State and Local Government Law Commons^™

The Employees’ Dilemma: Balancing Internal Reporting, Whistleblowing, And Insider Trading Risks, Geeyoung Min

Seattle University Law Review

The Essay examines how recent developments in insider trading regulations and whistleblower reward programs can lead to unintended and counterproductive results of discouraging employees from using internal reporting channels within corporate compliance programs. While the presence of a robust and well-functioning corporate compliance program is a critical factor both in mitigating the level of public enforcement actions against companies and in protecting corporate managers from liability in private litigation, these programs often provide little incentive for employees to report potential misconduct internally.

Corporate compliance programs are designed to promote the upward information flow within the company, which is essential for …

How The Antidiscrimination Law Of Commercial Transactions Really Works, Helen Norton

Seattle University Law Review

A variety of businesses now cite 303 Creative when seeking First Amendment protection for their refusal to serve certain customers based on those customers’ protected class status. How this litigation will play out remains to be seen. But future courts need not, and should not, repeat the 303 Creative Court’s misunderstanding of how the antidiscrimination law of commercial transactions actually works.

Part I of this Essay explains the Court’s longstanding understanding of the antidiscrimination law of commercial transactions, and then describes the Court’s failure to engage with this precedent in 303 Creative. Part II then identifies the 303 Creative decision’s …

Advanced Magic In Illinois: Amendments To The Illinois Rules Of Professional Conduct And The Confusion Over How To Handle Flat Fees Paid In Advance, Alberto Bernabe

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

Attorneys face ongoing challenges in structuring legal fees, particularly when deciding between hourly rates, contingency arrangements, and flat fees. This Article examines recent amendments to the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct regarding flat fees and explores the persistent confusion over how attorneys should handle fees paid in advance. The debate centers on whether advance payments should be deposited in client trust accounts. The Article analyzes alternative regulatory approaches to address this issue, including proposals to eliminate or modify Rule 1.15(c), which currently governs the handling of advance fees. It evaluates the merits of different fee structures and examines whether there …

Racing To The Top Instead Of The Bottom In Illinois Estate Law, Sarah E. Waldeck

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

In the last two decades, competition for trust business has led states to abolish the Rule Against Perpetuities, authorize trust decanting, and permit self-settled asset protection trusts all in the hope that settlors will bring their trusts (and the fees they generate) within a state's jurisdiction. But this legislation is profoundly inequitable because it primarily benefits wealthy settlors and those lucky enough to be their beneficiaries, while shifting cost and risk to everyone else.

In the face of such competition, Illinois has fought to retain its trust business by passing legislation that allows settlors to opt out of the perpetuity …

Reclaiming The Genius Of A Free State, Tennessee's Forgotten Anti-Monopolies Clause, Braden H. Boucek

Belmont Law Review

This article argues that Tennessee’s Anti-Monopolies Clause—enshrined in Article I, Section 22 of the Tennessee Constitution since 1796—has been systematically underenforced and misconstrued by Tennessee courts. Although the constitutional text unequivocally provides that “monopolies are contrary to the genius of a free State and shall not be allowed,” judicial interpretation has diluted this categorical prohibition by importing deferential federal rational basis review and engaging in “lockstepping” with federal substantive due process doctrine. The author contends that this approach is doctrinally unsound because the U.S. Constitution contains no analogous anti-monopoly provision, rendering federal precedent inapposite. Through historical analysis grounded in originalist …

Navigating Wastewater: Minnesota Mining Wastewater Permit Challenges And Evolving Compliance Standards, Madelaine Adamich

Journal of Earth and Life Science

February of 2021 marked the beginning of Minnesota clearly establishing that groundwater qualifies as a Class 1 water in a legal battle involving United States Steel, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, WaterLegacy, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Minnesota Court of Appeals, and eventually the Minnesota Supreme Court (MNSC). Minnesota has a water classification system, as required by the federal Clean Water Act, with 7 classes of use. Class 1 waters are waters used for domestic consumption (MPCA 4, n.d.). According to Minnesota Statute § 7050.0220, the acceptable level for sulfate is 250 mg/L in Class 1 …

Channel The Panel To Improve State Supreme Court Independence, Aditya Medicherla

Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice

No abstract provided.

When Breathing Becomes Wheezing: Why Kentucky Should Require Schools To Conduct Radon Testing, Abbey Norvell

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

In this note, Abbey Norvell analyzes the dangers of radon exposure in Kentucky schools, highlighting the state’s nation-leading lung cancer rates and the heightened risks for children. She explains that Kentucky has no law requiring schools to test for or mitigate radon levels, leaving students vulnerable. Norvell argues for mandatory radon testing and remediation in Kentucky schools. She proposes legislation modeled on other states requiring testing in both public and private schools within five years, and remediation within two years if levels exceed EPA standards.

Annual Statistical Report Of The Tennessee Judiciary 2024-2025, Tennessee. Administrative Office Of The Courts.

Annual Statistical Reports

No abstract provided.

Green Dividends: A Case Study In Green Dividends And The Conditions For Private Ordering Solutions, Anne M. Tucker

Seattle University Law Review

This Essay introduces a novel private ordering solution to facilitate corporate investments in pro-social and environmental initiatives: Green dividends. Green dividends are an optional increase in shareholder dividends that are returned to the company to be reinvested in environmental initiatives or kept by a shareholder.

Green dividends pose an alternative to the current gridlocked debate that corporations can’t, won’t, shouldn’t, and shouldn’t even try to act in pro-social or environmental ways. Turning the common refrains on their head converts each narrative into an element for a successful private ordering solution: authority, accountability, shareholder buy-in, and government- backed enforcement. With Green …

Does Climate Disclosure Work To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions? Emerging Evidence Suggests Cautious Optimism, Cynthia A. Williams

Seattle University Law Review

Significant regulatory resources have been spent developing global, voluntary climate and sustainability disclosure standards, such as the TCFD, TNRD, and ISSB’s Sustainability and Climate Disclosure standards, or domestically required disclosures, such as in the EU and in the U.S. Thus, it is important to evaluate whether this disclosure, particularly voluntary, qualitative disclosure, will have the power to shift the allocation of capital, will have a significant effect on the management of climate risk within firms, and ultimately will reduce climate change risk and biodiversity loss.

In this Article, several interrelated questions will be discussed. First, what does the empirical evidence …

Uncorking The Twenty-First Amendment: A Spirited Exception To Distill The Dormant Commerce Clause, Lars Emerson

American University Law Review

Few goods have played as potent a role in shaping constitutional doctrine as alcohol. By repealing national Prohibition and granting states sweeping authority to regulate intoxicating liquors within their borders, the Twenty-first Amendment carved out a singular exception in American constitutional law—one that has long stood in tension with the Dormant Commerce Clause (“DCC”), which prohibits states from discriminating against interstate commerce.

This Note surveys the constitutional landscape created by the Twentyfirst Amendment, beginning with a historical overview of DCC jurisprudence, the Prohibition era, and the legislative history of the Twenty-first Amendment. The analysis then focuses on the uneasy constitutional …

Sunshine Laws Cast A Dark Shadow On Democracy, Elizabeth Stephani

Wyoming Law Review

A group of people keenly aware of government corruption and the consequences of concentrated power created the United States Constitution. Flowing from the Founders’ fear of another King, the U.S. Constitution designed public institutions to be accountable to the people through the separation of powers. While the separation of powers remains the bedrock of American democracy, laws like the Wyoming Public Records Act (Wyoming Sunshine Law) allow for harmful overlaps in government powers. This Article begins by assessing federal legal frameworks for open records requests incorporated in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Next, the Article compares and contrasts Wyoming’s …

The Uptake Puzzle In Expungement Of Criminal Records, Jessica Steinberg, Elenore Wade

Indiana Law Journal

Expungement has an uptake problem. A recent explosion of state-level rights allows people with felony convictions to expunge their criminal record, but only one to six percent of eligible people avail themselves of the remedy. Expungement is a powerful policy tool that promotes social and economic reintegration. It also serves a dignitary purpose, allowing people with criminal records to unshackle themselves from past mistakes. One might assume people would rush to court to clear their records. That the opposite is occurring—and new laws are idling on the books—suggests that rights-creation in this space has not been efficacious. This demands a …

Safer Futures: Strategies For Enhancing Collaboration Between Law Enforcement And Child Welfare Agencies In Preventing Fatal Child Abuse, Kayla M. Brown

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Survivors Behind Bars: The Criminalization Of Abuse, Assault, And Human Trafficking Victims And The Need For A Trauma-Informed Approach, Jamie Beck, Chelsea Estes

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

2024 Survey Of Rhode Island Law, Table Of Contents

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Case Law Update On Oil, Gas & Mineral Law, Austin W. Brister, M. Alejandra Salas

SMU Annual Texas Survey

This Article focuses on certain select cases relating to oil, gas, and mineral law in Texas that were issued in 2024. Given space constraints, not all cases could be summarized.

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

SMU Annual Texas Survey

This Article describes and analyzes major developments in insurance law that occurred in Texas between December 1, 2023, and November 30, 2024.

Franchise Law, Deborah S. Coldwell, Kristina Pierre-Louis, Samuel T. Mallick, Wilson Miller, Connor Madden, Austin Sabin

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.