The Supreme Court, Due Process and State Income Taxation of Trusts

What are the constitutional limits on a state\u27s power to tax a trust with no connection to the state, other than the accident that a potential beneficiary lives there? The Supreme Court of the United States will take up this question this term in the context of North Carolina Department of Revenue v. Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust. The case involves North Carolina\u27s income taxation of a trust with a contingent beneficiary, meaning someone who is eligible, but not certain, to receive a distribution or benefit from the trust, who resides in that state. Part I of this Article explains the background of Kaestner Trust and frames the constitutional questions that will be before the Court at oral arguments on April 16, 2019. Part II examines how and why due process applies in the state income taxation context, with a particular emphasis on how familiar concepts of general and specific jurisdiction apply uneasily to donative trusts. Part III articulates the reasons that the Court should hold that a state has no constitutional authority to impose a tax on trust income where the trust\u27s only connection with the forum state is the residence of a contingent beneficiary. Kaestner Trust is the most important due process case involving trusts that the Court has decided in over sixty years; it bears directly on the fundamental meaning of due process

A Deterrence Model to Curbing Human Trafficking in the United States

Human trafficking is squarely a criminal justice problem. In order to eradicate human trafficking the traffickers need to be deterred from engaging in the business of trafficking in people. From a law and economics perspective, optimal deterrence is reached when a sentence or fine is just greater than the probability of getting caught multiplied by the benefit to the criminal. Utilizing this model, the proposed presentation will attempt to demonstrate how to sufficiently deter the trafficker by increasing probability of prosecutions through local laws, increasing the fines and sentences of traffickers once convicted, and increasing the certainty of detection through increased law enforcement training and public awareness campaigns. Additionally, this presentation will address the issues that the deterrence model does not deal with as readily including organized criminal units which are vertically integrated, and cultural trafficking of domestic servants, both of which likely deserve departure from this model to account for motivational factors. [Notes to some slides follow the main presentation.

A Deterrence Model to Curbing Human Trafficking in the United States

Human trafficking is squarely a criminal justice problem. In order to eradicate human trafficking the traffickers need to be deterred from engaging in the business of trafficking in people. From a law and economics perspective, optimal deterrence is reached when a sentence or fine is just greater than the probability of getting caught multiplied by the benefit to the criminal. Utilizing this model, the proposed presentation will attempt to demonstrate how to sufficiently deter the trafficker by increasing probability of prosecutions through local laws, increasing the fines and sentences of traffickers once convicted, and increasing the certainty of detection through increased law enforcement training and public awareness campaigns. Additionally, this presentation will address the issues that the deterrence model does not deal with as readily including organized criminal units which are vertically integrated, and cultural trafficking of domestic servants, both of which likely deserve departure from this model to account for motivational factors. [Notes to some slides follow the main presentation.

Sex trafficking in Nepal: survivor characteristics and long-term outcomes

Sex trafficking, the coercion of girls and women into forced prostitution, is a global problem. South Asia is a particular trouble spot for trafficking. Source countries in this region include Bangladesh, Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma), and Nepal. Destination countries include India and Thailand (Farr, 2005). The present research focuses on sex trafficking from Nepal. Although accurate figures are difficult to obtain, the best estimate is that 5,000 to 7,000 Nepali girls and women are trafficked each year, primarily to India, and at least 200,000 Nepali girls and women currently work in Indian brothels (Huntington, 2002)

Use of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision Codes for Obesity: Trends in the United States from an Electronic Health Record-Derived Database.

Obesity is a potentially modifiable risk factor for many diseases, and a better understanding of its impact on health care utilization, costs, and medical outcomes is needed. The ability to accurately evaluate obesity outcomes depends on a correct identification of the population with obesity. The primary objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and accuracy of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) coding for overweight and obesity within a US primary care electronic health record (EHR) database compared against actual body mass index (BMI) values from recorded clinical patient data; characteristics of patients with obesity who did or did not receive ICD-9 codes for overweight/obesity also were evaluated. The study sample included 5,512,285 patients in the database with any BMI value recorded between January 1, 2014, and June 30, 2014. Based on BMI, 74.6% of patients were categorized as being overweight or obese, but only 15.1% of patients had relevant ICD-9 codes. ICD-9 coding prevalence increased with increasing BMI category. Among patients with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2), those coded for obesity were younger, more often female, and had a greater comorbidity burden than those not coded; hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and gastroesophageal reflux disease were the most common comorbidities. KEY FINDINGS: US outpatients with overweight or obesity are not being reliably coded, making ICD-9 codes undependable sources for determining obesity prevalence and outcomes. BMI data available within EHR databases offer a more accurate and objective means of classifying overweight/obese status

Shifting Beliefs About the Teaching of Reading: Teacher Candidates’ Responses to \u3cem\u3eThe Book Whisperer\u3c/em\u3e

In this document analysis, the authors explored if and how Miller’s (2009) The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child served as a symbolic model of a reading teacher who teaches her students not just the technical aspects of reading, but also how to enjoy reading. Drawing on social learning theory, the authors investigated how the selected text connected to elementary preservice teachers’ personal reading experiences with reading and learning to read, their preexisting beliefs about teaching reading, and their current observations of reading instruction in field placements. Written reflections, which served as the data source for this study, confirmed that Miller’s text served as an inspiration for change and as a positive model for these future teachers of reading. However, the preservice teachers’ reflections uncovered a range of emotional experiences with reading, the vast majority proving to be quite negative, suggesting that they need to rediscover their own love of reading in order to authentically share and model this passion with their students