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Filling the Federal District Court Vacancies
Get PDFPresident Donald Trump’s major success has been confirming judges for the thirteen federal appellate courts. The President shattered records by appointing a dozen circuit jurists in his administration’s first year, eighteen judges over the course of 2018, and twenty additional judges throughout his third year. Indeed, by June 2019, the appeals courts experienced four vacancies in 179 judgeships and today, only one position remains empty. This achievement is critical, as these tribunals are the courts of last resort for nearly every appeal, and appellate court opinions articulate greater policy than district court rulings and cover multiple states.
However, that accomplishment does entail costs. In the haste of President Trump to quickly nominate, and the Republican Senate majority to expeditiously confirm, many able, ideologically conservative, young appeals court jurists, the President and the Senate neglect myriad open posts in the district courts. The district courts now realize seventy-three vacancies in 677 positions, forty-five of which are considered “judicial emergencies” due to remaining protracted and immense filings. District court jurists are the federal justice system’s “workhorses” and resolve most litigation, and the numerous openings place substantial pressures on the district courts. Thus, the judicial selection process under President Trump requires analysis. [..
Oil, Climate Change, and Human Rights: A Case Study of Norway with Comparative Analysis
Get PDFThe Arctic region is simultaneously facing profound, negative ecological impacts of climate change and is also subject to expanding oil and gas exploration and extraction. Facing a critical decision involving Arctic oil expansion, Norway is contending with its position as a global leader in the environmental movement and its historic and continued economic reliance on the oil and gas industry. This research contextualizes Norway within the Arctic region, discusses Norway as a petroleum exporting country, and addresses how value and identity play a role in environmental policy creation. Recent human rights-based climate change litigation in Norway, People v. Arctic Oil, suggests that Norway’s expansion of Arctic oil production constitutes a human rights violation, violating the right to a safe environment and the right to life, based on the negative impacts of increasing carbon emissions. This litigation is exposing Norway’s paradoxical relationship to environmental responsibility and calls for real considerations of responsibility and action in regard to climate change. As a comparative analysis, this research examines rights-based climate change litigation in other parts of Western Europe and the US. Staving off dangerous climate change is a shared global responsibility, but individual nations must take action to address and reduce their own production of carbon emissions. Rights-based climate change litigation acts as an opportunity for citizens to advocate for stricter emissions regulations and more progressive, immediate climate change action on the grounds that climate change represents a real threat to human rights.
Paper prepared for the Environmental Studies Senior Seminar/Geography Capstone.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Todd Lookingbil
Taxation
Get PDFThis Article reviews significant recent developments in the laws affecting Virginia state and local taxation. Its Parts cover legislative activity, judicial decisions, and selected opinions and other pronouncements from the Virginia Department of Taxation (the “Tax Department” or “Department of Taxation”) and the Attorney General of Virginia over the past year. Part I of this Article addresses state taxes. Part II covers local taxes, including real and tangible personal property taxes, license taxes, recordation taxes, and administrative local tax procedures. The overall purpose of this Article is to provide Virginia tax and general practitioners with a concise overview of the recent developments in Virginia taxation that are most likely to impact their clients. However, it does not address many of the numerous minor, locality-specific, or technical legislative changes to Title 58.1 of the Virginia Code, which covers taxation
Wills, Trusts, and Estates
Get PDFThe 2020 Virginia General Assembly addressed a wide variety of matters affecting wills, trusts, and estates, ranging from a new article of the Virginia Uniform Trust Code and an expanded partition procedure to a $2 increase in the circuit court clerk’s recordation fees. Among the most helpful were new rules that clarify and expand the powers and responsibilities of non-trustees who may direct the trustee on certain issues and a revised procedure for partitioning real property while protecting the rights and interests of co-owners. The legislature also dealt with fiduciary issues, including express authorization for multiple-party bank accounts, additional duties for children’s guardians ad litem, relationships that may disqualify a lawyer as guardian or conservator, protections against suspected financial abuse of adults, reliance on qualification certificates, and requirements for certain fiduciaries’ accounts. The General Assembly also authorized beneficiary designations for ABLE savings accounts, allowed the substitution of a bank for a related trust company in multiple fiduciary roles, broadened disclosure rules for certain gifts to state colleges and universities, expanded the list of documents a notary may accept as identification, and allowed transfer on death (“T.O.D.”) designations for motor vehicles with multiple owners
Prosecutors and Police: An Unholy Union
Get PDFThis Article argues that, with the once-unheard-of step of prosecutors and police unionizing together in St. Louis, and with relationships between prosecutors and police trending toward growing closer all the time, government at all levels—federal, state, and local—should consider the potential risks of such relationships. Part I explores different types of relationships that go beyond what was once the traditional working relationship between police and prosecutors, including formalized labor unions, employee association groups, friendships, and even marriages. Part II discusses the varying conflicts and deleterious effects that such close relationships cause, unduly influencing investigation priorities and other policies. Part III theorizes as to different steps that may be taken to alleviate the risks inherent in overly cozy relationships between police and prosecutors
Feeling Manipulated: How Tip Request Sequence Impacts Customers and Service Providers?
No full textTechnology is changing frontline service scripts. Businesses are now using mobile point-of-sale applications (e.g., Square) and mobile technology (e.g., iPad) to prompt customers for tips. Tip requests are occurring more frequently at the start of service transactions, before any service has been provided. This research examines how requesting a tip either before or after service completion affects customers and service providers. We test the effects of preservice versus postservice tip sequence in four studies (a natural experiment in the field and three controlled experiments) across food and beauty service contexts. Findings reveal that requesting a tip before (vs. after) completing a service leads to smaller tips, reduced return intentions, diminished word-of-mouth intentions, and lower online ratings. Inferred manipulative intent is revealed as the psychological mechanism underlying the harmful effects of requesting a tip before service. Findings suggest that emphasizing the benefits of automated point-of-sale systems can reduce, but not eliminate, the negative effects of preservice tip requests. Contrary to norms within the service industry, we find that service providers should avoid requesting tips before serving customers
