Legislation Commons^™

Evaluating Legislative Justice Sector Reforms: Creating An Environment For Survival, Lauren A. Shumate

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

The Clean Water Rule: What It Is And Why It Needs To Go, Charles C. Davis, Iii

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Where's The Fire?, Burt Neuborne

Journal of Law and Policy

Freedom of speech is priceless, but distressingly fragile. Life, and law, would be much simpler if we could react to free speech's importance and fragility by granting it absolute legal protection. Since, however, absolute protection of speech is not—and should not be—a serious option, we face the legal realist challenge of erecting a First Amendment legal structure capable of providing real-world protection to highly controversial speech, often by weak speakers, without closing the door to government regulation. Given the uncertainty inherent in applying fact-dependent complex rules in protean factual settings, many potential speakers would avoid being drawn into unpredictable and …

Protecting Hatred Preserves Freedom: Why Offensive Expressions Command Constitutional Protection, Andrew P. Napolitano

Journal of Law and Policy

The First Amendment is not the guardian of taste. Instead, the U.S. Constitution wholeheartedly protects freedom of thought and expression, even if generated and defined by hatred, as long as that expression does not produce immediate lawless violence. Although free speech may lead to tenuous relationships or uncomfortable debates, it must be defended unconditionally. Too many politicians and lawmakers believe that the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment attaches only to those ideas and expressions that they approve of; this is not so. This article argues that the Founders intended the First Amendment's free speech principle as a …

Freedom Of Speech And Equality: Do We Have To Choose?, Nadine Strossen

Journal of Law and Policy

As a lifelong activist on behalf of both equality and free speech, I am convinced, based on actual experience, that these core values are mutually reinforcing, and not, as some have argued, in tension with each other. Moreover, I am convinced that this is true even for offensive or hateful speech that affronts our most cherished beliefs. However, defining hateful or offensive speech is inherently arbitrary and subjective, which raises concerns about what speech should be restricted, and how. Empowering government to punish hateful or offensive expresson necessarily vests officials with enormous discretionary power, which will inevitably lead to arbitrary …

A Balancing Act For American Universities: Anti-Harassment Policy V. Freedom Of Speech, Bridget Hart

Journal of Law and Policy

Legal scholars, educational administrators, journalists, and students have all witnessed a rise in students being disciplined by university officials for speech and conduct deemed inappropriate for college campuses. In endeavoring to explain this trend, some academics point to the disconnect between the Department of Education and university administrators regarding the legal standards for campus anti-harassment policies. The lack of clarity regarding what constitutes harassment on college campuses has resulted in the punishment of students by universities for speech and conduct that is normally considered to be protected speech under the First Amendment. This note first provides an overview of the …

When You Come To A Fork In The Road, Take It: Unifying The Split In New York's Analysis Of In-House Attorney-Client Privilege, Thomas O'Connor

Journal of Law and Policy

As one surveys the vast and ever-changing landscape of law and litigation, few things stand out as so unanimously exalted and carefully guarded as the privilege protecting attorney-client communications. Yet there is today a surprising lack of uniformity and predictability in the reasoning by which New York courts determine whether a communication made by in-house counsel to its corporate client will – or will not – enjoy the protection of that privilege. Rather than follow a single and predictable analysis to resolve the question, New York courts have oscillated between one line of decisions focusing primarily on the purpose of …

The New York Pharmaceutical Cost Transparency Act: How A Narrow View Of The Prescription Drug Pricing Puzzle Renders A Well-Intentioned Bill Irrational, John G. Curran

Brooklyn Law Review

Pricing prescription pharmaceuticals is a complex process that entails the consideration of a multitude of factors, not the least of which is the research and development expenditure exhausted by drug makers to gain FDA approval. While public sentiment has increasingly turned against the pharmaceutical industry due to its perceived greed as manifested in the high cost of its drugs, the intricacies of pricing such unique products is rarely discussed. A recently proposed New York state bill, the Pharmaceutical Cost Transparency Act (the NYPCTA), continues this unfortunate trend, by requiring companies to disclose the R&D costs of newly approved drugs in …

If We Don’T Bring Them To Court, The Terrorists Will Have Won: Reinvigorating The Anti-Terrorist Act And General Jurisdiction In A Post-Daimler Era, Stephen J. Digregoria

Brooklyn Law Review

Prior to the Supreme Court's recent general personal jurisdiction decisions in Daimler AG v. Bauman and Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations S.A. v. Brown American terror victims, injured in terror attacks abroad, were able to bring their attackers and those who sponsor them into United States courts for relief. Specifically, groups like the Palestine Liberation Organization (the PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (the PA) had a history of being sued by American victims of terror. In the course of these suits, the PLO and the PA were regularly found subject to the personal jurisdiction of U.S. courts under a theory of …

Anti-Disruption Statutory Construction, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

The claim of this brief Essay is that Chief Justice [John Roberts]’s approach to statutory interpretation exhibits a “Burkean minimalism” that seeks to reduce [the] seismic effect of the Court’s decisions. In particular, the Chief Justice is drawn toward statutory interpretations that avoid constitutional questions and preserve legislative enactments against constitutional challenge. Avoiding disruption is not an unyielding imperative, as the Chief Justice is sometimes willing to join broad judgments with significant effects. Avoiding disruption does, however, appear to be among the Chief Justice’s preferences when deciding cases, and when interpreting federal statutes in particular.

This abstract has been adapted …

Private Actors And Public Corruption: Why Courts Should Adopt A Broad Interpretation Of The Hobbs Act, Megan Demarco

Michigan Law Review

Federal prosecutors routinely charge public officials with “extortion under color of official right” under a public-corruption statute called the Hobbs Act. To be prosecuted under the Hobbs Act, a public official must promise official action in return for a bribe or kickback. The public official, however, does not need to have actual authority over that official action. As long as the victim reasonably believed that the public official could deliver or influence government action, the public official violated the Hobbs Act. Private citizens also solicit bribes in return for influencing official action. Yet most courts do not think the Hobbs …

“Hello…It’S Me. [Please Don’T Sue Me!]” Examining The Fcc’S Overbroad Calling Regulations Under The Tcpa, Marissa A. Potts

Brooklyn Law Review

Americans have received unwanted telemarketing calls for decades. In response to a rapid increase in pre-recorded calls made using autodialer devices, Congress enacted the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in 1992. The TCPA imposes restrictions on calls made to consumers’ residences and wireless phones using autodialer devices, even if they are not telemarketing calls. Congress appointed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prescribe rules and regulations to enforce the TCPA. In 2015, the FCC released an order that defined autodialer more broadly under the statute. Consequently, devices that have the potential to become autodialers in the future, even if they …

The Question Concerning Technology In Compliance, Sean J. Griffith

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

In this symposium Essay, I apply insights from philosophy and psychology to argue that modes of achieving compliance that focus on technology undermine, and are undermined by, modes of achieving compliance that focus on culture. Insisting on both may mean succeeding at neither. How an organization resolves this apparent contradiction in program design, like the broader question of optimal corporate governance arrangements, is highly idiosyncratic. Firms should therefore be accorded maximum freedom in designing their compliance programs, rather than being forced by enforcement authorities into a set of de facto mandatory compliance structures.

Like A Bad Neighbor, Hackers Are There: The Need For Data Security Legislation And Cyber Insurance In Light Of Increasing Ftc Enforcement Actions, Jennifer Gordon

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Privacy has come to the forefront of the technology world as third party hackers are constantly attacking companies for their customers’ data. With increasing instances of compromised customer information, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been bringing suit against companies for inadequate data security procedures. The FTC’s newfound authority to bring suit regarding cybersecurity breaches, based on the Third Circuit’s decision in FTC v. Wyndham Worldwide Corp., is a result of inaction—Congress has been unable to pass sufficient cybersecurity legislation, causing the FTC to step in and fill the void in regulation. In the absence of congressional action, this self-proclaimed …

Preserving Human Agency In Automated Compliance, Onnig H. Dombalagian

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

As technology transforms financial services, so too must it transform the regulation of financial markets and intermediaries. The imperative of real-time, prophylactic regulation increasingly compels reallocation of regulatory and compliance budgets to surveillance and enforcement technology. At the same time, in light of the well-known weaknesses of automated systems, securities firms (and their regulators) must temper investment in automation with efforts to augment the agency of compliance professionals. This symposium contribution considers how investment in the professional development of compliance personnel can better integrate automated tools within established compliance and supervisory structures and thereby advance regulatory and operational objectives.

Understanding Wellness International Network, Ltd. V. Sharif: The Problems With Allowing Parties To Impliedly Consent To Bankruptcy Court Adjudication Of Stern Claims, Elizabeth Jackson

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The 2011 Supreme Court case Stern v. Marshall defined which claims bankruptcy courts had the authority to adjudicate, but it’s complicated holding left lower courts perplexed. Specifically, the Stern decision created “Stern claims”—claims that bankruptcy courts have the statutory, but not the constitutional, authority to adjudicate. Subsequent cases, such as Executive Benefits Insurance Agency v. Arkison and Wellness International Network, Ltd. v. Sharif, have grappled with whether Stern claims should be treated as “core” claims, which bankruptcy courts can enter final judgments on, or “non-core” claims, which bankruptcy courts can only enter final judgments on if the litigating parties consent. …

The Plain Language Court, David A. Strauss

Cardozo Law Review

The Roberts Court, under Chief Justice John Roberts, has demonstrated a strong and consistent commitment to the plain language approach in statutory interpretation. This approach emphasizes interpreting statutes based on their literal text, often without considering legislative history or broader statutory purposes. The Court's decision in Milner v. Department of the Navy exemplifies this trend, where the Court adhered to the plain language of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) despite significant policy concerns. This approach has become more unanimous among the justices, reflecting a shift from earlier Courts that were more divided on this method.

Anti-Disruption Statutory Construction, Jonathan H. Adler

Cardozo Law Review

The article examines Chief Justice John Roberts' approach to statutory interpretation, characterizing it as a form of "Burkean minimalism." This approach prioritizes judicial restraint, avoiding disruptive outcomes and maintaining stability in the law, even if it requires departing from the plain meaning of statutory text. Roberts' decisions often reflect a pragmatic willingness to reinterpret statutes to prevent significant disruptions, uphold legislative enactments, and preserve constitutional harmony, rather than adhering strictly to textualist or doctrinal purity.

The Roberts Court And The New Textualism, Anton Metlitsky

Cardozo Law Review

The article explores the Roberts Court's approach to statutory interpretation, focusing on its adherence to the "new textualism," a methodology emphasizing the plain meaning of statutory text. While recent cases like King v. Burwell, Bond v. United States, and Yates v. United States appear to prioritize statutory purpose over textual meaning, the Court's reasoning reinforces its commitment to textualism by framing decisions within textualist methodology, even when outcomes seem to depart from strict textual interpretation.

State-Action Immunity And Section 5 Of The Ftc Act, Daniel A. Crane, Adam Hester

Michigan Law Review

The state-action immunity doctrine of Parker v. Brown immunizes anticompetitive state regulations from preemption by federal antitrust law so long as the state takes conspicuous ownership of its anticompetitive policy. In its 1943 Parker decision, the Supreme Court justified this doctrine, observing that no evidence of a congressional will to preempt state law appears in the Sherman Act’s legislative history or context. In addition, commentators generally assume that the New Deal court was anxious to avoid re-entangling the federal judiciary in Lochner-style substantive due process analysis. The Supreme Court has observed, without deciding, that the Federal Trade Commission might …

Trademarks “Lanham Act” Foreign Registrants Need Not Allege Use In The United States And May Waive Filing Requirements Required For Domestic Applications (Scm Corporation V. Langis Foods, Ltd., D.C. Cir. 1976), John A. Cutler

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Andean Foreign Investment Code: An Overview, Lloyd Pike

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Tthe Requirement Of Domestic Participation In New Mining Ventures In Zambia, Muna Ndulo

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Hb 727 - Regulation Of Fireworks, Tim Henshaw, Max Perwich

Georgia State University Law Review

HB 727 establishes provisions to allow local governments to restrict the usage of fireworks. It also changes regulations for the following: the sale and use of fireworks, temporary consumer fireworks sales stands, fire department requirements, firefighter qualifications, pyrotechnics exhibits, consumer fireworks distributor licenses, fireworks contraband, limitations on the timing of firework detonations, and illegal sales of fireworks. HB 727 revises provisions regarding the lawful use and ignition of fireworks and prohibits the following: use of fireworks near any public transportation routes, ignition of fireworks under the influence of alcohol or drugs, sale of fireworks to any person under 18 years …

Hb 513 - Civil Practice Act: Anti-Slapp, Pierre-Joseph Noebes, Rachel Reed

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act amends Georgia’s anti-SLAPP statute to expand its coverage from protecting the right to petition to also include protecting the right of free speech in connection with an issue of public interest or concern. Claims brought against those involved in such activities shall be subject to a motion to strike, unless the court determines that the non-moving party has established a probability that the claimant can prevail on the merits. If the moving party succeeds on a motion to strike,the court will award the party attorney’s fees and costs associated with the motion. Any order granting or denying a …

Hb 768 - Georgia Achieving A Better Life Experience (Able), Amy Patterson, Melissa Sprinkle

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act creates a tax-exempt savings account program for persons with disabilities in order to help them live independently. It creates an ABLE Program Corporation whose board is authorized to implement and administer the program.

Hb 941 - Pretrial Proceedings, Majda Muhic, Kirstin Rodrigues

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act changes the grand jury proceedings for police officers charged with committing a crime in the course of performing their official duties. Prior to the Act, Georgia police officers were permitted to be present for the entire duration of grand jury proceedings, hear all of the evidence presented against them, and then testify to the grand jury at the end of the proceedings without being subject to cross examination. Grand jury hearings produced no records, so interested parties had no opportunity to find out what transpired in the proceedings. After the passage of the Act, police officers retain the …

Sb 255 - Garnishment Proceedings, Amy Bement, Kianna Hawkins, Elizabeth Wedegis

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act reorganizes and modernizes Georgia’s garnishment code by requiring notice of garnishment exemptions to debtors, providing a process for the resolution of exemption claims, limiting the garnishment period for financial accounts to twenty four hours, requiring service of garnishment summons to be performed upon a registered agent of a corporation, and mandating the use of the forms provided in the Act.

Sb 331 - Parent And Child Relationship Generally, Corbin Aiken, Karen Lowell

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act amends provisions of Georgia’s domestic relations statutes to allow a court to deny a biological father’s legitimation petition or to terminate his parental rights when there is clear and convincing evidence that the child was conceived as a result of rape. If the court denies the biological father’s legitimation petition, the child is still capable of inheriting from the father, but the father is not capable of benefiting from the child.

Sb 367 - Comprehensive Reform For Offenders Entering, Proceeding Through, And Leaving The Criminal Justice System, W. Sean Mcphillip, Andrew A. Palmer, Oren Snir

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act provides comprehensive reform for offenders entering, proceeding through, and leaving the criminal justice system. It expands accountability courts and pretrial intervention and diversion programs. The Act provides for students incarcerated in Department of Corrections facilities or incarcerated or committed to Department of Juvenile Justice facilities to receive educational services through a state charter school. It also revises matters and procedures related to school discipline and the regaining of driving privileges for those convicted of certain crimes. In addition, the Act clarifies the responsibilities of, and provides for reorganization within, the Board of Community Supervision and Department of Community …