Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
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We Buy Houses : A Foreclosure Rescue as the Solution to the Trapped Homeowner Equity Problem
Get PDFForeclosure rescue transactions are viewed widely as scams designed, among other things, to dupe poor, minority, and elderly homeowners out of the equity in their homes. However, foreclosure rescue transactions come in many forms and, as an alternative to foreclosure, often maintain valuable options for homeowners that the homeowners otherwise would lose in the traditional foreclosure process. For this reason, many of these transactions, though imperfect, should be preserved and supported.
This Article introduces one such foreclosure rescue transaction, the residential sale/leaseback/buyback ( RSLB ) transaction, into the legal literature from the perspective of the rescue investors. A basic RSLB transaction allows a homeowner facing foreclosure to sell his property to an investor and to lease the property back for a set period at a set rate, while retaining the right to buy the property back at a set price on a set date in the future (a call option).
This Article unveils the logic of these transactions and provides market context, which is often misunderstood and under-appreciated by academics, judges, and the public, who do not understand the value of the transactions to the homeowners who use them and to the communities in which the transactions are popular
Give Them a Dam Break! Protecting the Ngabe Bugle Community of Panama with Clean Development Mechanism Safeguards to Promote Culturally Sensitive Development
Get PDFA REDD Solution to a Green Problem: Using REDD Plus to Address Deforestation in Ghana Through Benefit Sharing and Community Self-Empowerment
Get PDFThe process of converting forests into non-forests deforestation claims 17 million hectares of the world’s tropical forests each year. Ghana is no stranger to the problem of deforestation. The developing country’s rainforest has been decreasing rapidly and significantly over time.
Part II of this paper addresses the primary driving factors of deforestation in Ghana, including human activities such as legal and illegal logging and unsustainable agricultural practices, as well as non-human factors such as poverty and population growth, which are inevitably linked. Part III identifies the constitutional land tenure rights and laws of the timber industry, assessing how these have contributed to deforestation in Ghana as well as established measures to combat the problem. Part IV explains the historical background and a working framework of REDD. Part V evaluates the Brazilian approach to its deforestation problem, with specific emphasis on the Juma Sustainable Development Reserve Project in the Amazon region. Part VI proposes a solution to Ghana’s deforestation problem advanced within a modified and multifaceted REDD plus model with a significant emphasis on a community-centred monitoring, verification and reporting system, self-empowerment and gender advancement, and a recognition of carbon rights as motivational and stronger enforcement measures
Florida Family Law: Skills and Practice Workbook
Get PDFToday\u27s legal landscape is increasingly demanding practical skills from recent law school graduates and new attorneys. In light of this, the authors realized that there was a gap between theory and praxis with regard to family law in Florida. This workbook bridges this gap by designing an easily accessible book that better equips students and attorneys with the skills, confidence, and experience needed to serve the community with the highest level of professionalism.
As a result, this workbook has multiple uses and benefits. It can serve as a teaching tool for professors. It also may be used by individuals who plan to take the Florida Bar and wish to use it as a study guide. Furthermore, this workbook can serve as a valuable legal resource for new attorneys who plan to practice family law in Florida.
In an effort to accelerate and optimize the users\u27 learning process, this workbook utilizes a fictional community of families that provide the scenarios for hypothetical exercises that are integral to the honing of practical legal skills. In the exercises, users will be required to perform real-life legal tasks for one or more families from this fictional community. The workbook includes relevant statute(s), case law, and internet links for the user who needs to act on or resolve a family law issue. Each chapter also includes a checklist, though not exhaustive, of key interview questions to ask a client.https://commons.law.famu.edu/faculty-books/1013/thumbnail.jp
Going Overboard: The Criminalization of Seafarers in Violation of Their Human Rights, Regional and Domestic Law\u27s Conflict with UNCLOS and MARPOL, and the Need for Reform
Get PDFFollowing an oil spill, swift and aggressive measures are often taken to ensure that the public demand for justice is fulfilled. Unfortunately, seafarers are often placed in the post-incident spotlight, regardless of whether the incident involved operational error. During the 2002 Prestige accident, an oil spill formed off the coast of Spain in the middle of a raging storm. Spanish authorities denied the ship access to a calm harbor, which would have allowed the captain and crew to mitigate the environmental harm.
Part I of this article will review the Prestige oil spill, where criminal liability was imposed on the seafarers, and Spain’s role in the matter. Part II will address the international legal framework governing these situations. Part III will examine the governing regional and domestic legal frameworks and the contradictions between international law and domestic/regional law regarding criminal liability. Part IV will analyze the need for substantive and procedural reform of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) to adequately protect seafarers
Friends of Justice: Does Social Media Impact the Public Perception of the Justice System?
Get PDFLawyers have long been recognized as being necessary in the effective functioning of an ordered society in roles as both officers of the court and, more broadly, as officers of the system of justice. In 2014, the ABA Task Force on the Future of Legal Education report noted that [s]ociety has a deep interest in the competence of lawyers, in their availability to serve society and clients, in the broad public role they can play, and in their professional values. Values such as those noted in the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (advisor, counselor, and advocate) are instrumental in the lawyer\u27s contribution to the effective functioning of an ordered society. These expected values and their interplay in society creates what has been posited as a social contract between lawyers and the general public. This symbolic idea of a social contract connotes a sense of connectedness and unity among those in a society in the same way that contracts between individuals reflect binding relationships. The explosive use of social media has expanded the context of the meaning of relationships, including relationships specifically between clients and attorneys and more broadly between the public and the justice system
Opening Borders: African Americans and Latinos through the Lens of Immigration
Get PDFAfrican-American and Latino voter turnout during the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections hit record numbers. Polls show that the immigration debate influenced Latino voter turnout and preference. Presidential candidate Barack Obama\u27s voiced support of comprehensive immigration reform strengthened his lead among Latino voters in 2008 and, once in office, his executive policy of granting temporary protection to DREAMers solidified his lead among Latino voters in 2012. Both elections showed the power that minority groups can exert when they vote in support of the candidate. If the demographic changes continue as currently estimated, African Americans and Latinos will contribute in large part to the making of the United States into a majority-minority nation and will play an increasingly important role in local and national politics. Therefore, it is important for Americans to become more inclusive of all minority groups and to expand discussions of race relations beyond the Black-White paradigm and discussions about immigration beyond the Latino-White paradigm. As the polarized reactions to the Zimmerman verdict showed, there is much work to be done as the people of the United States continue the project of forming a more perfect Union.” Honest assessments of how individuals and groups interact are crucial to opening borders and encouraging exchanges beyond socially constructed boundaries, like race, and racialized politics. African Americans and Latinos often compete with each other for political representation and other resources. In addition, the political consideration of immigration law and policy includes a racial dimension that is often camouflaged, but denial and silence about this reality do nothing to move the country forward. Therefore, immigration provides an opportunity to examine race relations and the potential for inter-group coalitions between African Americans and Latinos. For this reason, this Article also explores, through the lens of immigration, the role that race may play in the attitudes of African Americans and Latinos toward each other. One of the goals of this Article is to spark a candid dialogue that promotes a better understanding of race and its impact on interactions between African Americans and Latinos in the United States
A Proposed Reconciliation of Stakeholder Interests in the GE Soybean Industry and Role of Earth Jurisprudence Principles
Get PDFThe historical art of seed saving ensured farmers would have enough quality seeds for the following season. Traditional and indigenous farmers mastered seed saving techniques, saving the healthiest and strongest seeds to ensure preservation of seed diversity and adequate crop yields. To provide adequate protection and meet maximum sustainability for all interested parties, it is essential that laws governing the soybean industry consider the soybean as a stakeholder