DOCSLIB.ORG

Rhode Island Bar Journal, 115 Cedar Street, Providence, RI 02903, (401) 421-5740

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Rhode Island Bar Journal, 115 Cedar Street, Providence, RI 02903, (401) 421-5740 Rhod e Isl and Bar Journal Rhode Island Bar Association Volume 62. Number 3. November/December 2 013 Domestic Use of Drones Estate Planning for Florida Snowbirds Economic Stewardship Book Review: Zoning the Oceans RHODE I SLAND Bar Association 1898 14 14 Editor In Chief , David N. Bazar Editor , Frederick D. Massie Assistant Editor , Kathleen M. Bridge Articles Editorial Board Jenna R. Algee, Esq. Matthew R. Plain, Esq. Victoria M. Almeida, Esq. Steven M. Richard, Esq. 5 Coming Home to Roost – Domestic Use of Unmanned aerial Steven J. Boyajian, Esq. Adam D. Riser, Esq. Vehicles Peter A. Carvelli, Esq. Miriam A. Ross, Esq. Hon. Brian Stern and Matthias Rubekeil Jerry Cohen, Esq. Julie Ann Sacks, Esq. Patrick T. Conley, Esq. Hon. Brian P. Stern 11 estate Planning for Florida snowbirds Eric D. Correira, Esq. Stephen J. Sypole, Esq. David J. Correira, Esq. and Eric D. Correira, Esq. William J. Delaney, Esq. Christopher Wildenhain, Esq. Amy H. Goins, Esq. 17 BOOK REVIEW – Zoning the oceans: the Next Big step in Adi Goldstein, Esq. Coastal Zone Management by John M. Boehnert, esq. Jay S. Goodman, Esq. Michael Rubin, Esq. Jenna Wims Hashway, Esq. Christina A. Hoefsmit, Esq. 21 lunch with legends: trailblazers, trendsetters and Marcia McGair Ippolito, Esq. treasures of the Rhode Island Bar Thomas A. Lynch, Esq. Ernest G. Mayo, Esq. Matthew R. Plain, Esq. and Elizabeth R. Merritt, Esq. John R. McDermott, Esq. 25 the Rhode Island Constitution on economic stewardship Elizabeth R. Merritt, Esq. Seth Handy, Esq. RHoDe IslaND BaR assoCIatIoN 31 In the City by the Bay – american Bar association Delegate lawyeR’s PleDge As a member of the Rhode Island Bar Association, I pledge Report: aBa annual Meeting to conduct myself in a manner that will reflect honor upon Robert D. Oster, Esq. the legal profession. I will treat all partici pants in the legal process with civility. In every aspect of my practice, I will be honest, courteous and fair. Executive Director , Helen Desmond McDonald Features Association Officers J. Robert Weisberger, Jr., President 3 Gaining Perspective on Limited Scope 24 Use OAR Today and Pull Together Bruce W. McIntyre, President-Elect Representation as a Team! Melissa E. Darigan , Treasurer 4 Attorney’s Bar Journal Article Sparks 26 Do you have a problem with alcohol? Armando E. Batastini, Secretary Newspaper Coverage 28 SOLACE – Helping Bar Members Direct advertising inquiries to the Editor, Frederick D. 6 Confidential Assistance for Members in Times of Need Massie, Rhode Island Bar Journal, 115 Cedar Street, Providence, RI 02903, (401) 421-5740. 14 Constitution Day at the Rhode Island 29 Request for Bar Member Participation USPS (464-680) ISSN 1079-9230 Supreme Court in Bar Tax Committee Formation Rhode Island Bar Journal is published bimonthly by 20 New Bar List Serve Gaining New 41 Lawyers on the Move the Rhode Island Bar Association, 115 Cedar Street, Providence, RI 02903. Members Daily! Join Today! 41 Access Bold as Love – Rhode Island PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PROVIDENCE, RI 20 Publish and Prosper in the Rhode Bar Journal Artic le Archive and More Subscription: $30 per year Island Bar Journal Available Online Postmaster 23 Continuing Legal Education 42 In Memoriam Send Address Correction to Rhode Island Bar Journal, 115 Cedar Street, Providence, RI 02903 43 Advertiser Index www.ribar.com Front Cover Photograph by Brian McDonald Herreshoff Marine Museum, Bristol Catboat Sprite , built in 1859 by Captain Nathaniel Herreshoff who noted this was “the first of what was to become my life’s work .” Sprite is said to be the oldest catboat and private yacht in the United States. The Herreshoff Marine Museum/America’s Cup Hall of Fame is dedicated to the education and inspiration of the public through presentations of the history and innovative work of the Herreshoff Manufacturing XX% Company and the America’s Cup competition. Cert no. XXX-XXX-000 Gaining Perspective on Limited Scope Representation In his President’s Message in the January/ often the exception, the position paper will be February 2013 Rhode Island Bar Journal , our completed sometime this fall. immediate past President Michael McElroy The unbundling of legal services, an appro - wrote to us about the dangers of the pro se priate but somewhat misleading term referencing explosion and effective unbundling of legal limited scope representation, is when an attorney services, also known as limited scope represen - represents or assists a litigant with part, but not tation. After a presentation about the subject at all, of his or her legal matter. The attorney and the Bar’s Annual Meeting in 2011 and attending litigant enter into a detailed agreement defining a New England Bar Association meeting in what tasks the attorney and the litigant are 2012 where unbundling was a hot topic, Mike individually responsible for. In several jurisdic - and I agreed the Rhode Island Bar Association tions, one way an attorney can practice limited J. Robert weisberger, Jr. esq. needed to address limited scope representation, scope representation is by coaching the litigant President especially in light of what is permissible under outside of court on the law and the rules of Rhode Island Bar Association Rule 1.2(c) of the Rhode Island Rules of procedure without ever filing an appearance or Professional Conduct. appearing in court to represent the litigant. The We knew this subject would require study and attorney may also draft documents for the liti - analysis. Therefore, last year, Mike, with great gant to file without filing an appearance or going prescience, recommended that the Executive into court with the litigant. Although some Committee and House of Delegates (HOD) jurisdictions have drafted guidance under their create a task force of lawyers and jurists to rule, Rhode Island has not, including whether Although some study the issues and report back to the HOD . or not an attorney must write their name on jurisdictions have As the task force chairperson, I did the ini - the document prepared with their assistance. tial research to prepare a package for review, The ABA ’s position on this issue is that no drafted guidance prior to the task force first meeting. At that disclosure is required. Some jurisdictions require under their rule, meeting, we agreed to break into several sub - disclosure and others, such as Massachusetts, committees to separately investigate each take a middle tier approach that disclosure must Rhode Island has branch of our judiciary to determine the utility be made when prepared with the assistance of not, including of limited scope representation. We learned counsel, but no identification of the preparer there was a need, in certain venues and areas needs be made. This practice is referred to as whether or not of practice, for limited scope representation. ghostwriting. In Massachusetts, the attorney an attorney must Accordingly, we studied what had been done can also appear in court with the litigant for in this regard in the other 49 states. We learned part of the entire case, for example only a pre- write their name that most, if not all, states had the same Rule trial conference. In some jurisdictions, such as on the document 1.2(c), based on the American Bar Association Massachusetts, this has been implemented by (ABA) Model Rule, as we do here in Rhode allowing an attorney to file a Notice of Limited prepared with Island, which states, “a lawyer may limit the Appearance describing the issue or event on their assistance. scope of the representation if the limitation is which the attorney is representing the litigant. reasonable under the circumstances and the After the completion of the work, the attorney client gives informed consent.” files a Notice of Withdrawal of Limited After lengthy review and discussion, the task Appearance. force agreed to prepare a position paper con - Parties benefit by having some legal assistance taining its recommendations. Once the position in prosecuting or defending a case, and courts paper is reviewed and accepted by all the task will benefit by having documents prepared force members, it will be transmitted to our Bar properly and issues presented to the court more Association’s House of Delegates for review and, clearly, thereby saving court time. Attorneys hopefully, approval. The drafting committee is benefit by being able to help a party for a short currently in the process of crafting the position time, without being required to remain in a paper. If all goes according to plan, which is case until completion, and be paid in a timely Rhode Island Bar Journal Novembe r/Decembe r 20 13 3 fashion as part of the specific agreement uing to attempt to fly under the radar? RHoDe IslaND BaR JoURNal between the party and attorney. How did they know that otherwise self- Editorial Statement Limited scope representation is current - represented litigants would pay for the The Rhode Island Bar Journal is the Rhode Island Bar Association’s official magazine for Rhode Island ly being used successfully in several other services of a limited license legal techni - attorneys, judges and others interested in Rhode Island jurisdictions, including Alaska, California, cian when they were not willing to pay law. The Bar Journal is a paid, subscription magazine Colorado, Florida, Maine, Nevada, New for the services of an attorney? And, published bi-monthly, six times annually and sent to, among others, all practicing attorneys and sitting judges, Hampshire, New Mexico, Washington, how do we know what the discount rate in Rhode Island. This constitutes an audience of over Wyoming and very successfully in our would be that would attract otherwise 6,000 individuals. Covering issues of relevance and pro - sister state, the Commonwealth of pro se liti gants to limited license legal viding updates on events, programs and meetings, the Rhode Island Bar Journal is a magazine that is read on Massachusetts.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Did William Barr Refuse a Subpoena
    Did William Barr Refuse A Subpoena Unmetrical Luke padlock: he breezed his Armorican mnemonically and nobbily. Oligarchic and largest Abdulkarim never perverts his pterosaurs! How anarchic is Otho when color and brattish Sherwynd agitating some kowhais? The resolutions numbers restart every time and did william barr refuse a subpoena from him when we have accepted client has two houses, including a general? The Justice chief said allowing such cooperation did not mean. Y had refused so far more review a version of opening report a far fewer redactions. A Subpoena is a court priest to come a court tell you ignore the butcher the slow will hold you in reverse You could descend to round or face a big fine for ignoring the Subpoena Subpoenas are used in contract criminal wrongdoing civil cases. Congress does not big and detain it for ignoring its subpoenas. Y on May 2 slammed Attorney General William P Barr for refusing to appear. Contempt of Congress Wikipedia. And van Trump administration that has defied numerous subpoenas. And potentially embarrassing to a presidenteven if he did apparent wrong. Committee to bill to pick to landlord two subpoenas related to Robert S. Nadler did not seem out issuing a subpoena for Barr's testimony down the last but care was not expected to erase so on Thursday This story ever been. What to recruit about only General William Barr the door. Does a subpoena mean form are mostly trouble? Last week is General William Barr released a redacted version of. Watergate select committee threatened to jail staff who refused to appear.
    [Show full text]
  • US Attorney General Releases New DOJ Charging and Sentencing Policy
    May 2017 U.S. Attorney General Releases New DOJ Charging and Sentencing Policy – Little Impact Anticipated for White Collar Cases and FCPA Pilot Program On May 12, 2017, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a two-page memorandum setting forth a new charging and sentencing policy for the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) (the “Sessions Memo,” available here). Except in limited circumstances, the new policy directs federal prosecutors to charge criminal defendants with “the most serious, readily provable offense,” and requires them to disclose to the sentencing court “all facts that impact the sentencing guidelines or mandatory minimum sentences.”1 The new policy rescinds a memorandum that former Attorney General Eric Holder issued on August 12, 2013 (the “Holder Memo,” available here), which instructed federal prosecutors to “conduct an individualized assessment of the extent to which charges fit the specific circumstances of the case.” While the Sessions Memo is likely to have a material impact in drug and violent crime cases, its effect on white-collar cases is less clear. Indeed, white-collar cases involve complex questions of intent, and the most “serious, readily provable offense” will likely continue to be subject to prosecutorial judgment and discretion. Importantly, DOJ has already issued a statement that the “[t]he [Foreign Corrupt Practices Act] pilot program is not affected by the new department charging and sentencing policy, as any potential exception made as part of the program would comply with the approval requirements laid out in the memo.”2, 3 1 The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines are non-binding rules that set forth a uniform sentencing policy for defendants convicted in the federal court system, which judges must consider in determining a criminal defendant’s sentence (available here).
    [Show full text]
  • August 4, 2021 VIA E-MAIL Joon H. Kim Anne L. Clark Special Deputies
    August 4, 2021 VIA E-MAIL Joon H. Kim Anne L. Clark Special Deputies to the First Deputy Attorney General Office of the Attorney General The Capitol Albany, NY 112224-0341 Re: Response to Special Investigators’ Report Dear Counsel: As outside counsel to the Executive Chamber, we write to express our client’s deep concerns about the fairness of your investigation, and the lack of neutrality and impartiality with which it was conducted and concluded. First, it is very disappointing that you refused to provide the subjects of the investigation, many of whom are current and former Chamber officers and employees, with an opportunity to review and respond to your findings before they became public today.1 Unlike civil litigation or criminal prosecutions, where an investigation is followed by the opportunity for a trial or a hearing, your report is the end of the line. There will be no formal setting in which those whose conduct the report discusses will have a meaningful opportunity to challenge, rebut, or even raise questions about the investigators’ accuracy, their credibility determinations, or their thoroughness. That lack of process explains why it has now become commonplace in circumstances like these for agencies such as the New York Inspector General,2 the U.S. Department of Justice’s 1 We also note that you did not even alert us that you were releasing your report today. 2 See, e.g., State of New York Offs. of the Inspector Gen., Investigation of the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Political Subdivision Program at 4 (Mar.
    [Show full text]
  • House Calendar No. 140
    1 House Calendar No. 140 112TH CONGRESS " ! REPORT 2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 112–546 RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT- ATIVES FIND ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., ATTORNEY GENERAL, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH A SUBPOENA DULY ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES together with ADDITIONAL AND MINORITY VIEWS JUNE 22, 2012.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 19–006 WASHINGTON : 2012 VerDate Mar 15 2010 09:03 Jun 23, 2012 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4012 Sfmt 4012 E:\HR\OC\HR546.XXX HR546 pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with HEARING congress.#13 VerDate Mar 15 2010 09:03 Jun 23, 2012 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4012 Sfmt 4012 E:\HR\OC\HR546.XXX HR546 pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with HEARING C O N T E N T S Page I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................. 2 II. AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE ..................................... 2 III. BACKGROUND ON THE COMMITTEE’S INVES- TIGATION .................................................................... 3 IV. OPERATION FAST AND FURIOUS: BREAK- DOWNS AT ALL LEVELS OF THE DEPART- MENT OF JUSTICE ................................................... 4 A. The ATF Phoenix Field Division ............................ 5 B. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Dis- trict of Arizona ....................................................... 6 C. ATF Headquarters ................................................... 7 D. THE Criminal Division ........................................... 8 1. Coordination with ATF ..................................... 8 2. Wiretaps ............................................................. 10 E. The Office of the Deputy Attorney General ........... 11 V. THE COMMITTEE’S OCTOBER 12, 2011, SUB- POENA TO ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER .......
    [Show full text]
  • Eric Holder Jr
    THE REVEREND Cleveland A. Thompson MACM MINISTRY GUIDE Senior Pastor For More Information, Visit Us Online PASTORAL STAFF www.godiswithus.org/ministries First Assistant to the Pastor Reverend Willie Davis All eMail addresses are @godiswithus.org EXT 146 635-4865 [email protected] ADMINISTRY Mrs. Kim Fly-Finch adMinistry@ YOUTH PASTOR EXT 149 635-4865 [email protected] BEREAVEMENT Rev. S Jackson bereavement@ Director of Music BOY & CUB SCOUTS Mr. Felton Crawley scouting@ EXT 115 635-4865 [email protected] CHURCH SCHOOL Ms. Kathy Elzie edu@ CONSECRATED WOMEN LEADERSHIP Lady Bernice Thompson consecrated@ Chairman, Deacons Ministry Deac M. Jemison CULINARY ARTS Mrs. Karen Robinson culinary@ [email protected] DÉCOR Mrs. Kim Fly-Finch decor@ Director of Operations Deac Kervin Mack e911 MINISTRY Ms. Patricia Bauman e911@ [email protected] FINE ARTS Ms. Mildred Galbreath arts@ Chairman, Finance Ministry Deac Walter GIRL SCOUTS Ms. Alecia Mathis scouting@ Campbell [email protected] HELPING HANDS Ms. Melonie.Reed hands@ERIC HOLDER JR. HIV/AIDS MINISTRY Ms. Robin KoonceEric aids@ HolderADMINISTRATION Director of Staff Ms. Shawndell Thompson LITURGICAL DANCE Shawndell Thompson, (born January 21, 1951) is an American attorney who served as the 82nd Attorney Dee Samuel dance@ Ext 110 635-4865 [email protected] General of the United States from 2009 to 2015.Financial Holder, servingAssistant in theMrs. administration Kim Fly-Finch MEDIA MINISTRY Rev. William Smith media@ of President Barack Obama, was the first AfricanExt American 121 635-4865 to hold [email protected] position of U.S. MEN Rev. Solomon Moore men@ Attorney General (in both a confirmed and acting position).
    [Show full text]
  • House Resolution Recommending That Attorney General Eric Holder
    1 House Calendar No. 140 112TH CONGRESS " ! REPORT 2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 112–546 RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THAT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENT- ATIVES FIND ERIC H. HOLDER, JR., ATTORNEY GENERAL, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS FOR REFUSAL TO COMPLY WITH A SUBPOENA DULY ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES together with ADDITIONAL AND MINORITY VIEWS JUNE 22, 2012.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 19–006 WASHINGTON : 2012 VerDate Mar 15 2010 09:03 Jun 23, 2012 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4012 Sfmt 4012 E:\HR\OC\HR546.XXX HR546 pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with HEARING congress.#13 VerDate Mar 15 2010 09:03 Jun 23, 2012 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4012 Sfmt 4012 E:\HR\OC\HR546.XXX HR546 pwalker on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with HEARING C O N T E N T S Page I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................. 2 II. AUTHORITY AND PURPOSE ..................................... 2 III. BACKGROUND ON THE COMMITTEE’S INVES- TIGATION .................................................................... 3 IV. OPERATION FAST AND FURIOUS: BREAK- DOWNS AT ALL LEVELS OF THE DEPART- MENT OF JUSTICE ................................................... 4 A. The ATF Phoenix Field Division ............................ 5 B. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Dis- trict of Arizona ....................................................... 6 C. ATF Headquarters ................................................... 7 D. THE Criminal Division ........................................... 8 1. Coordination with ATF ..................................... 8 2. Wiretaps ............................................................. 10 E. The Office of the Deputy Attorney General ........... 11 V. THE COMMITTEE’S OCTOBER 12, 2011, SUB- POENA TO ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER .......
    [Show full text]
  • Reported to the OIG That They Followed the Holder Memorandum but Did Not Specifically Revise Their District Policies to Reflect Smart on Crime Policy Changes
    Office of the Inspector General U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General U.S. Department of Justice Review of the Department’s Implementation of Prosecution and Sentencing Reform Principles under the Smart on Crime Initiative Evaluation and Inspections Division 17-04 June 2017 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction In August 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (Department) and then Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., announced the Smart on Crime initiative, which highlighted five principles to reform the federal criminal justice system. Smart on Crime encouraged federal prosecutors to focus on the most serious cases that implicate clear, substantial federal interests. In the first principle, the Department required, for the first time, the development of district-specific prosecution guidelines for determining when federal prosecutions should be brought, with the intent of focusing resources on fewer but the most significant cases. The second principle of Smart on Crime announced a change in Department charging policies so that certain defendants who prosecutors determined had committed low-level, non-violent drug offenses, and who had no ties to large-scale organizations, gangs, or cartels, generally would not be charged with offenses that imposed a mandatory minimum prison sentence. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) initiated this review to evaluate the Department’s implementation of the first two principles of Smart on Crime, as well as the impact of those changes to federal charging policies and practices. We assessed the 94 U.S. Attorney’s Office districts’ implementation and the impact of the Smart on Crime policy on not charging drug quantities implicating mandatory minimum sentences in circumstances where the defendants were low-level, non-violent offenders with limited criminal histories.
    [Show full text]
  • Response to the Submission from the United States In
    RESPONSE TO THE SUBMISSION FROM THE UNITED STATES IN RELATION TO THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT PENDING AGAINST DAVID ADDINGTON, JAY BYBEE, DOUGLAS FEITH, ALBERTO GONZALES, WILLIAM HAYNES AND JOHN YOO IN THE AUDIENCIA NACIONAL, MADRID SPAIN CASE N˚ 134/2009 April 2011 I. Background On 17 March 2009, a complaint was filed by the Association for the Dignity of Male and Female Prisoners of Spain against six former officials of the United States government, namely David Addington, former Counsel to, and Chief of Staff for, former Vice President Cheney; Jay S. Bybee, former Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ); Douglas Feith, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Department of Defense (DOD); Alberto R. Gonzales, former Counsel to former President George W. Bush, and former Attorney General of the United States; William J. Haynes, former General Counsel, DOD; and John Yoo, former Deputy Assistant Attorney General, OLC, DOJ, in the Spanish high court, the Audiencia Nacional.1 The defendants are alleged to have materially contributed to a systematic plan of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of persons detained by the United Sates in the context of the so-called “War on Terror.” The complaint contains charges that include torture and violations of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. This case was assigned to Judge Eloy Velasco. On 4 May 2009, Judge Velasco issued Letters Rogatory to the United States, in accordance with the 1990 US-Spain Treaty on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, asking it “whether the acts referred to in this complaint are or are not being investigated or prosecuted,” and if so, to identify the prosecuting authority and to inform the Court of the specific procedure by which to refer the complaints for joinder.
    [Show full text]
  • Unity Task Force Recommendations
    BIDEN-SANDERS UNITY TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS COMBATING THE CLIMATE CRISIS AND PURSUING ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE Climate change is a global emergency. We have no time to waste in taking action to protect Americans’ lives and futures. From Houston, Texas, to Paradise, California; from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Davenport, Iowa, the last four years have seen record-breaking storms, devastating wildfires, and historic floods. Urban and rural communities alike have suffered tens of billions of dollars in economic losses. Dams have failed catastrophically in Michigan. Neighborhoods have been all but wiped off the map in Florida. Farmers’ crops have been drowned in their fields across the Midwest. Thousands of Americans have died. And President Trump still callously and willfully denies the science that explains why so many are suffering. Like so many crises facing the United States, the impacts of climate change are not evenly distributed in our society or our economy. Communities of color, low-income families, and indigenous communities have long suffered disproportionate and cumulative harm from air pollution, water pollution, and toxic sites. Highways have been built to enforce racial segregation in our cities, with federal dollars and federal policy support. Coal companies have been allowed to reduce or ignore their obligations to fund retirees’ promised health care benefits and pensions. From Flint, Michigan, to the Navajo Nation, to Lowndes County, Alabama, millions of Americans have been denied access to clean, safe drinking water and even the most basic wastewater infrastructure. And although the youngest generations of Americans have contributed the least to this calamity, they stand to lose the most as they suffer from the impacts of runaway carbon pollution for decades to come.
    [Show full text]
  • Congressional Record—House H3189
    April 10, 2014 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H3189 but it does show you that there were dents who pay $12,000 per person, the they can’t answer questions, and so Members then and I believe people now highest per capita federal taxes in the they make personal attacks. who recognize the unfairness of the un- country, to support the United States Then our Attorney General makes a equal status of D.C. residents I have of America; in the name of millions speech yesterday in which, because he discussed today and earlier this week. ever since 1801, when the District of Co- was busy helping, perhaps, terrorists or It became more difficult to make lumbia became the Capital, who have Marc Rich or things like that he didn’t progress as the years went by, because died in our wars without seeing the notice, because I am sure he wouldn’t most of my service in the Congress has benefits of voting representation in the be untruthful or tell a lie, but he been in the minority. Yet we are mak- House and Senate and without the full doesn’t even know how bad it gets in ing progress. and equal rights of other Americans Washington if you are a conservative, We were able to get the first statue who died alongside them, I ask this if you are George W. Bush, if you are representing the District of Columbia House to grant the residents of their John Ashcroft, if you are Alberto in the Capitol last year. The reason Nation’s Capital statehood.
    [Show full text]
  • The Obama Administration's Decision to Defend Constitutional Equality
    Fordham Law Review Volume 81 Issue 2 Article 5 2012 The Obama Administration’s Decision to Defend Constitutional Equality Rather Than the Defense of Marriage Act Dawn Johnsen Indiana Maurer School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Dawn Johnsen, The Obama Administration’s Decision to Defend Constitutional Equality Rather Than the Defense of Marriage Act, 81 Fordham L. Rev. 599 (2013). Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol81/iss2/5 This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. It has been accepted for inclusion in Fordham Law Review by an authorized editor of FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and History. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S DECISION TO DEFEND CONSTITUTIONAL EQUALITY RATHER THAN THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT Dawn Johnsen* When President Barack Obama announced his view that the Defense of Marriage Act1 (DOMA) violated the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection,2 he joined a storied line of Presidents who have acted upon their own constitutional determinations in the absence of, and on rare occasion contrary to, those of the U.S. Supreme Court. How best to proceed in the face of a federal statute the President considers unconstitutional can involve complex judgments, as was true of the difficult decision to enforce but not defend DOMA. Ordinarily the Department of Justice should adhere to its tradition of defending statutes against constitutional challenge, but I believe that DOMA constituted a rare exception.
    [Show full text]
  • A Letter to the Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee
    November 14, 2017 Jan Zekich Sent via email to [email protected] Secretary, Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts 222 N. LaSalle Street, 13th Floor Chicago, IL 60601 Dear Ms. Zekich and Members of the Rules Committee: There is increasing recognition by legal advocates, stakeholders, and community members in Illinois that wealth-based pretrial detention practices are neither effective nor legally justifiable. We, therefore, write to express our strong support for the proposed Illinois Supreme Court Rule submitted on October 13, 2017 by Amy P. Campanelli, Public Defender of Cook County; Hon. Timothy C. Evans, Chief Judge Circuit Court of Cook County; Tom Dart, Cook County Sheriff; Toni Preckwinkle, President, Cook County Board; Jesús “Chuy” García, 7th District Commissioner, Chair of the Criminal Justice Committee, Cook County Board of Commissioners; and Kim Foxx, Cook County State's Attorney. The undersigned include ten individual signatories, forty-nine Illinois based organizations, and twelve national organizations. The proposed rule would require an evidentiary hearing and a finding by the judge that an accused person is able to afford the amount of monetary bail set before permitting the setting of monetary bail in any criminal case. This rule would help bring the Illinois courts’ current practice of setting bail in amounts higher than the accused can afford—a practice that occurs not only in Cook County, but also throughout the State—into compliance with both federal and state law. The illegal and unconstitutional nature of our current practices has been detailed thoroughly in the July 12, 2017 Memorandum of Law recently prepared by former United States Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr.
    [Show full text]