Law Commons^™

Confidentiality, Warning And Aids: A Proposal To Protect Patients, Third Parties And Physicians

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Quo Vadis? Assessing New York’S Civil Forfeiture Law, Steven L. Kessler

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Once Mentally Ill, Always A Danger? Lifetime Bans On Gun Ownership Under Fire Following Involuntary Commitment, Amanda Pendel

Touro Law Review

18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(4) imposes a lifetime ban on those who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution from purchasing, or possessing a firearm, regardless of an extended passage of time, or a finding that the individual is unlikely to pose a danger to themselves or the public. Three circuits have created a split concerning the constitutionality of this statute. The Third Circuit held in Beers v. Attorney General United States that those involuntarily committed were outside of the scope of the Second Amendment; therefore, the § 922(g)(4)’s categorical ban is constitutional. Next, the Ninth Circuit in Mai v. …

Nomos And Nation: On Nation In An Age Of “Populism”, John Valery White

Touro Law Review

Robert Cover’s Nomos and Narrative points to the need to recognize a second, novel dimension for understanding rights. His concept of nomos, applied to competing notions of nation in pluralistic societies, suggests that the current dimension for understanding rights, which conceives of them fundamentally as protections for the individual against the state, is too narrow. Rather a second dimension, understanding rights of individuals against the nation, and aimed at ensuring individuals’ ability to participate in the development of an idea of nation, is necessary to avoid “a total crushing of the jurisgenerative character” of nomoi by the state, or by …

Table Of Contents

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Modification Requests In Community Associations: Do We Know What’S Reasonable?, Beth M. Gazes

Touro Law Review

The Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) as well as the New York State Human Rights Law (“HRL”) provide, inter alia, that qualifying individuals shall be granted reasonable modifications or accommodations to afford such individuals either full enjoyment of the premises or an equal opportunity to enjoy their dwelling, respectively. Both laws likely extend to common areas of the development but arrive at this protection in different ways. Namely, through the FHA’s implementing rules (“Rules”) and with guidance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), courts have easily interpreted the FHA to extend to common areas but stop short …

The Future Of Cryptocurrency And Real Estate Transactions, Rachel Silverstein

Touro Law Review

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are all the rage right now and are beginning to make their ways into everyday transactions— including real estate transactions. This article discusses whether using cryptocurrencies to complete real estate transactions will become the norm in the near future. Cryptocurrency laws in general are few and far between, but laws surrounding cryptocurrency and real property are even more sparse. Recent case law involving cryptocurrency is a major focus of this article, along with background knowledge about cryptocurrency and the meaning of “money” as we know it today. The article concludes with a discussion about the unlikelihood …

Reconsidering The Nomos In Today’S Media Environment, Kimberlianne Podlas

Touro Law Review

Today’s media landscape is wholly unlike that which existed when Cover first discussed narrative and the nomos; specifically, the status of television as both a cultural messenger and object of scholarly study has changed significantly. Accordingly, this article contemplates narrative in the contemporary media environment, specifically, television as an essential source of narratives. To enhance understandings of the roles television narratives play and which narratives play a role, this article employs an empirical perspective. Surveying Media Theory, it outlines research on television effects, including when and why television’s representations of law can impact audience attitudes, behaviors, perceptions, knowledge, and judgements. …

Blurring The Line Between Student And Employee: Exploitation Of For-Profit College Students, Michele Abatangelo

Touro Law Review

For decades, for-profit colleges throughout the United States have exploited their students through a predatory business model. In February 2022, the Education Department approved $415 million in borrower defense claims for nearly 16,000 students who attended for-profit schools finding that these schools misrepresented post-graduation employment prospects. For-profit colleges also use manipulative recruitment tactics such as targeted advertising of low-income and minority students and providing false information to prospective students about loan repayment obligations post-graduation. Some for-profit institutions also rely on student labor in their facilities rather than hiring paid employees. This review discusses why it is imperative that courts scrutinize …

There’S No “Gender” In Team: Developing State Policies For The Inclusion Of The Transgender Interscholastic Athlete, Brianna Weppler

Touro Law Review

The transgender athlete is a relatively new concept challenging the norm of gender division in sports. Multiple states across the United States have yet to update their policies to include the transgender athlete in interscholastic athletics. State policies that do include transgender student athletes are currently being challenged on the grounds that they violate Title IX of the Educational Amendments to the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This review considers the different state policies dictating the inclusion of transgender student athletes in school sports. After evaluating the impact of omitting transgender students from participating on sports teams, this review maintains that …

Table Of Contents

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments Act: What About Reasonable Accommodation? Where Are We Now?, Teressa Elliott, Kathleen A. Carnes

Touro Law Review

The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (“ADAAA”) was passed in 2008 and became effective on January 1, 2009. There are issues regarding reasonable accommodation that have arisen in connection with this Act. This article first explains what changes were made to the ADA’s employment-related provisions with the ADAAA and also explains the relevant U.S. Supreme Court cases that led to passage of the ADAAA. Reasonable accommodation under the Act and reasonable accommodation cases are then discussed as well as the U.S. Airways v. Barnett case. We then end with ways to interpret these cases for guidance and the conclusion …

Denial Of Housing To African Americans: Post-Slavery Reflections From A Civil Rights Advocate, Elaine Gross

Touro Law Review

In this article, I draw on two decades of experience as a civil rights advocate to reflect on the denial of housing to African Americans in post-slavery America. I do so as Founder and President of the civil rights organization, ERASE Racism. I undertake historical research and share insights from my own experience to create and reflect upon six lessons related to understanding the systematic discrimination and segregation of African Americans. The lessons encompass: (1) the role of the federal government, (2) the role of municipal governments, (3) White supremacy ideation and actions, (4) legislative advocacy and legal actions, (5) …

Recent Case Law, Disparate Impact, And Restrictive Zoning, Michael Lewyn

Touro Law Review

The Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) prohibits housing discrimination, including the refusal to sell or rent housing based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status or national origin,and any policy or conduct that “otherwise make[s] unavailable or den[ies], a dwelling [based on these impermissible factors].”In 2015, the Supreme Court interpreted the “otherwise make unavailable” language of the Act to mean that the FHA includes not only claims for intentional discrimination, but also claims for disparate impact. Under the disparate impact doctrine, a defendant may be liable for facially neutral rules or policies that disproportionately favor one racial group over another.

Zoning …

Banning Abortions Based On A Prenatal Diagnosis Of Down Syndrome: The Future Of Abortion Regulation, Alexandra Russo

Touro Law Review

Since the infamous Supreme Court decision, Roe v. Wade, the United States has remained divided, each side unyielding to the other regarding the legal and moral issues surrounding abortion. The issues surrounding abortion have become progressively more politicized, thus threatening a woman’s right to a safe and healthy termination of her pregnancy. Restrictions on a woman’s ability to terminate a child with a genetic disorder, such as Down syndrome, highlight this concern. State restrictions on abortion that prohibit abortions based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome seek to prevent the stigmatization of the Down syndrome community. Regulations, such as …

20 Ways To Fight Housing Discrimination, Ian Wilder

Touro Law Review

When looking at the continuing size of the problem of discrimination it is easy to be paralyzed into inaction by the sweeping scope of the undertaking. A good remedy is to find actions that an individual can take to move toward justice. Though Dr. King is often quoted as stating that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,” that bend in the arc is caused by legions of activists pulling the future toward justice. Robert Kennedy noted in his opposition to apartheid in South Africa that “a million different centers of energy and daring …

Monasky’S Totality Of Circumstances Is Vague – The Child’S Perspective Should Be The Main Test, Sabrina Salvi

Touro Law Review

After decades of confusion, the Supreme Court ruled on child custody in an international setting in Monasky v. Taglieri, by attempting to establish the definition of a child’s “habitual residence.” The Court held that a child’s “residence in a particular country can be deemed ‘habitual, however, only when her residence there is more than transitory.’” Further, the Court stated that, ‘“[h]abitual’ implies customary, usual, of the nature of a habit.”’ However, the Supreme Court’s ruling remains unclear. The 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (“HCCAICA” or “The Hague Convention”), which is adopted in ninety-eight …

Masthead

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Theft, Extortion, And The Constitution: Land Use Practice Needs An Ethical Infusion, Michael M. Berger

Touro Law Review

There are many ways in which property owners/developers interact with regulators. To the extent that texts and articles deal with the ethical duties of the regulators, they tend to focus on things like conflicts of interest. But there is more. This article will examine numerous other ways in which regulators may run afoul of ethical practice in dealing with those whom they regulate

Multiple Choice: How Instant Runoff Voting Improves Redistricting Under The Voting Rights Act, Aviel Menter, C.D. Alexander Evans

Touro Law Review

As currently interpreted, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (“VRA”) can be a double-edged sword for minority representation. Although it gives protected minority groups their own majority/minority districts, this can dilute minority influence in other districts. Recently, however, many jurisdictions have begun to adopt Instant Runoff Voting (“IRV”), a ranked-choice voting system where voters rank multiple candidates in order of preference. By letting voters express support for multiple candidates, IRV provides useful information about the behavior of minority groups that courts can use when enforcing the VRA. Specifically, ranked-choice voting systems can better show when a winning candidate supported …

Roadmap To Reconciliation Ii: Ruminations On The Need For Integrity In Intellectual Interfaith Engagement, Shlomo Pill, Ariel J. Liberman

Touro Law Review

This article builds on the framework for a law school-based academic center for Jewish-Muslim engagement laid out in our previous work, Roadmap to Reconciliation. In this follow-up essay, we outline standards, or ground-rules, for the individuals and institutions engaged in academic interfaith discussions of the kind that would occur in our proposed Center. Chief among these considerations is the need to respect the integrity of each respective faith tradition involved in such conversations. We argue for an interfaith dialogic modeled on the insights of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, and discuss how his reflections on the potentials and risks of interfaith …

Playing The Game Of International Law, Uri Weiss, Joseph Agassi

Touro Law Review

In the realist game of international negotiations, each state attempts to promote their interest regardless of international law. Thus, it is negotiations in the shadow of the sword, i.e., a negotiation in which each side knows that if the parties will not achieve an agreement, the alternative may be a war, and thus the bargaining position of each party is a function of their capacities in a case of war. Negotiation in the shadow of international law is an alternative to it: in this alternative the parties negotiate according to their international legal rights. It reduces injustice and incentive to …

Compulsory Licensing Of Patents In Times Of Public Health Emergency, Kelsey Truglio

Touro Law Review

In March 2020, the United States shut down to avoid the continued spread of the COVID-19 virus as it spread globally. In December 2020, the first COVID-19 vaccines were granted emergency usage authorization in the United States. Wealthy nations were able to quickly purchase and hoard vaccines for public distribution, leaving many third-world countries and developing nations struggling to continue to survive the pandemic without vaccination.

Compulsory licensing should be allowed on otherwise patented or patentable new technology in times of global health emergency, regardless of which entity creates the technology. This will enable governments of countries spanning all wealth …

An American Dream Gone Green: A Discussion Of Existing Environmental Marketing Regulations And The Need For Stricter Legislation, Christian Robledo

Touro Law Review

Many consumers seek to purchase environmentally friendly products and companies have responded with “green” marketing, which includes claims of environmental benefits and sustainability with respect to what is being sold. Unfortunately, these claims often overstate their impact on the environment or are presented in a way to mislead consumers. This practice is referred to as greenwashing. Not only does it harm consumers, but it potentially harms the reputation of truly eco-friendly companies that are viewed with skepticism or outright distrust due to the deceitfulness of companies that do engage in greenwashing.

This Note discusses the lack of legislation that currently …

This Aggression Will Not Stand, Schools: The Need For Federal Legislation Protecting Bullied Students With Disabilities, Russell A. Vogel

Touro Law Review

A boy with Autism comes home from school, visibly upset. His parents ask him why, and he responds that nobody in his class likes him. To his parents’ horror, they learn that their son’s teacher encouraged a class discussion about why they dislike their son. When the boy’s parents complain to the school about this issue, school administrators brush it aside. The next day, students sitting near the boy move their desks away from him and taunt him for the way he acts every time he tries to socialize with them. The boy then refuses to go to school each …

Table Of Contents

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Remarks On My Mentor, Robert Cover, Hon. Guido Calabresi

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Foreword To The Symposium: The Life And Work Of Robert M. Cover, Samuel J. Levine

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.