State and Local Government Law Commons^™

Insurance Law, J. Price Collins, Janet Tolbert, Ashley Gilmore

SMU Annual Texas Survey

This Article describes and analyzes major developments in insurance law that occurred in Texas between December 1 and November 30 of 2022.

State Constitutional Rights, State Courts, And The Future Of Substantive Due Process Protections, Jonathan L. Marshfield

UF Law Faculty Publications

By most accounts, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization signaled a broader stagnation (and perhaps retrenchment) of federal substantive due process protections. As a result, there is now great interest in the role that state constitutions and courts might play in protecting and expanding reproductive and privacy rights. This Article aims to place this moment in state constitutional development in broader context. It makes two core claims in this regard. First, although state courts are free to interpret state constitutions as providing broader individual rights protections than those contained in the Federal Constitution, state constitutions …

Dan Mandelker: Valued Treatise Partner, Michael Allan Wolf

UF Law Faculty Publications

This short contribution to a festschrift honoring the many important contributions of Dan Mandelker details the influence of his writing and notes with regret the fact that many younger and less-seasoned law professors, particularly those at schools mindful of rankings, will never have the opportunity to write or revise a treatise. The tribute notes the four most salient reasons why we should continue to encourage law professors to work on treatises.

Sb 93 - Government Devices, Social Media Platforms, And Foreign Adversaries, Kelsey V. O'Neill, Rachel Gadra Rankin

Georgia State University Law Review

The Act prevents state employees from using state devices or equipment to install, use, or visit social media platforms owned, operated, or influenced by foreign adversaries.

State V. Joseph Segrain, 252 A.3d 1255 (R.I. 2021), Jaclyn A. Martin

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Baker V. Women & Infants Hospital Of Rhode Island, 268 A.3d 1165 (R.I. 2022), Melissa Richi

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Shorr V. Harris, 248 A.3d 633 (R.I. 2021), Tyler Haas

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

2022 Rhode Island Public Laws, Aryamen A. Omshehe

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

America's Other Separation Of Powers Tradition, Jonathan L. Marshfield

UF Law Faculty Publications

As the Supreme Court returns many critical issues to the states, the structure of state government is increasingly significant to the American constitutional order. From redistricting to reproductive rights, battles are raging over which state institutions should decide these important issues. Yet there is surprisingly little scholarship dedicated to the separation of powers under state constitutions. Instead, state doctrine and commentary tend to mimic themes in federal constitutional law and parrot Madisonian ideas of constitutional design. On this view, the separation of powers is based on carefully balanced intra-government rivalries fueled by the private ambition of the officers that staff …

Universal Forms Of Influence: Support For Women On Boards, Cindy A. Schipani, Paula J. Caproni

Seattle University Law Review

There are various efforts underway to increase gender diversity on corporate boards, including legislation in California, a recent SEC approved comply or explain rule for companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and efforts by institutional investors such as State Street and BlackRock to recognize the value diversity brings to corporate decisionmaking. Although some of these efforts are being contested in the courts, many companies have begun to comply with these initiatives.

This Article is organized as follows. Part I provides an overview of several efforts to increase gender diversity on boards along with numerous research studies showcasing the benefits …

“Statistics Are Human Beings With The Tears Wiped Away”: Utilizing Data To Develop Strategies To Reduce The Number Of Native Americans Who Go Missing, Lori Mcpherson, Sarah Blazucki

Seattle University Law Review

On New Year’s Eve night, 2019, sixteen-year-old Selena Shelley Faye Not Afraid attended a party in Billings, Montana, about fifty miles west of her home in Hardin, Montana, near the Crow Reservation. A junior at the local high school, she was active in her community. The party carried over until the next day, and she caught a ride back toward home with friends in a van the following afternoon. When the van stopped at an interstate rest stop, Selena got out but never made it back to the van. The friends reported her missing to the police and indicated they …

Wills & Trusts, Gerry W. Beyer

SMU Annual Texas Survey

This article discusses developments relating to the Texas law of intestacy, wills, estate administration, trusts, and other estate planning matters during the Survey period of December 1, 2021, through November 30, 2022. The reader is warned that not all cases decided during the Survey period are presented, and not all aspects of each case are analyzed. You must read and study each case’s full text before relying on it or using it as precedent. The discussion of most cases includes a moral, that is, the important lesson to be learned from the case. By recognizing situations that resulted in time-consuming …

Partnership Law, Troy Christensen, Jeff Dorrill, Matthew Schindel, Madeline Ballard, James Barnett

SMU Annual Texas Survey

This Article describes and analyzes major developments in partnership law that occurred in Texas between December 1 and November 30 of 2022.

Oil, Gas & Mineral Law, Austin W. Brister, Logan Jones

SMU Annual Texas Survey

This Article summarizes, sorts, and discusses the most impactful cases relating to oil, gas, and mineral law in Texas decided by the Texas Courts of Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court during the Survey period.

Professional Liability, Josh Sherman, Abbie Baker

SMU Annual Texas Survey

This Article describes and analyzes major developments in professional liability law that occurred in Texas between December 1 and November 30 of 2022.

Front Matter

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

The Right To Amend State Constitutions, Jessica Bulman-Pozen, Miriam Seifter

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay explores the people's right to amend state constitutions and threats to that right today. It explains how democratic proportionality review can help courts distinguish unconstitutional infringement of the right from legitimate regulation. More broadly, the Essay considers the distinctive state constitutional architecture that popular amendment illuminates.

Lawyerless Law Development, Colleen F. Shanahan, Jessica K. Steinberg, Alyx Mark, Anna E. Carpenter

Faculty Scholarship

State civil courts are the object of growing scholarly attention converging from two directions: rapidly expanding research regarding lawyerless state civil trial courts, and an increasing volume of voices calling for state supreme courts to serve as a balm for American democracy’s wounds. The challenges of lawyerless trial courts and the potential of state supreme courts converge when considering how law develops in state civil courts. We and others have asserted that law development is not happening in lawyerless courts, at least not in the way that American legal scholars conventionally understand law development. This Essay explores the core theoretical …

Just And Equitable, But Not Practicable: The Problems Of A Loosely Factored Spousal Support Framework In Oregon And Potential Solutions, Aime Lee Ohlmann

Lewis & Clark Law Review

Spousal support in Oregon, as in many states, is based upon a loosely factored framework that allows wide judicial discretion and limited predictability for practitioners. This makes routine settlement of the issue of spousal support challenging and increases litigation. Many states and organizations have developed frameworks for spousal support “calculators” or “formulas” that provide more predictable and consistent results for families and practitioners and better meets the established goals of spousal support. This Note explores the problems of a loosely factored framework, what solutions exist in other states, and what solutions may be implemented in Oregon.

Some Realism About Choice-Of-Law Statutes And The Common Law: The Oregon Example, John T. Parry

Lewis & Clark Law Review

Choice-of-law doctrine presents perpetual change. Common law doctrine is the primary driver of these changes, but change and reform need not come from common law alone. As Robert Leflar once observed, “it should not make much difference whether a governing choice-of-law rule . . . is found in the common law or in a statute. The same rule might be formulated in either way.” This Article assess the utility of choice-of-law statutes, on their own merits and as a substitute for common law reform. The Article begins by surveying the choice-of-law landscape, with its twin problems of multiplicity of methods …

Breaking Free From "Crime-Free": State-Level Responses To Harmful Housing Ordinances, Jenna Prochaska

Lewis & Clark Law Review

Municipalities throughout the country enforce broad and harmful crime-free housing and nuisance property ordinances (CFNOs)—local laws that encourage landlords to evict or exclude tenants from housing opportunities based on their contact with the criminal legal system or calls for police help. There is little evidence that CFNOs are effective at achieving their stated goal of increasing community safety, and there is significant evidence that they harm Black and Latinx communities, survivors of domestic violence, individuals with disabilities, and low-income tenants and communities more broadly. Despite more than a decade of legal advocacy successfully challenging CFNOs using a range of legal …

More Than The Minimum: Why States Should Enact Better Fmla Equivalents, Matt Heldt

Lewis & Clark Law Review

For many workers, taking time off from work for a serious health condition or to care for a family member’s serious health condition is complicated. Since 1993, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) has provided job protection for workers who take leave. However, not all workers are covered. This Comment looks at where the FMLA comes up short, how some states are providing broader coverage and more robust benefits, and advocates for states to continue improving upon the FMLA baseline.

Blind Adoption: Oregon’S Jury Exclusion Law, Catherine Mattecheck

Lewis & Clark Law Review

Jury service is a core tenet of civic engagement and an essential part of ensuring a trial by a jury of one’s peers. Despite this, millions of Americans are barred from serving on a jury based on a prior criminal conviction. Oregon has one of the harshest jury exclusion laws in the country, barring people from serving on a jury with a felony conviction and certain misdemeanors. The modern context of the criminal justice system requires a new look at Oregon’s law.

Recourse To Sages And Supermen: Interpreting The 1857 Oregon Constitution In Light Of The Convention’S Failure To Hire An Official Reporter, Nora Coon

Lewis & Clark Law Review

The lodestar of Oregon interpretive methodology is “legislative intent,” whether it is statutory or constitutional. But discerning that intent is often difficult and it is made even harder when there is a dearth of meaningful history. The Oregon Constitution is one such troublesome document. The Oregon Constitutional Convention of 1857 went against the trend of constitutional conventions in its era and failed to hire a reporter to document its proceedings, leaving that task to newspapers of varying political ideologies. The Oregon delegates, like their contemporaries, relied on four primary considerations: (1) the cost; (2) the importance of immediate publication; (3) …

Extreme Risk Protection Orders In The Post-Bruen Age: Weighing Evidence, Scholarship, And Rights For A Promising Gun Violence Prevention Tool, Andrew Willinger, Shannon Frattaroli

Faculty Scholarship

Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) are civil court orders that temporarily prohibit gun purchase and possession by people who are behaving dangerously and at risk of committing imminent violence. As of September 2023, ERPOs are available in 21 states and the District of Columbia. This Article presents an overview of ERPO laws, the rationale behind their development, and a review and analysis that considers emerging constitutional challenges to these laws (under both the Second Amendment and due process protections) in the post-Bruen era. This Article notes that the presence of multiple constitutional challenges in many ERPO-related cases has confused judicial …

Civil Procedure: Pre-Trial & Trial, Amanda Sotak, Don Colleluori, Andrew C. Whitaker

SMU Annual Texas Survey

This Article identifies, categorizes, and analyzes the most impactful cases in the area of civil procedure decided by the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Courts of Appeals during the Survey period.

Criminal Procedure: Confessions, Searches, Seizures & Suppression Issues, Honorable Barbara Parker Hervey, Carson Guy

SMU Annual Texas Survey

This Article analyzes and discusses the most impactful Texas Court of Criminal Appeals cases involving the law of criminal procedure decided during this Survey period. Broadly, this Article addresses two of criminal procedure’s main subject areas—confessions and searches and seizures.

Survey Of Recent Mandamus Decisions Of The Texas Supreme Court, Honorable Douglas S. Lang

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

Real Property, J. Richard White, Amanda Grainger

SMU Annual Texas Survey

This Article covers Real Property cases from Southwestern Reporter (Third) volumes 633 through 652 and federal cases during the Survey period that the authors believe are noteworthy to the jurisprudence on the applicable subject.

A number of significant cases, mostly from the Texas Supreme Court, have been handed down during this survey period. The due process requirements for the scope of inquiry for substituted service have been promulgated in MAP Resources. Additional procedural issues for service on financial institutions, which were decided differently by various state and federal courts, were resolved in Moss. The Texas Supreme Court provided helpful guidance …

Bankruptcy & Commercial Law, Sally M. Henry

SMU Annual Texas Survey

This Article analyzes and discusses cases—arising from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Bankruptcy Courts in Texas, the Texas Supreme Court, and the Texas Courts of Appeals—that resolved some fascinating and important issues in the areas of bankruptcy and commercial law during this Survey period.