Law Commons^™

State Session Freeze Laws—Potential Solution Or Unconstitutional Restriction?, Dru Swaim

Seattle University Law Review

Since the Citizens United decision in 2010 reduced Congress’s ability to constitutionally regulate money in elections, proponents of campaign finance reform have looked for alternative ways to achieve the goals of greater transparency and reduce the amount of money spent in federal elections. In the three years since Citizens United, the amount of money spent in federal campaigns has increased exponentially. In fact, the total amount of money spent in federal elections has nearly doubled since 2000. Citizens United represents a serious blow to the traditional methods used to restrict the amount of money in politics: limitations on the amounts …

Taxation, Craig D. Bell

University of Richmond Law Review

The overall purpose of this article is to provide Virginia tax and general practitioners with a concise overview of the recent developments in Virginia taxation that will most likely impact those practitioners. This article does not, however, discuss many of the numerous technical legislative changes to title 58.1 of the Virginia Code, which covers taxation.

Federalism And Fiduciaries: A New Framework For Protecting State Benefit Funds, Richard E. Mendales

Richard E. Mendales

The financial crisis has underlined difficulties faced by states and their subdivisions in paying benefits to their employees. The most spectacular example is Detroit's bankruptcy, but state and local employers across the country face sharp cuts in benefits as their employers fight for solvency. A federal solution such as ERISA is precluded by considerations of federalism and the impracticability of getting major legislation through Congress. This Article proposes an alternative solution: a uniform state code, following other uniform state laws such as the Uniform Commercial Code, that states could adopt to govern both state and local plans. It would finance …

Fetal Research: The Question In The States, Charles H. Baron

Charles H. Baron

This article is based on a paper delivered at the Third National Symposium on Genetics and the Law in Boston, April 1984.

The Underutilized Foreign Investor, Griffin Weaver

Griffin Weaver

For most states, if not all, the push for economic advancement is at the front of every administration’s agenda. This is especially true for developing countries in the Middle East whose standard of living and international power is largely tied to its economic condition. An important indicator, if not condition, of a state’s economic health is the level of foreign direct investment (FDI) received by the state. This inflow of money is essential for the growth and stability of a state’s economy. As one U.S. official once noted, the United States “need[s] a net inflow of capital of $3 billion …

The Achievement Gap And Disparate Impact Discrimination In Washington Schools, Sarah Albertson

Seattle University Law Review

In today’s public schools, students designated as “white” and “Asian” consistently outperform students from other ethnic groups in test scores and graduation rates. These disparities, commonly called “the achievement gap,” are a symptom of greater issues, or “opportunity gaps.” Washington State has recently taken a further step to address the achievement gap and racial discrimination in schools. In 2010, the Washington legislature passed the Equal Education Opportunity Law (EEOL), HB 3026, in response to the recommendations in commissioned achievement gap studies. The EEOL authorizes the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to enforce this law through regulations. This …

Milk And Other Intoxicating Choices: Official State Symbol Adoption, Ryan Valentin

Ryan Valentin

No abstract provided.

Irresponsible Legislating: Reeling In The Aftermath Of Kelo, Patricia E. Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

No abstract provided.

Government Code 800: Reimbursement Of Counsel Fees, Gayle Posner

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Battering The Poor: How Georgia’S Mandatory Family Violence Classes Deny Indigent Defendants Equal Protection Of The Law, Whitney Scherck

Whitney Scherck

Thirty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court in Bearden v. Georgia held that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prevents a court from incarcerating an individual for failure to pay a fine unless it first inquires into their reasons for failing to do so and determines that the defendant willfully failed to make bona fide efforts to pay. However, recently, a new kind of legal debt has emerged. As states’ budgets tighten, so-called user fees are becoming an increasingly common way for legislatures to toughen the criminal justice system without having to come up with funding for it. …

Legislative Update: Revisions In The California Drunk Driving Law, A. Randall Farnsworth

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

State Preemption Of Cable Television Regulation — Whatever Happened To The Sanctity Of Contract?, William M. Marticorena, Lynda E. Marticorena

Pepperdine Law Review

California Government Code section 53066.1 as recently amended gives cable television operators the right to obtain rate increases even in the face of the city or county franchisor opposition. Since most cable franchise agreements allow the franchisor to control rates for the cable service, there is a conflict between the statute and the franchise contracts. This article examines the issue of whether the statute violates the constitutional provisions against the impairment of contracts and whether the franchisor or a subscriber of the service has the necessary standing to assert the constitutional argument.

Do California’S Teacher Tenure Laws Violate California’S Constitutional Right To Education, Allen W. Hubsch

Allen W Hubsch

The accompanying note addresses an important and topical issue. In May 2012, Ted Olson, the former Solicitor General of the United States, and Theodore Boutrous, co-chair of the appellate practice at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, filed a complaint in Los Angeles Superior Court, entitled Vargara v. California, naming the State of California, the California Department of Education, the Los Angeles Unified School District and others as defendants.

The complaint alleges that California’s teacher tenure statutes are unconstitutional under the California constitution because such laws have the effect of preventing school districts from providing a quality education to school age …

Under The Influence Of California's New Drunk Driving Law: Is The Drunk Driver's Presumption Of Innocence On The Rocks? , Douglas Caiafa, A. Randall Farnsworth

Pepperdine Law Review

On January 1, 1982, the new California drunk driving law went into effect. This law makes it a crime to drive a motor vehicle where one's blood alcohol level is .10 or more. The law also marks a legislative attempt to curtail the practice of plea bargaining in drunk driving cases and significantly increases the penalties imposed upon those convicted of drunk driving. This Comment will discuss the provisions of the new drunk driving law and examine its constitutionality.

Institutionalization Of Alternative Dispute Resolution By The State Of California , Bruce Monroe

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments In Alternative Dispute Resolution , Lee R. Petillon

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

California Liquor Liability: A Decade After Coulter V. Superior Court , Darla R. Desteiguer

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is Bankruptcy The Answer For Troubled Cities And States?, David A. Skeel Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

The financial crisis that has afflicted America’s cities and states for the past decade is far from over. Under existing U.S. law, distressed municipalities can file for bankruptcy if their state permits this, as roughly half do. The states themselves do not have a bankruptcy option, however, no matter how bleak their circumstances may be. There have recently been dramatic developments in the handling of municipal distress. Several cities have filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 9, which, although adequate for sewer and water districts or a very small town, has conventionally been deemed irrelevant for real cities and municipalities. Additionally, …

Ignorance Of International Law Is No Excuse, Or How The Florida Legislature Ticked Off Canada, Patricia Morgan, Loren Turner, Edward T. Hart

UF Law Faculty Publications

During its 2012 session the Florida Legislature amended the text of Florida Statute 322.04 to add a requirement for nonresidents. International visitors would be required to have in their possession not only a valid drivers' license, but also an International Driving Permit (IDP) that translated into English the personal identification information of the driver. The change took effect January 1, 2013, but even before that date, Florida faced allegations that it was violating international law with this new requirement.