Cases and Materials on West Virginia Constitutional Law

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Taking the Lawyer\u27s Craft into Virtual Space: Computer-Mediated Interviewing, Counseling, and Negotiating

Bellow\u27s and Moulton\u27s The Lawyering Process emphasized the need for law students and lawyers to draw on other disciplines for effective skills development, to make self-analysis of their professional skills and principles a career-long practice, and to remain ever vigilant of emerging ethical issues. This article attempts to honor those lessons by applying them to lawyers\u27 use of computer mediated communication (CMC) in interacting with clients and in negotiating for clients. The article examines the social science research on CMC, applies that research to the lawyer\u27s context, and makes some tentative assessments about the skills involved in lawyers\u27 use of CMC. Ethical issues that have arisen with the expanding use by attorneys of CMC are also addressed

The Impact of Litigation on Rural Students: From Free Textbooks to School Consolidation

The past three decades have seen a historic assertion of authority by state courts in the development of a wide range of educational policies. Judicial decisions in many states have recognized a right to an education that is not only judicially enforceable but also subject to a significant degree of judicial control. Most prominent have been the decisions by twenty-six state courts that ordered overhauls of school finance systems to achieve a more equitable distribution of education resources. Courts have also addressed other issues that define the right to an education, effecting significant changes for rural education. Meanwhile, school consolidation—of highest concern in rural areas—has remained largely immune from judicial intervention. A question is to what extent courts should impose substantive limitations on state efforts to close and consolidate community schools. Part I of this article looks at cases that have defined the state’s obligation to provide a “free education.” Part II provides references and some cursory observations on the impact of the school finance cases on rural schools. Part III examines historical, educational, and legal developments around school consolidation