Law Commons^™

Privacy Doesn't Exist In A Vacuum, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Answering The "Serious Constitutional Question": Ensuring Meaningful Review Of All Constitutional Claims, George Bach

Faculty Scholarship

In 2012, the Supreme Court in Elgin v. Department of the Treasury clarified the standard that should apply when a federal statute purports to remove judicial review of all constitutional claims. The Court confirmed that, if a statute only channels judicial review of a constitutional claim into a specific avenue (for example, through administrative review and then the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals), then Congressional intent to do so need only be fairly discernible.' Alternatively, if a statute precludes all judicial review of a constitutional claim, there must be 'clear Congressional intent.' The Court explained that the reason for these …

The Greenback, The Humpback, And The Silverback: How A Third Wave Of Federal Water Policy Could Benefit The West, Reed D. Benson

Faculty Scholarship

Proposing any major new federal initiative regarding water in the western United States might seem preposterous, given conventional wisdom and entrenched positions on state control of water resources. But there is a strong rationale, and a growing imperative, for a new federal water .policy for the West. Many river basins face serious problems as limited water supplies are over-allocated, demands continue to increase, and climate change promises to exacerbate the West's perennial problems of scarcity and variability. Solutions to such problems are likely to be expensive and will need to address national interests as well as state and local concerns. …

Deportations Violate U.S., Global Laws, Jennifer Moore

Faculty Scholarship

The detention and summary deportation of these moms and kids is in violation of U.S. and international law.

We Don't Need A "Right To Be Forgotten." We Need A Right To Evolve, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

The sad symptom of a judgmental culture

Why The Supreme Court Beard Case Matters, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

How Serious Is The Supreme Court About Religious Freedom?, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

A new case will test whether the justices' defense of conscience in Hobby Lobby applies to minority religions like Muslims, or just to Christians.

10 Reasons Preet Bharara Should Be The Next Attorney General, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Great Nations Can Work On Mistakes, Kevin Washburn

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Responsibility To Protect In The Ebola Outbreak, Jennifer Moore

Faculty Scholarship

When the UN General Assembly endorsed the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in 2005, the members of the United Nations recognized the responsibility of states to protect the basic human and humanitarian rights of the world’s citizens. In fact, R2P articulates concentric circles of responsibility, starting with the individual state’s obligation to ensure the well-being of its own people; nested within the collective responsibility of the community of nations to assist individual states in meeting those obligations; in turn encircled by the responsibility of the United Nations to respond if necessary to ensure the basic rights of civilians, with military means …

Brief For American Civil Liberties Union Of New Mexico, Ramirez V. Stateof N.M. Children Youth And Families Department, George Bach

Faculty Scholarship

Brief on state sovereign immunity.

Humanitarian Protection For Unaccompanied Children From Central America, Jennifer Moore

Faculty Scholarship

We are approaching World Humanitarian Day, an occasion to honor the talents, struggles, and sacrifices of tens of thousands of humanitarian workers serving around the world in situations of armed conflict, political repression, and natural disaster.

Indian Gaming – The Next 25 Years, Kevin Washburn

Faculty Scholarship

Testimony of Kevin K. Washburn Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs United States Department of the Interior Before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Oversight Hearing

Impossible Choices: Balancing Safety And Security In Domestic Violence Representation, Camille Carey, Robert A. Solomon

Faculty Scholarship

Domestic violence victims often face the impossible choice between physical safety and financial security. State intervention can offer some protection to victims, but enlisting the criminal justice system through reporting domestic violence or restraining order violations can have drastic financial consequences. Involving the state is likely to lead to sanctions for the abuser which would ultimately deprive the victim of child support, alimony, and other financial support, which may be the totality of the victim’s financial resources. To avoid this result, many victims refuse to enforce court orders intended to maximize their safety. This article examines the context in which …

Brief For Professors At Unm School Of Law As Amicus Curiae, Fry V. Lopez, George Bach

Faculty Scholarship

Argument:

This Court should reject the application of the death sentence to Robert Fry and Tim Allen for statutory and constitutional reasons. First, H.B. 285, 49th Leg., 1st Sess. (N.M. 2009) repealed the statutory authority governing execution of the death sentence. Without statutory authority, the Corrections Department cannot act. In addition, in light of the repeal of the death sentence in New Mexico, the application of the death sentence to Mr. Fry and Mr. Allen would violate the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the New Mexico Constitution. An alternative basis for precluding the use …

Copyright Expert Burr Shares Love For Writing, Teaching, Sherri L. Burr

Faculty Scholarship

Sherri Burr was one of the first to offer to teach a workshop at last year’s National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) conference in Salt Lake City. I was impressed with her enthusiasm for what she does. In addition, this amazing woman lectures around the world on copyright protection, in addition to being a university professor teaching intellectual property law in New Mexico. Meet another unique, unbelievable NFPW member.

How Law Schools Are Responding To Decreasing Applications And Job Prospects In The United States, Carol M. Suzuki

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Law And Order Commission Report: “A Roadmap For Making Native America Safer.”, Kevin Washburn

Faculty Scholarship

Testimony of Kevin K. Washburn Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs United States Department of the Interior Before The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs On The Law and Order Commission Report: “A Roadmap for Making Native America Safer.”

Public Opinion And The Limits Of State Law: The Case For Federal Usury Caps, Nathalie Martin

Faculty Scholarship

Each year, states pour millions and millions of dollars of taxpayer money into regulating high-cost credit products like payday, title, and installment loans. These loans typically carry interest rates of 400-1,000% per annum. Most Americans are unaware that it is legal to charge these rates in some states. Moreover, most Americans, regardless of political affiliation, favor capping interest on consumer loans at 36% or less. While a number of states do cap interest on all consumer loans at 36% or less, the majority does not; the majority chooses instead to leave these loans unregulated or to use another regulatory approach. …

Forrest Gerard’S Legacy Is Self-Determination For Tribes, Kevin Washburn

Faculty Scholarship

The passing of Albuquerque resident and former Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, Forrest J. Gerard, on Dec. 28 provides an opportunity to take stock of the important federal Indian policies he championed and his contributions to Native Americans across the country deserve to be celebrated.

Mental Retardation And The Death Penalty: The Need For An International Standard Defining Mental Retardation, Allison Freedman

Faculty Scholarship

I. INTRODUCTION

Within the international community, there is a consensus against the imposition of the death penalty on individuals with mental retardation. The United States Supreme Court and several international human rights bodies have recognized that individuals with mental retardation should not be subject to the death penalty. Additionally, most countries maintain that individuals who are insane or mentally retarded are shielded from execution. However, reports of individuals with mental retardation who are facing the death penalty continue to surface.

One reason for this may be the lack of an international standard defining mental retardation. There is currently great variation …

Tribal Environmental Programs: Providing Meaningful Involvement And Fair Treatment, Jeanette Wolfley

Faculty Scholarship

Tribal governments are developing and implementing federally authorized and/or approved tribal environmental programs in the areas of water quality, air quality, and solid waste. As part of this federal delegation process there are federal requirements relating to due process and fair treatment of the public and stakeholders who may be affected by the tribal environmental laws and regulations. This article explores and examines public participation and due process within the tribal context and proposes tribal institutions are in the best position to articulate the tribal cultural and social norms of public participation and fair treatment. It is through this process …

Legal Education At A Crossroads: Innovation, Integration, And Pluralism Required!, Antoinette M. Sedillo Lopez, Robert F. Seibel, Peggy Maisel, Karen Tokarz

Faculty Scholarship

We conclude in this Article that expanded practice-based, experiential education will provide foundational learning for the successful transition from law student to law practice, and that clinical education (in-house clinics, hybrid clinics, and externships) is crucial to the preparation of competent, ethical law graduates who are "ready to become professionals." We urge law schools to require each graduate complete a minimum of twenty-one experiential course credits over the three years of law school, including at least five credits in law clinics or externships. Twenty-one required credits (or roughly 25 percent of the eighty-three required credits for graduation from an American …

Judicial Modesty In The Wartime Context, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

“The most important thing we do is not doing,” Justice Louis D. Brandeis noted of the Supreme Court. At the height of the Civil War, the Supreme Court in Roosevelt v. Meyer claimed that it could not review, and therefore let stand, a state court decision upholding the Legal Tender Act (“Act”), a critical wartime measure designed to stabilize the Union economy and fund the Union’s war efforts. In this essay, I suggest that this oft-overlooked case warrants the legal community’s consideration because it implicates a question fundamental to our constitutional system: should the courts decline judicial review—or, “not do”—in …

How Contract Boilerplate Can Bite, Alex Ritchie

Faculty Scholarship

Lawyers and academics often use the term “boilerplate” to refer to standardized non-negotiable contracts that prey upon consumers. But for more sophisticated contracts drafted and negotiated by transactional lawyers, the term refers to those common, usually short, and seemingly innocuous provisions at the end of the contract, often under a heading entitled “general” or “miscellaneous.” While these provisions seem harmless enough, for those transactional lawyers unfortunate enough to see 50 or 100 page contracts the subject of litigation, experience shows that crafty litigators with ample time and will to research and argue the meaning of each word in the contract …

The Fair Labor Standards Act: A Tool For Those Who Represent Employees, Claimants, And Plaintiffs, Joseph A. Schremmer, Sean M. Mcgivern

Faculty Scholarship

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938 is a comprehensive federal statute that regulates minimum wages, maximum hours, and child labor. This article is intended to provide background for the general practitioner in an effort to help advance the interests of Kansas Association for Justice clients and workers. The FLSA was created to hold disreputable employers to account for chiseling their workers. The tangle of rules and regulations that followed may have complicated the operation of a basically straightforward law. But as long as lawyers understand and can navigate these highly technical provisions, FDR’s grand vision for fair and …

Name Narratives: A Tool For Examining And Cultivating Identify, Margaret E. Montoya, Irene Morris Vasquez, Diana V. Martinez

Faculty Scholarship

This paper uses Critical Race Theory and LatCrit terminology, analytical approaches, and discursive conventions, including autobiographical narratives. From their inception, names are embedded with meaning and coded with identity, and over time, they become layered with nuance and memory. We divide this article into three sections, Part I is a brief overview of recent commentaries in newspapers and public radio related to names, particularly as they pertain to identity and specifically to Latinas/os. Part II is a description of how Professor Irene Vasquez has used Name Narratives in the undergraduate classroom to help students deepen their understanding of their cultural …

Exposing The Institutions That Mask Us, Christine Zuni Cruz

Faculty Scholarship

I am going to stand in tribute to Professor Montoya and her family and to the Chicana/o-Latina/o Law Review, which brings us to this point where we are considering and celebrating Professor Montoyas Mascaras, Trenzas, Y Grenas: Un/Masking the Self While Un/Braiding Latina Stories and Legal Discourse, twenty years after its initial publication. Professor Montoya's article is timeless.

The Story Behind A Letter In Support Of Professor Derrick Bell, Margaret E. Montoya

Faculty Scholarship

Jointly authored with Cheryl Nelson Butler, Sherrilyn Ifill, Suzette Malveaux, Natsu Taylor Saito, Nareissa L. Smith and Tanya Washington. Professor Derrick A. Bell, Jr. had a long and proud history of disturbing authority. He is widely noted as one of the founders of Critical Race Theory. His scholarship on race was not only a direct challenge to the traditionally conservative legal academy, but also to the more liberal bastions within the academy, such as the Critical Legal Studies movement. His writings about the role of race in American law have made him one of the most prominent legal scholars of …

Creatures Of Circumstance: Conflicts Over Local Government Regulation Of Oil And Gas, Alex Ritchie

Faculty Scholarship

Scholars periodically note the impending upsurge in local oil and gas regulation, offering various reasons for increased local action. Papers written only a few years ago attribute greater local action in the West to population growth, increased urbanization, and increased demand for energy. Consider, however, more recent phenomena. First, population migration from more liberal states to more traditionally conservative producing states likely plays a role, as new residents [11-4] bring perspectives opposing drilling activity. Second, while the suburbs continue to expand into the oil patch, the oil patch has expanded into the suburbs and urban areas as well. Hydraulic fracturing …