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Full-Text Articles in Law
Professional Responsibility, James Mccauley
Professional Responsibility, James Mccauley
University of Richmond Law Review
This article briefly describes some recent amendments to the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct adopted by the Supreme Court of Virginia in 2016 and 2017. The changes affect the lawyer’s duty to protect confidential client information in this digital age, lawyer advertising and solicitation, and candor with a tribunal. The article also discusses two legal ethics opinions adopted by the court addressing a lawyer’s obligations when faced with another lawyer suffering from an impairment.
Closed Meetings Under Foia Turn Fifty: The Old, The New, And What To Do, Tyler C. Southall
Closed Meetings Under Foia Turn Fifty: The Old, The New, And What To Do, Tyler C. Southall
University of Richmond Law Review
No abstract provided.
Family Law, Allison Anna Tait
Family Law, Allison Anna Tait
University of Richmond Law Review
Once again this year, the Virginia courts and legislature have been occupied with a range of family law matters—from divorce, to custody, to support. Spousal support, in particular, has been much discussed in legislative chambers, as well as in courtrooms, and significant legislative changes will redesign how divorcing couples draft settlement agreements in the coming years. In other areas, there has been less activity and fewer results. Both the House of Delegates and the Senate of Virginia failed to move out of committee bills that would repeal “the statutory prohibitions on same-sex marriages and civil unions or other arrangements between …
Wills, Trusts, And Estates, J. William Gray Jr., Katherine E. Ramsey
Wills, Trusts, And Estates, J. William Gray Jr., Katherine E. Ramsey
University of Richmond Law Review
The 2018 Virginia General Assembly enacted legislation to conform the interpretation of wills with trusts, revised the recent trust decanting and augmented estate statutes, and provided a procedure for resolving doctor/patient disputes over appropriate medical care. It also confirmed the creditor protection available for life insurance and annuities, and addressed certain entities’ eligibility for real and personal property tax exemptions, annual disclosures of charitable organizations’ administrative and charitable service expenses, virtual nonstock corporation member meetings, bank directors’ stock holdings, the disposition of unused tax credits at the taxpayer’s death, and fiduciary qualification without surety. The Supreme Court of Virginia handed …
Preface, Emily Palombo
The People's Lawyer: The Role Of Attorney General In The Twenty-First Century, Mark J. Herring
The People's Lawyer: The Role Of Attorney General In The Twenty-First Century, Mark J. Herring
University of Richmond Law Review
For the last five years, it has been my privilege to serve the people as their attorney general. The origin of the position of attorney general can be traced back centuries, but in a world that has become more interconnected, complex, and fast-paced, what does the role of a state attorney general entail in the twenty-first century and beyond? Is the proper role as a diligent but reactive defender of statutes and state agencies, or is there a deeper responsibility that calls for a more proactive and engaged use of its tools and authority? I have found that the job …
Civil Practice And Procedure, Christopher S. Dadak
Civil Practice And Procedure, Christopher S. Dadak
University of Richmond Law Review
This article addresses changes and notable analyses in approximately a year’s worth of Supreme Court of Virginia opinions, passed legislation, and revisions to the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia affecting Virginia civil procedure.1 This article is not meant to be all-encompassing, but it does endeavor to capture the highlights of changes or analyses regarding Virginia civil procedure. The opinions discussed throughout this article do not all reflect changes in Virginia jurisprudence on civil procedure. Some address clarifications or reminders from the court on certain issues it has deemed worthy of addressing (and that practitioners continue to raise). The …
Corporate And Business Law, Christopher L. Mclean
Corporate And Business Law, Christopher L. Mclean
University of Richmond Law Review
The past two years have produced a number of pieces of legislation from the Virginia General Assembly that serve to bring the set of Virginia business entity statutes up to date with its peers around the country. Part I highlights changes to the Virginia Stock Corporation Act (“VSCA”) and the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act (“VNSCA”). Part II highlights changes to the Virginia Securities Act (“VSA”) and other statutes affecting Virginia business entities. Part III reviews two significant cases that the Supreme Court of Virginia decided over the past two years with respect to Virginia corporate law. Those decisions provided guidance …
Criminal Law And Procedure, Aaron J. Campbell, John I. Jones Iv, Rachel L. Yates
Criminal Law And Procedure, Aaron J. Campbell, John I. Jones Iv, Rachel L. Yates
University of Richmond Law Review
This article surveys recent developments in criminal law and procedure in Virginia. Because of space limitations, the authors have limited their discussion to the most significant appellate decisions and legislation.
Taxation, Craig G. Bell, Michael H. Brady
Taxation, Craig G. Bell, Michael H. Brady
University of Richmond Law Review
This article reviews significant recent developments in the laws affecting Virginia state and local taxation. Its sections cover legislative activity, judicial decisions, and selected opinions or pronouncements from the Virginia Department of Taxation and the Attorney General of Virginia over the past year.
Virginia Ranks Forty-Ninth Of Fifty: The Need For Stronger Laws Supporting Foster Youth, Nadine Marsh-Carter, Bruin S. Richardson Iii, Laura Ash-Brackley, Cassie Baudeán Cunningham
Virginia Ranks Forty-Ninth Of Fifty: The Need For Stronger Laws Supporting Foster Youth, Nadine Marsh-Carter, Bruin S. Richardson Iii, Laura Ash-Brackley, Cassie Baudeán Cunningham
University of Richmond Law Review
No abstract provided.
Private Ordering In The Old Dominion: A Solution To Frivolous Litigation Or The Elimination Of A Fundamental Shareholder Right?, Rebekah Biggs
Private Ordering In The Old Dominion: A Solution To Frivolous Litigation Or The Elimination Of A Fundamental Shareholder Right?, Rebekah Biggs
University of Richmond Law Review
No abstract provided.
Enforcing Statutory Maximums: How Federal Supervised Release Violates The Sixth Amendment Rights Defined In Apprendi V. New Jersey, Danny Zemel
University of Richmond Law Review
The Sixth Amendment commands that “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.” Trial by a jury of one’s peers is a fundamental American legal right, existing in the earliest colonies before being codified in both Article III of the Constitution and the Sixth Amendment. The jury trial right derives from “the mass of the people,” ensuring that “no man can be condemned of life, or limb, or property, or reputation, without the concurrence of the …
Free Exercise And Comer: Robust Entrenchment Or Simply More Of A Muddle?, Mark Strasser
Free Exercise And Comer: Robust Entrenchment Or Simply More Of A Muddle?, Mark Strasser
University of Richmond Law Review
Several states are barred by their own constitutions from spending public monies in support of sectarian institutions. The United States Supreme Court has manifested great ambivalence about the constitutionality of such limitations. Sometimes, the Court has impliedly endorsed them as a reasonable measure to assure that Establishment Clause guarantees are respected. At other times, the Court has suggested that such limitations are constitutionally disfavored, although the Court has not yet held that such amendments are per se unconstitutional. The Court’s most recent decision addressing state constitutional spending limitations, Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer, adds another layer of …
Personal Reflections On The Honorable Robert R. Merhige, Jr.: A Judge, Mentor, And Friend, Mary Kelly Tate
Personal Reflections On The Honorable Robert R. Merhige, Jr.: A Judge, Mentor, And Friend, Mary Kelly Tate
University of Richmond Law Review
Twenty-six years—half my lifetime—have passed since I joined Judge Merhige’s court family as his law clerk. I attempt here to sketch my personal impressions, distilling what to me was most remarkable about Robert R. Merhige, Jr. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this dynamic man turned legendary judge—a man I revered from the moment I met him—is more vivid to me now than he was to my younger self.
Race, Speech, And Sports, Matthew J. Parlow
Race, Speech, And Sports, Matthew J. Parlow
University of Richmond Law Review
Race, sports, and free speech rights intersected in a very controversial and public way during the 2016 and 2017 National Football League (“NFL”) seasons. On August 26, 2016, Colin Kaepernick spurred a national debate when he refused to stand during the playing of the national anthem before the NFL preseason game between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick’s team at the time.
The Invisible Minority: Discrimination Against Bisexuals In The Workplace, Elizabeth Childress Burneson
The Invisible Minority: Discrimination Against Bisexuals In The Workplace, Elizabeth Childress Burneson
University of Richmond Law Review
The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (“LGBTQ+”) community has won major legal victories in the last twenty years, but at least one group remains left behind in those victories. The bisexual population is often ignored, erased, and discriminated against by both homosexual and heterosexual individuals and communities. This is true despite the fact that bisexuals outnumber both lesbian women and gay men. This erasure and discrimination affects bisexuals in different areas of life and the law, including the employment context. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), which protects against employment discrimination on the basis …
Taft, Frankfurter, And The First Presidential For-Cause Removal, Aditya Bamzai
Taft, Frankfurter, And The First Presidential For-Cause Removal, Aditya Bamzai
University of Richmond Law Review
In the fall of 1912—while one of the most consequential presidential campaigns in United States history raged around them— William Howard Taft, Felix Frankfurter, and a handful of officials within the federal government initiated a process to remove two members of the Board of General Appraisers (“Board”) for inefficiency, neglect of duty, and malfeasance in office. The process culminated in President Taft’s for-cause dismissal of the two members, Thaddeus Sharretts and Roy Chamberlain, on the very last day that he served as President, after he received a report recommending their firing from a “committee of inquiry” that included Frankfurter.
Reconsidering Selective Conscientious Objection, Andrew J. Haile
Reconsidering Selective Conscientious Objection, Andrew J. Haile
University of Richmond Law Review
In 1971, in the midst of the Vietnam War, the United States Supreme Court decided that to qualify as a conscientious objector (“CO”) one must oppose all war, and not just a particular war. The Court’s decision in Gillette v. United States turned on its interpretation of section 6(j) of the Military Selective Service Act. Section 6(j) provided, in relevant part, that no person shall “be subject to combatant training and service in the armed forces of the United States who, by reason of religious training and belief, is conscientiously opposed to participation in war in any form.” According to …
The #Metoo Movement: An Invitation For Feminist Critique Of Rape Crisis Framing, Jamie R. Abrams
The #Metoo Movement: An Invitation For Feminist Critique Of Rape Crisis Framing, Jamie R. Abrams
University of Richmond Law Review
This article invites feminists to leverage the #MeToo Movement as a critical analytical tool to explore the longevity of the enduring rape crisis framing of victim services. Long before the #MeToo Movement, victim services in communities nationwide were framed around a crisis model. For nearly half a century, victims have visited rape crisis centers, called rape crisis hotlines, and mobilized rape crisis response teams to provide services and support. This enduring political and social framing around rape as a crisis is opaque, has prompted a political backlash, and risks distorting hard-fought feminist legal, social, and political battles. It has yielded …
Rethinking Bail Reform, Wendy R. Calaway, Jennifer M. Kinsley
Rethinking Bail Reform, Wendy R. Calaway, Jennifer M. Kinsley
University of Richmond Law Review
The issue of pretrial detention is part of a larger, national conversation on criminal justice reform. However, no single issue permeates the landscape of criminal justice like the treatment of pretrial defendants. The policies and practices around pretrial detention have contributed to the country’s mass incarceration numbers; created a crisis for local jail management; generated unsustainable budgets; and raised important questions about race, class, and the constitutional implications of incarcerating people because they are too poor to pay a money bond. Legal scholars have written about the issue, highlighting the inequities and constitutional difficulties with such a system. Much of …
Rapid Dna Testing And Virginia's Rape Kit Backlog: A Double-Edged Sword Masquerading As A Miracle, Or The Future Of Forensic Analysis?, Emma C. Greger
Rapid Dna Testing And Virginia's Rape Kit Backlog: A Double-Edged Sword Masquerading As A Miracle, Or The Future Of Forensic Analysis?, Emma C. Greger
University of Richmond Law Review
While Rapid DNA technology has the potential to revolutionize every aspect of the criminal justice system, from arrest to the postconviction appeals process, there has been particular excitement centered around its potential to reduce the rape kit backlog.
Non-Contact Excessive Force By Police: Is That Really A Thing?, Michael J. Jacobsma
Non-Contact Excessive Force By Police: Is That Really A Thing?, Michael J. Jacobsma
University of Richmond Law Review
When people hear the words “police” and “excessive force,” they usually associate those words with an unjustified assault and battery, or lethal force made against suspects by law enforcement officers during an arrest or investigation. When such acts occur, the victim of the excessive force has the right to pursue a civil action against the police officer pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 if committed by state or local police, or a Bivens action if committed by federal agents. But can a police officer be sued for excessive force without making any physical contact with the plaintiff? The answer to …
The Honorable Robert R. Merhige, Jr.: A Series On His Life And Career, Stephen N. Scaife
The Honorable Robert R. Merhige, Jr.: A Series On His Life And Career, Stephen N. Scaife
University of Richmond Law Review
No abstract provided.
The Honorable Robert R. Merhige, Jr.: A Judge Ahead Of His Time, Wayne A. Logan
The Honorable Robert R. Merhige, Jr.: A Judge Ahead Of His Time, Wayne A. Logan
University of Richmond Law Review
When one thinks about it, it is really quite incredible: a Brooklyn-born son of Lebanese and Irish immigrants with a distinct New York accent, standing well under six feet tall, attends a small North Carolina college on a basketball scholarship; serves with distinction in a bombing squadron in World War II; graduates from the University of Richmond School of Law (paying his way by serving as a night librarian); excels at the practice of law in a city (Richmond) not renowned for its receptivity to Yankees; wins election as president of the city’s Bar; and upon being appointed to the …
The Conscience Of Virginia: Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr., And The Politics Of School Desegregation, Robert A. Pratt
The Conscience Of Virginia: Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr., And The Politics Of School Desegregation, Robert A. Pratt
University of Richmond Law Review
The United States Supreme Court’s 1954 landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education declared that segregation in public education violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. For the millions of African Americans who had endured decades of separate and unequal schooling, this decision was a resounding reaffirmation of the nation’s commitment to equal justice under the law. But those who expected segregated schools to end overnight were in for a rude awakening. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (“NAACP”), which had led the legal assault against segregation since its founding in 1909, was encouraged …
Judge Merhige's Environmental Decisions: Expert Handling Of Groundbreaking Environmental Rulings And Complex Federal Jurisdictional Questions, Jim Vines
University of Richmond Law Review
It is a special privilege for me to contribute to this edition of the University of Richmond Law Review honoring Judge Robert R. Merhige, Jr. Here, I seek to highlight his contributions to United States environmental law. In 1988 and 1989, I was one of two recent law school graduates who clerked for Judge Merhige (“please call me by my first name; it’s ‘Judge’”). The Judge was a larger than life figure. As a federal trial judge, historically important and intellectually challenging cases seemed to find their way into his court in a volume not matched in many other federal …
You Could Have Told Me That In The First Place: Five Tips That Might Have Saved A Young Lawyer A Lot Of Trouble, Jay O'Keeffe
You Could Have Told Me That In The First Place: Five Tips That Might Have Saved A Young Lawyer A Lot Of Trouble, Jay O'Keeffe
University of Richmond Law Review
I will open with a confession: I have very, very little to contribute to legal scholarship. My day-to-day work as a lawyer and a parent keeps me busy. My career to date as a generalist has not led me to develop any great substantive expertise in a particular area of the law. Even my war stories are boring because they cluster around briefs, procedural defaults, and oral arguments. But I do have one thing to offer. I have been lucky in my career to work in “Biglaw,” then at a medium-sized firm of about fifty lawyers, and most recently at …
Underdeveloped And Over-Sentenced: Why Eighteen- To Twenty-Year-Olds Should Be Exempt From Life Without Parole, Emily Powell
Underdeveloped And Over-Sentenced: Why Eighteen- To Twenty-Year-Olds Should Be Exempt From Life Without Parole, Emily Powell
University of Richmond Law Review
Sentencing eighteen- to twenty-year-olds to life without parole should be considered cruel and unusual because it is disproportionate to this class of offenders’ culpability.
States Suing The Federal Government: Protecting Liberty Or Playing Politics?, Elbert Lin
States Suing The Federal Government: Protecting Liberty Or Playing Politics?, Elbert Lin
University of Richmond Law Review
No abstract provided.