Law Commons^™

Enhancing Rural Representation Through Electoral System Diversity, Henry L. Chambers Jr.

Law Faculty Publications

Rural Virginians face disparities in outcomes regarding healthcare, access to important infrastructure, and other services. Some disparities may be related to rurality. The sparseness of population in rural areas may limit the sites where people may access services, triggering the need to travel significant distances to obtain goods and services in such areas. Limited access may lead to disparities even when the quality of goods and services in rural areas is high. The disparities affect all rural Virginians, but disproportionately affect rural Virginians of color. The causes of the disparities are complex and myriad, and may be based on race, …

Electing Justice Roush To The Supreme Court Of Virginia, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

In late April 2015, the Supreme Court of Virginia announced that Justice LeRoy F. Millette, Jr. would retire on July 31, 2015. Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe expeditiously created an open process for tapping a worthy successor. At July’s conclusion, the Governor appointed Fairfax County Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush, an experienced, consensus jurist. On a Sunday night, merely two days after Roush swore her oath of office, Republican General Assembly leaders proclaimed their caucuses’ intention to elect another individual, despite conceding that Roush was very qualified. During the August special session, this concerted GOP endeavor prompted a Republican senator to …

Making Juvenile Justice More Humane And Effective, Julie Ellen Mcconnell

Law Faculty Publications

Long commutes, high costs and too much time away from family are among the most common frustration for workers in Virginia. But while those annoyances may be tolerable when it comes to our daily commutes, they have become an unfortunate feature of Virginia’s youth justice system, which confines hundreds of youth in large institutions far from their homes.

When young people have regular visits with their family and other members of the community, they have a much higher chance of being rehabilitated and successfully returning to those communities. Currently, many incarcerated youth in Virginia are held far from their families, …

National Conference On Copyright Of State Legal Materials, Roger V. Skalbeck

Law Faculty Publications

A surge in legislation and the lawsuits on the copyright status of state legal materials raises concerns about principles of open government and free accessibility and use of these materials. On December 2, 2016, the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and Boston University School of Law are convening the National Conference of Copyright in State Legal Materials at BU Law. At this conference, all participants will be able to explore the issues surrounding state legal materials access through parallel goals of: Education, Inspiration, and Conversation.

Disrupting Education Federalism, Kimberly J. Robinson

Law Faculty Publications

The ongoing expansion of federal influence over education in the United States provides a particularly salient time to consider how education federalism should be structured to achieve the nation's education goals. One ofthe nation's unfulfilled and yet essential education goals is to ensure that all students receive equal access to an excellent education. A variety of scholars and, most recently, the federal Equity and Excellence Commission have offered proposals for advancing this goal. By building on this growing momentum for reform,I argue that disrupting the nation's longstanding approach to education federalism-which I define as the balance of power between federal, …

Time To Upgrade Drinking Water Protections, Noah M. Sachs

Law Faculty Publications

A year ago, residents of Charleston, W.Va., learned that their entire drinking water supply had become contaminated by MCHM, a toxic chemical used to wash coal. Ten thousand gallons of MCHM had spilled from a corroding storage tank by the Elk River, located a mile upstream of the city’s drinking water intake pipes. As a result of the chemical spill, 300,000 citizens lost their water for more than a week, and hundreds sought emergency care.

That accident alone should have been a wake-up call for Virginians about the need to protect our water supply from chemical spills. But a year …

Marriage Equality Comes To Virginia, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Part I of this article chronicles marriage equality's rise and development nationally. It ascertains that challenges, which fos- tered the invalidation of marriage prohibitions that essentially govern nearly all jurisdictions, including Virginia, have triggered some controversy. Part II scrutinizes Judge Wright Allen's resolu- tion of the Virginia litigation and the United States Court of Ap- peals for the Fourth Circuit determination, which affirmed her ruling. This portion finds that the district jurist comprehensively assessed the relevant legal and factual issues when striking down the proscription while the Fourth Circuit appropriately upheld her opinion. Part III then derives lessons from the …

Implementing Marriage Equality In America, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

In June, the Supreme Court held that state proscriptions on same-sex marriage violate the Fourteenth Amendment. Obergefell v. Hodges declared that same-sex couples possess a fundamental right to marry but left implementation’s daily particulars to federal, state, and local officials. Because formal recognition of marriage equality is a valuable first step but realizing actual marriage equality will necessitate careful implementation of the Justices’ mandate, this effectuation deserves analysis.

Part I principally reviews Obergefell’s rationale for formal marriage equality. Part II assesses implementation of the Court’s mandate. Detecting that a few states and numerous localities have yet to provide comprehensive marriage …

The Mcdonnell Case: A Clarification Of Corruption Law Or A Confusing Application Of Corruption Law, Henry L. Chambers Jr.

Law Faculty Publications

This article discusses two additional issues the McDonnell case raises. The first issue is how much evidence is necessary to sustain a conviction for attempting to obstruct an official proceeding. Mrs. McDonnell was convicted of attempting to obstruct the grand jury in this case for sending a misleading note to Williams, but her actions were deemed insufficient to support her obstruction conviction. The other issue relates to the McDonnells' sentencing. The sentences they received were much shorter than the sentences calculated using the United States Sentencing Guidelines. This article considers the official act issue, the obstruction issue, and the sentencing …

Much Ado About Nothing Much: Protestant Episcopal Church In The Diocese Of Virginia V. Truro Church, Henry L. Chambers, Jr.

Law Faculty Publications

Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Virginia u. Truro Church ("Truro") involves a property dispute. The core issue is who owns or controls property held in trust for an Episcopal congregation after a majority of that congregation votes to disaffiliate from the Episcopal Church of the United States of America ("TEC") and affiliate with a different church. Deciding a church property dispute is inherently difficult because courts are generally "not a constitutionally permissible forum" to resolve ecclesiastical issues. Indeed, the desire to avoid such issues can lead courts to decline to decide particular cases. However, faced with the property …

The Merger Of Common-Law And Equity Pleading In Virginia, William Hamilton Bryson

Law Faculty Publications

This article describes the separation of common law and equity in Virginia leading up to the 2006 merger of common law and equity pleading and the problems that remain to be solved by the courts.

Rethinking Theft Crimes In Virginia, John G. Douglass

Law Faculty Publications

In sum, despite the efforts of the General Assembly, Virginia law remains stuck between the "rock" of antiquated theft crimes and the "hard place" of due process. Tinkering with procedural rules merely masks the real problem. My aim in this article is to suggest a different approach. It is time to address the substantive definition of theft crimes in Virginia: to consolidate the crimes of larceny, embezzlement, and false pretenses-as most other American jurisdictions have done into a single offense. By dealing with substance rather than procedure, we can eliminate historical distinctions which serve only to confound prosecutors and complicate …

Service Of Process In Virginia, William Hamilton Bryson

Law Faculty Publications

Initial process is an official summons to a person requiring him to appear in court and defend himself or suffer default judgment. The purpose of the summons is notification to the defendant.