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A Constitutional Amendment Allowing Broader Campaign-Finance Reform Would Not Criminalize Political Satire., Christopher W. Bell Jan 2015

A Constitutional Amendment Allowing Broader Campaign-Finance Reform Would Not Criminalize Political Satire., Christopher W. Bell

St. Mary's Law Journal

Campaign finance remains a perennial issue, because contributions and expenditures define the political campaigns which shape our democracy. While a majority of the American public supports limiting campaign spending, campaign finance reform remains near the bottom of most voters’ priorities. Reformers have called the lack of the public’s interest “[o]ne of the persistent mysteries of campaign finance reform.” Citizens United v. F.E.C. focused national attention on the role of money in politics. Citizens United evoked such strong reactions, because it represents the two competing versions of the concept of freedom of speech: “free speech as serving liberty” and “free speech …


A Decade's Legacy: Dashed Hopes For Gender Equality And The Status Of Afghan Women In Light Of The Ensuing Drawdown., Meredith B. English Jan 2014

A Decade's Legacy: Dashed Hopes For Gender Equality And The Status Of Afghan Women In Light Of The Ensuing Drawdown., Meredith B. English

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

This Comment addresses the legal structures which need to be supported in order to ensure substantial gender equality after allied forces withdraw from Afghanistan. After 2013, justice for abused women in Afghanistan stalled. Research suggests women’s rights and peace in Afghanistan are directly related. The presence of the Taliban and their restrictive rules has many Afghan women fearing for their lives and for the loss of decades of progress in the women’s rights movement. Leaders in Afghanistan must acquire a more liberal interpretation of Sharia law, while staying within the boundaries of the religious and ethnic traditions of the culture. …


The Underrespresentation Of Hispanic Women In The Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Fields: What Can Be Done To Curie The Problem., Elky Almaraz Jan 2013

The Underrespresentation Of Hispanic Women In The Science, Technology, Engineering, And Mathematics Fields: What Can Be Done To Curie The Problem., Elky Almaraz

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Hispanic women comprise approximately eight percent of the United States’ population and represent the largest group of minority women. However, Hispanic women only make up approximately two percent of the science and engineering workforce. In contrast, Caucasian women form approximately one-third of the United States’ population and eighteen percent of the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) workforce. Hispanic women begin a post-secondary education in STEM fields with a proportional interest to other gender or racial groups. However, they are far less likely to continue the coursework and ultimately earn a degree than their non-minority classmates. Schools and education officials …


Defining And Determining Retardation In Texas Capital Murder Defendants: A Proposal To The Texas Legislature., Graham Baker Dec 2007

Defining And Determining Retardation In Texas Capital Murder Defendants: A Proposal To The Texas Legislature., Graham Baker

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Although the Supreme Court of the United States ruled it is cruel and unusual to execute someone with a mental handicap, Texas statutes still do not adequately protect these individuals. Previously, the Court in Penry v. Lynaugh upheld states executing individuals with mental deficiencies. However, individual states began to outlaw such a practice. When the Court heard Atkins v. Virginia, they determined the states created a national consensus against executing persons who possess certain developmental disabilities, thus rendering it cruel and unusual. Atkins did not, however, define mental retardation and left it up to individual states to determine that criteria. …


Utter Excitement About Nothing: Why Domestic Violence Evidence-Based Prosecution Will Survive Crawford V. Washington., Donna D. Bloom Jan 2005

Utter Excitement About Nothing: Why Domestic Violence Evidence-Based Prosecution Will Survive Crawford V. Washington., Donna D. Bloom

St. Mary's Law Journal

In response to domestic violence involving victims who do not wish to cooperate in the prosecution of their abuser, prosecutors endeavor to frame cases around other evidence establishing a defendant’s guilt regardless of the victim’s testimony. Domestic violence cases set for trial are being thrown out of Texas courts because of the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that reasserts a defendant’s right to confront his accuser in court. Prosecutors believe that strong legal arguments exist to continue successfully prosecuting abusers without the cooperation of the victim at trial. This is through the continued admission of certain hearsay statements, despite Crawford …


Getting The Mentally Ill Misdemeanant Out Of Jail., James R. Walker Mar 2004

Getting The Mentally Ill Misdemeanant Out Of Jail., James R. Walker

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

This Comment advocates for the release of jailed persons arrested for nonviolent crimes due to the symptomology associated with their mental illnesses. Mentally ill misdemeanants suffer from severe and persistent mental disorders, usually either a psychotic or mood disorder, without symptoms or a diagnosis of a personality disorder. Due to the increase in arrests of individuals with mental illnesses, jail and prison populations are drastically increasing. These institutions have turned into modern mental hospitals or asylums. Criminalization of the mentally ill occurs because increasing numbers of mentally ill persons who commit minor crimes are subject to more frequent arrests. The …


Is Anything Ever Free?: Nafta’S Effect On Union Organizing Drives And Minorities And The Potential Of Ftaa Having A Similar Effect, Karla Shantel Jackson Jan 2002

Is Anything Ever Free?: Nafta’S Effect On Union Organizing Drives And Minorities And The Potential Of Ftaa Having A Similar Effect, Karla Shantel Jackson

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its additional labor agreement, the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), supported globalization between North American countries. Mexico, Canada, and the United States signed the agreements intending to increase economic growth and employment over a fifteen-year period. NAFTA proponents believed it would serve as a stimulus for long-term economic gains. Opponents disagreed, citing the ineffectiveness of the labor accord in protecting workers and major job losses. In the United States, NAFTA negatively impacted labor union organizing drives, women, and minorities. Nothing is ever free, and these demographics pay the price for …


The Food And Drug Administration's Final Rule On Tobacco Advertising Is All Butt Final: Commercial Speech Doctrine Will Be Tested Once More Under A Stricter Central Hudson Analysis In The Aftermath Of 44 Liquormart, Inc. V. Rhode Island Comment., Joe R. Hinojosa Jan 1997

The Food And Drug Administration's Final Rule On Tobacco Advertising Is All Butt Final: Commercial Speech Doctrine Will Be Tested Once More Under A Stricter Central Hudson Analysis In The Aftermath Of 44 Liquormart, Inc. V. Rhode Island Comment., Joe R. Hinojosa

St. Mary's Law Journal

In 1996 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) promulgated regulations affecting the advertising, sale, and promotion of tobacco. President Clinton supported the FDA’s claim it has the power to regulate tobacco products not as drugs, but as medical delivery devices of nicotine. Meaning tobacco sellers, retailer, distributors, and manufacturers would be subject to strict rules concerning how and where tobacco products may be advertised, distributed, and promoted. Despite the FDA’s claims, these measures were oriented toward discouraging children from smoking. Opponents of the regulations claim the restrictions constitute blatant infringement of commercial speech. The FDA argues that while advertising is …