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TAX deductions, INTERNAL revenue law, STATE taxation, TAX cuts -- Law & legislation, TAXPAYER compliance, and UNITED States

Historically, the Internal Revenue Code has permitted itemizing taxpayers to deduct state and local tax (SALT) payments on their federal tax returns. While this SALT deduction has been adjusted and refined over the years, it has been a mainstay of the federal tax code. As of December 2017, taxpayers were entitled to deduct the full amount of state and local property tax payments, as well as their choice of either state and local income taxes or sales taxes. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) dramatically altered this provision by setting a $10,000 limit on the amount a taxpayer may deduct from her federal taxable income to account for all state and local tax payments. This $10,000 cap on SALT deductibility is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2025, by which point Congress will likely readdress this issue. This Note proposes that the next iteration of the SALT deduction scheme should allow for full deductibility of state taxes, while retaining a cap on the deductibility of local taxes. This distinction between the treatment of state and local taxes would reflect the relative advantages of public administration at the state level. State-level funding and provision of public services strikes the optimal balance between the competing goals of local administration and redistributive spending. Instituting full state tax deductibility would incentivize a shift in the funding and provision of redistributive federal programs to the state level, and would further the goals of state autonomy and policy innovation. Moreover, reducing or eliminating local tax deductibility would increase the internal policy consistency of the Internal Revenue Code, mitigate the regressive nature of the SALT deduction, and help reduce residential income segregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PUBLIC disclosure of private facts (Tort), CITIZENS United v. Federal Election Commission (Supreme Court case), CAMPAIGN funds -- Law & legislation, and UNITED States

In 1948, the Supreme Court held in United States v. CIO that the statutory ban on direct union spending in federal elections could not be applied to electoral advocacy by leaders of an organization directed at the members of that same organization. As a result, federal and state laws now generally exempt such internal communications from the definition of "expenditure" under campaign finance laws. But in its landmark 2010 decision Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court declared the ban on direct corporate campaign spending itself unconstitutional. The Federal Election Commission soon thereafter announced that the ruling would also apply to unions. There is now no doubt that an organization such as a union or a corporation may directly spend money on electoral advocacy. Given this framework, this Note argues that internal communications between the leaders of an organization -- in particular, a union -- and its members that directly advocate for or against the election of a particular candidate can and should be subject to mandated public disclosure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTERSTATE agreements, CLIMATE change, ELECTORAL college, and UNITED States Steel Corp. v. Multistate Tax Commission (Supreme Court case)

The Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution states "No State shall, without the Consent of Congress ... enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State." Despite this language, the Supreme Court has consistently held that only a small fraction of agreements entered into by states require approval in the form of federal legislation. This Note examines the current state of the law concerning when interstate compacts need congressional consent and argues that this body of law is ripe for reexamination in light of recent proposals to adapt the interstate compact to address issues such as climate change and reform of the electoral college. The current test for when an interstate compact requires congressional approval was articulated by the Court more than thirty years ago in U.S. Steel v. Multistate Tax Commission. This test is poorly tailored to combat the dangers that some proposed interstate compacts pose both to states that choose not to participate in the compacts and also to the federal system itself. The U.S. Steel test should be replaced by a comparatively simple judicial standard, which requires congressional approval for interstate compacts that address issues not widely recognized as particularly suited to state action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ARBITRATION & award, LEGAL remedies, CLASS actions, JUSTICE administration, UNITED States, and STATE statutes (United States)

In the last century arbitration has grown to be a large and important part of the U.S. legal system. However, mandatory arbitration has been used in recent years to bar class action lawsuits and limit the procedural remedies available to certain classes of litigants. At the same time, the routes to challenging the use of mandatory arbitration have been increasingly closed off, with the courts broadly ruling in favor of its use and agency action likely foreclosed in the immediate future. In turn, the debate over mandatory arbitration has calcified, with one side arguing for an almost total ban on mandatory arbitration and the other arguing for few, if any, limits. Despite these prevailing currents, Congress has enacted a handful of statutes that limit or regulate the use of mandatory arbitration in some way. This Note examines each of these statutes in turn with particular focus on the mechanisms by which they limit mandatory arbitration and the likely interests embodied in their passage. Drawing on the structure of these prior enactments, this Note ultimately argues in favor of a more holistic approach towards mandatory arbitration reform focused on the contexts in which mandatory arbitration is available and the processes applied in those contexts. This compromise position would curb the abuses of mandatory arbitration while retaining its benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PRESIDENTS of the United States, UNITED States legislators, and BUDGET deficits

Though the Constitution requires that every bill pass both houses of Congress in identical form, this is an empty constitutional promise. The "enrolled bill rule," adopted by the Supreme Court in 1892, holds that signed authentications by the President, Speaker, and Senate President of the formal printing of the bill (the enrolled bill) provide incontrovertible proof that the law was validly passed. Thus, once a bill has been signed by the President, it no longer matters whether both houses of Congress approved the text as no amount of evidence can persuade a reviewing court that the law is invalid. Indeed, the enrolled bill rule has been determinative in a recent string of cases challenging that the House never passed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. This Note argues that the enrolled bill rule is unjustifiable. As such, it argues that the Supreme Court should have granted certiorari in one of the Deficit Reduction Act cases and adopted a probative evidence rule instead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTERNATIONAL bankruptcy, LIQUIDATION, CORPORATE bankruptcy, CORPORATION law, and ACTIONS & defenses (Law)

The broad and specific objectives of international insolvency have led to the emergence of several theories, such as territorialism and various forms of universalism, on how to best achieve these goals. In 1997, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) proposed a Model Law, based largely on modified universalism, to promote judicial cooperation in -- and decrease the costs of -- cross-border insolvency cases. The European Union, Australia, and the United States have all adopted the Model Law, either in part or in full. But the enforcement of cross-border insolvency judgments in these jurisdictions continues to be erratic, as judges implement the decisions of foreign courts inconsistently. Consequently, in 2015, the Commission proposed an amendment to the Model Law -- the Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments -- which would enforce insolvency-related orders subject to seven narrowly enumerated exceptions, such as due process and fraud. Rather than rely on judicial gap filling, Congress should adopt the proposed amendment, which will provide clarity and predictability to cross-border insolvencies, reduce costs and maximize value to creditors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BURDEN shifting (Law), DRUG trafficking laws, NARCOTICS -- Possession, MANDATORY minimum sentences, BURDEN of proof, and NARCOTIC laws

Congress enacted 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f) as a statutory safety-valve provision to prevent low-level narcotics offenders from receiving the harshest sentences under the federal mandatory minimum narcotics sentencing regime. Unfortunately, the majority of federal circuits allocate the burden of proof of the statute to the defendant, thereby rendering the safety valve ineffective for many narcotics offenders. This Note analyzes the history of the statute, as well as the majority and minority judicial practices in allocating the burden of proof under the statute, and argues that the government should shoulder the burden of proof in safety-valve eligibility hearings in order to effectuate the intent of Congress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COURTS-martial & courts of inquiry -- United States, SEXUAL assault -- Law & legislation, MILITARY personnel, and CORRUPTION

Under the military justice system, as it currently stands, commanding officers (COs) almost complete discretion to decide whether to prosecute the accused in sexual assault cases, and whether to commute the sentences of soldiers found guilty of such crimes. In the wake of the Department of Defense's estimate that 26,000 sexual assaults occurred in fiscal year 2012 alone, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 (NDAA for FY14). In addition to giving victims of sexual assault greater legal rights, the legislation denies commanders the right to overturn jury convictions and subjects COs' decisions not to prosecute to civilian review. Critics such as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), however, have suggested that the problem lies in placing the legal power in the hands of COs, and recommend removing sexual assault cases from the chain of command entirely by instituting a third party into such proceedings. This Note assesses the strengths of the reforms contained in the NDAA for FY14 and those of Senator Gillibrand's alternative proposal. It then suggests that the best solution is one charting a hybrid approach -- requiring formalized training of the COs by state or federal prosecutors specializing in sexual assault crimes, mandating review of a CO's decision not to prosecute in limited circumstances, subjecting COs' power to commute sentences to judicial approval, and ensuring that each prosecution be headed by a neutral CO. Such a solution would diminish COs' almost unlimited authority in sexual assault proceedings, while still allowing them a role consistent with the overarching purpose of the military justice system -- to ensure good order and discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LAWS on education of people with disabilities, LEARNING disabilities, COGNITION disorders, SCHOOL failure, LEGAL status of students with disabilities, EDUCATIONAL law & legislation -- United States, and UNITED States. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

In 2004, Congress amended the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ameliorate the over-inclusion of students diagnosed with "specific learning disabilities" (SLDs) in special education. To achieve this goal, the amendments permit the use of "response to intervention" (RTI), which is both a diagnostic tool used to identify students with SLDs, and an early-intervention pedagogical tool for general-education students at risk of academic failure. RTI addresses the problem of over-inclusion by improving the diagnostic reliability of SLDs, enhancing general-education services, and reducing referrals to special education. Although evidence indicates that RTI is serving its intended goal, there are inconsistencies associated with its implementation that arise from the denial of procedural safeguards to RTI students. These safeguards, set forth in § 1415 of the IDEA, protect the rights of children with disabilities to a "free appropriate public education." This Note argues that the denial of these safeguards conflicts with the goals of § 1415 and standards-based education policy reform. Accordingly, Congress should amend § 1415 of the IDEA to extend all § 1415 procedural safeguards to students receiving RTI services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ACTIONS & defenses (Law), TRIALS (Law), STATE courts, JUDICIAL process, LEGAL procedure, and PUBLIC administration

This article focuses on the right of removal which allows defendants to remove an action properly brought by the plaintiff in a state court to a federal district court. Empirical research shows that removal tends to level the playing-field for the plaintiffs and the defendants, and actually increases a defendant's likelihood of success. Despite this element of balance that removal adds to the judicial process, the U.S. Congressional amendment of 1988 to the removal statute which has led federal courts to narrow the scope of removal. Title 28, Section 1446 of the United States Code. The statute addresses two possible scenarios. The first paragraph requires a defendant to file a notice of removal within thirty days if the case is removable based on the initial pleadings. In other words, if the parties are diverse at the time of the initial pleadings and the plaintiff seeks damages greater than $75,000 (the current minimum amount in controversy required for diversity jurisdiction), then the defendant has thirty days within which to file his petition for removal. The second paragraph grants a removal right for a case that was not initially removable, but later became removable.

POWER (Social sciences), PRESIDENTS of the United States, NATIONAL security, ECONOMIC policy, and NONCITIZENS

As a power without a clear constitutional basis, the federal power to regulate the entry of foreign persons into the country has been a contentious economic and national security issue since the early days of the republic. Is it, like many federal powers, held by Congress and delegated to the President? Or is it inherent in the President's foreign affairs power? Understanding the nature of this division of power is critical to defining the degree of deference with which the Court reviews immigration cases. This Note argues that the power to exclude aliens has been erroneously considered to be an extension of the President's foreign affairs power and is more appropriately considered a power derivative of congressional delegation, and thus ultimately limitable by Congress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AFFIRMATIVE action programs, JURISPRUDENCE, EMPLOYMENT of minorities, and RADIO frequency

This article examines the Federal Communications Commission's licensing programs for new Personal Communications Services as a case study of the impact of Adarand on federal affirmative action programs. The PCS licensing rules are unique in that preferences for women and minority applicants were adopted pursuant to a direct congressional mandate. Part II of this article describes the history of the FCC's licensing procedures and discusses the changes implemented under the authority granted by the U.S. Congress to auction radio spectrum. Part Ill briefly outlines the tension between the roles of the Supreme Court and the U.S. Congress within the federal government. In addition, this part analyzes and compares the creation and application of judicial standards of review to affirmative action policies at the state and federal levels in light of Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. It concludes by highlighting the dramatic departure from its historical jurisprudence made by the Supreme Court in Adarand. Part IV provides an in-depth analysis of both the substantive and structural conflicts created by Adarand. Part V evaluates the chances for survival of affirmative action programs, such as the one adopted by the FCC, in light of the Adarand regime.

ACTIONS & defenses (Law) -- United States, NONCITIZENS, JUDGMENTS (Law), HUMAN rights, and IMMIGRANTS

This article focuses on the scope of claims available under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA). At present, there may well be a legal recourse in a landmark decision by the Second Circuit, Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, Judge Irving Kaufmann breathed new life into an obscure section of the original Judiciary Act of 1789, known as the Mien Tort Claims Act, by holding that the ATCA provides both a private cause of action and federal subject matter jurisdiction over all claims by aliens alleging a tort only, in violation of the Law of Nations. The scope of claims available under the ATCA, however, has recently been challenged by a series of district court opinions that have limited actionable ATCA claims to a narrow subset of the CIL of human rights. Cutting against several circuit court decisions, as well as the expressed intentions of Congress and the Executive branch of the United States, these five district court decisions have adopted per se rules requiring the pleading of a restrictive category of CIL known as jus cogent.

INTERVENTION (International law), LIBYAN Conflict, 2011-, EXECUTIVE power -- United States, CONSTITUTIONAL law -- United States, LIBYAN history, 2011-, and LIBYA -- Foreign relations -- United States

The role that the Responsibility to Protect ("R2P") played in the United States' decision to intervene in Libya in 2011 received wide coverage in academic and policy circles. While the Executive Branch's legal justification for taking action in Libya without Congressional authorization was not premised solely on humanitarian grounds, R2P is a key plank in President Obama's foreign policy. Other commentators have discussed the role of R2P in international law, but a major domestic legal question remains: does the President have the power to unilaterally deploy military forces on R2P missions with no direct U.S. national security interests at stake? This Note argues that though past unilateral Executive deployments of military force were justified primarily on U.S. national security interests, due to (1) the evolution of the President's national security powers, and (2) the President's ability to define "the national interest," the Executive has the constitutional power to send U.S. military forces into harm's way on purely humanitarian missions without the consent of Congress. Yet unilateral deployments may produce unintended consequences, as seen in Africa and Syria after the Libyan intervention. In light of these events, this Note lays out a proposed solution to constrain the President's ability to conduct such unilateral missions: Congress must pass legislation to check the Executive's ability to conduct R2P deployments, and the judiciary must be willing to enforce such legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CONSCIENTIOUS objection, WAR & ethics, ACTIONS & defenses (Law), VOLUNTARY military service -- United States, COUNTERTERRORISM, and UNITED States armed forces

The U.S. Military Selective Service Act provided an exemption to combat training and service in the U.S. armed forces for those who are conscientiously opposed to war in any form by religious training and belief. The U.S. Supreme Court has instituted some modifications in the statute, and the more active use of the military in the global war against terrorism has prompted many in the U.S. Congress to call for the resumption of the statute. This necessity has followed the abandonment of the draft in favor of the all volunteer force in 1973. Religious conscientious objection exemption is incompatible with the Rehnquist Court's Establishment Clause standards. If the U.S. Congress decides to reinstitute the President's drafting authority, the Establishment Clause would not permit a religion based exemption from military services. The article advocates, based on notions of equity and fairness, that any conscientious objection exemption is uncalled for, and should be reconsidered thoroughly.

JURY duty, POLL tax, VOTER registration, JURY, EQUAL rights -- United States, ECONOMICS, LAW, TAX laws, and VOTING laws

Federal jury service has been formally connected to voter registration since 1968. Congress intended for this linkage to improve the American jury system by increasing representation of groups previously excluded from the jury pool. However, as legislative inaction and judicial acquiescence have exacerbated the economic costs of jury service, this practice has also parasitically burdened the right to vote, creating a "self-disenfranchising incentive." This Note argues that jury duty is sufficiently burdensome, and that this burden sufficiently impacts voting, so as to constitute a poll tax in violation of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. There is a simple, effective solution to this problem: prohibiting the use of voter registration lists to create jury lists, and instead using any number of available alternative sources to create a representative jury pool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DRUGS of abuse, LEGITIMACY of governments, STATUTES, PHARMACEUTICAL policy, and CONSTITUTIONAL amendments

The article focuses on the Illicit Drug Anti Proliferation Act, that was passed by the U.S. Congress. It is an amendment to the federal Crack House Statute. Armed with this amended statute, federal prosecutors have begun to target rave and nightclub owners. The problem with this approach is that it violates the economic liberties of legitimate rave and concert promoters. This argument is two-fold. First, the amendment does not circumvent prior case law limiting the statute's application to actual crack houses, and not legitimate businesses. Second, insofar as Congress intended the amendment to supplant all of the limiting constructions, the amendment oversteps the Lopez formulation of Congress' Commerce Clause power because it lacks formal congressional findings linking rave promotion to economic drug activities, such as interstate drug trafficking. Second part of this article briefly reviews the history of the club drug phenomenon and presents within the rave culture a legitimacy that goes beyond illegal drug use. Next section examines the original Federal Crack House Statute and decisions narrowing the statute, and suggests its permissible scope does not include legitimate rave promoters. Lat section examines the relaxed standards courts apply to drug laws and offers policy justifications for not extending the amended statute beyond the scope of the original statute or the Commerce Clause.

DISABILITY laws, INTERNET users, INTERNET, WIDE area networks, and STATE governments

This article focuses on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In 1990, the U.S. Congress enacted the Americans With Disabilities Act, which, in Title III, prohibits many places of public accommodation from discriminating in the provision of goods and services to disabled persons. No court has, to date, interpreted Title III to require a public accommodation to make its website accessible to disabled people using assistive technologies to access the world wide web. The Americans With Disabilities Act contains five separate titles. Title I contains the findings of Congress, the definitions of terms and purposes of the ADA, provisions for enforcement of the ADA, and a prohibition on discrimination in the employment context. Title II enables plaintiffs to bring claims against state and local governments that have failed to provide equal access to government services and some forms of transportation. Title III prohibits a place of public accommodation that is engaged in interstate commerce from discriminating in the provision of goods and services. Title IV regulates telecommunications services and contains miscellaneous provisions.

GAMBLING, JUDGMENTS (Law), QUALITY of life, SOCIAL history, and BASIC needs

This article discusses the basis of gambling in Native America. Native Americans living within the boundaries of the United States are well below the census averages in every major quality-of-life index such as educational level, median income, quality of health care, and life span. Similarly, they are well above the United States average in categories such as infant mortality, alcoholism, unemployment, and overall poverty. These conditions have been likened by many to those found in undeveloped nations, despite the fact that they exist in the shadow of the economic prosperity of the United States. The late 1980s ushered in a period of financial renaissance in many Native American communities. Two court decisions and the U.S. Congress' creation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act allowed the production and operation of casinos and other gaming facilities on reservation land. Whether the advent of casino gambling on reservations has been, on balance, beneficial, is a complicated and hotly disputed matter.

POLICE brutality, VIOLENT crimes -- Law & legislation, COMPLAINTS against police, LAW enforcement, RACIAL profiling in law enforcement, STOP & frisk (Police method), LAW enforcement -- Law & legislation, and UNITED States

When Congress enacted the Violent Crime Control & Law Enforcement Act of 1994, it gave the Department of Justice (DOJ) a powerful tool for correcting unconstitutional practices in state and local police agencies. Over the last twenty years, the DOJ has used this power to investigate, sue, and enter into contractual agreements with police agencies as a means of reforming unconstitutional police practices, such as excessive use of force, racial profiling, and unconstitutional stop-and-frisk practices. These agreements often fail to achieve their stated goals, however, because they lack effective enforcement mechanisms. Additionally, the DOJ has repeatedly failed to combat problems in the implementation process such as officer circumvention, fleeting political support, and intractable command management. In contrast to these failures, the Cincinnati Police Department achieved measurable progress in reducing use-of-force incidents, officer injuries, and improving citizen satisfaction while under an agreement with the DOJ and various private parties. This Note argues that Cincinnati Police Department's success can be explained by the innovative design of its agreement, which stresses the principles of democratic experimentalism -- including a flexible and goal-oriented approach, stakeholder deliberation, regulatory transparency, and enforcement mechanisms governing the implementation of the argeement's terms. It then identifies some methods implemented in Cincinnati that may prove useful in reforming police agencies in other cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]