Courts Commons^™

Federalism, Federal Courts, And Victims' Rights, Michael E. Solimine, Kathryn Elvey

Catholic University Law Review

One of the most striking developments in American criminal law and procedure in the past four decades has been the widespread establishment of victims’ rights at both the federal and state levels. A conspicuous exception to the success of the victims’ rights movement has been the failure of Congress to pass a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would uniformly establish such rights in all federal and state courts. Advanced by both private organizations and state officials, and with bipartisan support in Congress, bills establishing a Victims’ Rights Amendment (VRA) have been introduced several times in the past three …

Confounded Collectors, Confused Consumers: Time To Close The Circuit Split On Whether The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Requires A Consumer To Dispute A Debt In Writing, Daniel O'Connell

Catholic University Law Review

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) provides that a debt collector must notify a consumer that it will assume a debt to be valid unless the consumer challenges the debt within thirty days. The FDCPA does not explicitly require the consumer to challenge the debt in writing. The Third Circuit requires written disputes, while the Second, Fourth, and Ninth Circuits permit oral disputes. This Comment discusses the reasoning and conclusions at play in this circuit split. The Comment argues that while both sides of the debate present meritorious arguments, permitting oral disputes for purposes of rebutting the debt collector’s …

Illegal Agreements And The Lesser Evil Principle, Chunlin Leonhard

Catholic University Law Review

When parties enter into an illegal agreement and bring a dispute arising from the transaction before a court, the court finds itself in a difficult position. The court is faced with two competing interests: the importance of both upholding and protecting the dignity of the law and honoring inherent principles of U.S. contract law - freedom of contract and individual autonomy. There exists a common misconception that courts, when presented with illegal contracts, follow the rule of non-enforcement. However, an examination of case law indicates that courts are instead concerned with the consequences of their choices, and have consistently followed …

Downgrading Non-Violent Drug Crimes:An End To The “Lock ‘Em And Leave ‘Em” Mentality, Tran T. Nguyen

Journal of Public Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

From The Stocks, To Handcuffs, To Hollywood: An Analysis Of Public Humiliation In Judge Judy’S Syndi-Court, Martin Mckown

Journal of Public Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Selecting Instructional Materials, Charles J. Russo

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

A recent dispute from Columbus, Ohio, that made some national headlines dramatically illustrates what can happen to teachers who fail to preview materials and consequently show inappropriate films or use other media unsuited for student instruction.

The outcome of that case was more dramatic and unusual than in similar cases. Even so, this incident demonstrates that educators in K–12 schools can lose their jobs if they fail to use their discretion and comply with board policies in selecting appropriate materials and subjects for their classes and previewing materials before using them in instructional settings.

Trailblazers And Those That Followed : Personal Experiences, Gender, And Judicial Empathy., Laura P. Moyer, Susan B. Haire

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This paper investigates one causal mechanism that may explain why female judges on the federal appellate courts are more likely than men to side with plaintiffs in sex discrimination cases. To test whether personal experiences with inequality are related to empathetic responses to the claims of female plaintiffs, we focus on the first wave of female judges, who attended law school during a time of severe gender inequality. We find that female judges are more likely than their male colleagues to support plaintiffs in sex discrimination cases, but that this difference is seen only in judges who graduated law school …

Diagnostics Need Not Apply, Rebecca S. Eisenberg

Articles

Diagnostic testing helps caregivers and patients understand a patient's condition, predict future outcomes, select appropriate treatments, and determine whether treatment is working. Improvements in diagnostic testing are essential to bringing about the long-heralded promise of personalized medicine. Yet it seems increasingly clear that most important advances in this type of medical technology lie outside the boundaries of patent-eligible subject matter. The clarity of this conclusion has been obscured by ambiguity in the recent decisions of the Supreme Court concerning patent eligibility. Since its 2010 decision in Bilski v. Kappos, the Court has followed a discipline of limiting judicial exclusions from …

Newsroom: Judge Edward Clifton Joins Faculty, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Abolish Fault-Oriented Divorce In Ohio - As A Service To Society And To Restore Dignity To The Domestic Relations Court, John D. Cannell

Akron Law Review

A PROMINENT COMMON PLEAS JUDGE, who for 10 years has been presiding in the Domestic Relations Division of the Court of Common Pleas of one of Ohio's more populated counties, was recently heard to say: "Ohio's divorce law is hypocritical, lousy and archaic." About Ohio's divorce laws it has also been said: "Perhaps there is no statute in Ohio more abused than the statute concerning 'divorce and alimony.' Perhaps there is no statute under which greater imposition is practiced upon the court and more injustice done to individuals." These were the words of Judge Hitchcock of the Ohio Supreme Court …

Ohio's Post-Gault Juvenile Court Law, Robert J. Willey

Akron Law Review

It is the writer's intention to compare Ohio's new juvenile code with that offered by the Crime Commission, with the Standards for Juvenile and Family Courts, and with the Uniform Juvenile Court Act, which was drafted to meet the constitutional requirements of Kent and Gault. These two cases now force one to reconsider in the juvenile court context the applicability of more formal procedural rules, as well as the applicability of all the Constitutional Rights contained in the Bill of Rights which have been incorporated (as far as criminal proceedings are concerned) into the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth …

Voir Dire: Strategy And Tactics In The Defense Of Social And Political Activists, Murray R. Bowes

Akron Law Review

With the courts increasingly being the forum for legal disputes between those who demand change in the superstructure and those who represent (or are) the structure, a rather unfortunate by-product has evolved: a feeling that the courts can no longer adequately dispense justice.8 This manifests itself in beliefs that if one is prosecuted for activities that were designed to advance social change, either in violation of the law or not, that the individual will not be afforded a fair trial; 9 a reflection that the social or political activist will not be judged by an impartial jury….For the purposes of …

From Orphans To Families In Crisis: Parental Rights Matters In Maine Probate Courts, Deirdre M. Smith

Faculty Publications

This Article examines the sources of the contemporary problems associated with the adjudication of parental rights matters in Maine’s probate courts and identifies specific reforms to address both the structural and substantive law problems. The Article first reviews the development of Maine’s probate courts and their jurisdiction over parental rights matters. It traces the expansion of jurisdiction over children and families from a limited role incidental to the administration of a decedent’s estate to the current scope: a range of matters that may result in the limitation, suspension, or termination of the rights of living parents. Maine probate courts now …

It's Not Just Ferguson: Missouri Supreme Court Should Consolidate The Municipal Court System, Thomas Harvey, John Mcannar, Michael-John Voss, Joshua Feinzig, Chris Mcallister

All Faculty Scholarship

The Missouri Supreme Court's unprecedented decision to take control of Ferguson's Municipal Court was based primarily on issues raised during sustained protest following the killing of Mike Brown and reports published by ArchCity Defenders and the Department of Justice. These reports highlighted racial disparity in traffic stops, excessive revenue generation, and excessive warrants and arrests and confirmed the lived experiences of poor and Black people in St. Louis: there is a racially discriminatory and profit-driven approach to law enforcement made possible only by the collaborative efforts of local government, police, and courts.

These condemned practices are not unique to Ferguson. …

The European Court Of Human Rights Proclaims That It Will Neither Forgive Nor Forget Those Who Wage War, Shantel Talbot

Brigham Young University International Law & Management Review

No abstract provided.

Brief Of Law Professors Bruce P. Frohnen, Robert P. George, Alan J. Meese, Michael P. Moreland, Nathan B. Oman, Michael Stokes Paulsen, Rodney K. Smith, Steven D. Smith, And O. Carter Snead As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioners, John D. Adams, Matthew A. Fitzgerald, O. Carter Snead

Court Briefs

No. 15-105
Little Sister of the Poor Home for the Aged v. Sylvia Mathews Burwell

On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

From the Summary of Argument

Suppose a federal law required government officials to enter a Catholic church and use church property to distribute contraceptives and abortifacients over church’s objection. Such a law would surely burden the church’s religion, even if the government paid for the objectionable medications and compensated the church for the use of its resources. By commandeering church property, such a law would force the …

The Inversion Of Rights And Power, Philip Hamburger

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Strategic Behavior And Variation In The Supreme Court’S Caseload Over Time, Kenneth W. Moffett, Forrest Maltzman, Karen Miranda, Charles R. Shipan

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Over the past sixty years, the size of the Supreme Court’s docket has varied tremendously, growing at some points in time and shrinking at others. What accounts for this variation in the size of the docket? We focus on two key strategic factors – the predictability of outcomes within the Court, and whether justices consider the potential actions of other political institutions – and assess whether these factors help to explain the variation in docket size over time. We discover that uncertainty and institutional constraints prevent the Court from choosing cases with complete freedom, even after accounting for other potential …

Keeping Pace: The U.S. Supreme Court And Evolving Technology, Brian Thomas

Politics Summer Fellows

Contemporary mainstream discussions of the Supreme Court are often qualified with the warning that the nine justices are out of touch with everyday American life, especially when it comes to the newest and most popular technologies. For instance, during oral argument for City of Ontario v. Quon, a 2010 case that dealt with sexting on government-issued devices, Chief Justice John Roberts famously asked what the difference was “between email and a pager,” and Justice Antonin Scalia wondered if the “spicy little conversations” held via text message could be printed and distributed. While these comments have garnered a great deal of …

My Body, Not My Say: Regulation Of Reproductive Freedom In America, Kisha K. Patel

Gender, Women's, and Sexuality Studies Summer Fellows

Women’s bodies have been legislated for years. Many people associate regulation beginning in 1973 when Roe V. Wade was decided, however legislation has affected women for much longer. These infringements on women’s rights create a major roadblock in gender equality. During summer fellows I researched how the law regulates aspects of American women's lives particularly in reproductive freedom (birth control, day-after pill, abortion, maternity discrimination). Conducting this research included thorough research of 48 pieces of congressional legislation from the 114^th Congress that limit women's reproductive freedom through abortion bans, non-accessible health care, and cuts in federal spending towards Planned …

The Sentencing Legacy Of The Special Court For Sierra Leone, Shahram Dana

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

A New Public-Interest Appellate Model: Public Counsel's Court-Based Self-Help Clinic And Pro Bono Triage For Indigent Pro Se Civil Litigants On Appeal, Meehan Rasch

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

Oral Argument In The Early Roberts Court: A Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of Individual Justice Behavior, James C. Phillips, Edward L. Carter

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

Appellate Review Of Unpreserved Questions In Criminal Cases: An Attempt To Define The Interest Of Justice, Larry Cunningham

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

Prospects For An Independent Judiciary: The Russian Constitutional Court And The Cpsu Trial, Lynne M. Tracy

Akron Law Review

This Comment will explore the role of law in Russian and Soviet history. It will then consider the legal reforms that arose under Mikhail Gorbachev's program of perestroika. Particular attention will be devoted to judicial reform and the creation of the Constitutional Court. Second, there will be a description of the events that led to the CPSU trial and the trial itself. Finally, there will be an examination of the impact of the Constitutional Court's verdict on: (1) the future of the Constitutional Court as an independent third branch of the government; (2) the Russian political scene; and (3) the …

The American Inns Of Court: Preparing Our Students For Ethical Practice, Joryn Jenkins

Akron Law Review

Despite the recognition of the merit and effectiveness of the American Inns of Court concept, and despite the rapid growth of this burgeoning movement, and despite the intrinsic involvement of over one thousand law students and of nearly one hundred law schools affiliated with Inns across the country, many legal educators are unaware of the Inns' existence, purpose, possibilities, and successes. Why should this ignorance be remedied?

Clouds In The Crystal Ball: Presidential Expectations And The Unpredictable Behavior Of Supreme Court Appointees, Christopher E. Smith, Kimberly A. Beuger

Akron Law Review

This article will analyze the pitfalls that presidents face in hoping that their nominees' judicial performance will comport with presidential expectations.

Veteran Treatment Courts, Honorable Robert T. Russell

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sexually Exploited Youth: A View From The Bench, Honorable Fernando Camacho

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mental Health Courts: Bridging Two Worlds, Honorable Matthew J. D’Emic

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.