State and Local Government Law Commons^™

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 …