Courts Commons^™

Changemakers Master Of Studies In Law: Adding Depth: Katie Mulvaney, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Free-Ing Criminal Justice, I. Bennett Capers

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Judging Without A J.D., Sara Sternberg Greene, Kristen M. Renberg

Faculty Scholarship

One of the most basic assumptions of our legal system is that when two parties face off in court, the case will be adjudicated before a judge who is trained in the law. This Essay begins by showing that, empirically, the assumption that most judges have legal training does not hold true for many low-level state courts. Using data we compiled from all fifty states and the District of Columbia, we find that thirty-two states allow at least some low-level state court judges to adjudicate without a law degree, and seventeen states do not require judges who adjudicate eviction cases …

An Uncomfortable Truth: Indigenous Communities And Law In New England: Roger Williams University Law Review Symposium 10/22/2021, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

The Debate Over Disclosure In Third-Party Litigation Finance: Balancing The Need For Transparency With Efficiency, Alec J. Manfre

Brooklyn Law Review

The market for third-party litigation financing (TPLF) in the United States is facing unprecedented growth and popularity. The ever-increasing complexity and cost of legal disputes, especially in the commercial context, has made third-party financing an invaluable resource for both litigants in need of capital and investors seeking to diversify their portfolios with nontraditional assets. However, as the market continues to boom, so does the risk that TPLF will be used unethically. Critics of the industry are calling on regulators at both the state and federal levels to implement comprehensive disclosure requirements for TPLF at the outset of all civil litigation …

Law School News: Nava Wins Inaugural Judicial Fellowship 06/23/2021, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Equal Injustice For All: High Quality Self-Representation Does Not Ensure A Matter Is “Fairly Heard”, Jona Goldschmidt

Seattle University Law Review Online

Self-represented litigants (SRLs) are generally less successful in court than parties with legal representation. Some access-to-justice programs view self-representation as a skill that can be taught and will lead to more success in case outcomes, but Jona Goldschmidt pushes back against this assumption. Goldschmidt argues that even high functioning, educated, and computer savvy SRLs are at a disadvantage in the courtroom when courts strictly enforce rules and do not offer reasonable accommodations.

In this Article, Goldschmidt evaluates three cases that illustrate expert SRLs’ challenges in the courtroom, and he argues that ridged rule enforcement and failure to accommodate lead to …

Law School News: The Honorable Edward C. Clifton: Doctor Of Laws, Honoris Causa 05-17-2021, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: Analyzing Inhumane Practices In Mississippi’S Correctional Institutions Due To Overcrowding, Understaffing, And Diminished Funding, Ariel A. Williams

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to examine the political, social, and economic factors which have led to inhumane conditions in Mississippi’s correctional facilities. Several methods were employed, including a comparison of the historical and current methods of funding, staffing, and rehabilitating prisoners based on literature reviews. State-sponsored reports from various departments and the legislature were analyzed to provide insight into budgetary restrictions and political will to allocate funds. Statistical surveys and data were reviewed to determine how overcrowding and understaffing negatively affect administrative capacity and prisoners’ mental and physical well-being. Ultimately, it may be concluded that Mississippi has high …

Law School News: Rwu Law Alumnae Will Address Ginsburg Legacy, Workplace Gender Equity 03-11-2021, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

2nd Annual Women In Law Leadership Lecture: A Fireside Chat With Debra Katz, Esq. 03-03-2021, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

May It Please The Court–Or Not: Appellate Judges' Preferences And Pet Peeves About Oral Argument, Margaret D. Mcgaughey

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

When Mental Health Meets “The One-Armed Man” Defense: How Courts Should Deal With Mccoy Defendants, Farid Seyyedi

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

The Supreme Court’s opinion in McCoy v. Louisiana held that a defendant has a constitutional right to insist their attorney not concede guilt as to any element of an offense, even if doing so is the only reasonable trial strategy to give the defendant a chance at life imprisonment instead of the death penalty. Under McCoy’s holding, a defendant can insist on maintaining their innocence—even in the face of overwhelming evidence—and force their attorney to pursue a defense that will land them on death row. The Supreme Court’s holding makes clear that a strategic concession of guilt at trial—over …

Law School News: Professor Gonzalez Is 2020 Rhode Island Lawyer Of The Year 01/11/21, Barry Bridges, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Contents

Tennessee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Preserving The Fruits Of Labor: Impediments To University Inventor Mobility, Brenda M. Simon

Tennessee Law Review

Academic inventors must overcome numerous obstacles when they seek to leave their parent universities. The results of their work are often intertwined in what I call "innovation-essential components," which are important aspects of the. innovative process that create strong ties to the parent university, such as data, patents, trade secrets, grants, contracts, materials, and other agreements and restrictions. Innovation-essential components effectively bind university inventors to their parent institutions, making departure unworkable without the university's approval. Universities sometimes further complicate inventor mobility by entering into unlawful agreements with other academic institutions in their efforts to prevent inventor movement or by engaging …

Legal Research Just In Time: A New Approach To Integrating Legal Research Into The Law School Curriculum, Denitsa R. Mavrova Heinrich, Tammy Pettinato Oltz

Tennessee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contents

Tennessee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legal Realism And Legal Reality, Matthew X. Etchemendy

Tennessee Law Review

This Article critically reexamines the relationship between Legal Orthodoxy and American Legal Realism. Legal Orthodoxy is a familiar jurisprudential perspective according to which judges do not make law, the law is complete or gapless, and the answers to legal questions are determinable through autonomous inquiry. Legal Orthodoxy featured prominently in the legal thought of Christopher Columbus Langdell and Joseph Henry Beale, and the Realist critique of the Langdellian conception of legal science and education is widely viewed as a decisive refutation of Legal Orthodoxy.

Contrary to this conventional wisdom, I argue that the Realist critique of Langdellianism only justifies a …

A Socially Beneficial False Claims Act?, Elissa Philip Gentry

Tennessee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

Tennessee Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Modest Impact Of The Modern Confrontation Clause, Jeffrey Bellin, Diana Bibb

Tennessee Law Review

The Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause grants criminal defendants the right "to be confronted with the witnesses against" them. A strict reading of this text would transform the criminal justice landscape by prohibiting the prosecution's use of hearsay at trial. But until recently, the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Clause was closer to the opposite. By tying the confrontation right to traditional hearsay exceptions, the Court's longstanding precedents granted prosecutors broad freedom to use out-of-court statements to convict criminal defendants.

The Supreme Court's 2004 decision in Crawford v. Washington was supposed to change all that. By severing the link between the …

Contents

Tennessee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Avoiding The Great Divide: Assuring Court Technology Lightens The Load Of Low-Income Litigants Post-Covid-19, Katherine L.W. Norton

Tennessee Law Review

No abstract provided.

In Defense Of A Liberal Choice-Based Approach To Residential Segregation, W.C. Bunting

Tennessee Law Review

This Article argues that not all forms of residential segregation are alike. Certain patterns of residential segregation can be distinguished along two key dimensions: (1) voluntariness; and (2) net social impact. Voluntary residential segregation is largely incompatible with outcome-based policies designed to promote residential integration. This Article claims that the existence of voluntary spatial clustering implies that the government must adopt an ex ante choice-based approach to residential integration that seeks to protect and enable freedom of choice in housing rather than an ex post outcome-based approach that seeks to implement and maintain specific patterns of residential segregation. The central …

A National Court For National Relief: Centralizing Requests For Nationwide Injunctions In The D.C. Circuit, Ryan Kirk

Tennessee Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Economic And Efficiency Benefits Of Expanding The § 25d Investment Tax Credit, Kelsey Morgan

Tennessee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Property Rights And Involuntary Contracting, Taorui Guan

Tennessee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Redesigning Restorative Justice For Criminal Justice Reform, Matthew D. Kim

Tennessee Law Review

Considering the racial disparities in the criminal justice system and the pressing need for reform, this article presents the optimal design for restorative justice that is capable of drawing the necessary public support to transform the criminal justice system. Restorative justice is a growing alternative to the criminal justice system designed to allow offenders, victims, and members of the community resolve crimes without resorting to the criminal justice system. Public support for restorative justice programs is vital to their success, and many programs fail because of inconsistent public support. As such, proponents of restorative justice emphasize the need to "start …

Reconciling Legal And Technical Approaches To Algorithmic Bias, Alice Xiang

Tennessee Law Review

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of papers in the algorithmic fairness literature proposing various technical definitions of algorithmic bias and methods to mitigate bias. Whether these algorithmic bias mitigation methods would be permissible from a legal perspective is a complex but increasingly pressing question at a time when there are growing concerns about the potential for algorithmic decision-making to exacerbate societal inequities. In particular, there is a tension around the use of protected class variables: most algorithmic bias mitigation techniques utilize these variables or proxies, but anti-discrimination doctrine has a strong preference for decisions that are blind …