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State Of Utah V. Dean Spencer : Reply Brief, Utah Court Of Appeals

Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (2020 –)

APPEAL FROM THE FOURTH DISTRICT COURT, UTAH COUNTY, STATE OF UTAH, FROM A CONVICTION ON ONE COUNT OF DUI, A CLASS B MISDEMEANOR, BEFORE THE HONORABLE JUDGE DENISE PORTER

ALEXANDRA HERLONG (18206) Assistant Solicitor General SEAN D. REYES (7969) Utah Attorney General PETER REICHMAN Utah County Attorney’s Office Counsel for Appellee

JENNIFER L. FORESTA (12212) Utah County Public Defender Assoc. Appeals Division Attorneys for Appellant

Autonomy Now?: Is It Time To Start Integrating (Autonomous) Urban Air Mobility Vehicles Into The National Airspace System?, Robert Notari

Texas A&M Law Review

Urban Air Mobility has the potential to radically change the fundamental nature of transportation within the United States. But challenges abound—from critical shortages of air traffic controllers and pilots and gaps in key technologies and infrastructure to the negative public perception of autonomous vehicles. FAA and industry, employing an evolutionary and safety-focused approach, can overcome these challenges through a combination of creative regulation, targeted technology development, and leveraging lessons learned through the FAA’s drone integration efforts. However, if drone integration is any guide, industry should be prepared for a long integration timeline, with autonomy still on the horizon.

Finding A Purpose In Bruen's World, Timothy J. Southam

Duke Law Journal

Fewer than seven months after the Highland Park mass shooting, the Illinois General Assembly passed the Protect Illinois Communities Act (“PICA”), a statewide ban on assault weapons and large-capacity magazines. Gun-rights advocates have characterized PICA (and other similar strong state gun laws) as unconstitutional laws intentionally enacted to defy the Supreme Court’s protection of the right to keep and bear arms. In response to such severe accusations, especially in light of New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Bruen, this Note assesses these claims using PICA as a case study. Through an investigation of its legislative history—an investigation that …

Immunity For Imaginary Policy In Tort Claims Against The Federal Government, Gregory C. Sisk

Notre Dame Law Review

Fictional policy justifications for official negligence are regularly accepted by the federal courts to shield the federal government from liability for ordinary tortious wrongdoing. The lower federal courts have adopted an extravagant interpretation of the discretionary function exception to the Federal Tort Claims Act that applies whenever a policy implication can be theorized. Under this “susceptible to policy analysis” approach, the United States government escapes accountability through after-the-fact speculation regarding policy factors that could have played a role (but actually did not) in the harmful government conduct.

By textual command, the exception shields only government decisions “based on,” that is, …

Proving The Future In Criminal Cases, Christopher Slobogin

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Expert opinion about dangerousness—the risk of reoffending—is commonly introduced at sentencing, criminal commitment proceedings, and some types of pretrial detention hearings. This Essay argues that the rules governing the admissibility of scientific evidence should apply to this testimony and that, on that assumption, such evidence must be (1) “material” (logically relevant, empirically generalizable, and epistemologically germane), (2) “probative” (a measure of accuracy, which is more stringent when the evidence is from an expert), (3) helpful to the factfinder (through promoting “incremental validity”), and (4) presented in a non-prejudicial manner (i.e., in a way that minimizes the possibility it will be …

Constitutional Freedoms In The United States, Tom Rozinski

Open Touro Created

2025

Constitutional Freedoms is an undergraduate text for courses in civil rights and liberties. It covers most of the subject areas of other undergraduate texts, although it rearranges some in ways that are more conducive to student learning. The major difference is that freedoms of speech and press are treated together as aspects of communication, rather than separately because so distinguished in the US Constitution. The book includes sections on Supreme Court procedure, methods of interpretation, and tests for unconstitutionality, as well as information about experiential learning opportunities for students.

Legislative Update, Mckayla Bogda, Karen Crouch, Matthew Hellmann, Brett Newberry, William Rodman

Journal of Dispute Resolution

The Legislative Update tracks legislation related to alternate dispute resolution that has been proposed and passed in state legislatures nationwide. With guidance from the Associate Editor-in-Chief, Associate Members of the Journal of Dispute Resolution wrote this update. This update includes articles focusing on specific bills and trends across legislation from various states that the authors found most interesting and impactful.

California’S Bug Problem: The Backup Generation Information Gap And Its Impact On Vulnerable Communities, Andrew H. Jacobs

UC Law Journal

California’s electricity system has faced unprecedented challenges in recent years. Extreme heat, wildfires, and additional severe weather events stressed the system to a breaking point. The state’s electric grid operator repeatedly called for rolling blackouts on hot summer days to preserve the integrity of the electric grid. Electric utilities proactively shut off power during dry and windy conditions to prevent their equipment from sparking wildfires. Strings of powerful winter storms left hundreds of thousands across the state without power for multiple days.

In response to the poor reliability of the electrical grid, demand for backup generation has skyrocketed. Both residents …

My Wings Are Not Broken: Black Males, Carcerality, And Education, Crystal M. Welch-Scott

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Historically, educational spaces have been sites of racialized inequality for Black youth, creating disparate educational outcomes. The disproportionate divide between young Black and White men continues throughout the life of their academic journey, and this research seeks to examine its impact on dropping out of school. The experience of Black young men being “othered” – compared to their White counterparts – coupled with the myriad ways Black youth must navigate normalcy creates additional challenges they must carry. This dissertation employs critical race theory and ecological systems theory as theoretical frameworks. It utilizes hierarchical regression modeling of the High School Longitudinal …

From Sheltering To Sentencing: An Examination Of Immigrant Harboring Under 8 U.S.C. § 1324, Annie K. Kreikemeier

Missouri Law Review

Imagine you are washing dishes in the restaurant where you work when government officials walk through the front door. You hear them announce that they have a warrant to search the restaurant and ask to speak with the owners. Amidst all of the confusion and panic, you become instantly alarmed. If the owners are arrested, you will lose your job, your living space, and your means of transportation. Even more terrifying, you realize the impending raid likely indicates your imminent removal from the country. You are one of the estimated 11,047,000 unauthorized immigrants currently living in the United States. If …

The Second Amendment Preservation Act: Revealing The Realities Of Congress’S Commerce Clause Power, Tasneem Huq

Missouri Law Review

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” When James Madison published this in the Federalist Papers, the United States Constitution was not even a year old. The Framers were striving to convince American citizens of the Constitution’s vitality while simultaneously grappling with the challenges of developing what the new government, as to be set forth in the Constitution, should look like. The challenge, as identified by Madison, was that the government needed the power to govern while retaining the ability to control itself. The Framers sought to address this problem by creating a system of federalism. But rather …

Cardozo Law News Brief: January 31, 2025, Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law

Cardozo Law News Brief 2025

Highlights from the January 31, 2025 Cardozo Law News Brief include:

• Students participated in the 42nd Annual ITAP, sharpening their trial skills in an intensive litigation training program.

• Cardozo’s Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution offered hands-on mediation and advocacy experience through intensive dispute resolution courses.

• Professor Peter Markowitz spoke to Fox 5 New York about the importance of NYC’s sanctuary city laws.

• Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat was quoted in The Guardian and Forbes on TikTok’s legal future under President Trump.

• Professor Jocelyn Getgen Kestenbaum appeared on ABC News to reflect on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the rise of global …

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Voices For Justice: Firsthand Accounts Of Innocent People Fighting For Access In New York’S Post-Conviction Process, Perlmutter Center For Legal Justice At Cardozo Law

Perlmutter Center Reports

In 2018, the New York State Court of Appeals’ decision in People v. Natascha Tiger created an insurmountable obstacle for wrongfully convicted individuals pursuing innocence claims. The ruling held that a guilty plea precluded persons accused of crime from challenging their conviction in the absence of newly discovered, exculpatory DNA evidence. This is a troubling fact given 97% of felony convictions and 99% of misdemeanor convictions in New York State are resolved by guilty plea. The National Registry of Exonerations documented that 24% of all exonerated people across the United States pled guilty to crimes they did not commit. According …

Cardozo Law News Brief: January 24, 2025, Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law

Cardozo Law News Brief 2025

Highlights from the January 24, 2025 Cardozo Law News Brief include:

• Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat spoke to The Guardian and ABC News about the Trump administration’s approach to delaying enforcement of the TikTok ban.

• Professor Peter Markowitz published an op-ed in the New York Daily News critiquing Mayor Adams' shifting stance on NYC sanctuary city laws.

• Adjunct Professor Gary Galperin was quoted in Gothamist discussing public perception and legal reasoning surrounding Daniel Penny’s acquittal.

A Half Century Of Criminalizing Serious Mental Illness: Observations And Considerations, Arthur J. Lurigio

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

This article describes the difficulties of working with people with serious mental illnesses (PSMIs) at every stage of the criminal justice process—from arrest to post- incarceration release from prison. The needs of PSMI for mental health and social services are complex and require different case management plans and strategies at various points in the process. Severe mental illnesses (SMIs), such as schizophrenia, major depression, and bipolar disorder, stem from abnormalities in the brain structure and neuroprocessing that cause significant distress and dysfunction. People with serious mental illnesses typically suffer from a variety of other related problems (e.g., addiction) that can …

Mental Health Courts: Is There Any Hope For Mental Illness In An Outdated Criminal Justice System?, Brock Imel

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

Mental health awareness is an ever-growing field of study that has garnered more attention in America after the COVID-19 pandemic. As far back as colonial America, mental illness was considered taboo in society and often reprimanded with punishable crimes. This article seeks to divulge into the history of mental health and its relation to the law, as well as how the creation of mental health courts has led to a decrease in recidivism.

This article aims to provide the reader with an understanding of the evolving field of mental health courts and provide state legislatures foundational knowledge for creating and …

Wayne Ford Racial Impact Statement Act And The Necessity Of Minority Impact Statements, Seonwoo Kim

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice (ERSJ) Blog

In 1968, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act (“ADAA”) in response to the drug overdose of Len Bias, a basketball star at the University of Maryland.  The Act imposed harsh sentences for crack cocaine offenses; a person charged with possession of crack cocaine faced the same mandatory minimum prison sentence as someone charged with possession of one hundred times more powered cocaine.  For example, a person charged with carrying five grams of crack cocaine would receive the same sentence as someone carrying five hundred grams of powdered cocaine. Historically, the enforcement of drug-related crimes disproportionately targeted Black Americans, and this …

Decriminalizing Disease: A Health Justice Approach To Infectious Diseases And Criminal Law, Sean E. Bland

Arkansas Law Review

Infectious diseases, also called communicable diseases, are largely a public health issue and should not be criminalized. This Article seeks to re-frame the discussion around the legal framework for infectious diseases in a way that moves beyond a punishment mindset and toward a health justice mindset. The focus in this Article is on health justice rather than traditional understandings of public health, defined as the science and practice of improving the health of people and their communities. The Article makes three novel contributions. First, it applies a health justice framework to the critique of infectious disease criminalization. Second, the Article …

Federal Communications Commission V. Consumers' Research: Brief Of Julian Davis Mortenson And Nicholas Bagley As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioners, Julian Mortenson, Nicholas Bagley

Appellate Briefs

Julian Davis Mortenson and Nicholas Bagley are professors at the University of Michigan Law School. Mortenson is a specialist on the history of executive authority and the separation of powers. Bagley is a leading scholar in administrative law. They are the co-authors of Delegation at the Founding, 121 Colum. L. Rev. 277 (2021), a leading article examining Founding- era constitutional principles regarding legislative delegations of authority, and Delegation at the Founding: A Response to the Critics, 122 Colum. L. Rev. 2323 (2022).

Law Enforcement In Kentucky Schools - Student Interactions And Current Practices, Lee Ann Morrison

Online Theses and Dissertations

This mixed-methods study investigates the role of school resource officers (SROs) in Kentucky and describes their interactions with students. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of how SROs interact with students and the implications of those interactions. The quantitative phase of the research involved a secondary analysis of student behavior violation data and the reported outcomes for students. Data indicated that student interaction with SROs did not lead to a significant student arrest rate. In the qualitative phase of the study, a focus group was conducted with school resource officers to explore their daily interactions with students. Qualitative …

Trump Should Pass On Project 2025'S Disparate Impact Plan, Susan D. Carle

Popular Media

Although President-elect Donald Trump disavowed reliance on, or even knowledge of, the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 agenda, his appointments and policy announcements have substantially tracked Project 2025 so far, suggesting that his administration will look to Project 2025 when choosing its goals.

Mugshots In Oklahoma: Stigmatizing Native American Individuals And Communities, Karly L. Fisher

Tulsa Law Review

No abstract provided.

"Safe Third Country": Democratic Responsibility And The Ends Of International Human Rights, Paul Linden-Retek

Contributions to Books

Published as Chapter 3 in Lawless Zones, Rightless Subjects: Migration, Asylum, and Shifting Borders, Seyla Benhabib & Ayelet Shachar, eds.

Access To Algorithmic Justice: Defending A Right To Expert Assistance For Indigent Defendants, Meghna Melkote, Madhavi Nambiar

Duke Law Journal Online

No abstract provided.

Urban Security And The Crisis Of Values In A Risk Society: Elements For Reflection And Research, Bahamou Abdelilah, Abdelghani Chafik

Journal of Maya Heritage

Abstract: Urban security has become one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century, shaped by the complexities of modern urban life. As cities grow and evolve, they face unprecedented security challenges that transcend traditional notions of crime prevention. These challenges encompass social, cultural, economic, and psychological dimensions, deeply intertwined with societal transformations.

In the context of what sociologist Ulrich Beck refers to as the "risk society," rapid globalization, technological advancement, and cultural diffusion have disrupted traditional social values. This disruption has created environments of uncertainty and fear, where mutual trust and social cohesion are eroded. As Émile Durkheim …

The Case For Prison Education Reform, Natasha Yousefi

DePaul Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

“Restating” The Record: Evaluating Ali’S Aided-By-Agency Disclaimer, Danielle Dascher

Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Interference With The Democratic Process As Public Nuisance, Richard C. Boldt, Donald G. Gifford

Faculty Scholarship

This Article argues that the tort of public nuisance provides a vehicle for holding accountable those engaged in antidemocratic conduct. Recent history suggests that neither the criminal justice system nor Constitutional checks and balances are always up to the task. Following the 2020 election, some supporters of President Trump stormed the Capitol to prevent the counting of the electoral votes, tampered with election machines, and intimidated election workers and voters. Depending on the results of the 2024 election, criminal charges against Trump and some of his followers may be dismissed. The Senate failed to convict the President on articles of …

Dignity In Detention: Addressing Gynecological Healthcare Needs Of People Detained By U.S. Immigration Authorities, Glykeria Teji, Esq., Shira Wisotsky, Esq.

Annals of Health Law and Life Sciences

People who require gynecological and obstetric care and who are detained by U.S. federal immigration authorities face unique challenges. This article examines how the current legal and administrative landscape fails to hold those responsible for providing healthcare accountable, effectively blocking access to gynecological care, and, assuming no immediate abolition of immigrant detention facilities, how international human law principles can and should guide a reimagining of the system. We also propose interim steps that U.S. authorities can take to protect access to basic and needed gynecological care for the people that they detain. Beginning with an overview of immigration detention as …

Policing As General Warrants, Warren Buff, Brandon Hasbrouck

Scholarly Articles

The drafters of the Bill of Rights and its proponents envisioned a document constitutionalizing protections against some of the worst abuses they had experienced under English rule. Prominent businessmen—many of them engaged in smuggling— found their homes ransacked in search of contraband on flimsy evidence and without any reason given for the disruption of their business and consequent enrichment of government agents. The Fourth Amendment addressed the use of general warrants and writs of assistance to allow government agents to conduct broad searches with limited scrutiny. In the early years of the Constitution, this had little practical effect, because public …