Courts Commons^™

Asarco Delenda Est, John Greabe

West Virginia Law Review

ASARCO Inc. v. Kadish is the most important Supreme Court decision addressing the adjudication in state courts of federal claims that Article III’s case-or-controversy requirements would bar lower federal courts from hearing. But there are two serious problems with the reasoning of ASARCO: one involving an error of omission and the other an error of commission. ASARCO’s error of omission is its apparent assumption that a party barred from asserting a federal claim in federal court because of a lack of redressable Article III injury caused by the conduct complained of should face no barriers to obtaining relief on the …

The Living Architecture Of Law, Joseph R. Goodwin

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Litigating Loper Bright: Interpretive Challenges And Solutions For The Post-Chevron Era, Eric R. Bolinder

West Virginia Law Review

This Article arrives at a critical juncture in Administrative Law and comprehensively answers two burning questions about Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the case that overturned Chevron deference. First, what did Loper Bright change about review of agency action? Second, how should lower courts implement the decision? This Article engages in a first-of-its-kind, exhaustive review of the major circuit court decisions citing Loper Bright and analyzes how influential judges, scholars, and justices have characterized the impact of the decision. The Article defines what role Skidmore “deference” and the major questions doctrine should play in judicial review—while seriously questioning the long-term …

Asylum Eligibility: A Circuit Split Between The Second And Fourth Circuits Based Upon Death Threats Rising To The Level Of Persecution Per Se, Taylor Cochran

West Virginia Law Review

Asylum eligibility requires applicants to satisfy a three-pronged set of requirements in order to be granted admission into the United States. In a July 2024 decision, the Second Circuit court issued a decision that challenged a line of precedent established by the Fourth Circuit—specifically examining whether death threats rise to the persecution threshold set by the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). The Second Circuit now holds that the receipt of death threats alone is insufficient to establish persecution, thereby making alien petitioners who have received such threats ineligible for asylum or related forms of relief from removal. In contrast, the …

Nonviolent Drug Offenders Need Treatment--Not Prison: The Solution To Prison Overcrowding In West Virginia, Kendra Amick

West Virginia Law Review

A tenfold increase in prison populations has occurred due to the policies and laws enacted by the War on Drugs campaign in the United States. This increase is the direct result of a rise in the incarceration of nonviolent drug offenders. Rearrest rates for nonviolent drug-related offenders sentenced to prison are 50%. For those offenders permitted to participate in a drug court program, this rate decreases by over half. In West Virginia, the battle against the opioid epidemic has caused it to become one of the fastest-growing prison populations in the nation. With a fast-emerging crisis on the rise, West …

Is The Statutory 60-Day Deadline For Filing A Petition For Review Of A Final Mspb Order Jurisdictional?, Anne Marie Lofaso

Law Faculty Scholarship

Case at a Glance: The Department of Defense (DOD) furloughed employee Stuart R. Harrow in 2013. Harrow timely challenged DOD’s decision before an administrative judge, who affirmed it. Harrow timely appealed the judge’s decision to the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB or “Board”), which could not act on the appeal for over five years because it lacked a quorum. On May 11, 2022, the MSPB issued a final order, affirming the judge’s decision. However, Harrow did not learn of the decision until August 30. Harrow promptly filed a petition to review the Board’s order with the Federal Circuit, which denied …

The Sociology Of Bail Reform: Crime, Social Interaction, And Offender Experiences In Rurality., Scott Kevin Turner

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The study sought to explore the impact of the New York State “Bail Reform Act of 2019,” in rurality. It examined some of the legislative goals of the law, the claim that it caused crime, and offender experiences in rurality. Secondary data was used to map the rural crime landscape and primary data was collected from offenders during face to face interviews. The study was framed using deterrence and opportunity approaches and situated within the broader field environments; legislative, courtroom, and community. The research failed to find support for the claim that bail reform caused crime. Instead, it revealed that …

Home Court Advantage? An Empirical Analysis Of Local Bias In U.S. District Court Diversity Jurisdiction Cases, Kyle C. Kopko, Christopher J. Devine

West Virginia Law Review

In granting diversity of citizenship jurisdiction to the federal courts, there is an underlying assumption that federal courts will be less biased toward out-of-state litigants as compared with state courts. While this may be true, the assumption fails to consider an important empirical question: to what extent do federal courts favor home state litigants or disfavor out-of-state litigants when deciding diversity jurisdiction cases? Relying on the Integrated Database (IDB) compiled by the Federal Judicial Center and the Administrative Offices of the U.S. Courts, we present an original, empirical analysis of diversity jurisdiction case outcomes in the U.S. districts courts from …

Caperton V. A.T. Massey Coal Co.: A Ten-Year Retrospective On Its Impact On Law And The Judiciary, Amam Mcleod

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Justice Diseased Is Justice Denied: Coronavirus, Court Closures, And Criminal Trials, Ryan Shymansky

West Virginia Law Review Online

This Article aims to consider the immediate impacts of the novel coronavirus on criminal defendants’ access to speedy trials by jury. In particular, it aims to examine whether court closures and delays could affect the substantive rights of criminal defendants—and particularly pretrial detainees—to a speedy and public trial by jury. To date, very little scholarship has considered this question. Yet the ideal of a speedy trial by jury is deeply embedded in our Constitution and our judicial system, and the potential for a pandemic to limit or negate that right should ring scholastic and judicial alarm bells.

This analysis proceeds …

Political Trust In Kosovo: Exploring Cultural And Institutional Dynamics, Ermira Babamusta

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this dissertation I examine political trust perceptions across different political-legal institutions and actors in Kosovo. I evaluate the levels of political trust using cultural and institutional performance explanations to investigate the key factors that have an impact on political trust. The study explores national political trust and international political trust, considering many domains of political trust: government, political leaders, political parties, Kosovo Courts, Kosovo Police, NATO, United Nations, European Union, and the Kosovo Specialist Court. There is growing concern about lower levels of political trust across Europe, especially in post-communist countries. In this study, I make the case that …

Who Decides Justice: The Case For Legally Trained Magistrate Judges In West Virginia, Jason Neal

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of The Legal And Practical Implications Of The Potential Increased Participation In Jury Service By Racial Minorities In The U.S. Criminal Justice System, Brian Keith Leonard

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Better For Business, Better For Justice: Why West Virginia Needs An Intermediate Appellate Court, Stephanie Zwerner

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

At What Is The Supreme Court Comparatively Advantaged?, R. George Wright

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Confronting The Invisible Witness: The Use Of Narrative To Neutralize Capital Jurors' Implicit Racial Biases, Pamela A. Wilkins

West Virginia Law Review

How can capital defense lawyers craft narratives that neutralize jurors' unconscious racial and ethnic biases? A well-developed body of research in cognitive psychology indicates that despite even the best of intentions and the absence of conscious prejudice, most Americans harbor unconscious biases against African Americans. These biases influence what we actually perceive, how we interpret what we perceive, and how we act. For reasons related to the content and structure of capital sentencing trials, these unconscious biases are particularly likely to influence capital jurors. In effect, unconscious racial bias acts as an invisible witness against the African American defendant, buttressing …

The Wane In Spain (Of Universal Jurisdiction): Spain's Forgetful Democratic Transition And The Prosecution Of Tyrants, James J. Friedberg

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Politicizing Crime And Punishment: Redefining "Justice" To Fight The "War On Prisoners", Craig Haney

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Early Demise Of Early Release, Cecelia Klingele

West Virginia Law Review

Reversing the tough-on-crime policies that have defined American criminal justice for the past two decades, cash-strapped states across the nation have begun reducing the number of people they confine in prisons and jails. In their efforts to reduce correctional populations, numerous states have passed laws that allow parole boards, prison officials, or judges to shorten the sentences of people already serving time in custody. These so-called "early release" laws have proven highly controversial and in at least three states have been repealed outright. In others, they remain on the books but have provided less savings than anticipated because of the …

Taking Out The Context: A Critical Analysis Of Associated Press V. Canterbury, Kevin Gillen

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

What Is So "Grand" About The West Virginia Grand Jury System? A Desperate Need For Reform After The Duek Lacrosse Rape Scandal, Nicholas James

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Brennan V. Scalia, Justice Or Jurisprudence? A Moderate Proposal, Travis A. Knobbe

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Courtiers Of The Marble Palace: The Rise And Influence Of The Supreme Court Law Clerk, Harvey Gee

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The History Of The United States District Court For The Southern District Of West Virginia, Forest J. Bowman Esq.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Separation Of Powers And The Governor's Office In West Virginia: Advocating A More Deferential Approach To The Chief Executive From The Judiciary, Jason C. Pizatella

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Robert C. Byrd And The Fourth Circuit Court Of Appeals: An Addendum Respecting Judge Robert Bruce King, M. Blane Michael

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Robert C. Byrd And The Fourth Circuit Court Of Appeals, Robert Bruce King

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

When A Good Idea Is Poorly Implemented: How The International Criminal Court Fails To Be Insulated From International Politics And To Protect Basic Due Process Guarantees, Andrew J. Walker

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employing Common Sense In West Virginia Trial Courts: Encouraging Juror Note-Taking And The Questioning Of Witnesses By Jurors, Leslie Miller-Stover

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of The Clinton Impeachment And The Death Of The Independent Counsel Statute: Toward Depoliticization, Marjorie Cohn

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.