Legal Writing and Research Commons^™

The End Of Special Treatment For Cubans In The U.S. Immigration System: Consequences And Solutions For Cubans With Final Orders Of Removal, Lindsay Daniels

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

In January 2016, former President Obama announced the end of the “Wet-Foot, Dry-Foot” Policy, which granted special immigration benefits to Cuban migrants. As part of the agreement to end this policy, the Cuban government agreed to take back its citizens with final orders of removal for criminal convictions, an action that it had refused to take for decades. This Comment will begin by exploring past and present immigration policies between the United States and Cuba, including recent developments like the normalization of relations and the impact of President Trump’s immigration policies.

This Comment will then explore possible avenues of relief …

Stopping The Clock: Resolving The Circuit Split Over The Notice To Appear And The Stop-Time Rule Under The Immigration And Nationality Act, Maria Kennison

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA or “the Act”) is the primary governing body of law on immigration in the United States. The INA establishes the procedures for removing noncitizens from the country.

To initiate removal proceedings, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) serves a Notice to Appear (NTA) on a noncitizen deemed to be removable. The INA specifies information to be contained in the NTA, including the hearing date and location. A form of relief from removal that noncitizens may apply for is cancellation of removal, which is contingent on factors such as continuous residence in the United States …

Keeping Up With Your Sister Court: Unpublished Memorandums, No-Citation Rules, And The Superior Court Of Pennsylvania, Logan Hetherington

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

As Pennsylvania’s intermediate appellate court of general jurisdiction, the Pennsylvania Superior Court decides thousands of cases each year. The vast majority of those cases are disposed of via unpublished memorandums. These unpublished memorandums are designated as non-precedential and may not be cited by parties before the Superior Court. As a result, litigants and their counsel may not even persuasively cite an unpublished memorandum in briefs or other papers submitted to the Court. Thus, if counsel finds an unpublished memorandum deciding the identical issue of the case at hand and counsel is before the Superior Court judge who authored that opinion, …

But It’S Just A Little White Lie! An Analysis Of The Materiality Requirement Of 18 U.S.C. § 1425, Hanna E. Borsilli

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Once an individual becomes a naturalized citizen, the U.S. government can revoke citizenship only upon a discovery that the individual was not eligible to procure naturalization at the time of application. The process to revoke naturalization, referred to as denaturalization, may begin with a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1425, a criminal statute broadly prohibiting any attempt to procure naturalization “contrary to law.”

This “contrary to law” language created confusion regarding the required statutory elements of § 1425. Most courts to address this issue, including the Supreme Court in Maslenjak v. United States, held that § 1425 requires proof …

Joe Williams And Discourse Communities-The Journal Of Legal Writing Institute And Community Service, Terrill Pollman

Scholarly Works

Professor Pollman writes a tribute to The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute.

Book Review: Legal Persuasion: A Rhetorical Approach To The Science, Lori D. Johnson, Sarah Morath

Scholarly Works

In this piece written for Legal Writing: The Journal of the Legal Writing Institute, Professor Lori D. Johnson provides a compelling review of new publication co-authored by William S. Boyd Law Professor Linda L. Berger.

Feminist Judging Matters: How Feminist Theory And Methods Affect The Process Of Judgment, Linda L. Berger, Bridget J. Crawford, Kathryn M. Stanchi

Scholarly Works

Professor Linda Berger rejoins her Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Opinions of the United States Supreme Court coauthors in this essay presenting feminism as the foundation for a developing form of rich, complex, and practical legal scholarship-the lens and the means through which we may approach and resolve many legal problems. First, this essay explores the intellectual foundations of feminist legal theory and situates the United States and international feminist judgments projects within that scholarly tradition. It next considers how the feminist judgments projects move beyond traditional academic scholarship to bridge the gap between the real-world practice of law and feminist theory. …

Rewriting Judicial Opinions And The Feminist Scholarly Project, Linda L. Berger, Kathryn M. Stanchi, Bridget J. Crawford

Scholarly Works

In this introduction to an online symposium on Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Opinions of the United States Supreme Court, the editors of this groundbreaking project reflect on the journey and what remains to be done.

Gender Justice: The Role Of Stories And Images, Linda L. Berger, Kathryn M. Stanchi

Scholarly Works

In this book chapter, Professor Berger argues for thoughtful metaphor-making and storytelling in legal writing. Exploring legal rhetoric with an eye for gender justice, she argues metaphor and narrative shape perspective and ask the reader to join the writer in the imaginative work of seeing one thing as another. The same shift in perspective that leads to re-conception—a shift that takes advantage of metaphor and narrative’s ability to say what only they can say—is what writers aim to achieve when they use metaphor and narrative for feminist and social justice advocacy.

Epilogue: Indigenous Research: Future Directions, Deborah Mcgregor

Articles & Book Chapters

Indigenous research is often viewed as a novel and recently conceived research paradigm with the aim of explicitly and actively supporting the self-determination goals of Indigenous peoples (National Aboriginal Health Organization [NAHO], 2005). While it may be “new” to academia, engaging in Indigenous inquiry, along with its resultant knowledge production and mobilization, is actually far from new. Indigenous societies, like any autonomous and sovereign nations, required regularly updated knowledge to meet existing and emerging challenges. Indigenous peoples have thus been seeking knowledge to support their existence as peoples and nations for millennia (Absolon & Willet, 2004; Cardinal, 2001; Castellano, 2000; …

Law Library Blog (January 2018): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

The Truth Of The Matter: Why The Social Contract Dictates Legal Scholar's Sincerity, Candor, & Thoroughness, Nicola A. Boothe-Perry

Journal Publications

Legal scholars have filled books, treatises, magazines, journals and law reviews with various writings ranging from highly intricate and complex theses to oversimplified and homogenous explanations. In all its forms, legal scholarship has been both touted and taunted by external and internal critics throughout the years. Some suggest that legal scholarship should holistically "frame recommendations to responsible decision makers," and more specifically "help the reader understand law." Others suggest that it should be used to bring "restraint, proportion, perspective and atmosphere" into the legal landscape and society at large. Whatever its stated purpose and whether it be doctrinal, descriptive or …

What A Technical Services Librarian Wants Their Library Director To Know, Georgia Briscoe

Publications

Promoting the value of technical services librarians in the digital age.

The Potemkin Temptation Or, The Intoxicating Effect Of Rhetoric And Narrativity On American Craft Whiskey, Derek H. Kiernan-Johnson

Publications

No abstract provided.

Two Pedagogies In Search Of Synergy, Lisa Schultz, Susan Nevelow Mart

Publications

Anyone who has taught a first-year legal research course understands the dilemma: How do we weave research skills into the writing program without sacrificing the quality or quantity of either discipline? In fact, it is difficult and time consuming to interweave any serious legal research instruction into a first-year writing course. What the students need to know is not just how to do a little case law research or how to find a statute: they need to also know how to formulate a research plan, how to evaluate a database, what kind of search works in different information environments, and …

Navigating Law Librarianship While Black: A Week In The Life Of A Black Female Law Librarian, Shamika Dalton, Gail Mathapo, Endia Sowers-Paige

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Strength Of Digital Ties: Virtual Networks, Norm-Generating Communities, And Collective Action Problems, Raymond H. Brescia

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

To live in a nomos—a norm-generating community—is to understand the norms that are expected of us; to honor our credible commitments to other members of the community; and to share the values, the goals, and even the myths, histories, and stories of the community. For millennia, humans have used narratives, or stories, to communicate norms and values designed to spur the communities they inhabit to solve collective action problems by encouraging their members to trust and to be trust- worthy. To do so, we have used a range of tools, media, and set- tings for those communications, from oral …

The Language Of Neutrality In Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings, Carolyn Shapiro

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

At Justice Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation hearing, then-Judge Gorsuch repeatedly insisted that judging involves no more than examining the legal materials—like statutes and precedents— and applying them to the facts of the case. There is, he emphasized, no room for a Justice’s “personal views,” and he refused even to state his agreement (or disagreement) with such iconic cases as Loving v. Virginia and Griswold v. Connecticut. Instead, then Judge Gorsuch reiterated only that they were precedents of the Court and thus entitled to respect. Frustrating as his answers may have been to some senators, however, they differed from answers given …

Issue 2: Table Of Contents

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cardozo, Andrew L. Kaufman

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

In Honor Of Beth Mobley, Michael J. Borger

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cardozo's "Law And Literature": A Guide To His Judicial Writing Style, Richard H. Weisberg

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

She Dressed To The Nines And Knew “How To Write Good”, Han Sheng Beh, Alice Jakyung Choi

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

"And/Or" And The Proper Use Of Legal Language, Ira P. Robbins

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The use of the term and/or is pervasive in legal language. Lawyers use it in all types of legal contexts—including statutes, contracts, and pleadings. Beginning in the 1930s, however, many judges decided that the term and/or should never be used in legal drafting. Ardent attacks on the term included charges that it was vague, if not meaningless, with some authorities declaring it to be a “Janus-faced verbal monstrosity,” an “inexcusable barbarism,” a “mongrel expression,” an “abominable invention,” a “crutch of sloppy thinkers,” and “senseless jargon.” Still today, critics maintain that the construct and/or is inherently ambiguous and should be avoided …

Front Matter

Intercultural Human Rights Law Review

Front Matter includes Masthead, advisors, and Table of Contents for the Intercultural Human Rights Law Review Volume 13 (2018).

Tips About Written Advocacy From The North Dakota Supreme Court, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

In 1940, legendary Supreme Court advocate John W. Davis published "The Argument of an Appeal," an article that remains influential to lawyers and law students today. A few years later, the one-time Democratic presidential candidate closed his career with 141 arguments before the court, the most of any 20th century lawyer.

Best Practices For Teaching Advanced Legal Research Asynchronously Online, Khelani Clay, Shannon M. Roddy

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

The Life Of The Law Cannot Be Coded, Rebecca Roiphe

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

The Infinite Power Of Grammar, Patrick Barry

Articles

Good lawyers know that effective advocacy requires more than just choosing the right words; it also requires choosing the right word order. The formal term for this choice is “syntax.” But perhaps a better description comes from a 1976 essay by Joan Didion called “Why I Write.”

In it, Didion draws a helpful parallel between the arrangement of a photograph and the arrangement of a sentence. “To shift the structure of a sentence,” she notes, “alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of the camera alters the meaning of the object photographed.” Didion refers …