Law Commons^™

A History Of Elector Discretion – Part Two, Michael L. Rosin

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In its opinion in Chiafalo v. Washington, the Supreme Court disposes of the actual history of elector discretion as too inconsequential to merit its serious analysis. A history of elector discretion not only includes a history of the electors who exercised discretion when casting electoral votes, it also includes a history of commentary on the role of electors as the Constitution was created and, more importantly, as Congress was attempting to amend it. The Court almost completely ignores this history. When Congress crafted the Twelfth Amendment in 1803 it recognized that “the right of choice [of president] […] devolve[s] upon” …

Stepping Towards Justice: The Case For The Illinois Constitution Requiring More Protection Than Not Falling Below “Cruel And Unusual” Punishment, Andrea D. Lyon, Hannah J. Brooks

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In these tumultuous times, when our nation is trying to not only navigate a global pandemic, but also actually reckon with its long history of institutional racism, mass incarceration, and devastation of poor communities and communities of color, the cry for criminal justice reform is loud and getting louder, particularly regarding sentencing, and it is time for Illinois to require its courts to commit to doing more in accordance with our constitution. In this article, the authors examine the legislative and constitutional history of Illinois, the effects of a series of recent decisions made in the context of the sentencing …

Investigating Pandemic Effects On Legal Academia, Meera E. Deo

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Widening The Lens, Sharpening The Focus: Mental Health And The Legal Profession, Bernice Donald, Alex Bransford

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Awakening: The Impact Of Covid-19, Racial Upheaval, And Political Polarization On Black Women Lawyers, Tsedale M. Melaku

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Social And Cognitive Process In Law School That Creates Unhealthy Lawyers, Kathryne M. Young

Fordham Law Review

Previous work on law student wellness and mental health strongly suggests that the seeds of professional unhappiness are sown in law school. Law students suffer from anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and other mental health problems at alarmingly high rates. They also leave law school with different concerns, commitments, and cognitive patterns than when they entered, emerging less hopeful, less intrinsically motivated, and more concerned with prestige than they were at the outset. So what, exactly, happens to people in law school? Although a rich body of quantitative and survey-based research on law students documents these empirical trends, surprisingly little qualitative …

Who Needs Adverse Possession?, Nadav Shoked

Fordham Law Review

Adverse possession is one of property law’s most central doctrines. Yet, this Article contends, the need it answers has been largely misunderstood. Adverse possession’s doctrinal effects are clear—and stark: when its requirements are met, an owner loses her land to an invader. To explain a doctrine instituting such a radical result, scholars resort to property law’s major philosophical theories. These theories, they argue, at times demand that an owner lose her land to another person who is more committed to that land. The problem with these prevailing justifications of adverse possession, this Article shows, is that they imagine a very …

Affirmative Immunity: A Litigation-Based Approach To Curb Appellate Courts’ Raising Qualified Immunity Sua Sponte, Michael E. Beyda

Fordham Law Review

Qualified immunity, to put it simply, provides public officials with immunity from civil lawsuits if they have violated an individual’s constitutional rights under their official authority and those rights were not “clearly established” at the time of the official’s actions. The doctrine has evolved into an elaborate framework that has plagued civil rights plaintiffs, as well as courts, for decades. Qualified immunity is an affirmative defense, and affirmative defenses are waived if not raised appropriately by the defendant. Moreover, issues that are not properly raised before the trial court, including affirmative defenses, are generally not considered for the first time …

Taking A Stand: Climate Change Litigants And The Viability Of Constitutional Claims, Mina Juhn

Fordham Law Review

In response to the accelerating effects of global warming, individuals and citizen groups in the United States have brought suit against the federal government to challenge the adequacy of existing climate change policies. Though statutory and tort claims comprise the bulk of these actions, plaintiffs have begun alleging that government inaction on climate change violates constitutional and fundamental rights. In these matters, the federal judiciary generally applies threshold justiciability doctrines, such as standing and the political question doctrine, to deny judicial review. This Note examines the reasoning behind the judiciary’s application of these doctrines and evaluates the appropriate scope of …

Clean Water Act Jurisdiction Over Groundwater Discharges After County Of Maui V. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Jocelyn Lee

Fordham Law Review

The Clean Water Act is the principal federal law aimed at controlling pollution of the nation’s water resources, yet it does not provide comprehensive oversight of pollutants entering groundwater, the subsurface water that often feeds into rivers, lakes, and oceans. This Note examines a recent Supreme Court decision, County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, which appeared to endorse a theory of federal regulation of groundwater discharges under the Clean Water Act. County of Maui established a “functional equivalent” standard, under which a discharge through groundwater is subject to the Clean Water Act’s permitting requirements if it is the functional …

Transgender Inmates’ Right To Gender Confirmation Surgery, Marissa Luchs

Fordham Law Review

The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. It ensures that the state’s power to punish is exercised within the bounds of evolving standards of human decency. At the time of its enactment in 1791, the Eighth Amendment merely protected against torture and other physically barbarous treatments. However, as society’s standards of decency changed, so too did the scope of the Eighth Amendment. Today, among other protections, the Eighth Amendment mandates that prisons provide inmates with adequate conditions of confinement. This includes an obligation on the part of the prison to provide adequate medical care. But a great deal of …

The Sunset Of The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act Of 2016 And The Rise Of The Demand And Refusal Rule, Fallon S. Sheridan

Fordham Law Review

During World War II, hundreds of thousands of works of art were confiscated by Nazis under the direction of Adolf Hitler or sold for less than market value by members of the Jewish community fleeing Nazi Germany. Shockingly, an estimated 100,000 of the 600,000 works that were taken are still missing today. In recognition of the need for laws that adequately assist original owners (and their heirs) in recovering these works of art, the U.S. Congress passed the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016 (“the HEAR Act”). The HEAR Act supplanted state statutes of limitations for Naziconfiscated artwork with …

Seeing Color: America's Judicial System, Elizabeth Poulin

Senior Honors Projects

In many eyes, it often seems as though being white in America is easy, or a privilege. Being white in America is considered a safety blanket, with an abundance of opportunities beneath it. Yet, how does a physical difference such as skin color manifest itself as privilege? Noticing color is not wrong, hateful, or oppressive. Even children notice color, and we define them as the ultimate innocence. But in fact, skin color is often a trigger. When the world has preconceived notions about people of color, an oppressive system designed to harm people who have never done anything to deserve …

Take Note: Teaching Law Students To Be Responsible Stewards Of Technology, Kristen E. Murray

Catholic University Law Review

The modern lawyer cannot practice without some deployment of technology; practical and ethical obligations have made technological proficiency part of what it means to be practice-ready. These obligations complicate the question of what constitutes best practices in law school.

Today’s law schools are filled with students who are digital natives who don’t necessarily leverage technology in maximally efficient ways, and faculty who span multiple generations, with varying amounts of skepticism about modern technology. Students are expected to use technology to read, prepare for class, take notes, and study for and take final exams. Professors might use technology to teach or …

There’S A Pro-Abortion Rights Case To Be Made For Keeping The Hyde Amendment, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

Collected biweekly contributions to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news site.

How To Look Like A Lawyer, Ann Juliano

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

Law schools often claim that they are teaching students “how to think like a lawyer.” What is less touted, however, is that students are learning how to look like a lawyer. They receive this message from multiple sources (faculty, alumni, peers, the career office) concerning a variety of situations: class, interviews, moot court, trial team, symposia and conferences. For law students who are first generation, these sources may be the only avenue (apart from the entertainment industry) of determining how to look like a lawyer. For law students who are transgender or gender non-binary, dress code advice dispensed along …

What To Do About The Coming Crisis In The Rule Of Law, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

Collected biweekly contributions to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news site.

Homestead: Conveyance By One Spouse Joined By Himself As Attorney In Fact For The Other Spouse, George O. Pringle

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.

Federal Income Tax: Who Made The Sale, The Corporation Or The Shareholder?, John B. Orr Jr.

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.

Federal Income Tax: Income From Patent Royalty Contracts Assigned By Husband To Wife Not Taxable To Husband, William H. Carey

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.

Federal Income Tax: Reduction Of Par Value Of Stocks Is Not A Partial Liquidation Of Corporation, W. T. Stockton Jr.

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.

Evidence: Quantum Of Proof Required To Establish A Resulting Trust, William J. Lemmon

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.

Criminal Law: Waiver Of Right To Review Instructions By Failure To Object At Trial, John S. Van De Motter

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.

Divorce: Decree That Husband Support Children Not Enforceable Against His Estate, R. Thomas Nelson Jr.

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.

Criminal Law: Temporary Insanity Produced By Voluntary Intoxication, Russell H. Mcintosh

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Law: A Violation Of Bill Of Rights By Federal Agents Is Not An Actionable Wrong Per Se, Elbert B. Griffis Jr.

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.

Attorney And Client: What Constitutes Practice Of Law By An Accountant?, Michel G. Emmanuel

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.

Adverse Possession: Sufficiency Of Allegations In Bill Of Particulars To Show Intent To Claim Adversely, Allen Crouch

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.

Divorce: Lump Sum Payment Of Alimony, Virgil L. Milbrath

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.

Florida's Simultaneous Death Statute, Osee R. Fagan

Florida Law Review

No abstract provided.