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Full-Text Articles in Law

Blatant Discrimination Within Federal Law: A 14th Amendment Analysis Of Medicaid’S Imd Exclusion, J. Michael E. Gray, Madeline Easdale May 2023

Blatant Discrimination Within Federal Law: A 14th Amendment Analysis Of Medicaid’S Imd Exclusion, J. Michael E. Gray, Madeline Easdale

University of Massachusetts Law Review

A discriminatory piece of Medicaid law, the institution for mental diseases (IMD) exclusion, is denying people with serious mental illness equal levels of treatment as those with only primary healthcare needs. The IMD exclusion denies the use of federal funding in psychiatric hospitals for inpatient care. This article discusses the history and collateral implications of the IMD exclusion, then examines it through the lens of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, argues that people with severe mental illness constitute a quasi-suspect class, and that application of intermediate scrutiny would render the IMD exclusion unenforceable.


Meat Wars: The Unsettled Intersection Of Federal And State Food Labeling Regulations For Plant-Based Meat Alternatives, Shareefah Taylor Oct 2020

Meat Wars: The Unsettled Intersection Of Federal And State Food Labeling Regulations For Plant-Based Meat Alternatives, Shareefah Taylor

University of Massachusetts Law Review

Due to technological advances and the rise in popularity of plant-based meat alternatives (i.e., Beyond Meat, the Impossible Burger, etc.), nearly thirty states have proposed or enacted legislation to limit which foods can be labeled with terms that have traditionally been used to describe products derived from animal carcasses (i.e., meat, burger, sausage, etc.). Fueled in many places by the cattle industry, the states’ legislation proposes stricter guidelines than the federal counterparts in an attempt to specifically prohibit plant-based, cell-based (lab-grown meat), and even insect-based products from being labeled in meat-associated terms. To date, lawsuits have been filed by opponents …


Tax Reform Proposals On A Gift Tax On The Transfer Of Property By Nonresidents, Daze Swift Lee Mar 2015

Tax Reform Proposals On A Gift Tax On The Transfer Of Property By Nonresidents, Daze Swift Lee

University of Massachusetts Law Review

This Note raises taxation issues pertaining to a gift tax on the transfer of property by nonresidents under current United States tax rules. It further illustrates patterns and trends to evade a gift tax using transaction maneuvers. These issues are defined in three categories: a gift tax on the transfer of property situated only within the United States by a nonresident, no gift tax on the transfer of intangible assets, and transferee liability. In response to such issues, this Note calls for corresponding proposals to resolve gift taxation problems. It proposes that a gift tax should be imposed on the …


Immigration As Business Strategy: Simplifying American Immigration Law In A Global Economy, Peter Choi Mar 2015

Immigration As Business Strategy: Simplifying American Immigration Law In A Global Economy, Peter Choi

University of Massachusetts Law Review

Despite immigration law’s notorious complexity, public debate on immigration reform has historically ignored basic questions of why and how the current laws should be simplified. Instead, discussion has often focused on substantive proposals—most commonly regarding legalization and border enforcement—without reference to the impact of these proposals on the legal immigration structure. This article emphasizes that any durable immigration reform must take steps to free the immigration system from the intricacies that define it today. The article begins by overviewing the basic features of the modern global economy, their implications for immigration law, and why these implications compel an immigration system …


Goals Vs. Deadlines: Notes On The Va Disability Claims Backlog, Daniel L. Nagin Mar 2015

Goals Vs. Deadlines: Notes On The Va Disability Claims Backlog, Daniel L. Nagin

University of Massachusetts Law Review

Drawing primarily on policy considerations, social science research, and the relevant statutory and doctrinal frameworks within veterans benefits law, this article argues that Congress should subject the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to a clear and enforceable deadline for making initial eligibility determinations on claims for service-connected compensation. Despite widespread media coverage of delays in VA’s adjudication system and countless oversight hearings and congressional proposals for reform, this simple idea – to impose a hard deadline upon VA has either been overlooked entirely or drowned out by a preoccupation with other types of legislative responses to the VA claims …


William Pincus: A Life In Service -- Government, Philanthropy & Legal Education, J.P. "Sandy" Ogilvy Mar 2015

William Pincus: A Life In Service -- Government, Philanthropy & Legal Education, J.P. "Sandy" Ogilvy

University of Massachusetts Law Review

This article memorializes the life and accomplishments of William “Bill” Pincus. The article brings the reader through Mr. Pincus’s career accomplishments, from his humble beginnings in New York City, to his impressive career in civil service, culminating in his work with the Ford Foundation and the Council on Legal Education for Professional Responsibility (CLEPR), where he spearheaded reforms in legal education. Mr. Pincus’s efforts were critical in establishing clinical legal education, drawing from his experiences both in law and government. Much of this article is derived from interviews of Mr. Pincus, conducted by the author, and provides an unprecedented insight …


Time For Change: Bringing Massachusetts Homestead And Personal Property Exemptions Into The Twenty-First Century, Lee Harrington Dec 2014

Time For Change: Bringing Massachusetts Homestead And Personal Property Exemptions Into The Twenty-First Century, Lee Harrington

University of Massachusetts Law Review

There are presently two pieces of legislation pending on Beacon Hill that are intended to offer amendments to the Homestead Statute and Exemption Statute that would offer meaningful changes and real relief for the citizens of the Commonwealth. This article provides a brief history of the two statutory schemes, provides some comparisons to the schemes in other states, and highlights the changes sought by the proposed amendments.


On Apology, Robert Ward Dec 2014

On Apology, Robert Ward

University of Massachusetts Law Review

On February 16, 2006, Dr. Aaron Lazare, Dean and Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, addressed an assembly at the Southern New England School of Law on his critically acclaimed book entitled: “On Apology!” According to Dr. Lazare, to be an effective apology, there must be acknowledgement, remorse, explanation and reparation. Dr. Lazare advances the hypothesis that the current proliferation of cases in our legal system is predicated on the concept that often the aggrieved party was not the beneficiary of an effective apology. In the context of the patient-physician relationship, an effective apology means telling the patient …


Securitization Of Student Loans: A Proposal To Reform Federal Accounting, Reduce Government Risk, And Introduce Market Mechanisms As Indicators Of Quality Education, Robert Proudfoot Apr 2014

Securitization Of Student Loans: A Proposal To Reform Federal Accounting, Reduce Government Risk, And Introduce Market Mechanisms As Indicators Of Quality Education, Robert Proudfoot

University of Massachusetts Law Review

This Article outlines looming budgetary and accounting issues with federal student loans and proposes securitization as an innovative mechanism to reform federal accounting, reduce federal balance sheet risk, and provide a new education quality indicator. The current federal loan program is unsustainable because it overestimates the repayment rates and underestimates the cost of certain loan programs. Securitization will reduce that federal risk. Additionally, by forcing academic institutions to bear some of the risk, securitization will create a neutral pricing mechanism outside the direct control of federal regulators to show whether academic institutions provide a quality education. While complicated, this proposal …