Digital Commons Network^™

The New Economic Liberties, Daniel B. Rodriguez

Northwestern University Law Review

Despite the lack of serious interrogation at the federal constitutional level of economic regulations, there continues to be a fairly robust, energetic attention at the level of state constitutional law to so-called economic liberties. In a number of key cases, including, for example, matters involving occupational licensing, state courts have looked to unique features of their respective state constitutions to assess whether and to what extent regulations undertaken under the police power go too far. The rationales for evaluating and, in some cases, invalidating regulations under economic liberties principles are creative, and also controversial. The development of new interpretive approaches …

Betschart V. Oregon: A Seven-Day Standard For Maine, Henry Gates

Maine Law Review

Maine lacks a clear standard for ensuring the right to counsel for indigent defendants. The State’s public defense system is struggling to meet Maine’s constitutional mandate: To provide indigent defense services in rural areas and across the state. An aging bar with few new attorneys working in rural areas—where there are often higher relative prosecution rates and a corresponding increased need for legal services—is contributing to the problem. This has resulted in a legal system that negatively impacts rural communities and indigent defendants to the point that one court concluded the state is violating the Sixth Amendment. Following the Ninth …

The Other Right To Counsel: The Civil Guarantee In State Constitutions, Dmitry Bam

Maine Law Review

When most people speak of the right to counsel, they speak in the singular. After the Supreme Court’s seminal decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, the right to counsel in criminal prosecutions has become one of our most cherished fundamental rights. It is a right ingrained in our culture. Even children can recite the mantra that the accused have the right to a lawyer, and if they can’t afford a lawyer, one will be provided to them free of charge. It is no surprise, then, that our constitutional focus is trained on the criminal defendant’s right to counsel. After all, there …

Active Limited Partners Flunk Functional Test, Karen Burke

UF Law Faculty Publications

In 1977, Congress enacted section 1402(a)(13), which exempts limited partners "as such" from self-employment tax on their share of partnership income. A half century later, active investment management professionals have claimed limited partner status to avoid self-employment tax on investment management fees, seemingly standing this anti-abuse rule on its head. While the Treasury twice issued proposed regulations to clarify and modernize the definition of a limited partner, these attempts encountered a firestorm of protest. The Tax Court's controversial Soroban decision rejected claims that state-law limited partners are automatically exempt from self-employment tax, holding that a functional analysis is required to …

The Preventative Care Gap: Completing The Aca’S Vision For Health, Abby Nagaich

Seattle University Law Review

This Note examines the preventive care mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the legal, political, and practical challenges that threaten its effectiveness. While the ACA significantly expanded access to no-cost preventive services, gaps remain—particularly in behavioral health, obesity management, and equitable service delivery. Ongoing litigation, potential administrative rollbacks, and shifting political leadership further destabilize this critical component of public health policy.

This Note argues that for the ACA to fulfill its original promise—and for any health framework to succeed—preventive care must be redefined as a comprehensive, early intervention approach grounded in both systemic access and patient education. It …

Public Schools: Immigration & Customs Enforcement’S Unconstitutional And Inhumane Hunting Ground, Ma Camille Briones

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Personal Take: An Argument In Favor Of Adopting The Uniform Partition Of Heirs Property Act In Rhode Island, Isiah Dipina, Natasha Varyani

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Leveling The Playing Field? Exploring The Moral Ambiguity Of The Private Attorney General Model, Nathan Heastie

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

Johnson & Johnson’s market cap is twice the GDP of Oklahoma. So, when Oklahoma hauled Johnson & Johnson and other behemoth pharmaceutical companies into state court for their participation in the opioid epidemic, Big Pharma’s resources created a David v. Goliath situation. Against all odds, Oklahoma stood toe-to-toe with Big Pharma and brought home more than $650 million in settlement funds.

Oklahoma’s success would be otherwise impossible without the assistance of three private law firms serving the role of “private attorneys general.” The State signed contingency fee arrangements with the firms, transferring the financial burden of litigation from the State …

Assembly-Line Public Defense, David S. Abrams, Priyanka Goonetilleke

Faculty Scholarship

Each year, millions of Americans rely on public defenders to fulfill their Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Despite being the linchpin of the criminal justice system, public defense remains both underfunded and understudied. This Article provides empirical analysis to contribute to a critical question: How should public defender systems be structured?

Criminal justice advocates, scholars, and the American Bar Association strongly favor vertical representation in public defense. Under this model, a single public defender represents a defendant throughout their case, from their initial appearance through sentencing. The alternative approach—horizontal representation—operates like an assembly line: Different attorneys handle each stage of …

Rightsizing Regulations To Foster Innovation And A Healthy Business Environment: Insights From Elite Executives, Brian Charles Mulligan, Nelson Granados

Engaged Management ReView

This study examines insights from business executives on how TRAILS—that is, taxes, regulations, assessments, interventions, litigation, and subsidies—influence entrepreneurial behavior and firm performance. Using an applied constructivist grounded theory design, we conducted 17 in-depth interviews to identify how top business executives view the effects of regulations on business performance. We adopt the premise that the right level and set of regulations lead to a healthier business environment. We find that right-sized TRAILS catalyze entrepreneurial dynamism, whereas wrong-sized TRAILS impose hidden opportunity costs, stifle innovation, and erode institutional trust. Crucially, the study reveals the vital role of the government as …

Maryland’S Voir Dire Reform: The 2025 Pilot Program And The Path Toward Fairer Juries, David A. Harak, Patrice M. Clarke

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

A State Constitutional Challenge To Washington’S Denial Of Minimum Wage To Incarcerated Workers, Cailin Dahlin

Washington Law Review

This Comment challenges as unconstitutional Washington’s exemption of incarcerated individuals from the state Minimum Wage Act. Incarcerated people in Washington, unprotected by minimum wage guarantees, earn low wages in state-run inmate work programs. This statutory carveout is contrary to the rehabilitative purpose of Washington’s prisons because it impedes incarcerated people’s ability to afford necessities, participate in rehabilitative programs, and reintegrate into society. This exemption is unconstitutional under the state’s cruel punishment clause, because it is disproportionately cruel punishment and an excessive fine that incarcerated workers cannot afford. The exemption is also unconstitutional under the state’s privileges and immunities clause, because …

California Public Defense Workloads And Staffing, Malia N. Brink, Pamela R. Metzger, Andrew L.B. Davies, Cynthia G. Lee

Deason Center Reports

This report assesses the current workloads and staffing of California public defense providers. The report concludes that California’s public defense attorneys are almost universally burdened by workloads that far exceed nationally recommended standards. Additionally, compared to district attorneys’ offices in the same jurisdictions, public defender offices typically have 20-45% fewer attorneys.

This report also details how public defense providers in California also lack the appropriate support staff – investigators, social workers, paralegals, and administrative assistants – necessary to efficiently and effectively represent their clients. At their current workload and staffing levels, public defense attorneys simply cannot do all that their …

Evicted From The Outside, Colleen Cosgriff

Maine Law Review

In recent years, Maine has seen an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness who are living outdoors. People living in these circumstances often shelter together in groups of tents or other temporary structures commonly referred to as “encampments.”As municipalities across Maine struggled with how best to respond to the increase in encampments across the state, the United States Supreme Court decided City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, a case originating in Grants Pass, Oregon. Grants Pass wanted to issue civil and criminal fines to people for sleeping outdoors, even when no alternative shelter was available. The city ultimately …

No Lawyer, No Jail: A Critical Case Study Of Pragmatism And The Flaws Of “Purposeful” Decision Making In Argersinger V. Hamlin, Alisa Smith, Sarah K. Stice

Seattle University Law Review

By releasing conference notes and internal communications, Supreme Court Justices provide insight into the otherwise private decisionmaking process, shedding light on how case outcomes and legal reasoning are framed and negotiated. The watershed case of Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972) extended the constitutional right to counsel to some, but not all, misdemeanor defendants. The case was argued twice, and the Court relied on empirical and authoritative sources to answer complex and practical questions about requiring counsel. This case study employs critical discourse analysis to uncover what influenced the Justices’ decisions and how they framed, shaped, and constructed social realities to foreground …

Modern Day Colonialism Through HawaiʻI’S Quiet Title And Partition Laws, Cheyann Fujii

Seattle University Law Review

This Note will attempt to highlight important aspects of Hawaiian history to provide readers with a clear picture on how Native Hawaiians are still impacted by colonialism, specifically when plaintiffs bring a quiet title or partition action against Native Hawaiian owners of kuleana lands. Before colonization, the concept of private land ownership did not exist in Hawai‘i, and Native Hawaiians adopted a feudal system by dividing land into geographical areas. Missionaries and businessmen brought Western ideas to Hawai‘i and influenced legislation such as the Great Māhele and the Kuleana Land Act of 1850, which solidified the concept of private property. …

A Critical Look At A New Iowa Law Allowing Minors To Serve Alcohol, Tom Hubbard

Journal of Food Law & Policy

In the never-ending tug-of-war of today’s charged political climate, the child labor discussion has been caught right in the crosshairs. While the Biden administration promised to crack down on child labor law violations (with varying degrees of success), more states continue making it easier for children to work. Because of this, the opportunity to exploit a progressively younger workforce will continue to grow. Amidst this backdrop, this article focuses particularly on a new Iowa law that expands child labor across the state. While there are many states seeking to roll back child labor law protections, Iowa’s new law seems to …

The Market Value Of Partisan Balance, Brian D. Feinstein, Daniel J. Hemel

Northwestern University Law Review

For the past century, Delaware’s constitution has provided that no more than a bare majority of judges on the state’s courts may hail from the same political party. Some scholars and jurists theorize that Delaware’s commitment to a politically balanced judiciary increases the state’s attractiveness to out-of-state corporations and adds value to Delaware-chartered firms. These claims echo a larger literature in law and the social sciences positing that ideological diversity improves decisional quality. Recently, a series of federal court decisions in the case of Adams v. Carney put these claims to the test. In December 2017, a federal district court …

Solving The Public Defense Crisis In Kansas, Malia N. Brink, Pamela R. Metzger

Deason Center Reports

Kansas has a constitutional obligation to provide counsel to any arrested person who cannot afford to hire a private attorney. But attorney shortages in Kansas threaten this core constitutional right. According to the American Bar Association, there are an average of four attorneys per 1,000 people nationwide. However, only six of Kansas’s 105 counties have two or more attorneys per 1,000 people. In 44 counties, there is just one attorney or fewer per 1,000 residents. The situation is particularly worrisome in rural Kansas. In 2023, nearly half of Kansas’s population lived in rural counties, but 80% of its lawyers lived …

2025-2026 Factbook, Tennessee. General Assembly

Factbook

This Fact Book provides an overview of the state's budget for the fiscal year.

Taming The Kangaroos, Matt Garcia

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Low-level state courts frequently disregard federal law. And though the judgments of these courts have profound legal consequence for millions of Americans, they receive little oversight. Rather than bastions of justice, low-level state courts are too often sites of lawlessness, earning them the shameful label “kangaroo courts.” This article proposes a path forward by which advocates can curb that lawlessness and enforce critically important federal protections.

As part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a broad legislative effort to protect the national economy and public health infrastructure, Congress altered mandatory procedures in eviction suits. Evictions …

Corporate Governance Speech, Sarah C. Haan

Seattle University Law Review

The State has always regulated the intra-firm communications that make corporate governance possible, most commonly by mandating disclosures of information by a corporation to its shareholders. Some such laws are labeled “securities regulation,” but securities regulation is a broad category that extends to speech by actors who are outside the corporate enterprise as well. Also, the conventional securities regulation category does not capture all such laws; other examples, including informationforcing mandates, can be found in state corporate law. This Article uses the term “corporate governance speech” to describe the communications among shareholders, directors, and officers through which corporate governance is …

The Employees’ Dilemma: Balancing Internal Reporting, Whistleblowing, And Insider Trading Risks, Geeyoung Min

Seattle University Law Review

The Essay examines how recent developments in insider trading regulations and whistleblower reward programs can lead to unintended and counterproductive results of discouraging employees from using internal reporting channels within corporate compliance programs. While the presence of a robust and well-functioning corporate compliance program is a critical factor both in mitigating the level of public enforcement actions against companies and in protecting corporate managers from liability in private litigation, these programs often provide little incentive for employees to report potential misconduct internally.

Corporate compliance programs are designed to promote the upward information flow within the company, which is essential for …

How The Antidiscrimination Law Of Commercial Transactions Really Works, Helen Norton

Seattle University Law Review

A variety of businesses now cite 303 Creative when seeking First Amendment protection for their refusal to serve certain customers based on those customers’ protected class status. How this litigation will play out remains to be seen. But future courts need not, and should not, repeat the 303 Creative Court’s misunderstanding of how the antidiscrimination law of commercial transactions actually works.

Part I of this Essay explains the Court’s longstanding understanding of the antidiscrimination law of commercial transactions, and then describes the Court’s failure to engage with this precedent in 303 Creative. Part II then identifies the 303 Creative decision’s …

Advanced Magic In Illinois: Amendments To The Illinois Rules Of Professional Conduct And The Confusion Over How To Handle Flat Fees Paid In Advance, Alberto Bernabe

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

Attorneys face ongoing challenges in structuring legal fees, particularly when deciding between hourly rates, contingency arrangements, and flat fees. This Article examines recent amendments to the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct regarding flat fees and explores the persistent confusion over how attorneys should handle fees paid in advance. The debate centers on whether advance payments should be deposited in client trust accounts. The Article analyzes alternative regulatory approaches to address this issue, including proposals to eliminate or modify Rule 1.15(c), which currently governs the handling of advance fees. It evaluates the merits of different fee structures and examines whether there …

Do Federal Circuit Courts Of Appeal Provide Adequate Assistance To Self-Represented Litigants? A Review Of The Circuits’ Websites Resources, Jona Goldschmidt

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Our Ai, Ourselves: Illuminating The Human Fears Animating Early Regulatory Responses To The Use Of Generative Ai In The Practice Of Law, Margaret Raymond

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Generative artificial intelligence is changing the way lawyers work, and with those changes have come questions and concerns about how it should be regulated. Those questions and concerns, particularly on the individual level, are driven by fears about the implications of the use of generative AI. This Article identifies and explores the fears that drive these regulatory responses: fear of exposing judicial fallibility, anxiety over AI replacing human lawyers, and concerns about missing out on AI’s potential benefits. Ultimately, effective regulation of the use of generative AI in legal practice needs to be attentive to the fears and hopes surrounding …

Trading Places: An Education For Legal Employers: A View From The Perspective Of A New Generation Of Legal Talent, Michele N. Struffolino

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Most lawyers remember the stress associated with walking into their first job interview. The goal being to get the interviewer to “pick me.” Today, legal employers need to be prepared to be more of the interviewee than the interviewer in the hiring process. Over the past few decades, much focus has been on identifying the skills essential to success in the legal profession—mainly those skills and traits legal employers view as important when hiring new associates. These findings led to changes in legal education in order to prepare law students for entering the employment market and successfully securing a position. …

Artificial Intelligence In Texas: Navigating The Risks, Benefits, And Uncharged Boundaries Of An Emerging Technology, Jordanna Tobias

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

No abstract provided.

Derailing Deportation Through State Legislation, Stacy Caplow

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.