Elizabeth Lee Thompson

We should be wary of reforms that are attractive in terms of saving time but have unnoticed substantive effects. . . . The great end for which courts are created is not efficiency. It is justice.

Charles Alan Wright (1966)

Some of the most significant—and by some estimations the most controversial— transformations of the federal appellate system occurred in the late 1960s and 1970s. Many of the effects are still felt today, including the shift from oral argument for all appeals and the view that study and disposition of each appeal were exclusively judicial tasks, to the adoption of a tiered appellate system where the great majority of appeals receive no oral argument and instead receive summary disposition often involving staff attorneys. These transformative internal efficiency procedures have been the subject of intense debate. Proponents have praised their efficiency and ability to avoid a backlog while critics complain that the procedures created a bureaucratic appellate process—rather than one focused on justice—and instituted an inequitable multi-tiered process that particularly disadvantages novice and unrepresented litigants. Continue reading →

Manoj Mate

Proponents of fair districting reforms continue to face challenges in seeking to address the problem of partisan gerrymandering. Even in states that have successfully enacted redistricting reforms, state actors have been able to evade compliance, and state courts have been unable to guarantee fair districts. In addition, the Supreme Court’s decision in Moore v. Harper could also limit state court efforts to guarantee fair districts. This Article argues that state evasion and Moore threaten to undermine the efficacy of fair districting norms recognized by state courts or enacted through either state political processes. Moore could create a one-way ratchet by weakening state courts’ role in policing partisan gerrymandering, while allowing state courts to dismantle fair districts and fail to address the problem of evasion. Continue reading →

Victor A. Bolden

In this seemingly apocalyptic age, when the rule of law appears under siege, the way forward should involve reaffirming our belief in the rule of law, through reaffirming the importance of proof to the rule of law. Indeed, proof is the rule of law’s most essential element, a significance codified in legal rules, exemplified by legal theory, and reflected in the main source of belief in the rule of law, its effectiveness. Continue reading →

Kiel Brennan-Marquez & Riley Breakell

Since 1999, Getting to Maybe has served as a key resource for first-year law students. Professors Michael Fischl and Jeremy Paul wrote the definitive guide on how to excel on law school exams and master legal reasoning. Professors Fischl and Paul have not only had a massive impact at UConn Law, but they’ve also influenced thousands of law students nationally and legal education as a whole. Continue reading →

Jill Warren

Connecticut is one of the wealthiest states in the country, yet there is an alarming shortage of affordable housing across the state. The regulatory schemes of Connecticut municipalities only exacerbate the issue. Many towns and cities employ exclusionary zoning policies and regulations that make it difficult for lower-income households to reside in an area. A prominent example is single-family, two-acre zoning, which makes it difficult or even impossible to construct high density housing conducive to the creation of affordable housing. As a result of exclusionary zoning policies, Connecticut has effectively become economically segregated. This begs the question of whether exclusionary zoning policies violate the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits housing discrimination. Continue reading →