• Selected
• Entire List

Abstract:
This short bar magazine article helps readers see the importance of including thesis paragraphs in their writing. The article suggests helpful tips for writing powerful thesis paragraphs.

Abstract:
A growing number of disturbing incidents involving minors as victims of sexual solicitation, assault and even murder have been traced to a fairly new type of Internet communication, social networking sites. These sites, hugely popular with teens, provide unique and largely independent and unsupervised channels of self expression and socialization for children. Yet the sites also present real dangers to today's youth, the most serious being child victimization by sexual predators.

To understand the magnitude of the issue this Article begins by defining what social networks are, explaining how they work and tracing their ever increasing popularity. Millions of users have already registered with these social networking sites with thousands more being added daily. The social networking craze is even being adopted in the business and entertainment world and will likely be transferred to other technologies in the near future.

As currently operated, social networking sites provide a vehicle for adolescents to engage in destructive and risky behaviors leading to harmful and often permanent physical and psychological damage. The Article explores the benefits and the dangers associated with these sites including disclosure of personal information, addiction, risky sexual behavior, cyber-bullying, dangerous communities, and cyber-threats. Harassment, sexual solicitation and exploitation of children produce chronic and reoccurring effects on its victims including depression, anger, guilt and other post traumatic stress symptoms.

Current legal and educational efforts have been ineffective. Despite the risks teens continue to engage in risky behaviors. A review of current literature explains adolescent decision making and causes of risk taking. The findings on adolescent risk-taking justify revising current approaches to keeping children safe while using social networking sites. To be effective, solutions seeking to change behavior must be based on the type and cause of risk taking behavior. Although well-intentioned, many proposed solutions, grounded in law and education, fail to incorporate these theories. As a result, these proposals are unlikely to modify certain teens' risky behavior.

The Article concludes by offering additional solutions for keeping children safe based on current research. A multi-faceted approach is necessary based on different causes of risk taking. Social networking sites should be encouraged to segregate different age groups but the burden should not be theirs alone. To further promote segregating age groups, children and adults should be punished for misrepresenting their age when registering on social networking sites. Record companies used a fear of punishment strategy when deciding to sue individual file sharers for copyright infringement. Only when the risk of punishment outweighed the benefits of the peer-to-peer sharing option did behavior change. These results offer hope that a similar strategy with social networking sites may be effective in changing teens' behavior.

Finally, legal regulations, although relatively simplistic, cannot be the sole answer. Changing behavior will require not only laws and threat of punishment but also education components. Education can help change behavior by providing teens and parents with raw information about the technology and its risks. When designing Internet safety campaigns, policy makers and industry officials should pay careful attention to lessons learned from previous studies of ad campaigns on other behaviors. But providing information alone may not change any behavior and in some cases may encourage the behavior we want to discourage. Therefore education is also needed that helps create social norms or a moral climate that keeps children safe and discourage the types of behavior discussed in this Article.

children, internet, social networking sites, MySpace

Abstract:
This short bar magazine article provides tips on how to avoid errors when making analogies and distinctions in legal documents.

legal writing, analogies, distinctions, using precedent

Abstract:
This short bar magazine article identifies top six writing errors to avoid.

legal writing, errors

Abstract:
Focusing on the Duke rape case as a case study, this Article analyzes magazine coverage using a labeling system from a previous study of media coverage of high profile rapes to determine whether race and class shape rape narratives. Part I of this Article is a brief background about narratives generally and their importance in the law. Part II summarizes the existing research on the topic of rape narratives and media coverage of these narratives. Part III analyzes the Duke case narratives and seeks to determine empirically whether race and class played a role in the exculpation or vilification of either party. The Article concludes by comparing the past studies of rape media coverage with this new data to provide insights and conclusions about media rape coverage today.

discrimination, rape, narratives

Abstract:
The growth and influence of nontraditional media and the convergence of these technological platforms on mainstream media brings a host of new issues surrounding media coverage of high profile trials. Hardly a new phenomenon, the media has made a business of covering high profile trials since before the founding of this nation. But the advent of blogs in 1999 and the growing influence they have on the public further complicates the issue. In addition, adoption of more nontraditional delivery platforms, such as blogs, by traditional media as they strive to retain and enlarge readership confirms the growing influence of these nontraditional sources of information for the public. The impact this technology has on the controversy surrounding media coverage of trials, especially celebrity prosecutions, provides ample fodder to ask whether current United States' media practices and the courts' regulation of these practices best serve the individuals involved, the public and the criminal justice system.

Any response to this pretrial publicity explosion needs to be rethought in light of today's new world of communication. This Article analyzes and evaluates many of the current approaches used to balance pretrial publicity against the right to a fair trial and the right to privacy. Concluding these frameworks fail to adequately protect individuals' rights, the Article explores and evaluates suggestions offered by other commentators. Finally, the Article concludes by finding none of these suggestions work but proposes an alternative approach which better balances the freedom of speech, the right to a fair trial and the right to privacy, all of which should be respected as important values in our society.

First Amendment, pretrial publicity, high profile trials, right to privacy, freedom of press

Abstract:
This short bar article suggests several techniques for improving briefs.

briefs, legal writing, persuasion

Abstract:
This article discusses the results of a survey which asked members of the profession - attorneys, judges and law professors - what they thought of the writing skills of their colleagues. To quantify the responses we asked specifically about the respondents' opinions concerning elements generally acknowledged as key to good legal writing. In particular, we provided survey respondents with a checklist of elements that are commonly included in the various sections of appellate briefs and memoranda. Respondents were then asked to rank the elements in each section. This ranking gave us an idea of what each group perceived to be the best indicators of good writing.

When we began this project, we anticipated that there would be wide discrepancies between the views of law professors and members of the profession generally. This turns out not to be the case, however. There was no difference among respondents as to which elements were identified. The attorneys, judges and legal writing professors all ranked clarity and concision as the two most essential elements of good writing. This suggests that legal writing professors are teaching what the bench and bar perceive to be key to good writing.

The second part of the article examines possible reasons why lawyers do not write well. Some of these include:

• Lawyers do not write well because they did not take a legal writing class in law school.
• Lawyers do not write well because they do not get enough practice in law school.
• Lawyers do not write well because of deficiencies in early education.
• Lawyers do not write well because the profession offers very little continuing education on improving writing skills.
• Lawyers do not write well because of their time and financial restraints.
• Lawyers do not write well because of technology.
• Lawyers do not write well because many do not have the opportunity to write regularly.

Ultimately we concluded that the factors that contribute to poor writing by members of the profession are varied and complex. We recommend implementing more robust legal writing and skills components in all American law schools. This includes increasing the status of the professors who teach this most important skill as well as more offerings in the law school curriculum. In addition, increased access to ongoing writing instruction for current members of the profession is vital to improving the quality of writing.

legal writing, survey, judges, practitioners, legal writing teachers

Abstract:
This short essay gives in class exercises for a Negotiable Instruments class.

negotiable instruments

Abstract:
This article summarizes United States' legislation up to 2004 which sought to regulate child pornography.

pornography, Internet, children

Abstract:
This article examines liability for peer-on-peer sexual harassment in the context of bullying under Title IX and state anti-bullying laws. Part II describes the persistent problem of bullying in school and its extremely harmful effects on students. Part III explores the background of Title IX and the evolving law regarding peer-on-peer harassment. Part IV proceeds to summarize state anti-bullying laws, while Part V analyzes which legal approach, Title IX or anti-bullying statutes, is best to protect children from peer-on-peer sexual harassment at school. The article then argues that both Title IX and anti-bullying statutes are necessary to protect our children because Title IX does not cover those forms of harassment that do not fit the definition of sexual harassment or are not of adequate severity. Despite the importance of anti-bullying statutes, many currently existing statutes are flawed because they are too deferential to local schools. The article concludes by offering practical suggestions to legislatures when drafting anti-bullying statutes.

Title IX, Bully, peer-on-peer harassment

Abstract:
Legal writing professors have the constant challenge of narrowing the gap between the study of law and the practice of law. Using The Buffalo Creek Disaster or a similar work is an excellent way to address this challenge.

legal writing, Buffalo Creek Disaster

Abstract:
This short essay introduces classroom teaching methodologies for legal analysis to students with various learning styles.

legal writing, learning styles

Abstract:
This short essay describes how to use attorneys to enrich legal writing classes. The lawyers played the role of senior partner in their respective law firms. The students played the role of "junior associate" and consulted with the "senior partner" about the case they are working on.

legal writing

Abstract:
This Article examines the reasonable observer framework in Establishment Clause cases, specifically in relation to the two most recent Ten Commandments decided by the Supreme Court. Part One describes the evolution of Establishment Clause jurisprudence from the three-prong Lemon test to Justice O'Connor's endorsement test and the various definitions of a reasonable observer as applied by federal courts. Part Two summarizes the history of Ten Commandment cases in the United States Supreme Court and examines, in detail, McCreary County v. ACLU and Van Orden v. Perry, the two recent sacred text decisions. Part Three analyzes and describes the inherent problems with the reasonable observer framework. Finally, Part IV recommends the elimination of the current reasonable observer framework and proposes the adoption of a new framework which presumes an improper purpose when the government displays a sacred text. This proposed presumption of unconstitutionality test may be rebutted if the government demonstrates that the sacred text is used either in a de minimis fashion or is sufficiently narrowly tailored such that a logical connection exists between the sacred text and the surrounding theme at the site of the display. Substituting this new framework in the adjudication of sacred text cases would eliminate the current problem of different results for identical displays.

sacred text, ten commandments, Lemon, reasonable observer

Abstract:
This short essay outlines ways to use the Bush v. Gore briefs as tools for teaching persuasive writing techniques.

Abstract:
This short bar article introduces readers to the ALWD Manual. The article identifies key differences between the Bluebook and the ALWD citation manuals. The authors suggest the ALWD manual is a more user-friendly citation tool for students, the bench and the bar.

citation, bluebook, ALWD

Abstract:
This essay advocates teaching text-based resources for legal research before introducing students to computer-assisted legal research.

CALR, legal research, legal writing

Abstract:
On July 15th I presented a session on The Social Science Research Network (SSRN) at the Legal Writing Institute's conference in Indianapolis. SSRN is one of the key places scholars post academic papers. My presentation introduced participants to SSRN, explained the benefits of SSRN, and provided step-by-step instructions for using SSRN. This presentation sought to demystify the SSRN process and help participants become comfortable with the submission process including how to write effective abstracts. I have attached the PowerPoint slides for the presentation.

SSRN, abstracts

Abstract:
This bar magazine article examines America's response of passing laws in response to a crisis. The authors look at legislation passed during various wars and after the Oklahoma bombing tragedy. They compare these laws to legislation passed after September 11th.

constituitonal issues, crises, laws

Abstract:
Pornography is the number-one business on the Internet, yet the very same Internet can be a valuable souce of knowledge for all students. Educators face many challenges in bringing the Internet into the classrooms. This article reviews recent and relevant case law on Internet access in schools, offers guidance about the writing of effective acceptable use policies, and concludes with advice to Catholic school teachers and administrators on creating an ethical climate while fully using available technology.

Internet, acceptable use policies, schools

Abstract:
This article outlines the process for expedited appeals in the state of Kentucky.

expedited appeals, Kentucky

Abstract:
School districts can be liable for peer-on-peer harassment when the school has actual knowledge of harassment, acts with deliberate indifference, and the harassment is severe and pervasive enough to deprive a student of educational benefits. It is unclear whether a school district could ever be liable for their response to harassing behavior that occurred off school grounds and after school hours.

This creates a major void in the law because off-campus student designed web pages are becoming more and more common. The web pages are highly critical of other classmates and are written in explicit, often vulgar language.

This article explores the tests courts are creating for regulation of student speech and prevention of peer-on-peer harassment and the tensions that result. In light of the sheer number of such pages, this article is not just a far-flung theoretical discussion. Instead it focuses on issues that schools must confront every day.

web pages, peer-on-peer harassment, Title IX, First Amendment