Law Commons^™

Reclaiming The Right To Consent: Judicial Bypass Mechanism As A Way For Persons With Disabilities To Lawfully Consent To Sexual Activity In Ohio, Melissa S. Obodzinski

Cleveland State Law Review

In Ohio, it is a criminal offense to engage in sexual conduct with another when his or her ability to consent is “substantially impaired” because of a mental or physical condition. There is no mechanism for persons with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities to receive judicial notice of whether their ability to consent is “substantially impaired” prior to criminal adjudication, nor is there a way for them to affirmatively prove that they have the capacity to consent to sexual activity. Thus, under Ohio law, intellectually and/or developmentally disabled individuals may be functionally and irrevocably barred from engaging in sexual intimacy for …

An Open Letter To The Ohio Supreme Court: Setting A Uniform Standard On Anders Briefs, Matthew D. Fazekas

Cleveland State Law Review

Attorneys are faced with an ethical dilemma when they represent indigent defendants who wish to appeal a criminal sentence, but that appeal would be frivolous. In 1967, the United States Supreme Court, in Anders v. California, introduced a procedure protecting the rights of indigent defendants that balanced the ethical concerns of an attorney forced to file a frivolous appeal. In 2000, the Court in Smith v. Robbins held that the states can set their own procedure for the aforementioned ethical dilemma, so long as it protects the rights of indigent defendants in compliance with the Fourteenth Amendment. This has …

The Privileges And Immunities Of Non-Citizens, R. George Wright

Cleveland State Law Review

However paradoxically, in some practically important contexts, non-citizens of all sorts can rightly claim what amount to privileges and immunities of citizens. This follows from a careful and entirely plausible understanding of the inherently relational, inescapably social, and essentially reciprocal nature of at least some typical privileges and immunities.

This Article contends that the relationship between constitutional privileges and immunities and citizenship is more nuanced, and much more interesting, than usually recognized. Crucially, allowing some non-citizens to invoke the privileges and immunities of citizens often makes sense. The intuitive sense that non-citizens cannot logically claim the privileges or immunities of …

You Play Ball Like A Girl: Cultural Implications Of The Contact Sports Exemption And Why It Needs To Be Changed, Michelle Margaret Smith

Cleveland State Law Review

Women in the United States have historically earned significantly less income per year compared to their male counterparts. In 2014, the pay discrepancy was at its lowest point with women earning seventy-nine cents per every dollar men earned. This discrepancy exists even though women now attain college degrees at a higher rate than men and make up 47% of the labor force. In sports, the pay discrepancy is even greater. At the professional level, women earn as little as 1.2% of what their male counterparts earn. This Note addresses how changing the contact sports exemption in Title IX to allow …

A Tripartite Threat To Medical Records Privacy: Technology, Hipaa's Privacy Rule And The Usa Patriot , Nathan J. Wills

Journal of Law and Health

Proceeding from the proposition that privacy is a fundamental right, this essay notes the importance of maintaining medical records privacy in light of the increased use of technology. It describes the Privacy Rule promulgated under HIPAA, which was intended to strengthen medical records privacy, but notes the restriction of privacy rights following September 11, 2001 ("9/11"). In light of circumscribed privacy rights, the Privacy Rules becomes much more important in protecting medical records privacy. Unfortunately, the Rule falls short of this goal by potentially running afoul of the First and Fourth Amendments. It also fails to provide adequate medical records …

Bioterrorism Defense: Are State Mandated Compulsory Vaccination Programs An Infringement Upon A Citizen's Constitutional Rights, Brendon Kohrs

Journal of Law and Health

The agents of anthrax and smallpox threaten the health and welfare of the state citizenry and therefore the state can enact legislation appropriate to offset the possible harm. In order for the enacted legislation to withstand a constitutional challenge, the possible harm has to be a compelling governmental interest of public safety and welfare narrowly tailored to that goal. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the United States Department of Health and Human Services has the ability to recommend a compulsory vaccination program for citizens, and this program would not be in violation of a person's constitutional …

Compelled Medical Treatment Of Pregnant Women: The Balancing Of Maternal And Fetal Rights , Pamala Harris

Cleveland State Law Review

This note explores the question: is it ever permissible for a physician or a judge to compel a pregnant woman to submit to medical treatment for the benefit of her fetus? This note begins by examining the ideology of motherhood and the legal status of the fetus. This note then examines the ethical aspects and legal issues involved in compelling a pregnant woman to undergo treatment for the benefit of her fetus. This note then explores the controls of pregnancy that result in maternal-fetal conflicts. Finally, this note examines the court's use of a balancing test in reaching decisions in …

The Religious Liberty Protection Act: The Validity Of Using Congress' Commerce And Spending Powers To Protect Religion, Jennifer Dorton

Cleveland State Law Review

Although the Religious Liberty Protection Act appears, on its face, to be simple, there are many constitutional issues which call into question the validity of the proposed bill. This note will focus on the constitutional problems of using Congress' commerce and spending powers to protect religion. It will examine the problem of attaching religious conditions to the States' receipt of federal funds, and the potential problem that may result from using the spending power to protect religious exercise. The note then turns to the commerce clause justification for the RLPA. It will point out the major flaw in using the …

The Abortion Right, Originalism, And The Fourteenth Amendment, Steven Graines, Justin Wyatt

Cleveland State Law Review

In this article, the Privileges or Immunities Clause will be re-conceived in its original context, at the center of the Fourteenth Amendment. This re-conception includes the assumption that The Slaughter-House Cases" were decided incorrectly.'" The contention of the article is that abortion restrictions, as a specific originalist matter, can be considered economic legislation and that they also economically burden women, such that they unconstitutionally abridge two privileges or immunities, the Lochnerian liberties to contract and the engagement in any of the common occupations. Specifically, abortion restrictions violate "the prohibition on redistributive 'class' legislation ... that was deeply rooted in the …

Domestic Partnership Benefits: Why Not Offer Them To Same-Sex Partners And Unmarried Opposite Sex Partners, Debbie Zielinski

Journal of Law and Health

Employers offering these benefits to same-sex domestic partners only, may face legal challenges such as marital status and sexual orientation discrimination or equal protection arguments from their unmarried heterosexual employees. In addition, states and municipalities have been increasing the potential of such litigation by passing laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and marital status especially in the areas of housing and employment. This Note examines the potential of such legal challenges when employers use the narrow definition in structuring their domestic partner benefit programs. In addition, avoiding challenges by simply not offering benefits will be discussed. However, before …

The Indians' Chief Problem: Chief Wahoo As State Sponsored Discrimination And A Disparaging Mark, Jack Achiezer Guggenheim

Cleveland State Law Review

This article traces the history of the Cleveland Indians and Chief Wahoo. It then suggests and assesses two methods by which the Chief Wahoo emblem may be legally challenged. The first method is to assert that Chief Wahoo, as used in Jacob's Field, is state sponsored discrimination. As such it could be challenged as a violation of equal protection or as racist speech. Alternatively, in addition to proving that the teams' actions should be deemed state actions, a new theory asserting that discriminatory state speech is a violation of the First Amendment could be advanced. Another method by which the …

The Cy Pres Doctrine In The United States: From Extreme Reluctance To Affirmative Action, Frances Howell Rudko

Cleveland State Law Review

Perhaps no legal principle illustrates the use of Fourteenth Amendment equal protection jurisprudence more poignantly than the relatively obscure cy pres doctrine. The ancient doctrine which allowed both courts and the Crown in England to change trust purposes when the original trust purposes proved no longer viable was adopted belatedly, sporadically and partially by jurisdictions in the United States. In Part I, the author illustrates how the United States jurisdictions differ from England in the requirement for charitable intent. Earlier cases reveal the United States, unlike England, has resisted relaxation of the requirement. In Part II, the author uses the …

State Constitutional Protection Of Children With Aids And The Right To A Public Education, Jeffrey M. Croasdell

Cleveland State Law Review

The purpose of this article is to examine the problem that the American public school system is facing with respect to children with AIDS. In addition, this paper will examine how the courts are analyzing this issue and show why the current trend of analysis is weaker than it should be. Finally, this paper will look at how state constitutions are more frequently being used to protect individual rights and how the state constitutions could be used to protect the right of children with AIDS to free public education.

The Fifty-Seventh Cleveland-Marshall Lecture: The Bill Of Rights And Our Posterity, Akhil Reed Amar

Cleveland State Law Review

Inspired by our constitutional forebears, and conscious of my responsibilities to our constitutional posterity, I took pen in hand two summers ago to write a series of short essays on our Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. These essays were written for public high school students, as part of an interactive multimedia project on the Bill of Rights, designed by IBM and various consultants. My task was a daunting one: to make our Bill of Rights and Fourteenth Amendment alive and real for youngsters-to teach the "Blessings of Liberty" to "our posterity," and to invite them into the ongoing …

The Fifty-Seventh Cleveland-Marshall Lecture: The Bill Of Rights And Our Posterity, Akhil Reed Amar

Cleveland State Law Review

Inspired by our constitutional forebears, and conscious of my responsibilities to our constitutional posterity, I took pen in hand two summers ago to write a series of short essays on our Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment. These essays were written for public high school students, as part of an interactive multimedia project on the Bill of Rights, designed by IBM and various consultants. My task was a daunting one: to make our Bill of Rights and Fourteenth Amendment alive and real for youngsters-to teach the "Blessings of Liberty" to "our posterity," and to invite them into the ongoing …

Section 1983 And The Parratt Doctrine After Zinermon V. Burch: Ensuring Due Process Rights Or Turning The Fourteenth Amendment Into A Font Of Tort Law, Paul F. Wingenfeld

Cleveland State Law Review

Over the last thirty years, the Court has decided a number of cases which illustrate an on-going struggle to find the proper place for section 1983 in the federal court system and, consequently, what ultimately qualifies as adequate procedural due process within the context of the statute. This note will examine the history of Court decisions involving section 1983 in order to provide the proper background for examining the Court's most recent decision in Zinermon v. Burch, a case which itself has added to an already confusing field of legal study. Within this historical background, however, the Court has actually …

Section 1983 And The Parratt Doctrine After Zinermon V. Burch: Ensuring Due Process Rights Or Turning The Fourteenth Amendment Into A Font Of Tort Law, Paul F. Wingenfeld

Cleveland State Law Review

Over the last thirty years, the Court has decided a number of cases which illustrate an on-going struggle to find the proper place for section 1983 in the federal court system and, consequently, what ultimately qualifies as adequate procedural due process within the context of the statute. This note will examine the history of Court decisions involving section 1983 in order to provide the proper background for examining the Court's most recent decision in Zinermon v. Burch, a case which itself has added to an already confusing field of legal study. Within this historical background, however, the Court has actually …

Reconstructing Section Five Of The Fourteenth Amendment To Assist Impoverished Children, James Wilson

Cleveland State Law Review

This article maintains that the Supreme Court's most recent affirmative action decisions, City of Richmond v. JA. Croson, Co. and Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. F.C.C. provide a surprising opportunity for the Court to offer constitutional protection to many Americans who are currently under protected, particularly to poor children. This Article will argue that the Richmond/Metro double standard is acceptable in such difficult areas as affirmative action, particularly if the Court also adopts this Article's primary proposal that the Court should sometimes permit Congress to "dilute" Supreme Court decisions. This Article shall explore this proposed doctrine of limited dilution by applying …

The Future Of Minority Set-Aside Programs After City Of Richmond, Judy Kerczewski Kranjc

Cleveland State Law Review

One type of controversial affirmative action plan is the minority set-aside program. This Note will focus on the future of these plans in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision, City of Richmond v. J.A. Croson Co. First, an examination of the background of affirmative action leading up to set-asides is in order. Second, this Note will analyze City of Richmond and the constitutional and social issues at stake, balancing whether minority set-asides are needed with the recognition that discrimination and lack of economic opportunity for minorities still exists in our society. Finally, the Note will examine several lower …

An Objective And Practical Test For Adjudicating Political Patronage Dismissals, Kathleen M. Dugan

Cleveland State Law Review

Political patronage dismissal is not a new phenomenon, but judicial recognition of claims specifically alleging improper dismissal based on political affiliation has occurred only within the last twenty years. While the federal circuit courts have struggled to establish a standard by which to adjudicate patronage dismissal cases, their struggles have resulted in a plethora of inconsistent conclusions. Neither has the Supreme Court constructed a sufficiently concrete test to determine when an employee is exempt from patronage dismissal. The Elrod test is flawed in not limiting dismissals to political policymakers, and the Branti test is inadequate as it delegates the selection …

Voluntary Manslaughter After Patterson: An Analysis Of Ohio Law, Margaret M. Higgins

Cleveland State Law Review

Ohio courts have struggled to divine the constitutional mandate of the reasonable doubt standard while simultaneously attempting to give a viable interpretation to the state's relatively new manslaughter law. Their approach has resulted in an unusual definition of manslaughter which has proven particularly unworkable. In addition, several other problems have developed as a result of the enactment of the manslaughter law. First, the policy espoused by the Supreme Court in its decisions has been abrogated under Ohio law. Second, Ohio law nearly abandons the distinction between murder and manslaughter. This is especially dangerous in light of the presumption of criminal …

Voluntary Manslaughter After Patterson: An Analysis Of Ohio Law, Margaret M. Higgins

Cleveland State Law Review

Ohio courts have struggled to divine the constitutional mandate of the reasonable doubt standard while simultaneously attempting to give a viable interpretation to the state's relatively new manslaughter law. Their approach has resulted in an unusual definition of manslaughter which has proven particularly unworkable. In addition, several other problems have developed as a result of the enactment of the manslaughter law. First, the policy espoused by the Supreme Court in its decisions has been abrogated under Ohio law. Second, Ohio law nearly abandons the distinction between murder and manslaughter. This is especially dangerous in light of the presumption of criminal …

Due Process Comes To The Tax-Supported Campus, Harry W. Pettigrew

Cleveland State Law Review

"Due process" is an elusive concept. "It is not a mechanical instrument. It is not a yardstick. It is a process." "Its exact boundaries are undefinable, and its content varies according to specific factual contexts. . . . Whether the Constitution requires that a particular right obtain in a specific proceeding depends upon a complexity of factors. The nature of the alleged right involved, the nature of the proceeding, and the possible burden on that proceeding, are all considerations which must be taken into account." The layman's conception that due process is a conglomerate of technicalities is simply wrong. Due …

Right To Counsel In Criminal Cases, Edward T. Haggins

Cleveland State Law Review

"The right to be heard would be, in many cases, of little avail if it did not comprehend the right to be heard by counsel. Even the intelligent and educated layman has small and sometimes no skill in the science of law... He requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step of the proceedings against him." These words, written in 1932 by Mr. Justice Sutherland for the majority in the famous case of Powell v. Alabama underline the fundamental right of a defendant in American criminal proceeding to have the assistance of counsel.