Note: Between the Possible and the Probable: Defining the Plausibility Standard After Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal
By Nicholas Tymoczko. Full text here. After fifty years of clarity and continuity, pleading standards are now the subject of confusion and debate. In 2007, the Supreme Court, in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, replaced Conley v. Gibson’s “no set of facts” standard with the plausibility standard, under which a complaint must contain enough factual allegations…
Continue ReadingNote: The Curious Case of Disparate Impact Under the ADEA: Reversing the Theory's Development into Obsolescence
By R. Henry Pfutzenreuter IV. Full text here. The present state of the economy places the nation’s older worker in a perilous situation. Employers, motivated by either the appearance of economic incentives or age-related stereotypes, are apt to seek savings in cost via large-scale reductions-in-force. The factors relied upon in executing these internal restructurings often serve…
Continue ReadingNote: From the Inside Out: Reforming State and Local Prostitution Enforcement to Combat Sex Trafficking in the United States and Abroad
By Moira Heiges. Full text here. Over the past eight years, federal and state governments have passed anti-trafficking laws and spent millions of dollars to combat sex trafficking. However, as evidenced by the minimal rate of convictions and the continually expanding sex trafficking market, these policies have not achieved proportionate results. This Note argues that without…
Continue ReadingNote: Embryo Adoption: The Solution to an Ambiguous Intent Standard
By Molly Miller. Full text here. When a person or couple elects to use in vitro fertilization to create embryos they often end up with more embryos than they need. Most fertilization clinics now require these people to specify what they want done with the remaining embryos (destruction, storage, donation to science, or donation to others…
Continue ReadingNote: Litigating the Contours of Constitutionality: Harmonizing Equitable Principles and Constitutional Values when Considering Preliminary Injunctive Relief
By Ryan Griffin. Full text here. Preliminary injunctions are a frequently sought form of relief in public law litigation. However, federal courts are inconsistent in the tests they employ to grant or deny this relief. Two recent cases, Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council and Planned Parenthood v. Rounds, highlight a particularly important doctrinal grey area:…
Continue ReadingNote: In re the Welfare of Due Process
By Kristin K. Zinsmaster. Full text here. The juvenile justice system is not the same as when it started. This Note argues that the juvenile court has become as punitive, as public, and as formalistic as the adult system from which it was supposed to differ. Furthermore, the modern juvenile court suffers from the precise problems…
Continue ReadingNote: Credit Rating Agencies and the First Amendment: Applying Constitutional Journalistic Protections to Subprime Mortgage Litigation
By Theresa Nagy. Full text here. The First Amendment should not protect credit rating agencies for their grossly inaccurate ratings of residential mortgage-backed securities. The rating agencies played a significant role in the subprime mortgage crash and resulting financial market crisis. In past litigation, rating agencies have been successful in defending lawsuits involving claims of inaccurate…
Continue ReadingNote: The Protective Scope of the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act: Providing Mortgagors the Protection They Deserve from Abusive Foreclosure Practices
By Eric M. Marshall. Full text here. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is intended to provide consumers broad protection from abusive and harassing practices of debt collectors. However, courts disagree over whether mortgage foreclosure constitutes debt collection under the Act. Several circuit courts hold that mortgage foreclosure is debt collection under the FDCPA, but…
Continue ReadingNote: Deterring Fraud to Increase Public Confidence: Why Congress Should Allow Government Employees to File Qui Tam Lawsuits
By Barry M. Landy. Full text here. Contractor fraud against the government is rampant as contractors regularly inflate the cost of their services and overcharge the government for their work. The federal False Claims Act (FCA) is the government’s most successful litigation tool for combating fraud, resulting in recoveries of approximately $22 billion since 1986. Traditionally,…
Continue ReadingNote: Reconciling the Public Employee Speech Doctrine and Academic Speech After Garcetti v. Ceballos
By Darryn Cathryn Beckstrom. Full text here. In 2006, the Supreme Court held in Garcetti v. Ceballos that public employees are not entitled to First Amendment protection for speech arising from their official duties. The Court declined to address whether Garcetti’s holding applied to academic speech, and consequently, lower courts are unclear about whether academics employed…
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