Law Commons^™

Criminalizing Threats Against Schools: A Divergence Of Mens Rea And Punishment Severity In Recent State Legislation, Max Kaufman

Fordham Law Review

School shootings occur on a regular basis in the United States. Fear of the next school shooting leads schools to take any potential threat of violence seriously, but responding to a threat can be extremely disruptive to a school’s operations and the community that it serves. In the last five years, nine state legislatures have attempted to deter these threats by specifically criminalizing threats of violence against schools.

Despite the proximity in time in which these states enacted school threat statutes, these laws diverge in two important ways: First, the nine statutes employ several different mens rea requirements. Second, these …

Forum Selection Provisions And The Preclusion Of Derivative Claims Under Section 14(A) Of The Securities Exchange Act: Should Federal Courts Intervene?, Noah P. Mathews

Fordham Law Review

This Note examines whether a forum selection provision in a corporation’s bylaws that requires shareholders to bring derivative claims in the Delaware Court of Chancery is enforceable when invoked by directors to dismiss derivative claims under the Securities Exchange Act (the “Exchange Act”)—claims over which federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In Seafarers Pension Plan ex rel. Boeing Co. v. Bradway, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that enforcing this type of bylaw would violate the act’s antiwaiver provision, which voids any stipulation that allows a person to waive compliance with the act. In Lee ex …

Dirty Dancing: Is The Texas Two-Step A Bad Faith Filing?, Katharine H. O'Neill

Fordham Law Review

The Texas Two-Step is both a style of line dancing and a legal maneuver used by several large, profitable companies to enable a newly created entity to access the bankruptcy system and, thus, discharge the tort liabilities of its predecessor. This type of filing has been criticized by some as a tool used by healthy companies to evade responsibility for their tortious conduct and lauded by others as an efficient means to achieve a global resolution of crushing mass tort liability. Whether Texas Two-Step filings may properly access the bankruptcy courts is a question governed by § 1112(b) of the …

Inaccessible Justice: A Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Into The Demographics, Socioeconomics, And Experiences Of Self Represented Litigants, David Lundgren

National Self Represented Litigants Project

This paper centres around a more realistic characterization of who self-represented litigants are and the issues they face. For various social, economic, or geographic reasons, self represented litigants tend to have unmet legal needs, increasing the cost of already burdensome and cumbersome judicial proceedings. These result from an overall lack of legal resources and assistance, low incomes, low education, and low digital literacy rates, often leading to misunderstandings of social and legal needs and court processes. The disadvantaged position of those self-representing leads to power imbalances in the courtroom that reduces their access to justice. Further, the conflation between behaviours …

A Private And Efficient Approach To Us-China Trade: Bringing A Non-Violation Case In The Wto, Daniel C.K. Chow, Ian M. Sheldon

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

When Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump to become president of the United States in 2020, many observers hoped that Biden would reset the troubled US-China trade relationship. The Trump administration had abandoned the rules-based approach to international trade of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and adopted a power-based approach instead. Using a power-based approach, the United States imposed or threatened sanctions if China did not dismantle its state-led economy and terminate the use of industrial subsidies to support its domestic industries. The United States also crippled the dispute settlement system of the WTO so that nations could not challenge US …

Left Behind, Again: Intellectual Disability And The Resentencing Movement, Katie Kronick

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tragedy Of The Digital Commons, Chinmayi Sharma

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Name Change Practices, Digital Commons Institutional Repository, Sue Ann Gardner

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Includes information on practices for starting the process, guidelines for remedy by type of name change, and default practices for change of first/given name for name changes in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries' Digital Commons institutional repository.

First Inside Page, Georgia State University Law Review

Georgia State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Sec Revolving Door And Comment Letters, Michael Shen, Samuel T. Tan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Government officials, advocacy groups, and the business press have raised concerns that former SEC employees may continue to influence the SEC after leaving the agency. Using hand-collected data on the characteristics of 1,384 lawyers who represented firms in responding to SEC comment letters between 2005 and 2016, we examine the impact of post-revolving SEC employees on the SEC comment letter process. Among other determinants, we find that older and larger firms with a history of litigation are more likely to hire former SEC lawyers over non-SEC lawyers. Relative to firms that involve only non-SEC lawyers, we find that firms that …

An Example Of Cle Pedagogy From The Singapore Management University, Wing Cheong Chan, Yen Kee Ruby Lee

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This session will showcase a course taught at the Singapore Management University where students were tasked to design aone stop online resource portal to help litigants-in-person, caregivers and family members to navigate legal issues related tothe ageing process. During the course, the students not only met with various community partners providing services to theelderly to find out what services were required but also the elderly to find out their positive and negative online experiences.The students were sensitized to the needs of the community, learnt the law through independent research, assessed theusefulness of existing legal resources available, and learnt the importance …

Rethinking Asia-Pacific Regionalism And New Economic Agreements, Julien Chaisse, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The neoliberal international order is facing a variety of pressing obstacles. One of the most contentious issues is the emergence of new Asian regionalism, which has been driven by the rising economic power of the region and integration based on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Six framework. The legalization of the ASEAN way has propelled the New Regional Economic Order (NREO), which reinforces a trade-development nexus alternative to the Washington Consensus and will have far-reaching normative, economic, and geopolitical effects on the world. Given the proliferation of trade and investment initiatives including the ASEAN Economic Community and …

Renegotiating The Colorado River Compact: How A One Size Fits All Approach Has Led To A State Centric Future, And How The Commerce Clause Can Solve It, Erica Porvaznik

Northern Illinois University Law Review

While equitable division of water supplied by the Colorado River has been dictated by the Colorado River Compact for over one hundred years, this agreement has only served to create an inequal, power dynamic amongst all the states and parties to the Compact.

The current provisions controlling the apportionment and usage of the water are set to expire in 2026. Therefore, there is a path forward for the water to be divided in a new way, specifically, by Congress. I argue that Congress should assume authority over the Colorado River and apportion the water under their Commerce Clause power, as …

Comment: The Unjust Side Of Civil Asset Forfeiture In Illinois: Innocent Victims And Corrupted Incentives, Sarah Farwick

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Under the broad scope of modern civil asset forfeiture, law enforcement agencies routinely deprive citizens of their property without ever formally charging them with a crime. This system diminishes the ideal values of American justice, yet the Supreme Court has long held that civil asset forfeiture is constitutional, leaving prospects of judicial reform unlikely. Therefore, it is crucial that individual states take action to protect their citizens by abolishing the use of civil asset forfeiture. In 2017, the Illinois General Assembly attempted to reform its civil asset forfeiture system, but upon close analysis and application of the statute, it is …

Comment: Copyright Registration: Fourth Estate Implications For Photographers In The Modern World, Izabella Kanoza

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In 2019, the Supreme Court has settled a long-standing split issue among the Circuit Courts. The issue revolved around the interpretation of the word “registration” with the Copyright Office in order for a copyright owner to be able to initiate a copyright infringement lawsuit. However, the now settled precedent has presented challenges to the ever-evolving internet world and those who use it to create, advertise, and share their digital content. Digital photographers, specifically, have found this registration requirement inefficient when it comes to sharing their work on social media platforms, such as Instagram or Facebook, where copyright infringement in the …

Soul Quest Church Of Mother Earth: Ayahuasca Decriminalization And The Struggle Of An Institution To Become A Church, Tarryl Janik

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the process by which Soul Quest Church of Mother Earth Inc., an ayahuasca church, in Orlando, Florida, seeks to become a legal church in order to be exempted from the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 which classifies DMT, the psychedelic by-product of the boiled ayahuasca vine and chacruna leaf, as an illicit substance. The three-year study charts the process by which Soul Quest undertakes to demonstrate their practice and belief in terms that will conform to the State’s idea of what “church-ness” looks like and how sincere belief should be demonstrated in terms the law will find …

The Supreme Court's Third Shift: Policy, Precedent, And Public Opinion Via The Shadow Docket, Taraleigh Davis

Theses and Dissertations

The Supreme Court is attracting more attention to its emergency docket – cases decided with neither briefing nor oral argument. These cases, while seemingly focused on immediate, individual problems, could potentially create policy in a way not necessarily intended or approved by Congress. Because the Court is particularly reliant on institutional support for effective policymaking and because we know that people support the Court, at least in part, due to its legalistic nature and its specific procedures, some are concerned that making decisions using this alternative, less public process as well as relying on these hastily decided cases as precedent …

Talking About Talking About Surrogacy, Michael Boucai

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Before And After The Clean Water Act: How Science, Law, And Public Aspirations Drove Seven Decades Of Progress In Maine Water Quality, David L. Courtemanch, Susan P. Davies, Eileen Sylvan Johnson, Rebecca Schaffner, Douglas Suitor

Maine Policy Review

In the 1950s, Maine established a water quality classification system creating the conceptual scaffolding of a tiered system of management. Passage of the federal Clean Water Act in 1972 drove dramatic advances in science, technology, and policy leading to systematic improvement for the next five decades. Today’s tiered classification system provides a range of management goals from natural to various allowable uses. The state assigns uses and standards for each classification, incorporating physical, chemical, and biological indicators. This system has brought steady improvement in water quality, ecological condition, and overall value for human use. Visible evidence of improvement and adoption …

Faculty Masthead, Georgia State University Law Review

Georgia State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Georgia State University Law Review

Georgia State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Literary Language Of Privacy—How Judges' Use Of Literature Reveals Images Of Privacy In The Law, Elizabeth De Armond

Georgia State University Law Review

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. When we think of literary works and privacy, that is the first book that comes to mind, and the same is true for judges penning privacy law opinions too. Although the novel is notable for expressing fears of authoritarian overreach, other literary works offer judges a tool for describing the plights of parties before them—parties who seek to vindicate breaches of privacy in many different forms. Nineteen Eighty-Four particularly suits cases that challenge government surveillance or non-governmental wiretapping. References to Franz Kafka and Joseph Heller illuminate other privacy harms, such as unease with governmental collection, …

Public Good Through Charter Schools?, Philip Hackney

Georgia State University Law Review

Should nonprofit charter schools be considered “charitable” under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and be entitled to the benefits that go with that designation (income tax exemption, charitable contribution deduction, etc.)? Current tax law treats them as such; the question is whether there is a good rationale for this treatment. In addition to efficiency and equity, I consider political justice as a value in evaluating tax policy. By political justice, I mean a democratic system that prioritizes the opportunity for more people to have a voice in collective decisions (political voice equality or PVE). Thus, a tax policy …

Degrees Of Losing: A Challenge To The Federal "Frozen Benefit Rule", Tuscan A. Fairfield

Georgia State University Law Review

The 2016 amendment to the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act dramatically changed the level of discretion afforded to states in dividing military retired pay between divorcing parties. Now, all divorces involving an active service member at the time of divorce must adhere to Congress’s strict formula when dividing the former spouse’s interest in the service member’s pension. This Note explores the question of whether Congress overstepped its constitutional limitations in directing the actions of state courts, whether the new rule may violate principles of equal protection doctrine, and whether a challenge to the novel scheme has any chance of …

Correcting Crooked Licensing Boards With A Revolving-Door Statute, Ronnie Thompson

Georgia State University Law Review

Contrary to conventional wisdom, occupational licensing restrictions do not serve a primary purpose of protecting consumers. They instead wage war on the market economy. This reality is unsurprising when one considers the makeup of a typical licensing board, which consists primarily of active market participants. These industry incumbents scheme to keep potential competitors out. Entrance exams for florists and onerous educational requirements for interior designers—absurd as they seem—become the rule rather than the exception. Despite their propensity for anticompetitive conduct, licensing boards elude review under the Sherman Act, the nation’s chief law regulating anticompetitive conduct. Licensing boards need not defend …

Canary In A Coal Mine: What It Means To Lose A Constitutional Right, Mary Ziegler

Georgia State University Law Review

Remarks on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization by Mary Ziegler at the 66th Henry J. Miller Distinguished Lecture

Member Masthead, Georgia State University Law Review

Georgia State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

High Time To Revisit Federal Drug Sentencing: The Confusing Interplay Between Controlled Substances And Career Offender Sentence Enhancements, Carly Knight

Georgia State University Law Review

The 1970s in the United States were largely defined by wars, both foreign and domestic: the Vietnam War and the War on Drugs, respectively. As part of President Richard Nixon’s anti-drug offensive, Congress enacted the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), part of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970. The CSA organized—and criminalized—various drugs into schedules based on their permissible uses and potential for abuse. As states enacted their own versions of the CSA, some states chose to criminalize additional substances that were not included in the CSA.

The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 and the United States …

The Emerging Jurisprudence Of The African Human Rights Court And The Protection Of Human Rights In Africa, John M. Mbaku, Professor Of Economics

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

During most of the post-independence period, many African countries have either been unwilling or unable to protect human rights or relegated this important function to a small group of poorly funded but brave and courageous non-state actors. Most importantly, some African governments have either actively engaged in human rights violations or failed to bring to justice those who have committed atrocities against their fellow citizens. In the 1970s and 1980s, many African heads of state were more concerned with national sovereignty in an effort to hide the violation of human rights committed within their jurisdictions than participating in the building, …

A New Deal For A Right To Work: Confronting Racism And Inequality In The U.S., James A. Gross

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Whites have always controlled the country’s major economic and political institutions at all levels. Starting with slavery, the enduring and pervasive dogmas of White superiority and Black inferiority, once openly asserted as “keeping Negroes in their place,” were also used to restrict Black men and women to subordinate “negro jobs.” The vast riches of the United States “were available to all who had the enterprise to take them and the good fortune to be White.”

This denial of the right to work in freely chosen endeavors continues to have immense consequences for Black men, women, and children in every aspect …