Law Commons^™

United States V. American Library Association: The Choice Between Cash And Constitutional Rights, Barbara A. Sanchez

Akron Law Review

This Note discusses the possibility that the Court, in its eagerness to protect children, twisted established First Amendment doctrines to uphold CIPA and declined to address other legal issues that weaken CIPA’s constitutionality. Part II provides a historical background of previous legislation attempting to protect children accessing the Internet, explains what CIPA is and compares it to previous legislation, and also discusses current filtering technology and its limitations. Part III provides a statement of the facts, including the procedural history of the case. Part IV analyzes the Court’s confusing and inconsistent application of firmly established rules dealing with Congress’ spending …

Holding On To What Is Most Precious: Ohio Juvenile Law After In Re C.R., Rose Semple, Esq.

Akron Law Review

This article will endeavor to show that the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling in In re C.R. makes it too difficult for parents to retain custody of their own children. By exploring United States Supreme Court precedent, it will be shown that the rule emerging from In re C.R. does not pass procedural due process muster. It will also be shown that the Ohio Supreme Court disregarded its own precedent and in doing so, created a rule that undermines the policies of its own juvenile law system. By providing the rudiments of juvenile jurisprudence, the facts and decision of In re …

The Science And Statistics Behind Spanking Suggest That Laws Allowing Corporal Punishment Are In The Best Interests Of The Child, Jason M. Fuller

Akron Law Review

Were such a killing to occur in the U.S., the popular reaction would have been, “How can we prevent this from happening again?” In Sweden, however, youth violence and aggression has gotten so out-of control that the reaction was, “Shoot another [one].” Sadly, many policymakers fail to realize how Swedish laws have contributed to growing youth violence, and consequently, to public resentment of Swedish youths.

In 1979, Sweden started an international trend by becoming the first country to ban spanking. Since then, twenty-three more countries have outlawed it. The European Committee of Social Rights currently is urging all forty-five of …

Neuroscience And Juvenile Justice, Jay D. Aronson

Akron Law Review

Recent advances in the field of neuroscience, especially improved magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, are providing scientists and decision-makers with an increasingly complex understanding of how our brains develop from birth to adulthood. While these studies are still in their infancy, they have already made it clear that the brain typically continues to develop long after the point at which an individual becomes a legal adult (i.e., at age 18), and that the slow maturation process that plays out in the social context is mirrored by a slow maturation process at the neural level. Despite the tentative nature and unsettled …

Jon & Kate Plus The State: Why Congress Should Protect Children In Reality Programming, Dayna B. Royal

Akron Law Review

One is forced to wonder whether any laws exist to protect minors whose personal lives are laid bare as their own parents thrust them into the paparazzi’s spotlight. This article addresses this question, considering the best legal regime for regulating employment of children in reality programming, and suggesting an alternative to the status quo. To that end, Part II begins by identifying the various harms reality programming causes, arguing that participating in reality programming is detrimental both to the individual children who participate and to society in general. Part III surveys the current legal landscape, addressing first the federal law …

Developmental Detour: How The Minimalism Of Miller V. Alabama Led The Court's "Kids Are Different" Eighth Amendment Jurisprudence Down A Blind Alley, Mary Berkheiser

Akron Law Review

With its narrow ruling, Miller has taken the Eighth Amendment kids are different jurisprudence on a deleterious detour that could lead Miller and Jackson and others like them to a certain dead end. Where Miller went wrong is the subject of this paper. It begins with Graham and the significance of the Court’s ruling that the Eighth Amendment categorically precludes imposition of a sentence of life without parole on a juvenile nonhomicide offender. Next, this paper turns to the Supreme Court’s decision in Miller, parsing the Court’s reliance on precedent and the reasoning that led it to adopt a ruling …

Sex Slavery In The Lone Star State: Does The Texas Human Trafficking Legislation Of 2011 Protect Minors?, Cheryl Nelson Butler

Akron Law Review

This Article argues that, while Texas has made great strides in its movement to combat child trafficking, there are three major areas in which further reform is needed. First, Texas should provide stronger protections for not only minors trafficked for sex, but also those trafficked for labor. Second, Texas law must shift its emphasis from prosecution of traffickers to a more balanced approach that also prioritizes the protection of minors and the prevention of future trafficking crimes against them. Third, Texas should adopt safe harbor provisions that reflect a child welfare response toward prostituted minors

Chief Justice O'Connor's Juvenile Justice Jurisprudence: A Consistent Approach To Inconsistent Interests, Yvette Mcgee-Brown, Kimberly A. Jolson

Akron Law Review

Part II of this Article examines the growth of the juvenile justice system as a system apart from the adult criminal system. It reviews the goals of the juvenile court system—to treat children differently than adults, to rehabilitate, and to protect both the child and society. Part II also discusses the gradual movement to harsher sentencing of young offenders and transferring those offenders to the adult criminal justice system, as well as the subsequent exhortation of the United States Supreme Court that youth in the juvenile justice system must be afforded the protection of constitutional rights. Part III.A explains the …