Law Commons^™

Boumediene As A Constitutional Mandate: Bivens Actions At Guantanamo Bay, Ian Samson

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

The legal status of and the rights of the persons detained at the United States' facility at Guantdnamo Bay are two of the preeminent questions facing today's legal scholars. The United States initially presented Guantdnamo as a legal netherworld-neither fully within nor exempted from the rule of law. But the Supreme Court's decision in Boumediene v. Bush rejected the government's characterization by deciding that, whatever the legal status of Guantdnamo may be, it certainly is not what the government imagined. This note argues that Boumediene's de jure versus de facto sovereignty distinction applies beyond the writ of habeas corpus and …

Marketplace Of Ideas 2.0: Excluding Viewpoints To Include Individuals, Robert Luther Iii

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

What are the implications of the Christian Legal Society v. Martinez decision? First, in ruling that public universities may require that all recognized student organizations permit any and "all comers" to be eligible for all offices of the organization, the Court issued a narrow rule that is praiseworthy for its clarity but for little else. Second, and on the issue of precedent, it is worth noting that by ratifying Hastings' "all-comers" policy, the Court overlooked numerous precedents and historical facts that recognize the rights of students to associate with those of similar beliefs on campus and free of university-imposed burdens. …

California Dreaming: A Case To Give States Discretion In Providing In-State Tuition To Its Undocumented Students, Debra Urteaga

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

Should undocumented students qualify for in-state tuition? In a recent decision by the California Supreme Court, the answer is "yes." California Education Code section 68130.5 provides that anyone, including undocumented immigrants, may qualify for in-state tuition if the student has attended a California high school for at least three years and has graduated from a California high school. This issue, however, has been the subject of heated controversy for some time, and certain college students went as far as to sue the Regents of the University of California for admitting undocumented students into their schools. The arguments, however, are misguided.

The Role Of Reporter For A Law Project, Rory K. Little

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

Professor Little has served as the Reporter for the ABA's Task Force to Revise the Criminal Justice Standards for the Prosecution and Defense Functions since 2005. In this introductory essay for a unique joint publication Symposium between the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly and the Hastings Law Journal focused on the Standards, Professor Little provides his description of the role of a Reporter for a law project. Surprisingly, despite almost a century of academics serving as Reporters for law projects sponsored by the American Law Institute and the ABA, there is no literature providing the "inside story" of a Reporter's role. …

A Different Path Taken: Texas Capital Offenders' Post-Atkins Claims Of Mental Retardation, Peggy M. Tobolowsky

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

In 2002, in Atkins v. Virginia, the United States Supreme Court held that the execution of mentally retarded offenders is unconstitutional, and entrusted the enforcement of this constitutional ban to the states. In the absence of legislative action in Texas, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has established substantive and procedural standards to resolve Texas offenders' Atkins claims of mental retardation for offenders seeking state post-conviction relief. This Texas appellate court has also specified most of the standards to resolve Atkins claims at the trial court level and on direct appeal. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth …

Spreading The Wealth: Is Asset Forfeiture The Key To Enticing Local Agencies To Enforce Federal Drug Laws, David T. Gibson

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

The "War on Drugs" has proven a costly program for the federal government. One of the ways that this ambitious and resource intensive effort has sustained itself is through asset forfeiture of property previously held by criminals. By seizing title to confiscated property that has been used directly in drug crimes or indirectly to further a criminal conspiracy, the government has been able to absorb substantial resources to further its efforts in waging its drug war against drug criminals.

Asset forfeiture is a powerful tool wielded by law enforcement, and can quickly and effectly shut down drug production and trafficking …

The Impact Of Third-Party Financing On Transnational Litigation, Cassandra Burke Robertson

Faculty Publications

Third-party litigation finance is a growing industry. The practice, also termed “litigation lending,” allows funders with no other connection to the lawsuit to invest in a plaintiff’s claim in exchange for a share of the ultimate recovery. Most funding agreements have focused on domestic litigation in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. However, the industry is poised for growth worldwide, and the recent environmental lawsuit brought by Ecuadorian plaintiffs against Chevron demonstrates that litigation funding is also beginning to play a role in transnational litigation.

This article, prepared for a symposium on “International Law in Crisis,” speculates about …

Meaningful Use And Certification Of Health Information Technology: What About Safety?, Sharona Hoffman, Andy Podgurski

Faculty Publications

Health information technology (HIT) is becoming increasingly prevalent in medical offices and facilities. Like President George W. Bush before him, President Obama announced a plan to computerize all Americans’ medical records by 214. Computerization is certain to transform American health care, but to ensure that its benefits outweigh its risks, the federal government must provide appropriate oversight.

President Obama’s stimulus legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 29 (ARRA), dedicated $27 billion to the promotion of health information technology. It provides payments of up to $44, per clinician under the Medicare incentive program and $63,75 per clinician under the …

Symposium On Commercial Speech And Public Health, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

Americans have access to more health-related information today than ever before. Consumers are bombarded with medical messages and flooded with health-based claims. Television and magazine advertisements inform consumers about everything from insomnia and erectile dysfunction to the importance of dietary fiber and the allegedly wondrous properties of pomegranates. Product labels and promotions provide more food for thought about fat, sodium, and carbohydrates; nutritional supplement makers further supplement consumer nutritional information. Were that not enough, the internet provides access to still more data (and opinion), much of it of questionable provenance and reliability.

Confidentiality And Claims Of Ineffective Assistance, Peter A. Joy, Kevin C. Mcmunigal

Faculty Publications

This column discusses what a defense lawyer should do when called upon to reveal client information in response to an ineffective assistance of counsel claim.

Urban Green Uses: The New Renewal, Catherine J. Lacroix

Faculty Publications

As they confront dramatically reduced population and little prospect of significant near-term growth, several cities in the rust belt have turned to innovative tactics to put excess land to beneficial use. These measures include the creation of active land banks, downzoning for "green" uses such as urban agriculture, possible consolidation of population and abandonment of utility and public services, and installation of green infrastructure, such as stormwater retention and renewable power generation facilities, on publicly owned land. In the process, these cities face intriguing legal questions: What steps are needed to form an effective land bank? What is the liability …

Investigative Deceit, Kevin C. Mcmunigal

Faculty Publications

Is it ever ethical for a lawyer to ask or assist another person to lie on behalf of a client? Despite ethical rules categorically banning both personal and vicarious deceit, prosecutors routinely supervise police officers and informants who use deceit in investigating drug and sex offenses, organized crime, and terrorism. May defense lawyers make use of investigative deceit in criminal investigations? In this Essay, the Author examines this issue, the ethical rules bearing on it, and the recent trend in a number of jurisdictions allowing the use of investigative deceit by the defense. Drawing on his participation in a series …

Forum Non Conveniens And Enforcement Of Foreign Judgments, Christopher A. Whytock, Cassandra Burke Robertson

Faculty Publications

When citizens of Ecuador sued Texaco, Inc. in a U.S. court seeking damages for oil contamination in the Amazon, Texaco successfully moved to dismiss the suit in favor of Ecuador based on the forum non conveniens doctrine, arguing – as that doctrine requires – that Ecuador was an adequate alternative forum and more appropriate than the United States for hearing the suit. The plaintiffs then refiled the suit in Ecuador, and a court there entered a multi-billion dollar judgment against Chevron Corporation, which had merged with Texaco. Chevron now argues that the Ecuadorian legal system suffers from deficiencies that should …

Insular Minorities: International Law’S Challenge To Japan’S Ethnic Homogeneity, Timothy Webster

Faculty Publications

The Japanese state has long promoted a view of itself, and the country, as ethnically homogeneous. Borrowing on critical race theory as developed in the United States, this paper first traces the numerous laws and policies that Japan has implemented to privilege ethnically Japanese people, and prejudice ethnic others. Next, the paper examines the role of international human rights law in challenging various edifices of the ethno-state, including amendments to legislation, and individual lawsuits. I conclude that international law has played a meaningful role in diversifying the protective ambit of Japanese law, but cannot provide all of the solutions that …

Taking Stock: China's First Decade Of Free Trade, Jun Zhao, Timothy Webster

Faculty Publications

China has established itself as a global economic presence in the past ten years. This article explains one important but overlooked aspect of this rise, China’s newfound interest in free trade agreements (FTAs). This paper situates the FTA boom within a framework of international political economy and China’s recent regional rise. This paper probes the question of how China selects its FTA partners, referencing US trade practice and policy as a framework by which to analyze China’s own preferences. This paper then explores the main features of China’s FTAs, finding that it has adopted a flexible FTA strategy that attends …

A Tribute To Professor Arthur Austin, Leon Gabinet

Faculty Publications

Tribute to Author Austin

Ambivalence & Activism: Employment Discrimination In China, Timothy Webster

Faculty Publications

Chinese courts do not vigorously enforce many human rights, but a recent string of employment discrimination lawsuits suggests that, given the appropriate conditions, advocacy strategies, signals from above, and rights at issue, courts can help victims vindicate their constitutional and statutory rights to equality. Since 28, carriers of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) have used the Employment Promotion Law to challenge hiring discrimination. Their high success rate suggests official support for making one potent form of discrimination illegal. Central to these lawsuits is a broad network of lawyers, activists and scholars who have advocated for protecting the rights of HBV …

The Sale Of State Tax Credits: A Tax Court Decision Isn’T A Temple Of Doom, Erik M. Jensen

Faculty Publications

In Tempel v. Commissioner, decided in April 211, the Tax Court came to a number of important conclusions about sales of state income tax credits that occurred shortly after the credits had been received. The gain was held to be capital gain (with the court implicitly concluding that the credits were property), but the holding period for the credits began at receipt and the taxpayers had no basis in the credits. The bottom line was that the gain was short-term capital gain, with no basis offset, a negative result for these taxpayers. But the Tax Court’s conclusion that the …

No Difference?: An Analysis Of Same-Sex Parenting, George W. Dent

Faculty Publications

The principal argument for traditional marriage is that it is uniquely beneficial to children. The campaign for same-sex marriage (“SSM”) denies this argument and claims that same-sex couples are just as good as other parents; there is “no difference” between the two. This article analyzes this claim and concludes that it is unsubstantiated and almost certainly false.

The Supreme Court Disposes Of A Nuisance Suit: American Electric Power V. Connecticut, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

In American Electric Power v. Connecticut the Supreme Court confronted climate change litigation for the second time. Whereas Massachusetts v. EPA was a closely divided court decision with dramatic and far-reaching legal and policy implications, AEP was a narrow, unanimous opinion that hewed closely to well-settled precedent. In AEP the Court side-stepped difficult jurisdictional questions and rejected an ambitious effort to turn the federal common law of nuisance into a judicially administered environmental regulatory regime. While not erecting any new barriers to future climate suits, the Court’s opinion raised cautions about trying to make climate change policy through the judiciary. …

The Problems Of Plagiarism As An Ethics Offense, Peter A. Joy, Kevin C. Mcmunigal

Faculty Publications

This column questions the practices of labeling attorney copying, even without acknowledgement, as plagiarism, and treating it as a per se ethics violation. Instead, the column argues that analysis of copying in the litigation context should focus directly on the quality of the filing at issue and the competence and diligence of the lawyer who prepared it.

A Collaborative Model Of Offshore Legal Outsourcing, Cassandra Burke Robertson

Faculty Publications

International outsourcing has come to the legal profession. The ABA and other bar associations have given it their stamp of approval, and an ailing economy has pushed both clients and firms to consider sending more legal work abroad. This article integrates research from the fields of organizational behavior, social psychology, and economic theory to analyze the effectiveness of the legal outsourcing relationship. It identifies organizational pressures in the practice of law that affect how legal work is performed in a transnational context, and it examines how individuals on both sides of the outsourcing process influence the success or failure of …

Eyes On A Climate Prize: Rewarding Energy Innovation To Achieve Climate Stabilization, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

Stabilizing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases at double their pre-industrial levels (or lower) will require emission reductions far in excess of what can be achieved with current or projected levels of technology at a politically acceptable cost. Substantial technological innovation is required if the nations of the world are to come anywhere close to proposed emission reduction targets. Neither traditional federal support for research and development of new technologies nor traditional command-and-control regulations are likely to spur sufficient innovation. Technology inducement prizes, on the other hand, have the potential to incentivize and accelerate the rate of technological innovation in the …

Regulating Social Media Use In The Workplace, Yemisi Dina

Editorials and Commentaries

The advent of social networking sites (SNS) has become a reality of the digital age. These sites are highly interactive, creative and addictive for individuals to exchange personal, professional and social ideas but its use has also been the subject of litigation in the courts lately just like any man made invention. People using these sites have sparked a number of legal challenges that have dramatically changed the world. This raises a number of questions as to whether there are clear guidelines on the use of these tools by employers and employees.

This paper is a case commentary of one …

Misconstructing Sexuality In Same-Sex Marriage Jurisprudence, Jeffrey Kosbie

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Drawing on sociology, queer studies, and legal scholarship, this Comment develops a textual methodology to study sexuality in court opinions. In particular, this methodology uses inconsistencies between opinions to highlight how courts rely on cultural assumptions. This Comment applies this methodology to eighteen state same-sex marriage cases, identifying four analytic models of sexuality: sexuality consists only of behaviors; sexuality belongs to lesbians and gays; society should regulate sexuality; and marriage forms a normatively desirable model for sexuality. These models contribute significantly to public discourse over the meaning of sexuality. Applying sociological insights to narrow judicial models of sexuality suggests that …

In Pari Delicto And Crop Gene Patents: An Equitable Defense For Innocently Infringing Farmers, David Costa

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Institutionalized Horse Abuse: The Soring Of Tennessee Walking Horses, Keith Dane

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Legal And Policy Issues Related To Anaerobic Digestion At United States Livestock Facilities, Jennifer C. Fiser

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

The Food Safety Modernization Act: Keeping Dinner Safe And Farmers In The Fields, Sarah K. Baker

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Equestrian Helmet Laws And Their Effect On Equestrian Liability, Litany Webster

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.