Legislation Commons^™

Evaluating Katrina: A Snapshot Of Renters’ Rights Following Disasters, Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod, Olympia Duhart

Eloisa C Rodríguez-Dod

Hurricane Katrina destroyed the homes of many people living in parts of the Gulf Region. The storm displaced as many as 800,000 victims and it is still difficult for them to return home. Consequently, many homeowners have turned to renting because of the slow recovery process. Renters face added difficulties; they are often the last in line for government benefits and other assistance. There is much hostility towards the rights of renters, creating even more difficulties for them. This article focuses on the difficulties evacuee renters faced in New Orleans following the disaster. This article discusses legislation and attempted legislation …

It’S Not A Small World After All: Regulating Obesity Globally, Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod

Eloisa C Rodríguez-Dod

The rate of obesity and overweight among the world population has increased dramatically over the past several years in both adults and children. Childhood obesity is a critical health care concern. There have been well-publicized efforts to regulate children‘s obesity both in the U.S. and abroad through such measures as mandated nutritional school lunch programs. This article focuses, however, on a less examined area of regulation—the recent worldwide efforts to curb obesity among adults. The regulations discussed in this article include measures proposed or adopted by either administrative agencies or legislative bodies, whether on a local or national level. The …

Ashes To Ashes: Comparative Law Regarding Survivors’ Disputes Concerning Cremation And Cremated Remains, Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod

Eloisa C Rodríguez-Dod

One should plan for unassuming post-mortem issues, as most state laws do not provide a complete framework when there is no testamentary instruction by the deceased. Judicial determination is often needed, however reported opinions are scarce. Final disposition issues also arise in foreign law. Spain has no civil code regarding disposition of a deceased but delegates its funerary laws to local governments and autonomous communities, while the French have established an order of priority for funerary decisions and provide for a judicial determination and stay of the funerary process in case of dispute. The author gives a brief history of …

Respa - Questioning Its Effectiveness, Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod

Eloisa C Rodríguez-Dod

Purchasing real estate is a complicated process, especially for the average consumer. The closing procedure alone involves fees and documents that can be confusing to a borrower. The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) was enacted in 1974 in order to ease some of this confusion. This article discusses the enactment of RESPA and its purpose, which is mainly to "insure that consumers... are provided with greater and more timely information on the nature and costs of the settlement process and are protected from unnecessarily high settlement charges caused by certain abusive practices." The article also discusses disclosure requirements that …

Sb 323 - State Printing And Documents, M. Adam Kaye Jr., Kaitlyn Pettet

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act exempts economic development project documents, maintained by any state government agency, from public disclosure until the project is secured by binding commitment. The Act also allows any state university’s athletic department ninety days to return open records requests.

Hb 727 - Regulation Of Fireworks, Tim Henshaw, Max Perwich

Georgia State University Law Review

HB 727 establishes provisions to allow local governments to restrict the usage of fireworks. It also changes regulations for the following: the sale and use of fireworks, temporary consumer fireworks sales stands, fire department requirements, firefighter qualifications, pyrotechnics exhibits, consumer fireworks distributor licenses, fireworks contraband, limitations on the timing of firework detonations, and illegal sales of fireworks. HB 727 revises provisions regarding the lawful use and ignition of fireworks and prohibits the following: use of fireworks near any public transportation routes, ignition of fireworks under the influence of alcohol or drugs, sale of fireworks to any person under 18 years …

Hb 927 - Supreme Court, Appellate Court Efficiencies, Bryan Janflone, Michael F. Williford

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act expands the jurisdiction of the Georgia Court of Appeals and increases the number of Supreme Court Justices from seven to nine to alleviate the overly burdened Supreme Court of Georgia. The Supreme Court had exclusive appellate jurisdiction over cases involving title to land, wills, and divorce. The Act allows the Court of Appeals to hear appeals on these matters.

Hb 859 - Offenses Against Public Order And Safety, David Hsu, Jessica Weekley Truelove

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act would have allowed legal possession of a concealed firearm for individuals with a Georgia Weapons Carry License on property owned or leased by a technical school, college, or university.

Sb 331 - Parent And Child Relationship Generally, Corbin Aiken, Karen Lowell

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act amends provisions of Georgia’s domestic relations statutes to allow a court to deny a biological father’s legitimation petition or to terminate his parental rights when there is clear and convincing evidence that the child was conceived as a result of rape. If the court denies the biological father’s legitimation petition, the child is still capable of inheriting from the father, but the father is not capable of benefiting from the child.

Sb 367 - Comprehensive Reform For Offenders Entering, Proceeding Through, And Leaving The Criminal Justice System, W. Sean Mcphillip, Andrew A. Palmer, Oren Snir

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act provides comprehensive reform for offenders entering, proceeding through, and leaving the criminal justice system. It expands accountability courts and pretrial intervention and diversion programs. The Act provides for students incarcerated in Department of Corrections facilities or incarcerated or committed to Department of Juvenile Justice facilities to receive educational services through a state charter school. It also revises matters and procedures related to school discipline and the regaining of driving privileges for those convicted of certain crimes. In addition, the Act clarifies the responsibilities of, and provides for reorganization within, the Board of Community Supervision and Department of Community …

Hb 801 - Postsecondary Education: Hope Scholarship, S. Umarah Ali, Sakinah N. Jones

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act amends provisions of the HOPE scholarship by allowing students who choose to take more rigorous courses to have a weighted grade point average for the evaluation of their HOPE scholarship disbursement.

Hb 768 - Georgia Achieving A Better Life Experience (Able), Amy Patterson, Melissa Sprinkle

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act creates a tax-exempt savings account program for persons with disabilities in order to help them live independently. It creates an ABLE Program Corporation whose board is authorized to implement and administer the program.

Hb 362 & Hb 588 - Controlled Substances, William Fawcett, April Meeks

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act mandates the installation of real-time electronic tracking systems in all pharmacies that sell products containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, which are ingredients used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. When customers attempt to purchase more than the maximum amount of these products, the tracking system blocks the sale by issuing a stop sale alert.

Hb 513 - Civil Practice Act: Anti-Slapp, Pierre-Joseph Noebes, Rachel Reed

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act amends Georgia’s anti-SLAPP statute to expand its coverage from protecting the right to petition to also include protecting the right of free speech in connection with an issue of public interest or concern. Claims brought against those involved in such activities shall be subject to a motion to strike, unless the court determines that the non-moving party has established a probability that the claimant can prevail on the merits. If the moving party succeeds on a motion to strike,the court will award the party attorney’s fees and costs associated with the motion. Any order granting or denying a …

Hb 757 - Public Lawsuits: Protect Religious Freedoms, Phillip Kuck, William Cody Newsome

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act purported to protect the free exercise of religion for religious officials and institutions. Religious officials would not be required to perform marriage ceremonies in violation of their legal right to free exercise of religion. Moreover, faith based organizations would have been permitted to deny employment to individuals whose religious beliefs, or lack thereof, are not in accord with the organization. The Act would have further provided that no business may be required, by legislation, to operate on Saturday or Sunday and that sovereign immunity is waived under certain circumstances.

Hb 941 - Pretrial Proceedings, Majda Muhic, Kirstin Rodrigues

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act changes the grand jury proceedings for police officers charged with committing a crime in the course of performing their official duties. Prior to the Act, Georgia police officers were permitted to be present for the entire duration of grand jury proceedings, hear all of the evidence presented against them, and then testify to the grand jury at the end of the proceedings without being subject to cross examination. Grand jury hearings produced no records, so interested parties had no opportunity to find out what transpired in the proceedings. After the passage of the Act, police officers retain the …

Sb 255 - Garnishment Proceedings, Amy Bement, Kianna Hawkins, Elizabeth Wedegis

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act reorganizes and modernizes Georgia’s garnishment code by requiring notice of garnishment exemptions to debtors, providing a process for the resolution of exemption claims, limiting the garnishment period for financial accounts to twenty four hours, requiring service of garnishment summons to be performed upon a registered agent of a corporation, and mandating the use of the forms provided in the Act.

Narcotics Legislation - A Total Approach, Irving Lang

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Legislative Solutions To Narcotic And Drug Addiction, Joseph R. Corso

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

What Lurks Below Beckles, Leah Litman, Shakeer Rahman

Articles

This Essay argues that if the Supreme Court grants habeas relief in Beckles v. United States, then it should spell out certain details about where a Beckles claim comes from and who such a claim benefits. Those details are not essential to the main question raised in the case, but the federal habeas statute takes away the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to hear just about any case that would raise those questions. For that reason, this Essay concludes that failing to address those questions now could arbitrarily condemn hundreds of prisoners to illegal sentences and lead to a situation where the …

Compulsory Sterilization: A Re-Examination

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

The New Immigration Law, John E. Mccarthy

The Catholic Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Resolving The Divided Patent Infringement Dilemma, Nathanial Grow

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article considers cases of divided patent infringement: those in which two or more parties collectively perform all the steps of a patented claim, but where no single party acting alone has completed the entire patented invention. Despite the increasing frequency with which such cases appear to be arising, courts have struggled to equitably resolve these lawsuits under the constraints of the existing statutory framework because of the competing policy concerns they present. On the one hand, any standard that holds two or more parties strictly liable whenever their combined actions infringe a patent risks imposing liability on countless seemingly …

Family Law, Allison Anna Tait

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Amnesty International's Empty Promises: Decriminalization, Prostituted Women, And Sex Trafficking, Darren Geist

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Through a close examination of Amnesty International’s (Amnesty) own arguments and sources, this paper demonstrates that Amnesty’s proposal to decriminalize prostitution or “sex work” will harm those it claims to help. It concludes that the best available evidence indicates that decriminalization of prostitution would: increase sex trafficking, leave prostituted women or “sex workers” more vulnerable to violence, and reduce access to healthcare, protection, and services. Prostituted women primarily enter the industry at a young age, often suffering from a history of sexual and physical abuse, coming from marginalized and vulnerable communities, and driven by emotional and economic desperation. It is …

Limited License Legal Technicians: Non-Lawyers Get Access To The Legal Profession, But Clients Won’T Get Access To Justice, Julian Aprile

Seattle University Law Review

Washington Limited License Legal Technicians (LLLTs) are non-lawyers who will supposedly help to close “the wide and ever-growing gap in necessary legal and law related services for low and moderate income persons.” However, LLLTs will not close the access to justice gap because “[t]here are no protections . . . to ensure that legal technicians will actually provide services to the poor, as opposed to selling their services to those who can most afford them,” and LLLTs are “not going to have the competency to actually do for the poor what needs to be done.”

Additionally, the modifications of the …

Incomplete Sentences: Hobby Lobby’S Corporate Religious Rights, The Criminally Culpable Corporate Soul, And The Case For Greater Alignment Of Organizational And Individual Sentencing, Kenya J.H. Smith

Louisiana Law Review

The article explores the history and policies that explain the disparate sentencing treatment of organizations and individuals under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 and attendant sentencing guidelines. It reports the Supreme Court's recognition of a business corporation's religious rights in the case "Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc."

Cell Phone Location Tracking: Reforming The Standard To Reflect Modern Privacy Expectations, Shannon Jaeckel

Louisiana Law Review

The article examines the history of cell site location information (CSLI) technology and the relevant federal statutes. Topics discussed include mechanics and content of CSLI data; advances in CSLI technology and the importance of this information to law enforcement; and need of Louisiana legislature be proactive in adopting a comprehensive CSLI.

Site-Specific Laws, John Copeland Nagle

John Copeland Nagle

No abstract provided.

Private Law In The Gaps, Jeffrey A. Pojanowski

Jeffrey A. Pojanowski

Private law subjects like tort, contract, and property are traditionally taken to be at the core of the common law tradition, yet statutes increasingly intersect with these bodies of doctrine. This Article draws on recent work in private law theory and statutory interpretation to consider afresh what courts should do with private law in statutory gaps. In particular, it focuses on statutes touching on tort law, a field at the leading edge of private law theory. This Article's analysis unsettles some conventional wisdom about the intersection of private law and statutes. Many leading tort scholars and jurists embrace a regulatory …