Law Commons^™

Table Of Contents

Missouri Law Review

No abstract provided.

Neutralizing Access To Justice: Criminal Defendants’ Access To Justice In A Net Neutrality Information World, Ashley Krenelka Chase

Missouri Law Review

This Article examines net neutrality and its impact on criminal defendants’ ability to access the courts – and justice – through access to legal information. Research in the American legal system has moved largely online, and print resources are becoming increasingly expensive and, therefore, scarcer. The move to online legal research presents difficult issues in light of the recent demise of net neutrality: If meaningful and speedy access to the Internet becomes dependent upon being able to afford an Internet “fast lane,” users will be divided into the haves and the have-nots. Criminal defendants will surely fall into the latter …

Digital Sampling V. Appropriation Art: Why Is One Stealing And The Other Fair Use? A Proposal For A Code Of Best Practices In Fair Use For Digital Music Sampling, Melissa Eckhause

Missouri Law Review

This Article examines the disparate treatment of music and visual arts sampling under copyright law. Not only does this Article argue that the more liberal fair use principles adopted in recent visual arts cases should be applied to digital music sampling, but it also sets forth a preliminary Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Digital Music Sampling (“Digital Music Sampling Code”).

A Social Norm Theory Of Regulating Housing Speech Under The Fair Housing Act, Stephanie M. Stern

Missouri Law Review

The Fair Housing Act’s prohibition of discriminatory housing statements presents a puzzle. This provision regulates housing speech, such as advertisements and notices, more robustly than acts of housing discrimination (e.g., discriminatory refusals to rent or sell). It extends liability regardless of intent and, unlike other provisions in the Fair Housing Act, does not exempt small-scale landlords from liability. Making discriminatory housing statements legally actionable also burdens commercial speech, diverts enforcement resources from discriminatory refusals to rent or sell, and gives rise to other, often more costly, forms of communicating preferences in residential real estate transactions. Why accord such strong protection …

Widening The Power Gap: The Eighth Circuit’S Stringent Requirements For Class Actions In Environmental Contamination Cases, Emily Holtzman

Missouri Law Review

Pipeline construction is booming in the United States, yet it remains a polarizing topic for many because of environmental concerns. On the one hand, pipelines bring increased energy independence for the United States and are one of the safest ways to transport oil and gas.At the same time, fears of environmental damage have led to a growing and fierce opposition to pipeline construction. After the massive offshore rig spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, resistance to new projects like the Keystone Pipeline has received widespread media coverage. The protests of the Dakota Access Pipeline on the Standing Rock …

Endangering Missouri’S Captive Cervid Industry, Lauren Hunter

Missouri Law Review

This Note seeks to explore the validity of regulations proposed by the Commission to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease (“CWD”) – a fatal neurodegenerative disease – in cervids, such as white-tailed deer. Part II discusses the facts and circumstances surrounding the Missouri Supreme Court’s decision in Hill v. Missouri Department of Conservation. Part III dissects the delicate balance between private property interests and government interests, the scope of the Commission’s regulatory authority, as well as the driving forces behind the “right-to-farm” amendment to the Missouri Constitution. Part IV unpacks the court’s reasoning in Hill before concluding with a …

Reconsidering Missouri’S Warrant Suppression Standard, James Sanders

Missouri Law Review

The search warrant is a foundational component of the American criminal justice process. Designed to limit and prevent overreach by police and other law enforcement entities, the framers of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution sought to use warrants as a tool to control the scope and breadth of searches and seizures of private property. The Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirements are a vital check on the proactive and ever-growing police efforts of state and federal authorities.

Good Enough: How Minimal Irs Guidance Is Sufficient To Navigate §1400z Opportunity Zones, Riley Coy

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

Subchapter Z, as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, creates “Opportunity Zones” which provide investors with a tax incentive to invest their realized capital gains in certain distressed neighborhoods. The goal of this subchapter is the economic growth of these communities. As described below, the language of subchapter Z is subject to interpretation in certain respects. Subsequently, the IRS issued a proposed regulation to provide guidance and clarity to the ambiguities within the language. Although many issues still remain unresolved, the guidance provided is a significant step in the right direction.

Exploring The Case For Expanded Remote Texter Liability For Employers, Roger W. Reinsch, Geoffrey G. Bell, Alan C. Roline

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

In 2013, the New Jersey Appellate Court decided the potentially landmark case of Kubert v. Best, recognizing for the first time that a sender of a text may be held liable to an innocent third party injured in an automobile accident caused by a driver who was distracted by receiving the text. Other subsequent cases have both confirmed and limited the Kubert ruling. In this article, we explore possible further extensions of the Kubert ruling, anticipating that because of expanding employer liability for acts undertaken by their employees, the next step in the evolution of texting and driving law may …

Table Of Contents

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

No abstract provided.

Caring For Aging Prisoners Is Taxing: How Missouri Can Ease Its Prison Health Care Burden, Joellen Grohs

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

In 1976, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down the decision in Estelle v. Gamble which established the government’s obligation to provide medical care to incarcerated persons. The 1970s is also known as the “Tough-On-Crime Era,” where politicians began to take sides on crime and create mandatory minimum sentences. This led to a dramatic increase in the prison population and, more specifically, the aging prison population. Because of the government’s obligation to provide medical care to inmates based on the decision in Estelle, caring for the aging prison population has become more expensive and more burdensome on the …

The Fight To Filter: Navigating Copyrights To Legally Edit Films, Matthew Hodgson

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

Over the past two decades, a number of companies tried and failed to create a business model built upon editing (or filtering) movies for at-home viewers. Repeatedly, these entities encountered fatal obstacles—legal, business-related, or otherwise—in their endeavors to do so. Copyright protections proved to be the most difficult obstacle for these companies, and many filtering businesses infringed upon rights of reproduction, distribution, digital tampering, or first sale. These conflicts led to numerous litigations and legislative actions, culminating in the recent Disney Enterprises, Inc. v. VidAngel, Inc., a case that still has its effects playing out in courts and Congress. This …

Threats To Copyrighted Code: Bots, Mods, And Reverse Engineering, Sydney Johnson

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

Computer code is subject to copyright protection as a literary work, while video games have added protection as both a literary work and as an audiovisual work. Through the enactment of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and various case precedents, copyright law is beginning to accommodate 21st century concerns. However, the creation of technological advancements inevitably leads to threats against intellectual property and security. Computer software is constantly under attack from malicious software and techniques, including “bots,” “mods,” and reverse engineering. Therefore, the need for stronger copyright protection for code is crucial. Protection could …

The Need For Centralized Government To Encourage A Decentralized Energy Grid, Andrew Dickerson

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

Global warming and the subsequent climate change caused many nations and states to rethink energy production and consumption. In place of carbon-emitting energy sources, countries adopted renewable energy sources. However, in the United States, use of these energy sources, while available, is largely hampered by a lack of uniformity in state regulations. While net metering acts, tax credits, and rebates incentivize homeowners and some businesses to incorporate these energy sources, there are still several obstacles to the nation’s substantial reliance on renewable energy.

Taking The Next Step: Simple Changes Regulators Can Make To More Effectively Combat Financial Exploitation, Zachary Winter

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

Since 2016, three regulatory measures that put financial institutions at the forefront of combatting financial exploitation of elderly adults have been adopted. These three regulatory measures—“An Act to Protect Vulnerable Adults from Financial Exploitation,” FINRA RULE 2165, and the “Senior $afe Act”—permit, and sometimes require, financial institutions to take certain precautionary measures when they reasonably suspect financial exploitation of vulnerable adults. These measures laid a strong foundation for combating financial exploitation but can easily be improved to protect even more elderly investors. This article provides a background and description of each of these regulatory measures in order to highlight their …

Harmonizing Conversion And The Means Test In Bankruptcy, Garrett Pratt, Daniel Graves, Michelle Arnopol Cecil

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

Determining whether the means test applies in cases converted from Chapter 13 to Chapter 7 has divided courts across the United States and has even caused bankruptcy judges within the same district court to disagree. In the nearly 15 years since the enactment of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (“BAPCPA”), a majority of courts have held that the means test applies in converted cases. However, a considerable minority view has emerged, which virtually all scholarship on the issue has adopted. Although both the majority and minority views cause interpretive problems, this article argues that the means test …

Dying U.S. Blood Supply Needs Life-Giving Transfusion Of Its Own:Regaining And Maintaining A Critical National Resource, Laura Dedecker

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

There are many components vitally essential to our biological function, and humanity tends to recognize, and often fight against, mounting threats to those very things. As a civilized society, Americans, in general, expect clean air, drinkable water, and safe food on a daily basis. However, a resource equally as essential to each of us is rarely recognized for its utility and necessity until a threat to its viability becomes personal. The blood shortage in the United States grows more critical every day, but for those of us lucky enough to not urgently need blood, the threat feels more removed and …

References To Television Shows In Judicial Opinions And Written Advocacy (Part Ii), Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

In the Journal’s January-February issue, Part I of this article began by surveying television’s profound influence on American culture since the early 1950s, a sturdy foundation for federal and state judges who cite or discuss well known television shows in their opinions. Part I presented television drama shows.

This Part II picks up where Part I left of. The discussion below presents television situation comedies (“sitcoms”) and reality TV shows that appear in judicial opinions. The discussion concludes by explaining why advocates should feel comfortable following the judges’ lead by carefully using television references to help make written substantive or …

Masthead

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cross Border State Sales And Use Taxation After South Dakota V. Wayfair: A New Paradigm For E-Commerce, Norman S. Newmark, Rochelle Friedman Walk, Robert V. Willeford Jr.

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

For over 50 years, U.S. Supreme Court precedents held that state sales taxes could not be constitutionally applied against retailers with no physical presence in the taxing states. As a result, many states implemented use tax laws to supplement sales tax laws, essentially requiring each resident consumer to self-report and pay taxes on purchases made from out of state retailers. However, these use tax laws were largely ignored. Moreover, with the advent of online retail (“e-tail”), many sales on which states previously collected sales tax from local stores essentially converted to “tax-free” sales because many online sellers (“e-tailers”) had no …

The Surprising Reach Of Fda Regulation Of Cannabis, Even After Descheduling, Erika Lietzan, Sean M. O'Connor

Faculty Publications

As more states legalize cannabis, the push to "deschedule" it from the Controlled Substances Act is gaining momentum. At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the first conventional drug containing a cannabinoid derived from cannabis - cannabidiol (CBD) for two rare seizure disorders. This would all seem to bode well for proponents of full federal legalization of medical cannabis. But some traditional providers are wary of drug companies pulling medical cannabis into the regular small molecule drug development system. The FDA's focus on precise analytical characterization and on individual active and inactive ingredients may be …

Impressive Report On Worldwide Dispute System Needs And Design, John Lande

Faculty Blogs

This post highlights a report of the Hague Institute for Innovation of Law, Understanding Justice Needs: The Elephant in the Courtroom. It shows how legal service providers and courts could embrace user-centered innovation and delivery of fair solutions.

The Purposes Of Title Vii, Chuck Henson

Faculty Publications

Some things have an obvious and enduring purpose. The purpose of a hammer is to drive nails. The purpose of a saw is to cut wood. The purpose of nails is to fasten, for example, the freshly cut wood by being driven by a hammer. For other things, like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Act" or "1964 Act"), purpose seems mutable or hidden. For example, finishing the sentence today: "The purpose of Title VII is . . ." presents a problem. It has presented the same problem since 1964. What Title VII does is not obvious …

The People V. Their Universities: How Popular Discontent Is Reshaping Higher Education Law, Ben L. Trachtenberg

Faculty Publications

Surveys taken since 2015 reveal that Americans exhibit stark partisan divisions in their opinions about colleges and universities, with recent shifts in attitudes driving changes to higher education law. In recent years, Democrats have become slightly more positive about higher education. Concurrently, Republicans have become extremely more negative, and a majority of Republicans now tells pollsters that colleges and universities have an overall negative effect on the country.

Particularly in legislative chambers controlled by Republicans, public and elite dissatisfaction with higher education has led to legal interventions into the governance of universities, with new laws related to faculty tenure, the …

Expanding Access To Remedies Through E-Court Initiatives, Amy J. Schmitz

Faculty Publications

Virtual courthouses, artificial intelligence (AI) for determining cases, and algorithmic analysis for all types of legal issues have captured the interest of judges, lawyers, educators, commentators, business leaders, and policymakers. Technology has become the “fourth party” in dispute resolution through the growing field of online dispute resolution (ODR), which includes the use of a broad spectrum of technologies in negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and other dispute resolution processes. Indeed, ODR shows great promise for expanding access to remedies, or justice. In the United States and abroad, however, ODR has mainly thrived within e-commerce companies like eBay and Alibaba, while most public …

Viral Sovereignty, Intellectual Property, And The Changing Global System For Sharing Pathogens For Infectious Disease Research, Sam F. Halabi

Faculty Publications

This article analyzes the substantial changes under way in the global system for infectious disease research demonstrated by the changing practices in negotiating MTAs. Instead of the open system of sharing bacterial and viral human pathogens that characterized the research system for much of the 20th Century, notions of "viral sovereignty," access contingent upon provisions like sharing research benefits, and acrimonious negotiations, are far more common. The increasing barriers to the flow of research material and related data like genetic sequencing information are posing threats to public health responses and the potential use of such resources in diagnostic, therapeutic, and …

Caught By The Cat's Paw, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Publications

Federal employment discrimination law is enamored with court-created doctrines with catchy names. A fairly recent addition to the canon is the concept of the "cat's paw," formally recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in Staub v. Proctor Hospital. With its name coined by Judge Richard Posner and drawn from a fable, the concept of cat's paw has taken ground quickly, discussed in hundreds of cases. The Supreme Court recognized the cat's paw theory in a case where a hospital fired a worker. The person who made the ultimate decision did not have impermissible bias. However, her decision was influenced by …

Secrets Of The Deep: Defining Privacy Underwater, Annie Brett

Missouri Law Review

No abstract provided.

Faculty List

Journal of Dispute Resolution

No abstract provided.

Private Ordering And Commercial Arbitration: Lasting Lessons From Mentschikoff, Stephen J. Ware

Journal of Dispute Resolution

No abstract provided.