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Articles 31 - 60 of 579
Full-Text Articles in Law
Decreasing Disproportionality Through Kinship Care., Aimee Corbin
Decreasing Disproportionality Through Kinship Care., Aimee Corbin
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Expanding financial assistance to kinship placements can reduce disproportionality between racial minorities in Child Protective Services (CPS) custody. Statistics show that nationally, CPS removes a disproportionate number of minority children compared to non-minorities. CPS typically places a child in substitute care when that child is removed from their home, including kinship placement. Kinship placement is defined as the process by which children are placed in the care of relatives or close family friends. The government provides a significantly larger budget for foster care than for kinship placement. Kinship advocates, however, argue that foster placement—the placement in the care of a …
Venturing Into A Minefield: Potential Effects Of The Hobby Lobby Decision Of The Lgbt Community., Aglae Eufracio
Venturing Into A Minefield: Potential Effects Of The Hobby Lobby Decision Of The Lgbt Community., Aglae Eufracio
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
While freedom of religion is a right guaranteed to the American people, what that freedom entails, is often misunderstood. Religious freedom affords every American the right to practice any faith without fear of being persecuted or ostracized by the government. This fundamental right is frequently used to oppress certain groups of Americans because their lifestyle is not in accordance with traditional Christian values. This was highlighted in the recent case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. The controversy stemmed from the corporation’s use of religion as a method to deny women access to full healthcare coverage, citing religious opposition to abortion …
Sovereign Immunity: The Texas Department Of Transportation's Duty To Maintain Roadways Ravaged By The Eagle Ford Shale Boom., Lasca A. Arnold
Sovereign Immunity: The Texas Department Of Transportation's Duty To Maintain Roadways Ravaged By The Eagle Ford Shale Boom., Lasca A. Arnold
St. Mary's Law Journal
While the shale boom has brought about many positive results such as economic growth and new jobs to the Eagle Ford Shale region, the ravaged roadways left in the aftermath must be addressed. The demands for equipment and manpower created by oil and gas exploration are extensive. Sadly, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)—the entity charged with maintaining and repairing roads in these affected counties—refuses to supply sufficient funding to repair the over used roadways. This pressure is exerted in rural areas where most of the roads and bridges are designed for lower volumes of traffic. In addition to the …
Defining A Health Care Liability Claim In The Post-Texas West Oaks Era., William Woolsey
Defining A Health Care Liability Claim In The Post-Texas West Oaks Era., William Woolsey
St. Mary's Law Journal
Following the Texas Supreme Court’s rulings in West Oaks Hospital v. Williams and Ross v. St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, it remains unclear whether a non-patient’s injury in a hospital constitutes a health care liability claim (HCLC). If the trial court rules the claim is an HCLC, the plaintiff must present expert testimony. Failure to present an expert report within 120 days after filing the suit results in automatic dismissal. The Texas Supreme Court addressed this issue in West Oaks. The Court held that a claimant, suing a hospital under a theory of premise liability, need not be a patient for …
A Constitutional Amendment Allowing Broader Campaign-Finance Reform Would Not Criminalize Political Satire., Christopher W. Bell
A Constitutional Amendment Allowing Broader Campaign-Finance Reform Would Not Criminalize Political Satire., Christopher W. Bell
St. Mary's Law Journal
Campaign finance remains a perennial issue, because contributions and expenditures define the political campaigns which shape our democracy. While a majority of the American public supports limiting campaign spending, campaign finance reform remains near the bottom of most voters’ priorities. Reformers have called the lack of the public’s interest “[o]ne of the persistent mysteries of campaign finance reform.” Citizens United v. F.E.C. focused national attention on the role of money in politics. Citizens United evoked such strong reactions, because it represents the two competing versions of the concept of freedom of speech: “free speech as serving liberty” and “free speech …
Potential Tort Liability For Personal Use Of Drone Aircraft., Benjamin D. Mathews
Potential Tort Liability For Personal Use Of Drone Aircraft., Benjamin D. Mathews
St. Mary's Law Journal
In the United States, the use of personal drones has become more prevalent. Businesses now use drones to deliver products to consumers. Consumers now use drones to video and photograph special events. As a result, new laws are needed concerning personal usage of drones. The number of drone sales is predicted to double by 2024. This is reflected by companies such as Parrot, a vendor of private drones, who in the first quarter of 2014 sold 670,000 drones. Citizens whose personal liberties have been infringed upon by another individual’s use of personal drones, often resort to common law torts because …
The Dark Frontier: The Violent And Often Tragic Point Of Contact Between Law Enforcement And The Mentally Ill., Gary Howell
The Dark Frontier: The Violent And Often Tragic Point Of Contact Between Law Enforcement And The Mentally Ill., Gary Howell
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
There currently exists a widespread and unacceptable risk of violence between law enforcement personnel and mentally ill suspects. The point of contact between law enforcement and the mentally ill has evolved over the last fifty years and can trace its origins to deinstitutionalization. Deinstitutionalization aimed to close centralized, state mental health institutions in favor of decentralized, community-based mental health care facilities. Deinstitutionalization, however, created a number of consequences for the mentally ill and law enforcement. For example, in the years since deinstitutionalization, an excessive number of homeless mentally ill persons and their families have had little or no access to …
Trouble Behind The Great Wall: A Critical Look At Workers’ Rights In China., Scott Walther
Trouble Behind The Great Wall: A Critical Look At Workers’ Rights In China., Scott Walther
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Globalization has allowed large multinational corporations to shop for low cost labor markets with little intervention by governments. These markets are attractive to multinational corporations because their labor standards and laws tend to be poorly regulated and enforced. Specifically, China’s labor class has been abused and exploited by multinational corporations because of the country’s failure to adequately enforce its labor laws. Turning a blind eye to the violations of workers’ rights in China makes these corporations just as culpable by demanding more from the local manufacturers then evading responsibility for the resulting working conditions. Because multinational corporations do business with …
The Corporate Attorney As “Internal” Gatekeeper And The In Pari Delicto Defense: A Proposed New Standard, Kevin H. Michels
The Corporate Attorney As “Internal” Gatekeeper And The In Pari Delicto Defense: A Proposed New Standard, Kevin H. Michels
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
This Article begins by proposing a distinction between the corporate lawyer’s “internal” and “external” gatekeeping role in order to focus on the special challenge posed by the former. As internal gatekeeper, the corporation lawyer is charged with the restraint of the corporation’s executives and other employees to prevent harm to the lawyer’s corporation client. The external gatekeeper, by contrast, restrains the client to prevent harm to third parties. While each gatekeeping role presents challenges in defining the duties and liability of attorneys, the internal-gatekeeping role is subject to a special defense that can insulate attorneys from liability. Attorneys can interpose …
Intra Law Firm Communications Regarding Questionable Attorney Conduct., Evan King, Jeffrey A. Parness
Intra Law Firm Communications Regarding Questionable Attorney Conduct., Evan King, Jeffrey A. Parness
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
When questions are raised regarding a law firm attorney's representation of a firm client, the questioned attorney often wishes to seek legal counsel. A conferral will often benefit the attorney, the firm, and the client. Conferences regarding questioned conduct should be encouraged, not discouraged. To encourage these beneficial conferrals, a broad attorney-client communication privilege and a broad work-product protection (or privilege) should be available. Availability should not be dependent upon whether in-house, outside, or other legal counsel is employed. While earlier federal precedents were split regarding the availability of the attorney-client communication privilege in the in-house counsel setting, increasingly therein …
Proof Of Exoneration In Legal Malpractice Cases: The Peeler Doctrine And Its Limits In Texas And Beyond., John G. Browning, Lindsey Rames
Proof Of Exoneration In Legal Malpractice Cases: The Peeler Doctrine And Its Limits In Texas And Beyond., John G. Browning, Lindsey Rames
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
This article examines the requirements of "actual innocence" or exoneration as a prerequisite for bringing a claim of legal malpractice against a criminal defense attorney. It analyzes the public policy underpinnings and differing approaches taken in those jurisdictions that have adopted an "actual innocence" requirement. To illustrate the way in which this comparatively recent phenomenon has developed, the Article views the exoneration doctrine through the prism of Texas law, analyzing the doctrine's emergence in Peeler v. Hughes & Luce and discussing how it has expanded over the years. Yet even as this "actual innocence" doctrine has expanded in Texas, recent …
Controversial Defenses To Legal Malpractice Claims: Are Attorney-Experts Being Asked To Be Advocates?, David S. Caudill
Controversial Defenses To Legal Malpractice Claims: Are Attorney-Experts Being Asked To Be Advocates?, David S. Caudill
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Attorney-experts in legal malpractice litigation are like many other experts. Although easily distinguishable from experts offering science based testimony, attorney expertise is similar to that of witnesses offering experience-based testimony, and very much like the expertise of a physician in a medical malpractice case. An attorney-expert is, however, somewhat unique among experts in terms of the type of expertise offered, the inherent risk that the expert's testimony will invade the province of the judge or jury, and, I believe, the risk of over-testifying. First, there is a problem of defining the attorney-expert's "expertise" to ensure that the expert is not …
Online Legal Advice: Ethics In The Digital Age, Paige A. Thomas
Online Legal Advice: Ethics In The Digital Age, Paige A. Thomas
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
The rise of the Internet changed the way initial interactions between lawyers and prospective clients happen. Unfortunately, a host of problems concerning privacy rights and consumer usage have emerged. In this digital age, where immediacy and response time are driving factors in an attorney’s online presence, the approach to establish an attorney-client relationship is far more informal. Due to the quick rise of the Internet and social media, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct do not offer a clear answer for attorneys using social media. An inherent danger lies in off-the-cuff remarks, made on the Internet—a platform generally associated with …
Characterizing Ghostwriting., Debra Lyn Bassett
Characterizing Ghostwriting., Debra Lyn Bassett
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
It is well known that legal services are costly and that existing pro bono services are inadequate to help every individual who would benefit from legal assistance. Compounding this unmet need are various restrictions on the types of clients and types of cases that qualify for pro bono services. For example, Legal Services Corporation lawyers may not represent undocumented individuals, and may not undertake a representation in an abortion, desegregation, or assisted suicide matter. One attempt to mitigate this unmet need is ghostwriting. Analogous to presidential speechwriting, ghostwriting in the legal context occurs when a lawyer drafts a pleading or …
The Agony Of Modern Legal Ethics, 1970-1985., Michael Ariens
The Agony Of Modern Legal Ethics, 1970-1985., Michael Ariens
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
When the American Bar Association (ABA) adopted its Code of Professional Responsibility at its annual meeting in August 1969, the American legal profession was a publicly respected and economically vibrant body. Lawyers, though always more feared than loved, became increasingly important in post-World War II America. The demand for their services exploded for a quarter-century, and lawyers assumed an increased role in the economic and political life of the United States. During the 1950s and early 1960s, the Cold War led American lawyers and other public figures to re-emphasize the rule of law as defining the difference between the United …
“Nudging” Better Lawyer Behavior: Using Default Rules And Incentives To Change Behavior In Law Firms, Nancy B. Rapoport
“Nudging” Better Lawyer Behavior: Using Default Rules And Incentives To Change Behavior In Law Firms, Nancy B. Rapoport
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
In the changing landscape of law practice—where law firm profits are threatened by such changes as increased pressure from clients to economize and the concomitant opportunities for clients to shop around for the most efficient lawyers—are there ways to change how things are done in law firms so that firms can provide more efficient and ethical service? This article suggests that an understanding of cognitive biases and basic behavioral economics will help law firms tweak their incentives and default rules to promote the improved delivery of legal services.
The Role Of Ethics Audits In Improving Management Systems And Practices: An Empirical Examination Of Management-Based Regulation Of Law Firms, Susan Saab Fortney
The Role Of Ethics Audits In Improving Management Systems And Practices: An Empirical Examination Of Management-Based Regulation Of Law Firms, Susan Saab Fortney
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
For decades, legal malpractice experts have urged lawyers to implement risk management measures. To assist law firms in doing so, legal malpractice insurers have provided audit services and self-audit materials. Under the Australian regulatory regime, incorporated legal practices are required to complete a self-assessment process and to report on the firm’s compliance with ten objectives of sound law practice. Using management-based principles, this Article discusses steps to take to encourage ethics audits “to merge good ethics and good business” in the U.S.
Avoid Being A Defendant: Estate Planning Malpractice And Ethical Concerns., Gerry W. Beyer
Avoid Being A Defendant: Estate Planning Malpractice And Ethical Concerns., Gerry W. Beyer
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
An estate planner may become a defendant in a case involving an estate he or she planned in two main ways. First, the attorney may have performed his or her services in a negligent manner potentially creating exposure to malpractice liability. Second, the attorney's conduct may have lapsed below ethically acceptable standards. This Article reviews the exposure an estate planner may have to malpractice liability with emphasis on Texas law and then focuses the reader's attention on ethical issues that may arise while preparing or executing the plan. The author hopes that by pointing out potentially troublesome areas, the reader …
How Do You Rate Your Lawyer? Lawyers’ Responses To Online Reviews Of Their Services, Laurel A. Rigertas
How Do You Rate Your Lawyer? Lawyers’ Responses To Online Reviews Of Their Services, Laurel A. Rigertas
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
With the proliferation of opportunities for consumers to review a variety of services on the Internet, it is only a matter of time until more clients review their attorneys’ services on the Internet. This raises a variety of potential ethical and public policy issues. First, what can attorneys do to try to control their online reputations? Second, if a client posts negative comments about an attorney’s services on a public Internet forum, can the attorney respond on that forum without breaching the duty of confidentiality and, if so, how? Finally, when settling a dispute with a client, may an attorney …
Is Litigation Counsel Who Also Engages In Competitive Decision-Making Wrong For The Part?, David Hricik
Is Litigation Counsel Who Also Engages In Competitive Decision-Making Wrong For The Part?, David Hricik
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
In-house counsel wear different hats, and are often involved in business decisions regarding products, marketing, and other strategic issues. It was in this context that courts began to adopt protective orders that precluded in-house counsel who provided their clients advice with “competitive decision-making” from having access to information from a competitor disclosed in discovery. Prosecution bars present numerous issues for courts and counsel. It may be that because of prosecution counsel’s knowledge of the technology that her service as trial counsel would lead to cost savings and other benefits to her client. However, due to the myriad problems that arise …
Navigating The Pitfalls Of Implicit Bias: A Cognitive Science Primer For Civil Litigators, Nicole E. Negowetti
Navigating The Pitfalls Of Implicit Bias: A Cognitive Science Primer For Civil Litigators, Nicole E. Negowetti
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Cognitive science has revealed that past experiences and prior assumptions, even those of which we are not conscious, greatly influence how humans perceive the world. Emerging research has demonstrated that attorneys and judges, like everyone else, are the products of their gender, ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status. As a consequence, legal decision-making is susceptible to the subtle influences of implicit bias. Effective and ethical client advocacy requires an attorney to understand how her own implicit biases will affect her interactions with clients. An attorney should also acknowledge that implicit biases may affect a judge’s interpretation of her client’s story and …
Why Lawyers Do What They Do (When Behaving Ethically), James Moliterno, John Keyser
Why Lawyers Do What They Do (When Behaving Ethically), James Moliterno, John Keyser
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Since the early 1990s, when David Wilkins published his influential paper “Who Should Govern Lawyers” in the Harvard Law Review, legal ethics scholars and professors have paid attention to the range of processes and devices that govern lawyer behavior. This Article will report on the results of a study currently underway that seeks to provide empirical evidence to answer the question posed in this Article’s title: Do lawyers train staff in confidentiality preservation because they fear bar discipline? Because they fear malpractice liability? Because they must comply with malpractice liability carrier demands? Because they honor client confidences for their own …
Mindful Ethics-A Pedagogical And Practical Approach To Teaching Legal Ethics, Developing Professional Identity, And Encouraging Civility, Jan L. Jacobowitz, Scott Rogers
Mindful Ethics-A Pedagogical And Practical Approach To Teaching Legal Ethics, Developing Professional Identity, And Encouraging Civility, Jan L. Jacobowitz, Scott Rogers
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Aristotle spoke of virtue and ethics as a combination of practical wisdom and habituation—an individual must learn from the application of critical reasoning skills to experience. Perhaps one of the earliest proclamations of the value of experiential learning, the Aristotelian view, reappears throughout history and is captured once again by the Carnegie Foundation’s Report on Legal Education, which includes a call for instruction that provides practical skills and ethical grounding to complement the teaching of legal analysis. The Carnegie Report continues to play a role in the ongoing discussion of the need to reform legal education; a debate that is …
Disqualifying Defense Counsel: The Curse Of The Sixth Amendment, Keith Swisher
Disqualifying Defense Counsel: The Curse Of The Sixth Amendment, Keith Swisher
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Lawyer disqualification—the process of ejecting a conflicted lawyer, firm, or agency from a case—is fairly routine and well-mapped in civil litigation. In criminal cases, however, there is an added ingredient: the Sixth Amendment. Gideon, which is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, effectively added this ingredient to disqualification analysis involving indigent state defendants although it already existed in essence for both federal defendants and defendants with the wherewithal to retain counsel. Once a defendant is entitled to counsel, the many questions that follow include whether and to what extent conflicts of interest—or other misconduct—render that counsel constitutionally ineffective. Most cases and commentary …
The Texas Anti-Indemnity Act., Taylor R. Beaver
The Texas Anti-Indemnity Act., Taylor R. Beaver
St. Mary's Law Journal
Owners, general contractors, and subcontractors enter into agreements to ameliorate risk amongst those exercising control. Some of these include hold-harmless agreements, indemnity agreements, releases, and agreements conferring additional insured status to others. Typically, parties enjoy freedom to contract as they wish. Texas has long recognized, as a matter of public policy, a party’s right to draft contracts however it sees fit. Historically, risk-shifting agreements were enforceable if they passed the fair notice requirements, meaning the express negligence rule and the conspicuousness test. The trend in recent years, however, has been to limit exculpatory clauses. In 2011, the Texas Legislature effectively …
The Aftermath Of Mexico's Fuel-Theft Epidemic: Examining The Texas Black Market And The Conspiracy To Trade In Stolen Condensate., Luke B. Reinhart
The Aftermath Of Mexico's Fuel-Theft Epidemic: Examining The Texas Black Market And The Conspiracy To Trade In Stolen Condensate., Luke B. Reinhart
St. Mary's Law Journal
Organized crime has infiltrated the oil patch, creating a theft network with an annual value of $2–$4 billion. Over the past decade, Mexican drug cartels have plundered mass amounts of natural gas condensate produced by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex)—the governing Mexican agency for production and export of hydrocarbons. The Mexican government has not sat by idly. Pemex’s production losses have skyrocketed from $300 million, between 2006 and 2011, to an estimated $585 million in 2013 alone. Considering derivative costs associated with these thefts, Pemex’s annual losses reach into the billions. Diversified and driven by profits derived from the United States black …
Teach The Women Well: Education Equality Is Key To Preventing Modern Day Slavery Of Women And Girls., Katharine A. Drummong
Teach The Women Well: Education Equality Is Key To Preventing Modern Day Slavery Of Women And Girls., Katharine A. Drummong
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
The key to ending modern-day slavery of women and girls requires placing further support for education initiatives in origin countries. A pro-education approach has yielded the greatest return. Since the beginning of civilization to the present, people have been trafficked and enslaved. Movements to abolish slavery gained momentum at the beginning of the nineteenth century: Great Britain outlawed slave trading in 1807, the United States abolished slavery in 1865, the League of Nations enacted a treaty calling for the end of slavery in 1926, and the efforts have strengthened in modern times. The United States’ Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) …
The Decline Of Civil Jury Trials: A Positive Development, Myth, Or The End Of Justice As We Now Know It?, Xavier Rodriguez
The Decline Of Civil Jury Trials: A Positive Development, Myth, Or The End Of Justice As We Now Know It?, Xavier Rodriguez
St. Mary's Law Journal
Jury participation is helpful in many respects. It fosters an understanding of the third branch of government and the workings of the judicial system. It offers the opportunity for individuals to serve in a unique role: neutral factfinder. Moreover, in an age of declining voter participation, jury service provides individuals with the opportunity to directly participate in our governmental structure. Despite these positive attributes, jury trials as we knew them are on the decline. That may or may not be problematic, depending on what types of cases are being impacted. Where parties have reached a voluntary and informed settlement on …
Perpetuating Property: Exploitative Businesses, The Urban Poor, And The Failure Of Reform., David Ray Papke
Perpetuating Property: Exploitative Businesses, The Urban Poor, And The Failure Of Reform., David Ray Papke
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Rent-to-own outlets, payday lenders, and title pawns should be banned. These industries exploit the urban poor by trapping them into a ceaseless debt cycle and are making the urban poor even poorer. Title pawns provide high-interest loans if would-be borrowers can produce the title to a motor vehicle. Payday lending allows consumers to get cash to buy commodities but are charged high interest rates. The rent-to-own business plays into the idea that consumer goods bring happiness and deceives urban poor with a way to close the gap in order to claim some degree of status. The urban poor who shop …
Muslims Denied: How The Uscis Uses A Formerly Secret Program To Delay And Reject Naturalization Applications From Muslims And Other Minorities., Deepak Amrik Singh Ahluwalia
Muslims Denied: How The Uscis Uses A Formerly Secret Program To Delay And Reject Naturalization Applications From Muslims And Other Minorities., Deepak Amrik Singh Ahluwalia
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
The Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program (CARRP) unduly burdens applicants of the United States naturalization process and creates the nearly impossible task of erasing any national security concern. Minorities, especially minorities of the Muslim faith, are subjected to unfair investigation and adjudication of their naturalization applications. Congress allegedly eradicated discrimination from the naturalization process with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA). The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency in charge of overseeing lawful immigration to the United States, implemented CARRP in 2008 to establish a policy for handling naturalization cases which might be perceived …