Law Commons^™

The Road To Abolition: How Widespread Legislative Repeal Of The Death Penalty In The States Could Catalyze A Nationwide Ban On Capital Punishment, Nicholas M. Parker

Legislation and Policy Brief

On December 17, 2007, former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine signed into law a bill that abolished his state’s death penalty, saying he felt a “moral duty to end ‘state-endorsed killing.’” With Corzine’s signature, New Jersey became the fourteenth state to eradicate the death penalty, and the first to do so legislatively since Iowa and West Virginia legislators did away with capital punishment in 1965. The vote by New Jersey lawmakers followed close, but ultimately unsuccessful, votes on similar bills in Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, and New Mexico earlier in 2007. And while it took more than thirty-one years for …

Circumventing The Electoral College: Why The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Survives Constitutional Scrutiny Under The Compact Clause, Michael Brody

Legislation and Policy Brief

It’s Election Night 2016. Brian Williams stands by at NBC, waiting to give the first returns of the night. “Kentucky to Christie,” Williams triumphantly announces to kick off the evening’s festivities. Kentucky turns flush red on NBC’s virtual election map. Williams continues: “Maryland to Clinton.” Now comes the hard part for Williams. Clinton won Maryland by an incredible two-to-one margin. NBC viewers intently watch the map, expecting to see the Old Line State turn blue. Instead, Maryland sits idly in its static grey color. This election has something new.

Confused NBC viewers keep watching, waiting for Williams to provide an …

The Referendum Process In Maryland: Balancing Respect For Representative Government With The Right To Direct Democracy, Steven G. Shapiro

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article will examine the Maryland referendum petition process to determine whether any changes in the current law should or could be made. This includes whether the legislature should reverse the holding in Whitley, whether it should add additional requirements to and restrictions on the signature gathering process, and whether the percentage of voters needed for a successful challenge should be increased.

First, as a matter of policy, should the law be changed? For example, does it strike the proper balance between respect for the legislative process and allowing for more voices in legislative matters by the public at large? …

Bread And Roses: E.E.O.C. V. Bloomberg L.P. And The Case For A Work-Life Balance, Marissa N. Goldberg

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

Caught In A Trap - Paternity Presumptions In Louisiana, Evelyn L. Wilson

The Modern American

No abstract provided.

'Simple' Takes On The Supreme Court, Robert Tsai

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This essay assesses black literature as a medium for working out popular understandings of America’s Constitution and laws. Starting in the 1940s, Langston Hughes’s fictional character, Jesse B. Semple, began appearing in the prominent black newspaper, the Chicago Defender. The figure affectionately known as “Simple” was undereducated, unsophisticated, and plain spoken - certainly to a fault according to prevailing standards of civility, race relations, and professional attainment. Butthese very traits, along with a gritty experience under Jim Crow, made him not only a sympathetic figure but also an armchair legal theorist. In a series of barroom conversations, Simple ably critiqued …