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The Legal Minute Spring 2012
No full textSt. Mary's LLM Program Students Meet and Greet, Local High School Offers Law Program Preparing Students, Notes from the Office of Academic and Student Affairs, Death of Al-Qa'eda Member Anwar Al-Awaki - A Good Kill, To China with Love, The Institute on C
War Powers Pursuant to False Perceptions and Asymmetric Information in the "Zone of Twilight"
No full textOrder in the Court!: Ethical Conduct in a Criminal Trial Under the Texas Disciplinary Rules
No full textIn a criminal trial, the most common ethical duties implicated are the duty of candor to the tribunal, maintaining the impartiality and integrity of the tribunal, and the fairness of the proceeding as a whole. Under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, these duties are broken down in Rules 3.03, 3.04, 3.05, and 3.06. Attorneys are charged with the responsibility of fully understanding each of these duties in order to interact accordingly with the tribunal. This Article will examine, in detail, each of these rules individually. Additionally, the Article will analyze how each of the rules overlap and coincide with the Texas Judicial Code of Conduct, criminal statutes, specific obligations of a prosecutor, and other ethical rules
The Roles of Attorneys As Courtroom Experts: Revisiting the Conventional Limitations and Their Exceptions
No full textThis Article examines whether attorneys should be allowed to
testify as legal experts, especially in the legal malpractice context. This Article starts by addressing the unclear distinction between questions of law and fact and reviews several recent cases that prohibited expert legal testimony. Next, this Article addresses some general exceptions to the prohibition against expert legal testimony, such as questions of complex and uncertain law. Finally, this Article examines the use of legal experts in legal malpractice cases
Social Networking and Judicial Ethics
No full textSocial network sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and
Twitter have become an increasingly ever-present feature in American life since first appearing in the late 1990s. SNSs now impact virtually all parts of daily life, and the judiciary is not immune to this effect. Recent statistics show that approximately 40% of judges nationwide utilize SNSs for personal, professional, and electoral purposes.
Social media, like any public communication form, presents special ethical challenges for judges. In recent years, judicial ethics committees in various states have weighed in on these questions and have not shown any clear consensus. However, it is generally agreed that judges using SNSs must pay particular attention to how that use relates to the judge’s particular ethical obligations regarding relationships and communication with others. In general terms, social media participation by judges raises important ethical questions that directly impact how courts are perceived in the emerging media age
Law Notes: St. Mary's University School of Law Newsletter Summer 2012
No full textA State of Gold and Blue: St. Mary's Law Grads Abundant in Texas Governor's Office, Community Leaders Celebrated at Commencement, Speedlin Honored by ABA and State Ba
The Client Who Lost Despite Winning and the Client Who Won Despite Losing: Reflections on Starting a New Immigration Clinic
No full textI chose a clinical model in which students would experience a multi-faceted engagement with clients that is not designed to transmit any predictable lessons other than the notion that lawyering is inherently unpredictable, requires openness to surprises, and the flexibility to respond
appropriately. In Parts II and III, I recount the stories of the “client who won despite losing” and the “client who lost despite winning.” In Part IV, I discuss the lessons I learned from these two cases and how those lessons influenced the choices I made for the Washington and Lee clinical program. In Part V, I will detail the choice I was confronted with in constructing the immigration program, and how my experiences influenced that choice. While some clinics focus exclusively or predominantly on asylum cases, other clinics are more open to handling a range of cases that provide a mix of challenges and varying degrees of complexity. Part VI describes how I believe this choice has benefited the education of the students in the program through three examples from our first semester in operation. I conclude this Essay in Part VII with my view on the kinds of cases that are most constructive in achieving the goals of clinical legal education
Payday Peonage: Thirteenth Amendment Implications in Payday Lending (Note)
No full textThe payday lending industry must be regulated. This Note argues that the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which formally ended slavery, is the proper vehicle for Congress to impose federal usury caps on payday loans. In order to make this case, this Note provides an overview of payday lending practices, describes the underclass, discusses the Thirteenth Amendment-including its ratification,
judicial history, and modern development-and applies the Thirteenth Amendment to payday lending and the underclass. This Note makes clear that the Thirteenth Amendment is triggered by payday lenders' targeting of a vulnerable social and economic people and that the Amendment provides an appropriate avenue for regulating this particular industry
2012: CLE: Come out, Come Out Wherever You Are – Constructive Notice of Unrecorded Agreements in Texas Land Titles
No full textA discussion covering conveyances of real property interests, the Texas recording statutes, notice of unrecorded instruments, due diligence in oil and gas transaction, and drafting considerations for purchase and sale agreements