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Michigan, M. Vafa Barissi, Delainey Banks

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Maryland, Tia L. Churchfield

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Louisiana, Jim Tartaglia

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Kentucky, Kathleen R. Begley

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Kansas, Steven Rhodes, Sarah Trainer

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Illinois, Delainey Banks, Madison Pemberton

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Colorado, David R. Little, Diana S. Prulhiere

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Arkansas, Andreah Riedel

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Alaska, Steven A. Rhodes, Zachary H. Barrett, Kizito Aidam

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction & Front Pages, Alexandra Jury

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

A Chilling Decision For School Bus Drivers: A Survey Of Rose Tree Media School District V. Unemployment Compensation Board Of Review, Curtis J. Tokach

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

“To what end are these to be the means?” This question, famously posed to Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, has since been pondered by philosophers, scholars, lawyers, judges, and the like. Why is it that we choose to do the things we do? What result do we seek to achieve through our work? This overarching question is helpful to keep in mind throughout the reading of this publication.

Expansion Of Accessibility: A Survey Of Alternatives V. Department Of Human Services, Keri L. Nace

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

For decades, the size of government in the United States has grown. Simultaneously, technology has created a more informed, and more interested, general public. The Pennsylvania legislature responded to ever increasing requests for information by expanding transparency in government and access to records through the Right to Know Law (RTKL). Every Pennsylvania agency is required to have an open-records officer. The open-records officer is the agency representative tasked with receiving and responding to RTKL requests, including the decision of whether the agency provides or denies the requested record. Not surprisingly, questions regarding a government agency’s failure to provide documents are …

New Findings Of "Good Cause" In Unemployment Compensation Claims: Brown Vs. Unemployment Compensation Board Of Review, Danielle M. Holliday

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

The payment of unemployment compensation benefits seeks to provide partial and temporary wages to employees who have become involuntarily unemployed “through no fault of their own.” However, this is not without limitation. In Pennsylvania, a former employee may be barred from receiving unemployment compensation if the unemployment is “due to his [or her] discharge . . . from work for willful misconduct connected with his [or her] work.” Although the legislature has provided the over-arching rule for when unemployment compensation benefits may not be provided, the determination of whether an act constitutes willful misconduct is a question of law to …

The Shift: Claims Upon Which Relief Can Be Granted For Medication-Assisted Treatment-A Survey Of Rokita V. Pennsylvania Department Of Corrections, Kiara R. Douglass

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

Opioid addiction is a rising issue in the United States and is continually recognized as a public health issue. This epidemic is also rising inside prison walls. In fact, the risk of overdose death associated with opioid use is higher for individuals recently incarcerated compared to individuals who are free in society. To counteract the epidemic and help those with addiction, Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) programs are being used more frequently. However, the lack of availability of MAT programs in prisons continues to be a concern.

The United States' Recycling Model Is In Desperate Need Of A Makeover, Lindsay A. Williamson

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

Most Americans do not hesitate to throw something away, but a lack of recycling is causing landfills to overflow with products that could be reused and repurposed. In 2017, it was estimated that the average American creates 4.51 pounds of garbage per day, nearly double the amount of the 2.68 pounds Americans produced on average in 1960. Recycling in the United States has become problematic as recycling companies turn away recyclables that have been contaminated with food and other nonrecyclables. The effect is that not nearly enough recyclable products are being repurposed, with many of them ending up in landfills. …

Understanding The Effect Of Carried Interest Provisions On Fairness And Equality In The Taxation Of Hedge Fund Profits, Nathan D. Madden

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

Private equity and hedge fund managers (General Partners) typically receive a percentage share of the profits from the funds that they manage as part of their compensation for managing the investments made by investors. This compensation is commonly referred to as “Carried Interest.” General Partners are then entitled to a more favorable tax treatment of their compensation—as compared to most other taxpayers—by deferring the tax on Carried Interest and having it taxed at a lower, preferential rate. Many view these Carried Interest tax provisions as providing an unfair and unjustified tax advantage. This paper will explore alternatives that would arguably …

Divergent Journeys From Kabul And Kyiv: How Congress Can Ensure Equal Pathway Programs For Parolees To The United States, Erika C. Firestone

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

Scenes of Afghan citizens rushing United States military aircraft and handing their babies off to soldiers at the Kabul airport in August of 2021 shocked the conscience of the West. The Taliban entered Afghanistan’s capital city that month, completely unopposed, after twenty years of United States presence. As Kabul fell and the deadline for the United States’ withdrawal on August 30 approached, the streets outside of the airport grew crowded. People had no shelter from the scorching sun. A child-care center was created quickly after panic-stricken parents disappeared, leaving their children behind, hopeful that they would be delivered to safety. …

Yes, Your Broken Tailight Does Matter: Why Enforcement Of Minor Traffic Violations Is Integral For A Safe Society, Richard E. Berner

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

“At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.” These words serve as a reminder that within the framework of law and order, human beings are the most spectacular creatures to walk the face of the Earth. Outside of this framework, we are no greater than the most savage of beasts. The United States has historically faced challenges with the presence of racial bias within the legal system. In particular, traffic laws have been subject to uneven enforcement across the country, with one study indicating that black drivers were approximately …

Flag Fever: Adoption Of New State Flags, Brian Craig

The Guardianship Journal

Several states are experiencing flag fever, and it just might be contagious. Minnesota and Utah adopted new state flags that took effect in the first half of 2024. After years of debate, the new Utah state flag officially took effect on March 9, 2024. The Minnesota state flag officially became law on May 11, 2024, replacing a controversial flag that some people called racist and ugly. Other states are also considering new flag designs. Many states still incorporate their “seal on a bedsheet” designs that are difficult to distinguish from other states and lack good attributes for flag design. The …

Procedural Learning And Reform In Federal Administrative Adjudication, Jeremy S. Graboyes

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

In the mid-twentieth century, in cases like Goldberg v. Kelly, the Supreme Court found a right to “some kind of hearing” in program after program and set about constructing a “fixed list of procedural protections required by due process.” Constitutionalizing procedural choices in this manner gave courts substantial control over how administrative adjudication operated. However, the approach was criticized. Dissenting in Goldberg, Justice Hugo Black wrote that by imposing significant procedural requirements on agencies without a clear constitutional or statutory basis for doing so, courts “wander[ed] out of their field of vested powers and transgress[ed] into the area constitutionally assigned …

The Not-So-Obvious And Inconvenient Truth: Reexamining A Right To Counsel For Parents And Children In Abuse And Neglect Administrative Proceedings, Tiffany Williams Brewer

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

The right to counsel for parents in administrative abuse and neglect cases, as well as for the children that are the subject of these matters, is a necessity that may not be obvious. This Article seeks to elucidate the fundamental interests that are at stake and justify why the sacrosanct protections of the landmark Gideon v. Wainwright right to counsel case should be extended to an administrative proceeding involving parents who are facing inclusion on a state child abuse and neglect registry. The Article also reveals an inconvenient truth–that communities of color are disproportionately impacted by the consequence of adverse …

Congress And The Shifting Sands In Administrative Law, Christopher J. Walker

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

In recent years, we have seen an anti-administrativist turn in the federal judiciary, with the Supreme Court limiting agency power in important respects. These shifting sands in administrative law seem to be motivated, at least in part, by the Court’s perception of the rise of presidential administration and decline in legislative activity. As part of the Widener Commonwealth Law Review Judging in Administrative Law Symposium, this Essay assesses how the Court has responded to concerns about overpresidentialism and then sketches out several ways Congress can respond to reassert itself in federal lawmaking.

Undo Process: Examining Agency Procedural Levers To Access To Counsel, Haiyun Damon-Feng

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

Every day, through internal adjudicative proceedings, agencies make thousands of rights determinations that affect critical matters such as financial security, family unity, personal safety, and individual liberty. Scholars and policymakers have recognized the significant impact that representation can have on adjudicative outcomes across the administrative state. Many agencies have implemented policies affirmatively seeking to boost an individual’s ability to bring an advocate to assist with the adjudication process. In the immigration context, however, agencies have enacted procedural hurdles that have made it more difficult for individuals to reap the benefits of this assistance.

This Essay uses recent developments in the …

Corporate Exceptionalism: What's Behind The Business Community's Newfound Love Of Jury Trials, Richard H. Frankel

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

2024 was another year of blockbuster Supreme Court decisions. These range from expanding presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, overruling the Chevron doctrine, addressing access to the abortion drug mifepristone, setting standards regarding the power of federal agencies, and others. One case that has flown under the radar, at least outside of administrative law circles, is SEC v. Jarkesy. On its surface, the Supreme Court narrowly held that “the Seventh Amendment entitles a defendant to a jury trial when the [Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)] seeks civil penalties against him for securities fraud,” rather than being required to proceed in an …

The Disintegration Of Administrative Adjudicatory Enforcement Authority, Robert L. Glicksman

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

In Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, the Supreme Court held that the SEC violated Mr. Jarkesy’s Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial by pursuing its charges that he engaged in securities fraud in an administrative forum rather than in federal court. This Essay reviews and critiques the Jarkesy decision, concluding that it ignores several important issues in boiling the case down to whether statutory securities fraud is sufficiently similar to common law fraud to demand attachment of the jury trial right. This decision also distorts decades’ worth of Supreme Court precedents concerning the Seventh Amendment and Article III, …

Navigating The New Loper Bright Regime, Adam G. Crews

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

For many ordinary Americans—the ones who do not spend their days concerned with the minutia of administrative law doctrine—the biggest release of 2024 might have been international pop sensation Taylor Swift’s eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. The album’s standard edition ends with the track “Clara Bow,” which reflects on the entertainment industry’s habit of cycling through young female performers. Swift’s own experiences inform the song: she has explained how powerful record label executives would compare her to some other artist who came before her, then gratuitously disparage that woman, and then assure Swift that she is an improvement …

Chevron On The Eve Of Loper Bright, Nicholas R. Bednar

Widener Commonwealth Law Review

Chevron is dead. What does this mean for judicial review of agency interpretations of statutes in the lower courts? Perhaps not much. Using new data of circuit court decisions from 2012 and 2022, this Essay examines how lower courts changed their decision-making as the Supreme Court became more skeptical of Chevron deference. This Essay finds that---contrary to the assertion of some justices-circuit courts had not stopped applying Chevron in the lead up to Loper Bright. Moreover, courts agreed with agency interpretations of statutes at similar rates in both 2012 and 2022.

Bernard Bronner V. Robert E. Hardy, Ii, Order For Motion For Judgment Notwithstanding The Verdict, Kelly L. Ellerbe

Superior Court of Fulton County: Metro Atlanta Business Case Division Opinions

No abstract provided.

Winter 2025 - Cool Tools For Productivity, University Of Michigan Law Library

Legal Tech Series

This session will highlight technology designed to make your life easier as a law student and as a new attorney. Tools covered will include Boolean search operators, specialized legal writing keyboards, project management / note taking tools, artificial intelligence for drafting professional writing like emails, and more! If you are interested in maximizing your productivity and efficiency to make your life easier (and who isn't?) then this is the session for you!

Resources covered: LegalPad Keyboards. Search terms/connectors for Lexis, Westlaw, & Google. Google docs note taking. Anki for flashcards.

Note: In the Libguide as "Cool Tools to Boost Efficiency", …

The Green Wall Of Silence, Frank Rosenblatt

Journal Articles

This chapter contemplates the “Green Wall of Silence” through several examples. In Iraq, following the detainee abuse scandal at the U.S. military operated prison in Abu Ghraib in 2004, military officials announced that the abuse was the result of just a “few bad apples,” reaching this conclusion through a series of investigations that chilled or blocked witnesses from revealing actual truths, and avoided examining the role of higher-level officials who contributed to the abuses. In Afghanistan, military leaders lauded U.S. Army Corporal Pat Tillman for his conduct in a heroic firefight with the enemy, but concealed from the public the …