Law Commons^™

Packing And Unpacking State Courts, Marin K. Levy

William & Mary Law Review

When it comes to court packing, questions of “should” and “can” are inextricably intertwined. The conventional wisdom has long been that federal court packing is something the President and Congress simply cannot do. Even though the Constitution’s text does not directly prohibit expanding or contracting the size of courts for political gain, many have argued that there is a longstanding norm against doing so, stemming from a commitment to judicial independence and separation of powers. And so (the argument goes), even though the political branches might otherwise be tempted to add or subtract seats to change the Court’s ideological makeup, …

Legislators On Executive-Branch Boards Are Unconstitutional, Period, Douglas Laycock

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Virginia statute makes legislators categorically “ineligible to serve on boards, commissions, and councils within the executive branch of state government who are responsible for administering programs established by the General Assembly.” But with increasing frequency, the General Assembly has enacted exceptions to this policy. There is a general exception for bodies “engaged solely in policy studies or commemorative activities,” and perhaps such bodies need not be in the executive branch at all. But the Assembly has also enacted exceptions for twenty-one specific boards and commissions, many of which clearly have executive authority. This list of exceptions is a miscellany with …

The State Of Exactions, Timothy M. Mulvaney

William & Mary Law Review

In Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District, the Supreme Court slightly expanded the range of land use permitting situations in which heightened judicial scrutiny is appropriate in a constitutional “exaction” takings case. In crafting a vision of regulators as strategic extortionists of private property interests, though, Koontz prompted many takings observers to predict that the case would provide momentum for a more significant expansion of such scrutiny in takings cases involving land use permit conditions moving forward, and perhaps even an extension into other regulatory contexts, as well.

Five years on, this Article evaluates the extent to which …

The Forgotten Victims Of Missing White Woman Syndrome: An Examination Of Legal Measures That Contribute To The Lack Of Search And Recovery Of Missing Black Girls And Women, Jada L. Moss

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Tenant-Victims, Abusers, And No Way To Escape: The Need For An Amendment To The Florida Residential Landlord And Tenant Act, Adam Bent

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

Under the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, there is no right to early lease termination for tenants who must move to escape domestic, stalking, sexual, or dating violence. Florida’s failure to grant a right to early lease termination compounds the physical and psychological harm that victims face; abusers often live with the victim or know where the victim lives. In turn, abusers can return to the victim’s home and harm the victim; often, this results in serious physical harm or death. This Article explains why existing criminal and civil law does not adequately protect victims from their abusers. The …

When The Well Runs Dry: Why Water-Rich States Need To Prepare For Climate Change And Protect Their Groundwater, Danielle Takacs

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

It may seem surprising to see such concern over groundwater usage in a state like Wisconsin. While known for its dairy and cheese production, Wisconsin is first in the nation for producing snap beans and cranberries. Agriculture contributes $88.3 billion annually to Wisconsin’s economy alone. In addition to bordering two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, Wisconsin boasts that it is home to about 15,000 lakes. And this does not include the numerous rivers and streams throughout the state. These facts alone may make Wisconsin seem an unlikely place for disputes over groundwater, as water seems to …

California Rushes In—Keeping Water Instream For Fisheries Without Federal Law, Paul Stanton Kibel

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of The Tobacco Buyout On The Commonwealth's Open Spaces: Protecting Open Land By Expanding The Scope Of Use Value Assessment, Mary Atkinson

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Rethinking Preemption And Constitutional Parameters In Bankruptcy, Michelle M. Harner

William & Mary Law Review

Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code allows financially distressed businesses to reorganize and emerge from bankruptcy free of their pre-bankruptcy debts and obligations. In general, a business can achieve this kind of “fresh start” by confirming a plan of reorganization or pursuing a going-concern sale that typically facilitates a change in ownership, a reduction in leverage, and the elimination of most claims against the company’s assets. Through these kinds of transactions, a business can emerge from bankruptcy with a stronger balance sheet and often a new ownership structure. It also can streamline operations by, for example, assuming valuable contracts …

Of Prairie Dogs And Congressmen: Defining The Regulated Activity And Why It Matters For Rhe Commerce Clause Substantial Effect Test, Bethany Bostron

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Lessons From Ferguson On Individual Defense Representation As A Tool Of Systemic Reform, Beth A. Colgan

William & Mary Law Review

This Article investigates the relationship between the decisions by lawmakers to use municipal and criminal systems to generate revenue and the lack of access to individual defense representation by using the Ferguson, Missouri, municipal court as a case study. The Article chronicles the myriad constitutional rights that were violated on a systemic basis in Ferguson’s municipal court and how those violations made the city’s reliance on the court for revenue generation possible. The Article also documents how the introduction of individual defense representation, even on a piecemeal basis, played a role in altering Ferguson’s system of governance. Using this case …

“Meaningful Access” Demands Meaningful Efforts: The Need For Greater Access To Virginia State Courts For Limited English Proficient Litigants, Carolyn Harlamert

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Protecting The Imperfect Victim: Expanding “Safe Harbors” To Adult Victims Of Sex Trafficking, Christine Anchan

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

When States’ Legislation And Constitutions Collide With Angry Locals: Shale Oil And Gas Development And Its Many Masters, Heidi Gorovitz Robertson

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article explores the nationally common problem of tension and conflict among state oil and gas statutes, constitutional home rule, and local control by considering intersections and tensions among the Ohio Constitution’s home rule authority, the Ohio oil and gas law’s preemption provision, and the many regulatory efforts of Ohio’s local governments. It explores the scope of the Ohio Constitution’s home rule authority, in part, by evaluating courts’ statements on the validity of several types of local ordinances, as they confront home rule and a legislative attempt at preemption. Types of local ordinances evaluated include those that prohibit or ban …

Thinking Under The Box--Public Choice And Constitutional Law Perspectives On City-Level Environmental Policy, Harri Kalimo, Reid Lifset

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

A New Fulcrum Point For City Survival, Samir D. Parikh

William & Mary Law Review

Municipalities have historically enjoyed immense stability. This era of tranquility is over, and fiscal deterioration is accelerating. Policymakers and scholars have struggled to formulate debt restructuring options; almost all have embraced federal bankruptcy law. But this resource-draining process is not the fulcrum point for any meaningful solution to municipal demise. Indeed, for the vast majority of distressed municipalities, the lever of municipal recovery will not turn on the solutions that have been offered to date. This Article radically shifts the municipal recovery debate by arguing that state law is the centralized point at which officials can exert the necessary amount …

Incorporation, Total Incorporation, And Nothing But Incorporation?, Christopher R. Green

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Kurt T. Lash’s The Fourteenth Amendment and the Privileges and Immunities of American Citizenship (2014) defends the view that the Fourteenth Amendment’s “privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States” cover only rights enumerated elsewhere in the Constitution. My own book, however, Equal Citizenship, Civil Rights, and the Constitution: The Original Sense of the Privileges or Immunities Clause (2015), reads the Clause to guarantee equality broadly among similarly situated citizens of the United States. Incorporation of an enumerated right into the Fourteenth Amendment requires, I say, national consensus such that an outlier state’s invasion of the right would produce …

Sovereign Impunity: The Supreme Court Of Georgia’S False Textualism Expands The Doctrine Of Sovereign Immunity In The State, Laura R. Dove

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Until recently, sovereign immunity—the doctrine that protects state entities from suit without the State’s consent—had been held by the Supreme Court of Georgia not to apply to suits seeking solely injunctive relief to prevent the State, its departments, or agencies from acting illegally or outside the scope of their authority. This rule stemmed partly from the fact that a significant policy basis for sovereign immunity is the protection of taxpayer funds, but also was grounded on the principle that the State may not “cloak itself in the mantle of sovereign immunity” to prevent its citizens from holding the State accountable …

Retained By The People: Federalism, The Ultimate Sovereign, And Natural Limits On Government Power, Stephanie Hall Barclay

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Brewing tensions between state governments and the federal government have reached a boiling point unmatched since the civil rights debates of the 1960s. In light of the rapid expansion of federal power combined with colliding views on various policies, the call for states’ rights has increasingly become a rallying cry for lawmakers that has gained traction with groups on varying points along the political spectrum, as well as a frequent theory employed by the Supreme Court. While the system of federalism created by the Constitution certainly has its unique benefits, and while it is true that the federal government was …

Transparency Trumps Technology: Reconciling Open Meeting Laws With Modern Technology, Cassandra B. Roeder

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Marriage Equality In State And Nation, Anthony Michael Kreis

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Immigration And Civil Rights: Is The "New" Birmingham The Same As The "Old" Birmingham, Kevin R. Johnson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Local Promise For Climate Mitigation: An Empirical Assessment, Uma Outka, Richard Feiock

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This interdisciplinary work contributes empirical grounding to the growing literature in law and public policy on local governments and climate mitigation. Much of the recent scholarship presents an optimistic view of the potential in local climate action. Here, we refine the optimism for local governments’ impact with new performance data that probes local progress and capacity for climate governance. Our analysis—based on a new study measuring policy choice, implementation, and influences— reevaluates a number of assumptions undergirding this scholarship and provides direction for targeted investment and research.

We Didn't Start The Fire...And We Won't Pay To Stop It: Financing Wildfire Management In America's Wildland-Urban Interface, Garrett D. Trego

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Local Rules And The Limits Of Trans-Territorial Procedure, Samuel P. Jordan

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Land Use Stabilization Wedge Strategy: Shifting Ground To Mitigate Climate Change, John R. Nolon

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This article describes how local governments, through the clever application of existing land use techniques, can mitigate climate change. This strategic path follows one developed by Princeton professor Robert Socolow, who identified and described fifteen categories for organizing society's climate change mitigation efforts.1 Five of Socolow's strategic categories fall within the reach of local land use authority: reduced use of vehicles, energy efficient buildings, vegetative carbon sequestration, wind power, and solar power.2 Through the aggregation of these local land use techniques, significant energy savings and carbon dioxide ("C02") reduction can be achieved. After making some background points, this article describes …

Developing Wind Power In The Commonwealth: No Longer A Quixotic Quest To Build Wind Farms In Virginia, Brian E. Maxted

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Increasing The Role Of Local Governments In Infrastructure Projects In Russia And Bulgaria As A Tool For Environmental Protection, Stanimir N. Kostov

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Foreword: The New Frontier Of State Constitutional Law, James A. Gardner, Jim Rossi

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

In A Federal Case, Is The State Constitution Something Important Or Just Another Piece Of Paper?, Randall T. Shepard

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.