Law Commons^™

A Structural Etiology Of The U.S. Constitution, Charles Edward Andrew Lincoln Iv

Student Scholarship

This article offers an interpretation of the problems addressed by and the eventual purpose of the United States government. Simultaneously, it seeks to analyze and explain the continued three-part structure of the United States federal government as outlined in the Constitution. Subsequently I define the three parts of the federal government—judiciary, executive, and legislative—as explained through the lens of the Platonic paradigm of (logos = word = law), (thymos = external driving spirit = executive), and (eros = general welfare = legislative) extrapolated from Plato’s dialogues.

First, the article establishes Plato’s theory of the three-part Platonic soul as a major …

Location, Location, Mis-Location: How Local Land Use Restrictions Are Dulling Halfway Housing's Criminal Rehabilitation Potentia, Michael J. Mcgowan

Student Scholarship

Part I of this Article begins with a brief historical explanation of halfway houses as a model of criminal rehabilitation. Part II addresses why recidivism rates provide the most appropriate metric gauging halfway houses' success and how they apparently have failed to improve recidivism rates. Part III then delves into the body of scholarship that explains how an individual's likelihood of landing back behind bars is to some extent demonstrably tied to their location, meaning their surrounding cultural, economic, and criminogenic environment. Part IV discusses the sparse data on the sorts of neighborhoods where halfway houses ultimately end up and …

Easement Come, Easment Go - The Cemetery Access Easement: The Exemption To The Right To Exclude Whose Time Has Come To Facilitate The Preservation Of Nineteenth-Century Texas Family Cemeteries, J. Dwight Tom

Student Scholarship

This Article discusses the cemetery access easement and access agreements under the lens of an emerging modern theoretical approach—the Social Morality Theory of Property Law. Part II reviews the history of public and private memorials in Texas, preservation efforts of nineteenth-century cemeteries, and other significant Texas historical sites. Part III discusses the cemetery access easement under current Texas law and regulatory schemes. Part IV discusses the obstacles of awareness and access as the greatest threats to the current and future status of nineteenth-century Texas family cemeteries on rural private land. Finally, Part V proposes incentives, approaches, and recommendations to strengthen …

Come And “Take” It: Whooping Cranes, Texas Water Rights, Endangered Species Act Liability, And Reconciling Ecological Scientific Testimony Within The Context Of Proximate Causation, Brett A. Miller

Student Scholarship

Tension between science and the law is a pervading feature of Endangered Species Act (ESA) jurisprudence. Incorporating the scientific discipline of ecology within the legal landscape presents distinct challenges, particularly in comparison with more traditional laboratory sciences. Within the realm of Endangered Species Act liability, the intricacies of nature exacerbate already complicated links of causation, challenging the ability to prove violations of the “take” prohibition. Because uncertainties permeate scientists’ ability to understand complex ecosystem processes, courts should rely on the overarching practicality of common law principles when reviewing ecological testimony.

When evaluating claims that allege violations of the “take” prohibition, …

“Owning” What You “Buy”: How Itunes Uses Federal Copyright Law To Limit Inheritability Of Content, And The Need To Expand The First Sale Doctrine To Include Digital Assets, Anthony C. Eichler

Student Scholarship

This article will first discuss the background and history of digital assets, the question of inheritability, and the inherent problems with the iTunes user agreement. Next, this article poses an argument that the iTunes user agreement is an adhesion contract leaving the consumer no choice but to accept, and further that the agreement leads to an unconscionable result that robs people of property rights that they likely (and reasonably) believed they had. Then it will discuss the First Sale Doctrine's applicability to assets generally and how federal copyright law needs to be amended and expanded so that the First Sale …

A Missing Link For Producing Practice-Ready Law Graduates And For Narrowing The Expectations-Reality Gap: 1l Judicial Internships, Inti Martinez-Aleman

Student Scholarship

Mitchell Hamline School of Law (MHSL) is in a privileged position to help redefine legal education in the United States. Its two predecessor schools, William Mitchell College of Law and Hamline University School of Law, were regarded as practice-focused and devoted to public service. As it goes through its first year since the law schools combined, MHSL’s new Dean and President, Mark C. Gordon, is positioned to carve out a bright future for the school’s next 100 years. If the model MHSL implements proves to be groundbreaking—as the Langdellian model was for American legal education starting in Harvard Law School …