Law Commons^™

Rwu Law News: The Newsletter Of Roger Williams University School Of Law, Michael M. Bowden, Gregory W. Bowman, Brooklyn Crockton

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Criminal Usury And Its Impact On New York Business Transactions, Christopher Basile

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Audiences Of Statutes, David S. Louk

Cornell Law Review

Although a maxim of statutory drafting is to identify the relevant audience and draft so that the audience can "get the message," conventional theories of statutory interpretation often overlook important considerations about how statutes communicate and delegate to a diverse range of intended audiences. Statutes exist to change the conduct and behavior of many kinds of intended audiences, including administrative agencies, state and local governments, law enforcement officers, corporations, interest groups, lawyers, and laypeople. Influenced by lessons from the philosophies of law and language, this Article contends that Judicial statutory interpretation serves an important yet underappreciated role in providing a …

Digitizing The Indiana Code, Susan David Demaine, Benjamin J. Keele

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The Ruth Lilly Law Library holds one of the most complete sets of the official Indiana Code in print, and we often receive research requests for sections of the historical Code from attorneys and other researchers. The print collection is far more complete than anything available online and is freely available for anyone to use, but this generally requires a trip to the library. Currently, there is no free online public access to the Indiana Code predating 2009, and paid access offers no codes between 1921 and 1990. We have set out to change this.

Solving The Sextortion Puzzle: Piecing Together A Model State Sextortion Statute, Aaron Robbins

Valparaiso University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rural Health, Universality, And Legislative Targeting, Nicole Huberfeld

Faculty Scholarship

Health disparities are persistent and worsening for rural communities, which have smaller patient populations with higher rates of uninsurance and greater incidence of the diseases and deaths of despair. Hospital closures and provider shortages are more common than in urban areas, also contributing to worsening population health and crises in maternal and infant health. This paper posits that these disparities are tied to the unique rural features of space and population. Efforts to address persistent problems in health care through universal legislation, such as the ACA, have given rural communities important tools to address some long-standing health problems by improving …

Twelve Injured Men: Why Injured Jurors Should Not Receive Workers' Compensation Coverage From The Courts, Corey Baron

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Note argues that the legislature should add a provision to New York’s Workers’ Compensation Act that expressly precludes jurors from coverage. Such a provision would comport with the policy underlying the statute, the statute’s structure, and the statute’s language. Moreover, that legislative provision would prevent the court from wasting the considerable time and expense of grappling with other courts’ inconsistent interpretations of workers’ compensation statutes and their underlying policies. First, Part I of this Note provides an overview of the workers’ compensation law and explores the policies underlying the advent of workers’ compensation statutes. Then, Part II surveys …

Distributive Principles Of Criminal Law, Paul H. Robinson, Tyler Scot Williams

All Faculty Scholarship

This first chapter from the recently published book Mapping American Criminal Law: Variations across the 50 States documents the alternative distributive principles for criminal liability and punishment — desert, deterrence, incapacitation of the dangerous — that are officially recognized by law in each of the American states. The chapter contains two maps visually coded to display important differences: the first map shows which states have adopted desert, deterrence, or incapacitation as a distributive principle, while the second map shows which form of desert is adopted in those jurisdictions that recognize desert. Like all 38 chapters in the book, which covers …

Ohio's Modern Courts Amendment Must Be Amended: Why And How, Richard S. Walinski, Mark D. Wagoner Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

A 1968 amendment to the Ohio Constitution granted the Supreme Court of Ohio the authority to promulgate “rules governing practice and procedure” for Ohio courts. The amendment also provided that “[a]ll laws in conflict with such rules shall be of no further force or effect after such rules have taken effect” and that no rule may “abridge, enlarge, or modify any substantive right.”

Although the amendment was explicit about automatic repeal of existing laws, it says nothing about whether the General Assembly may legislate on a procedural matter after a court rule takes effect. That silence has caused enduring confusion. …

Environmental Law Outside The Canon, Todd S. Aagaard

Todd S Aagaard

It is time to rethink the domination of environmental law by a canon of major federal statutes enacted in the 1970s. Environmental law is in a malaise. Despite widespread agreement that existing laws are inadequate to address current environmental problems, Congress has not passed a major environmental statute in more than twenty years. If it is to succeed, the environmental law of this new century may need to evolve into something that looks quite different than the extant environmental law canon. The next generation of environmental laws must be viable for creation and implementation even in an antagonistic political climate; …

“I’M Not Quite Dead Yet!”: Rethinking Anti-Lapse Redistribution Of A Dead Beneficiary’S Gift, Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod

Eloisa C Rodríguez-Dod

Anti-lapse statutes create a category of substitute takers when a beneficiary prematurely dies. They are based on the legislature’s presumption of how a testator or settlor would want his property distributed in these circumstances. However, a testator’s or settlor’s intent may effectively be frustrated by this presumed intent. This Article critically examines the tension between an individual’s autonomy and societal goals in the context of anti-lapse statutes applicable to wills and trusts. It scrutinizes the current rules of construction regarding anti-lapse statutes and identifies their deficiencies in their application to wills and trusts. This Article analyzes and identifies the deficiencies …

Legislation's Culture, Richard K. Neumann Jr.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Justice Kennedy's Big New Idea, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In a 2015 case, the Supreme Court held that plaintiffs could bring disparate impact claims under the Fair Housing Act (the "FHA"). In the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy relied heavily on the text and supporting case law interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act ("Title VII") and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (the "ADEA '). Without explicitly recognizing the powerful new idea he was advocating, Justice Kennedy's majority opinion radically reconceptualized federal employment discrimination jurisprudence. This new reading of Title VII and the ADEA changes both the theoretical framing of the discrimination statutes and greatly expands their scope. …

No Copyright In The Law: A Basic Principle, Yet A Continuing Battle, Elizabeth Scheibel

Cybaris®

No abstract provided.

Electronic Signatures: Review And Analysis, Bryan Gibson

Kentucky Transportation Center Technical Assistance Report

Electronic signatures, or e-signatures, are an increasingly ubiquitous component of a rapidly digitizing world. Compared to traditional paper signature, e-signatures have emerged as a viable, potentially more efficient method of entering into a contract. An e-signature can be thought of as an electronic symbol or marking associated with the signer. It acts as a signature and functions in lieu of a manual paper signature. This technical assistance report briefly reviews relevant Kentucky statutes and guidelines regarding e-signatures and public recordkeeping as well as applicable federal law. Following this, the report presents conclusions and points for continued discussion. Relevant statues and …

A Statute By Any Other Name Might Smell Less Like S.P.A.M., Or, The Congress Of The United States Grows Increasingly D.U.M.B., Chris Sagers

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Why we name our statutes is a rarely asked and non-obvious question, but it turns out to be deeply illuminating. This essay examines one little-noticed trend in particular, which has simply exploded within the U.S. Congress during the past twenty years. What at first might seem a frivolous, innocuous, and maybe even sort of likable kind of statute name appeared perhaps three times in the entire history of the Republic before 1988. In the twenty years since, there have been nearly seventy of them. But much more important than its recent and arresting profusion will be the deeper philosophical insight …

Statutes And Democratic Self-Authorship, Paul W. Kahn, Kiel Brennan-Marquez

William & Mary Law Review

In this Article, we argue that both sides of the usual debate over statutory interpretation—text versus purpose—rest on a common, but flawed, premise. Judges and scholars have assumed that legislative bodies are the authors of statutes. We disagree; instead, we argue that the people are the authors of statutes. Legislative bodies play an indispensable role in the process: they draft statutes. And courts play a similarly indispensable role: they interpret statutes. But ultimately, it is the polity—we, the people—that is responsible, as authors, for the content of the law.

This shift yields dramatic consequences. To date, no theory of statutory …

Environmental Law Outside The Canon, Todd S. Aagaard

Indiana Law Journal

It is time to rethink the domination of environmental law by a canon of major federal statutes enacted in the 1970s. Environmental law is in a malaise. Despite widespread agreement that existing laws are inadequate to address current environmental problems, Congress has not passed a major environmental statute in more than twenty years. If it is to succeed, the environmental law of this new century may need to evolve into something that looks quite different than the extant environmental law canon. The next generation of environmental laws must be viable for creation and implementation even in an antagonistic political climate; …

Enacted Legislative Findings And The Deference Problem, Daniel A. Crane

Articles

The constitutionality of federal legislation sometimes turns on the presence and sufficiency of congressional findings of predicate facts, such as the effects of conduct on interstate commerce, state discrimination justifying the abrogation of sovereign immunity, or market failures justifying intrusions on free speech. Sometimes a congressional committee makes these findings in legislative history. Other times, Congress recites its findings in a statutory preamble, thus enacting its findings as law. Surprisingly, the Supreme Court has not distinguished between enacted and unenacted findings in deciding how much deference to accord congressional findings. This is striking because the difference between enactedness and unenactedness …

Decorating The Structure: The Art Of Making Human Law, Brian M. Mccall

Brian M McCall

Taming A Dragon: Legislative History In Legal Analysis, Mark Deforrest

Mark DeForrest

ARTICLE ABSTRACT

TAMING A DRAGON:

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY IN LEGAL ANALYSIS

Mark DeForrest

The use of legislative history in statutory interpretation and analysis has been an area of intensive inquiry since the 1980’s. The debate has been vigorous and has led to the development of sophisticated arguments by both the advocates of the use of legislative history and textualists critical of its use. While the debate has been ongoing, changes in technology have made it easier than ever to access detailed legislative history for both state and federal statutes. This article discusses the impact of both the debate and the technological …

How To Create American Manufacturing Jobs, John D. Gleissner Esquire

John D Gleissner Esquire

No abstract provided.

Implementation Of The Apa Growing Smart Legislative Guidebook: Beginning To Benchmark Success, Patricia Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

No abstract provided.

Planning For Conflicts Of Interest In Land Use Decisionmaking: The Use Of Alternate Members Of Planning And Zoning Boards, Patricia E. Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

No abstract provided.

Westminster's Impending Short Title Quandary: And How To Fix It, Brian Christopher Jones

Brian Christopher Jones

Discusses the likelihood that, in the absence of official guidelines on the choice of short title for new Bills submitted to the Westminster Parliament, increasingly the US practice of giving Bills "sloganising" or personalised short titles will be emulated. Reports on the views of parliamentarians about the use of evocative language in Bill titles. Outlines the formal and informal rules and practices followed by Office of the Parliamentary Counsel in the naming of Bills, and suggests five guidance points for the selection of a short title.

“I’M Not Quite Dead Yet!”: Rethinking Anti-Lapse Redistribution Of A Dead Beneficiary’S Gift, Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod

Faculty Publications

Anti-lapse statutes create a category of substitute takers when a beneficiary prematurely dies. They are based on the legislature’s presumption of how a testator or settlor would want his property distributed in these circumstances. However, a testator’s or settlor’s intent may effectively be frustrated by this presumed intent.

This Article critically examines the tension between an individual’s autonomy and societal goals in the context of anti-lapse statutes applicable to wills and trusts. It scrutinizes the current rules of construction regarding anti-lapse statutes and identifies their deficiencies in their application to wills and trusts. This Article analyzes and identifies the deficiencies …

Never Construed To Their Prejudice: In Honor Of David Getches, Richard B. Collins

Publications

This article reviews and analyzes the judicial canons of construction for Native American treaties and statutes. It discusses their theoretical justifications and practical applications. It concludes that the treaty canon has ready support in contract law and the law of treaty interpretation. Justification of the statutory canon is more challenging and could be strengthened by attention to the democratic deficit when Congress imposes laws on Indian country. Applications of the canons have mattered in disputes between Indian nations and private or state interests. They have made much less difference, and have suffered major failings, in disputes with the federal government. …

Costs Of No Codes, James Maxeiner

All Faculty Scholarship

Codification is a ubiquitous feature of modern legal systems. Codes are hailed as tools for making law more convenient to find and to apply than law found in court precedents or in ordinary statutes. Codes are commonplace in most countries. The United States is anomalous. It does not have true codes. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when many countries adopted systematic civil, criminal and procedural codes, the United States considered, but did not adopt such codes.

This Article discusses the absence of codes in American law, identifies American substitutes for codes, relates the history of attempts to create …

Plain Language Prospects In American Public Law: Insiders Weigh In, Brian Christopher Jones

Brian Christopher Jones

While many international lawmaking jurisdictions have incorporated plain language principles for statutory drafting, the United States remains reluctant, and subsequently has no official policy on employing such principles for the drafting of federal legislation. Though Executive Orders and congressional statutes regarding plain writing have recently been enacted, these have been aimed at Executive Agency regulations and communications, not statutes. This article explores the current prospects of plain language implementation for U.S. statutory law, relying primarily on interviews from Congressional insiders, including lawmakers, staffers and legal/political journalists. Responses demonstrated that plain language standards for statutory law in the U.S. do not …

Inside The Civil Rights Ring: Statutory Jabs And Constitutional Haymakers, Aaron J. Shuler

Aaron J Shuler

Civil rights litigators use statutory and constitutional attacks to combat inequality. Each approach has its advantages and drawbacks developed through interpretation by U.S. courts. The first major decision that shaped modern civil rights was the Civil Rights Cases that dodged a constitutional attack to withdraw most private acts of discrimination out of reach until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed and validated in Heart of Atlanta v. U.S. In addition to the coupling of statutory attacks with private discrimination and constitutional challenges to state biases, statutory attacks have proven to be more adept at addressing disparate impacts as …