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 …

Standing In The Age Of Citizen Revolt: Legislative Standing, Direct Democracy, And The Supreme Court, Frank M. Dickerson Iii, Reid M. Bolton

Frank M. Dickerson III

One of the most interesting questions raised by California’s Proposition 8 is the question of standing for ballot-initiative supporters in defensive litigation. This Article addresses the question raised in the Proposition 8 case and the issue of standing for ballot initiative supporters to defend their initiative on appeal more generally. It suggests that such standing for ballot-initiative sponsors is consistent with both prior Supreme Court precedent and the Constitutional and prudential concerns underlying the doctrine of standing.

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 …

Wine Retailers Lobby To Put A Cork In Discriminatory State Liquor Laws And Proposed Care Act, Marissa Prosky

Marissa Prosky

Because the wine production and distribution industries have substantially expanded with the introduction of online wine sales, the impact of the CARE Act on the industries would be devastating. The history of liquor legislation has progressed from the nation’s initial laws enacted prior to prohibition, to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of state liquor laws after the Eighteenth and Twenty-First Amendments, and most recently the Supreme Court’s decision on state liquor laws in Heald. Several lower courts have shown difficulty in applying the Supreme Court’s Heald decision. Congress has taken action to resolve the confusion in applying Heald by proposing the …

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 …

On The Formation Of The American Corporate State: The Fuller Supreme Court, 1888-1910, George Skouras

George Skouras

This paper deals with the formation and legitimation of the American Corporate State by the Fuller Supreme Court. It argues that the Fuller Court was wrong to use the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment and natural law to support laissez-faire capitalism and the emergent corporate structure at the expense of labor and labor unions. It also argues that the corporatization of America has created a social and cultural environment that places business as the center of the American universe. This has led to a very asymmetrical relationship between corporations and citizens. It further argues that recent revisionist scholarship …