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Class Of 2002 Incoming Il Law Students, St. Mary's University School Of Law, St. Mary's University School Of Law

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Photographs of incoming law students for the St. Mary’s University School of Law, class of 2002

Determining The Legal Ramifications Of Express Oil And Gas Lease Provisions: Do The Rules Of Document Interpretation Provide Predictability?, Laura H. Burney

Faculty CLE

The oil and gas lease has served as the basic contract for the petroleum industry since 1853. Throughout the decades, the “typical” oil and gas lease clauses have been developed and revised in response to judicial decisions. To provide an update on the evolution of today’s oil and gas lease, it is necessary to review selected court decisions construing lease clauses.

Theoretically, the rules of document interpretation should provide a reliable guide when courts are asked to determine the legal ramifications of express lease provisions. However, review of relevant cases, including recent decisions and older cases providing unique lessons about …

The Diminishing Sphere Of The Cooperative Virtues In American Law And Society, Ana M. Novoa

Faculty Articles

Exploration of destructive developments in American law and society show that family law is completely askew. Although family law deals with the most intimate and basic personal relationships, it applies a legal process based on autonomous individual public and private economic rights to those intimate relational realities. It is a hallowed expression of male virtues and a paradigmatic example of the use of the law to protect vested interests and shape society, rather than a reflection of reality.

The split between the private/family/female and the public/business/male spheres of the nineteenth century created the separation of competitive attributes, virtues, and vices …

Promoting Human Rights Values In Cuba’S Post-Castro Military, Jeffrey F. Addicott, Manuel Supervielle

Faculty Articles

The United States should develop a specific plan to take advantage of the opportunity to promote human rights values in the post-Castro Cuban military. United States military judge advocates are uniquely qualified to execute this plan and assist the post-Castro Cuban military to internalize respect and protection of human rights as part of its fundamental reason for existence. The development of such a human rights training program is not only a morally correct activity for the United States military to pursue, but given the never ending struggle to promote America’s national security within the framework of a shrinking defense budget, …

A True Crime: A Review Of Janet Malcolm, The Crime Of Sheila Mcgough (Book Review), Michael Ariens

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Barriers To Protection At Home And Abroad: Mexican Victims Of Domestic Violence And The Violence Against Women Act, Lee J. Teran

Faculty Articles

Undocumented domestic violence victims face many challenges in proving they will suffer extreme hardship if deported. Heralded as the most significant legislation to aid victims of domestic violence, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (“VAWA”) recognized two main ideas. First, domestic violence is a serious national problem in the United States. Second, the undocumented immigration status of victims and their fear of deportation exacerbates domestic abuse. VAWA commands that immigration laws remedy, rather than perpetuate, violence in families of citizens and lawful permanent residents. However, requiring victims of domestic violence to prove they will suffer extreme hardship if deported …

“Loss Of Earning Capacity” Benefits In The Community Property Jurisdiction--How Do You Figure?, Aloysius A. Leopold

Faculty Articles

In the interest of uniformity, benefits for the loss of earning capacity should be subject to the same legal principle when determining marital property rights, regardless of the context in which those rights arise. However, courts throughout the United States have relied upon four different methods to determine title to loss of earning capacity benefits upon divorce. These approaches include the unitary approach, the analytic approach, the mechanistic approach, and the case-by-case approach.

Because the determination of title to benefits varies tremendously, the need for certainty in this area of the law is necessary particularly in light of the Texas …

Professor Steele’S Opus, Gerald S. Reamey

Faculty Articles

Walter Steele is a consummate teacher precisely because he always is teaching. To observe him, to converse with him, to listen to him, to read him, is to learn something. He would not talk about ethical behavior in the classroom, only to cut corners in his private life. He would not demand razor-sharp logic from his students, and then allow himself to be sloppy in his own thinking.

Over the years, the word former students seem to use most often to describe Professor Steele is “intimidating.” He is intimidating because of his power; not the power some law professors wield …

The Daishonin’S Path: Applying Nichiren’S Buddhist Principles To American Legal Education, John W. Teeter Jr

Faculty Articles

The fundamental aspects of Nichiren Daishonin's teachings merit modern attention. The Daishonin was a tireless mentor for his disciples, and his call for compassion, critique, courage, and wisdom are essential for law students and teachers alike. A remarkable man, the Daishonin's perceptions ought to inform the way professors teach and advise their students, and encourage others to reflect on their own sources of spiritual sustenance and examine the contributions they can make toward deepening the relevance, meaning, and joy of legal education.

The Daishonin emphasized the primacy of The Lotus Sutra, which declares that all living beings inherently possess the …

Secured Transactions History: The Fraudulent Myth, George Lee Flint Jr

Faculty Articles

England first adopted Germanic law banning nonpossessory secured transactions because at the time, England was controlled by the Normans. The ban persisted as long as statutes favored alternative security devices, namely the pledge and the collusive judgment, the major competing security device. But the allowance of interest after 1571 obviated the advantage of the pledge to surreptitiously generate interest under the usury ban. The 1677 Statute of Frauds destroyed the priority of the collusive judgment, changing its priority from date of the judgment entered to the delivery of the writ of execution to the sheriff for execution. The nonpossessory secured …

Secured Transactions History: The Impact Of Textile Machinery On The Chattel Mortgage Acts Of The Northeast, George Lee Flint Jr

Faculty Articles

The northeastern states passed chattel mortgage statues in the 1830s to replace the rebuttable rule acknowledging third party rights to the collateral, which created litigation to enforce a nonpossessory secured transaction. The rebuttable rule presumed that debtor possession of the collateral was fraud, but also allowed the secured party to present rebuttal evidence of his good faith in the transaction. The rebuttable rule negatively affected the textile machinery industry, allowing third parties to collect over the original creditor. In an effort to maneuver around the rebuttable rule, machinery manufacturers turned to a host of legal remedies, but eventually decided on …

Dead Man Talking: Competing Narratives And Effective Representation In Capital Cases Essay., Jeffrey J. Pokorak

St. Mary's Law Journal

As Karl Hammond’s case indicates, to serve justice, balance between the Kill Story and Human Story is necessary in a capital trial. This Essay seeks, through deconstruction of Karl Hammond’s case, to identify and illustrate the values of telling these combating stories. Part III describes the Kill Story and the Human Story in Karl’s case from the record of his trial, appeals, and petitions. Part III also demonstrates how the failure to tell one side of the story in either the guilt-innocence phase or the punishment phase can have a prejudicial effect on the jury’s decision. Part IV then discusses …

Beyond Black And White: Selected Writings By Asian Americans Within The Critical Race Theory Movement Perspective., Harvey Gee

St. Mary's Law Journal

A new generation of progressive intellectuals has evolved, attempting to transform the manner in which law, race, and racial power are understood and discussed in America. The latter half of the twentieth century proved to be a time of profound demographic changes. Racial and political reform policies of the post-modern Civil Rights Movement failed to fully respond to these dramatic social changes. A theory was created to address social racism because the “color-blind” model posited by the Supreme Court of the United States perpetuated racism by supporting the existing hierarchy. Critical Race Theory attempts to tackle these dramatic social changes …

Dedication Of "The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review Of Minority Issues", Kevin R. Johnson

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

The American Tradition Of Language Rights, ¡Que Viva Texas!: The Forgotten Right To Government In A "Known Tongue", Jose Roberto Juarez

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

Count The Brown Faces: Where Is The "Family" In The Family Law Of Child Protective Services, Ana M. Novoa

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

Unraveling The Cloth That Binds Latina Garment Workers In Texas: A Critical Analysis Of The Texas Pay Day Act, Ina M. Minjarez

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

Do Minorities Really Benefit? The Untold Truth About Vouchers, Marie A. Galindo

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

Strengthening Human Rights Protection: Why The Holocaust Slave Labor Claims Should Be Litigated, Justin H. Roy

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

A Mother Removed — A Child Left Behind: A Battered Immigrant's Need For A Modified Best Interest Standard, Julie Linares-Fierro

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming

From Little Acorns Great Oaks Grow: The Constitutionality Of Protecting Minors From Harmful Internet Material In Public Libraries Comment., Kimberly S. Keller

St. Mary's Law Journal

Congress should focus on the receiver's end of Internet transmissions to overcome the anonymity and transmogrification elements of the Internet to protect minors from harmful material. Throughout the years, librarians have struggled with monitoring minors’ access to the accumulating number of controversial texts in the library. The Internet’s unique infrastructure affords librarians virtually no opportunity for the pre-shelf review available with books and videos. Congress enacted the Communications Decency Act (CDA) in 1996 in an attempt to protect minors from the underbelly of the internet. The United States Supreme Court, in Reno v. ACLU, struck down the CDA ruling that …

Resolving The Mult-Fractional Deed Dilemma - Conc.Ord Oil Co. V. Pennzoil Exploration & (And) Production Co. Recent Development, Noelle C. Letteri

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

America's Preoccupation With Ethics In Government Essay., Vincent R. Johnson

St. Mary's Law Journal

Many Americans today expect that the law can, should, and will be used to ensure a level playing field in public life. Americans expect the law to eliminate, insofar as possible, any unfair advantage that might be gained through the use of special connections to those who exercise the power of government. There are numerous rules applicable to judges, lawyers, and public officials that each seek to promote equal treatment for all persons by limiting the ability of persons to use special connections and privileged relationships to gain an advantage in public affairs. There were two threads of development in …

Texas Rule Of Evidence 503: Defining Scope Of Employment For Corporations Comment., Craig W. Saunders

St. Mary's Law Journal

The attorney-corporate client privilege should be regarded as encompassing only communications made to the corporation’s counsel by employees in the scope of their employment. The Supreme Court of Texas and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered the merger of the Civil and Criminal Rules of Evidence. The merger became effective on March 1, 1998 and is now known as the Texas Rules of Evidence. Although the civil and criminal rules often mirror each other, one monumental change is in the new version of Rule 503. This new version significantly alters the analysis used in a corporate context and determines …

The Lautenberg Amendment: Congress Hit The Mark By Banning Firearms From Domestic Violence Offenders Comment., Polly Mccann Pruneda

St. Mary's Law Journal

Immediate action is critical to preserve the goals of the Lautenberg Amendment to protect victims of domestic violence from future abuse and their abusers. Incidents of gun-related domestic violence are not uncommon in the United States. Statistics show that domestic violence takes one life every three days and the combination of guns and domestic violence cause more deaths than incidents which are not associated with guns. In 1996, Congress attempted to find a solution to this problem. The Lautenberg Amendment, enacted pursuant to Congress’ Commerce Clause power, seeks to protect individuals from gun related injury or death occurring within domestic …

Loss Of Earning Capcity Benefits In The Community Property Jurisdiction - How Do You Figure., Aloysius A. Leopold

St. Mary's Law Journal

In the interest of uniformity, benefits for the loss of earning capacity should be subject to the same legal principle when determining marital property rights, regardless of the context in which those rights arise. However, courts throughout the United States have relied upon four different methods to determine title to loss of earning capacity benefits upon divorce. These approaches include the unitary approach, the analytic approach, the mechanistic approach, and the case-by-case approach. Because the determination of title to benefits varies tremendously, the need for certainty in this area of the law is necessary particularly in light of the Texas …

Appellate Law In The New Millennium: Bridging Theoretical Foundation With Practical Application, Bill Piatt

Faculty Articles

For the appellate lawyer, bridging the gap between theoretical foundation and practical application is an important challenge. An attorney who is unable to bring these two notions together is only partially effective as an advocate. Without a firm theoretical foundation that embraces both the law and policy that underlie the lawyer’s argument, the substance of the appellate advocate’s position will not persuade the court effectively. Similarly, without having mastered the practical side of appellate advocacy, the lawyer will be ineffective in communicating the substance of the argument altogether.

This Symposium provides the appellate specialist and non-appellate attorney alike with a …

Chinese Law And American Legal Education (Foreword), Vincent R. Johnson

Faculty Articles

The rise of international and comparative law within the typical law school curriculum has been a profound change in American legal education. As international and comparative law gradually rose to prominence during the last part of the twentieth century, the attention of American legal educators often focused on Europe. However, law reform in China is today a priority of the government. With a vitality that echos American legislative achievements during the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the Great Society, China is overhauling the laws that shape Chinese society and govern relations with persons and states abroad.

Members of the …

Count The Brown Faces: Where Is The “Family” In The Family Law Of Child Protective Services, Ana M. Novoa

Faculty Articles

Can a system developed from intrusion into the lives of the poor be reconstituted to provide services that will nurture the quality of the lives of all children? If not, then the system should be scrapped and start over. 
Child Protective Services (CPS) has never recovered from its roots in distrust and discrimination against the poor and its mistaken defense of a false moral high-ground, which is perceived from the narrow focus of child-saving rather than on the legitimate and long term needs of children. The foster care system’s lack of concern for natural parents reflects centuries of a dual …

The Constitution And Reconstitution Of The Standing Doctrine Comment., Laveta Casdorph

St. Mary's Law Journal

The most effective response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s construction of Article III standards will be to revise citizen suit statutes to reaffirm its important role in giving the injured citizen a voice against the administrative state. With the rise of the administrative state in the late 1930s and 40s, the Court developed a conservative doctrine of standing to protect New Deal legislation from court-based attacks. As individual constitutional rights expanded, standing rules were liberalized, allowing litigants to challenge the actions and decisions of administrative agencies more easily. Congress passed numerous environmental statutes containing “citizen suit” provisions in the 1960s …