Law Commons^™

The Uncertain Future Of Restorative Justice: Anti-Woke Legislation, Retrenchment And Politics Of The Right, Thalia González, Mara Schiff

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

As diverse forms of anti-democratic and anti-inclusionary politics escalate in the United States, public education is increasingly a site for retrenchment and contestation with targeted efforts to silence and erase civil rights victories for equity and access. Addressing a critical, yet unattended issue at the intersection of education law and policy and civil rights, this Article joins with the growing discourse interrogating the “parental rights” movement and racially regressive legislation. Employing a case study analysis of social movement activism and education policy legislation from 2018–2023 in Florida, it aims to provoke critical praxis emanating from essential inquiry— what is the …

The Demise Of Housing First Policy: The New Missouri Policy That Criminalizes Homelessness, Kaitlyn Frerking

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

This Note examines the potential negative complications of Missouri H.B. 1606. The Note also explores possible avenues for relief through litigation or policy reform. H.B. 1606 is a Missouri state bill that altered the State’s policy towards decreasing the rate of homelessness in the State of Missouri. Prior to H.B. 1606, Missouri’s homelessness policy resembled a “Housing First” approach where emphasis was placed on providing affordable permanent housing to those without homes. With the passage of H.B. 1606, the policy turned towards supporting short-term housing initiatives and abandoned the “Housing First” approach. H.B. 1606 also contains a provision that makes …

Pineapple Express: The Legality Of Introducing Cannabis Tourism To Arkansas, Chloe Tyner

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research delves into the legal aspects of introducing cannabis tourism to Arkansas. The objective of this study was to create a framework for hospitality professionals in Arkansas to understand what areas of recreational cannabis law would impact their industry should Arkansas legalize recreational cannabis. Through a document analysis comparing Arkansas and Colorado’s liquor and cannabis laws, this study investigated how both states regulate alcohol and cannabis and the legal challenges Colorado has seen since its inception of recreational cannabis sales.

Challenges to this study included a limited existing body of knowledge for cannabis tourism and the contradicting federal and …

To Essa And Beyond: Arc Of Education Policy Bends Toward Local Authorities & Holistic Approaches, Adam Tanielian

St. Mary's Law Journal

This Article presents a mixed-methods, interdisciplinary study on educational policy and practice to offer solutions to fossilized problems extant across the United States’ elementary and secondary schools. Analysis of historic Supreme Court decisions and statutes unveil compelling trends that have shaped the legal landscape over the latter half of the twentieth century. Linguistic comparisons of two milestone revisions of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act—No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)—show Congress granted more flexibility and authority to local districts and states under ESSA, which reflected trends in Supreme Court opinions over several decades.

A …

The Good, The Bad, And The Gentrified: How The Historical Misuse And Future Potential Of Zoning Laws Impact Urban Development, Megan Vangilder

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

A De-Regulated Militia: The Diminished Training Requirements For Ohio Teachers To Carry Weapons In Schools, Richard Sharp

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Toothless Tcpa: An Analysis Of Article Iii Standing, Personal Jurisdiction, And The Disjuncture Problem’S Impact On The Efficacy Of The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Sebastian W. Johnson

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Parental Rights Or Political Ploys? Unraveling The Deceptive Threads Of Modern “Parental Rights” Legislation, Cecilia Giles

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Addressing Mental Disability Head On: The Challenges Of Reasonable Accommodation Requests For Virginia Housing Providers, Haley Fortner

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

A person’s home should be a sanctuary of safety, security, and comfortability away from the demands of the outside world. Yet for many people living with mental illness, a home can all too easily become a sort of temporary prison. Nowhere is this more apparent than when a housing provider stands in the way of allowing someone with a mental disability the equal opportunity to use and enjoy their home. Fair housing law’s reasonable accommodation requirement works to ensure those living with mental illness receive the accommodations they need in order to live safely and comfortably in their own home. …

The Vagueness Of The Independent State Legislature Doctrine, Jason Marisam

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

The Independent State Legislature (ISL) Theory has been one of the hottest topics in election law, with conservative thinkers championing a strong version of the theory. In Moore v. Harper, the Supreme Court had the opportunity to turn this controversial theory into actual doctrine. The Court, though, declined to adopt a maximalist version of the theory and declined to reject it outright. Instead, it offered a vague standard that gives close to zero guidance as to where, between these two poles, the doctrine sits. Several scholars and commentators have responded to the opinion with a mix of relief, because the …

Section 898: Targeting The Companies Behind Gun Violence In New York With Public Nuisance Doctrine, Mara Kravitz

William & Mary Law Review

On July 6, 2021, the New York State Legislature enacted sections 898-a to -e of the New York General Business Law (section 898), creating a clear path for public entities and private gun violence victims to sue gun industry members for their role in the gun violence public nuisance in New York. This Note explores why the legislature took a public nuisance approach to curbing gun violence, framing section 898 within public nuisance doctrine’s broader common law history and legal elements.

To unpack how and why New York took this approach, the first Part of this Note traces the history …

Rethinking Jurisdictional Maximalism In The Wake Of Mallory, Sayer Paige

Fordham Law Review

Jurisdiction-by-registration is the idea that by virtue of registering to do business in a state, corporations prospectively consent to jurisdiction on claims made against them in that state. For decades, this concept has stagnated behind the minimum contacts analysis developed by International Shoe Co. v. Washington and its progeny. Among other reasons, plaintiffs and states were not sure whether jurisdiction-by-registration withstood the Due Process Clause. But as the U.S. Supreme Court continued to narrow the limits of contacts-based jurisdiction, plaintiffs returned to registration based jurisdiction to recapture corporate defendants. Courts largely rejected these assertions. Then, in Mallory v. Norfolk Southern …

The Perennial Eclipse: Race, Immigration, And How Latinx Count In American Politics, Rachel F. Moran

Faculty Scholarship

In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Evenwel v. Abbott, a case challenging the use of total population in state legislative apportionment as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause. The plaintiffs sued Texas, alleging that the State impermissibly diluted their voting power because they lived in areas with a high proportion of voting-age citizens. When total population was used to draw district lines, the plaintiffs had to compete with more voters to get their desired electoral outcomes than was true for voters in districts with low proportions of voting-age citizens. The Court rejected the argument, finding that states enjoy …

The Private Litigation Impact Of New York’S Green Amendment, Evan Bianchi, Sean Di Luccio, Martin Lockman, Vincent Nolette

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

The increasing urgency of climate change, combined with federal environmental inaction under the Trump Administration, inspired a wave of environmental action at the state and local level. Building on the environmental movement of the 1970s, activists have pushed to amend more than a dozen state constitutions to include “green amendments” — self-executing individual rights to a clean environment. In 2022, New York activists succeeded, and New York’s Green Amendment (the NYGA) now provides that “Each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.”

However, the power of the NYGA and similar green amendments turns …

The Mosaic Theory In Fourth Amendment Jurisprudence: The Last Bastion Of Privacy In A Camera-Surveilled World, Auggie Alvarado

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

State Compacts Vs. Emergency Powers, Ann Melise Mullins

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

It has been a continuous battle between state governments and the federal government on which party is best suited to provide relief and aid to citizens in times of natural disasters and public health crises. This paper will analyze the history of the state and federal government’s involvement in providing aid and relief in times of national crises, as well as the Constitutional provisions for which party should take responsibility.

Pleading For Justice: Analyzing Ohio’S Wrongful Conviction Compensation Statute And The Guilty Plea Disqualification Provision, Paige Betley

Cleveland State Law Review

Innocent until proven guilty? For some who have walked through the criminal justice system, this American adage did not seem to ring true. The criminal justice system has produced many wrongful convictions, which is an unthinkable injustice. These individuals must then fight for compensation to get back on their feet in society after spending years, if not decades, unjustly behind bars. Ohio’s wrongful conviction compensation statute perpetuates this injustice by categorically excluding exonerees who pled guilty to a crime they did not commit from receiving compensation from the State, with no exceptions. This Note critically analyzes the inherent harms from …

The Deception Of Student Athlete Protection: The Failures Of The Miller-Ayala Athlete Agents Act In The Age Of Nil, Matthew R. Hand

Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review

No abstract provided.

Silent Today, Conversant Tomorrow: Education Adequacy As A Political Question, Yeju Hwang

Northwestern University Law Review

When the Supreme Court declined to recognize the right to education as one fundamental to liberty, and thus unprotected by the U.S. Constitution, state courts took on the mantle as the next best fora for those yearning for judicial review of inequities present in American public schools. The explicit inclusion of the right to education in each state’s constitution carried the torch of optimism into the late twentieth century. Despite half a century of litigation in the states, the condition of the nation’s public school system remains troubling and perhaps increasingly falls short of expectations. Less competitive on an international …

Restore Texas Land: A Proposal To Utilize Emission Reduction Credits To Fund The Railroad Commission Of Texas' Well Plugging Initiative, George Coates Roberts

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Next Thirty Years: Developments In Mandamus Jurisprudence In The Last Thirty Years And Why The General Rule That Mandamus Is Unavailable To Review The Denial Of Summary Judgment Is Inconsistent With Modern Mandamus Jurisprudence Under The In Re Prudential Balancing Test, Timothy Delabar

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Mass Incarceration, Violent Crimes, And Lengthy Sentences: Using The Race-Class Narrative As A Messaging Framework For Shortening Prison Sentences, Eric Petterson

St. Mary's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of State Laws On Officer-Involved Deaths (Oids), Morgan J. Steele, Ziwei Qi

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

While the public debates whether law enforcement has a problem with mis- or over-using force, the field lacks critical information concerning how often officers use force in their dealings with citizens. Consequently, the various reforms proposed have little evidence supporting them. Using data from Mapping Police Violence combined with census and LEOKA data, we examine the impact of U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence and the restrictions that each state placed on law enforcement’s ability to use force and what constituted reasonable force within each state. We found that while the state’s population size and violent crime rate were consistently strong predictors …

Nondelegation And The Legislative Versus Administrative Exactions Divide: Why Legislatively Imposed Exactions Do Not Require A More Searching Standard Of Review, Hunter Dominick

Fordham Law Review

As the United States continues to grow and urbanize, local governments have tried to manage this growth to mitigate the external impacts that new developments can cause. One method by which state and local governments seek to control growth within their borders is by imposing conditions on the issuance of building permits—otherwise known as exactions. Exactions, however, face federal constitutional limits under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which applies to state and local governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.

In Nollan v. California Coastal Commission and Dolan v. City of Tigard, the U.S. Supreme Court restricted exactions in …

Without Due Process Of Law: The Dobbs Decision And Its Cataclysmic Impact On The Substantive Due Process And Privacy Rights Of Ohio Women, Jacob Wenner

Journal of Law and Health

Since the overturning of prior abortion precedents in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, there has been a question on the minds of many women in this country: how will this decision affect me and my rights? As we have seen in the aftermath of Dobbs, many states have pushed for stringent anti-abortion measures seeking to undermine the foundation on which women’s reproductive freedom had been grounded on for decades. This includes right here in Ohio, where Republican lawmakers have advocated on numerous occasions for implementing laws seeking to limit abortion rights, including a 6-week abortion ban advocated …

When Governors Prioritize Individual Freedom Over Public Health: Tort Liability For Government Failures, Barbara Pfeffer Billauer Jd, Ma, Phd

Journal of Law and Health

Over half the states have enacted laws diminishing or curtailing the rights of the executive branch (legislatures or governors) to enact laws to preserve, protect, or safeguard public health in the wake of the COVID-19 emergency. Governor DeSantis, of Florida, for example, effectively banned mask mandates in schools during the high point of the epidemic – based on flawed science and erroneous data – and now wants to make that response permanent. The rules effectuating this Executive Order were enacted under an emergency order finding a threat to public health. Nevertheless, the response promulgated by the Florida Department of Health …

The Ninth Amendment: An Underutilized Protection For Reproductive Choice, Layne Huff

Journal of Law and Health

Concern about individual rights and the desire to protect them has been part of our nation since its founding, and continues to be so today. The Ninth Amendment was created to assuage the Framers’ concerns that enumerating some rights in the Bill of Rights would leave unenumerated rights unrecognized and unprotected, affirming that those rights are not disparaged or denied by their lack of textual support. The Ninth Amendment has appeared infrequently in our jurisprudence, and Courts initially construed it rather narrowly. But starting in the 1960s, the Ninth Amendment emerged as a powerful tool not just for recognizing unanticipated …

Personal Data And Vaccination Hesitancy: Covid-19’S Lessons For Public Health Federalism, Charles D. Curran

Catholic University Law Review

During the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, the federal government adopted a more centralized approach to the collection of public health data. Although the states previously had controlled the storage of vaccination information, the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed plan required the reporting of recipients’ personal information on the grounds that it was needed to monitor the safety of novel vaccines and ensure correct administration of their multi-dose regimens.

Over the course of the pandemic response, this more centralized federal approach to data collection added a new dimension to pre-existing vaccination hesitancy. Requirements that recipients furnish individual information deterred vaccination among undocumented …

"I'M Sorry, Mississippi": An Argument For Enactment Of A Physician Apology Statute By The Mississippi Legislature, Brittany Brooks Frankel

Mississippi College Law Review

Imagine this: you are a dedicated orthopedic surgeon who loves her work. You perform a total knee replacement, albeit on a high-risk patient. The patient does not heal properly and complains of an unsteady gait. Upon further analysis, you begin to become concerned that his inability to heal may be due to an improperly placed implant. A corrective surgery will be required. You are distraught by the unanticipated outcome and wish to express your deepest apologies to the patient and his family. Not so fast! Be aware that your moral compass could be leading you into expressing an apology that …

How Far Have Standards Of Decency Evolved In Fifteen Years? An Update On Atkins Jurisprudence In Mississippi, Alexander Kassoff

Mississippi College Law Review

In 2002, the United States Supreme Court handed down Atkins v. Virginia, holding that the Eighth Amendment prohibits the execution of people with intellectual disability. In the years since that ruling, some change has occurred, but questions remain. This article will examine significant developments in Atkins jurisprudence during that time period. It will look at the two post-Atkins United States Supreme Court cases, and the development of the law - in Mississippi especially, but also to some extent in other jurisdictions that still have the death penalty.