or Clans: How Business Networks Govern Exchange" has been published in the Georgia Law Review.
• Randy Kozel's new paper, “Government Employee Speech and Forum Analysis” was published in the Journal of Free Speech and challenges the idea that free speech claims by …

Mmu: 11/28/22–12/04/22, Student Bar Association

Monday Morning Update

This Week @ NDLS

HOW TO ATTACK AN EXAM

CLS Prayer Meeting

2023 Summer Fellowship

Information Session: 2023 Program of Church, State & Society Summer Fellowship

Interview Workshop

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Mass Times

Commons Daily Menu

General Announcements

Kresge Law Library: Study Aids

Applying for the London Programme 2023/24

1L of the Week: McKenzie Brummond

2Ls Taking Ls: Lizzy Forzley

Ask a 3L: Julia Fissore-O'Leary

Sports Report by Stephen Nugent

Jackie's [Kamel] Corner

Wto Security Exceptions: A Sliding Scale Approach To Protect The Rules-Based System For Global Free Trade, Ts Somashekar, Kanchan Yadav

Articles

Since the enforcement of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947 and subsequently with the establishment of the World Trade Organization, the global community has been moving towards a more secure and rule-based international trade law regime. The cornerstones of the system are predictability and transparency, which ensure that a state, no matter how powerful, cannot undertake a discriminatory trade measure against another going above and beyond the rules. However, the recent instances of unilateral invocation of the security exceptions found in the various trade agreements endanger the very basis of the WTO system. The very first …

Summary: New Perspectives On Worker Subordination, Valerio De Stefano, Sara Slinn, Eric Tucker

International Symposium on New Perspectives on Worker Subordination

No abstract provided.

Worker Participation In A Time Of Covid: A Case Study Of Occupational Health And Safety Regulation In Ontario, Alan Hall, Eric Tucker

Articles & Book Chapters

This study examines worker voice in the development and implementation of safety plans or protocols for covid-19 prevention among hospital workers, long-term care workers, and education workers in the Canadian province of Ontario. Although Ontario occupational health and safety law and official public health policy appear to recognize the need for active consultation with workers and labour unions, there were limited – and in some cases no – efforts by employers to meaningfully involve workers, worker representatives (reps), or union officials in assessing covid-19 risks and planning protection and prevention measures. The political and legal efforts of workers and unions …

Dynamic Pricing Algorithms, Consumer Harm, And Regulatory Response, Alexander Mackay, Samuel Weinstein

Articles

Pricing algorithms are rapidly transforming markets, from ride-sharing, to air travel, to online retail. Regulators and scholars have watched this development with a wary eye. Their focus so far has been on the potential for pricing algorithms to facilitate explicit and tacit collusion. This Article argues that the policy challenges pricing algorithms pose are far broader than collusive conduct. It demonstrates that algorithmic pricing can lead to higher prices for consumers in competitive markets and even in the absence of collusion. This consumer harm can be initiated by a single firm employing a superior pricing algorithm. Higher prices arise from …

Comments On The International Criminal Court Office Of The Prosecutor's Draft Policy On The Crime Of Gender Persecution Under The Rome Statute, Milena Sterio

Law Faculty Reports and Comments

The Draft Policy promises to be a seminal contribution not only to the Office of the Prosecutor's (OTP) policy and practice and the International Criminal Court's (ICC) jurisprudence on gender persecution, but also to the development of international criminal law generally. Building on its prior work, including the 2014 Policy Paper, the OTP is well placed to develop policies and procedures that protect historically marginalized and oppressed groups, deliver justice that accurately reflects the depth and breadth of the gender persecution suffered, and shed light on a crime that has to date received only limited attention.

As it finalizes the …

Dean’S Desk: The Iu Maurer School Of Law And The Indiana Supreme Court, Christiana Ochoa

Christiana Ochoa (7/22-10/22 Acting; 11/2022-)

On Nov. 1, my first day as the 17th dean of the Indiana University Maurer School of Law, I attended the robing ceremony for Derek Molter, Indiana’s 111th Supreme Court justice. This public ceremony was an opportunity for those in attendance to celebrate Justice Molter’s formal swearing in, which had occurred privately on Sept. 1. For the IU Maurer School of Law, it was also an opportunity to celebrate Justice Molter joining three other IU Maurer alumni on the five-person court.

Established in 1816, the court precedes our law school by about 30 years. Still, for most of Indiana’s history, …

Law School News: 'More Than I Ever Could Have Asked For...', Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Brief Of Human Rights And Labor Rights Organizations And Experts As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioners, Janie A. Chuang

Amicus Briefs

Since Congress first enacted the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, it has expanded and strengthened it through successive reauthorizations. Congress has broadened the scope of the TVPRA in order to impose criminal and civil liability on individuals, corporations, and other legal persons who use, or knowingly benefit from ventures that use, forced labor, as well as those who aid and abet these practices. Through this legislation, Congress has bolstered efforts to hold traffickers accountable, opening the courthouse doors to victims of these egregious crimes.

The Ninth Circuit's decision below undermined the very statutory scheme Congress put in place to …

The Acceptance Of Nfts In The Art World, Alissa Donovan

AELJ Blog

Since the first creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in 2014, some have tried to discredit this new technology as a scam undeserving of legitimate artistic consideration. The test of time has proven otherwise, as the use of NFTs has expanded to impact numerous industries. Although the collapse of NFT trading volumes in September of 2022 allowed critics an “I told you so” moment, NFTs seem to be continuously expanding in both use and legitimacy from their first conception. Significantly, art museums have also made a statement: NFTs are a legitimate art form and a lucrative move for the future of …

Keeping The Economy On Track: The Role Of Mediation, Super Mediation, And The National Mediation Board In Rail Labor Disputes, Chelsea Hill

CJCR Blog

The threat of strike action by America’s railway workers in late summer 2022, in response to an inability to agree to a new contract acceptable to both management and labor, raised fears of a national economic shutdown. Although an agreement is pending ratification by rail union membership, a potential rail strike in an already-fragile economy highlighted an inherent tension in the way collective bargaining in the rail industry is governed under the Rail Labor Act (“RLA”). The RLA established a procedure-heavy process with designated roles for multiple federal government actors and an emphasis on mediation, establishing a new, independent executive …

Brief Of Law Professors As Amici Curiae In Support Of Applicants’ Application To Vacate The Injunction Entered By The United States Court Of Appeals For The Eighth Circuit, Pamela Foohey

Amicus Briefs

Amici curiae Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Professors William Araiza, Matthew Bruckner, Pamela Foohey, Jonathan Glater, Luke Herrine, Dalié Jiménez, Jeffrey Lubbers, Chrystin Ondersma, Peter Shane, and Peter Strauss are professors of law at universities throughout the United States, with expertise in student financial assistance programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and administrative and constitutional law. Amici file this brief in support of Applicants because this case presents important questions within amici’s professional expertise, namely, the scope of the Department of Education’s authority to provide relief to borrowers and the development of this Court’s statutory …

Written Submission To The House Of Commons’ Justice And Human Rights Committee On Bill C-9: An Act To Amend The Judges Act, Craig M. Scott

Commissioned Reports, Studies and Public Policy Documents

This is a brief entered into evidence before the Canadian House of Commons’ Justice and Human Rights Committee during its consideration of Bill C-9, An Act to amend the Judges Act. Bill C-9 was introduced on First reading by the Government of Canada on December 16, 2021. The amendments in Bill C-9 concern the procedures by which the Canadian Judicial Council handles complaints of judicial misconduct. The brief argues that the Bill C-9 presents problems of transparency that undermine accountability of the judiciary in the face of concerns of misconduct. It seeks to demonstrate that Bill C-9’s effort to hide …

In Re Change Of Name: Salazar, 138 Nev. Adv. Op. 69 (Oct. 20, 2022), Theodore Milk

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

In an opinion drafted by Justice Hardesty, the Nevada Supreme Court considered whether a district court must provide reasons for denying an adult name change petition. In adopting a new standard, the Court found that a district court must provide substantial and principled reasons for denying an adult name-change petition. The Court held that the district court abused its discretion when it denied appellant Salazar’s name change petition without explanation.

The Supreme Court Revisits Affirmative Action: The Potential For A Major Decline In Diversity, Jessica Waldman

ERSJ Blog

Affirmative action was conceived amidst the civil rights movement of the 1960s as an attempt to create more opportunities for people who have been historically disadvantaged based on their race, religion, or sex. According to the Legal Information Institute, “[a]ffirmative action is defined as a set of procedures designed to; eliminate unlawful discrimination among applicants, remedy the results of such prior discrimination, and prevent such discrimination in the future.” In accordance with the policy for government employers, many universities and colleges began to adopt similar policies to combat the historical racial discrimination in higher education, having an effect of more …

The Monkeypox Problem, Sean Dalton

ERSJ Blog

In the spring and summer of 2022, monkeypox spread throughout the world, and had a prominent impact on the United States. The outbreak became so prevalent that the US Department of Health and Human Services declared monkeypox to be a national emergency in August. While transmission seems to have slowed during the last few months (likely due to the distribution of vaccines) there are serious issues for the US moving forward in terms of how the government reacts to outbreaks, particularly ones that predominantly impact marginalized communities.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and …

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 11.21.22, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Dean G. Marcus Cole to be inducted into the American College of Bankruptcy
• Notre Dame Religious Liberty Clinic defends Muslim man denied permission to pray outside his cell
• Notre Dame Law Review published Volume 98, Issue 1: Jeff Pojanowski's co-authored book review, "Recovering Classical LegalConstitutionalism: A Critique of Professor Vermeule's New Theory" is published in the issue.
• Randy Kozel wrote a book review of Philip Hamburger's book, "Purchasing Submission: Conditions, Power, and Freedom."
• Mary Ellen O'Connell's article, “Twenty Years of Drone Attacks” was published by EJIL:Talk.
• Sam Bray spoke at Catholic University last week on the Influence …

The Fracas At The Fdic, Todd Phillips

Duke Law Journal Online

In December 2021, the Democratic members of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) attempted to use their majority to issue a request for information but were blocked by the Republican Chair. Although the Democrats outnumbered the Chair three-to-one, the agency's General Counsel declared the move invalid, and the request went unpublished. After weeks of hostility, the Chair resigned, effectively conceding her inability to lead the agency. Although governance at the FDIC is now settled, concern over the Democratic directors' actions and the Chair's resignation have reverberated beyond that singular agency. Republicans are concerned that the …

Vol. 63, No. 13 (November 21, 2022)

Indiana Law Annotated

No abstract provided.

Sweet V. Hisgen, 138 Nev. Adv. Op. 68 (Oct. 20, 2022), Sydnee Mongeon

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

When determining the proper identity of an “authorized person,” the Court must look at the laws of the foreign state where the will was executed. So, if a notary is an “authorized person” in the country the will was executed, Nevada must accept the will as valid when signed by a notary. Further, NRS 133A.050(2) and NRS 133.080(1) allow a will that fails to comply with the UIWA, to be probated if it complies with NRS 133. Also, courts must construe wills to avoid intestacy and the term “universal heir” implies that the person is the heir to the entire …

Mmu: 11/21/22–11/27/22, Student Bar Association

Monday Morning Update

Note from the Editor

This Week @ NDLS

1L Registration

"How to Excel on Law School Exams" - Professor Panel for 1Ls

Mass Times

Commons Daily Menu

November 23 - November 27 Holiday Break

General Announcements

SBA Thanksgiving Food Drive

Notre Dame in Prison

Kresge Law Library: Research Assistant Opportunity

Law school students win intramural football championship

The Power And Failure Of Fifa To Be A Force For Lgbtq And Human Rights, Issac Gamboa

AELJ Blog

The FIFA World Cup began in November, and with it, the attention of an anticipated three billion viewers turned to this year’s host nation Qatar. Qatar is the first Middle Eastern country to host the event and has spent billions of dollars to quickly build the infrastructure necessary to host the tournament. But as Qatar worked to improve its infrastructure for the tournament, concerns over the host nation’s discriminatory laws against the LGBTQ community caused many to wonder how the strictly religious Arab country could accommodate such a diverse fanbase.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & …

Textualism, Judicial Supremacy, And The Independent State Legislature Theory, Leah M. Litman, Katherine A. Shaw

Articles

This piece offers an extended critique of one aspect of the so-called "independent state legislature" theory. That theory, in brief, holds that the federal Constitution gives state legislatures, and withholds from any other state entity, the power to regulate federal elections. Proponents ground their theory in two provisions of the federal Constitution: Article I's Elections Clause, which provides that "[t]he Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof," and Article H's Presidential Electors Clause, which provides that "[e]ach State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature …