Administrative Law Commons^™

Filling The Criminal Liability Gap For Private Military Contractors Abroad: U.S. V. Slough And The Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act Of 2010, Missye Brickell

Legislation and Policy Brief

To ensure that all contractors who commit crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan can be prosecuted effectively in the United States, Congress must pass legislation to update Federal criminal law and fill the gaps that may leave certain types of contractors free from any criminal liability. The Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2010 (CEJA) attempts to do just that, and while it may deter some PMCs from participating in the U.S. military and security contracting market, the benefits of having a fully accountable U.S. legal system outweigh the drawbacks for individual contracting companies.

“Bring[Ing] Our Enemies To Justice”: Terrorism And The Court, Anna Elazan

Legislation and Policy Brief

This article focuses on the venue of Mohammad’s trial and is broken into three sections. The first section reviews the historical use of military tribunals. This section begins by looking at the basis for Presidential authority to authorize the use of military commissions. This section then outlines the first use of military commissions since World War II. President George W. Bush’s authorization parallels the provisions in President Franklin Roosevelt’s authorization of the use of commissions in the 1940s. However, following authorization, the military commissions were subject to judicial challenges and significant revision by Congress. Finally, this section tracks recent developments …

“For Any Reason”: Paper Promises To Protect Service Members, Tami Martin

Legislation and Policy Brief

In short, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) is the law that prohibits lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals from serving openly in the military. Despite the fact that the Obama Administration has yet to fulfill the campaign promise of ending DADT, many believe the question is more "when" than "if" it will be repealed. Much attention has focused on ending the policy, but it is also important to consider what might happen after repeal. This article briefly examines the history of DADT, major policies meant to protect service members from harassment they experience because of their actual or perceived sexual …

Disincentives To Data Breach: Problems With Notification And Future Legislative Possibilities, Ross Schulman

Legislation and Policy Brief

In the modern digitized and networked world, personal identifying information has quickly become a commodity that can be traded, sold, or given away like any other. The uses and potential abuses of personal identifying information, however, distinguish this commodity from any other. Personal identifying information can be copied infinitely, is often not protected nearly as well as physical commodities, and, most importantly, can have particular importance to the person identified by that information. The producer of a bushel of apples presumably cares very little about where his apples end up, as long as he is paid for them to begin …

Armed And Dangerous: The Crime Of Mortgage Fraud And What Congress Must Do To Stop It, Gabriel Zitrin

Legislation and Policy Brief

Instead, it will simply argue that while the relevant monetary policymakers continue far too slowly in the pursuit of mortgage securities reform, lawmakers whose purview includes the housing sector should use this opportunity to pursue a two-part strategy of aggressively combating fraud in the terms and sales of individual mortgages and taking bold measures to ensure that not simply embattled mortgage-holders but the victims of fraudulent lending behavior can achieve financial sustainability, even as they keep ownership of their homes.

Tax Relief In The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Of 2009, Steven Gassert

Legislation and Policy Brief

On February 17, 2009, less than thirty days after his inauguration, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). This new law was one of many measures from the new administration designed to quickly stimulate the ailing American economy. The $789 billion package was divided between direct government spending, tax reductions and financial relief to states and individuals. The bill contains $285.6 billion in tax reductions, which is about 36.3% of the legislation. In this article, I will analyze some of the tax provisions that were written into ARRA, and attempt to assess their …

Breathing New Life Into Old Technological Infrastructure: Broadband Internet As A Means Of Jump-Starting The Economy And Connecting The Country, Elizabeth Chernow

Legislation and Policy Brief

This paper examines the current structure of universal service and the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, recent pushes to expand the definition of and funding for universal service to include broadband access, and how broadband internet can contribute to saving the ailing economy. This paper concludes by calling for the inclusion of broadband internet in the Universal Service Fund.

Public Financing's Last Breaths, Kellen Clemons

Legislation and Policy Brief

After this peculiar and unique election cycle, the public financing laws will have to be redeveloped in order to have any bearing on future elections. Without some change to the rules, candidates will continue to opt out and use the Internet and grassroots initiatives to out-raise one another, to the possible disadvantage of the goals of the public finance system. In essence, this election cycle has seen politics destroy the current public financing system. Through the advisory opinions of the Federal Election Commission and the decisions of the major candidates to opt out of public financing, the role of the …

Public Financing, George Bush, And Barack Obama: Why The Publicly Funded Campaign Does Not Work, And What We Can Do To Fix It, Jordan Acker

Legislation and Policy Brief

Today, there are very different public financing rules for both the general and primary election. In the primary, if a candidate meets the requirements for public funding, the federal government will match up to $250 of an individual’s total contributions to an eligible candidate. In order for this to occur, candidates must adopt strict finance limits. In the general election, if an eligible candidate accepts public funding, he or she must cease fundraising after the conclusion of the primaries, and spend the public funding that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) grants them. This money covers all campaign expenditures, except for …

The Model Rules Of Professional Conduct And Political Campaign Activities, Lauren Gilius

Legislation and Policy Brief

This article will examine whether the American Bar Association’s (“ABA”) Model Rules of Professional Conduct (“Model Rules”) should apply to lawyers in situations where a lawyer-candidate or a lawyer involved in a disingenuous political campaign activity, particularly when the lawyer was not convicted on criminal charges. Though the American Bar Association said that the Model Rules apply to dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation by lawyers, even when acting in a non-professional capacity, the support for applying the Rules in this context is lacking.

This article will first briefly discuss the development of applying the Model Rules to the non-professional conduct, …

Help America Vote Act Enforcement, Tiana Butcher

Legislation and Policy Brief

Although the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) features extensive mandates, its enforcement provisions of are weaker than those found in previous federal election reform laws, including the Voting Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act. Activists argue this limited enforcement power is a failing of the Act. Congress may have chosen to adopt weak enforcement mechanisms due to political posturing, lack of funding, faulty technology, or lobbying by the states. Regardless of the reason behind this choice, stronger enforcement mechanisms in HAVA would, paradoxically, fail to encourage election reform or deter election reform altogether.

Appeal No. 0828: Beck Energy Corporation V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Chief's Order 2010-28

Appeal No. 0827: Beck Energy Corporation V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Chief's Order 2010-27

Appeal No. 0826: Beck Energy Corporation V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Chief's Order 2010-26

Appeal No. 0825: Beck Energy Corporation V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Chief's Order 2010-25

Cityland – Vol. 7, No. 8, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2010

The September 2010 issue of CityLand covers significant land use, zoning, and preservation developments across New York City. The City Council approved Vornado Realty Trust’s 15 Penn Plaza commercial tower, despite concerns about its impact on the Empire State Building and MWBE participation. The City Planning Commission approved large rezonings in northeast Queens (Auburndale, Oakland Gardens, Hollis Hills) and Rosedale, as well as the Culver El rezoning and housing project in Borough Park. A supportive housing project for women in Prospect Lefferts Gardens was debated. The Commission also approved a zoning text amendment regulating car-share parking. The Board of Standards …

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify-An Analysis Of Two Decades Of Judicial Review In The Veterans' Benefits Adjudication System, Rory E. Riley

West Virginia Law Review

Prior to the Veterans' Judicial Review Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs existed in "splendid isolation," meaning that the Department was insu- lated from judicial review by statute. After the due process revolution of the 1960s and pressure from various veterans' organizations after the Vietnam War, Congress passed the Veterans' Judicial Review Act in 1988. The Act created the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, an Article I court with exclusive jurisdiction over decisions by the Board of Veterans' Appeals. This Article argues that twenty years after the Veterans' Judicial Review Act was imple- mented, the system has become …

Intermountain And The Growing Importance Of Administrative Law In Tax Law, Steve R. Johnson

Scholarly Publications

On September 29, 2009, Treasury issued regulations retroactively extending the six-year limitations period for income tax deficiencies resulting from basis overstatements. In its May 6 Intermountain decision, the Tax Court unanimously invalidated those regulations, but on divided rationales. The government has appealed.

lntermountain is a must-read for tax academics and practitioners. It is among the richest decisions on the procedural and substantive validity of tax regulations. Moreover, the opinions in the case, subsequent cases on the issue, .and commentary on these opinions and cases present genuine opportunity for improvement of the law.

This report has five sections. Section I sketches …

Appeal No. 0824: Environmental Oil Company V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Chief's Order 2010-15

Cityland – Vol. 7, No. 7, Center For New York City Law

CityLand - 2010

The August 2010 issue of CityLand covers major land use, zoning, and preservation developments across New York City. The City Council approved the Flushing Commons and Macedonia Plaza projects in Queens, following a $6 million commitment to support small businesses during construction. The Council also approved the redevelopment of the Domino Sugar site in Williamsburg and advanced the acquisition of the final section of the High Line. The City Planning Commission approved the 15 Penn Plaza commercial tower proposal, which includes reopening the historic Gimbels Passageway. The issue reports on a proposed zoning text amendment to regulate car-share parking and …