Law Commons^™

Feasibility Of Development Of Flood Resiliency Clearinghouse Program, Commonwealth Center For Recurrent Flooding Resiliency, Mujde Erten-Unal, Carol Considine, Mark W. Luckenbach, Elizabeth Armistead Andrews

Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency (CCRFR): Reports

[Introduction]

House Bill 2187ⁱ, introduced by Delegate Keith Hodges in the 2021 session of the Virginia General Assembly, directed the Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency (CCRFR), a partnership between Old Dominion University, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) and the William & Mary Law School’s Virginia Coastal Policy Center (VCPC) established by Virginia Chapter 440 of the 2016 Acts of Assembly (HB 903), to evaluate the development of a Flood Resiliency Clearinghouse Program (henceforth Clearinghouse). The bill stipulated that the Center should work with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to evaluate solutions that manage …

Family Law Legislative Update, Jason Zarin

Law Faculty Publications

The Virginia General Assembly adjourned sine die on April 5, 2017. One bill affecting adoption was successfully vetoed, and several bills affecting adoption were enacted. Following is a preview of some possible legislation that may be introduced for the 2018 session.

Religious Freedom Legislation In The 2013 Virginia General Assembly, Ellis M. West

Political Science Faculty Publications

If there is any Virginia law that deserves to be called "iconic," it is Section 16 of the Virginia Bill of Rights, which combines the religious freedom provision in Virginia's first Declaration of Rights (1776) with portions of Thomas Jefferson's Statute for Religious Liberty (1785). These two documents also inspired the religion clauses of the First amendment and are world famous.

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This article consists of the following sections: Section one presents the content of the proposed amendment and explains the ways in which it is unclear, redundant, and otherwise poorly written. Section two addresses the issue of whether the …

Terminating Parental Rights Through A Backdoor In The Virginia Code, Dale Margolin Cecka

Law Faculty Publications

This article explores deficits in the statute, in light of constitutional law, other Virginia adoption and termination of parental rights statutes, and other states' codes and jurisprudence. Part II describes the history and practice of the statute. Part III describes the flaws of the statute, including Fourteenth Amendment violations and inherent conflicts of interest. Part IV calls for the revision of section 1202(H) based on recent precedent in which the Supreme Court of Virginia recognized the sanctity of the parent-child relationship and the state's interest in preserving it.

How (Not) To Talk About Abortion, Meredith J. Harbach

Law Faculty Publications

In this essay, I aim to have a conversation about how we converse- how we talk-about abortion and related issues. In the process, I want to consider how we might come together to discover issues of shared commitment and values and transform the existing abortion debate. I begin with a review of some of the more notable abortion-related rhetoric during the 2012 Virginia General Assembly, and contrast that rhetoric with the discourse in my classroom. I then consider whether and how we might move forward together toward a more meaningful and productive dialogue on these issues.

Virginia Should Abolish The Archaic Tort Defense Of Contributory Negligence And Adopt A Comparative Negligence Defense In Its Place, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

The purpose of this essay is to argue that the time has now come for Virginia, by judicial or legislative action, to abolish its archaic common law tort defense of contributory negligence and replace it with a comparative negligence defense. Adopting a comparative negligence defense would more equitably and more fairly recognize and apportion damages according to the bedrock underlying tort legal principles of accountability, deterrence, and distribution of loss.

Whiskey, Soldiers, And Voting: Western Virginia Elections In The 1790s, Jud Campbell

Law Faculty Publications

Editor's Note: Elections in eighteenth-century Virginia were conducted quite differently than current elections. In this article, the author presents revealing descriptions of early elections in Montgomery County, Virginia immediately following the birth of the United States. The behavior and motivations of the electorate, as well as the candidates, provide interesting insight regarding the social structure o/that era.

The Virginia Gardasil Law: A Constitutional Analysis Of Mandated Protection For Schoolchildren Against The Human Papillomavirus, Christina O. Hud

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Proposed Legislation: A (Second) Modest Proposal To Protect Virginia Consumers Against Defective Products, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to suggest a viable, necessary, and eminently reasonable legislative alternative that the Virginia General Assembly should enact for legitimate and pressing public policy reasons in order to properly protect Virginia consumers from defective and unreasonably dangerous consumer products. Adopting this alternative would bring the Commonwealth of Virginia into the mainstream of twenty-first century American, and transnational, products liability law.

Administrative Law, James R. Kibler Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Public Utility Law, B. Paige E. Holloway

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Taxation, Craig D. Bell

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Health Care Law, Kathleen M. Mccauley

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Antitrust And Trade Regulation Law, Michael F. Urbanski, James R. Creekmore, Ellen S. Moore

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Criminal Law, Marla Graff Decker, Stephen R. Mccullough

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Real Estate Law, Brian R. Marron, Christopher M. Gill

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Wills, Trusts, And Estates, J. Rodney Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legal Issues Involving Children, Robert E. Shepherd Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Criminal Procedure, Ronald J. Bacigal

Law Faculty Publications

This survey addresses only significant Virginia cases and statutes affecting Virginia criminal procedure. For discussion of the impact of federal court decisions, see R. Bacigal, Virginia Criminal Procedure (Supp. 1985).

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 …

Coal Slurry Pipeline, Mary Kathleen Martin, Laurie L. Riddles

University of Richmond Law Review

Coal, a primary energy source, is presently fueling the fires of debate in Virginia. The controversy has arisen over a plan developed by private investors to construct a coal slurry pipeline. The pipeline, as proposed, would transport between five and twenty-five million tons of coal annually from southwest Virginia to the Tidewater area. The coal would be pulverized and combined in a fifty percent mixture with water. Once the coal reaches its destination, the water would be extracted by centrifuge, leaving the coal ready for use.

Spouse Abuse: Proposal For A New Rule Of Thumb, Cheryl A. Wilkerson

University of Richmond Law Review

Since the mid-1970's, the nation has been giving increased attention to the problem of spouse abuse. This increased attention arose a decade after the nation became acutely aware that child abuse was a problem in this country. Heightened awareness of the fact that violence occurs between family members was accompanied by recognition that available legal remedies were inadequate. The remedies available to the abused spouse in most states other than Virginia include not only prosecution through the criminal justice system but also civil protective orders which may be obtained by victims either as an alternative to or in conjunction with …

The Virginia Judicial Council's Intermediate Appellate Court Proposal, Martha B. Brissette

University of Richmond Law Review

The ever-expanding volume of appellate litigation in Virginia has engendered a crisis in appellate justice in this state which can be adequately addressed only by the creation of an intermediate appellate court. Not only is Virginia the most populous state without such an intermediate court, its highest court also has the largest caseload of any single state appellate court.

The Questionable Validity Of The Automatic Exemption Of Attorneys From Jury Service, Barbara Ann Dalvano

University of Richmond Law Review

On January 10, 1980 Senator Emick proposed a bill in the Virginia General Assembly to abolish the automatic and optional exemptions from jury service of persons engaged in certain occupations. The bill was not passed in its proposed form. Section 8.01-341, providing optional exemptions, still remains in force in its entirety. Automatic exemptions, however, were eliminated for optometrists, clerks of both houses of the General Assembly, ministers, jail keepers, superintendents of public and mental hospitals, undertakers, veterinarians, members of fire departments, pharmacists, clinical psychologists and citizens of Broad Water and Cobb Islands. Licensed practicing attorneys, however, along with several other …

Design-Build Contracts In Virginia, Kevin B. Lynch

University of Richmond Law Review

Construction law is a varied and intricate outgrowth of the innumer- able complex relationships inherent in any building project. The role of the architect, once the master builder, has undergone and continues to undergo a redefinition. Due to recent changes in the construction industry, especially the development of construction management and design-build concepts, the regulatory framework within which the building project operates is, in many states, in need of reform. The purpose of this comment will be to examine the impact of the development of design- build concepts on the traditional model of owner, architect, and contractor relationships and to …

Regulation Of Consumer Credit In Virginia: A Suggestion For Legislative Improvement, Douglas P. Rucker Jr., William C. French

University of Richmond Law Review

The American economic system is the most successful yet developed, and consumer credit has played a vital role in that economy. Consumer credit has experienced tremendous growth, and has adjusted to the demands of changing life-styles, economic needs, and geographic distinctions, as well as to the different types of consumer goods which have become available with a minimal amount of government intervention. What government intervention there has been has involved restraint and restriction. There now exists the need to improve the consumer credit industry to enable the citizens of Virginia to continue to be able to obtain both the necessities …

Virginia Abolishes Locality Rule In Medical Malpractice, John Y. Richardson Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

The Virginia General Assembly, in recognition of a modem medical society, has abolished the presumption which favors the application of a "same or similar" locale standard to determine the requisite care of a health care provider. The "same or similar" standard has been used consistently since 1918 in malpractice litigation and, more recently, in proceedings before the medical malpractice review panels in Virginia. This standard was first adopted by statute in 1977, and though it appeared to intend a broader standard than the local standard, it was in fact interpreted as a clear statutory adoption of the Virginia case law …

Virginia Wealth Transfer Tax- Proposed Alternatives, Michael D. Flemming

University of Richmond Law Review

House Resolution 34, which was approved by the House of Delegates during the 1977 session of the Virginia General Assembly, observed that Virginia's inheritance and gift tax laws have remained essentially unchanged for more than 50 years and commissioned a study of those laws "in light of recent developments."' The proponents of House Resolution 34 no doubt had the 1976 amendments to the federal estate and gift tax laws fresh on their minds. But in addition to the federal changes, several of the states have altered their approach to transfer taxation in recent years. These changes expand the options available …

Corporate Conflicts Of Interest Under The Virginia Stock Corporation Act, Stephen R. Larson

University of Richmond Law Review

Dealings between a corporation and its officers or directors present a perennial corporate law problem. Officers and directors are often the people most interested in the success of the corporation and they accordingly may well be willing to contract with their corporation on terms far more favorable to it than are otherwise available. On the other hand, these same people are often in a position to cause the corporation to enter into contracts which are highly advantageous to the officer or director involved, but which are grossly unfair and detrimental to the corporation itself.

Lack Of Due Process In Virginia Contempt Proceeding For Failure To Comply With Order For Support And Alimony

University of Richmond Law Review

At common law a husband had a legal duty' to support his wife and children. Today in Virginia failure to support one's family is not simply a violation of a legal duty, it is a criminal act, carrying a penalty of up to twelve months at hard labor for the delinquent husband. The wife, however, without resorting to this criminal action, can effectuate the same result in a civil proceeding before a divorce court.