Law Commons^™

The Citizens Were Heard, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Victory In Rhode Island, Donna M. Hughes Dr., Michael Horowitz

Donna M. Hughes

Because Parliament Can, Jim Corkery, Anthea Gerrard, Damien Lockie

Anthea Gerrard

Comment on the drafting of arbitrary taxation and the large variety of taxes levied in Australia at various levels of government. A carbon tax may be preferred to a 'cap and trade' emissions trading system.

Speak Your Voice On Prostitution Bill, Donna L. Landry, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Refining The Democracy Canon, Christopher Elmendorf

Christopher S. Elmendorf

This Essay responds to Professor Rick Hasen’s forthcoming article, The Democracy Canon. Hasen identifies an intriguing and until now largely unnoticed practice in many state courts--to wit, the construing of election statutes with a strong thumb-on-the-scales in favor of easing voters' access to the polls and of rendering ballots eligible to be counted. Hasen defends this “pro voter” canon of interpretation and commends it to the federal courts. I argue that Hasen’s Canon cannot stand on the normative foundation he has poured for it, and that the federal courts’ adoption of the Canon would probably have significant costs (for example, …

Science, Public Bioethics, And The Problem Of Integration, Orlando Carter Snead

O. Carter Snead

Public bioethics — the governance of science, medicine, and biotechnology in the name of ethical goods — is an emerging area of American law. The field uniquely combines scientific knowledge, moral reasoning, and prudential judgments about democratic decisionmaking. It has captured the attention of officials in every branch of government, as well as the American public. Public questions (such as those relating to the law of abortion, the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, and the regulation of end-of-life decisionmaking) continue to roil the public square.

This article examines the question of how scientific methods and principles can and …

Science, Public Bioethics, And The Problem Of Integration, Orlando Carter Snead

O. Carter Snead

Public bioethics — the governance of science, medicine, and biotechnology in the name of ethical goods — is an emerging area of American law. The field uniquely combines scientific knowledge, moral reasoning, and prudential judgments about democratic decisionmaking. It has captured the attention of officials in every branch of government, as well as the American public. Public questions (such as those relating to the law of abortion, the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, and the regulation of end-of-life decisionmaking) continue to roil the public square.

This article examines the question of how scientific methods and principles can and …

A "Pay Or Play" Experiment To Improve Children's Educational Television, Lili Levi

Lili Levi

This Article addresses both the constitutionality and the efficacy of the FCC’s current rules that require broadcasters to air children’s educational programming. It argues that, even though the rules would probably pass muster under the First Amendment, they should nevertheless be substantially revised. Empirical studies show mixed results, with substantial amounts of educationally insufficient programming. This is predictable – attributable to broadcaster incentives, limits on the FCC’s enforcement capacities, and audience factors. Instead, the Article advises a turn away from programming mandates. It proposes a “pay or play” approach that allows broadcasters to pay a fee to a fund for …

Can The 'Death Tax' Kill Charity Too? The Impact Of Legislation On Charitable Bequests, Kristine Knaplund

Kristine Knaplund

The national debate over the federal estate tax has caused fear in American charities over the past ten years, a fear that is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Since Congress acted in 2001 to repeal the dreaded 'death tax' for one year, for those dying in 2010, charities and individuals have become increasingly concerned about the impact of a repeal on charitable donations. While only a small percentage of charitable gifts come in the form of gifts at death, these few but generous incidents in fact amount to billions of dollars, and are imperative to the operation of …

Killing Capital Punishment In New Jersey: The First State In Modern History To Repeal Its Death Penalty Statute, Robert Martin

Robert J. Martin

This article examines how opponents of the death penalty were successful in lobbying and eventually achieving statutory repeal of New Jersey’s death penalty statute in December 2007. The primary goal of the article is to offer inspiration and guidance for similar efforts in the thirty-five states that still authorize capital punishment. In reviewing lessons learned from New Jersey, the article demonstrates that abolition proved both difficult and doubtful. Led by a small group of organizers and sympathetic legislators, the advocates of abolition faced multiple challenges. The article focuses special attention on their key strategic decisions: pursuit of both legislation and …

The Obstructionism Of Senator Paul Jabour, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Action Alert For Senate: Comments On Human Trafficking Bills, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Testimony On Human Trafficking Bill, Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

A Reappraisal Of Attorneys' Fees In Bankruptcy, Michelle A. Cecil

Michelle A. Cecil

The current mortgage foreclosure crisis, coupled with the country’s economic downturn and escalating consumer costs, have combined to place a crippling burden on the nation’s bankruptcy system. During difficult economic times such as this, it is imperative that the bankruptcy system operate efficiently, as it provides a social safety net for both consumers and businesses. Unfortunately, there are many issues of statutory interpretation left unanswered in the Bankruptcy Code, and these issues have placed an increased burden on the country’s bankruptcy courts. This Article seeks to resolve one thorny issue of statutory interpretation: the treatment of attorneys’ fees in bankruptcy. …

Taming The Mandibles Of Death: Secrecy, Disclosure, And Fiduciary Duties In The Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act, Allan Vestal, J. Callison

Allan W. Vestal

This article traces the development of limited liability company disclosure and fiduciary duty provisions from the Uniform Limited Liability Company Act to the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act using the community, party autonomy, and structural models.

Missing The Mark: An Overlooked Statute Redefines The Debate Over Statutory Interpretation, William Blatt

William S. Blatt

No abstract provided.

Missing The Mark: An Overlooked Statute Redefines The Debate Over Statutory Interpretation, William S. Blatt

William S. Blatt

No abstract provided.

Missing The Mark: An Overlooked Statute Redefines The Debate Over Statutory Interpretation, William S. Blatt

William S. Blatt

No abstract provided.

Missing The Mark: An Overlooked Statute Redefines The Debate Over Statutory Interpretation, William Blatt

William S. Blatt

No abstract provided.

Missing The Mark: An Overlooked Statute Redefines The Debate Over Statutory Interpretation, William Blatt

William S. Blatt

No abstract provided.

Missing The Mark: An Overlooked Statute Redefines The Debate Over Statutory Interpretation, William S. Blatt

William S. Blatt

No abstract provided.

Section 529 Prepaid College Tuition Scholarships: Help In Uncertain Economic Times, Carol Zeiner

Carol Zeiner

The economy is wretched. The United States’ economic recovery is dependent in part on the country’s position in a global economy. If we as a nation wish to remain competitive in a knowledge-based economy that requires a higher level of education, we must facilitate greater access to postsecondary education. Unfortunately, in the last two decades, the United States has fallen from first to tenth place in the world in the proportion of its population that has obtained that all important postsecondary education. President Obama has set a goal of restoring the United States to first place by 2020. The United …

Missing The Mark: An Overlooked Statute Redefines The Debate Over Statutory Interpretation, William Blatt

Luciana Raffo

No abstract provided.

The ‘Growth Budget’: Disciplined And Responsible Government Spending For Future Prosperity, Neil H. Buchanan

Neil H. Buchanan

This essay considers how spending by the federal government can improve long-term living standards. The familiar concept of “capital budgeting” separates government expenditures into two categories: purchases of goods and services for current consumption that provide no long-term payoff (“operating expenditures”), and purchases of productive capital goods that do generate long-term payoffs (“capital expenditures”). Within that framework, I advocate expanding the range of possible public investments that would count as capital expenditures to include those that do not produce physical infrastructure but that nevertheless provide long-term economic benefits. Adding these items – such as spending on basic research, health care, …

Legislative Supremacy In The United States?: Rethinking The Enrolled Bill Doctrine, Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov

Dr. Ittai Bar-Siman-Tov

This Article revisits the “enrolled bill” doctrine which requires courts to accept the signatures of the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate on the “enrolled bill” as unimpeachable evidence that a bill has been constitutionally enacted. It argues that this time-honored doctrine has far-reaching ramifications that were largely overlooked in existing discussions. In addition to reexamining the soundness of this doctrine’s main rationales, the Article introduces two major novel arguments against the doctrine. First, it argues that the doctrine amounts to an impermissible delegation of both judicial and lawmaking powers to the legislative officers of Congress. Second, …

Free At Last! Anti-Subordination And The Thirteenth Amendment, Rebecca Zietlow

Rebecca E Zietlow

Notwithstanding the powerful symbolism that liberty has in the American psyche, liberty is largely absent from our late Twentieth Century understanding of civil rights, which instead is based in the Equal Protection Clause and its promise of formal equality. People of color and women of every race have made significant advances under the Equal Protection model of equality, but they continue to lag behind whites and men under virtually every economic index. This paper argues for an alternative model of equality, an anti-subordination model, which allows decision-makers to focus on the material conditions that contribute to inequality in our society, …

Interpreting Initiatives And Referenda, Steven Johansen, Stephen Raher

Stephen Raher

No abstract provided.

Fitting Punishment, Juliet P. Stumpf

Juliet P Stumpf

Proportionality is conspicuously absent from the legal framework for immigration sanctions. Immigration law relies on one sanction – deportation – as the ubiquitous penalty for any immigration violation. Neither the gravity of the violation nor the harm that results bears on whether deportation is the consequence for an immigration violation. Immigration law stands alone in the legal landscape in this respect. Criminal punishment incorporates proportionality when imposing sentences that are graduated based on the gravity of the offense; contract and tort law provide for damages that are graduated based on the harm to others or to society. This Article represents …