Bag Bans in Hawaii: The New Wave of Environmental Public Policy?

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Hawaii is on its way to become the first state to ban single-use plastic bags, the kind commonly used by customers to transport groceries. Beginning January 17, 2014, such bags will be prohibited throughout Hawaii’s most populous counties, with the exception of Oahu, where a ban has passed but won’t go into effect until 2015.

plastic bags banned in Hawaii

Plastic bags commonly found in grocery stores have banned in Hawaii for environmental reasons. Photo: via Wikimedia Commons.

The County of Hawaii Department of Environmental Management states on its website that the aim of the law is to reduce harm caused to marine life and birds choked or entangled by plastic bags, and to minimize litter, landfill waste, and exposure to unsafe chemicals that may be caused by degradation of plastic bags. Read the full ordinance here.

The environmentalist Surfrider Foundation told The Huffington Post that the ban was not initiated as state-wide legislation, but rather was individually adopted by each of Hawaii’s county councils. (more…)

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“Real Men” Don’t Take Alimony—Or Do They?

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In a recent Reuters article about a Nashville divorce case involving an entrepreneur husband and orthopedic surgeon wife, contributor Geoff Williams wrote: “Society is starting to catch up to the law. In 1979, with Orr vs. Orr, the Supreme Court made it clear that there shouldn’t be gender bias when it comes to alimony. Yet anecdotal evidence suggests that some men don’t always have equal outcomes when it comes to receiving spousal support.”

Although the percentage of men receiving spousal support after a divorce is still relatively small, an informal study cited by the article shows that 47% of divorce attorneys surveyed reported seeing an increase in men receiving alimony. Combine this trend with more detailed research suggesting that “couples where the wife earns more than the husband are less satisfied with their marriage and are more likely to divorce,” and you have the potential for major changes in the institution(s) of marriage (and divorce). This report by Pew Research Center  shows an increasing proportion of marriages in which the wife’s education level exceeds the husband’s, from 20% in 1970 to 28% in 2007.

Current Tennessee law recognizes several types of spousal support; “alimony in futuro” is the type intended to provide support on a long-term basis until the death or remarriage of the recipient. (Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-5-121(f)(1)). This type of alimony may be awarded where the court finds that there is “relative economic disadvantage [between the husband and wife] and that rehabilitation is not feasible.” (more…)

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Disturbingly High Rate of False Confessions Reported Among Youth Facing Criminal Charges

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When you are charged with a crime, anything you say can and may be used against you in court. As most people are aware, the police must inform a person arrested for a crime of this fact, prior to questioning. The reading of the Miranda Warning—named for the landmark 1966 Supreme Court Case Miranda v. Arizona—also includes notification of the right to legal counsel and the right to remain silent: both direct provisions of the 5th amendment, which upholds Due Process of Law and protects the against self-incrimination.

A fundamental tenet of American criminal justice is that a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty; thus, the state must prove each element of a crime or crimes against a person beyond a reasonable doubt. In such a system, confessions and guilty pleas are an integral part of the process. However, in order to be constitutional, a confession must be voluntary—not the product of threat, force, or coercion.

Many criminal cases involve confessions, which may include any statements adverse to the defendant’s interest. More narrowly defined, a confession may even be an admission of all facts necessary to the conviction of a crime. Often a confession is an important part of the state’s evidence against a defendant. Although confessions and other indicia of remorse may result in a person receiving favorable consideration by the court when it comes to sentencing, the manner in which a confession is obtained—especially the confession of a minor—should be closely examined. (more…)

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Happy Birthday, Fed! You’ve Had a Nice, Long Life…

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Federal Reserve Building in Washington, DC

Federal Reserve in Washington, DC. By Dan SmithRdsmith4 (Own workOwn work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

December marks the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Federal Reserve Act, creating the United States’ central banking system. The Federal Reserve System is the most recent and longest lasting “bank” established by the federal government; the debate over the validity and wisdom of such an institution predates the Constitution. The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the Constitutionality of federal banking in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) invoking the doctrine of implied powers and reasoning that to be ‘necessary and proper’ the Second Bank of the US needed only to be useful in helping the government meet its responsibilities in maintaining the public credit and regulating the money supply.

However, multiple financial and political factors, including the meteoric rise of the federal debt, have cast doubt on the long-term future of the Fed. (more…)

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Williamson’s One-note DUI Deterrent Strategy: Tough Convictions and Lots of ’em

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A recent Brentwood Homepage article provides good insight into the current “criminal mentality” of drinking and driving laws. “DUIs in Williamson County: Read and heed” is an interview with Asst. District Attorney Carlin Hess. “Do not drive drunk in Williamson County” is sound advice, as it is in any jurisdiction. However, the combination of the “strict DUI enforcement” and Tennessee’s Implied Consent law raises the question of whether drinking or driving—at all—is worth the risk. (more…)

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NYC’s New ‘E-Smoking’ Ban: Public Health Plus or Overreaching Social Censorship?

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The New York City Council voted recently to include smokeless electronic cigarettes in its city-wide public smoking ban. According to a report by USA Today, New Jersey, Utah and North Dakota already regulate the use of such devices where smoking is prohibited.

electronic cigarettes banned in New York City

Electronic Cigarettes. By Dany Thinnes (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Proponents for the measure say that the persistence (and/or increasing popularity) of smokeless cigarettes in light of the ban on traditional smoking in public places has been causing “mixed messages”, indicating to children that smoking is socially acceptable, and thus undermining public educational efforts to the contrary.

However, the move has ignited controversy—even and perhaps most notably among supporters of “traditional” public smoking bans who criticize the aim to influence social messaging as overreaching; in their view, the appropriate basis for restricting smoking in public ought to be limited to preventing physical harm caused by second-hand smoke. (more…)

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TN Attorney General Says Cities Overstepped in Regulating OTC Ephedrine Drugs

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Tennessee Attorney General Robert E. Cooper, Jr. has issued an opinion stating that local laws requiring prescriptions for the purchase of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine drugs are a violation of state law.

pseudoephedrine pills

By ParentingPatch (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

More than a dozen Tennessee municipalities have enacted local ordinances, generally in an effort to stifle the production of illegal methamphetamines. However, Cooper’s opinion contends that only the state has the authority to impose drug regulations under Tennessee law.

The Tennessee General Assembly has enacted comprehensive regulation of the sale and distribution of products containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, such as Sudafed. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-431. The Attorney General believes that the state statute preempts Tennessee towns and cities from passing similar ordinances, even if such ordinances are more stringent than state law. (more…)

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The Meek Shan’t Always Inherit: The Tale of a Drawn-out Condemnation Case

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In 2002, the State of Tennessee condemned a strip of land and a 625 square-foot building from its owners, the Meeks. The state offered the Meeks $30,550, which they could have accepted while keeping the remainder of their 1/3 acre lot. However, property owners in condemnation cases have a right to have a jury determine the amount of “just compensation,” and the Meeks wanted to proceed to trial.

Property owners also have the right to withdraw the amount deposited by the government while the case goes forward. The state deposited the $30,550 with the court, and the Meeks withdrew the money.

While the case was pending, the Meeks sold the rest of the property but retained the rights to the condemnation proceeds. Meanwhile, the state also revised its opinion as to the value of the property acquired—to $15,000 less than what they originally offered.

(more…)

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White House says No Amnesty for Snowden while Judge deems NSA program Unconstitutional

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An interesting juxtaposition of developments trailing one of the biggest news stories of 2013 reinforces just how convoluted the whole situation is and likely will be for the foreseeable future:

Edward Snowden from Wikimedia Commons

Edward Snowden

First, to the surprise of few (and the dismay of more), the White House yesterday confirmed it is not considering amnesty for Edward Snowden, the former NSA contract worker who broke his employment oath and leaked thousands of classified documents revealing a mass surveillance program by the agency. Snowden, deemed a hero by some and a treasonist by others, remains exiled in Russia where he was granted political asylum earlier this year.

Next—in practically the mass media’s same collective breath—the AP reported that a Federal Judge has declared the NSA’s bulk phone data collection Unconstitutional, ruling that it likely violates citizens’ 4th Amendment protection against unreasonable search.

(more…)

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DUI Stop Causes Constitutional Conundrum

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The Unconstitutional Conditions Doctrine advances the rights granted by the Constitution by preventing the government from coercing people into giving them up. Recently, in Williamson County Circuit Court, a Nashville attorney argued that the request for a blood sample following a traffic stop of a driver suspected of DUI presented an Unconstitutional Conditions issue on the part of the government.

The Court recognized the attorney’s argument as novel. The basic premise of the argument was that requesting a suspected DUI driver to submit to a blood/alcohol test forced the driver to choose between asserting his Fourth Amendment right (to be free from unwarranted government intrusion) and his Fourteenth Amendment right (property interest in his or her driver’s license). (more…)

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