Digital Commons Network^™

Aligning Regulation With The Informational Need: Ecosystem Services And The Next Generation Of Environmental Law, Keith H. Hirokawa, Elizabeth J. Porter

Akron Law Review

This article explores the Clinch Coalition decision to understand why the court would perpetuate a process that systematically rejects the relevance and value of ecosystem processes in the information gathering exercise entailed in these environmental regulations. The discussion begins with an introduction to ecosystem services as a study of human dependency on the services provided by functioning ecosystems. In the second section, the article turns to the Clinch Coalition decision to outline the arguments relied upon by the court to legitimize the Forest Service’s decision to avoid an ecosystem services analysis. The article then presents the Clinch Coalition decision as …

Initial Impressions: Trademark Protection For Abbreviations Of Generic Or Descriptive Terms, Mary Lafrance

Akron Law Review

This article compares the approaches which different federal courts have adopted to address the distinctiveness of abbreviations where the underlying expression or information conveyed by the abbreviation is unprotectable either because it is generic or because it is descriptive and lacks secondary meaning. While this study is not intended as a comprehensive survey, it is designed to highlight the inconsistencies in approaches. The article concludes with some observations about the patterns and trends emerging from the unsettled decisional law.

Babies Behind Bars: An Evaluation Of Prison Nurseries In American Female Prisons And Their Potential Constitutional Challenges, Seham Elmalak

Pace Law Review

This note opens the prison doors and delves into the United States female prison system, primarily focusing on the positive and negative impact of nursery programs on mothers and children, along with potential constitutional claims that can be brought against these programs. Part I provides a general background about the American prison system, and briefly touches on the constitutional standards of prisoners’ rights. It also discusses the history and development of female prisons and illustrates the rapid increase of female incarceration. Part II focuses on the prevalence of mothers within the female population in prisons. Part III introduces prison nursery …

Emergency Alert: This Is Not A Test! An International Disaster Relief Plan For Protecting Children And Families, Cynthia R. Mabry

School of Law Faculty Publications

There are more than 132,000,000 orphans worldwide. As a result of recent natural disasters in the United States and other countries, the number of orphans has increased. Recent events in the Gulf Coast in the United States, Haiti and Japan showed that thousands of children become separated from their parents or guardians when disasters strike. Family members were scattered during these tragedies. Many children were reunited with their families; but some children were sent to orphanages while others waited in classrooms for their family members to come for them. Many Haitian children were sent to foreign countries far from their …

Re-Evaluating The Role Of Companion Animals In The Era Of The Aging Boomer, Rebecca J. Huss

Akron Law Review

This Article is divided into four substantive parts. Part II considers the role of pets in the United States and the impact of companion animals in the lives of seniors. Part III analyzes issues that the elderly may face in keeping or interacting with companion animals in their residences. Part IV analyzes federal laws that ensure that persons with disabilities using service and assistance animals will have access to public accommodations and housing. Part V of this Article considers risks and ethical issues involved with having animals in the lives of the elderly.

Nature’S Law: The Evolutionary Origin Of Property Rights, Kathryn Loncarich

Pace Law Review

This article contributes to the outline of the origin of property rights set forth by Professor Krier, by more fully analyzing the role of evolutionary biology in the development of property rights. This article focuses on the pre-political formation of property ownership and the initial formation of concepts of property and ownership. Expanding on Krier’s analysis, this article considers the implications of this evolutionary foundation on our modern property regime, particularly given the growing chasm between the wealthy on one side and the poor and middle-class on the other.

Part II discusses the growing disparity of wealth in America and …

Bowman V. Monsanto Co.: A Bellwether For The Emerging Issue Of Patentable Self-Replicating Technologies And Inadvertent Infringement, Christopher M. Holman

Missouri Law Review

The inherent tendency of patented seeds to self-replicate has led to fears that farmers might face liability for inadvertent patent infringement. To address the perceived problem, some have proposed severely limiting the availability of effective patent protection for self-replicating technologies. Typical examples include denying patent rights to “second generation” selfreplicating products, and even broadly declaring such technologies ineligible for patent protection. The fact is, lawsuits against inadvertently infringing farmers remain of largely hypothetical concern. However, changes in the market could soon render such lawsuits a reality. In addressing the resulting policy concerns, Congress and the courts have at their disposal …

Who’S To Blame? Blame Attributions And Obesity-Related Law And Policy, Lindsey E. Wylie

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Obesity is a foremost public health concern that has received considerable attention. Because of this so-named “epidemic,” law-makers are challenged with implementing effective policies that the public supports. Little is known, however, about the antecedents and consequences of these policies—especially attributions of blameworthiness. Study 1 developed the Obesity Blame Attribution Scale (OBAS). Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that controllability, responsibility and dispositional blame were separate constructs and were part of a higher-order dispositional blame factor. Situational blame was a separate higher-order factor, not correlated with dispositional blame, consisting of blame toward the food industry and towards government policy. Using the OBAS, …

Take Me To Your Liter: Politics, Power, And Public-Private Partnerships With The Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Industry In The Post-2015 Development Agenda, Craig W. Moscetti, Allyn L. Taylor

Washington International Law Journal

Today, non-communicable diseases (“NCDs”) are widely recognized as a global public health crisis and a foreign policy priority. The international community was slow to identify and respond to the crisis of NCDs in the later part of the twentieth century. However, in 2011 the United Nations High Level Meeting on NCDs recognized NCDs as one of the greatest threats to health and development in the twenty-first century, and a major topic for the post-2015 development agenda. Notably, many experts, national governments, and global leaders have rallied for an inclusive, “whole-of-government” and “whole-of-society” approach, situating public-private partnerships (“PPPs”) with some of …

Washington's Reproductive Privacy Act: An Interpretation And Constitutional Analysis, Ross Tanaka

Washington Law Review

In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court declared that the “zone of privacy” inherent in the liberty component of the Due Process Clauses protected a woman’s right to choose when to terminate her pregnancy. Nevertheless, in the years following Roe, the Court held that the right of choice did not include a right to state assistance in obtaining an abortion. After decisions such as Webster v. Reproductive Services and Maher v. Roe, the state may express its preference for childbirth by denying the use of its funds, facilities, and personnel for abortion. Although a majority of the …

The Sustaintable Development Goals (Sdgs) As Drafted: Nice Idea, Poor Execution, Thomas Pogge, Mitu Sengupta

Washington International Law Journal

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is scheduled to adopt its 2015-2030 development agenda in September 2015: the Sustainable Development Goals. The United Nations Open Working Group (OWG) on the SDGs set a draft of this agenda before the UNGA in September 2014. Despite clear positives, this draft fails to take advantage of the SDGs’ non-binding and aspirational nature to encourage global leaders to set aside short-term gain in order to invest in a sustainable future. Specifically, the draft ought to identify actors responsible for specific achievements, to envision structural reforms in the global institutional order, to provide for objective …

"Three Parent Babies": Techniques Explained, Objections Examined, Rebecca Carr

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

The UK Parliament has approved regulations, which come into force in October 2015, that permit the use of new treatment techniques to prevent the transmission of serious mitochondrial diseases from women to their children. The introduction of these techniques—which are not currently carried out in any country in the world—will fly in the face of the opposition that has been raised since discussions to permit clinical applications of the techniques first arose. After outlining some background to the techniques, this article briefly examines three of the objections that have been made against them: that the safety and effectiveness of the …

Law, Science And The Economy: One Domain?, David S. Caudill

Faculty Publications

In an effort to explore the theoretical and practical promise of ignoring or erasing conventional boundaries and distinctions — such as law/society or inside/outside — in accounts of legal processes and institutions, I consider the problem of financial bias in scientific expertise. I first draw an analogy with science studies, and particularly Latour’s notion of science as a coproduction, which challenges the boundaries (i) between science and society, and (ii) between natural and social influences on the production of scientific knowledge. I then acknowledge the efforts of Philip Mirowski, in his concern that privatization trends degrade science, to overcome an …

Promoting Completion Of Advance Directives In A Hispanic Religious Congregation: An Evidence-Based Practice Project, Luis Daniel San Miguel, Mary Jo Clark

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Background: Hispanics utilize more aggressive medical treatment at the end of life and are less likely to receive end-of-life care consistent with their wishes than nonHispanic Whites. Hispanics are less likely than nonHispanic Whites to have an advance directive (AD). Increasing AD completion among Hispanics can promote end-of-life care consistent with their wishes, diminish healthcare disparities, and eliminate unnecessary healthcare spending. Objectives: To promote completion of advance directives by increasing knowledge, positive attitudes, and comfort with advance care planning (ACP) among Hispanics through culturally sensitive interventions. Intervention: The project was conducted in Spanish and implemented among a …

Tinkering With Success: College Athletes, Social Media And The First Amendment, Mary Margaret Meg Penrose

Pace Law Review

Good law does not always make good policy. This article seeks to provide a legal assessment, not a policy directive. The policy choices made by individual institutions and athletic departments should be guided by law, but absolutely left to institutional discretion. Many articles written on college student-athletes’ social media usage attempt to urge policy directives clothed in constitutional analysis.

In this author’s opinion, these articles have lost perspective – constitutional perspective. This article seeks primarily to provide a legal and constitutional assessment so that schools and their athletic departments will have ample information to then make their own policy choices.

Universal Service In An All-Ip World, Jodie Griffin

CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Technology Policy (1993-2015)

For more than 100 years, the United States has used a variety of policy tools to encourage and ensure ubiquitous, affordable basic communications service. Universal and accessible communications services have been the foundation upon which our economy, personal communications, and civic participation depend. The laws and rules used to achieve universal service, however, have evolved with new technologies and markets and now, as the network is in the midst of several new technology transitions, the question of how to achieve and measure universal service arises again.

This article examines the basic question of what the “basic service” is in today’s …

Thou Shalt Not Ration Justice The Law And The Poor Man In The Sixties, Marshall S. Shapo

Cornell Law Review

No abstract provided.

Assets, Costs, And Affordability: Why Magi-Based Medicaid Benefits Don't Account For True Need, Sara K. Hunkler

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

In 2014, Mary, an asset-wealthy individual, will qualify for Medicaid ahead of Bob, a needier individual with less net wealth and significantly higher medical costs, solely because Bob’s income is slightly higher. The current income-based eligibility standards for Medicaid mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) do not adequately reflect an individual’s need for federal assistance because they neglect to consider an individual’s assets, debts, and the circumstantial cost of their healthcare. Thus, these new federal standards permit significant disparities in the treatment of similarly situated impoverished individuals and allow prioritization of asset-wealthy individuals over their more …

Dangerous Or Just Pregnant? How Sanism & Biases Infect The Dangerousness Determination In The Civil Commitment Of Pregnant Women, Alyson R. Schwartz

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

Sparked by the story of Alicia Beltran, this Note explores state use of civil commitment statutes to police pregnant women suspected of drug use. Civil commitment determinations are already infiltrated by sanism: an irrational prejudice against those with mental disabilities and illnesses expressed through stereotyping and stigmatization similar to that of other prejudices such as racism and sexism. Yet, deficiencies in civil commitment safeguards for pregnant women cannot be explained simply as an issue of sanism, gender oppression, wealth inequality, or racism. Rather, each of these components must be combined to reveal how the interaction of each erodes the constitutional …

Taming The Tigers: Domestic Violence, Legal Professionalism, And Well-Being, Jill C. Engle

Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Gambling On Court Interpretations Of Care: Approving Leave For Travel Under The Fmla, Heather N. Collinet

Seventh Circuit Review

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law passed in 1993 to account for changing demographics in the United States. Its intent is to improve work-life balance for employees while improving the overall productivity of employers. Under 29 U.S.C. § 2612, eligible employees are protected should they decide to request unpaid leave from work for the birth of a child, for adoption or fostering a child, because the employee is seriously ill, or “to care for” an employee’s family member with a serious health condition.

Litigation arises in determining what the legislature intended by the phrase “to …

Mj Still Winning In Chicago: The Seventh Circuit Correctly Holds That Jewel-Osco’S Use Of Michael Jordan’S Likeness In Its Advertisement Constituted Commercial Speech, Michael A. Albert

Seventh Circuit Review

Sometimes businesses advertise offers for particular products or services. In addition to product advertising, businesses frequently engage in “image” advertising, where they promote their brand generally rather than a specific product. Both types of advertising may constitute commercial speech. The U.S. Supreme Court commonly defines commercial speech as “speech that proposes a commercial transaction.” Although the Court has addressed this phrase’s meaning, it has never provided a comprehensive method for determining whether a given expression constitutes commercial speech. As a result, some courts interpret this phrase to apply narrowly in scope, while others find that it can be applied broadly. …

A Path Toward An Increased Role For The United States In Patent Infringement Litigation, Caroline M. Turner

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

A number of major statutory schemes implicate federal interests but do not provide for explicit authority for the United States to bring lawsuits for damages or to obtain injunctive relief. The patent statutes provide that the patentee may sue in the case of infringement, and court decisions have extended that right to certain licensees. Accordingly, the United States has participated in cases in which it is not a co-patentee or licensee only as an amicus. Yet the government arguably has an interest in intervening in or instituting, as a co-plaintiff, infringement cases involving certain patents. Recent scholarship has renewed attention …

Open Source Business Models And Synthetic Biology, Tej Singh

Chicago-Kent Journal of Intellectual Property

The software industry has successfully utilized open source business models namely with software such as Android and Linux. Open source business models allow individuals to collaborate and share information without fear that the shared information will be commercially misused. Given the similarities between software source code and genetic sequences, innovators in the field of synthetic biology feel that open source business models can help further innovation for synthetic biology in a similar manner. However, when determining whether to join an open source project, practitioners must first identify if such a project will be beneficial to their goals. This Comment discuss …

Crossroads: How The Intersection Of Technology, Medicine, And The Law, Impact The Administration Of Healthcare In Florida And Puerto Rico, Casaundra Johnson

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Saving Charitable Settlements, Christine P. Bartholomew

Fordham Law Review

    This Article defies the conventional wisdom that all charitable distributions from a class action settlement fund are types of cy pres. Instead, it proposes a radical delineation between “cy pres remainders” (meaning settlement funds left over after individual monetary distributions) and “charitable settlements” (meaning money initially distributed to charities as part of class action settlements). While both have cy pres roots, these two settlement structures have been conflated, jeopardizing the potential utility of charitable settlements. After articulating more precise nomenclature for these distinct distribution methods, this Article justifies why we must preserve charitable settlements. This defense is particularly …

King V. Burwell And The Rise Of The Administrative State, Ronald D. Rotunda

University of Miami Business Law Review

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—popularly called either the “ACA,” or “Obamacare” by opponents, proponents, and even the White House—is a complex law totaling nearly a thousand pages in length. The litigation now before the Supreme Court in King v. Burwell presents, on the surface, a simple issue of statutory interpretation. However, that surface has a very thin veneer. If the Court allows administrators carte blanche to change the very words of a statute, we will have come a long way towards governance by bureaucrats. Over the years, Congress has delegated many of its powers, but it has never …

"First Food" Justice: Racial Disparities In Infant Feeding As Food Oppression, Andrea Freeman

Fordham Law Review

    Tabitha Walrond gave birth to Tyler Isaac Walrond on June 27, 1997, when Tabitha, a black woman from the Bronx, was nineteen years old. Four months before the birth, Tabitha, who received New York public assistance, attempted to enroll Tyler in her health insurance plan (HIP), but encountered a mountain of bureaucratic red tape and errors. After several trips to three different offices in the city, Tabitha still could not get a Medicaid card for Tyler. Tabitha’s city caseworker informed her that she would have to wait until after Tyler’s social security card and birth certificate arrived to get the …

“But I’M Brain-Dead And Pregnant”: Advance Directive Pregnancy Exclusions And End-Of-Life Wishes, Wendy Adele Humphrey

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Marlise Muñoz was approximately fourteen weeks pregnant when she suffered a pulmonary embolism, and two days later doctors declared her brain-dead. Knowing Marlise’s end-of-life wishes, her husband, Erick Muñoz, asked her doctors to withdraw or withhold any “life-sustaining” medical treatment from his brain-dead wife. The hospital refused, and it relied on a Texas statute that automatically invalidates a woman’s advance directive in the event she is pregnant. Ultimately, the trial court held that the Texas statute does not apply to a woman who is brain-dead and pregnant.

This tragic situation warrants action to ensure that a woman’s end-of-life wishes are …

Obamacare Interrupted: Obstructive Federalism And The Consumer Information Blockade, Katherine T. Vukadin

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.