Digital Commons Network^™

Clemency For Battered Women Who Kill Their Abusers: Finding A Just Forum, Alison M. Madden

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

A large number of battered women in California prisons have petitioned Governor Pete Wilson for pardon or for commutation of their prison sentences to time already served. Most of these women were sent to prison for killing their abusers in defense of themselves or their children. The legal, political, and social forces that influence the criminal trials of such women frequently ensure high conviction rates and stiff sentences. This is true despite efforts to show juries and trial courts that many battered women who kill do so out of a reasonable fear that they will suffer death or bodily harm …

Tribal-State Gaming Compacts: The Constitutionality Of The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, William T. Bisset

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) permits Indian tribes to operate casino games on Indian lands, but only if the games are conducted in conformance with a tribal-state compact. Upon tribal request, a state must negotiate such a compact in good faith or risk losing its opportunity to regulate Indian gaming at all. In response to IGRA-sanctioned, federal-court actions by tribes to enforce their rights, states have successfully raised Tenth and Eleventh Amendment "states' rights" challenges to IGRA's constitutionality. This Article argues that the controlling Supreme Court precedent precludes states (a) from invoking the Eleventh Amendment as a defense to …

Balancing The Fourth Amendment Scales: The Bad-Faith Exception To Exclusionary Rule Limitations, George C. Thomas Iii, Barry S. Pollack

UC Law Journal

Fourth Amendment violations are currently divided into two categories for the purpose of deciding whether to apply the exclusionary rule as a remedy. One category contains "good-faith" violations, which require no remedy. All other violations, because they are lacking in good faith, are subject to the application of the exclusionary rule when the government attempts to use evidence obtained by the violation at trial. However, the exclusionary rule, because it is limited in four major ways, does not prevent all of the possible uses of this evidence. This Article argues that the current categorization of violations is too crude; the …

The Endless Cycle Of Abuse: Why 42 U.S.C. 1983 Is Ineffective In Deterring Police Brutality, Alison L. Patton

UC Law Journal

When a police officer uses excessive force against an individual, that individual can sue for damages or to enjoin an abusive police technique, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Years after Congress created this civil rights cause of action, however, attorneys, legislators and citizens are questioning the effectiveness of this statute as a legal tool for deterring misconduct. The numerous drawbacks to bringing and winning section 1983 suits hinder this legal remedy. Furthermore, even those suits that are successfully litigated usually have little or no deterrent effect on the police officer's behavior.

This Note examines why section 1983 suits for police …

Hastings Law News Vol.26 No.3, Uc Hastings College Of The Law

Hastings Law News (1969/70-2001/02)

No abstract provided.

Regulation. Freight Train Length. Transport Of Hazardous Materials.

Initiatives

REGULATION. FREIGHT TRAIN LENGTH. TRANSPORT OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Prohibits freight trains which transport certain "hazardous materials" from exceeding 2000 feet in overall length. Applies prohibition to railroad freight common carriers when their freight trains originate and travel within the geographic boundaries of California. Provides that what constitutes "hazardous materials" is to be defined by the Federal Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administration. Violation requires payment of a $500 fine to the Public Utilities Transportation Reimbursement Account. Summary of the Legislative Analyst's estimate of state government fiscal impact: If enacted, the proposed statute would result in additional costs to …

Hastings Law News Vol.26 No.2, Uc Hastings College Of The Law

Hastings Law News (1969/70-2001/02)

No abstract provided.

Basic Health Care Coverage.

Initiatives

BASIC HEALTH CARE COVERAGE. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires employers to provide basic health care coverage for employees and their dependents. Provides phase-in period, as specified. Employee contributions shall not exceed 2% of wages; eliminates duplicate coverage; specifies type of health care benefits, including prescription services. Subjects health carriers to enforcement powers of Insurance Commissioner or Commissioner of Corporations and prohibits exclusion based upon prior disease, disorder, or condition. Establishes Health Care Coverage Commission, Medical Policy Panel, Cost Containment Panel, and Technology Panel, and membership and duties. Provides employer tax credits; specifies amendments; severability clause. Makes appropriations for commission support. Summary of …

Sales Tax.

Initiatives

SALES TAX. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Repeals existing sales tax on snack foods and medicines. Limits imposition of new sales, use or excise tax on food, medicine and medical devices by state, and by local agencies, to extent such limitations are permitted by statutory enactment. Includes candy, confectionery, bottled water within definition of food which is exempt from sales tax. Limits imposition by state of such new taxes on necessary utilities as defined; excludes local governments from this limitation. Authorizes Legislature to expand definition of food, necessary utilities, medicine and medical devices entitled to exemption. Requires voter approval to restrict these definitions. …

Basic Health Care Coverage.

Propositions

BASIC HEALTH CARE COVERAGE. INITIATIVE STATUTE • Requires employers to provide basic health care coverage for employees working specified hours, and their dependents, as permitted by federal law. • Provides phase-in period. • Employee contributions shall not exceed 2% of wages: eliminates duplicate coverage; specifies type of health care benefits, including prescription services. • Subjects health carriers to enforcement powers of Insurance Commissioner or Commissioner of Corporations and prohibits exclusion based upon prior disease, disorder, or condition. • Establishes Health Care Coverage Commission and panels for Medical Policy, Cost Containment, and Technology. • Provides employer tax credits. • Makes appropriations …

Economic Liberty As The Basis Of Social Liberty: Bowers Revised In The Context Of State Constitutions, Daniel R. Gordon

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Privacy Rights In The Private Workplace, Under The Federal And California Constitutions, John C. Barker

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

I Can't Believe I Taped The Whole Thing: The Case Against Vcrs That Zap Commercials, Steven S. Lubliner

UC Law Journal

In Japan, one may now purchase a VCR that can distinguish between the programming and the advertisements, with the result that commercials are not recorded. The threat to television advertising there has led to a standoff between manufacturers of such VCRs and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Such a machine is not currently available in the United States, but its development is anticipated, and its arrival is being planned for by advertisers.

This Note assumes that VCRs with "automatic commercial avoidance" technology will be introduced in the United States and examines their legal significance in light of policies in the Federal …

The Golden State Of Labor Preemption: The Circuit Courts Have Gone Too Far, Tod A. Cochran

UC Law Journal

The doctrine of preemption is widely considered to be the most confusing area in labor law. In 1986, the Supreme Court changed the preemption playing field with its holding in Golden State Transit Corporation v. City of Los Angeles. Golden State and the circuit court interpretations of it expand the degree to which state and local actions are preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This Note argues that many of the circuit decisions have misinterpreted the Golden State doctrine in ways that expressly disadvantage workers and frustrate the principles of the NLRA.

A coherent analytical framework has yet …

Death Penalty. Public Executions.

Initiatives

DEATH PENALTY. PUBLIC EXECUTIONS. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Amends California Constitution to declare that death penalty serves the purposes of deterring crime and of exacting society's right to retribution for crimes committed. Further declares that deterring crime is essential to public safety and that the deterrent effect is most effectively served when potential criminals are aware of the punishment for crime. Directs that executions be carried out in public in the community which was the site of the crime for which a death sentence is imposed. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state …

Forestry Practices.

Initiatives

FORESTRY PRACTICES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires forest protection plans by areas in which timber is harvested and review for environment, wildlife and watershed impact. Requires fire protection plans. Amends timber harvesting plan requirements. Prohibits harvesting more than 70% of timber volume in an area within 10-year period. Limits timber harvesting in "ancient forests," in watershed areas, and within specified distances of waterways. Provides maximum timber harvest limits. Revises post-harvest tree stocking standards. Requires forest fire prevention plans. Imposes new timber harvesting permit fees. Discourages foreign export of forest products. Revises Board of Forestry membership. Imposes penalties for violations. Summary of estimate …

Marijuana.

Initiatives

MARIJUANA. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Prohibits prosecution for cultivation, transportation, distribution, or consumption of marijuana for industrial, medicinal, nutritional, personal use. Adds marijuana to list of available prescription medicines. Grants amnesty for prior offenses; permits destruction of prior criminal records. Authorizes legislative action regulating use in public places, while operating vehicles or which affects public safety. Prohibits: chemical testing for marijuana use for employment, insurance; government enforcement of conflicting federal laws. Directs Legislature, Governor, and Attorney General to challenge conflicting federal laws. Establishes legislative panel to study feasibility of restitution for persons imprisoned, fined or who have forfeited property for prior offenses. …

Divided We Stand: State Constitutions In A More Perfect Union, Shirley S. Abrahamson

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Legislation Punishing Drug Use During Pregnancy: Attack On Women's Rights In The Name Of Fetal Protections, Nancy K. Schiff

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

The Criminalization Of Belief: When Free Exercise Isn't, Edward Egan Smith

UC Law Journal

In Walker v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court held that the criminal prosecution for involuntary manslaughter and felony child endangerment of a mother who withheld orthodox medical treatment from her ill child based on her religious beliefs did not violate free exercise. Citing the United States Supreme Court's doctrinal distinction between the absolute protection of religious beliefs and the qualified protection afforded religious conduct, the court characterized such criminal prosecutions as constitutional restrictions on religious conduct. This Note argues that the Walker court was wrong. Because the court held that an express exemption for spiritual treatment in section 270 …

Michigan Department Of State Police V. Sitz: A Roadblock To Meaningful Judicial Enforcement Of Constitutional Rights, Nadine Strossen

UC Law Journal

In Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz, the Supreme Court rejected a fourth amendment challenge to mass, suspicionless searches and seizures at drunk driving roadblocks. In this Article, Professor Strossen analyzes the longrange constitutional impact of Sitz. She argues that the decision epitomizes the Court's recent tendency to eliminate the traditional fourth amendment requirement that any search or seizure of an individual must be based upon a particularized suspicion that the individual has committed, or is about to commit, a crime. The Article then shows how Sitz embodies two more general, interrelated trends in the Rehnquist Court's construction of …

Hastings Law News Vol.24 No.3, Uc Hastings College Of The Law

Hastings Law News (1969/70-2001/02)

No abstract provided.

Pest Eradication.

Initiatives

PEST ERADICATION. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires, with stated exceptions, that pest eradication projects include: non-pesticide alternatives; limited pesticide use; demonstrated pesticide effectiveness without substantial damage to nontarget plants, animals, environment; integrated pest control management techniques; public notice to project area prior to application likely to result in public exposure. Requires written findings of fact on statutory requirements. Prohibits aerial application of pesticides in urban areas as part of pest eradication projects. Mandates preparation of health risk assessment, monitoring program, for each eradication project. Requires state certification that risk assessment is complete, and that risk to public from eradication program not significant. …

Whatever Made You Think I Was Consenting: A Proposal To Silence Patriarchal Influence In Civil Sexual Assault Cases, Mary Ellen Lemieux

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

Starlyn Watts' experience at trial makes clear that despite legislative safeguards put in place to protect victims of sexual assault in criminal and civil proceedings, the male voice, as the dominating speaker in society, prevents the protection of victims from the stereotypical prejudices against women propagated by male society. It is law as ideology that further gives fuel to this voice as it allows reality to be masked and inhibits social change. To unveil reality and effect social change within the law, the patriarchal voice must be exposed as a potent propaganda. Once unmasked, social change must still be put …

Scarcity Of The Airwaves: Allocating And Assigning The Spectrum For High Definition Television (Hdtv), Janine S. Natter

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

High Definition Television (HDTV) promises a dramatic technological advancement in the quality of video and audio television. This Note asserts that local broadcast television networks must be allocated additional space on the electromagnetic spectrum to transmit the improved signals required for a competitive HDTV system in the United States. Unless additional spectrum frequencies are allocated for broadcast television, the spectrum presently allocated may be insufficient to satisfy all applicants. Therefore, a scheme must be developed to determine which applicants will be granted the right to use any additional frequencies. The author discusses various methods of assigning the spectrum and proposes …

Shirley S. Abrahamson, Shirley S. Abrahamson

Mathew O. Tobriner Memorial Lectures

No abstract provided.

New Prison Construction Bond Act Of 1990

Propositions

NEW PRISON CONSTRUCTION BOND ACT OF 1990. This act provides for a bond issue of four hundred fifty million dollars ($450,000,000) to provide funds to relieve overcrowding in the state's prisons and the Youth Authority facilities through new construction.

Earthquake Safety And Public Buildings Rehabilitation Bond Act Of 1990

Propositions

EARTHQUAKE SAFETY AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS REHABILITATION BOND ACT OF 1990. This act provides for a bond issue of three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) to provide funds for the reconstruction, seismic retrofitting, repair, replacement, and relocation of state and local government buildings which are unsafe primarily due to earthquake-related dangers.

Murder Of A Peace Officer. Criminal Penalties. Special Circumstance. Peace Officer Definition.

Propositions

LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVE AMENDMENT. The Briggs Death Penalty Initiative Act defined "peace officer" for cases where a defendant is found guilty of first degree murder and the victim was a peace officer. No changes have been made to this section since its enactment. The Legislature has reclassified peace officers by grouping them into different categories and has made other changes since 1979. This statute conforms the definition found in the Initiative Act to the new classifications, thereby increasing the numbers and types of peace officers covered by the act. Summary of Legislative Analyst's estimate of net state and local government fiscal …

Wildlife Protection.

Propositions

INITIATIVE STATUTE. Establishes Habitat Conservation Fund. Transfers $30 million to Fund annually from existing environmental funds and General Fund. Monies from Fund appropriated to Wildlife Conservation Board; Coastal, Tahoe, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancies; state and local parks programs. Funds to be used principally for acquisition of deer and mountain lion habitat; rare and endangered species habitat. Remaining funding for wetlands; riparian and aquatic habitat: open space; other environmental purposes. Prohibits taking of mountain lions unless for protection of life, livestock or other property. Permit for taking required, but prohibits use of poison, leg-hold or metal-jawed traps and snares. Summary of …