The Dreadful Failure of Lethal Injection

AUSTIN SARAT

Austin Sarat—Associate Provost and Associate Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Jurisprudence & Political Science at Amherst College—comments on the decomposition of the legal injection paradigm over the past few decades, since it was first adopted in Oklahoma in 1999. Professor Sarat observes the evolution of the procedure over time and points out that none of the changes has resolved lethal injection’s fate or repaired its vexing problems.

Read More

Let’s Talk About Sex, Baby: State Representative Ana-Maria Ramos Introduces Bill to Repeal Parental Consent Requirement for Birth Control

JOANNA L. GROSSMAN

SMU Dedman School of Law professor Joanna L. Grossman comments on a Texas bill that would allow teens to access birth control without parental involvement. Professor Grossman describes the current state of reproductive health laws and policies in Texas and explains why the proposed bill is so important.

Read More

Watley v. Department of Children and Families

Docket: 20-277

Opinion Date: March 22, 2021

Judge: Pooler

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Family Law

The Second Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of plaintiffs' claims alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983. The district court determined that the claims were barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, collateral estoppel, the statute of limitations, qualified immunity, and lack of standing. The district court also dismissed some claims for failure to state a claim. The court concluded that, under both federal and Connecticut law, the issue at the core of the parties' dispute is whether DCF reasonably accommodated plaintiffs' actual or perceived disabilities in providing services and programs to assist their reunification with their children. The court explained that the issue was actually litigated and necessarily determined by Connecticut courts. Therefore, the district court correctly granted DCF's motion to dismiss on collateral estoppel grounds. The court did not reach the merits of the parties' arguments regarding the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, Connecticut's statute of limitations, or plaintiffs' standing to seek prospective injunctive relief.

United States v. Dumitru

Docket: 19-1486

Opinion Date: March 22, 2021

Judge: Per Curiam

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Second Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence for asylum fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1546(a), making false statements in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1001(a)(2) and (3), and aggravated identity theft in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1028A(a)(1). The court concluded that the evidence at trial was sufficient to sustain a conviction for aggravated identity theft, even under the narrow view of the aggravated identity theft statute promoted by defendant. The court also concluded that the district court did not err in applying a sentencing enhancement for the involvement of 100 or more documents in the relevant offense.