State and Local Government Law Commons^™

Enhanced Civil Rights In Home Rule Jurisdictions: Newly Emerging Uas/Drone Use Ordinances, Jennifer A. Brobst

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Political Effect On Judicial Decision Making: Does Ideology Or Election Effect The Way Judges Decide?, Kaylynne Lyons

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Politics have shown to have a strong effect on most things in our country. There has been lots of research on our state judicial systems and their effects on judicial decisions. Judges have been accused of having underlying reasons to their decisions even though they are not supposed to. Past research has suggested that how the judge is retained has a small but relevant effect on judicial decision making. The literature review discusses effects of the state's system of judicial selection. That leads us to question more about political effects on decision making. I analyze how the ideology of a …

Cities And Citizens Seethe: A Case Study Of Local Efforts To Influence Natural Gas Pipeline Routing Decisions, Heidi Gorovitz Robertson

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article explores the reasons local governments find difficulty influencing pipeline-routing decisions. For example, federal law controls interstate natural gas pipeline permitting, which is complicated and inaccessible. State law, particularly in Ohio, heavily favors utilities, in part by preempting local efforts to make local decisions regarding oil and gas development. Finally, the information gaps are enormous between what local governments need to influence pipeline-routing decisions and what is accessible.

This Article addresses barriers to local influence by discussing the efforts of citizens and local governments to influence the routing of NexusSpectra's natural gas transmission pipeline, which was recently constructed and …

Indigent Defense In West Virginia: A Historical Look At Public Defender Services, Ralph E. Mckinney Jr., Casey W. Baker J.D.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Racialized Tax Inequity: Wealth, Racism, And The U.S. System Of Taxation, Palma Joy Strand, Nicholas A. Mirkay

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

This Article describes the connection between wealth inequality and the increasing structural racism in the U.S. tax system since the 1980s. A long-term sociological view (the why) reveals the historical racialization of wealth and a shift in the tax system overall beginning around 1980 to protect and exacerbate wealth inequality, which has been fueled by racial animus and anxiety. A critical tax view (the how) highlights a shift over the same time period at both federal and state levels from taxes on wealth, to taxes on income, and then to taxes on consumption—from greater to less progressivity. Both of these …

Rethinking Foster Care: Why Our Current Approach To Child Welfare Has Failed, Vivek Sankaran, Christopher Church

Articles

Over the past decade, the child welfare system has expanded, with vast public and private resources being spent on the system. Despite this investment, there is scant evidence suggesting a meaningful return on investment. This Article argues that without a change in the values held by the system, increased funding will not address the public health problems of child abuse and neglect.

How Can Pennsylvania Protect Itself From Its Own Measles Outbreak?, Megan M. Riesmeyer, Kristen Feemster

Faculty Scholarly Works

When a response to inaccurate information strives to be an informative exercise of its own, it is difficult to balance the desire to respond point by point to mischaracterized, misleading, or untrue information, with the need to simply offer a complete picture of facts. This article is a response to Abigail Wenger’s article regarding

vaccinations. To reply to each mischaracterization or inaccuracy in turn means this response loses its own informative intent and becomes simply a rebuttal. However, to ignore mischaracterizations and inaccuracies is to risk the reader’s acceptance of those points as true. Through illustrative examples in the United …

The Lasting Impacts Of Mass Consumerism And The Disposable Culture: A Proposition For The Development Of Plastic Shopping Bag Bans In Texas Law, David Brewster

St. Mary's Law Journal

This Article addresses the developing state of plastic bag bans in Texas municipal and state jurisprudence. The Article recites the history of plastic bag bans and their impacts on the environment, the issues pertinent to municipal powers as regulatory devices, and analyzes the most recent case regarding bag bans in Texas, which is the Texas Supreme Court’s opinion in City of Laredo v. Laredo Merchants Association. The Article makes suggestions about how to move forward in developing municipal plastic bag bans for the benefit of the environment, and addresses the immediate impacts of bag ban litigation and legislation in …

Reflections On The Effects Of Federalism On Opioid Policy, Matthew B. Lawrence

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

Mhpaea & Marble Cake: Parity & The Forgotten Frame Of Federalism, Taleed El-Sabawi

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

The Opioid Litigation: The Fda Is Mia, Catherine M. Sharkey

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

It is readily agreed that federal preemption of state tort law alters the balance between federal and state power. Federal preemption is a high-profile defense in almost all modern products liability cases. It is thus surprising to see how little attention has been given to federal preemption by courts and commentators in the opioid litigation. Opioid litigation provides a lens through which I explore the role of state and federal courts and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in striking the right balance of power. My purpose here is not to resolve the divide among the few courts that have …

Recognizing The Need For Mental Health Reform In The Texas Department Of Criminal Justice, Kara Mchorse

St. Mary's Law Journal

The ways in which mental health care and the criminal justice system interact are in desperate need of reform in Texas. The rate of mental illness in Texas is higher than the current state of mental health care can provide for. While state hospitals were once the primary care facilities of those with mental illness, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has taken on that role in the last few decades; and when the criminal justice system becomes entangled with mental health care, it often leads to “unmitigated disaster.” If Texas continues to allow the TDCJ to act as …

Home Rule In West Virginia, Robert M. Bastress Jr.

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Enacting Local Workplace Regulations In An Era Of Preemption, Dilini Lankachandra

West Virginia Law Review

Since San Francisco enacted the first paid sick leave ordinance in 2007, cities and counties across the country have quietly emerged as drivers of the modern labor movement. Local governments are now increasingly playing a pivotal role in developing, enacting, and enforcing workplace regulations ranging from local minimum wage increases to LGBTQ-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances to fair scheduling requirements. As a result, the question of which level of government should have the power to regulate business and protect workers has become a flash point in contemporary state-local conflicts, inciting state legislatures to adopt far-reaching, sweeping preemption laws that eliminate local authority …

Authority For Municipal Resilient Road Infrastructure Funding Strategies In Rhode Island, Jimmy Smith, Read Porter

Sea Grant Law Fellow Publications

No abstract provided.

Legal Limits On Recreational Fishing Near Offshore Wind Facilities, Kaitlynn Webster, Read Porter

Sea Grant Law Fellow Publications

No abstract provided.

Dismantling The Master’S House: Toward A Justice-Based Theory Of Community Economic Development, Etienne C. Toussaint

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Since the end of the American Civil War, scholars have debated the efficacy of various models of community economic development, or CED. Historically, this debate has tracked one of two approaches: place-based models of CED, seeking to stimulate community development through market-driven economic growth programs, and people-based models of CED, focused on the removal of structural barriers to social and economic mobility that prevent human flourishing. More recently, scholars and policymakers have turned to a third model from the impact investing community—the social impact bond, or SIB. The SIB model of CED ostensibly finds a middle ground by leveraging funding …

The Effects Of Anti-Immigrant Laws In The U.S. On Victims Of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, And Human Trafficking: A Gender-Based Human Rights Analysis, Caroline Bettinger-López, Jamila Flomo, Amanda Suarez

Articles

No abstract provided.

Associations And Cities As (Forbidden) Pure Private Attorneys General, Heather Elliott

William & Mary Law Review

The Supreme Court interprets Article III’s case-or-controversy language to require a plaintiff to show injury in fact, causation, and redressability. A plaintiff who meets that tripartite test has standing to sue and thus a personal stake in pursuing the litigation. Accordingly, in Sierra Club v. Morton, the Supreme Court prohibited pure private attorneys general: litigants who would sue without the requisite personal stake. This limitation extends to organizations. They, too, must show standing on their own account or, under Hunt v. Washington Apple Advertising Commission, identify a member with Article III standing and show how the lawsuit is germane to …

We Are All Growing Old Together: Making Sense Of America's Monument-Protection Laws, Zachary Bray

William & Mary Law Review

Monuments and the laws that protect them divide Americans today as never before. American attitudes toward monuments have always been a blend of affection, insecurity, and suspicion. But Americans are now more invested in the built and natural monuments that surround us: to be for, or against, protecting certain monuments has now become a shorthand for one’s stance on a host of cultural and political issues. These changing attitudes have thrown American monument-protection laws into sharp relief. And many local, state, and federal legislators and executive officials have taken advantage of this opportunity to exploit America’s patchwork of monument-protection laws, …

Closing Roads Due To Increased Flooding: Potential Liability Issues In Virginia, William Howieson, Michael Tentilucci

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

No abstract provided.

Carbon Market Opportunities In Virginia: Eelgrass, Marshes, Soils, And Forests, Imani Y. Price

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

Carbon sequestration is the storage and capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Preserving carbon sequestering sources helps mitigate climate change. Eelgrass, marshes, soils, and forests all sequester carbon. Unfortunately, they are vulnerable to climate change and human development. This paper examines how these sources of carbon sequestration can be incorporated into Virginia’s climate change policies, including the creation of a carbon market. Among other aims, a carbon market would incentivize the preservation and restoration of these species, providing important environmental and economic benefits. The first section of this paper identifies several sources of carbon sequestration, as well as their …

Building Towards A Resilient Virginia: Using C-Pace Financing To Improve The Resiliency Of Commercial Buildings, Jessica Kraus, Cesare Piermarini

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

When discussing how to combat problems caused by climate change and rising sea levels, the focus is often on developing and using alternative sources of clean energy. However, while slowing climate change is a worthy goal, it is too late to prevent climate change impacts in many areas in Virginia. Vulnerable flood zones all over the state are already being inundated with periodic flooding. This flooding causes extensive damage to commercial structures in the area. For example, it is estimated that Hurricane Florence alone caused between $200 million and $1 billion in flood damage in Virginia. Commercial property owners can …

Let The Buyer Beware: A Comparison Of Flood-Related Real Estate Disclosure Laws Of Virginia And Other States, Emily Snyder, Clay Kulesza

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

This white paper examines the state of flood disclosure laws for residential real estate transactions in Virginia and compares them to those of other states that have much more rigorous disclosure laws. Part II explores the history behind Virginia’s current “buyer beware” laws and examines previous attempts at establishing stricter real estate disclosure laws surrounding “special flood hazard areas”. Part III surveys a number of disclosure laws from other states that have successfully required sellers to disclose the risk of flooding in some capacity, and examines the events or circumstances that led to the enactment of those laws. Finally, Part …

The Title Ix Contract Quagmire, Bryce Freeman

Michigan Law Review

Courts and scholars have long grappled with whether and to what extent educational institutions are in contract with their students. If they are, then students can sue their private universities for breaching that contract— ordinarily understood as the student handbook and other materials—when the institution levies a disciplinary action against the student. But what promises, both implicit and explicit, do private universities make to their students that courts should enforce? This question has resurfaced in the Title IX context, where courts have largely drawn clear dividing lines between the rights of public and private university students. This Comment provides a …

Transparency Deserts, Christina Koningisor

Northwestern University Law Review

Few contest the importance of a robust transparency regime in a democratic system of government. In the United States, the “crown jewel” of this regime is the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Yet despite widespread agreement about the importance of transparency in government, few are satisfied with FOIA. Since its enactment, the statute has engendered criticism from transparency advocates and critics alike for insufficiently serving the needs of both the public and the government. Legal scholars have widely documented these flaws in the federal public records law.

In contrast, scholars have paid comparatively little attention to transparency laws at the …

Faithfully Enforcing The Religious Liberty Guarantees Of The Northwest Territory States, Allan W. Vestal

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Righting The Wrongfully Convicted: How Kansas's New Exoneree Compensation Statute Sets A Standard For The United States, Scott Connolly

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Part I of this Note will document the increasing prevalence of exonerations and provide a perspective on how significantly the landscape of postconviction justice has developed since the late 1980s. Such developments include DNA testing, greater awareness of false confessions, and a more thorough understanding of the unreliability of eyewitnesses. Part II will demonstrate the devastating impact that wrongful imprisonment has on exonerees. Finally, Part III of this Note will provide a snapshot of the current landscape of exoneree compensation laws. It will highlight the fact that many of the laws that exist do not provide sufficient resources and …

Out Of Sight, But Not Out Of Mind: Reevaluating The Role Of Federalism In Adequately Regulating Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Madhavi Kulkarni

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Supervisors Without Supervision: Colon, Mckenna, And The Confusing State Of Supervisory Liability In The Second Circuit, Ryan E. Johnson

Washington and Lee Law Review

This Note received the 2019 Washington and Lee Law Council Law Review Award.

This Note analyzes two intra-Second Circuit splits that make it nearly impossible for prisoners to recover against supervisors under § 1983. First, district courts in the Second Circuit are divided as to whether the five categories of personal involvement defined in Colon v. Coughlin survive the Supreme Court’s decision in Ashcroft v. Iqbal. Personal involvement by the supervisory defendant is a necessary element to impose supervisory liability. Some district courts hold that only the first and third Colon factors survive Iqbal, while others hold that all …