Law Commons^™

Taking Precedents In The Tidelands: Refocusing On Eminent Domain, W. Wade Berryhill

Law Faculty Publications

The focus of this article is on the state's power of eminent domain as a means of controlling the use of scarce coastal resources. However, in order to determine whether this rather drastic exercise of governmental power is the most appropriate means of effecting its purposes, the state or its delegate must consider the alternatives. This article therefore will first examine briefly other possible means of control; it will then discuss the substantive and procedural requirements of eminent domain; and finally, it will consider problems of post-acquisition resource management.

The T.C. Williams School Of Law Newsletter: Spring 1984

Richmond Law Magazine

Features:

Law School to Participate in First Annual Spring Recruitment Program

Virginia 's New Appellate Court

All American Hero

Senator Frederick T. Gray Receives Outstanding Alumni Award

University Of Richmond Bulletin: Catalog Of The T.C. Williams School Of Law For 1984-1986, University Of Richmond

Law School Catalogues

History:

The Law School was established as a department of Richmond College in 1870. In 1890 the family of the late T. C . Williams, who had been a devoted and valued Trustee, donated $25,000 as the nucleus of an endowment for the Law School. In recognition of this gift, the name of the School was changed to The T. C . Williams School of Law. At various times the School has received further generous gifts from members of the family of Mr. Williams. A substantial gift came through a bequest from Mr. T. C. Williams, Jr. who, like his …

Legislative Changes To Virginia Administrative Rulemaking, John Paul Jones

Law Faculty Publications

The year 1983 was an active one for administrative law reform in Virginia. The Governor's Regulatory Reform Advisory Board completed its first full year of studying the state administrative process in Virginia, developing proposals for its improvement and drafting enabling legislation. The Board received a wide variety of suggestions from state employees, businesses, and the public at large in open hearings and through private correspondence. The result was the Board's first annual report, containing a series of proposed legislative reforms. The common thread of these reforms was an increased public involvement in bureaucratic decision-making creating broadly applicable regulations with the …

Procedures For Terminating Small Trusts, J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

Trusts sometimes become too small for effective administration. This article discusses various provisions-statutory, common law, and drafting for terminating them. I.

A Review Of Federal Court Decisions Under Title Vii Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964, Mary L. Heen

Law Faculty Publications

Fifteen essays examine the highly emotional debate, considering discussions by unions, state legislatures, and the courts.

Drafting Cohabitation, Antenuptial, And Reconciliation Agreements, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Legal Growth Through Evolution: Comment On Puritan Revolution And English Law, William Hamilton Bryson

Law Faculty Publications

Professor Harold Berman has presented the fascinating thesis that a people's religion influences their laws and that the Puritan religious revolution of seventeenth century England introduced Calvinist ideas into Anglo-American jurisprudence. I fully agree with Professor Berman's observations that religious beliefs and a sense of moral obligation to others are some of the motivations of, or at least influences upon, legal growth. Economic aggrandizement is not the only motivation of the human race. Religion has had a direct effect upon social and political institutions.

The Use Of Roman Law In Virginia Courts, William Hamilton Bryson

Law Faculty Publications

By statute, the courts of Virginia are required to decide cases according to the principles of the English common law. However, they are not forbidden to resort to any other legal system where the common law of England is silent. Moreover, when the English courts themselves have no English law on a particular point, they often look to the Roman law in its ancient or its current form for guidance. Therefore, it is not unreasonable for Virginia courts to do likewise, and in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in fact, they did. The purpose of this essay is to consider …

The Virginia Bar, 1870-1900, William Hamilton Bryson

Law Faculty Publications

An essay on the Virginia bar from 1870 to 1900 rnust begin with a definition of a Virginia attorney-at-law. In 1870 and for the next twenty-five years, a Virginia lawyer was "any person" over the age of twenty-one of "honest demeanor" who had been examined for fitness and licensed to practice law by any two judges of Virginia courts of record. Having been licensed, each attorney must have then "qualified" to practice in each court in which he wished to appear. This was done by swearing in that court to demean himself honestly in the practice of law and to …

Museletter: January 1984, Bill Grady

Museletter

Table of Contents:

A Sad Parting

Staff Changes

Thank You

Frontier of Computerized Legal Research

Lexis Libraries

Interspousal Property Rights At Death (You Can't Take It With You, But You Can Prevent Your Spouse From Getting Any Of It.), J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

One of the major issues in Virginia law during the past decade has been the matter of property rights upon the termination of a marriage by divorce. Now that the concept of equitable distribution has been introduced into Virginia law in order to bring about a greater degree of fairness into this area, it is time to direct the focus of law reform to a parallel issue interspousal property rights when a marriage is terminated by death. The importance of this issue to large numbers of Virginians is obvious when one stops to realize that, notwithstanding the dismal statistics on …

A Statewide Standard Of Care In Medical Malpractice Cases - We're Shoveling Smoke, Thomas J. Harlan Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

A month before his death, Judge Learned Hand, in an interview with a young Life magazine reporter, was asked how he felt after his long and illustrious career on the bench in which his opinions were adopted by the United States Supreme Court, cited in major law schools throughout the country, hailed as legally incisive and brilliant, and being viewed himself as a trendsetter in legal thinking. Judge Hand replied: "'I've spent a lifetime of utter drudgery, shoveling smoke . . .'"

From O'Callahan To Chappell: The Burger Court And The Military, Stephen J. Kaczynski

University of Richmond Law Review

In 1969, the United States was deeply committed to a ground war in Southeast Asia in which the suffering and death was brought home daily to the American television viewer. Distrust of the military was never higher, as the repeated assertions of the imminent collapse of the enemy had apparently been graphically belied a year earlier in the Tet Offensive. As a newly elected President pledged to bring "peace with honor" to a war which seemed amenable to neither, Justice Douglas announced the decision of the Court in O'Callahan v. Parker.

Taking Precedents In The Tidelands: Refocusing On Eminent Domain, W. Wade Beryyhill, Susan S. Williams

University of Richmond Law Review

"Buy land, they're not making any more," Will Rogers supposedly once recommended. If he did, then Will had never taken a good look at the shore: Over the years, millions of acres of tidelands have been dredged and filled, many to provide new recreational facilities and vacation homesites.

Does Nepa Matter? - An Analysis Of The Historical Development And Contemporary Significance Of The National Environmental Policy Act, Kenneth M. Murchison

University of Richmond Law Review

When President Nixon signed the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on January 1, 1970, he declared that the new statute marked the arrival of the time for environmental action. The quantatitive measures of legislative and judicial activity during the ensuing decade suggest that he accurately captured the mood of the times, for the 1970's produced a flurry of new and amended statutes as well as a veritable explosion in environmental litigation. As a result of this burst of energy, environmental law has emerged as an important legal speciality that now commands the attention of law schools, government lawyers, and the …

Release Of Joint Tortfeasors-Virginia Code Section 8.01-35.1 And Its Retroactive Application, Gary R. Allen

University of Richmond Law Review

This comment was prompted by the 1979 enactment of Section 8.01- 35.1 of the Code of Virginia, which changed the law in Virginia regarding the release of, and contribution among, joint tortfeasors. Contribution statutes such as section 8.01-35.1 provide an equitable remedy for the problem of unjust enrichment (or, more accurately, unequal punishment) whenever one of several joint tortfeasors pays more than his ratable share of a claim. There has been considerable debate concerning the retroactive effect of these statutes-that is, whether a newly promulgated contribution statute can be applied retroactively to affect a claim which arose before the statute …

Regulation Of The Biomedical Applications Of Recombinant Dna Research, Robert L. Gully, Stephanie J. Bird

University of Richmond Law Review

In recent years, the rapid expansion of knowledge in the field of molecular genetics resulting from the use of recombinant DNA (rDNA) techniques has been unprecedented. The expanded knowledge scientists have acquired through rDNA techniques has precipitated conspicuous breakthroughs in biomedical research involving the manipulation of human genetic material to diagnose and treat human disorders. Application of this research may soon affect all aspects of our lives. However, this newly-acquired ability to manipulate human genes raises broad ethical and legal questions. The issues raised by rDNA research are dissimilar to earlier questions regarding the use of genetically-engineered microorganisms in the …

The Federal Court Across The Street: Constitutional Limits On Federal Court Assertions Of Personal Jurisdiction, Pamela J. Stephens

University of Richmond Law Review

Twenty years ago, in a clear break with accepted theory, it was suggested that there were certain constitutional limitations on a federal court's authority to exercise personal jurisdiction. Such a departure from the traditional view might be expected to prompt an extensive examination of that issue by commentators. However, while assertions of personal jurisdiction by state courts have been the subject of intense scrutiny and ongoing constitutional refinements, this has not been the case regarding assertions of personal jurisdiction by federal courts. Generally, federal district courts sitting in diversity cases must look to personal jurisdiction limitations inherent in the state …

Dan River, Inc. V. Icahn: Disclosure Violations - Relief For Subject Management?, Carolyn C. Lavecchia, R. Stephen Nelson Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

The heightened level of takeover activity during recent years has provoked many innovative responses from the management of subject companies that wish to remain independent. Since successful acquisition of a company usually involves the termination of its existing management, that management will often seek to mobilize the resources of the subject corporation to oppose the takeover attempt. As a result, litigation initiated by management now plays a part in virtually every takeover contest. The case of Dan River, Inc. v. Icahn, a recent Fourth Circuit decision, illustrates the use of litigation to forestall a takeover attempt.

Honor Thy Father And Mother: Paying The Medical Bills Of Elderly Parents, Renae Reed Patrick

University of Richmond Law Review

As the elderly population increases and medical costs skyrocket, federal and state governments feel increasing pressures to diminish drains on government treasuries caused by the provision of medical care to the elderly. One possible solution would be to require children to shoulder more of the costs of caring for their parents than they already bear as federal and state taxpayers. This article examines this approach and suggests that such a policy is contrary to both federal and state laws.

Stream Flow Maintenance In Virginia, Timothy Hayes, Jeter M. Watson

University of Richmond Law Review

Increasing and conflicting uses of water have been widely heralded as one of the major environmental crises facing society. Below average rainfall in recent years has caused municipal water shortages in Virginia, particularly in the rapidly growing areas of the southeastern part of the state, evidence that water quantity problems are no longer a phenomenon peculiar to the western states. Generally, those in Virginia who advocate reallocation of water to areas of the state experiencing such shortages feel that the state has enough water, just not all in the correct places.

Local Government Liability In Virginia For Negligent Inspection Of Buildings, Structures And Equipment, Matthew W. Broughton

University of Richmond Law Review

There is a growing trend in Virginia, as well as in many other states, for injured citizens to hold local governments liable for personal injuries and loss of property resulting from the negligent inspection by building officials of privately owned buildings and structures. The recent abrogation of the doctrine of sovereign immunity in the majority of jurisdictions has served to encourage such litigation, but abrogation alone has proven to be no guarantee of recovery for negligent inspection. Rather, the majority of jurisdictions have continued to enjoy immunity by asserting that building inspectors perform a discretionary governmental function for which no …

Benign Racial Classifications: A Guide For Transportation Attorneys, Walter A. Mcfarlane

University of Richmond Law Review

Just prior to its adjournment in 1982, and subsequent to hotly contested debates, the 97th Congress enacted the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 (STAA). The Act contained a number of controversial provisions, not the least of which was one requiring that "not less than 10 per centum of the amounts authorized to be appropriated" by the act were to be expended on small business "owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals ... ." Such small businesses have become known, as disadvantaged business enterprises, or DBE's.

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Virginia Tax Laws Affecting Churches, J. Rodney Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

This is the second of two articles dealing with external church law in Virginia. The first article was a restatement of all Virginia laws relating to churches except for the tax laws. The subject of taxes was reserved for special treatment at that time because of the volume of tax-related materials. For the most part these materials consist of the various constitutional and statutory taxation provisions relating to religious charities and the opinions of the Virginia Attorney General interpreting and applying these provisions. Attorney General opinions take on a special importance in this study because there is only a handful …

Virginia's Capital Murder Sentencing Proceeding: A Defense Perspective, Alan W. Clarke

University of Richmond Law Review

Capital murder trials present a unique challenge to defense counsel. Many capital defendants are demonstrably guilty of heinous crimes, and a single-minded defense concentrating solely on acquittal in the face of overwhelming evidence of guilt will often alienate the jury. The lawyer who focuses entirely on the guilt stage without attending to the sentencing stage may be consigning his client to the electric chair. This article deals with the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial, where life imprisonment, the jury's only alternative to the death penalty, represents a victory for the defense.

After The Impact Rule - Limiting Defendant's Liability In Negligent Infliction Of Emotional Distress Cases: Bass V. Nooney Co., William Mark Hillsman

University of Richmond Law Review

In Bass v. Nooney Co., the Supreme Court of Missouri abandoned the rule that a defendant is not liable for negligence which produces emotional distress unless the plaintiff suffers a contemporaneous physical injury or impact. This "impact rule" was the majority position in the United States in the first part of this century and had been a part of Missouri's jurisprudence since 1881. In Bass, however, Missouri joined the mainstream of American jurisprudence by providing judicial protection against a plaintiff's loss of emotional tranquility without requiring contemporaneous physical impact.

Winfield V. Commonwealth: The Application Of The Virginia Rape Shield Statute, Philip L. Hatchett

University of Richmond Law Review

In Winfield v. Commonwealth, the Virginia Supreme Court held that the state's recently enacted rape shield statute could not restrict or infringe upon the defendant's sixth amendment right under the United States Constitution to confront his accusers. In overruling the trial judge, the court stated that section 18.2-67.7 of the Code of Virginia actually expanded the admissibility of evidence related to specific prior sexual conduct of the prosecutrix. By this ruling, Virginia has joined a minority of jurisdictions which have refused to recognize the special dilemma of the prosecutrix in a rape trial and to grant additional protections under her …

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.