This article examines the new trend of the Securities and Exchange Commission going after state governments for securities fraud. It considers the SEC and its ability to issue cease and desist orders and an overview of the recent SEC enforcement actions against the states and makes the case for regulating the municipal bond market. The market is opaque, and many workers rely on pensions as the cornerstone of their income during retirement. The consequences of a pension system collapse could be calamitous for workers. Conversely, research shows that transparency in the bond market correlates with a number of benefits.
When politicians are charged with crimes, prosecutors sometimes insist that any plea deal include a stipulation that they refrain from running for office in the future, or else judges impose such a restriction as a term of probation. Known as bar-to-office provisions, this Article examines their use, legality, and arguments for and against them. The ongoing criminal case against Donald Trump is used as a vehicle to analyze bar-to-office provisions, though lessons drawn from the discussion apply to any politician being driven from office by a criminal proceeding.
This Article examines the administrative powers of courts and the ways it can be used to expand access to justice. Administrative power, or rule-making power, is the power that state supreme courts have to regulate the lower courts, rules, practice and procedure, and the legal profession. Although they are often underutilized these powers have great potential to address the access to justice crisis throughout the nation. For virtually every area of law is touched by the administrative power of courts. The Article details the extent of the access to justice crisis, charts the history of administrative powers over time, and explores their benefits. It then proposes five solutions that state high courts should implement:(1) making courts more accommodating to self-represented parties,(2) opening up the justice system so that non-lawyers can play more meaningful roles in court,(3) using summary jury trials to reduce the costs of litigation for civil plaintiffs,(4) reforming pro bono so that more lawyers contribute to it, and(5) establishing and expanding funding mechanisms to pay for access to justice initiatives.In the end, the Article seeks not only to convince courts to adopt reforms, but to convince legal reformers that the rule-making powers of courts should be given as much attention as traditional litigation to advance reform.
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