SUNNY DAYS AHEAD: USING ADR TO FUEL THE FUTURE OF GREEN ENERGY

The energy landscape in the United States (“U.S.”) has undergone significant changes in the last few centuries. Energy consumption has increased dramatically as more energy sources have been developed. As one of the world’s leading energy consumers, the U.S. has a large incentive to develop energy solutions that are both sustainable, dependable, and independent of foreign powers. For these reasons, Congress has spent the last few decades passing numerous pieces of legislation encouraging investment in energy solutions that will benefit the U.S. for centuries. With the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) of 2022, the U.S. has made its most significant investment ever in climate and energy. This paper argues that a comprehensive understanding of both the historical and ongoing challenges in the U.S. energy landscape, coupled with the strategic application of Alternative Dispute Resolution, is crucial for the successful implementation and expansion of sustainable, reliable, and independent green energy solutions

ODD ONE OUT: INCONSISTENCY IN THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT’S JURISDICTIONAL LANGUAGE

After almost a century, the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) continues to guide and change the arbitration landscape. While greater focus has been placed on the FAA’s substantive merits and evolution, the act’s procedural role in outlining the relationship between arbitration and the federal court system plays an equally important role in alternate dispute resolution. Notably, recent concerns regarding inconsistencies in the act’s jurisdictional language may undermine the FAA’s ability to provide a clear, efficient, and fair process for arbitration

Recruiting the Right Candidate

The market for hiring a law librarian has changed significantly over the last few years. Those on both sides of the equation are a little uncertain about the whole process, wondering when the job search should start, how much to expect in pay, and what aspects of a position are up for discussion. The challenge of a limited pipeline of law librarians requires new approaches to recruiting

Police Mistakes of Law, Heien v. North Carolina and Significant Fourth Amendment Interpretive Cases: An Empirical Examination of Officer Perception, Knowledge and Performance

This empirical study examines legal aspects of policing in relation to the landmark Fourth Amendment United States Supreme Court case of Heien v. North Carolina. In Heien, the Court found that objectively reasonable mistakes of law by police can support traffic stops. By doing so, Heien extends the permissible margin of error for these stops by law enforcement officers. Due to the potential far-reaching implications of Heien for law enforcement conduct and Fourth Amendment privacy protections, this study aims to empirically examine officer perception and knowledge regarding Heien, including officers’ decision-making behavior with respect to Heien and its core concept of reasonable officer mistakes of laws. Utilizing a survey questionnaire administered to patrol officers, this study also examines officer understanding of key, paradigmatic interpretive cases for Heien. This is the first known study to empirically examine police perception and knowledge of Heien, its core concepts as well as interpretive jurisprudence

Reality Check: The Aim of Affirmative Action May Often Miss the Mark of Equal Protection

The American justice system is built around basic guarantees of procedural due process. The Constitution assures certain procedural rights such as notice, an opportunity to be heard, and an impartial jury, not because these rights always ensure successful outcomes, but because they reflect notions of fairness, protection, and equality the nation views as fundamental. While the ultimate goal is that “justice” is served, the Constitution protects “process,” not outcome. If the desire is results-driven, why did the Framers prioritize protecting process over outcome

Investigating “Good Moral Character” for Liquor License Applications

Since the repeal of prohibition, nearly every state has adopted a morality test on whether a person is fit to hold a liquor license. Missouri is no exception, adopting good moral character through § 311.060, RSMo in 1939. Eighty-three years later, on August 30, 2022, the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control codified a definition of “good moral character” limiting the inquiry to “honesty, fairness, and respect for the rights of others and for the laws of the state and nation.” This definition appears to nod to both Missouri’s Administrative Hearing Commission as well as other regulated industries’ coded rules. Nebraska adopts a similar, but negative, standard using the phrase “not of good character” as an investigation determining whether the applicant has a lack of good faith or honesty of pur-pose. Despite no guidance from the 21st Amendment, states have come to similar conclusions about what “good moral character” actually means. Regardless of broad language like “honesty,” “respect,” “fairness,” and “good faith,” the outcomes are surprisingly consistent nationwide and vary only on the fringes

Mandatory Mediation in England and Wales: A Paradigm Shift in Dispute Resolution

In May of 2023, Tribunals in England and Wales had a backlog of nearly 144,000 cases. In a press release issued on July 25, 2023, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) unveiled a significant policy change to combat this backlog. Under its new directive, individuals or entities wishing to pursue debt recovery claims of £10,000 or less are required to engage in mediation proceedings prior to their case’s adjudication in the small claims courts of England and Wales. This transformative shift signifies a departure from the traditional adversarial litigation model of both of these countries’ judicial systems

Liking, Linking, and Tweeting: Mental Health, Mentoring, and Professional Responsibility in the Age of Social Media

It should come as no surprise that interaction through social media and other forms of technology mediated communications (“TMC”) has grown dramatically over the last two decades. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated this turn to technology. Communicating through some form of technology, rather than face-to-face, necessarily changes the methods we use to communicate (a smile emoji in a text replaces a smile you might give in a face-to-face discussion, for example). Studies support, however, that, in addition to changing the means by which we communicate, our increased reliance on TMC may also be changing us. Among other things, some studies show a correlation between increased reliance on TMC and increased rates of mental health challenges, such as loneliness, depression, and anxiety. Given that extensive reliance on TMC may result in negative impacts on the mental health of its users, law schools, individual lawyers, and the broader legal community should take action to monitor for and mitigate these potential harms. The need to address this problem is particularly important in the current climate, as law firms, judges, and other leaders in the profession continue to grapple with determining what work environments and communications will look like going forward in the legal profession now that Covid-19 related restrictions on in-person interactions have been lifted. This Article explores the correlation between our ever-increasing reliance on TMC and increased rates of loneliness, depression, and anxiety. It examines the problem in the context of the legal profession, focusing particularly on the resulting potential impairment of the lawyer’s ability to maintain and establish relationships. It reflects on the potential impact of that impairment on a vital component of professional development – mentorship. Then, drawing on lessons learned from Social Presence Theory, the Article offers proposals aimed at mitigating the potential negative effects of extensive reliance on TMC

Turning From a Hire Power: Employment Discrimination and Faulty Ninth Circuit Procedure

You just applied for your dream job. As anticipation for a response amounts, you become overwhelmed with a sense of optimism. You know you are overqualified, yet a few days later, you receive notification that the employer is no longer considering you for the position. Despite meeting all requisite qualifications, you feel slighted. You wonder if another factor is at play. Conversely, imagine you actually get the job. You accept, and you work at the company for a few years only to one day have your boss inform you that your employer is terminating your employment. Again, you feel slighted. This seems unfair. You have been working hard in your role while consistently receiving positive feedback on work assignments. At this point, your qualifications become irrelevant, as your termination hinges entirely on something else: your job performance