Law Commons^™

Death In The Shadows, Lucille A. Jewel

Scholarly Works

This paper is about the law and visual culture. Its centerpiece is Parson Weems’ Fable (1939), a painting by the American artist Grant Wood (1891-1942) that depicts the apocryphal story of George Washington and the cherry tree. At first glance, Wood’s image appears to celebrate an enduring myth of American virtue, namely Washington’s precocious inability to tell a lie. Studying the picture more closely, however, one finds a pair of black figures, presumably two of the Washingtons’ slaves. Stationed beneath dark storm clouds and harvesting cherries from a second tree, these slaves invoke yet another national myth, that of the …

One Rule Of Law Project In Post-Soviet Russia, Albert E. Scherr

Law Faculty Scholarship

"One Rule of Law Project in Post-Soviet Russia" is published as Chapter 9 of the book At Home Abroad: Friendship First - A Look at Rule of Law Projects and Other International Insights, (ed. Joseph Nadeau, New York: Austin Macauley Publishers LLC, 2019). This book provides personal insights into an international cooperative effort to promote the rule of law in emerging democracies around the world. Professor Scherr's chapter examines the cultural context within a study of the rule-of-law project that was conducted between 1999 and 2004 in Vologda, Russia.

A Call For America’S Law Professors To Oppose Court-Packing, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals

How State Courts Can Help America Recover The Rule Of Law: The Pennsylvania Experience, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals

Judicial Education, Private Violence, And Community Action: A Case Study In Legal Participatory Action Research, Kristin (Brandser) Kalsem

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

In this Article, I present a case study of a legal PAR project involving judicial training on best practices in domestic violence cases. This judicial education project started over coffee and waffles, involved an award-winning documentary film Private Violence, and resulted in the training of more than 375 judges on best practices developed from two years of collaborative research conducted by a community action group. In 2014, I coauthored an article titled It's Critical: Legal Participatory Action Research with my colleague Emily Houh. In this piece, we introduced legal scholars to the field of PAR, including its origins, complementary relationship …

Erosions Of The Work/Non-Work Divide, Alex B. Long

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Where Do We Go From Here?, George Kuney, Joan Macleod Heminway, Howard E. Katz

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

John The Theologian: Towards Integrating Law And Religion, Gordon Butler

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

Every dean leaves an impact on the law school they serve and its faculty. St. Thomas Law Dean Makdisi supported and encouraged Professor Siegfried Wiessner's effort in creating an LL.M. program in Intercultural Human Rights. While others will laud his many accomplishments as dean in the J.D. program, his impact on the religious heritage and Catholic mission of St. Thomas Law was greatest in the LL.M. program.

Professionalism For Law Teachers: Lessons Learned From John Makdisi, Daniel B. Bogart

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

I believe that there are valuable lessons to be learned from the way John approaches life as a teacher and the way that his life as a scholar affects his work as an educator. With that in mind, I intend to use this essay as an opportunity to reflect on what I might term "academic professionalism." John's approach to his professional life serves as an extraordinarily convenient model on which to base a few, important rules.

John Makdisi On The Intercultural Origins Of The Common Law, Marc-Tizoc Gonzalez

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

In this Essay, I pay homage to John Makdisi on the occasion of his retirement. Since joining the St. Thomas Law faculty in 2011, I have esteemed him as one of the law school's senior Property Law professors, yet-truth be told-at times also felt intimidated by him for his deep knowledge of the subject, particularly present estates and future interests, coupled with his serious demeanor, penetrating gaze, and cogent arguments at faculty meetings. 4 Especially during tenuretrack faculty reviews of my teaching, I worried that my relative inexperience in teaching the subject might cause me to commit an embarrassing error. …

Doing Well By Being Good: How U.S. Labor Law Encourages Employer Good Faith Behavior, Douglas E. Ray

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

This essay will discuss ways in which that duty of good faith bargaining is enforced and how a series of decisions by the courts and the National Labor Relations Board designed to increase employer power and flexibility have inadvertently encouraged and compelled employers to bargain in good faith by conditioning use of their most powerful weapons on their participation in good faith bargaining. The presence of economic weapons held in reserve is a powerful negotiating lever and an employer which has forfeited the ability to use weapons such a permanent striker replacement, lockout, and unilateral change will have substantially less …

The Transformation Of Marriage As A State Institution, John Makdisi, June Mary Zekan Makdisi

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

The first section of this essay explores why the good of children requires the institution of marriage to promote the procreation of children by the act of physical-spiritual love between a man and a woman. The second section explores why the good of children requires the institution of marriage to promote the upbringing of children by the lasting, exclusive, and faithful commitment of the couple. The third section explains why Obergefell's removal of the requirement of a legal union between a man and a woman as an essential aspect of marriage not only destroys the function of the marriage institution …

Differing Schools Of Thought: Changing Perceptions Of Oral Argument, Spencer D. Levine

St. Thomas Law Review

In this paper I will examine the changing perceptions of oral argument, as well as examine and review the data provided by the Office of State Courts Administrator ("OSCA") for Florida's appellate courts. Their data summarized the dispositions of all appeals in Florida from 2011 to 2015. The dispositions are separated between those cases disposed by oral argument and those cases disposed without oral argument. From this research, we can observe whether this data comports with the changing perceptions of oral argument. If there is a divergence in views, one may attempt to determine why. Is it rooted in the …

Are Administrative Law Judges Officers Of The State: Constitutional Considerations In The Selection And Tenure Of Administrative Law, Eric H. Miller

St. Thomas Law Review

One of the hallmarks of the Florida Administrative Procedure Act is the creation of a pool of hearing officers independent from any agency or the direct control of any political figure. Since its substantial revision in 1974, the statute has always provided for the selection and hiring of administrative law judges ("ALJ") by the Director of the Division of Administrative Hearings. ALJs hear almost every type of case, from licensure denials to environmental permitting challenges. In most cases, the ALJ weighs the evidence and legal arguments before recommending findings of fact, conclusions of law, and proposed final disposition to the …

Mandatory Arbitration Of Sexual Assaults In Maritime Law, Andrew Bratslavsky

St. Thomas Law Review

This Comment discusses the emergence of mandatory arbitration clauses in seafarer employment contracts, and how these clauses impact cases of sexual assault. Part II will trace the origin of arbitration, the history of seafarer rights and remedies, a Supreme Court decision that opened the door to arbitration of sexual assaults, and its progeny in the Eleventh Circuit. Finally, Parts III and IV will suggest solutions to address the issue presented in this Comment. With that in mind, this Comment does not aim to disparage or discredit arbitration at large. Arbitration, when mutually agreed to, can be an effective means of …

Florida's Direct File Statute: A Prosecutor's Playground, Kristen Chirino

St. Thomas Law Review

This Comment will examine the advantages and disadvantages of direct file statutes, focusing primarily on Florida. Part II of this Comment analyzes the three different types of waiver-judicial, legislative, and prosecutorial-and discusses Florida's juvenile transfer laws, specifically Florida's direct file statute. Part III discusses the issues stemming from Florida's direct file statute, particularly that the statute is arbitrary, does not deter crime, increases recidivism, and goes against the Supreme Court finding that juveniles are different from adults. Lastly, Part IV proposes to eliminate discretionary prosecutorial direct file, and how the Florida Legislature can limit prosecutors' discretionary power in the meantime.

Protecting Our Pets: Courtroom Advocate Or Special Prosecutor?, Tamara Winkler

St. Thomas Law Review

This Comment seeks to evaluate the current legal landscape surrounding animal cruelty laws, with a specific focus on Desmond's Law and O.R.C. § 2931.18. Connecticut's new law has placed a spotlight on an area of the law which has not been given the priority it so desperately needs. Animal cruelty is a type of interpersonal violence that does not occur in isolation, and placing more importance on animal cruelty laws can help prevent violence against humans. First, this Comment will provide a history of animal rights laws around the globe, followed by a detailed discussion of why animal abuse issues …

Florida Needs To Protect Grandma & Grandpa, Jessica A. Alvarez

St. Thomas Law Review

This Comment discusses how amending Florida Senate Bill 896 ("S.B. 896") to incorporate more specific language regarding who can consent to electronic monitoring devices in the residents' rooms will help it pass and become part of Section 400.022, Florida Statutes." Part II will examine the current law in Florida and the attempts to amend it. Part III will explain that allowing electronic monitoring devices is in the best interest of both the resident and the nursing home, and will touch upon issues regarding expectations of privacy." Lastly, Part IV proposes to change the language of S.B. 896 so that it …

Welcome To Trump's Ice Age: Violations Of Undocumented Immigrants' Fourth Amendment Rights During Workplace Raids, Gianni Piantini

St. Thomas Law Review

This Comment addresses the implications of ICE agents violating Fourth Amendment rights of undocumented immigrants who have been unreasonably seized during workplace raids. Part II discusses how the Fourth Amendment protections extend to the workplace, as well as the influence of ICE on immigration law and how the Fourth Amendment applies in the immigration context. Part IH addresses how Trump's antiimmigrant oratory has encouraged ICE to conduct workplace raids, which result in egregious violations of the Fourth Amendment. Part III further addresses the effect of the holding in Delgado on workplace raids and how ICE has conducted the raids in …

Expanding Pre-Suit Discovery Production And Preservation Orders, Jeffrey A. Parness, Jessica Theodoratos

College of Law Faculty Publications

There are now few written federal or state civil procedure laws broadly authorizing pre-suit discovery. Yet with the increasing amounts of electronically stored information (ESI) relevant to future civil litigation, the regularity of ESI loss/destruction, and the growing availability of substantive law claims involving pre-suit evidence spoliation, there is a compelling need for new written laws on pre-suit court orders involving evidence preservation.

Current written civil procedure laws generally authorize pre-suit discovery perpetuating witness testimony via depositions in order to prevent a failure of justice arising because a witness will likely be unavailable later. Fewer procedural laws authorize pre-suit discovery …

Faithful Parents: Choice Of Childcare Parentage Laws, Jeffrey A. Parness

College of Law Faculty Publications

In July 2017, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) approved and recommended for enactment in all U.S. states a new Uniform Parentage Act (UPA). This Act follows the 1973 and 2000 UPAs, which have been widely adopted. While all three UPAs recognize forms of childcare parentage beyond biological ties (in and outside of marital births) and formal adoptions, the 2017 UPA is quite expansive in recognizing such forms, including in its provisions on de facto parentage, voluntary acknowledgment parentage, and intended parentage of children born of assisted reproduction. These expanded forms of childcare parentage, relevant to …

Coerced Choice: School Vouchers And Students With Disabilities, Claire Raj

Faculty Publications

The landscape of public education, once thought to be a core function of the state, is shifting towards privatization. The appointment of Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education further cements this shift. In particular, DeVos intends to vastly expand the availability of vouchers and tax credits that use public dollars to fund private school tuition. The debate over this expansion and its impact on traditional public schools has been polarizing and combative. Thus far, commentators have framed vouchers as purely matters of choice and increased educational opportunities. Drowned out in the debate are the voices of students with disabilities. …

Breaking The Norm Of School Reform, Derek Black

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

C Is For Cookie: Is The Eu's New "Cookie Law" Good Enough To Protect My Data?

The International Lawyer

[...]data breaches have consistently increased in recent years, with almost 1,300 breaches in 2017 and over 600 as of July 24, 2018.11 This is obviously a problem that affects millions of people across the globe each year and is expected to continually increase as the global economy becomes ever more digital, forcing some to call for action. [...]the comment will speculate as to any potential legal developments as a result of the GDPR's implementation in the European Union and ways that it may evolve over time to affect not only the European Union but also other nations that do business …

Celebration And Mourning: The Valparaiso University School Of Law, Michael L. Swygert

Valparaiso University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Roscoe Pound's, "The Case For Law", Richard Stith

Valparaiso University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of The Warren Court And Natural Rights On Substantive Due Process, James Marmaduke

Calvert Undergraduate Research Awards

Advanced Research Winner 2019:

While the concept of substantive due process has guided judicial decision making even prior to the Civil War, it has become a lightning rod among the juristic community especially since the 1960s. This controversy includes issues ranging from the applicability and reliability to the cogency and legitimacy of the doctrine of substantive due process Many scholars attribute the skepticism toward the concept of substantive due process to be the result of a paradigm shift in the middle of the 20^th century when this concept transitioned from an economic and property rights based approach to one …

A Blind Spot In Miranda Rights: Juveniles' Lack Of Understanding Regarding Miranda Language, Wadad Barakat

St. Thomas Law Review

This Comment addresses the negative implications of juveniles who waive their Miranda rights due to lack of knowledge, fear, and lack of cognitive capabilities." First, this Comment will provide insight regarding the Fifth Amendment, the history of Miranda, and key cases that lead to the reform of Miranda. Second, this Comment will discuss juveniles' perspective of the Miranda language along with the police's perspective. In particular, it will emphasize the complexity of the language as it stands today and how juveniles' cognitive abilities are insufficiently developed to understand it. Lastly, this Comment will propose guidelines to prevent minors from giving …

To Friend Or To Unfriend?: It's Time To Update The Status On What It Means To Be Facebook Friends, Carolina A. Del Campo

St. Thomas Law Review

This comment analyzes what a Facebook friendship encompasses in the legal profession and focuses on what courts, specifically Florida, recognize this relationship to mean. Part II provides an overview of the process for judicial disqualification and reviews the opinions released by the Florida Judicial Ethics Committee regarding judicial participation on social media." Part III discusses how traditional friendships have been considered in regards to judicial disqualification and compares what other states have understood a Facebook friendship to encompass versus what Florida has concluded. Lastly, Part IV proposes a new Judicial Ethics Opinion that reflects a more modernized understanding of the …

"Scientific Inference" Vs. "Legal Reasoning"? -Not So Fast!, Susan Haack

Articles

To understand why the interactions of science with the legal system can be so problematic, it's not enough to gesture vaguely towards a supposed contrast between scientific and legal "modes of thinking"; we need to look, instead, to the consequences of the different purposes of science and the law, the different constraints under which they pursue those purposes, and the different cultures of the two enterprises. From this perspective we can see why the law sometimes asks more of science than science can give, and sometimes gets less from science than science could give; and also why a simple dichotomy …