Law Commons^™

On Brown V. Board Of Education's 50th Anniversary: To Integrate Or Separate Is Not The Question

Thomas Kleven

By ending official apartheid, Brown represented a great victory in the struggle for racial justice in the United States. Following more than a decade of inaction as a result of its “all deliberate speed” formulation, and in response to the then prevailing sentiment among the proponents of Brown, the Supreme Court began to push for the integration of school districts that engaged in segregation by law or practice. This integrationist push lasted from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. Beginning in the mid-1970s the Court began to limit the remedies for segregation by law or practice, and beginning in …

Equitable Sharing: Distributing The Benefits And Detriments Of Democratic Society, Thomas Kleven

Thomas Kleven

The book argues that a principle of equitable sharing is fundamental to the concept of democracy and to the democratic society the United States purports to be. It examines the political philosophies of John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and John Rawls, all of which contain a principle of equitable sharing in some form. It then examines the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, both of which evidence a commitment to equitable sharing as foundational to the democratic society they contemplate. The book argues that the Supreme Court also has a meaningful role to play in the dialogue over the requirements …

On The Freedom To Associate Or Not To Associate With Others

Thomas Kleven

This article discusses the freedom to associate or not to associate with others. Associational issues are pervasive in the law, and arise on both an individual and a societal level. Within societies one party may want to have an association with another who doesn’t want the association, or parties may want to have an association that others find objectionable or may want not to have an association that others favor. In all of these situations society as a whole must decide whether to empower one party to impose an unwanted relationship on others, and whether to prohibit associations that parties …

Is Capital Punishment Immoral Even If It Does Deter Murder?

Thomas Kleven

After years of inconclusive debate, recent studies purport to demonstrate that capital punishment does indeed deter murder, perhaps to the tune of multiple saved lives for each person executed. In response to these studies, Professors Sunstein and Vermeule have argued that since capital punishment leads to a net savings of innocent lives, it may be morally required on consequentialist grounds. I argue, even assuming the validity of the studies, that capital punishment cannot be justified in the United States in the current historical context for reasons of justice that trump consequentialist considerations. Mine is not an argument that capital punishment …

On The Freedom To Associate Or Not To Associate With Others, Thomas Kleven

Thomas Kleven

In casual conversation, it is commonly asserted that there is, or should be, a right to associate or not to associate with whom one chooses. Societies, however, frequently induce associations people do not want and deter those they do. This article addresses the types of situations that give rise to associational issues and the considerations relevant to their resolution. It does not attempt to develop a general theory of free association because, given the unresolvable value disputes underlying all associational issues, I am skeptical about the possibility of developing such a general theory. Unpacking how differing associational issues are resolved …

The Supreme Court, Race, And The Class Struggle, Thomas Kleven

Thomas Kleven

No abstract provided.

The Democratic Right To Full Bilingual Education, Thomas Kleven

Thomas Kleven

No abstract provided.

Under The Circumstances: Padilla V. Kentucky Still Excuses Fundamental Fairness And Leaves Professional Responsibility Lost, Maurice Hew Jr.

Maurice Y Hew Jr

The Supreme Court’s decision in Padilla v. Kentucky includes within the Sixth Amendment’s right to the effective assistance of counsel advice on immigration, but still falls short of attaining fundamental fairness and legal professional responsibility. Where Padilla’s recognized representation standard only requires an attorney to advise when the immigration consequences of a guilty plea are “truly clear” —allowing the attorney to “do no more” when not clear—the guiding hand of an attorney remains fractured and will force a noncitizen client to proceed in plea bargaining without informed consent. Rather than giving a private practitioner an excuse to “do no more,” …

Critical Look At The So-Called Locker Room Mentality As A Means To Rationalize The Drug Testing Of Student Athletes, Walter Champion

Walter T Champion Jr.

No abstract provided.

Prozac: Another Drug Wrongfully Attacked - What Can Be Done To Stop The Legal System From Driving Good Drugs Off The Market, While Protecting State And Federal Interests, Melinda M. Katz

Akron Law Review

This Comment will examine the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a regulatory agency, and the status of pharmaceutical products liability. The Comment will describe Prozac, an antidepressant drug currently caught in the products liability dilemma; its compliance with FDA regulations; and opposition to the drug since FDA approval. The Comment will then review American problems with pharmaceutical products liability, and solutions that other commentators have proposed. Finally, the Comment will propose that Congress erect barriers to filing claims against manufacturers for drugs that meet or exceed a higher level of FDA approval, like Bendectin and Prozac, through a …

Nonpayment Of Taxes: When Ignorance Of The Law Is An Excuse, Jon Strauss

Akron Law Review

"Ignorance of the law is no excuse" is a well-known saying regarding criminal law. Yet the 1991 Supreme Court decision of Cheek v. United States held that a defendant's ignorance of the federal tax laws is an excuse to the crime of nonpayment of income taxes. This paper reviews the history of the defense of ignorance of the law in tax crimes, discusses the philosophical ramifications of this defense, and examines the extent to which the Supreme Court's allowance of this defense is appropriate.

Procuring Trial Testimony From Corporate Officers And Employees: Alternative Methods And Suggestions For Reform, Richard J. Oparil

Akron Law Review

This article discusses the situation under the current Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including some alternative methods of obtaining testimony at trial. The article then discusses various ways the problem could be solved through rule changes to help ensure live trial testimony by corporate officials.

Legislative Process And Intent In Justice Scalia's Interpretive Method, David Schultz

Akron Law Review

This article explores Justice Scalia's views on the legislative process and his interpretive methodology which questions using legislative intent when interpreting statutes. Unlike other recent scholarship which focuses on Scalia's interpretive method, this article is somewhat more expansive. It will examine his views towards the legislative process and decision-making, including his approach and methodology used in interpreting legislative pronouncements. To do this, the article will first provide an assessment of recent legal scholarship describing Scalia's interpretive jurisprudence. The goal here is to establish a description of the legal community's perspective regarding Scalia's views towards interpreting statutes. The second section will …

Protecting Society From Teenage Greed: A Proposal For Revising The Ages, Hours And Nature Of Child Labor In America, Andrea Giampetro-Meyer, Timothy S. Brown S.J.

Akron Law Review

The first section of this Article presents a picture of child labor throughout American history. It looks at child labor from the turn of the century to date. This section helps the reader understand the extent of changes in child labor over time. The second section presents a summary of federal and state child labor laws. This section shows that attempt to control employers who exploit children have changed only marginally. The third section of this Article explores social science data on the pros and cons of teenage employment.

This section focuses on the issue of teenage greed. First, the …

Employment At Will And Public Policy, Frank J. Cavico

Akron Law Review

The purposes of this article are to examine the current public policy case law, commentary, and related statutes, to explain and interpret in detail this significant area of employment law, and to propose a just principle to govern the discharge aspect of the employment relation.

Mu'min V. Virginia: Sixth And Fourteenth Amendments Do Not Compel Content Questions In Assessing Juror Impartiality, Cheryl A. Waddle

Akron Law Review

This note synopsizes the Supreme Court's prior decisions regarding the adequacy of voir dire in capital cases surrounded by prejudicial pretrial publicity. This note will then discuss Mu'Min and explore the weaknesses in the Court's analogies to its prior decisions. Next, the note will propose arguments in favor of mandating content questioning. Finally, this note will explore possible nonconstitutional reasons for requiring content questioning in cases where juror partiality should be presumed.

The Search For The Fourth Amendment Seizure: It Won't Be Found On A Bus - Florida V. Bostick, James Spallino Jr.

Akron Law Review

The Florida v. Bostick decision raises important Fourth Amendment questions regarding police encounters with citizens.

Part I of this Note discusses the development of the legal standard used for determining when a consensual encounter results in an impermissible seizure. Part II reviews the Bostick decision. Part III analyzes the impact of the Bostick decision. This section argues that: (1) the status of the legal standard to be used in consensual encounter cases is now uncertain as a result of the Court's holding; (2) the Court sent a strong message to individuals and the law enforcement community by refusing to decide …

Edmonson V. Leesville Concrete Company: Pre-Empting Prejudice, Andrea K. Huston

Akron Law Review

In Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., the United States Supreme Court decided the issue of whether parties in a civil case may use their peremptory challenges to exclude black venirepersons from the jury.

This Note will discuss the various limitations that courts have placed on the use of peremptory challenges, and the position of the Supreme Court. This Note will also discuss the Court's expansion of the state action doctrine, and the impact Edmonson will have on future cases.

Eastern Airlines V. Floyd: Airline Passengers Denied Recovery For Emotional Distress Under The Warsaw Convention, Lisa M. Fromm

Akron Law Review

This Note reviews prior district court and appellate court decisions regarding the translation and scope of "bodily injury." Next, the Note discusses the Court's analysis in Floyd, including the arguments for and against allowing recovery for emotional distress under the Warsaw Convention. Finally, the Note examines the ramifications of the Floyd Court's interpretation and the uncertainties which remain in this area of the law.

United Auto Workers V. Johnson Controls, Inc.: One Small Step For Womankind, A. L. Cherry

Akron Law Review

In United Auto Workers v. Johnson Controls, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court was faced with the task of deciding whether women's childbearing capacity could be used to limit women's job choices and opportunities within certain industrial/ manufacturing fields. The Court decided that the ability to bear children could be used to so limit women, but only if the employer met a high standard. In Johnson Controls, employees who worked in a toxic work environment sought a determination that their employer's fetal protection policy discriminated on the basis of sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act …