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Volume 48 Masthead

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Keynote Address: Community Over Constitution, Riddhi Mukhopadhyay

Seattle University Law Review

In this keynote address, Riddhi Mukhopadhyay challenges the veneration of the U.S. Constitution by highlighting its origins in exclusion and its continued failure to protect marginalized communities. Drawing from her experience in civil legal aid and gender justice, she argues that the Constitution was drafted to consolidate power among white, wealthy men and continues to reflect that legacy through racial, gender, and class-based inequities. While acknowledging the significance of constitutional amendments and landmark cases, Mukhopadhyay emphasizes that meaningful change has always come from community-led action, not top-down reform. Additionally, Mukhopadhyay calls on lawyers and legal advocates to center community, practice …

The Lost Child: A Critique On Transracial Adoption Rhetoric, Hallie Conyers-Tucker

Seattle University Law Review

Transracial adoption in the United States reflects a deeply rooted history of colonialism, cultural assimilation, and racial hierarchy, masked by rhetoric focused on the “best interest of the child.” The author critiques that rhetoric and traces how adoption practices and policies, both domestic and international, have evolved to reinforce systemic inequities. Through historical analysis of the forced adoption of Native American, Black, and Asian children, it reveals how the best interest standard has been wielded not to protect children but to uphold political and racial ideologies. The author argues that the prevailing adoption framework relies on child-saving and color-blind narratives …

A Global Reconstruction: Black Internationalism And The Human Rights Regime, Britta Redwood

Seattle University Law Review

Black American advocates for civil, political, and economic rights have long taken an internationalist approach and fostered connections with international organizations and transnational movements. This engagement has also been a generative force and played role in shaping international law. Beginning in the early years of the twentieth century, Black intellectuals and leaders, spearheaded by the NAACP and the UNIA, focused on human rights as a means for addressing and repairing the harms wrought by slavery, Jim Crow, and racism. From the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Genocide Convention, and the drafting of …

The Gap: Addressing The Missing Piece In HawaiʻI’S Anti-Discrimination Laws On Credit And Lending, Wendy Mun

Seattle University Law Review

This author addresses the significant gap in Hawaiʻi’s anti-discrimination laws, specifically the lack of explicit protections for LGBTQ+ individuals against credit and lending discrimination. Although federal laws like the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and recent interpretations by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) extend some protections, they remain vulnerable to shifting federal priorities and interpretations. The author explores how other states, particularly California and Washington, have enacted robust statutory protections that clearly prohibit credit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. They argue that Hawaiʻi, despite its large LGBTQ+ population, must amend its credit protection laws to reflect …

The U.S. Drug Policy Hamster Wheel: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of Seattle’S New Drug Ordinance, Hallie Conyers-Tucker

Seattle University Law Review

The author critically examines Seattle’s new drug ordinance using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to reveal how legislative language influences the policy's actual effect. Although the ordinance claims to prioritize diversion and community health, the use of permissive language such as “may” and “shall” grants broad discretionary power to law enforcement and undermines the stated intent. The author situates the ordinance within a broader historical context, highlighting how drug policy in the United States has consistently been shaped by racialized and stigmatizing narratives. Additionally, the author argues that meaningful reform requires reframing the discourse around substance use to support public health …

Something Concrete: How Labor Advocates Can Best Respond To The Ambiguity Of Glacier Northwest, Ateş Serifsoy

Seattle University Law Review

The Supreme Court’s much-anticipated decision in Glacier North-west, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local No. 174 (Glacier) marked a critical moment for workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the longstanding practice of Garmon preemption. Yet, initial fears of a significant rollback of workers’ rights, driven by sensational headlines, were met with an unexpectedly narrow Court opinion. This Comment examines Glacier’s implications for Gar-mon preemption and the right to strike. It offers the historical background of the doctrine of labor law preemption before Glacier; presents a detailed analysis of Glacier itself, including its …

Urgensi Dokumen Persetujuan Pasangan Kawin Yang Dibuat Secara Bawah Tangan Sebelum Penandatanganan Akta Pendirian Commanditaire Vennootschap (Studi Kasus Di Kabupaten Bandung), Ambria Rahma Widiastuti

Indonesian Notary

This thesis analyzes the legal provisions governing the mandatory existence of a document of consent from the spouses, made underhand before the signing of the deed of establishment of Commanditaire Vennootschap (hereinafter "CV"), and the legal consequences if the deed of establishment of CV is signed without the consent of the spouses. This research method uses a doctrinal approach through a literature study and is analyzed qualitatively. Article 36 paragraph (1) stipulates that "everything related to joint property that will be carried out legal action against it requires the consent of both parties." The legal agreements undertaken by a CV …

Konsekuensi Pembatalan Akta Autentik Yang Terdapat Praktik Nominee/Pinjam Nama Bagi Beneficiary (Studi Putusan Pengadilan Tinggi Denpasar Nomor 247/Pdt/2021/Pt Dps), Talitha Mumtaz

Indonesian Notary

This research analyzes the implementation of nominees in the field of land tenure in Indonesia, as well as how an authentic deed made before a notary has a nominee element in it and also the consequences for the beneficiary of cancelling the authentic deed because the authentic deeds contained nominee practices. The research was compiled using doctrinal research methods. The implementation of nominee practices in an authentic deed is made by making a series of agreements whose contents indirectly transfer ownership from the nominee whose name is listed on the certificate of ownership, to the beneficiary, which in this case …

Analisis Pelaksanaan Redistribusi Objek Tanah Landreform Dan Keadilan Bagi Masyarakat Desa Kalasey Dua Atas Status Tanah Yang Dikuasai Negara., Ashley Juniare Maria Rengkung

Indonesian Notary

As land plays an important role in everyday life, it is necessary to pay attention to rights and protection regarding its implementation. The Basic Agrarian Law itself has derivatives, one of which discusses Land Redistribution as regulated in Presidential Regulation Number 88 of 2017 concerning Settlement of Land Tenure in Forest Areas. However, after the ratification of Presidential Regulation Number 62 of 2023 concerning the Acceleration of Implementation of Agrarian Reform, Presidential Regulation Number 88 of 2017 and Presidential Regulation Number 86 of 2018 concerning Agrarian Reform are revoked and replaced with Presidential Regulation Number 62 of 2023 concerning Accelerating …

Implikasi Hukum Pembatalan Akta Jual Beli Saham Akibat Pembeli Cidera Janji (Analisis Kasus Pada Putusan No. 105/Pdt.G/2021/Pn Jkt.Sel), Riva Mahfuzhah Saphira

Indonesian Notary

Unfulfilled payment of shares are on of the problems that might arise when a limited company’s shares are transferred through a transaction that are not carried according to the shares transfer procedure in UUPT. The issues raised in this thesis pertain to the legal construction contained in the act of sale of shares that can protect the seller's interests in the event that the buyer fails to make payment and the notary's liability in the event that the buyer fails to make payment in the sale of shares, through the discussion of the case in Decision Number 105/PDT.G/2021/PN JKT.SEL. This …

Pemberian Tantiem Kepada Direksi Yang Telah Diberhentikan (Studi Kasus Putusan Mahkamah Agung 2530k/Pdt/2022), A Aru Ogika

Indonesian Notary

This research aims to analyze the legal construction of giving bonuses to a Limited Liability Company, especially giving them to bank directors who have been dismissed by the Company and its correlation with the legal consequences of not giving bonuses. This research was prepared using doctrinal research methods. The research results show that the legal construction in granting bonuses must refer to the principles of benefit and justice. The conditions for granting bonuses as stipulated in several statutory regulations, namely performance, risk and profit generation, are in accordance with the principles of benefit and justice, while the inclusion of conditions …

Problematika Hukum Pengadaan Tanah Ibu Kota Nusantara Di Wilayah Transmigrasi Desa Bumi Harapan Kecamatan Sepaku Kabupaten Penajam Paser Utara (Studi Putusan Pengadilan Tinggi Samarinda Nomor 222/Pdt/2023/Pt Smr), Merry Christiangie

Indonesian Notary

The development of the Capital City of the Archipelago raises several legal problems, one of which is land disputes between transmigrants and local communities. In the process of preparing transmigration settlements, there are six processes, one of which is land provision. This paper is prepared using doctrinal research method. In this research, the issues raised are related to land disputes between local communities and landowners of transmigration areas in the process of land acquisition at the location of the Nusantara Capital City in Bumi Harapan Village and the juridical basis of the judge's thinking which later won the transmigrants in …

Kedudukan Akta Jual Beli Atas Tanah Yang Diperjualbelikan Sepihak Tanpa Melibatkan Ahli Waris Lainnya (Studi Putusan Nomor 359/Pk/Pdt/2020, Oktaviani Nurul Suci

Indonesian Notary

This research is motivated by the existence of a legal act of buying and selling rights to inherited land which should be carried out involving other heirs who have the rights to the inherited land. Heirs have legal rights to certain inheritances and the transfer of these rights must be carried out in accordance with applicable law. The problem in this research is the strength of the sale and purchase deed for the act of sale carried out by one of the heirs which does not involve other heirs and the correlation of Article 32 paragraph (2) PP Number 24 …

The Form Doesn’T Know Anything: A Response To Chowdhury, Chudkowski & Gulati, Glenn D. West

University of Miami Law Review

Merger and acquisition agreements differ significantly from sovereign bonds. While I have criticized the stubborn persistence of harmful or ineffective boilerplate in the M&A deal world, this persistence does not stem from a desire for uniformity or blind adherence to a sacred form. The dynamics involved in negotiating merger and acquisition agreements often dictate that comments on a form agreement be kept to a minimum, making the improvement of the form a secondary goal. Moreover, what one party considers bad boilerplate may be seen as beneficial by another. Many of the myths supposedly debunked by Chowdhury, Chudkowski & Gulati may, …

No Lawyer, No Jail: A Critical Case Study Of Pragmatism And The Flaws Of “Purposeful” Decision Making In Argersinger V. Hamlin, Alisa Smith, Sarah K. Stice

Seattle University Law Review

By releasing conference notes and internal communications, Supreme Court Justices provide insight into the otherwise private decisionmaking process, shedding light on how case outcomes and legal reasoning are framed and negotiated. The watershed case of Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972) extended the constitutional right to counsel to some, but not all, misdemeanor defendants. The case was argued twice, and the Court relied on empirical and authoritative sources to answer complex and practical questions about requiring counsel. This case study employs critical discourse analysis to uncover what influenced the Justices’ decisions and how they framed, shaped, and constructed social realities to foreground …

Modern Day Colonialism Through HawaiʻI’S Quiet Title And Partition Laws, Cheyann Fujii

Seattle University Law Review

This Note will attempt to highlight important aspects of Hawaiian history to provide readers with a clear picture on how Native Hawaiians are still impacted by colonialism, specifically when plaintiffs bring a quiet title or partition action against Native Hawaiian owners of kuleana lands. Before colonization, the concept of private land ownership did not exist in Hawai‘i, and Native Hawaiians adopted a feudal system by dividing land into geographical areas. Missionaries and businessmen brought Western ideas to Hawai‘i and influenced legislation such as the Great Māhele and the Kuleana Land Act of 1850, which solidified the concept of private property. …

Data Advantage And Merger Review: Can Entrenchment Theory Reform Antitrust Enforcement?, Shin-Ru Cheng

Seattle University Law Review

A merger involving giant digital companies is likely to dampen competition, as it allows those companies to combine and control data access, enabling them to entrench their dominant positions in relevant markets and extend those positions into related markets. While competition law in many jurisdictions aims to prohibit mergers that may substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly, arguably the review of digital mergers is failing because antitrust agencies lack an effective approach to identify data-generated anticompetitive harms. This Article demonstrates that entrenchment theory, recently reintroduced in the 2023 U.S. Merger Guidelines, would help reform the process of antitrust enforcement. …

Defining Deference: Impacts Of Abandoning Chevron On Emerging Technology Governance And Administrative Law, R. Aubrey Davis Iii

Seattle University Law Review

Emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), often lead to unforeseen legal outcomes. Notable abuses in areas such as facial recognition, employment bias, and housing discrimination are well known. However, legislative responses to these issues either have been largely reactive or there has been no legislative response at all. In lieu of legislation, agencies have sought to fill the gap. For example, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently proposed a rule mandating voter notification for all AI-generated political phone calls citing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 as authority. However, the TCPA was originally passed to curtail telemarketing, not …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Caution: Potholes In E-Scooter Data Collection, Dakota Rakestraw

Seattle University Law Review

Lime scooters keep ending up in major waterways in Washington state metro areas, a testament to the ubiquity of e-scooters in the metropolitan landscape. How they get there is unclear. Why they get there is even murkier. Perhaps the answer lies in the implications of modern geolocation data collection through e-scooters and gaps in current data collection regulation curbing individual liberties.

Since September 2020, electric scooters have run Seattle’s streets and have dramatically overtaken ridesharing bike trips. For example, from September 2020 to September 2021, there were about 1.4 million scooter and bike trips with September 2021 seeing 300,000 scooter …

Machinists Preemption In The New Administrative Law, Andrew J. Ziaja

Seattle University Law Review

This Article assesses Machinists preemption—a labor-specific form of implied field preemption—while freshly considering implications both for and of new developments in administrative law. The radical transformation of administrative law in the Supreme Court, particularly its newfound emphasis on clear-statement rules, provides opportunities to reconsider the Machinists rationale. Aligning with scholars who have called to question the doctrine’s “ossifying” influence on labor and employment policy, it argues that the modern-day version of Machinists preemption clashes with the Supreme Court’s newly constrained view of delegated power and its differing conceptions of the major questions doctrine.

On the other hand, Machinists preemption might …

Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

The Race To Erase: Destruction Of Government Documents Undermines Freedom-Of-Information Laws, Frank D. Lomonte

Seattle University Law Review

In August 2019, reporters with Chattanooga’s daily newspaper, the Times Free Press, filed what seemed to be a routine request for access to emails and other public records held by their local county government. The seemingly unremarkable request set the newspaper’s staff on a months-long journey of unpleasant surprises. The first was a demand to pay the county $717 in advance before being allowed to inspect the documents. The second was that—during prolonged haggling over the fee assessment— the county attorney’s office simply destroyed almost all of the disputed records. Third, and most glaringly, the journalists discovered that Tennessee law …

When You’Re Arrested For A Felony In Seattle, You’Ll Meet Me., Austin Field

Seattle University Law Review

In this Essay, Austin Field, a practicing public defender, uses a first-person perspective to describe what it is like to meet a criminal defendant for the first time. He explains the process from start to finish, detailing everything from the way he introduces himself to how bail works.

"I’ll ask you for your name. Most of the time, you tell me. I check your name against my list. On any given day I’m supposed to interview between five and fifteen people. I have a lot of questions for you. We only have about ten minutes."

The Public Square In A Private-Property Obsessed Country: What New York City’S Pops Regulations Get Right And Why Other Cities Should (Mostly) Copy Them, Carson Mcgregor

Seattle University Law Review

When New York City (NYC) was first becoming the metropolitan monolith it is today, it had a problem: the city streets were chock full of skyscrapers, and sunlight, air, and usable open space were at a premium. In response, the City promulgated its first Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) regulations, which allowed developers to build skyward in exchange for providing public space on the street level. Unfortunately, in July of 2023, the New York Times (NYT) discovered that New Yorkers received only a fraction of what they were promised. Building owners received billions of dollars’ worth of added floor space, …

Intellectual Property Or Modern Folklore? The Problem With Open Gaming Licenses In Tabletop Gaming, Rosie Midget

Seattle University Law Review

This Note addresses how courts and legislatures should address “Open Gaming Licenses” commonly attached to tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs), which game publishers use to promote a false image of accessibility—misleading consumers and building goodwill from the misunderstanding. Part I discusses what TTRPGs are, including the defining features of the hobby and culture surrounding it, as well as the unique interplay between publishers and players. Part II explores the question of which elements in a TTRPG system may be subject to copyright protection. Part III examines these elements in practice using Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons and Dragons TTRPG as a …

Upaya Hukum Bagi Pembeli Akibat Penerbitan Sertipikat Pengganti Dalam Pengikatan Jual Beli (Studi Putusan Nomor 646/Pid.B/2023/Pn. Mtr.), Alda Anabela Adelina

Indonesian Notary

Penelitian ini meneliti tentang penerbitan sertipikat pengganti setelah akta Pengikatan Jual Beli dibuat oleh Notaris. Penerbitan sertipikat pengganti tersebut dilakukan dengan alasan hilang dengan menyerahkan surat keterangan dari kepolisian. Hal tersebut mengakibatkan terdapat 2 (dua) dokumen fisik yakni sertipikat tanah dengan nomor yang sama. Hal tersebut berakibat kerugian terhadap pihak pembeli yang menguasai fisik sertipikat pertama karena dengan penerbitan sertipikat pengganti membatalkan sertipikat terdahulu. Kasus tersebut yang terjadi dalam Putusan Nomor 646/Pid.B/2023/PN.Mtr. Penelitian ini menganalisis kedudukan akta Pengikatan Jual Beli yang kemudian terdapat penerbitan sertipikat pengganti berdasarkan Putusan Nomor 646/Pid.B/2023/PN.Mtr. dan menganalisis upaya hukum yang bisa dilakukan pembeli untuk memperjuangkan …

Keabsahan Perjanjian Perkawinan Yang Dicatatkan Debitor Setelah Dinyatakan Pailit Pasca Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Republik Indonesia Nomor 69/Puu-Xiii/2015 (Studi Putusan-Putusan Pengadilan), Nadira Ratunanda Wirjono

Indonesian Notary

Penelitian ini mengkaji keabsahan perjanjian perkawinan yang dicatatkan debitor setelah dinyatakan pailit berdasarkan analisis dari beberapa putusan-putusan pengadilan. Fokus utama penelitian ini adalah analisis perubahan regulasi pencatatan perjanjian perkawinan pasca berlakunya Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi Nomor 69 Tahun 2015, serta kekuatan mengikatnya perjanjian perkawinan yang dibuat sebelum debitor dinyatakan pailit namun belum dicatatkan terhadap kreditur yang mengajukan permohonan pailit. Untuk itu, penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan doktrinal, dimana analisis dilakukan terhadap putusan Mahkamah Agung Nomor 894 K/Pdt.Sus-Pailit/2019, putusan Mahkamah Agung Nomor 461 K/Pdt.Sus-Pailit/2019, dan putusan Mahkamah Agung Nomor 562 K/Pdt.Sus-Pailit/2021 dalam bentuk penelitian studi pustaka yang menggunakan data-data sekunder, yakni dari berbagai …

Kedudukan Hukum Anak Bawaan Dalam Perkara Kepemilikan Hak Atas Tanah Dalam Perkawinan Campuran (Studi Putusan Nomor 280/Pdt.G/2021/Pn Btm), Rana Mahirah

Indonesian Notary

Pengurusan harta warisan yang melibatkan anak kandung dan pasangan kedua menimbulkan berbagai macam celah hukum jika tidak dilaksanakan sesuai dengan ketentuan yang berlaku, terutama jika perkawinan kedua tersebut merupakan perkawinan campuran yang harus lebih diperhatikan lagi ketentuan ketentuannya terkait harta dan bendanya yang dapat menimbulkan sengketa di kemudian hari. Penelitian ini membahas tentang kedudukan anak bawaan dalam perkawinan kedua orang tuanya dan peran dan tanggung jawab terhadap notaris dalam melakukan pengurusan harta waris, dengan mengangkat kasus dalam Putusan Nomor 280/Pdt.G/2021/PN Btm. Penelitian ini menerapkan metode penelitian doktrinal dengan tipe penelitian eksplanatoris. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa anak bawaan dari perkawinan sebelumnya …