Case Note | SMU Law Review Forum

When “One Step” is a Leap: Examining the Fifth Circuit’s Correct Interpretation of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines

Nov 17, 2020 | Brooke Vaydik, Case Note, Criminal Law, Criminal Sentencing, Law

By Brooke Vaydik In her Case Note, Brooke Vaydik examines the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in US v. Eaden, and argues that the Federal Sentencing Guidelines should be interpreted narrowly. Download the full article (PDF) here. Hein | Lexis Recommended...

Against the Status Crimes Doctrine

Sep 8, 2020 | Case Note, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Eighth Amendment, Law, West Menefee Bakke

By West Menefee Bakke In his Case Note, West Menefee Bakke critiques the 9th Circuit’s recent opinion extending the status crimes doctrine to homelessness and argues that the status crimes doctrine ought to be abandoned in its entirety. Download the full article...

You Have One New Message—The Eleventh Circuit Correctly Applies the Spokeo Framework to TCPA Claims for Unsolicited Text Messaging

Jul 9, 2020 | Case Note, Consumer Protection Law, Mary Love, Supreme Court of the United States

By Mary Love Abstract The Eleventh Circuit recently created a circuit split regarding whether an unsolicited text message constitutes a concrete injury necessary to establish standing under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The issue of standing under...

Suspended for Sexual Assault, Now What?—The Sixth Circuit Splits from the Second on a Pleading Standard for Reverse Title IX Actions

Feb 5, 2020 | Case Note, Civil Rights and Discrimination Law, Courts, Education Law, Thomas Campbell

By Thomas Campbell Abstract It should not come as a surprise that sexual assault on college campuses has been a major area of concern in the past decade. In 2011, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released the “Dear Colleague Letter” (the...

Standing in the Way of Parental Rights—The Texas Supreme Court Resolves Courts of Appeals Split in Favor of Nonparents

Feb 5, 2020 | Case Note, Family Law, Madison Bertrand, State and Local Government

By Madison Bertrand Abstract In In re H.S., the Supreme Court of Texas held that a nonparent has standing to pursue a suit affecting the parent-child relationship (SAPCR) even when the child’s parents have not wholly relinquished their parental rights and...

Issue Classing—The Express Checkout of Class Actions

Nov 25, 2019 | Case Note, Civil Procedure, Shaquille Grant

By Shaquille Grant Abstract In Martin v. Behr Dayton Thermal Products LLC, the Sixth Circuit interpreted how Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3)’s requirements interact with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c)(4). Rule 23(b)(3) provides that a class action may...

Online Threats: The Dire Need for a Reboot in True-Threats Jurisprudence

Oct 10, 2019 | Case Note, First Amendment, John Sivils

By John Sivils Abstract Free speech protection ends where true threats begin. The Supreme Court of the United States has defined “true threats” as “those statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful...