Civil Law Commons^™

Emerging From Davy Jones’ Locker: The Revival Of Counterclaims Against Government In Civil Forfeiture Actions, Jack B. Harrison, Brendan Sullivan

Marquette Law Review

The thesis of this Article is that a claimant in a civil forfeiture proceeding can assert a counterclaim against the United States government. This assertion is based upon the scope of the Supplemental Rules and in rem jurisdiction.

Cummings V. Barber, 136 Nev. Adv. Op. 18 (April 2, 2020), Alexis Taitel

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

No abstract provided.

Jaramillo V. Ramos, 136 Nev. Adv. Op. 17 (Apr. 2, 2020), Jose Tafoya

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court found a plaintiff is not required to provide expert testimony to survive a defendant’s summary judgment motion when the plaintiff is relying on the res ipsa loquitur statute’s prima facie case of negligence. Rather, plaintiff must only establish facts that entitle it to a rebuttable presumption of negligence under Nevada’s res ipsa loquitur statute. Whether a defendant can rebut the presumption through their own expert testimony or evidence is a question of fact for the jury.

Reflections On The Effects Of Federalism On Opioid Policy, Matthew B. Lawrence

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

No.49 - April 2020, Center Of Civil Law Studies

The Center of Civil Law Studies Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Victim V. Victim Restitution: The Commingling Fictions, Andrew Kull

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming.

The Political Development Of Capital Punishment In The Modern Moroccan State, Mia Barr

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The modern Moroccan state seen today is very young. Having only been independent from France since 1956, the country has spent the last sixty-four years crafting its post-colonial statehood. What has emerged is a hybrid political system with powers split, however unequally, between the King and his inner circle, known as the makhzen, and the Parliament. Not only is the monarchy constitutional—meaning that its legitimacy is literally written into the primary governing document of Morocco, which had its last referendum in 2011—but it is also self-sustaining and self-legitimizing, for the monarchy uses its constitutional powers to grant itself further powers …

Reynolds V. Tufenkjian, 136 Nev. Adv. Op. 19 (Apr. 9, 2020), Brittni Tanenbaum

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court considered whether a party who purchased a judgment debtor’s rights of action could motion the Court to substitute themselves in as the real party in interest and dismiss the appeal. The Court held that only “things in action” that are otherwise assignable may be subject to execution to satisfy a judgment. The Court concluded that tort claims for personal injury—including fraud/intentional misrepresentation and elder exploitation—are generally not assignable. The Court further concluded that tort claims for injury to property and contract-based claims, unless the claims are personal in nature, are generally assignable. Therefore, the Court granted the respondents’ …

In Re Raggio Family Trust, 136 Nev. Ad. Op. 21 (Apr. 9, 2020), Aariel Williams

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court determined that neither the language in the trust instrument nor NRS 163.4175 requires the trustee to consider the beneficiary’s other assets before making distributions from the trust.

Borrowing American Ideas To Improve Chinese Tort Law, Yongxia Wang

St. Mary's Law Journal

As China develops its modern jurisprudence it faces a choice between emulating the legal frameworks of civil law countries or common law countries. Thus far, the civil law path has allowed for a rapid expansion of Chinese tort law, but jurists have found difficulty in applying such generalized statutory schemes with the absence of supporting judicial interpretation. Cognizant of the differences between the public policy of common law countries and China, Vincent Johnson’s Mastering Torts (Měiguó Qīnquán Fǎ) provides this guidance through the lens of American tort law. The hornbook takes care to simplify the role of judicial …

Pro Se, No Say?: The Impact Of Presumptive Mediation In The New York State Court System On Self-Represented Litigants, Sarah Konnerth

Fordham Law Review

In May 2019, the New York State Unified Court System announced its plan to refer all civil cases to various forms of alternative dispute resolution at the earliest stage of litigation. The presumptive alternative dispute resolution initiative aims to decrease costs associated with litigation, improve case outcomes, and reduce case delays. In the context of mediation, litigants, both represented and self-represented, may be seated across from each other at a table to discuss their disputes with the assistance of a neutral third party. This Note examines mediation and discusses the policy implications of a presumptive mechanism for pro se parties. …

State Of Nevada Department Of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation, Employment Security Division V. Sierra National Corporation, D/B/A The Love Ranch, A Nevada Corporation, 136 Nev., Adv. Op. 11 (Mar. 26, 2020), Alexandra Matloff

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The Court held that because the records requested by the legal brothel the Love Ranch do not violate the limitations set forth in NRS 612.265, the district court was correct to grant the Love Ranch’s petition for a writ of mandamus.

A Crack In The Armor?: How The Reforms To The New York State Human Rights Law May Expose Weaknesses In Civil Rape Shield Laws, Candace Mashel

Fordham Law Review

Civil rape shield laws exist to protect victims of sexual misconduct from unwarranted intrusions into their private lives as they litigate their claims. Gaps in current federal and New York State civil rape shield laws, however, mean that victims of sexual misconduct still experience significant privacy intrusions during litigation. These intrusions may have the effect of deterring victims from coming forward. Part of the reason that these gaps exist, however, is to ensure that defendants are given a fair opportunity to assert defenses. In 2019, New York revised the New York State Human Rights Law to make it easier for …

Qualified Immunity's Selection Effects, Joanna C. Schwartz

Northwestern University Law Review

The Supreme Court has described the “driving force” behind qualified immunity to be its power to dismiss “insubstantial” cases before discovery and trial. Yet in a prior study of 1,183 Section 1983 cases filed against law enforcement in five federal court districts around the country, I found that just seven (0.6%) were dismissed at the motion to dismiss stage and just thirty-one (2.6%) were dismissed at summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds. These findings undermine assumptions about the role qualified immunity plays in filed cases, but leave open the possibility that qualified immunity serves its intended role by screening out …

Revitalizing Fourth Amendment Protections: A True Totality Of The Circumstances Test In § 1983 Probable Cause Determinations, Ryan Sullivan

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

The Article analyzes claims of police misconduct and false arrest, specifically addressing the issue of whether a police officer may ignore evidence of an affirmative defense, such as self-defense, when determining probable cause for an arrest. The inquiry most often arises in § 1983 civil claims for false arrest where the officer was aware of some evidence a crime had been committed, but was also aware of facts indicating the suspect had an affirmative defense to the crime observed. In extreme cases, the affirmative defense at issue is actually self-defense in response to the officer’s own unlawful conduct. As police …

Janus-Faced Rulemaking, Brooke Coleman

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Champions For Justice 2020, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

2020 Mlk Keynote Address: Michelle Alexander Presentation, Center For Social Equity & Inclusion, Michelle Alexander, Rosanne Somerson, Matthew Shenoda

Martin Luther King, Jr. Series

2020 MLK Series Keynote Michelle Alexander brings audiences profoundly necessary and meaningful insights on the practice of mass incarceration that plagues the US justice system, as well as eye-opening conversation on how we can end racial caste in America. Lecture Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 5:30pm, RISD Auditorium, 17 Canal Walk, Providence, RI.

In her acclaimed bestseller The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Alexander peels back the curtain on systemic racism in the US prison system in a work that the New York Review of Books describes as "striking in the intelligence of her …

Do You Really Know What Happened To Psy?: Controversial South Korean Music Censorship, Min-Soo "Minee" Roh

Legal Writing Competition Winners

This paper was submitted to the Entertainment Law Initiative(ELI)'s The 22nd Annual Entertainment Law Initiative Writing Competition and was recognized by the Recording Academy by a formal letter for admission.

Ethical Imperatives Critical To Effective Disease Control In The Coronavirus Pandemic: Recognition Of Global Health Interdependence As A Driver Of Health And Social Equity, George A. Gellert Md, Mph, Mpa

Journal of Health Ethics

Ethical imperatives critical to effective disease control in the coronavirus pandemic: Recognition of global health interdependence as a driver of health and social equity

George A. Gellert MD, MPH, MPA

ABSTRACT

Decades into the era of emerging infectious diseases, the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic has caught the world, and the United States in particular, poorly prepared to engage effective public health disease prevention and control measures. In part, this reflects poor public health planning, response, logistical preparation and pandemic readiness, and complacency by governments and disease control agencies. In terms of future responses to emerging infection pandemics, these deficiencies can be …

Revisiting The Enforceability Of Online Contracts: The Need For Unambiguous Assent To Inconspicuous Terms, Tom Mozingo

Seattle University Law Review

In determining the enforceability of online contracts, namely those formed from the use of smartphone applications, courts typically look to whether the contract terms were reasonably conspicuous or communicated to the consumer. With the rise of “browse-wrap” contracts, where terms are not directly communicated to the consumer or where the consumer is not required to click the equivalent of an “I agree” button clearly manifesting assent to the terms, courts have inconsistently applied the reasonable communicativeness standard to the detriment of consumers and application developers alike. This Comment will explore the development of browse-wrap contracting jurisprudence and the need to …

In Memory Of Professor James E. Bond, Janet Ainsworth

Seattle University Law Review

Janet Ainsworth, Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law: In Memory of Professor James E. Bond.

A Dangerous Inheritance: A Child’S Digital Identity, Kate Hamming

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment begins with one family’s story of its experience with social media that many others can relate to in today’s ever-growing world of technology and the Internet. Technology has made it possible for a person’s online presence to grow exponentially through continuous sharing by other Internet users. This ability to communicate and share information amongst family, friends, and strangers all over the world, while beneficial in some regard, comes with its privacy downfalls. The risks to privacy are elevated when children’s information is being revealed, which often stems from a child’s own parents conduct online. Parents all over the …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Dispute Resolution In Pandemic Circumstances, George A. Bermann

Faculty Scholarship

The peaceful resolution of disputes is among the most important earmarks of a regime attached to the rule of law. Even in countries in which, for one reason or another, courts do not work especially well, civil peace is of paramount importance. The absence of effective institutions for the administration of justice between and among private parties would spell a high degree of social disorder.

Even in the absence of a crisis such as we are experiencing, justice systems face a number of challenges in this day and age. Does a jurisdiction have a sufficient number of persons qualified to …

Christy’S Auto Rentals, Inc. V. Massachusetts Homeland Insurance Co., 204 A.3d 1071 (R.I. 2019), Tatiana Gomez

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rosen V. Tarkanian, 135 Nev. Adv. Op. 15 (December 12, 2019), Andrew Brown

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

This issue was whether several of Jacky Rosen’s statements about Danny Tarkanian made during her political campaign constituted defamation. The Court determined that Rosen’s political statements were made in good faith and, therefore, the case was reversed and remanded with instructions for the district court to grant the special motion to dismiss.

Toll V. Dist. Ct. (Gilman), 135 Nev., Advanced Opinion 58 (December 5, 2019), Gabrielle Boliou

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

A blogger claimed that his sources are protected under NRS 49.275. The court held that digital media is protected, but did not address whether a blogger is protected. The district court did not err in allowing discovery to determine whether the blogger acted with actual malice.

In Re Application Of Finley, Nevada Ct. App., No. 76715-Coa (July 25, 2019), Ben Coonan

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

The court found that the lower court had erroneously applied the incorrect statute in determining the requisite waiting period to file an application to seal records, and reversed and remanded with instructions for the lower court to apply the updated statute. The court found Finley’s argument – that a later court is prohibited from considering that conviction in an application to seal further records once record of a conviction has been sealed – without merit because statutory language expressly permits courts to consider sealed records in future applications.

Acts Of Meaning, Resource Diagrams, And Essential Learning Behaviors: The Design Evolution Of Lost & Found, Owen Gottlieb, Ian Schreiber

Articles

Lost & Found is a tabletop-to-mobile game series designed for teaching medieval religious legal systems. The long-term goals of the project are to change the discourse around religious laws, such as foregrounding the prosocial aspects of religious law such as collaboration, cooperation, and communal sustainability. This design case focuses on the evolution of the design of the mechanics and core systems in the first two tabletop games in the series, informed by over three and a half years’ worth of design notes, playable prototypes, outside design consultations, internal design reviews, playtests, and interviews.