Courts Commons^™

A Bone To Pick: Back To The Basics In Food Product Liability With A Necessary Reformation Of The "Hybrid" Negligence Standard, Clay Cutteridge

Cleveland State Law Review

Ohio does not use the traditional negligence standard in determining negligence in food product liability cases. Instead, Ohio uses what is called the hybrid test. The hybrid test analyzes what a consumer would reasonably expect to find in their food, and Ohio courts consider the naturalness of an object to the food it is in to be the determinative factor: natural objects should be reasonably expected and cannot give rise to successful claims of negligence. This hybrid test fails to consider that food is complex, and consumers often cannot know what to reasonably expect in the food they buy. The …

Felony Murder: What Courts Ignore In Ohio Rev. Code § 2903.02(B), Richard S. Walinski

Et Cetera

Ohio has two levels of felony murder. One is aggravated felony murder, 2903.01(b). It is an approximate equivalent of the common-law felony-murder rule. The other is a felony-murder rule for the lesser offence of simple murder, 2903.02(B). In felony-murder cases prosecuted under Ohio Revised Code § 2903.02(B), the nearly universal practice among the lower courts in Ohio is to ignore certain explicit text in the statute.

To warrant a conviction, 2903.02(B) requires that death have occurred as a proximate result of the defendant’s having committed or having attempted to commit one of many predicate offenses that the General Assembly labeled …

Correcting A Carry-On Conundrum: A Proposal To Expand The Dot’S Ability To Regulate Unfair And Deceptive Practices In The Airline Industry, Antonio Linek

Et Cetera

This Note examines the Department of Transportation’s attempt to regulate airline ancillary fees through 89 F.R. 34620. The Rule required airlines to disclose certain ancillary fees in an obvious manner, early on in the booking process. Airlines for America challenged the Rule in the Fifth Circuit in Airlines for Am. v. Dep’t of Transp. The court held that 49 U.S.C. § 41712 allows the DOT to prohibit unfair and deceptive practices, but not to impose prescriptive rules. This holding conflicts with older Seventh Circuit authority approving similar agency action, creating a circuit split. This Note argues that the Fifth …

Mental Illness, Probation, And Recidivism: Standardizing Uniform Mental Health Docket Legislation In Ohio, Holly Lloyd

Journal of Law and Health

The rise of Mental Illness diagnoses in the United States unique to the criminal justice system. Specifically in Ohio, individuals with mental illness diagnoses have increased within the criminal justice system leading to the implementation of the Mental Health Court Docket. The Mental Health Docket has led to a decrease in recidivism by providing Defendants with appropriate mental health treatment. Within Ohio there is no universal standard for individuals being admitted into the Docket which has led to inconsistencies throughout the State and restrictive clinical requirements like requiring a diagnosis with psychosis. These inconsistencies contribute to higher recidivism rates and …

From Cowboys To Corner Crossers: Reviving The Unlawful Inclosures Act To Protect Public Land Access, Brittany Kjerstad Mcknight, Ryan Mcknight

Cleveland State Law Review

As disputes over public land access intensify, “corner crossing” (the act of stepping from one parcel of public land to another at a shared corner with private property) has ignited legal and political battles across the West. At stake is not just the meaning of trespass, but the public’s right to enjoy land it lawfully owns. This Article argues that corner crossing is lawful and should be recognized as such under existing property law principles. It situates the modern corner-crossing controversy within a broader historical and doctrinal framework, tracing its roots to the Unlawful Inclosures Act of 1885 and the …

The Supreme Court Vs. Federal Prosecutors, Scott Ingram

Et Cetera

For the past forty years, the United States Supreme Court and federal prosecutors have waged an ongoing battle over statutory interpretation. As federal prosecutors have applied broad statutory interpretations to a variety of offenses, the Supreme Court, in a rare show of unanimity, have pushed back by interpreting the statutes narrowly. Throughout this process, the Supreme Court has employed a variety of rationales to support the narrow interpretations. Beginning with federalism concerns, the Court has more recently turned to fears about arbitrary and politically-motivated prosecutions. This article traces the evolution of this battle and concludes with insights about its future …

Valentine Act And Sherman Act: Separate And Distinct Antitrust Regimes, Thomas J. Collin

Cleveland State Law Review

The Ohio Supreme Court has held that the Valentine Act was patterned after the Sherman Act and should be interpreted in light of federal court interpretations of the Sherman Act. The Court was wrong, and its error persists. With the exception of a private right of action provision and a borrowed definition, nothing in the Valentine Act was derived from the Sherman Act. The holding ignores text and legislative history and has foreclosed development of any independent jurisprudence for a statute intended by the General Assembly to address grave antitrust abuses. This Article analyzes the Court’s error, details the origins …

The Taxing Ambiguity: Defining "Return" In Bankruptcy Dischargeability Cases, Elizabeth Tsai

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note examines the circuit split over the dischargeability of tax debts tied to late-filed returns, which has led to inconsistent bankruptcy outcomes and inequitable treatment of debtors across jurisdictions. Some courts, adopting the strict “one-day-late” rule, hold that any tax return filed even a single day past its deadline is not a “return” for bankruptcy discharge purposes, permanently barring relief. Others apply a more flexible standard grounded in the Beard test, considering a debtor’s good-faith compliance efforts. This inconsistency contradicts the fresh start principle of bankruptcy law, disproportionately harms low-income debtors, and fails to serve the government’s tax collection …

The Fallacies Of Originalism: Why Treating History And Tradition Alone As Dispositive Is Not Superior To The Tiers Of Scrutiny, Gage A. Johnson

Cleveland State Law Review

The goal of this Article is to develop the current history and tradition standard. I argue that the Bruen use of history and tradition is not a more principled or better way of interpreting the Constitution than the infamous tiers of scrutiny. This argument is supported by analyzing the way the Court has used history and tradition in reviewing restrictions on the Second Amendment and the push for it to be used under the First Amendment. I argue that Justice Thomas’s rigid application of history and tradition is essentially an ends-justifying-the-means analysis that is no different than the so called …

The Second Amendment Right To Bear Arms, Or Lack Thereof: Assessing The Prohibition Of Unlawful Immigrants From Possessing Firearms, Anna Egensperger

Et Cetera

This Note looks at the hot button issue of whether unlawful immigrants should have the constitutional right to bear arms. Thus far, the Circuit Courts have come to different conclusions which require the input of the United States Supreme Court. Although intertwined with political views, this Note attempts to take a non-partisan stance which prioritizes the application of case law and a consistent reading of the Constitution. To provide the full context of this issue, this Note begins by describing the facts and holding of Columbia v. Heller which creates the first test for establishing a right protected under the …

Authentication Of Art, Herbert I. Lazerow

Cleveland State Law Review

The authentication of items permeates our law and our markets. While it is important for many consumer goods, authentication is crucial for artworks and artifacts where the value difference between the authentic and the inauthentic is huge. The question is raised most frequently in conflicts between buyer and seller of art where it is claimed that a warranty was breached, or between the owner of artwork and an authenticator where the claim sounds in tort. It also arises in any situation where the value of the art is important, such as tax or antitrust. Authentication of artwork can be difficult …

The Second Amendment, Illegal Aliens, And The Bruen Test: Defending The Constitutionality Of 18 U.S.C. § 922(G)(5), Ian Duncan

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note examines the constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5), which prohibits unlawful aliens from possessing firearms, under the Supreme Court’s text-and-history framework announced in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen and developed further in United States v. Rahimi. In the wake of Bruen, lower courts have fractured over how strictly to demand historical analogues and how to treat longstanding status-based restrictions in § 922, including prohibitions on possession by felons, domestic-violence offenders, and noncitizens. Against that backdrop, this Note argues that § 922(g)(5) is constitutionally sound.

Part I traces the development of Second …

Patent Pending: How The Current Patent Utility Requirement Hinders Biotechnological Innovation, Madison Drlik

Journal of Law and Health

The legal system is always playing catch up to adapt to new legal landscapes, doctrines, and technology; however, patent law needs help to compete with biotechnological research in the race towards innovation. Biotechnological research in the realm of human health and medicine often involves the use of therapeutic drugs. The field of healthcare biotechnology takes biological systems and processes and generates novel, creative solutions to a number of human health conditions. However, the translation process for a new drug, therapy, or process is long and expensive which requires investors to help the researchers and scientists move their creations from inception …

The Fearless Decision And The Future Of Race-Conscious Charities, Chenglin Liu

Cleveland State Law Review

Historically, courts tended to differentiate between invidious discrimination against racial minorities and benign discrimination against whites in the context of affirmative action movements. With the social movements galvanized by the conservatives and the change of composition of the Supreme Courts and lower courts, the feasibility of race-conscious measures aimed at helping minorities is substantially reduced. The conservatives’ win in Fearless, coupled with the Trump Administration’s attacks on DEI, have produced a self-censoring effect on charitable organizations. Because of these threats, race-conscious charities will have to modify their practices to become more “inclusive” or face legal challenges from conservatives.

"There Was Such An Array Of Circumstances Pointing To Defendant's Guilt…": Shepard V. United States And The Dying Declaration As A Legal, Social, And Political History Of People, Places, Times… And Utility, Joshua E. Kastenberg

Cleveland State Law Review

In 1933, the Court, in Shepard v. United States, limited the “dying declaration” exception to the prohibition against hearsay. Shepard has been cited over 500 times by courts of appeal, the decision appears in evidence casebooks, and scholars have challenged it as robbing the voice of victims. However, there has never been a legal history of the decision. The case arose from a criminal conviction that occurred in the last days of the “Roaring Twenties,” and the appeal transited through the courts in the first years of the Great Depression. The Court, in a unanimous decision authored by Justice …

The Pursuit Of Municipal Sovereignty: How The Ohio Legislature Is Attempting To Violate The Right To Local Self-Governance, Cole Sundermann

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note examines the Ohio Legislature’s recent efforts to undermine the constitutional right to local self-governance guaranteed by the Ohio’s home rule amendment within the Ohio Constitution. By focusing on Senate Bills 91, 137, and 158, it analyzes the legislative initiatives aimed at preempting municipal powers to implement participatory budgeting and ranked-choice voting systems. These bills exemplify a broader trend of the Legislature’s attempt at eroding municipal autonomy in Ohio, cutting against the principles of local sovereignty established by the 1912 Constitutional Convention. The Note argues that such preemption efforts violate the core right to self-governance as interpreted by the …

Responding To Police Perjury, David R. Katner

Cleveland State Law Review

The way in which defense lawyers phrase their challenges in criminal proceedings where police witnesses are thought to have committed perjury might place decisionmakers in the awkward position of unintentionally or intentionally coming to the aid of the witnesses who are unable to defend themselves during closing arguments. This article proposes a shift in the paradigm of how defense counsel characterize and handle testimony that seems untruthful, without having to engage in tactics that intend to be disrespectful to all police officers, let alone to the witnesses in the trial. Creating a continuum from absolute truthfulness to absolute untruthfulness and …

Making Criminal Penalties Collar-Blind On The Federal Level, Claire Osborn-Wright

Cleveland State Law Review

This paper is intended to be the first in a series of papers that addresses whether lower income individuals suffer all of the following at much higher rates than their percentage of the population would suggest should be the case: (1) police stops for questioning; (2) arrests; (3) prosecutions; (4) convictions; and (5) lengthy post-conviction incarcerations. In particular, this first paper addresses the question of whether prison sentences imposed for “blue-collar crimes” are significantly longer than prison sentences imposed for “white-collar crimes.” In general, “blue-collar crimes” refer to crimes that are committed by individuals who possess blue-collar professions and “white-collar …

But For A Free Press: A Response To Press Freedom Skeptics, Kevin F. O'Neill, Patrick J. Charles

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article is divided into three Parts. Part I will outline the history-in-law case forwhy the historical record sufficiently supports recognizing distinct constitutional press freedoms. Part II then provides a history-in-law response to some of the most common arguments made by press freedom skeptics as to why distinct constitutional press freedoms should not be recognized by the courts. Lastly, Part III makes the case for why the recognition of distinct constitutional press freedoms should become a jurisprudential reality and provides a roadmap to accomplish this.

Assisted Outpatient Treatment: A State-By-State Comparative Review, E. Lea Johnston, Autumn Klein

Cleveland State Law Review

Assisted outpatient treatment, otherwise known as preventive outpatient commitment, is rapidly expanding across the United States, aiming to address mental health needs and reduce homelessness, hospital costs, and community violence. Since 2019, fifteen preventive outpatient commitment statutes have been passed or expanded. These statutes, which authorize courts to mandate community treatment for nondangerous individuals with mental illnesses, have evaded close scrutiny, rest on misconceptions, and raise significant constitutional concerns. An analysis of legislative debates, court opinions, and scholarship reveals a fundamental misunderstanding about the prevalence of these laws, which contributes to their speedy passage. Additionally, no analysis exists of these …

Remaking Rulemaking: Lessons From The History Of Federal Rule Of Civil Procedure 54(B), Brad Baranowski, Emery G. Lee Iii

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article uses the lost history of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) to provide a framework for rulemaking at the busy intersection of complex litigation and appellate finality. The drafters of the original civil rules spent more time thinking through how to efficiently combine claims and parties in civil actions—a promised benefit of the proposed law-equity merger—than about how combined claims should be dis-assembled. This failure would haunt the original Advisory Committee on Civil Rules for years. Nowhere was this more evident than in the first decades of Rule 54(b)’s existence.

Promulgated in 1938, Rule 54(b) was designed to …

Courting Oblivion Part Ii: How To Revive American Reconstruction By Feigning Forgetfulness, Joshua J. Schroeder

Cleveland State Law Review

This is the second part of the three-part Courting Oblivion series on the legal concept of oblivion, meaning legal forgetfulness, letting go of the past, or forgiveness usually to predicate a second chance, a restart, or even an era of reconstruction. This Article demonstrates how to apply the “right to move on” described in Part I to the law in the United States through acts of oblivion and amnesty. It describes the general uses of acts of oblivion and amnesty to the general framework of government in the United States, leading to the final discussion in Part III about the …

Scientific Educations Among U.S. Judges, Christa Laser

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Should more judges have technical and scientific educations than are currently prevalent in the federal judiciary? This empirical study of the educational background of federal judges reports the undergraduate and graduate majors of active U.S. federal Article III judges. Information on the subject area of study is largely not publicly available, especially for judges appointed decades ago. This is the first and only publicly available research study of the subject areas of study of U.S. judges, collected via phone and email surveys to U.S. judges. The results of this study show that only 7.35% offederal judges have majors in science …

A Mistake For The Lake: Why Ohio Should Rethink Its Ban On Rights Of Nature For Lake Erie, Shelby Strohl

Cleveland State Law Review

“Throughout legal history, each successive extension of rights to some new entity has been, theretofore, a bit unthinkable.” - Professor Christopher Stone. The purpose of the rights of nature movement is to recognize that ecosystems and natural entities have the right to exist and thrive. Rights of nature give the natural entities legal protections against pollution and other harms. This Note recommends that the Ohio legislature reconsider its stance on prohibiting rights of nature under Ohio Revised Code Section 2305.011. This recommendation stems from the groundbreaking Lake Erie Bill of Rights, which granted rights of nature to Lake Erie in …

Smart Resolutions: Exploring The Role Of Artificial Intelligence In Alternative Dispute Resolution, Nadia Ahmad

Cleveland State Law Review

Artificial intelligence (AI) has had a significant impact on most industries, including the legal landscape. Effective AI incorporation has removed barriers to access to justice, resolving issues such as backlogged court systems and inadequate resources for pursuing claims. Similarly, the expediency and cost-effectiveness associated with alternative dispute resolution (ADR) have established ADR as a mainstay in most countries to enhance legal accessibility. It was inevitable that AI and ADR were integrated to efficiently deliver justice.

Most automated ADR systems implemented thus far have been with human intervention. As machine learning develops, there are efforts to completely automate ADR, and this …

Amicus Briefs, Retired Senior Military Officers, And The Judiciary: A Unique "Friend Of The Court," In The Constitutional Construct Of Civil And Military Relations, Joshua E. Kastenberg

Cleveland State Law Review

Military organizations, and particular, small groups of retired flag officers (generals and admirals) have increasingly filed amicus briefs to the United States Supreme Court and the federal courts of appeal. Most prominent among these are the “Becton Brief,” a group of largely Vietnam Veterans who were concerned that the Court would end any ability of the higher education system to consider race in admissions. Named after Julius Becton, a retired Army general, Vietnam Veteran, and former FEMA director, the brief’s signatories included General Norman Schwarzkopf and Admiral William Crowe, the former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. The brief …

Incarcerated Individuals' Lives Do Not Matter: A Fourteenth Amendment Procedural Due Process Problem, Marshall Farber

Et Cetera

This Note examines the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Love v. Vanihel, in which Tony Love lost 5,700 days of good-time credit following the Indiana Department of Corrections’ issuance of Executive Directive #17-09 (“ED 17-09”). Prior to this directive, the state’s disciplinary code capped good-time credit loss at one year per offense, but ED 17-09 imposed significantly harsher sanctions, stripping Love of over 15 years of accrued credit after a single disciplinary infraction. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision, holding that Love had procedurally defaulted and forfeited his due process claims. This Note argues that the Seventh Circuit’s …

The Decline Of Representation Reinforcement In The Supreme Court: Increasing Deference To The Political Process, Jonathan L. Entin

Cleveland State Law Review

The Supreme Court has often interpreted the Constitution with an eye toward ameliorating failures of the political process. Over the past two decades, however, the Court has retreated from that concern with representation reinforcement. This article examines decisions upholding restrictive voter identification laws, making it more difficult to prove violations of the Voting Rights Act, and preventing federal courts from hearing claims of partisan gerrymandering. Some decisions that seem sympathetic to failures of the political process will not really promote representation reinforcement, and the Court’s most recent cases further reinforce the Court’s skepticism of claims of failures of the political …

Catch Me If You Can Claim Copyright Infringement: How Copyright Law Unevenly Protects Novice Scriptwriters, Alexander Cole Dibucci

Global Business Law Review

In the realm of creative endeavors, novice scriptwriters often find themselves in a precarious position, highly susceptible to having their original work exploited for profit by formidable players in the industry, drawing a parallel to the timeless tale of David versus Goliath. In these all-too common scenarios, the multi-million-dollar film agencies that, reminiscent of Goliath, appropriate the creative fruits of amateurs striving to establish their names in the field. Regrettably, unlike the triumphant David from the biblical narrative, novice scriptwriters are frequently left without adequate protection within the legal landscape of the United States, where the scales tend to tip …

The Dark Plea: One Of The Most Coercive Abuses Of Power Permitted In The Criminal Justice System, Michael P. Donnelly

Et Cetera

Most prosecutions in our criminal justice system are resolved by defendants entering ostensibly knowing and intelligent guilty pleas—often following negotiations with the state—before trial. But during my time as a trial judge, I encountered a different type of guilty plea, procured by the state when an already convicted offender sought to clear his or her name through an application for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence. I believe the “Dark Pleas” secured in these circumstances are one of the greatest abuses of power permitted in the criminal justice process.

This article sets down in writing a speech I …