Law Commons^™

Discharging Student Loans Via Bankruptcy: Undue Hardship Doctrine In The First Circuit, Anthony Bowers

University of Massachusetts Law Review

Student loans are presumptively non-dischargeable through bankruptcy, but the undue hardship doctrine provides an equitable “safety valve” for the indigent. To date, the United States First Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to select a single legal test for determining undue hardship under the United States Bankruptcy Code (“Bankruptcy Code”). Within the jurisdiction of the First Circuit, bankruptcy courts are free to choose an approach to evaluate undue hardship. In an effort to ensure consistency throughout the bankruptcy courts within the First Circuit, it would be ideal if the First Circuit would choose one of the undue hardship tests. However, …

Making Judge-Speak Clear Amidst The Babel Of Lawspeakers, Michael A. Wolff

Missouri Law Review

As law became more of a publicly traded commodity in the 1990s, courts, including the Supreme Court of Missouri, began to hire public information officers. It may strike you as odd, when you think about it, as to why a court that communicates with words would need someone assigned to explain to the wordsmiths of the media – and sometimes to the public itself – what judges meant by the collections of words in their judicial opinions. But today, we take it for granted that public information officers are essential to the operation of a state supreme court, and although …

A Tribute To Vincent L. Mckusick, 1921—2014, Derek P. Langhauser

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

Advice From The Bench (Memo): Clerk Influence On Supreme Court Oral Arguments, Timothy R. Johnson, David R. Stras, Ryan C. Black

Marquette Law Review

Scholars of the U.S. Supreme Court have long debated the role, and possible influence, of clerks on the decisions their Justices make. In this Paper, we take a novel approach to analyze this phenomenon. We utilize pre-oral argument bench memos sent to Justice Harry A. Blackmun from his clerks. Specifically, we use these memos to determine whether Justice Blackmun asked questions of counsel that were recommended by his clerks in the memos. Our data indicate Justice Blackmun often followed his clerks’ advice. Accordingly, we provide another important link to demonstrate Supreme Court clerks can and do affect how their Justices …

Narrowing The Scope Of Judicial Review For Humanitarian Appeals Of Deportation Orders In Canada, New Zealand And The United States, Timothy Philip Fadgen, Guy Charlton, Mark Kielsgard

Journal of Public Law and Policy

The paper will compare the humanitarian and compassionate appeal provisions in relevant immigration law allowed to deportees in Canada, New Zealand and the United States. It argues that while recent changes in each of the countries have preserved the humanitarian appeals process, the basis of the appeal and judicial review have been dramatically narrowed by changes in legislation and case law. These changes have particularly limited the scope of judicial review and the ability of the courts to overturn administrative decisions regarding the fitness of an applicant to benefit from the appeal provisions.

Dred Scott: A Nightmare For The Originalists, Sol Wachtler

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Appellate Division, Second Department, Smith V. Marrus, Elaine Yang

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Does Religion Have A Role In Criminal Sentencing?, Jack B. Weinstein

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Right Wing Justice: The Conservative Campaign To Take Over The Courts, Herman Schwartz

Herman Schwartz

Right Wing Justice raises the alarm about the creeping conservative campaign to "pack" America's courts with judges more identified with their ideological affiliation than their skill or regard for the Constitution. The consequence is that the rule of law is taking a terrific beating from the Supreme Court. Who can forget the debacle of Election 2000? But the consequences of the campaign go far deeper than that, impinging on the daily lives of ordinary Americans who are at the receiving end of attempts to overturn or erode Supreme Court rulings on abortion, school prayer, civil rights, criminal justice, and economic …

Why Julie Bishop Is Wise Not To Judge Israeli Settlements Illegal, Gregory L. Rose

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

There was once consensus that the earth is flat. Similarly, the international legal situation of Israeli settlements is flatly said to be criminal. The truth is different and more complex.

Ben Saul’s recent article on the “dirty politics of Israel’s criminal colonial enterprise” was passionate in its hostility to Israeli settlements but its legal arguments were lacklustre. He declared the existence of 50 years of consensus among the United Nations General Assembly, Security Council and the International Court of Justice concerning the illegality of the settlements, but there has never been such a thing.

Urban construction by Israelis in the …

Dynamics Of The Courtroom Workgroup, Paige Chretien

Honors Projects

The roles and responsibilities of the various members included in the courtroom workgroup were evaluated in determining the prevalence of ordinary injustices. The dynamics among such members were found to be the basis under which lax adversarialism, and ultimately injustice within the criminal justice system, dominates. Prosecutorial discretion and inadequate public defense systems were observed to compromise justice on several occasions.

The Dual Role Of A Chief Justice., Catherine Stone

St. Mary's Law Journal

Notwithstanding the growing trend of high-dollar judicial election campaigns, many citizens do not know what appellate judges and appellate courts do. Faced with the reality of obscurity and the ever-present potential of failed reelection campaigns, appellate judges work each day to fulfill the mission of appellate courts: to efficiently resolve the legal disputes presented in appeals from lower court decisions with written opinions that are well reasoned, thoroughly researched, and intellectually honest. It is the responsibility of the Chief Justice to promote that core mission with all justices on the court, thereby working to best serve the legal needs of …

Some Thoughts On The Fundamentals Of An Evidence Code From The U.S. American Perspective, Paul F. Rothstein

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In the U.S. American trial system proof mainly consists of live witnesses presented in open court under oath before the judge, jury, and parties, subject to perjury laws. Cross-examination of the witnesses in that setting is the principal (though not the only) form of testing their reliability. It is for these reasons that we have a rule against hearsay (second-hand reporting in court of what someone has said outside of court).