Law Commons^™

Discharge Of Rcra Injunctive Claims In Bankruptcy: The Seventh Circuit's Decision In United States V. Apex Oil Co., Inc., Diana E. Rdzanek

Seventh Circuit Review

In its recent decision in United States v. Apex Oil, Inc., the Seventh Circuit considered whether an injunction under an environmental statute, even one that requires significant expenditures on the part of the debtor, could ever be a "right to payment" under the Bankruptcy Code, which would allow the claim to be discharged in the bankruptcy. The Seventh Circuit answered in the negative. Since the Supreme Court's decision in Ohio v. Kovacs, the federal circuits have disagreed on the discrete issue of when a claim arises for purposes of bankruptcy with respect to clean-up injunctions under environmental laws. …

What Does Speed Have To Do With It?: An Analysis Of The Seventh Circuit's Application Of The Speedy Trial Act, Meagan S. Winings

Seventh Circuit Review

A defendant's right to a speedy trial is ensured by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, as well as the Speedy Trial Act. The right was created to prevent oppressive pretrial incarceration, to minimize anxiety and concern of the accused, and to limit the possibility that the defense will be impaired. The Speedy Trial Act is to be interpreted in light of this purpose; however, the Seventh Circuit, along with the other circuits and the Supreme Court, has deviated from this principle.

The Seventh Circuit has applied the excludable days exception within the Speedy Trial Act so liberally as to …

The Gatekeepers Keep Changing The Locks: Swanson V. Citibank And The Key To Stating A Plausible Claim In The Seventh Circuit Following Twombly And Iqbal, Gregory L. Grattan

Seventh Circuit Review

In Swanson v. Citibank, the Seventh Circuit debated with new vigor how to properly interpret and apply the Supreme Court's requirement that all complaints state a plausible claim. Following the Supreme Court's decisions in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, if a complaint in any civil case does not state "a claim to relief that is plausible on its face," then it fails to meet the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) and is subject to dismissal under Federal Rule 12(b)(6). In Swanson, Judge Diane Wood advocated for a liberal interpretation of …

How Less Is More: The Unraveling Of The Inextricable Intertwinement Doctrine Under United States V. Gorman, Jaime L. Padgett

Seventh Circuit Review

In July 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit explicitly abolished the long-standing doctrine of inextricable intertwinement as a basis of admissibility for other bad acts evidence. The court held in United States v. Gorman that the doctrine had "become overused, vague, and quite unhelpful" and as such, "has outlived its usefulness." The court eliminated this basis of admissibility in favor of the exclusive use of Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). Although the two bases have different origins and initial purposes, by virtue of confusion and realities of the judicial system, the bases have come to …

Two-Thirds Of An Evidentiary Requirement: Are Courts Too Strict In Construing The Two-Thirds Citizenship Requirement Of The Cafa Home-State Exception?, John P. Orellana

Seventh Circuit Review

In In re: Nextel Sprint Corporation, the Seventh Circuit addressed the requirement that plaintiffs show that two-thirds of class members are citizens of the state under the CAFA home-state and local controversy exceptions in order to avoid removal to federal court. A plaintiff class, composed of Kansas residents subscribing to the defendant's cell phone service under Kansas cell phone numbers and receiving their bills at Kansas mailing addresses, sought remand to state court. Though the court found common sense intuitions implicated that the class likely satisfied the two-thirds citizenship requirement of the home-state exception, the court refused to remand …

Papa Don't Preach: Badger Catholic V. Walsh Muddies The Line Between Church And State, Nicholas K. Graves

Seventh Circuit Review

Religion's role in government activity marks a contentious area in the legal community. The First Amendment, by its own language, is ambiguous and fails to give true, clear guidance on where a line might be drawn between religion and government. Spirited debate on their coexistence is all but a constant in American society. Enter public education. The edification of American children from kindergarten through higher education has led to furious debate on when and where it is appropriate for religion to enter. In a recent case, Badger Catholic v. Walsh, the Seventh Circuit discussed religion in education in the …

Conclude To Exclude: The Exclusionary Rule's Role In Civil Forfeiture Proceedings, Daniel W. Kaminski

Seventh Circuit Review

The United States Supreme Court established the exclusionary rule in order to deter law enforcement officers from conducting illegal searches and seizures. By excluding illegally seized evidence, the Court looked to provide American citizens with a remedy to uphold their Fourth Amendment rights. Traditionally, the exclusionary rule excluded only illegally obtained evidence in criminal proceedings. In One 1958 Plymouth Sedan v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, however, the Court applied the exclusionary rule to civil forfeiture proceedings because the forfeiture statute was quasi-criminal in nature: like a criminal proceeding, its object was to penalize the commission of an offense.

The forfeiture …

Federal Preemption Of State-Law Failure-To-Warn Claims: Has The Presumption Against Preemption Gone Too Far?, Amanda N. Hart

Seventh Circuit Review

Prescription drug warning labels are regulated by both state products liability law and federal regulations imposed by the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Often, federal law acts as a minimum standard to which states may add stricter labeling requirements. Occasionally, however, state and federal labeling requirements place a prescription drug manufacturer in a position where compliance with state products liability law causes it to violate federal regulations and vice versa. When this occurs, a decision must be made as to whether state or federal drug labeling requirements prevail. Historically, courts have taken the position that state products liability law preempted …

Scrutinizing The Seventh Circuit: How The Court Failed To Address The "Levels Of Scrutiny" Quagmire In United States V. Skoien, Kyle J. Pozan

Seventh Circuit Review

In Footnote 4 of United States v. Carolene Products, frequently referred to as the most famous footnote in constitutional law, the Supreme Court advanced the idea that a narrower standard of review, one that calls for a "more searching judicial inquiry," should operate against the presumption of constitutionality for legislation that is aimed at a discrete and insular minority, or legislation that infringes on a fundamental right. In the landmark decision of McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for self-defense is a fundamental right that …

What's New In Windows 7, Debbie Ginsberg

Presentations

In this Brown Bag, Debbie Ginsberg gives a tour of some of the new tools available in Windows, Outlook, Word, and Excel.

First Amendment Martyr, First Amendment Opportunist: Commentary On Larry Flynt's Role In The Free Speech Debate, Rodney A. Smolla

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

From Falwell To Obama And Everyone (And Everything) In Between: Larry Flynt Unfiltered In Chapel Hill, Clay Calvert, Robert D. Richards

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

Prosecuting Obscenity Cases: An Interview With Mary Beth Buchanan, Robert D. Richards, Clay Calvert

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

Proximity To Power: How People Keep Governments Honest, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

It is widely accepted that governments are likelier to cater to majority needs. However, history has shown, time and again, that unhappy minorities are a force to be reckoned with. Inequality, on top of an absence of channels by which people may voice their needs and discontent, will motivate insurrections – especially if the dissenting minorities are concentrated within the country's capital city. According to a study conducted by assistant professors Do Quoc-Anh and Filipe Campante from SMU and Harvard University respectively, an "honest", accountable government may have just as much to do with geography as it does with leadership. …

2010-2011 Gsulr Masthead, Georgia State University College Of Law

Law Review Mastheads

No abstract provided.

How To Fix The Sexting Problem: An Analysis Of The Legal And Policy Considerations For Sexting Legislation, Lawrence G. Walters

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

Snyder V. Phelps, Private Persons And Intentional Infliction Of Emotional Distress: A Chance For The Supreme Court To Set Things Right, W. Wat Hopkins

First Amendment Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Cross Examiner, Seton Hall University School Of Law

Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Rape Victims As Mockingbirds: A Law And Linguistics Analysis Of Cross-Examination Of Rape Complainants, Sara D. Schotland

Buffalo Journal of Gender, Law & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

Gas Flaring In Nigeria‘S Niger Delta: Failed Promises And Reviving Community Voices, Eferiekose Ukala

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

This Note examines the use of litigation to stop gas flaring in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, and proposes an alternative solution to the ongoing gas flaring in the Niger Delta region. In exploring an alternative solution, this Note (1) details the history of gas flaring in Nigeria; (2) discusses Nigeria’s gas-flaring legislation and its implementation; (3) analyzes the impact that landmark gas flaring cases have had on the stoppage of gas flaring; and (4) details how litigation has been used as a tool to combat gas flaring, juxtaposing the concept of the rule of law. This Note concludes by suggesting that …

The Improbability Of Meaningful Climate Change Regulation: A Constructivist Understanding Of The Global Commons And The Need For U.S. Leadership, Stacey Valentine

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

Climate change is a topic that permeates today’s scientific, political, and social discourse. It is a term that is both widely known and hotly debated across the country and across the globe. While an ever-increasing majority of the scientific and political realms has come to the conclusion that meaningful climate change regulation is necessary to prevent negative repercussions across the globe, there is little consensus on what that regulation should look like or how to bring it about. The nature of greenhouse gases, or GHGs, makes international cooperation a must if the world hopes to prevent and avoid the experts’ …

Using The Federal Communication Commission’S Tower Construction Notification System As A Model For Siting Nuclear Waste On Native American Land, Casey Zivin

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

Since the advent of nuclear power in the United States in the mid-20th century, the federal government has struggled to find a suitable location to store the hazardous waste associated with nuclear power generation. In 1991, in an attempt to solve the problem of storing nuclear waste, the federal government created grant programs which offered funding to states and Native American tribes who volunteered to store nuclear waste on their lands. One tribe in particular, the Skull Valley Goshute of Utah, viewed storing nuclear waste as an opportunity to infuse their reservation with monies. Further, because tribes enjoy sovereign status …

Torch (September 2010), Brandon Baldwin, Civil Rights Team Project

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

The Development Of Environmental Governance Regimes: A Chinese-Inspired Reconstruction, Roda Mushkat

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

The challenge of protecting the biosphere has both salient academic and policy dimensions. On the academic side, persistent efforts have been made in the field of socio-legal studies to enhance the understanding of the complex processes involved, in the domestic arena and on the international front, in the formation and transformation of the elaborate institutional arrangements designed to contribute to this goal. The scholars engaged in those efforts have pursued divergent paths, but one school of thought has moved decisively to the forefront. China’s experience does not cast doubt on its relevance, or even prominence, yet it suggests that multi-pronged …

The Alberta Legal Services Mapping Project: Report For The Wetaskiwin Judicial District, Glynnis Lieb

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice

The Wetaskiwin Judicial District is the eighth of eleven Alberta Judicial Districts to be mapped as part of the Alberta Legal Services Mapping Project (ALSMP). The ALSMP is a large-scale, multi-year endeavour, designed to gain an understanding of the legal needs of Albertans and of the legal services available in Alberta.

September 1, 2010: Is Eat Pray Love Religious?, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “Is Eat Pray Love Religious?“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Asia Alone? Not Time Yet To Jettison Ties, Knowledge@Smu

Knowledge@SMU

Much has been written about the relationships between America and Asia, largely built on the rubble of the Cold War. It is now a very different world. Following the recent financial crisis, the strains and changes in the relationship between has been further accentuated. A growing number in Asia were talking of extending the de-coupling beyond just economical ties. Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, provides his views on how Asia and America should change and engage each other for the post-crisis future. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What Should Organized Human Rights Activism In Africa Become? Contributory Insights From A Comparison Of Ngos And Labor-Led Movements In Nigeria, Obiora Chinedu Okafor

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

What, if anything, might the significantly greater success of Labor-led human rights movements in Nigeria, as compared to the performance of the self-described human rights NGOs that also operate in that country, tell us about the ways to optimize organized human rights activism in Nigeria, and perhaps in the rest of the African continent? This is the central question that animates this article. After a review of the character of and modes of struggle employed by, both kinds of human rights groups, the article argues that the important institutional and conceptual differences that exist between Labor and the NGOs explain …

In Land We Trust': The Endorois' Communication And The Quest For Indigenous Peoples' Rights In Africa, Korir Sing' Oei A., Jared Shepherd

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

This article examines Communication 276/2003, Center for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group International on behalf of the Endorois Welfare Council v. Kenya, argued before the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The Endorois Communication is one of the first indigenous rights claims to be examined by an international body after the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

This article begins by placing the Communication within the context of the international indigenous rights movement. The authors then explore the Commission's historical use of Articles 60 and 61 of the African Charter …

Just War In International Law: An Argument For A Deontological Approach To Humanitarian Law, Ryan Dreveskracht

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

No abstract provided.