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Full-Text Articles in Law
Time For Change: Bringing Massachusetts Homestead And Personal Property Exemptions Into The Twenty-First Century, Lee Harrington
Time For Change: Bringing Massachusetts Homestead And Personal Property Exemptions Into The Twenty-First Century, Lee Harrington
University of Massachusetts Law Review
There are presently two pieces of legislation pending on Beacon Hill that are intended to offer amendments to the Homestead Statute and Exemption Statute that would offer meaningful changes and real relief for the citizens of the Commonwealth. This article provides a brief history of the two statutory schemes, provides some comparisons to the schemes in other states, and highlights the changes sought by the proposed amendments.
Computer Programs Under The United States Intellectual Property System: Sui Generis Legislation Is Needed, Joseph Francis Agnelli, Iii
Computer Programs Under The United States Intellectual Property System: Sui Generis Legislation Is Needed, Joseph Francis Agnelli, Iii
University of Massachusetts Law Review
Section I of this article explores the different avenues of intellectual property protection presently available for computer software here in the United States. Section II then discusses how the European Community has resolved the computer program crisis under European intellectual property law. Lastly, section III will illustrate why sui generis legislation would be the paramount way for Congress to attack the intricacy that is created by computer programs under American intellectual property law.
State Sovereign Immunity And Intellectual Property: An Evaluation Of The Trademark Remedy Clarification Act’S Attempt To Subject States To Suit In Federal Courts For Trademark Infringements Under The Lanham Act, Jennifer L. Fessler
University of Massachusetts Law Review
There are two things that can be learned from this paper. First, the analytical framework developed by the Court in City of Boerne is a stringent test that has considerably narrowed Congress’s ability to abrogate state’s Eleventh Amendment immunity through legislation. Second, only half of the battle was won when Congress enacted the Trademark Remedy Clarification Act. Although it met the new requirements the Court placed on legislative efforts in Atascadero, it is not able to meet the requirements that were later set forth in Seminole Tribe. The Rehnquist Court’s holdings indicate the Court’s active pursuit of state’s …
The Veterans Clinic And Legal Education: A Conversation With Professor Steven Berenson, Steven Berenson, Paul Lee
The Veterans Clinic And Legal Education: A Conversation With Professor Steven Berenson, Steven Berenson, Paul Lee
University of Massachusetts Law Review
This Article is a conversation between Professor Berenson and the UMass Law Review, discussing both his experience setting up the Clinic and the Clinic’s achievements. Part II provides a brief introduction to Professor Berenson’s work and how he started the TJSL Veterans Clinic. Part III considers veterans particular legal needs and how the Clinic addresses these issues. The Article concludes with some remarks from Professor Berenson regarding the future of the Clinic, and the overall movement of law schools toward greater practical education.
Maria’S Law: Extending Insurance Coverage For Fertility Preservation To Cancer Patients In Massachusetts, Brittany Raposa
Maria’S Law: Extending Insurance Coverage For Fertility Preservation To Cancer Patients In Massachusetts, Brittany Raposa
University of Massachusetts Law Review
This Note addresses the issues related to fertility preservation treatments for cancer patients in the context of insurance coverage. As cancer survival rates improve, the ability to bear children after therapy is increasingly difficult and a concern for most patients. Currently, no states have laws requiring insurance coverage for fertility preservation treatments for cancer patients. Because it is not currently covered by either private or public insurance, only those who can pay for it on their own can use fertility preservation treatments. This note proposes that Massachusetts, as having one of the most inclusive infertility health insurance mandates, should expand …
The Case For Extending Pretrial Diversion To Include Possession Of Child Pornography, Sarah J. Long
The Case For Extending Pretrial Diversion To Include Possession Of Child Pornography, Sarah J. Long
University of Massachusetts Law Review
Pretrial diversion removes offenders with a low-risk of reoffending from the penal system and instead sends them to supervised treatment programs. The result is lower cost to the state and a second chance for those who successfully complete the program. Typically, violent crimes, such as murder and attempted murder, are exempt from pretrial diversion. Notably, sex related crimes are also ineligible in all jurisdictions. By excluding all sex-related crimes from pretrial diversion, possession of child pornography is adjudicated by the courts. As a result, young, first-time offenders who may be candidates for treatment are bundled with physical offenders, members of …
Tactics, Strategies, & Battles – Oh My!: Perseverance Of The Perpetual Problem Pertaining To Preaching To Public School Pupils & Why It Persists, Casey S. Mckay
Tactics, Strategies, & Battles – Oh My!: Perseverance Of The Perpetual Problem Pertaining To Preaching To Public School Pupils & Why It Persists, Casey S. Mckay
University of Massachusetts Law Review
This Comment examines why a seemingly well-settled scientific issue, evolution through natural selection, continues to be the subject of so much legal controversy in public education. By exploiting misconceptions regarding the scientific method, religious special interest groups are able to persuade lawmakers to sneak religion into public school science classrooms across the country. This Comment considers the most recent incarnations of creationism and concludes by analyzing the impact the ongoing legal controversy has had on the American public’s understanding of science.
Anaerobic Digestion As A Renewable Energy Source And Waste Management Technology: What Must Be Done For This Technology To Realize Success In The United States?, Blake Anthony Klinkner
Anaerobic Digestion As A Renewable Energy Source And Waste Management Technology: What Must Be Done For This Technology To Realize Success In The United States?, Blake Anthony Klinkner
University of Massachusetts Law Review
Anaerobic digestion technology uses microorganisms to consume waste and produce methane gas, which serves as a source of clean renewable energy. Although anaerobic digestion is widely used for both purposes throughout the rest of the world, it is rarely applied in the United States. This Article explains the scientific processes of anaerobic digestion. It then discusses how anaerobic digestion has been used throughout history and among societies as a waste management technology and source of renewable energy. The Article continues by addressing the legal aspects of anaerobic digestion, examining the reasons why it is not widely used in the United …
Securitization Of Student Loans: A Proposal To Reform Federal Accounting, Reduce Government Risk, And Introduce Market Mechanisms As Indicators Of Quality Education, Robert Proudfoot
University of Massachusetts Law Review
This Article outlines looming budgetary and accounting issues with federal student loans and proposes securitization as an innovative mechanism to reform federal accounting, reduce federal balance sheet risk, and provide a new education quality indicator. The current federal loan program is unsustainable because it overestimates the repayment rates and underestimates the cost of certain loan programs. Securitization will reduce that federal risk. Additionally, by forcing academic institutions to bear some of the risk, securitization will create a neutral pricing mechanism outside the direct control of federal regulators to show whether academic institutions provide a quality education. While complicated, this proposal …
Social Networking And Student Safety: Balancing Student First Amendment Rights And Disciplining Threatening Speech, John L. Hughes Iii
Social Networking And Student Safety: Balancing Student First Amendment Rights And Disciplining Threatening Speech, John L. Hughes Iii
University of Massachusetts Law Review
As the use of social media increases and becomes an integral part of nearly every student's life, problems arise when student expression on these sites turns into threats against the school or other students, implicating both student safety and the speaker's right to free speech. Facing a lack of Supreme Court precedent, school officials need guidance on whether and how to take action when a student makes threats on social network - how to prevent any danger at school while respecting the student's right to free speech. This note develops an approach that combines the Supreme Court's Watts "true threat" …
Intimate Terrorism And Technology: There's An App For That, Justine A. Dunlap
Intimate Terrorism And Technology: There's An App For That, Justine A. Dunlap
University of Massachusetts Law Review
Technology enhances the ability of the domestic violence prepetrator. It also holds the promise of assisting domestic violence survivors in their quest for safety. This is true in practical, daily ways and is becoming increasingly true in the legal treatment of these cases. Perpetrators can use technology to stalk and find their victims; survivors can use it to access necessary information to get away from their batterers. Laws are being amended to take into account cyber-enhanced domestic violence techniques. Domestic or intimate terrorists are among the class of criminals targeted for use of GPS monitoring. This article discusses the way …