Law Commons^™

Discriminatory Effect And The Fair Housing Act, Robert G. Schwemm

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This article addresses the question of whether housing practices that produce discriminatory effects violate the Fair Housing Act. The language and legislative history of the statute are examined, the analogy to employment discrimination law is explored, and the principal Title VIII cases are considered in an effort to determine just what racial discrimination is under the Fair Housing Act. This analysis leads to a suggested approach for evaluating Title VIII cases that are based on discriminatory effect, including how such an effect may be shown by the plaintiff and what significance such a showing should have in terms of the …

Reclaiming Coal Surface Mines In Central Appalachia: A Case Study Of The Benefits And Costs, Richard C. Ausness, Alan Randall, Oren Grunewald, Sue Johnson, Angelos Pagoulatos

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Regulatory alternatives for the surface mining industry have come under intense public and political scrutiny in recent years. Recent studies have found that the impacts of federal surface mine reclamation regulations' will be noticeable, but perhaps not as substantial as some had expected. Nationwide, coal production from surface mines would be reduced by about five percent, with a similar increase in underground coal production. The federal reclamation legislation, depending on the regulations eventually adopted for its implementation, is unlikely to be a major disruptive influence in the coal industry or a substantial impediment to the long-run national goal of increased …

Presuming Lawyers Competent To Protect Fundamental Rights: Is It An Affordable Fiction?, Robert G. Lawson

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This article explores the ramifications of Wainwright v. Sykes, a case decided before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1977. The broad question before the Court in Sykes concerned the extent to which state prisoners should have access to federal court by use of the writ of habeas corpus. The narrow issue before the Court concerned the impact on a prisoner's claim for habeas relief of procedural defaults (such as a failure to object to evidence, a failure to perfect an appeal, etc.) that occur in the state proceeding under attack. In considering these important issues Justice …

Kentucky Law Survey: Evidence, Robert G. Lawson

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This article is a survey of Kentucky law on evidence. Almost as often as not the government's case in criminal litigation will contain evidence indicating that the accused committed some offense other than the one for which he is being tried. Consequently a set of rules to control the use of evidence of "other crimes" has evolved. In most jurisdictions it consists of a single rule that prohibits the use of such evidence against a defendant along with a group of exceptions that virtually engulfs the prohibition against admissibility. Kentucky law is so structured. As all lawyers who engage in …

Voluntary Recapitalization, Fairness, And Rule 10b-5: Life Along The Trail Of Santa Fe, Rutheford B. Campbell Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In corporate recapitalizations, the board of directors will sometimes propose a recapitalization plan which substantially alters the “bundle of rights” represented by preferred shares. Although these plans cannot usually be completed without the approval of a majority of the preferred shareholders, the preferred shareholders are at a disadvantage to protect their interests for several reasons. Thus preferred shareholders who are dissatisfied with the change in their rights will sometimes call upon state courts to enjoin the recapitalization on the grounds that it is unfair or fraudulent; state courts, however, have provided only slight protection for preferred shareholders. In this article, …

The Plight Of Small Issuers Under The Securities Act Of 1933: Practical Foreclosure From The Capital Market, Rutheford B. Campbell Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The thesis of this Article is simple: the Securities Act of 1933 does not work very well for small issuers, a premise which the Securities and Exchange Commission appeared to tacitly recognize in a series of announcements released early this year. Because of a combination of exorbitant costs, unmanageable levels of ambiguity, unworkable resale provisions and contamination caused by prior illegal sales of stock, a small issuer often is unable to comply with the 1933 Act. As a result it may be difficult or even impossible for a small issuer to raise capital by selling stock.

There are obvious pernicious …

Water Use Permits In A Riparian State: Problems And Proposals, Richard C. Ausness

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Although adequate supplies of water are generally available in Kentucky, the law governing its use and allocation is much less satisfactory. At present, Kentucky water law is a complex mixture of common law and statutory water rights. The purpose of this article is to evaluate these water rights and suggest a number of improvements. Part I will examine the common law rules as they relate to both surface water and ground water. Part II will focus upon Kentucky's present system of statutory water use regulation and will identify some of its more serious deficiencies. Part III will recommend some short-range …

Santa Fe Industries, Inc. V. Green: An Analysis Two Years Later, Rutheford B. Campbell Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

In 1977, the Supreme Court decided Santa Fe Industries, Inc. v. Green. Although the outcome of that decision should have surprised no one, since the trend of the Court clearly had been to constrict the scope of the federal securities legislation, the case was a major decision that will have a substantial impact on the development of corporate law in this country. Indeed, it may turn out to be one of the most significant corporate cases decided by the Supreme Court in recent years. Since by this point the dust has settled from the case, it seems appropriate to …

The Hidden Tax Trap Of I.R.C. Section 6672, Stephen J. Vasek Jr.

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Two recent decisions of the United States Supreme Court examined section 6672 of the Internal Revenue Code. In Slodov v. United States, the Court expressed its views on the personal liability of business managers for unpaid taxes on employee wages. Discharging such liability because of the personal bankruptcy of the business manager was considered in United States v. Sotelo. The focal point of these cases—section 6672 of the Internal Revenue Code—provides for the potential liability of business managers for the employees’ share of taxes on wages (hereinafter trust fund taxes).

Although Slodov and Sotelo are helpful in understanding …

Cooperative Apartments: A Survey Of Legal Treatment And An Argument For Homestead Protection, Carolyn S. Bratt

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

“The homestead may be a splendid mansion, a cabin or a tent,” but can it be a cooperative apartment? The supreme courts of both Florida and Georgia recently have answered this question in the negative. The Florida Supreme Court denied to a widow a homestead exemption in her deceased husband's cooperative apartment, ruling that a cooperator has no proprietary interest in the apartment, the building, or the land on which the building is situated. The Georgia Supreme Court denied a homestead tax exemption to cooperators because they lacked the characteristics of ownership needed to bring them within the constitutional exemption …