Law Commons^™

When Federal Standards Crash And Burn: The Need To Distinguish Aviation Product Liability Claims From In-Air Operations Cases, Olivia Cahill

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

If you are injured in an aviation disaster or lose a loved one in a plane crash, may you seek recovery under state law? Do federal regulations provide adequate opportunities to compensate aviation crash victims? These are questions few people think to ask themselves. A more common query is what entity regulates the more than 16 million flights that occur yearly in the U.S., and how do you know whether the aircraft you fly on are safe?

The tragic Boeing 737 MAX crashes initiated a federal oversight investigation into the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Industry whistleblowers revealed severe lapses in …

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Probably The Secret Codes, Jian Micah De Jesus

SMU Law Review Forum

Roger Rabbit was falsely accused of murdering Marvin Acme, the owner of Toontown, after photos revealed Acme’s alleged affair with Roger’s wife. A few snapshots, while seemingly harmless, brought a 104-minute journey into uncovering the truth and scandal behind the murder and proving Roger’s innocence. And while the camera that took the photos was not necessarily a criminal justice technology that framed Roger Rabbit, there are real-life cases where a DNA software or a breathalyzer has negatively affected many defendants. Despite the proven usefulness of these technologies, it is not a perfect method in accusing and convicting defendants. The criminal …

Protecting “No Surprises” Journalism: Why Courts Should Preserve The Actual Malice Privilege For News Media That Include The Subject’S Response To Allegations Of Misconduct, Zachary R. Cormier

SMU Law Review

The recent onset of the “fake news” era has brought with it a wave of public discussion about the importance of ethical journalism. The sheer volume of misinformation from non-traditional online sources has had the corollary effect of also reducing the trust of many in traditional news sources. This is especially the case when the report involves alleged misconduct or scandal, which stands to potentially benefit opponents of the subject person or organization. Traditional news sources have fought vigorously to both differentiate “fake news” and reinstate public trust in sources committed to ethical journalism. But what exactly is “ethical journalism”? …

A Giant In The Field: Tribute To John S. Lowe, Monika U. Ehrman

SMU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Franchise Law, Deborah S. Coldwell, Kristina Pierre-Louis, Wes Dutton, Sam Mallick, Alexander Clark, Wilson Miller, Joe Pinto

SMU Annual Texas Survey

The 2022 Annual Texas Survey on Franchise Law presents an assortment of novel and familiar legal issues in Texas state and federal courts. This year’s Survey period contains decisions favorable to franchisors, franchisees, and third parties associated with franchised businesses on disputes involving intellectual property rights, enforceability of forum selection clauses, the essential elements of common law and statutory claims, and remedies available to franchise parties involved in litigation, among other issues. As in prior years, the Survey showcases developments in franchise law that serve as helpful reminders to practitioners advising parties involved in any stage of a franchise relationship.

Front Matter

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

The Trilogy Of Personal Jurisdiction And The Importance Of Ford, Jonathan M. Hoffman, Michaela Cloutier, Jason Proctor

SMU Law Review

Litigants and judges alike have struggled to understand and resolve the parameters of personal jurisdiction, particularly in product liability cases. This results in significant costs and time which is likely to be of little benefit to anyone.

Much of this confusion arises from two problems: (1) most of the early Supreme Court decisions on personal jurisdiction arose from contractual disputes; and (2) when the economy expanded after World War II, and new automobiles, commercial aircraft, appliances, and other complex products appeared, the Court’s attempts to resolve personal jurisdiction issues were unsuccessful. For over three decades, the Supreme Court failed to …

Data For Sale: Navigating The Role Of Data Brokers And Reproductive Health Information In A Post-Dobbs World, Heather Chong

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

Data privacy is a growing concern in our fast-paced society, as it has become increasingly necessary to relay and retain information digitally. However, the United States trails behind its counterparts in terms of the strength of existing data protection legislation. Unlike the European Union and its General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) law, the United States has no similar comprehensive data protection act. This lack of legislation has led to the exploitation of people’s private data and allowed companies to utilize loopholes in current laws to access sensitive health information. Data brokers have been collecting and reselling consumers’ personal information, including …

On Launching Environmental Law Into Orbit In The Age Of Satellite Constellations, Michael B. Runnels

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

In September 2022, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a new rule changing the deorbiting timeframe for satellites ending their missions in low Earth orbit from a twenty-five-year recommendation to a five-year legal requirement. The adoption of this rule, which seeks to cultivate a sustainable orbital environment for satellites, followed the United States’ July 2022 National Orbital Debris Implementation Plan, which tasked federal agencies with reviewing the effectiveness of their orbital debris-related rules. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 West Virginia v. EPA decision, however, federal rulemaking in the area of orbital debris may not survive judicial scrutiny …

Deregulating Consumers From The Airline Industry—Dot’S Proposed Rule In Response To U.S. Airlines’ Refusal To Refund Unused Tickets During Covid-19, Alicia L. Hinton, Diana Hyunjin Malcolm

Journal of Air Law and Commerce

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant delays and cancellation of airline tickets without proper refunds to consumers by U.S. airlines. In response to an unprecedented number of consumer complaints, in August 2022, the Department of Transportation (Department or DOT) proposed new rules regarding airline ticket refunds and consumer protections.Does this rule go far enough?

This article provides a summary of the events and policy changes leading up to the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) of 1978 and challenges the scope of federal preemption over the field of airline regulation that has created a boon to air carriers while essentially eliminating …

Patriarchy’S Link To Intimate Partner Violence: Applications To Survivors’ Asylum Claims, Daniel G. Saunders, Tina Jiwatram-Negrón, Natalie Nanasi, Iris Cardenas

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Eligibility for asylum for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) has recently been contested. We summarize social science evidence to show how such survivors generally meet asylum criteria. Studies consistently show a relationship between patriarchal factors and IPV, thereby establishing a key asylum criterion that women are being persecuted because of their status as women. Empirical support is also provided for other asylum criteria, specifically: patriarchal norms contribute to state actors’ unwillingness to protect survivors, and survivors’ political opinions are linked to an escalation of perpetrators’ violence. The findings have implications for policy reform and supporting individual asylum-seekers.

The Quad (The 2022 Alumni Magazine), Southern Methodist University, Dedman School Of Law

The Quad (Law Alumni Magazine), 1988-present

• SMU Law Welcomes New Dean Jason P. Nance

• Thank you Dean Collins

• Jennifer M. Collins Women's Leadership Initiative: Making strides in gender inequality in the legal profession

• Corporate Counsel Externship Program: 10 Year Anniversary

• Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center receives $5 million from local and national philanthropies for public defense research and advocacy

• Underwood Law Library’s 50th Anniversary Celebrated

Uncovering Lies With Family Ties: The Use And Legal Implications Of Investigative Genetic Genealogy In The United States And United Kingdom, Rebecca James

The International Law Review Association Student Forum

Investigative genetic genealogy is a fascinating, yet controversial, forensic technique that began to gather recognition around 2018. Investigative genetic genealogy takes identification through familial matches to a new level by comparing unidentified DNA samples to the samples submitted to increasingly popular direct-to-consumer databases, like AncestryDNA, 23andME, and FamilyTreeDNA. Because of the technique’s ability to supply significant leads in new and old cases, countries around the world have begun to consider the use of investigative genetic genealogy. However, some countries have been slower than others to adopt the technique due to privacy concerns and countries’ existing privacy laws. Using the United …

All Is Fair In Love And War: But What About War Trials?, Bronwyn Tuff

The International Law Review Association Student Forum

The right to a fair trial is not just protected by a state’s domestic statute but also by international law under the 1949 Geneva Convention. In the most basic sense, a fair trial theoretically requires competent courts, penalty proportionality, proper notification, right of defense, right of appeal, and restrictions on the issuance of the death penalty. However, the requirements set by international law often fail to account for the desire of justice that may diminish the true fairness of a trial even though all requirements are present. This note examines the recent domestic war crime trials conducted by Ukraine during …

Greening Criminal Legal Deserts In Rural Texas, Pamela R. Metzger, Claire Buetow, Kristin Meeks, Blane Skiles, Jiacheng Yu

Deason Center Reports

Texas’ rural communities urgently need more prosecutors and public defense providers. On average, Texas’ most urban areas have 28 lawyers for every 100 criminal cases, but rural areas only have five. Many rural prosecutor’s offices cannot recruit and retain enough staff. The Constitution’s promise of equal justice for all remains unfulfilled. Rural Texans charged with misdemeanors are four times less likely to have a lawyer than urban defendants. In 2021, only 403 rural Texas lawyers accepted an appointment to represent an adult criminal defendant. In 65 rural counties, no lawyer accepted an appointment. And the problem is getting worse. Since …

Fighting In The Fields: The Weaponization Of Agriculture & Its Legal Significance, Shelby Lepley

The International Law Review Association Student Forum

National prosperity depends on agricultural production for life-sustaining food, fiber, and by-products. Due to the inherent importance of the agricultural industry, it is often targeted in conflict to gain leverage against opposing forces. The Russo-Ukraine War provides a prime example of agriculture’s role during conflict, especially considering direct attacks to agricultural infrastructure and the Black Sea Grain Initiative. While this is an on-going conflict with emerging developments, this note will briefly examine the aspects of international humanitarian law and trade law that relate to the weaponization of agriculture. Furthermore, the analysis will evaluate whether there is sufficient legal deterrence to …

The Rise Of Fast Fashion And The Lack Of Protections In The Garment Worker Industry, Sydney Smalling

The International Law Review Association Student Forum

The rise of fast fashion, a term used to characterize inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends, has permeated the modern-day ready-made garment industry. As production times have sped up and prices have gone down, this phenomenon has not only changed the way that consumers shop but also exacerbated unsafe labor practices in some countries. Low wages and long hours, coupled with a lack of regulatory oversight, have subjected workers in this industry to unimaginable working conditions while simultaneously allowing some of the largest fashion retailers to profit off low-cost labor and supply chain …

"In Nature, Nothing Exists Alone": The Collaborative Fight Against Climate Change, Kayla M. Bright

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

China's Belt And Road: Where To Now?, Leon Trakman

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

Grading Injustice: Initial Appearance Report Cards, Malia N. Brink, Jiacheng Yu, Pamela R. Metzger

Deason Center Reports

Arrested people across the United States often wait in jail for days, weeks, or even months before seeing a judge or meeting an attorney. In November 2021, the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center published Ending Injustice: Solving the Initial Appearance Crisis, a comprehensive report about this ongoing crisis in pre-trial due process. That report described the devastating consequences of delayed and uncounseled initial appearances.

Now, these Initial Appearance Report Cards offer a closer look at the laws governing post-arrest procedures in each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. While the Deason …

“Firm Offers” Under Ucc Section 2-205 Should Be Treated The Same Way As Are Offers Included In Option Contracts, Gregory Scott Crespi

SMU Law Review Forum

“Firm offers” under Section 2-205 of the Uniform Commercial Code are irrevocable for a period of time in accordance with the terms of that provision. But should those statutorily irrevocable offers be treated the same way as offers that are included in option contracts, and that are thereby contractually irrevocable, for the application of the “death or legal disability of the offeror” doctrine, or the “rejection or counteroffer” rules, or the “mailbox rule”? Or should firm offers be treated in a different fashion, as are offers not included in option contracts, for those purposes? This article argues that firm offers …

Digital Money & Central Bank Digital Currency (Cbdc) - New Opportunity, New Challenge, G.A. Walker

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

War And Law In Ukraine: Wheels Of Justice Still Rotate, Dmitriy Kamensky

The International Lawyer

No abstract provided.

How Should The Statute Of Frauds Apply To Reliance-Based Contracts?, Gregory Scott Crespi

SMU Law Review Forum

The “sufficient writing” requirements of the Statute of Frauds were formulated with bargain-based contracts in mind. It is often difficult if not impossible for persons to meet those requirements for reliance-based contracts, since this would require them to produce a writing signed by the promisor that not only sufficiently evidenced the promise, but also provided sufficient evidence of the other elements of such reliance-based contracts: the foreseeability of their subsequent reliance upon the promise, the fact of their reliance, and that failure to enforce the promise would be unjust.

There are several ways that courts can avoid the harsh results …

South Asia/Oceania & India, Kavita Mohan, Amy Tolbert Harris, Aseem Chawla, Chandni Javeri, Jonathan Blank, Nikhil Narayanan, Shruti Singh, Tarang Shashishekar, Supratim Chakraborty, Sumantra Bose, Namrata Patodia Rastogi, Katherine Maddox Davis

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Russia/Eurasia, Kimberly Reed, Marina Akchurina, Natalia Andreeva, Alexander Artemenko, Timur Bondarev, Maria Grechishkina, Viktoriia Hut, Dmitry Kaysin, Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi, Oles Kvyat, Alexander Nazarov, Bohdan Shmorhun, Mykhailo Soldatenko, Serhii Sviriba, Ksenia Tarhova

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Middle East, Rebecca Lee Katz, Adam Al-Sarraf, Mustafa Ali, Hannah Jung, Farrah Qazi, Myriam Khedair, Seyed Mohsen Rowhani, Benjamin Leventhal, Omar Nimri, Ibrahim Sattout, Dania Dib, Fouad Debs, Howard Stovall, Farooq Bsharat, Salah Shawa

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Mexico, Estefanía Díaz González, Ana Paula Madrigal Garza, Eduardo Sánchez Madrigal, Juan Carlos Partida Poblador, Juan Ilich Pérez García, Ana Sofía Villa Hernández, Arciria Ireri Ireta Amador

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

European Law, James Henry Bergeron, Matthew Soper, Isabel Montojo, Shekinah Apedo, Marc Weitz, Konstantinos Tsimaras, Henry Stamelos, Angelique Devaux, Jdrg Rehder, Elisabet Rojano-Vendrell

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Central/East Asia & China, Athena Jiangxiao Hou, Michael Dewey, Qing Lyu, Steven Shengxing Yu, Jingbing Li, Yanling Zheng, Ray Cheng Xu, Ying (Jenny) Lu, Asen Velinov

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.