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Non-Capital Habeas Cases After Appellate Review: An Empirical Analysis
No full textarticle published in law reportern 2007, researchers from the National Center for State Courts and Vanderbilt University Law School reported the findings from a study of litigation in 2384 randomly selected, non-capital habeas cases, approximately 6.5% of the non-capital habeas cases commenced in federal district courts in 2003 and 2004 by state prisoners. In this article, I update that report, including the cases that were pending when the 2007 report was prepared, and following the study cases into the federal courts of appeals, and back into the state courts. Even after appellate review of denials and dismissals, the percentage of non-capital petitioners receiving federal habeas relief remains less than the 1% rate reported prior to AEDPA. Descriptive findings include appeals and requests to file successive petitions by circuit, and rulings on certificates of appealability by circuit. Detailed information regarding each case receiving relief in federal court is also included
Lafler v. Cooper and AEDPA
No full textarticle published in law journalThe Supreme Court in Missouri v. Frye1 and Lafler v. Cooper2 broke new ground by holding for the first time that a defendant’s right to the effective assistance of counsel under the Sixth Amendment can be violated by the loss of a favorable plea deal. Less noted, but also worthy of attention, are Lafler’s implications for federal habeas law. Four Justices protested that the Lafler decision violated the federal habeas statute. At the least, the decision expanded habeas review in unexpected ways. Lafler presented the Supreme Court with an unusual opportunity to declare new doctrine on habeas review
Islamic Law Meets ERISA: How America's Private Pension System Unintentionally Discriminates Against Muslims and What to Do About It
No full textarticle published in law reviewThis article asks whether Muslims whose religious beliefs prevent investment in their employers’ private pension plans have a right to religious accommodation. This is a real issue for a growing part of the population whose spiritual lives are governed by rules that prohibit the giving or taking of interest. As one might expect, the investments available through most American pension plans involve some aspect of interest making those investments unsuitable retirement vehicles for devote Muslims. Consequently, in order to secure their retirement income, Muslims are faced with either violating their religious beliefs, losing years of investment opportunity as they wait for the American investment market to catch up to their religious needs, relying on their employer’s goodwill, or religious accommodation through court or statute.
Religious accommodation in the workplace is governed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (Title VII). The statute is directive and punitive. There are potential money damages if an employer does not comply with Title VII’s religious accommodation requirement but no benefit (monetary or otherwise) in exchange for compliance.
The two Supreme Court decisions that look at religious accommodation under Title VII concern private employers asked to rearrange employee work schedules to accommodate Sabbatarians. Where the employer faced a potential penalty for failure to provide religious accommodation but no benefit for compliance with the statute’s requirements, the Court treated the Title VII accommodation obligation as an Establishment of religion and as a burden on the non-believers’ Free Exercise rights. Accordingly, the Court diminished Congress’ religious accommodation rule under Title VII to the point that no motivated employer need ever accommodate an employee’s religious practice.
Not all religious accommodations occur in the same context. As opposed to religious accommodation under Title VII, the Court generally gives Congress great deference when the legislature bestows tax benefits in exchange for taxpayers eschewing even constitutionally protected activities. Private pension plans are founded on tremendous tax benefits bestowed on retirement accounts by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). These benefits invoke the deference to Congress exhibited in the Court’s tax decisions rather than the hostility to forced religious accommodation reflected in its Title VII decisions
A Regulatory Design for Monetary Stability
No full textarticle published in law reviewThis article proposes a unified regulatory approach to the issuance of “money-claims” – a generic term that refers to fixed-principal, very short-term IOUs, excluding trade credit. The instability of this market is arguably the central problem for financial regulatory policy. Yet our existing regulatory system lacks a coherent approach to this market. The article proposes a public-private partnership (PPP) regime, under which only licensed entities would be permitted to issue money-claims (subject to de minimis exceptions). Licensed money-claim issuers would be required to abide by portfolio restrictions and capital requirements. In addition, the government would explicitly insure licensed issuers’ outstanding money-claims in return for a fee. The article compares this PPP regime to the prevailing alternatives. In particular, it considers the likely efficacy of (i) risk-constraint regulation; (ii) conditional liquidity support (lender of last resort) facilities; and (iii) the new Orderly Liquidation Authority, a centerpiece of the recently enacted Dodd-Frank Act. The article identifies significant problems with each of these approaches. It concludes that, although the PPP system raises significant implementation challenges of its own, it compares favorably to the available alternatives
Harmonizing Commercial Wind Power and the Endangered Species Act Through Administrative Reform
No full textarticle published in law reviewThis Article explores the intersection of utility-scale wind power development and the Endangered Species Act, which thus far has not been as happy a union as one might expect. Part I provides background on how the ESA and wind power have met in policy, permitting, and litigation. Part II then examines whether wind power (and other renewable energy sources) can and should receive a “green pass” under the ESA given its unquestioned climate change mitigation benefits, concluding that doing so would face a host of legal and policy concerns. Part III then outlines a model for administrative innovation of ESA programs centered on facilitating business risk management in renewable energy infrastructure projects
Vanderbilt Hustler; September 10, 2012
No full textThe official student newspaper at Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt Hustler; Vol. 124 Iss. 53 November 15, 2012
No full textThe official student newspaper at Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt Hustler: 124th Year No. 5 January 26, 2012
No full textThe official student newspaper at Vanderbilt University
Effects of Treatment on Neurocognitive and Psychosocial Development in Adolescent Brain Tumor Survivors
Get PDFThis paper serves as a thesis for partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Honors Program in Psychological Sciences. It was completed as part of the PSY 296B Honors Thesis, with Dr. Megan Saylor.Research on the cognitive and psychosocial effects of treatment for childhood brain tumors has consistently found deficits in these areas. However, the connections between these deficits, as well as their biological basis, are largely unidentified. This study used cognitive tests, parent questionnaires, and functional neuroimaging to further examine possible deficits in these areas of functioning. Brain tumor survivors had increased levels of neurocognitive and psychosocial problems, as well as decreased brain activation during working memory tasks as compared with healthy controls. Additionally, brain activation and social problems were found to be the best predictors of internalizing problems. These results further clarify the deficits observed in brain tumor survivors and support the hypothesis that brain tumor treatment is associated with inhibited brain activation.Vanderbilt UniversityPsychologyArts and SciencesThesis completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Honors Program in Psychological Science
Vanderbilt Hustler: 124th Year No. 27 April 23, 2012
No full textThe official student newspaper at Vanderbilt University