Law Commons^™

Friends With Benefits: Expanding Virginia's Domestic Violence And Mutual Protection Order Statutes To Include Reciprocal Beneficiaries, Faith A. Parker

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

On June 26, 2015, the Obergefell decision recognized same-sex marriage. While same-sex couples celebrated their new rights to marriage equality, they still face legal battles in the realm of domestic violence. Both married and unmarried same-sex couples face discrimination when reporting incidents of domestic violence. While most domestic violence statutes are gender-neutral on their face, their implementations disparately impact same-sex couples. Furthermore, domestic violence statutes that include same-sex couples punish same-sex couples more harshly than opposite-sex couples. This Note will examine the domestic violence law in Virginia, arguing that the laws are too vague to properly protect same-sex couples and …

Checking Out Indefinitely: Supporting Survivors Of Sex Trafficking Alongside Training And Education For Lodging Employees, Alyssa M. Grzesiak

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

There are roughly five million victims of sex trafficking in the United States. Over the course of a decade, over 3,500 instances of human trafficking involved a hotel or motel. Traffickers are relying on unaware lodging establishment employees, as well as complicit employees and managers, to successfully carry out their crimes. Despite the vital role the lodging industry plays in human trafficking, only seven states have implemented mandatory training for hotel and motel employees. This Note posits that the implementation of mandatory training and education programs for employees of lodging establishments could increase awareness and responsiveness to human trafficking, thus …

No Child Left Behind Bars: Applying The Principles Of Strict Scrutiny When Sentencing Juveniles Tried As Adults, Max Chu

William & Mary Law Review

The Commonwealth of Virginia was the first in the nation to pass legislation that provides judges with the discretion to veer away from the mandatory minimum sentence and to impose trauma-informed and age-appropriate sentences for juvenile offenders convicted of felonies and tried as adults. Although Virginia’s new law, House Bill 744 (HB 744), is a pioneering step in the right direction, this Note argues that the law may now provide judges with too much discretion. In other words, HB 744 alone, without more guidance, does not go far enough to protect the rights of juvenile offenders.

Therefore, this Note proposes …

When Legal Incapacity Becomes A Lack Of Personhood: Why A Ward's Ability To Sue In Their Own Name Should Be A Fundamental Aspect Of Virginia Guardianship, Rachel Davis

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

It is a fundamental failing of any legal system when it is unable to protect the most vulnerable within its population. Whether we are comfortable admitting it or not, guardian abuse of incapacitated wards has been well-documented across all fifty states. Virginia is no exception, and this lack of oversight leaves one of our most vulnerable populations without recourse. This Note argues that by simply granting a ward the ability to bring suit in their own name, Virginia may strike a significant blow to the dysfunction that systematically infects the guardianship process. This Note highlights Virginia statute and case law …

No Time To Waste: Can A State Prevent Nuclear Waste Transportation Within Its Borders Once Yucca Mountain Becomes Operational?, Ryan Franklin

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Following the drop of the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, the United States seriously began contemplating the use of atomic energy not just as a weapon, but as an efficient energy source. President Eisenhower delivered his “Atoms for Peace” speech in front of the United Nations eight years later, effectively launching a massive American campaign to build numerous nuclear power plants to generate enough clean energy to power the entire nation. As these plants were being constructed, however, policymakers and lawmakers who were champions of this endeavor failed to consider the problem of nuclear waste generated …

The Impact Of Climate Change On Virginia's Coastal Areas, Jonathan L. Goodall, Antonio Elias, Elizabeth Andrews, Christopher "Kit" Chope, John Cosgrove, Jason El Koubi, Jennifer Irish, Lewis L. Lawrence Iii, Robert W. Lazaro Jr., William H. Leighty, Mark W. Luckenbach, Elise Miller-Hooks, Ann C. Phillips, Henry Pollard V, Emily Steinhilber, Charles Feigenoff, Jennifer Sayegh

Faculty Publications

As part of HJ47/SJ47 (2020), the Virginia General Assembly directed the Joint Commission on Technology and Science (JCOTS) to study the “safety, quality of life, and economic consequences of weather and climate-related events on coastal areas in Virginia.” In pursuit of this goal, the commission was to “accept any scientific and technical assistance provided by the nonpartisan, volunteer Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (VASEM). VASEM convened an expert study board with representation from the Office of the Governor, planning district commissions in coastal Virginia, The Port of Virginia, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, state universities, private industry, and …

Revolving Doors Of Hospitalization And Incarceration: How Perceptions Of Procedural Justice Affect Treatment Outcomes, Maria Slater

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This Article compares the levels of procedural justice afforded to persons with severe mental illness in the civil and criminal systems, either via involuntary commitment in state psychiatric hospitals in the civil system or via mental health court as an alternative to incarceration in the criminal system. Using Virginia’s mental health courts and civil commitment systems as case studies, this Article compares the procedures by which a person can be involuntary committed in the civil system with those afforded to persons who are funneled into mental health treatment courts in the criminal system, analyzing how levels of procedural justice—both actual …

Unequal Protection: Rethinking The Standards And Safeguards For Absentee Ballot Schemes, Kira M. Simon

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

A Strange Land And A Peculiar Problem: Using Local Knowledge To Resolve Ambiguous Property Descriptions In Appalachia, William L. Spotswood

William & Mary Law Review Online

Conveying property in Appalachia can be somewhat like a box of chocolates: “You never know what you’re gonna get.” Carved by ancient rivers and winding streams, the seemingly never-ending “hollers” and hills of Appalachia can disorient even the best navigator. Couple the region’s rugged topography with an already ambiguous demarcation system, and properties once mapped by metes and bounds descriptions become impossible to re-create with any sort of certainty. Thus, though rooted in a desire for clarity, the combination of mountainous terrain and imperfect demarcation results in a property system riddled with ambiguity. Due to this inherent definitional problem in …

Brief Of Amici Curiae Professors Katherine Mims Crocker And Brandon Hasbrouck In Support Of Neither Party With Respect To Defendant's Motion To Dismiss, Katherine Mims Crocker, Brandon Hasbrouk

Briefs

No abstract provided.

The Importance Of Transparent Elections, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

A Necessary Negative: Analysis Of The Tidewater Virginia Surry-Skiffes Creek Transmission Tower Litigation, Geoffrey Robert Grau

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Redistricting Amendment Will Strengthen Democracy In Virginia, Alex Keena, Michael D. Gilbert, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Redistricting Amendment Is Progress For Virginia, Rebecca Green

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Researching And Keeping Up To Date With Real Estate Law In Virginia, Frederick W. Dingledy

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Back To The Future: Aba Law School Accreditation In The 21st Century And America's First Law School's Battle To Survive In The 1970s, James S. Heller, Simon F. Zagata

Library Staff Publications

In the mid-1970s, the ABA threatened to pull accreditation from the College of William & Mary’s law school. The ABA’s motives were questioned as it had never taken this step before. Would a more aggressive 21st century ABA have stripped accreditation from well-established schools like William & Mary? The reader can be the judge.

The Forgotten Victims Of Missing White Woman Syndrome: An Examination Of Legal Measures That Contribute To The Lack Of Search And Recovery Of Missing Black Girls And Women, Jada L. Moss

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Case For A Mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard In Virginia: A Case Study Examining Virginia’S Potential For A Mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard By Comparing Virginia To Maryland And North Carolina, Rebecca Wescott

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Since the early 1980s, states have utilized Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards (“RPSs”) as policy mechanisms to “promote broader investment in renewable energy without requiring passage of a comprehensive energy policy measure that includes a pricing mechanism for carbon.” RPS policies can be drafted in one of two ways: (1) as a mandatory RPS, a legal mandate on what percentage of a state’s power portfolio must come from specific eligible renewable energy sources by a specific date in the future, or (2) as a non-binding or voluntary RPS, a policy goal that recommends that a certain percentage of a state’s power …

Recent Developments In Virginia Taxation, Craig D. Bell

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

Recurrent Flooding, Sea Level Rise, And The Relocation Of At-Risk Communities: Case Studies From The Commonwealth Of Virginia, Jeffrey Moore, Lauren Acker

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Sea Level Rise And Recurrent Flooding: A Toolbox For Local Governments In Virginia, Victor Unnone, Jonathan Lubrano

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Into The Gray Zone: Examining Mutual Combat As A Defense To Domestic Assault, Kristi A. Breyfogle

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

For offenses committed under Virginia’s assault and battery against a household or family member statute, the State should prosecute and punish in cases where both parties committed an assault and battery. Punishment, however, should consist of mainly individualized counseling or some other mitigated punishment for cases of mutual fighting.

The Impact Of The Tobacco Buyout On The Commonwealth's Open Spaces: Protecting Open Land By Expanding The Scope Of Use Value Assessment, Mary Atkinson

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Recurrent Flooding And Social Vulnerability: A Model Ordinance, Sarah Edwards

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

“Meaningful Access” Demands Meaningful Efforts: The Need For Greater Access To Virginia State Courts For Limited English Proficient Litigants, Carolyn Harlamert

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Wind Blows In Virginia Too—Deconstructing Legal And Regulatory Barriers To The Development Of Onshore, Utility-Scale Wind Energy In Virginia, Mark L. (Buzz) Belleville

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Waging War On The Rising Seas: Fashioning A Comprehensive Approach To Combating The Effects Of Sea Level Rise On Hampton Roads, Virginia Military Installations Under Existing Frameworks, Paul Hawkins

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The 2016 Stormwater Bill: An Analysis Of Perceived And Real Problems With Proposed Solutions, Jonathon R. Lubrano, Elizabeth A. Andrews, Roy A. Hoagland

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Recent Tax Developments In Virginia: 2015-2016, Craig D. Bell, William L.S Rowe, Emily J. Winbigler

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

Tools For A Resilient Virginia Coast: Designing A Successful Tdr Program For Virginia’S Middle Peninsula, Jessica Lung, Michael Killius

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.