Law Commons^™

Case Note: Nabozny V. Podlesny, William B. Turner

William B Turner

This case note describes and provides context for the 1996 opinion in Nabozny v. Podlesny, in which the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district judge's grant of summary judgment to defendants in a suit by a former student who complained of years of severe bullying and harassment by his peers because of his sexual orientation, which school administrators persistently failed to take steps to stop.

The Wisdom Of Solomon: Why We Can't Split The Pre-Embryo, Bridget M. Fuselier

Bridget M Fuselier

Due to the fact that there are at least 500,000 cryo-preserved pre-embryos and a very small amount of common law or statutes to provide guidance, legislators need to act and take steps to guide the people impacted by these problems.

This article promotes modifications to property concepts that protects the special dignity of the pre-embryo while also recognizing the autonomy of the individual gamete providers. The article proposes a form of ownership that would prevent the pre-embryos from passing through wills and by intestate succession. It would also eliminate the possibility of ending up with a multitude of owners for …

Exceptions: The Criminal Law's Illogical Approach To Hiv-Related Aggravated Assaults, Ari E. Waldman

Ari E Waldman

This article identifies logical and due process errors in cases involving HIV-related aggravated assaults, which usually involve an HIV-positive individual having unprotected sex without disclosing his or her HIV status. While this behavior should not be encouraged, this paper suggests that punishing this conduct through a charge of aggravated assault – which requires a showing that the defendant’s actions were a means likely to cause grievous bodily harm or death – is fraught with fallacies in reasoning and runs afoul of due process. Specifically, some courts use the rule of thumb that HIV can possibly be transmitted through bodily fluids …

Staring Down The Sights At Mcdonald V. City Of Chicago: Why The Second Amendment Deserves The Kevlar Protection Of Strict Scrutiny, James J. Williamson Ii

James J. Williamson II

In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court found that a federal law that restricted the possession of handguns within a federal enclave to be in direct conflict with the Second Amendment, and therefore, unconstitutional. Two years after that decision, the Supreme Court, in McDonald v. City of Chicago, held that the Second Amendment is applicable to the States through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In both cases, however, the High Court failed to articulate a standard of review by which future Second Amendment challenges should be adjudicated. This note argues that the appropriate standard of …

The Learning Disability Mess, Ruth Colker

Ruth Colker

This essay explores the problems that have plagued society since 1975 when Congress first tried to define what is a “learning disability.” The statement that “No one really knows what a learning disability is” rings as true today as in 1975. Rather than solve this problem with an improved classification scheme, Professor Colker recommends that schools, testing entities and the federal government should place less weight on which students are classified as “learning disabled.” Plodders University should become the norm, where students are admitted based, in part, on their scores on exams taken under extended time conditions.

Judge Harold Baer's Quixotic Crusade For Class Counsel Diversity, Michael H. Hurwitz

Michael H Hurwitz

In this comment, the author discusses the recent rulings of U.S. District Court Judge Harold Baer, Jr. directing that proposed class counsel provide evidence of its racial and gender diversity. After summarizing the provisions of Rule 23(g) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that govern the appointment of class counsel, the author analyzes Judge Baer’s rulings in light of Rule 23(g)’s requirements. The author concludes that Judge Baer’s rulings are inconsistent with the Rule’s requirements and, instead, represent the judge’s effort to impose his own policy views over the interests of the class members served by the Rule’s narrow …