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Full-Text Articles in Law
Real Feminists For Motherhood Coalition, Petitioner V. Virginia, Bridget Leanne Welborn
Real Feminists For Motherhood Coalition, Petitioner V. Virginia, Bridget Leanne Welborn
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
JUSTICE KENNEDY delivered the opinion of the Court, in which CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS, and JUSTICES BREYER, STEVENS, and THOMAS joined. CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS filed a concurring opinion, in which JUSTICE THOMAS joined. JUSTICE SCALIA filed a dissenting opinion, in which JUSTICE ALITO joined. JUSTICE GINSBERG filed a dissenting opinion, in which JUSTICE SOUTER joined. Since this Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973,1 we received numerous requests to reconsider the validity of that ruling or to otherwise limit its application. Petitioner renews this request, asking us to discard our much maligned and now limited Roe doctrine. After struggling with this …
Protecting Neglect: The Constitutionality Of Spiritual Healing Exemptions To Child Protection Statutes, Scott St. Amand
Protecting Neglect: The Constitutionality Of Spiritual Healing Exemptions To Child Protection Statutes, Scott St. Amand
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
This comment examines the historically uncertain balance between an individual's right to freely exercise his religious beliefs and the state's countervailing interest to protect the welfare of its youngest and most vulnerable citizens. By detailing the history of this fragile relationship through its statutory and judicial renderings, this comment will illustrate that spiritual exemptions to child protection statutes violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and conflict directly with multiple landmark Supreme Court decisions.
An Ounce Of Prevention: Why The Innocence Movement Should Focus On Proscriptive Pre-Conviction Measures Instead Of Abolition Of The Death Penalty, Rhiannon M. Hartman
An Ounce Of Prevention: Why The Innocence Movement Should Focus On Proscriptive Pre-Conviction Measures Instead Of Abolition Of The Death Penalty, Rhiannon M. Hartman
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
When eyewitnesses identify defendants as perpetrators during criminal trials, juries almost always return a guilty verdict. Unfortunately, researchers consistently find that eyewitness identification is inherently inaccurate and unreliable. The Supreme Court of the United States acknowledged the broad scope of the problem as early as 1967, when it referenced Edwin M. Borchard's famous study of wrongful convictions, stating, "the vagaries of eyewitness identification are well-known; the annals of criminal law are rife with instances of mistaken identification."' Since Borchard's 1932 study, there has been no remedy for the problem of wrongful conviction based on mistaken identification. In Samuel Gross's study …
Domino Effect Of The Current Economic Crisis, Sue K. Varon, Martin S. Varon
Domino Effect Of The Current Economic Crisis, Sue K. Varon, Martin S. Varon
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
The deepening recession, increased unemployment, and stalled housing market have negatively impacted the financial situation of most clients of the family lawyer. Many clients' homes are underwater because of declining values. Those divorcing couples fortunate enough to have equity in their most significant marital asset, their home, are unable to sell it. Combined with the plummeting value of retirement accounts, practitioners are looking at marital asset balance sheets that are nothing less than bleak.
Dividing Lives: How Deporting Legal And Illegal Immigrants With United States-Born Children Is Separating Families And Why United States And International Laws Are Failing Families, Anna-Liisa Jacobson
Dividing Lives: How Deporting Legal And Illegal Immigrants With United States-Born Children Is Separating Families And Why United States And International Laws Are Failing Families, Anna-Liisa Jacobson
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
This Article explores the current immigration laws causing mixed immigration status families to become separated and analyzes what the role of the United States government should be in solving this crisis. Part II discusses the current crisis occurring when families are separated due to factors such as deportation. Part III analyzes the changes brought by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 ("IIRIRA") and how these changes have negatively impacted immigrant families. Part IV examines the increasing number of deportations due to changes in the penalties for crimes committed by immigrants. Part V explores the legal protections …
Adopting A New Approach To Medical Information For Adoptees, Jessica Marie Yoke
Adopting A New Approach To Medical Information For Adoptees, Jessica Marie Yoke
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
Some estimates indicate that at least six million adoptees lived in the United States in 1997. "After factoring in birth parents and adoptive parents for each adoptee, the number of persons directly affected by the adoption process grows to over [twenty-four million] persons." States conducted many of these adoptions privately, particularly those that did not occur recently, so the parties remain anonymous to one another. Thus, an enormous number of Americans are now struggling in a system built on antiquated law that is not very useful, and in fact might be harmful. This Comment proposes a solution to this overlooked …
Til Proposition 8 Do Us Part: The Rise And Fall Of Same-Sex Marriage In California, Addie V. Kies
Til Proposition 8 Do Us Part: The Rise And Fall Of Same-Sex Marriage In California, Addie V. Kies
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
This Note examines the California Supreme Court's decision in In re Marriage Cases, which legalized same-sex marriage in the state. Part II traces the history of same-sex marriage legislation in California, including the impact of Proposition 22. Part III summarizes the procedural background of In re Marriage Cases and analyzes the court's opinion. Part IV discusses Proposition 8's role in reversing In re Marriage Cases and explains the lawsuits pending against it. Part V suggests an alternative compromise to the same-sex marriage debate.
Recent Developments In Absentee Voting, James Alcorn
Recent Developments In Absentee Voting, James Alcorn
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
With the votes cast and counted, the political signs down, and the final dollars tallied, most people were glad to have election season behind them. For the election community, however, the groundwork for future decisions was beginning anew. The 2009 session of the Virginia General Assembly again saw a large number of bills related to election administration.1 Included in those were a large number of absentee voting bills.2 For the last fifteen years, legislators have introduced numerous bills related to absentee voting, and roughly half of these bills have succeeded. 3 While the rest of the country considers large election …
Deferred Education Budget Decision Has Long Range Implications, Robley Shelton Jones
Deferred Education Budget Decision Has Long Range Implications, Robley Shelton Jones
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
Four Senators and four Delegates conferred for the purpose of developing the public education portion of the state budget for the second year of this biennium. These Senators and Delegates met knowing full and well that Virginia ranked thirty-seventh in the nation in per pupil state support for public education in 2008. They also met with the knowledge that there was a $3.7 billion state revenue shortfall. Going into this session, education advocates perceived there to be two battles-the first battle would attempt to minimize budget cuts, while the second battle would attempt to keep the cuts from being permanent. …
A Defense Of Legislative Redistricting, Delegate Mark Cole
A Defense Of Legislative Redistricting, Delegate Mark Cole
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
Virginia is one of thirty-six states in which the legislature holds primary responsibility for the process of redrawing the lines of legislative and congressional districts after the completion of each decennial census. During the last two sessions of the Virginia General Assembly, however, there have been concerted efforts by Governor Tim Kaine, General Assembly Democrats, and a collection of interest groups calling themselves the Virginia Redistricting Coalition to limit the legislature's responsibility for redistricting. In 2008 and 2009, those efforts failed.
Bipartisan Redistricting, Senator R. Creigh Deeds
Bipartisan Redistricting, Senator R. Creigh Deeds
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
The redistricting of legislative lines, whether for the houses of the General Assembly or Virginia's congressional delegation, is currently riddled with partisan politics. It appears, however, that different political parties will control the two houses of the legislature during the next redistricting process for the first time in our Commonwealth's history. Whether this is to be the case for the redistricting of 2011 will be decided by future events, but currently Democrats control the State Senate and Republicans have a majority of the House of the Delegates. The next Governor will also play a significant role in redistricting. With no …
Schools, Mandates, And Money: Education In The 2009 Session Of The Virginia General Assembly, Angela A. Ciolf, Sarah A. Geddes
Schools, Mandates, And Money: Education In The 2009 Session Of The Virginia General Assembly, Angela A. Ciolf, Sarah A. Geddes
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
This article will recount the development of this year's revisions to the 2008-2010 budget, examine the long-term implications of budgetary decisions affecting public education, and review notable pieces of substantive education legislation. It will also highlight the major features of the new Standards of Accreditation-implementing graduation rate accountability-and special education regulations. Finally, this article will offer a framework for analyzing the critical education-funding decisions likely to come before the 2010 General Assembly as Virginia continues to feel the effects of a global economic crisis.
Taking Aim At The Virginia Triggerman Rule: A Commentary On House Bill 2358, Anisa Mohanty
Taking Aim At The Virginia Triggerman Rule: A Commentary On House Bill 2358, Anisa Mohanty
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
This Comment will examine the legislative history of the triggerman rule in Virginia in Part I. Part II will explore the justifications and criticisms of an expansion to the triggerman rule. Part III will present a short study of American jurisprudence with respect to the death penalty and non-triggermen. Finally, Part IV will discuss the future implications for Virginia's criminal justice system if the expansion to the triggerman rule eventually becomes law.
Injury-In-Fact, Justice-In-Fiction: Toward A More Realistic Definition Of Injury In The Context Of Unenforced Criminal Laws, Jason R. Lafond
Injury-In-Fact, Justice-In-Fiction: Toward A More Realistic Definition Of Injury In The Context Of Unenforced Criminal Laws, Jason R. Lafond
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
This article argues that the "prosecution or the credible threat of prosecution" standard endorsed by the Supreme Court of the United States to analyze standing in challenges to criminal laws is too narrow. Part I seeks to counter the notion of unenforced criminal laws as "dead words" and "harmless empty shadows" by reviewing recent research from multiple disciplines, including psychology, sociology, and economics, which shows that unenforced laws have as strong an effect on individuals and society as prosecution or the threat of prosecution. Part II traces the history and rationale of the notion of standing and the requirement of …
"You Think He Got Shot - Did You Maybe Shoot Him By Accident?": Linguistic Manipulation Of The Communicatively Immature During Police Interrogations, Kathryn C. Donoghue
"You Think He Got Shot - Did You Maybe Shoot Him By Accident?": Linguistic Manipulation Of The Communicatively Immature During Police Interrogations, Kathryn C. Donoghue
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
It is undeniable that "punishment of the innocent makes a mockery of the law." Police who linguistically coerce false confessions from communicatively immature suspects mock the criminal justice system by evading accountability and convicting the vulnerable. This paper documents how common linguistic strategies directed at certain vulnerable groups have the potential to elicit false confessions. Part II reviews linguistic strategies routinely employed by trained interrogators. Part III then explores how mentally challenged and juvenile suspects, otherwise known as communicatively immature groups, are more susceptible to deceptive linguistic strategies. Part IV discusses how interrogators learn to extract confessions, while Part V …
Eternal Law: The Underpinnings Of Dharma And Karma In The Justice System, Shiv Narayan Persaud
Eternal Law: The Underpinnings Of Dharma And Karma In The Justice System, Shiv Narayan Persaud
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
To understand a social system, it is important to have some knowledge of the structure and principles governing that system. The principles, when applied to the system, help in arriving at a better understanding of the underlying forces that operate dynamically to hold the system together. As the core values of a society change, the system must be able to adapt and reformulate its governing principles in order to compensate. When the system can no longer adapt to change and progress, it cries out for replacement. In light of the foregoing, this article further seeks to examine the universal principles …
Changing Tides: A Lesser Expectation Of Privacy In A Post 9/11 World, Derek M. Alphran
Changing Tides: A Lesser Expectation Of Privacy In A Post 9/11 World, Derek M. Alphran
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
In sum, the Court has in recent years balanced the degree of government intrusion of the individual or place searched against the government's need for the search. This article addresses some of the questions posed by the evolution of the Fourth Amendment doctrine in light of terrorist concerns since 9/11. Part II will address the history of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, from the Boyd Era of property protection and the use of general warrants to discover evidence of crime, to Olmstead and the development of the right of privacy under the Fourth Amendment. Part III will address the modern test under …
The Chill Bill: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act Of 2007 And The Forgotten Dangers To The First Amendment, Hank Gates
The Chill Bill: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act Of 2007 And The Forgotten Dangers To The First Amendment, Hank Gates
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
This comment will address whether the Hate Crimes Prevention Act is unconstitutionally overbroad in violation of the First Amendment because it threatens to chill protected speech. Part II will outline the text of the House Bill 1592 as passed by the House of Representatives. Part III will outline the United States Supreme Court's overbreadth doctrine in its current form and the Supreme Court's major decisions on hate crime legislation in the past. Part IV will evaluate the potential dangers that the Act, in its current form, poses to protected speech. Ultimately, this comment concludes that Congress can draft hate crimes …
The Pulpit Initiative: Fighting To Return America's First Freedom To Her Churches, David Abbondanza
The Pulpit Initiative: Fighting To Return America's First Freedom To Her Churches, David Abbondanza
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
This Comment looks at the foundational principles of the Pulpit Initiative and examines first, whence the need for a change came, and second, whether it is likely to come about. Part 11 examines the historical developments that resulted in the 1954 amendment banning pastors from speaking on candidates from the pulpit. Part III focuses on the ADF and its rationale for bringing about change along with the constitutional reasoning behind its arguments. Part IV provides some concluding remarks surrounding this initiative's likely future and whether the ADF and its associated pastors stand a chance of succeeding against the United States …
A View Through The Gun Show Loophole, Andrew Goddard
A View Through The Gun Show Loophole, Andrew Goddard
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
The term "Gun Show Loophole" came about as a result of the passage of the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 19861 and the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993. These laws effectively created a dual standard for gun sales based on the federal license status of the seller. The Brady Act mandated that licensed gun dealers must conduct criminal background checks on potential buyers regardless of whether the sale takes place at the dealer's store or at a gun show, whereas the Firearm Owners Protection Act expressly exempted "persons making occasional sales or selling all or part of a …
House Bill 2326 And Its Effect On Cochran V. Board Of Zoning Appeal's Chill: How Variances In Virginia May Thaw After Code Revision, Michael Keoni Medici
House Bill 2326 And Its Effect On Cochran V. Board Of Zoning Appeal's Chill: How Variances In Virginia May Thaw After Code Revision, Michael Keoni Medici
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
For quite some time, those who applied for variances enjoyed a likelihood of realizing their efforts. Since 2004, however, Virginia has experienced heightened judicial scrutiny over the administration of variances. The 2009 General Assembly of Virginia reviewed relevant sections of the Code of Virginia and amended the law concerning variances. The effect of the General Assembly's seemingly slight revision presents the purpose of this comment. Part II of this comment presents the General Assembly's enactment. Part III discusses the development of the relevant area of variance law that has fostered dissent. This part also presents Cochran v. Fairfax County Board …
Lowering The Bar: In Re Van Orden And The Constitutionality Of The 2006 Amendments To Missouri's Sexually Violent Predator Act, Lauren Standlee
Lowering The Bar: In Re Van Orden And The Constitutionality Of The 2006 Amendments To Missouri's Sexually Violent Predator Act, Lauren Standlee
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
Given the public's fear and anxiety regarding sex offenders, especially those who target children, society is predisposed to lock them up and throw away the key. To avoid reproach, however, our society must trust in our judicial processes and involuntarily commit only those who are found to be sexually violent predators beyond a reasonable doubt. Furthermore, the judicial system must unconditionally release sexually violent predators when they are deemed to no longer pose a danger to themselves or to others. The methods by which our society commits and holds such individuals implicate not only their behavior but also our own, …
New Options For Child Support Payments, Sue K. Varon, Jennifer Varon
New Options For Child Support Payments, Sue K. Varon, Jennifer Varon
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
Non-custodial parents pay child support in a variety of ways. Divorced parents should be provided with all possible options for making these payments. Some new options have emerged both in the public and private sectors.
Entry And Service Of Protective Orders In Virginia: Are You Really Protected, Susheela Varky
Entry And Service Of Protective Orders In Virginia: Are You Really Protected, Susheela Varky
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
According to the Virginia Department of State Police, there has been a legislative effort in 2008 and 2009 over the past two years to ensure that essential data from protective orders1 is entered into the Virginia Criminal Information Network ("VCIN") immediately upon the order's issuance. While data entry may seem like a dull topic, the following story highlights the dire significance of this seemingly mundane task.
Gun Show Loophole Bills: A Study Of Legislative Misdirection In 2009, Philip Van Cleave
Gun Show Loophole Bills: A Study Of Legislative Misdirection In 2009, Philip Van Cleave
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
In the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, which left thirty-two students and faculty dead at the hands of a student armed with two handguns, gun-control organizations saw an opportunity to press their legislative agenda items forward with vigor. A host of gun-control bills were introduced in the 2008 and, to a lesser extent, the 2009 General Assembly sessions. For pro-gun groups, Virginia Tech's policy of not allowing any guns on campus was more proof that gun control only disarms good people. These groups argued that criminals, by definition, ignore the law and will simply get their guns …
Notable Bills Of The 2009 Session Of The Virginia General Assembly
Notable Bills Of The 2009 Session Of The Virginia General Assembly
Richmond Journal of Law and the Public Interest
Notable House and Senate Bills during the 2009 session of the Virginia General Assembly