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The New York Court Of Appeals' Expansion Of The Definition Of The Term “Parent” Leaves Future Questions Unanswered, Ilana Sharan Dec 2017

The New York Court Of Appeals' Expansion Of The Definition Of The Term “Parent” Leaves Future Questions Unanswered, Ilana Sharan

Journal of Law and Policy

On August 30, 2016, the New York Court of Appeals in Brooke S.B. v. Elizabeth A.C.C., expanded the definition of the term “parent,” overruling the twenty-five-year-old bright line rule that limited standing to seek custody or visitation to traditional parents. In 1991, the New York Court of Appeals decided Alison D. v. Virginia M. where they defined “parent” to include only people who have a biological or adoptive relationship with the child, reasoning that the typical family consisted of a husband and wife. In many cases subsequent to Alison D., the court attempted to alleviate the harsh application this rule …


No “Gift” Giving Here: The Inadequate Gifted Education Programs In New York State And The Need For Gifted Education Reform, Jamie M. Kautz Dec 2017

No “Gift” Giving Here: The Inadequate Gifted Education Programs In New York State And The Need For Gifted Education Reform, Jamie M. Kautz

Journal of Law and Policy

Gifted Education is a topic that is often not at the forefront of educational issues throughout federal and state discussions and legislative actions. However, while there are a large number of students in classrooms across the country who are “gifted,” the number of individual states with comprehensive gifted programs within their public school districts is small. As a result, gifted programming is limited and gifted students are not guaranteed any sort of academic assistance beyond that of a standard classroom curriculum for their designated grade levels. More importantly, in the majority of states, including New York, the legal protections offered …


Cutting Off The Umbilical Cord–Reflections On The Possibility To Sever The Parental Bond, Tali Marcus Dec 2017

Cutting Off The Umbilical Cord–Reflections On The Possibility To Sever The Parental Bond, Tali Marcus

Journal of Law and Policy

Parenthood is a status comprising exclusivity relating to the rights and responsibilities concerning the child. The rights and obligations imbued in the parental status are evident first and foremost during the child’s minority. Nonetheless, the status has legal meaning and implications that extend beyond the child’s minority and carry on throughout adulthood. By defining parenthood and assigning parental status, the law establishes legal as well as social responsibility towards the child and a bond for life. This article questions the eternal aspect of parenthood and aspires to initiate discussion pertaining to the social and legal conventions that pose parenthood as …


“Making Bail”: Limiting The Use Of Bail Schedules And Defining The Elusive Meaning Of “Excessive Bail”, James A. Allen Dec 2017

“Making Bail”: Limiting The Use Of Bail Schedules And Defining The Elusive Meaning Of “Excessive Bail”, James A. Allen

Journal of Law and Policy

Every day in the United States, thousands of people are waiting in jail postarrest prior to any trial or conviction. Once arrested, these individuals frequently face harsh conditions while they are held for their first appearance to be assigned bail. Thousands of individuals wait more than forty-eight hours to first appear in front of a judicial officer who determines their bail conditions. Innocent people––people who have committed no offense except that of being underprivileged––are pressured into accepting plea bargains because they cannot pay bail. Thousands remain in jail unwilling to accept plea bargains or admit guilt but are detained nevertheless …


Copyright Infringement In Sound Recording: How Courts And Legislatures Can Get In Vogue In A Post-Ciccone World, Kristen B. Kennedy Dec 2017

Copyright Infringement In Sound Recording: How Courts And Legislatures Can Get In Vogue In A Post-Ciccone World, Kristen B. Kennedy

Journal of Law and Policy

Music sampling is a legally complex and ambiguous area, with staggeringly high costs attached for copyright infringers. The legality of sampling frequently depends upon what jurisdiction the inquiry into the sampling takes place in, and has been guided by inconsistently applied doctrines of fair use, de minimis, and copyright infringement. The Ninth Circuit’s decision in VMG Salsoul v. Ciccone has dramatically highlighted these inconsistencies. This note suggests a four-part solution to resolve the tensions in copyrightable sound recordings magnified by the recent circuit split created by VMG Salsoul v. Ciccone. It incorporates elements of de minimis and fair use, a …


Empowering Individual Plaintiffs, Alex Stein, Gideon Parchomovsky Jul 2017

Empowering Individual Plaintiffs, Alex Stein, Gideon Parchomovsky

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Reevaluating Attorney-Client Privilege In The Age Of Hackers, Anne E. Conroy Jan 2017

Reevaluating Attorney-Client Privilege In The Age Of Hackers, Anne E. Conroy

Brooklyn Law Review

The news story is now familiar: hackers breach a security system and post internal, confidential information online for anyone with an Internet connection to comb through. This digital version of whistleblowing, called “hacktivism,” is attractive to the media, which has leaned on broad First Amendment protections to widely cover the confidential communications revealed by hackers. These hacks also provide attorneys with enticing opportunities to look through previously confidential files. But as ethics and evidentiary rules stand, it is not clear if an attorney may view the files, let alone use them as evidence in litigation. That companies are hacked is …


Fighting For Fair Fares In New York City Through Civil Society Enforcement Of Title Vi, Sara Amri Jan 2017

Fighting For Fair Fares In New York City Through Civil Society Enforcement Of Title Vi, Sara Amri

Journal of Law and Policy

Low-income New Yorkers rely heavily on public transportation to travel around the city. However, riding the New York City subway system is becoming increasingly unaffordable. New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has set forth plans to implement semiannual fare increases. No alleviation has been provided, however, to New Yorkers living at or below the federal poverty level, despite the discounts provided to other groups regardless of their income. The inability to travel can have a devastating impact on the upward mobility of poor New Yorkers, and, alarmingly, fare increases appear to have a disparate impact on low-income people of …


A Bridge Too Far: A Critical Analysis Of The Securities And Exchange Commission's Approach To Equity Market Regulation, John Polise Jan 2017

A Bridge Too Far: A Critical Analysis Of The Securities And Exchange Commission's Approach To Equity Market Regulation, John Polise

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Using the framework articulated by Thomas S. Kuhn in his book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, this Article traces the evolution of equity market regulation in terms of its epistemological foundations and operative paradigms. It examines the SEC’s growth from a more passive partner with the securities industry to being an aggressive and perhaps overly intrusive arbiter of equity market operations. This Article identifies two distinct paradigms of securities regulation—the “Self-Regulatory Paradigm” and the “Micro-Intervention Paradigm.” The Self-Regulatory Paradigm and the Micro-Intervention Paradigm are not compatible, and this Article explains how the intellectual dissonance between them ultimately allowed the Micro-Intervention …


From Systemic Risk To Financial Scandals: The Shortcomings Of U.S. Hedge Fund Regulation, Marco Bodellini Jan 2017

From Systemic Risk To Financial Scandals: The Shortcomings Of U.S. Hedge Fund Regulation, Marco Bodellini

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

In the recent past, hedge funds have demonstrated that they can pose and spread systemic risk across the financial markets, and that their managers can use them to commit fraud and misappropriation of fund assets. Even if the first issue now seems to be considered a serious one by the U.S. legislature, which in 2010, as a legislative response to the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, enacted the Dodd-Frank Act Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank), the current regulation still appears inconsistent and inappropriate to prevent and face it. By contrast, the second issue is not always considered …


Beyond Walls And Fences: Exploring The Legal Geography Of Gated Communities In Mixed Spaces, Manal Totry-Jubran Jan 2017

Beyond Walls And Fences: Exploring The Legal Geography Of Gated Communities In Mixed Spaces, Manal Totry-Jubran

Journal of Law and Policy

In the last three decades, a new type of physical seclusion has appeared around the world: the gating and walling of urban and suburban spatial residences. This phenomenon, led mainly by dominant socio-economic groups, is referred to as “gated communities.” This article focuses on the legal challenges that gated communities raise in ethnocratic societies that share a legacy of segregation and of unequal distribution of land. The main argument is that, due to this legacy, the legality of gated communities and walls that separate communities generate legal debates that goes beyond classic legal claims of rights violations of non-residents of …


Lowering The Threshold: How Far Has The Americans With Disabilities Act Expanded Access To The Courts In Employment Litigation?, Curtis D. Edmonds Jan 2017

Lowering The Threshold: How Far Has The Americans With Disabilities Act Expanded Access To The Courts In Employment Litigation?, Curtis D. Edmonds

Journal of Law and Policy

The purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (“ADAAA”) was to restructure and clarify the definition of the legal term “disability” in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”). One of the three prongs of the ADA’s definition of disability is “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual.” The ADAAA was the result of a compromise reached after thirteen weeks of negotiations between representatives of the business and disabilities communities over its provisions. Like many other compromises, the ADAAA did not leave either side fully satisfied. Almost …


Legislatively Mandating A Cba Is Not The Way: A Case Study Of Detroit’S Proposed Community Benefits Ordinance And Its Constitutionality Under The Takings Clause Of The Fifth Amendment, Colyn Eppes Jan 2017

Legislatively Mandating A Cba Is Not The Way: A Case Study Of Detroit’S Proposed Community Benefits Ordinance And Its Constitutionality Under The Takings Clause Of The Fifth Amendment, Colyn Eppes

Journal of Law and Policy

Community Benefit Agreements, or CBAs, have quickly become a useful tool to ensure that the benefits reaped from large-scale urban development projects are shared among all stakeholders, particularly the community in which the development takes place. In exchange for the local community’s support, which is critical to the developer to progress through the permit application process efficiently, the developer contractually agrees to provide a slate of benefits to the affected community. CBAs have been lauded for their ability to require developers to promote affordable housing, first-source hiring programs, and other targeted benefits which the host community contracted for. However, one …


Beyond Walls And Fences: Exploring The Legal Geography Of Gated Communities In Mixed Spaces, Manal Totry-Jubran Jan 2017

Beyond Walls And Fences: Exploring The Legal Geography Of Gated Communities In Mixed Spaces, Manal Totry-Jubran

Journal of Law and Policy

In the last three decades, a new type of physical seclusion has appeared around the world: the gating and walling of urban and suburban spatial residences. This phenomenon, led mainly by dominant socio-economic groups, is referred to as “gated communities.” This article focuses on the legal challenges that gated communities raise in ethnocratic societies that share a legacy of segregation and of unequal distribution of land. The main argument is that, due to this legacy, the legality of gated communities and walls that separate communities generate legal debates that goes beyond classic legal claims of rights violations of non-residents of …


Fighting For Fair Fares In New York City Through Civil Society Enforcement Of Title Vi, Sara Amri Jan 2017

Fighting For Fair Fares In New York City Through Civil Society Enforcement Of Title Vi, Sara Amri

Journal of Law and Policy

Low-income New Yorkers rely heavily on public transportation to travel around the city. However, riding the New York City subway system is becoming increasingly unaffordable. New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has set forth plans to implement semiannual fare increases. No alleviation has been provided, however, to New Yorkers living at or below the federal poverty level, despite the discounts provided to other groups regardless of their income. The inability to travel can have a devastating impact on the upward mobility of poor New Yorkers, and, alarmingly, fare increases appear to have a disparate impact on low-income people of …


Ballot Selfies: Balancing The Right To Speak Out On Political Issues And The Right To Vote Free From Improper Influence And Coercion, Isidora Koutsoulias Jan 2017

Ballot Selfies: Balancing The Right To Speak Out On Political Issues And The Right To Vote Free From Improper Influence And Coercion, Isidora Koutsoulias

Journal of Law and Policy

Courts and legislatures face the difficult task of balancing individual First Amendment rights with other basic freedoms, a task that has become increasingly challenging with the advent of new technology. The emergence of the ballot selfie has caused a legal uproar due to the perception that it may compromise the sanctity of the electoral process and the secret ballot process by facilitating vote buying and coercion. Consequently, several states have enacted laws that prohibit most or all ballot selfies. However, many individuals have rightfully protested these laws as an unreasonable restraint on freedom of speech. This Note argues that although …


Legislatively Mandating A Cba Is Not The Way: A Case Study Of Detroit’S Proposed Community Benefits Ordinance And Its Constitutionality Under The Takings Clause Of The Fifth Amendment, Colyn Eppes Jan 2017

Legislatively Mandating A Cba Is Not The Way: A Case Study Of Detroit’S Proposed Community Benefits Ordinance And Its Constitutionality Under The Takings Clause Of The Fifth Amendment, Colyn Eppes

Journal of Law and Policy

Community Benefit Agreements, or CBAs, have quickly become a useful tool to ensure that the benefits reaped from large-scale urban development projects are shared among all stakeholders, particularly the community in which the development takes place. In exchange for the local community’s support, which is critical to the developer to progress through the permit application process efficiently, the developer contractually agrees to provide a slate of benefits to the affected community. CBAs have been lauded for their ability to require developers to promote affordable housing, first-source hiring programs, and other targeted benefits which the host community contracted for. However, one …


Ballot Selfies: Balancing The Right To Speak Out On Political Issues And The Right To Vote Free From Improper Influence And Coercion, Isidora Koutsoulias Jan 2017

Ballot Selfies: Balancing The Right To Speak Out On Political Issues And The Right To Vote Free From Improper Influence And Coercion, Isidora Koutsoulias

Journal of Law and Policy

Courts and legislatures face the difficult task of balancing individual First Amendment rights with other basic freedoms, a task that has become increasingly challenging with the advent of new technology. The emergence of the ballot selfie has caused a legal uproar due to the perception that it may compromise the sanctity of the electoral process and the secret ballot process by facilitating vote buying and coercion. Consequently, several states have enacted laws that prohibit most or all ballot selfies. However, many individuals have rightfully protested these laws as an unreasonable restraint on freedom of speech. This Note argues that although …


Lowering The Threshold: How Far Has The Americans With Disabilities Act Expanded Access To The Courts In Employment Litigation?, Curtis D. Edmonds Jan 2017

Lowering The Threshold: How Far Has The Americans With Disabilities Act Expanded Access To The Courts In Employment Litigation?, Curtis D. Edmonds

Journal of Law and Policy

The purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (“ADAAA”) was to restructure and clarify the definition of the legal term “disability” in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”). One of the three prongs of the ADA’s definition of disability is “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual.” The ADAAA was the result of a compromise reached after thirteen weeks of negotiations between representatives of the business and disabilities communities over its provisions. Like many other compromises, the ADAAA did not leave either side fully satisfied. Almost …


An Exception To The Derivative Rule: Allowing Mutual Fund Investors To Bring Suits Directly, Jamie D. Kurtz Jan 2017

An Exception To The Derivative Rule: Allowing Mutual Fund Investors To Bring Suits Directly, Jamie D. Kurtz

Brooklyn Law Review

Mutual funds differ greatly from traditional corporations in the way they are formed and operated. Despite these differences, courts apply the same rules for derivative shareholder litigation to both types of entities. While these rules make sense and were mostly created with corporations in mind, courts have generally been unwilling to consider mutual funds’ unique characteristics in determining whether to allow direct litigation from shareholders. This note explores those unique characteristics and the usual policy reasons for requiring derivative litigation. It concludes that in most cases these unique characteristics make a derivative suit nearly impossible to sustain. Further, the normal …