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Class Of 2005 Incoming Il Law Students, St. Mary's University School Of Law, St. Mary's University School Of Law

Incoming 1L Photos (Facebooks)

Photographs of incoming law students for the St. Mary’s University School of Law, class of 2005

Reflections Of The Founding Members., The Founding Editorial Board

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

Abstract Forthcoming.

Crossing The Divide: Why Law Schools Should Offer Summer Programs For Non-Traditional Students., Jean Boylan

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

Abstract Forthcoming.

Pharmacogenomics: A Brave New World In Designer Drugs., Dee Marlo E. Chico

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

Abstract Forthcoming.

A License To Exploit: The Need To Reform The H-2a Temporary Agricultural Guest Worker Program., Laura C. Oliveira

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

Abstract Forthcoming.

Truth Vs. Justice: Promoting The Rule Of Law In Post-Apartheid South Africa., Cassandra Fox Charles

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

Strict adherence to the rule of law provides the strongest protections against gross human rights violations. The aftermath of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, TRC, demonstrates how few protections exist without the rule of law. By exchanging truth for justice, the Commission harmed, and continues to harm, the true victims of apartheid and failed to achieve the national unity and reconciliation promised. Truthful confessions based on voluntary disclosure cannot equalize the overarching systematic disparities required for reconciliation to take root and grow. Instead of amnesty in exchange for voluntary disclosure, South Africa should follow the traditional notions of justice …

Gagging On A Bad Rule: The Mexico City Policy And Its Effect On Women In Developing Countries., Yvette Aguilar

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

The mortality rate of women living in developing countries is often higher due to lack of family planning services and unsafe abortions. The United States has been providing foreign assistance and financial aid since the conclusion of World War II. One example is the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which focuses on providing long-range economic and social development support to developing countries. Many nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) rely on this aid to fund their programs. However, in 1984, restrictions introduced at the International Conference on Population in Mexico City forbade international planning services which provided or advocated …

America And The World: Human Rights At Home And Abroad., Joe W. (Chip) Pitts Iii

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

Multiple provisions in the Bill of Rights appear gutted around the last year. While abroad, Mr. Pitts received an outside perspective on American news which provided him with a new outlook on current events. The United Nations Social Forum brought voices into the United Nations which are not typically heard, such as poor and vulnerable populations not represented elsewhere. Concurrently, the Johannesburg Summit addressed similar issues. However, as of late, the American government suppresses the voices of the American people. The Patriot Act includes provisions which deter dissent, freedom of speech, and assembly. This Act also purported to give the …

Beyond Brown V. Board Of Education: The Need To Remedy The Achievement Gap, Dora W. Klein

Faculty Articles

Addresses the need to remedy the disparity in academic achievement of black and white students and examines why this disparity continues to exist in spite of the desegregation decrees issued under "Brown." Reviews how a court decides whether a school district has complied with a desegregation decree. Explains why schools are being released from desegregation decrees despite achievement gap.

Virtually A Minor: Resolving The Potential Loophole In The Texas Child Pornography Statute., Bill W. Sanford

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Pr For Academic Libraries: Focus On The Faculty, Robert H. Hu

Faculty Articles

The faculty is the driving force of most law school libraries. Instituting a public relations campaign that caters to faculty needs will illustrate the fundamental importance of the library. A successful faculty-centric public relations strategy not only solidifies the library’s position within the law school, but also generates buzz and recognition among the university-wide community. In order to better assist academic libraries in establishing a successful public relations campaign, it is helpful to consider in depth some particular ideas for accommodating and incorporating the faculty. However, ultimately, the best public relations initiative will be tailored to the uniqueness of the …

The New Thought Police: Inside The Left’S Assault On Free Speech And Free Minds (Book Review), John W. Teeter Jr

Faculty Articles

Attacks on political correctness have grown both plentiful and rather tiresome. Such tomes occasionally score valid ideological points, but one grows weary of the bitter repetitiveness of it all. The New Thought Police might seem to offer a little novelty to the litany. Bruce is undeniably bright, impassioned, and edgy. Her book, however, is decidedly a mixed bag. The best parts center on her controversial role as a feminist spokeswoman during the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Bruce cogently emphasized that the case was a tragic paradigm of domestic violence rather than a racist conspiracy against a black cultural icon.

Bruce’s …

Storm Clouds On The Horizon Of Darwinism: Teaching The Anthropic Principle And Intelligent Design In The Public Schools, Jeffrey F. Addicott

Faculty Articles

Professor Addicott’s article addresses the future legal ramifications that the fledgling intelligent design movement and the scientific concept known as the Anthropic Principle will have on the teaching of Darwinian evolution in public schools. Both ideas are associated with the concept that an “unnamed” intelligent designer is responsible for the creation and sustainment of life. Predicting that the Supreme Court will ultimately allow, for instance, school boards to incorporate intelligent design in the science curriculum, he believes neither of the two ideas violate the Establishment Clause and cannot be “dismissed as yet another back door attempt by creationists to get …

Summary Of Recent Developments In Texas Legal Malpractice Law Symposium: Legal Malpractice And Professional Responsibility., Steve Mcconnico, Robyn Bigelow

St. Mary's Law Journal

Although the number of malpractice suits may not be increasing, the way plaintiffs are pleading these suits is changing dramatically and resulting in increased potential for attorney liability. Recent changes in the nature of liability led to increased potential for damages and a trend of high dollar settlements in malpractice cases. These changes may significantly impact the ability of lawyers in Texas to avoid liability while representing clients and preserving client confidences. Texas law generally limits malpractice claims to clients against their attorneys; but non-clients are increasingly succeeding in creatively pleading causes of action by alleging fraud, conspiracy, and negligent …

Standards Of Review In Texas., W. Wendell Hall

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

The Erosion Of Criminal Norms And Procedures And The Police Abuse Of Authority, Gerald Goldstein

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

Abstract Forthcoming

Trial Rights And Psychotropic Drugs: The Case Against Administering Involuntary Medications To A Defendant During Trial, Dora W. Klein

Faculty Articles

This paper explores the legal problems that arise when the government undertakes to render a criminal defendant competent to stand trial, by administering involuntary psychotropic medications. Among these problems are the infringement of the defendant's trial rights, such as the right to receive assistance of counsel and to confront witnesses, as well as interference with the defendant's ability to testify and to present evidence of a mental illness. This paper explores these problems with special reference to the case of Russell Weston, who has been charged with murder in the deaths of two Capitol police officers and who spent more …

One View To Add To The Many, Bill Piatt

Faculty Articles

The United States offers its citizens the opportunity to participate in the legal and political system through which it governs. The Constitution ensures that its citizens may engage, participate, and represent the body politics in government and the application of its laws. The recent attacks on America and the failure of the immigration system in monitoring its applicants has resulted in more restrictive immigration laws and policy.

The country’s legal education system must continue to improve its efforts in diversifying the nation’s law schools. More minorities should be represented as students, professors, and deans. Accomplishing a more diversified legal education …

Teaching Tips From The Lotus Sutra, John W. Teeter Jr

Faculty Articles

The Lotus Sutra reveals that everyone has the potential for unlimited spiritual growth and each of us should aspire to be a bodhisattva; one who assists others on the road to enlightenment. Applying ancient Buddhist tenets to the law school classroom, the Lotus Sutra exhorts professors to challenge and befriend their students through the use of “expedient means” inspired by Buddhist thought. The poetic beauty and idealism of the Lotus Sutra transcend denominational differences to inspire the way we conceptualize legal education and the professorial mission.

The Ethical Foundations Of American Judicial Independence, Vincent R. Johnson

Faculty Articles

Most lawyers and many citizens could recall the federal constitutional basis for judicial independence. Article III of the United States Constitution mandates that positions be filled through appointment by the President and confirmation by the Senate. That formidable selection process almost invariably ensures that federal judges are intelligent, well educated, and professionally experienced. Those qualities are conducive to judicial independence.

Additionally, federal judges enjoy the following constitutional guarantees: life tenure during good behavior, non-reducible compensation, and removal only through impeachment. These protections free federal judges from the need to behave in politically advantageous ways in order to keep their positions. …

Rois Can Validate Your Library’S Value, Robert H. Hu

Faculty Articles

The Return-On-Investment (ROI) rate, when determined and positively proven, may be the most effective tool for marketing a library. ROI is a cost-and-benefit analysis that determines whether money spent on the library produces a positive return. Proving and communicating a library's value to its governing board or constituents is increasingly necessary for law libraries to survive and flourish. A ROI analysis may be difficult to undertake if the library works in a not-for-profit setting, and requires a set of criteria different from those used for libraries in the for-profit setting. Although the ROI is a time-consuming and difficult analysis, libraries …

In The Interest Of The Client: Why Reform Of Texas's Rules Regarding Referral Fees Is Necessary., Samuel V. Houston Iii

St. Mary's Law Journal

Texas needs to reform its policy concerning referral fees. In Texas, an attorney is permitted to receive a fee for providing a referral to another attorney. In Brewer & Pritchard, P.C. v. Johnson, for example, the forwarding attorney received a referral fee for $3 million dollars. Proponents of referral fees argue that clients are better represented because referring attorneys have a greater economic incentive to seek out more capable attorneys. On the other hand, referring attorneys may also have the incentive to seek out attorneys who pay higher referral fees rather than those most qualified. In the end, the referred …

Federal And State Law Encroachment On Individual Rights, William Clark Harrel

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

Abstract Forthcoming

Postpartum Psychosis: A Legitimate Defense For Negating Criminal Responsibility?, Sandy Meng Shan Liu

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

Infanticide is the most prevalent violent crime committed by women and has occurred throughout history for various reasons including sacrifice, birth control, eugenics, shame, and fear of punishment for adultery. Postpartum mood disorders have been recognized as a legitimate mental illness since the fourth century, and approximately fifty to eighty percent of new mothers experience some degree of depression after giving birth. Postpartum depression can progress into psychosis so quickly that new mothers may not even notice impairment of thinking skills. Defendants face many problems when using postpartum psychosis as a defense. One of the challenges of presenting postpartum psychosis …

The Currency Of Reparations: Affirmative Action In College Admissions, David J. Trevino

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

Abstract Forthcoming

Why The Injection Of Race In Saldano V. State Constitutes Fundamental Error, Diana L. Hoermann

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

This article examines the historical use of a person’s race in the legal system, more specifically in criminal cases. Race should not determine the quality of justice an individual receives. An enlightened criminal justice system would not allow race to determine a person’s fate. However, the Texas criminal justice system allows the consideration of a person’s race in determining whether that person should receive the death penalty. In Victor Hugo Saldano v. The State of Texas, an unpublished opinion, the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals upheld the imposition of the death penalty where the jury heard an expert witness claim …

Human Rights Don't Stop At The Border: Why Texas Should Provide Preventative Health Care For Undocumented Immigrants, Alexander Vivero Neill

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

Abstract Forthcoming

Legal Implications Of September Eleventh: A Question Of Security And Civil Liberties, David Dittfurth

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

Abstract Forthcoming

Is Anything Ever Free?: Nafta’S Effect On Union Organizing Drives And Minorities And The Potential Of Ftaa Having A Similar Effect, Karla Shantel Jackson

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

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its additional labor agreement, the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), supported globalization between North American countries. Mexico, Canada, and the United States signed the agreements intending to increase economic growth and employment over a fifteen-year period. NAFTA proponents believed it would serve as a stimulus for long-term economic gains. Opponents disagreed, citing the ineffectiveness of the labor accord in protecting workers and major job losses. In the United States, NAFTA negatively impacted labor union organizing drives, women, and minorities. Nothing is ever free, and these demographics pay the price for …

Legal And Policy Implications For A New Era: The "War On Terror", Jeffrey F. Addicott

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

Abstract Forthcoming