Legislation Commons^™

Remedying Wrongful Execution, Meghan J. Ryan

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The first legal determination of wrongful execution in the United States may very well be in the making in Texas. One of the state's district courts is in the midst of investigating whether Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in 2004, was actually innocent. The court's investigation has been interrupted by objections from Texas prosecutors, but if the court proceeds, this may very well become a bona fide case of wrongful execution. Texas, just like other jurisdictions, is ill equipped to provide any relief for such an egregious wrong, however. This Article identifies the difficulties that the heirs, families, and …

Inside Agency Preemption, Catherine M. Sharkey

Michigan Law Review

A subtle shift has taken place in the mechanics of preemption, the doctrine that determines when federal law displaces state law. In the past, Congress was the leading actor, and courts and commentators focused almost exclusively on the precise wording of its statutory directives as a clue to its intent to displace state law. Federal agencies were, if not ignored, certainly no more than supporting players. But the twenty-first century has witnessed a role reversal. Federal agencies now play the dominant role in statutory interpretation. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the ascendancy of federal agencies in preemption disputes-an ascendancy …

Religion And The Equal Protection Clause, Steven G. Calabresi, Abe Salander

Faculty Working Papers

This article argues that state action that discriminates on the basis of religion is unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Doctrine even if it does not violate the Establishment Clause or the Free Exercise Clause as incorporated by the Fourteenth Amendment. State action that discriminates on the basis of religion should be subject to strict scrutiny and should almost always be held unconstitutional. We thus challenge the Supreme Court's recent decision in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez in which a 5 to 4 majority of the Court wrongly allowed a California state school to discriminate against a Christian Legal Society chapter …

Sarbanes-Oxley's Whistleblower Provisions: Ten Years Later, Richard Moberly

Nebraska College of Law: Faculty Publications

Whistleblower advocates and academics greeted the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's whistleblower provisions in 2002 with great acclaim. The Act appeared to provide the strongest encouragement and broadest protections then available for private-sector whistleblowers. It influenced whistleblower law by unleashing a decade of expansive legal protection and formal encouragement for whistleblowers, perhaps indicating societal acceptance of whistleblowers as part of a broader law enforcement strategy. Despite these successes, however, Sarbanes-Oxley's greatest lesson derives from its two most prominent failings. First, over the last decade, the Act did not sufficiently protect whistleblowers who suffered retaliation. Second, despite the massive increase in …

Stare Decisis And Foreign Affairs, Michael P. Van Alstine

Faculty Scholarship

This article examines whether the jurisprudential and institutional premises of the doctrine of stare decisis retain their validity in the field of foreign affairs. The proper role of the judicial branch in foreign affairs has provoked substantial scholarly debates—historical, institutional, normative—since the very founding of the republic. Precisely because of the sensitivity of the subject, the Supreme Court itself has both cautioned about the judicial branch’s comparative lack of expertise in the field and recognized a web of deference doctrines designed to protect against improvident judicial action. Notwithstanding all of this, however, neither the Supreme Court nor any scholar has …

Nevada Legislative History Research Guide, Wiener-Rogers Law Library, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas -- William S. Boyd School Of Law

Nevada Legal Research Guides / Reference Desk Guides

No abstract provided.

Measure 1487: The Stop Special Interest Monday Now Act Of 2012., Nic Jordan, Alisa Reinhardt

California Initiative Review (CIR)

No abstract provided.

Report The History And Impact Of Legislative Term Limit Initiatives, Alexa Greenbaum

California Initiative Review (CIR)

No abstract provided.

Political Hot Potato: How Closing Loopholes Can Get Policymakers Cooked, Stephanie Mcmahon

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Loopholes in the law are weaknesses that allow the law to be circumvented. Once created, they prove hard to eliminate. Acase study of the evolving tax unit used in the federal income tax explores policymakers' response to loopholes. The1913 income tax created an opportunity for wealthy married couples to shift ownership of family income between spouses, then to file separately, and, as a result, to reduce their collective taxes. In 1948, Congress closed this loophole by extending the income-splitting benefit to all married taxpayers filing jointly. Congress acted only after the federal judiciary and Treasury Department pleaded for congressional …

Senate Bill 2: The Safe, Clean, And Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act Of 2012, Claire Calvert, Adam Yakira

California Initiative Review (CIR)

No abstract provided.

California Initiative Review October 2012: Initiatives At A Glance, University Of The Pacific, Mcgeorge School Of Law

California Initiative Review (CIR)

No abstract provided.

The Upc Substituted Judgment/Best Interest Standard For Guardian Decisions: A Proposal For Reform, Lawrence A. Frolik, Linda S. Whitton

Law Faculty Publications

The introduction in 1997 of "substituted judgment" as a guiding principle for guardian decisions was a key contribution of the UPC to guardianship reform. The current UPC section 5-314(a) instructs guardians to "consider the expressed desires and personal values of the ward" when making decisions and to "at all times...act in the ward's best interest." This dual mandate for guardian decisions was intended to promote the self-determination interests of incapacitated adults. This article argues that in practice the standard has failed to achieve this goal. It analyzes the shortcomings of UPC Section 5-314(a) and other statutory decision-making standards and offers …

Proposition 28: The Legislative Term Limits Reform Act., Jeff Dodd, Erinn Ryberg

California Initiative Review (CIR)

No abstract provided.

Proposition 29: Establishing $1 Per Pack Tax On Cigarettes To Fund Cancer Research And Prevention Programs, Andrew Boriskin, Sirenia Jimenez

California Initiative Review (CIR)

No abstract provided.

Report California Initiative Signature Campaigns - Empowerment Or Impediment?, Tristan Brown

California Initiative Review (CIR)

No abstract provided.

Measure 1495: 2012 Automobile Insurance Discount Act, Kelly Boler, Elliot Pershes

California Initiative Review (CIR)

No abstract provided.

Class Actions Along The Path Of Federal Rule Making, Vaughn R. Walker

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Playing With Fire: Proceeding Cautiously With Reforms To The Michigan Fireworks Safety Act, Nicholas Pietropaulo

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform Caveat

On January 1, 2012, the Michigan Fireworks Safety Act went into effect. It marked a significant change in how the state of Michigan treats the sale and use of “consumer fireworks.” Effectively, the new statute authorizes the sale and use of Roman Candles, bottle rockets, aerials, and other fireworks that had previously been banned. Almost immediately, challenges and complaints were raised. On one side, eight fireworks vendors challenged the constitutionality of one of the law’s provisions that required such vendors to purchase insurance at an arguably unreasonable rate. The court dismissed that case, holding that it could not be said …

Notice Is Not Enough: Why Tila Requires More Than A Letter Of Intent, Levi Smith

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform Caveat

The federal Truth in Lending Act (TILA) provides borrowers with protections and remedies against certain actions by lenders. TILA allows, in some circumstances, a borrower to rescind a loan from a lender within a three-year period from when the loan is made. However, a circuit split has developed regarding how the right to rescind must be exercised. Of the circuits that have considered this question, some require a lawsuit to be filed within the three-year period to rescind the loan. Other circuits have held that providing notice of the intent to rescind the loan within the three-year period is sufficient …

Compounding Reform: Reconsidering The Draft Safe Drug Compounding Act Of 2007 In Light Of The Ongoing Fungal Meningitis Outbreak, Colleen Nicholson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform Caveat

Compounding is the act of combining, mixing or altering ingredients to create a drug tailored to the needs of an individual patient, such as a child who needs a less potent dose, an elderly patient who has trouble swallowing, or an individual with a severe allergy to a drug component. Compounding pharmacies, which engage in large-scale drug compounding, have come under the microscope recently because of the ongoing deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis that began in 2012. Fungal meningitis “occurs when the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord are infected with a fungus.” The recent outbreak was caused …

Legal Affinities: Explorations In The Legal Form Of Thought, Patrick Mckinley Brennan

Working Paper Series

This is my Introduction to Legal Affinities: Explorations in the Legal Form of Thought (forthcoming 2012) (co-edited with H. Jefferson Powell and Jack Sammons), a volume of essays dedicated to exploring the work of Joseph Vining. The Introduction introduces Vining’s phenomenology of law and surveys the themes and topics developed by the volume’s eight authors: Joseph Vining, Judge John T. Noonan, Jr., Rev. John McCausland, H. Jefferson Powell, Jack Sammons, Steve Smith, James Boyd White, and Patrick Brennan.

Anti-Trafficking Legislation In Sub-Saharan Africa: Analyzing The Role Of Coercion And Parental Responsibility, Ruby Andrew, Benjamin N. Lawrance

Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking: 4th (2012)

This article discusses the effect of US and international support for local laws to combat child trafficking in sub-Saharan African states. The annual ranking of African anti-trafficking measures, produced by the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (OMCTP) in conjunction with the UN Office on Crime and Drugs, not only provides an important source of data but also creates a powerful incentive for African states to effect legislative change.

We argue that, although the US supports criminalization of traffickers and the OMCTP espouses laws to deter parental inducement to support trafficking activities, the implementation of …

Hospital Visitation: The Forgotten Gay Rights Struggle, 45 J. Marshall L. Rev. 939 (2012), Meredith Fileff

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Holding Our Breath: Waiting For The Federal Government To Recognize Coal Ash As A Hazardous Waste, 45 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1177 (2012), Blake Korb

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Fair For Whom? Amazon Kindles The Fight Over Internet Sales Tax, 46 J. Marshall L. Rev. 357 (2012), Matthew Martin

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Waiver: How Cloud Computing Complicates The Attorney-Client Privilege, 46 J. Marshall L. Rev. 383 (2012), Timothy Peterson

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Health Care For The Autistic Child In The U.S.: The Case For Federal Legislative Reform For Aba Therapy, 46 J. Marshall L. Rev. 169 (2012), Laura Hoffman

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

No Contact Parole Restrictions: Unconstitutional And Counterproductive, Sharon Brett

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Although what Jesse Timmendequas did was abhorrent, the legislation enacted in the wake of his crime went far beyond making sure we know the pedophiles or pedophile-murderers living in our neighborhoods. Megan's name now lends itself to a host of state laws requiring the state to notify neighbors when a sex offender moves into the neighborhood. The term "sex offender" is intentionally broad, covering everyone from voyeurs and exhibitionists to rapists and child molesters. Yet, Megan's Laws treat them the same way, ignoring some crucial questions: Are all sex offenders alike? Are they all monsters? In reality, the majority of …

The Women's Health Amendment And Religious Freedom: Finding A Sufficient Compromise, Rebecca Hall

Journal of Health Care Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Private Equity Firms: Beyond Sec Registration As An Investment Adviser How To Build And Administer An Effective Compliance Program, Susan Mosher

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or the “Commission”) recently adopted new rules and rule amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) that serve to implement provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”).1 The new rules and rule amendments under the Advisers Act relate to provisions of Title IV of the Dodd-Frank Act (the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2010) that, among other things, require certain private fund advisers and private equity firms to register with the Commission.2 This article is intended to assist firms that …