By Kevin Lampone. Full text here. The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) expands federal diversity jurisdiction to include many class actions asserting only state law claims; however, the statute fails to spell out if its jurisdiction continues after a court denies class certification, thereby determining that the putative class is not, in fact, a…

By Brian Jacobson. Full text here. Many states currently classify pesticide application records as private under state data practices law, thereby shielding such information from the public. This means that families living in rural areas where agricultural chemicals are in frequent use cannot access information about where and when pesticides are applied. Though government officials generally…

By Adam J. Hoskins. Full text here. Jury consulting is a longstanding practice in American courtrooms. The advent of the Internet and social networking, however, has moved the practice away from high-paid professionals, and has allowed practicing attorneys to become amateur jury consultants. It is now common practice for attorneys, either before or during jury selection,…

By Julie Kaster. Full text here. The economic collapse of 2008 witnessed the greatest explosion of financial fraud cases in recent memory. The Crime Victims’ Rights Acts (CVRA), a federal statute granting victims rights in court, gives victims of financial swindlers a day in court to recount their financial hardships—a process known as victim allocution. The…

By Lindsay K. Eastman. Full text here. Corporate crime has dominated the news recently, and likely contributed to the United States’ recent financial crisis. After a corporation is convicted of a federal offense, the judge must determine the proper sentence to meet the goals of deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, and just punishment. The United States Sentencing Commission…

By Elise L. Larson. Full text here. An American company recently entered into a contract with the town of Sitka, Alaska to export 2.9 billion gallons of freshwater per year from the Blue Lake Reservoir to an unannounced water hub on the west coast of India. If the venture is successful, the company will become the…

By R. Benjamin Hanna. Full text here. Substantive consolidation is a process in corporate bankruptcy in which the assets of related debtor entities are placed into a single vehicle subject to the undifferentiated claims of all the creditors. Doing so resolves inter-debtor claims and vindicates the interests of creditors who thought they were transacting with a…

By Brad Emmons. Full text here. The Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) allows persons who have been subjected to torture or extrajudicial killing to pursue a tort action against “individual[s]” who have committed such actions “under actual or apparent authority, or color of law, of any foreign nation.” In the past decade, activists and human rights…

By Jennifer L. Vainik. Full text here. In comparison to the general population, battered women are much more likely to experience gun violence at the hands of their intimate partners. However, despite an increasing recognition that the government must take special measures to stop gun violence against battered women, current laws remain ineffective at disarming batterers.…

By Emily C. Melvin. Full text here. Medical procedures present a unique challenge to the patent system. Without patents, investors may be unwilling to commit resources to the costly development of new procedures. However, patents on these procedures may decrease public access to the procedures, which may harm society’s interest in accessible medical care. In response…