State and Local Government Law Commons^™

The Ambulance Chasing Epidemic In Texas, Ronald Rodriguez

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

Barratry and solicitation of professional employment is illegal and unethical. The Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct define barratry as ethical misconduct and a serious crime. Unfortunately, for citizens and law-abiding attorneys of Texas, the criminal and ethical prohibitions against barratry have rarely been enforced. Consequently, barratry continues to proliferate rapidly throughout South Texas. For lawyers who engage in this unethical practice, the potential for large financial gain proves irresistible given the virtually nonexistent risk of prosecution. The lack of robust and successful prosecutions has created an optimal environment for barratry to proliferate. This Article discusses the current barratry epidemic …

Bathroom Laws As Status Crimes, Stephen Rushin, Jenny Carroll

Fordham Law Review

A growing number of American jurisdictions have considered laws that prohibit trans individuals from using bathroom facilities consistent with their gender identities. Several scholars have criticized these so-called “bathroom laws” as a form of discrimination in violation of federal law. Few scholars, though, have considered the criminal justice implications of these proposals. By analyzing dozens of proposed bathroom laws, this Article explores how many laws do more than stigmatize the trans community—they effectively criminalize it. Some of these proposed laws would establish new categories of criminal offenses for trans individuals who use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. Others would …

“I Am Undocumented And A New Yorker”: Affirmative City Citizenship And New York City’S Idnyc Program, Amy C. Torres

Fordham Law Review

The power to confer legal citizenship status is possessed solely by the federal government. Yet the courts and legal theorists have demonstrated that citizenship encompasses factors beyond legal status, including rights, inclusion, and political participation. As a result, even legal citizens can face barriers to citizenship, broadly understood, due to factors including their race, class, gender, or disability. Given this multidimensionality, the city, as the place where residents carry out the tasks of their daily lives, is a critical space for promoting elements of citizenship. This Note argues that recent city municipal identification-card programs have created a new form of …

Memorandum, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. V. Colo. Civil Rights Comm., __ U.S. __ (2017): Legislative History Of Sb08-200, Matt Simonsen

Research Data

This legal Memorandum on the legislative history of a 2008 amendment to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) was researched and written by Matt Simonsen, J.D. Candidate 2019, University of Colorado Law School, and submitted to law professors Craig Konnoth and Melissa Hart. The Memorandum is cited in Brief of Amici Curiae Colorado Organizations and Individuals in Support of Respondents, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, __U.S.__ (2018) (No. 16-111).

4 p.

"The legislative history primarily identifies two issues that SB08-200 was designed to resolve: (1) the need for dignity and access to justice for LGBT people and …

Master File, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. V. Colo. Civil Rights Comm., __ U.S. __ (2017): Legislative History Of Sb08-200, Matt Simonsen

Research Data

This Master File of the legislative history of a 2008 amendment to the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act (CADA) was researched and compiled by Matt Simonsen, J.D. Candidate 2019, University of Colorado Law School, and submitted to law professors Craig Konnoth and Melissa Hart. The SB08-200 Master File is cited in Brief of Amici Curiae Colorado Organizations and Individuals in Support of Respondents, Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, __U.S.__ (2018) (No. 16-111).

449 p.

Open Source: The Enewsletter Of Rwu Law 09-22-2017, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Newsroom: Governor Raimondo On Rwu Law 09-19-2017, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Small Change, Big Consequences — Partial Medicaid Expansions Under The Aca, Adrianna Mcintyre, Allan M. Joseph, Nicholas Bagley

Articles

Though congressional efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) seem to have stalled, the Trump administration retains broad executive authority to reshape the health care landscape. Perhaps the most consequential choices that the administration will make pertain to Medicaid, which today covers more than 1 in 5 Americans. Much has been made of proposals to introduce work requirements or cost sharing to the program. But another decision of arguably greater long-term significance has been overlooked: whether to allow “partial expansions” pursuant to a state Medicaid waiver. Arkansas has already submitted a waiver request for a partial expansion, …

19th Annual Open Government Summit: Access To Public Records Act & Open Meetings Act, 2017, Department Of Attorney General, State Of Rhode Island

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Case Study: Healthy Texas Women Program In The Abilene-Taylor County Public Health District, Saul Francisco Delgado

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The public healthcare system faces continuous transformations and challenges of constant adjustments to the increasing usage of fee for service revenue and the decrease of federal investment to women’s healthcare services and to the safety net healthcare providers (Meit, 2013; Weisman, 1997).

In 2016, the Texas 84^th Legislation Session determined to consolidate two existing women’s healthcare service programs into one a single program: the Healthy Texas Women (HTW) program. The new women’s program is a preventative care program that provides services of family planning and chronic illness care under a complete fee for service reimbursement system as its sourse …

How A Bill Becomes A Law In Maine: Governor Lepage, The State Legislature, And The 2015 Opinion Of The Justices On The Veto Question, Connor P. Schratz

Maine Law Review

The battle between Governor Paul LePage and the Maine legislature in the summer of 2015 was one of the most contentious – and strangest – in state history. Hanging in the balance were over sixty pieces of legislation that the Governor insisted had been vetoed, and which senators and representatives of both parties claimed had become law. To resolve the issue, the Governor turned to the state Supreme Court, which unanimously decided in favor of the legislators in a nonbinding “Opinion of the Justices.” This case note explores that opinion, and comes to the conclusion that while the Court arrived …

Classrooms & Curriculum, Devin Walz, Anh Doan, Cathy Tran, Loraina Galarza

Collin College Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Student Research Conference

Panel Chair: Lisa Roy-Davis

Papers Presented:

"Should the State of Texas Allow Public Universities and Colleges to Permit Guns on Campuses?" By Devin Walz

"Pets in the Elementary Classroom" by Anh Doan

"Technology Case Study of K-12 Students" by Cathy Tran

Abstract: Technology is an exponentially revolutionizing tool that has pushed all aspects of society to adapt and grow in the time known as the “Information Age”. The way that humans process information, and the speed at which humans can process information, with technology allows humans to grow more efficiently and effectively. Technology is continually designed to become more optimal …

Law And Legislation In Municipal Bankruptcy, Vincent S.J. Buccola

Cardozo Law Review

Corporate and consumer bankruptcy are defined by two principal features: a compulsory process and an identifiable set of priorities to debtor property. These "rule of law"features reduce borrowing costs ex ante by, among other things, discouraging rent-seeking ex post. Municipal bankruptcy, by contrast, despite apparent similarities, embodies a radically different vision of debt adjustment. Substantive priorities in Chapter 9 are riddled with uncertainty, and the very invocation of bankruptcy is subject to veto by multiple actors. Consequently, this Article contends that familiar models of bankruptcy are inadequate to explain the existing regime of municipal debt adjustment. What Chapter 9 creates …

Updating The Social Network: How Outdated And Unclear State Legislation Violates Sex Offenders’ First Amendment Rights, Elizabeth Tolon

Fordham Law Review

Readily available on computers, phones, tablets, or television, social media has become a necessary platform of expression for many. But, for others, social media is an inaccessible tool whose very use has criminal repercussions. To protect innocent children, many states have enacted legislation restricting sex offenders’ access to social media. Unfortunately, this legislation is often outdated, overly restrictive, and unconstitutional under the First Amendment. North Carolina has recently attracted national attention, as its statute highlights the potential constitutional issues states face in drafting such legislation. To avoid the constitutional concerns that North Carolina faces, state legislators must draft statutes narrowly …

Tennessee V. Fcc And The Clear Statement Rule, Lee D. Whatling

Georgia Law Review

In 2016, the Sixth Circuit in Tennessee v. FCC
overturned an FCC preemption order striking down state
laws that restricted municipal broadband providers from
servicing communities outside of their respective
municipal borders. The court held Congress had not
provided a clear statement in § 706 of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 that it intended to grant
the FCC preemption power under these circumstances.
The immediate practical consequences of the decision were
that communities previously serviced by municipal
broadband providers, but located outside of municipal
borders, were now at the mercy of state laws that sought to
restrict that service.
This …

Counting Zeros: The Every Student Succeeds Act And The Testing Opt-Out Movement, Paul A. Hoversten

Michigan Law Review Online

The story begins with threatening letters. In October 2014, the U.S. Department of Education reminded Colorado’s chief state school officer that the department “ha[d], in fact, withheld Title I, Part A administrative funds . . . from a number of States for failure to comply with the assessment requirements” under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Given the occasion, the department implied, it wouldn’t hesitate to be ruthless.

Colorado could be forgiven for assuming it was authorized to craft its own policies in this arena; according to the Wall Street Journal, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) represented “the …

Medical Board Of California, Kayla Watson, J. D. Fellmeth

California Regulatory Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Public Utilities Commission, Jessica Kirshner, Faye Winkler, R. C. Fellmeth, Bridget Fogarty Gramme

California Regulatory Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Ballot Selfies: Balancing The Right To Speak Out On Political Issues And The Right To Vote Free From Improper Influence And Coercion, Isidora Koutsoulias

Journal of Law and Policy

Courts and legislatures face the difficult task of balancing individual First Amendment rights with other basic freedoms, a task that has become increasingly challenging with the advent of new technology. The emergence of the ballot selfie has caused a legal uproar due to the perception that it may compromise the sanctity of the electoral process and the secret ballot process by facilitating vote buying and coercion. Consequently, several states have enacted laws that prohibit most or all ballot selfies. However, many individuals have rightfully protested these laws as an unreasonable restraint on freedom of speech. This Note argues that although …

A Legal And Policy Analysis Of Driver's Licenses For Undocumented Rhode Islanders, Deborah Gonzalez, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Persistence Of Memory: The Continuing Influence Of Antebellum Missouri Laws Regarding African Americans, Roy Dripps

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

The Legal Climate On Climate Change: The Fate Of The Epa's Clean Power Plan After Michigan And Uarg, Israel Katz

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

One of the centerpieces of the United States’ effort to combat climate change is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) controversial Clean Power Plan, which consists of the first-ever federal regulations requiring states to achieve massive carbon dioxide emissions reductions from existing fossil fuel-fired power plants. The regulations operate by setting interim and final emissions target dates for states to ultimately reach an aggregate 32% reduction in carbon emissions by the year 2030. This Note argues that the current regulations will not survive judicial scrutiny, because the U.S. Supreme Court has moved away from traditional administrative deference in instances where an …

Lowering The Threshold: How Far Has The Americans With Disabilities Act Expanded Access To The Courts In Employment Litigation?, Curtis D. Edmonds

Journal of Law and Policy

The purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (“ADAAA”) was to restructure and clarify the definition of the legal term “disability” in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”). One of the three prongs of the ADA’s definition of disability is “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual.” The ADAAA was the result of a compromise reached after thirteen weeks of negotiations between representatives of the business and disabilities communities over its provisions. Like many other compromises, the ADAAA did not leave either side fully satisfied. Almost …

The Foreign Emoluments Clause: Protecting Our National Security Interests, Deborah Samuel Sills

Journal of Law and Policy

Classical republican ideals played an important role in the formation of our country. Guided by these ideals, several provisions were included in the Constitution to protect the United States from these harms, including the Emoluments Clause. This Clause prohibits United States officials from accepting certain types of benefits from foreign nations, except with Congress's consent. It protects our national interests by ensuring that federal officials remain free from improper pressures from foreign states and act for the welfare of our country. This provision promotes transparency and accountability and helps guard against corrupt influences that could undermine, and even destroy, a …

Beyond Walls And Fences: Exploring The Legal Geography Of Gated Communities In Mixed Spaces, Manal Totry-Jubran

Journal of Law and Policy

In the last three decades, a new type of physical seclusion has appeared around the world: the gating and walling of urban and suburban spatial residences. This phenomenon, led mainly by dominant socio-economic groups, is referred to as “gated communities.” This article focuses on the legal challenges that gated communities raise in ethnocratic societies that share a legacy of segregation and of unequal distribution of land. The main argument is that, due to this legacy, the legality of gated communities and walls that separate communities generate legal debates that goes beyond classic legal claims of rights violations of non-residents of …

Fighting For Fair Fares In New York City Through Civil Society Enforcement Of Title Vi, Sara Amri

Journal of Law and Policy

Low-income New Yorkers rely heavily on public transportation to travel around the city. However, riding the New York City subway system is becoming increasingly unaffordable. New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) has set forth plans to implement semiannual fare increases. No alleviation has been provided, however, to New Yorkers living at or below the federal poverty level, despite the discounts provided to other groups regardless of their income. The inability to travel can have a devastating impact on the upward mobility of poor New Yorkers, and, alarmingly, fare increases appear to have a disparate impact on low-income people of …

Equitable Relief For Private Rico Plaintiffs: Using Donziger To Remedy Courthouse Corruption, Anna Hanke

Journal of Law and Policy

In Chevron Corp. v. Steven Donziger, the Southern District of New York granted Chevron an injunction against Donziger under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, preventing the enforcement of an Ecuadorean judgment against it in the United States. This Note discusses the circuit court split on whether injunctive relief may be granted in a civil RICO suit, arguing that injunctive relief is an available remedy within the statute’s plain meaning, legislative intent, and evolving jurisprudence of civil RICO. The Note applies the Donziger interpretation of RICO to a case of a similarly corrupted judgment, Caperton v. A.T. Massey …

Ballot Selfies: Balancing The Right To Speak Out On Political Issues And The Right To Vote Free From Improper Influence And Coercion, Isidora Koutsoulias

Journal of Law and Policy

Courts and legislatures face the difficult task of balancing individual First Amendment rights with other basic freedoms, a task that has become increasingly challenging with the advent of new technology. The emergence of the ballot selfie has caused a legal uproar due to the perception that it may compromise the sanctity of the electoral process and the secret ballot process by facilitating vote buying and coercion. Consequently, several states have enacted laws that prohibit most or all ballot selfies. However, many individuals have rightfully protested these laws as an unreasonable restraint on freedom of speech. This Note argues that although …

Free Agency: The Constitutionality Of Methods That Influence A Presidential Elector’S Ability To Exercise Personal Judgment, Zachary J. Shapiro

Journal of Law and Policy

When the Constitution of the United States went into effect on March 4, 1789, it established a new, hybrid form of government. As such, it created a complex and multifaceted process of electing our nation’s chief executive. Most notably, it granted states the power to choose a slate of presidential electors to debate the qualifications of the candidates selected by the voters. In recent history, however, certain states have established laws that severely limit the ability of presidential electors to exercise their right to vote for the candidates that they believe to be the best choice to sit in the …

Lowering The Threshold: How Far Has The Americans With Disabilities Act Expanded Access To The Courts In Employment Litigation?, Curtis D. Edmonds

Journal of Law and Policy

The purpose of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (“ADAAA”) was to restructure and clarify the definition of the legal term “disability” in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”). One of the three prongs of the ADA’s definition of disability is “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual.” The ADAAA was the result of a compromise reached after thirteen weeks of negotiations between representatives of the business and disabilities communities over its provisions. Like many other compromises, the ADAAA did not leave either side fully satisfied. Almost …