University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform (JLR) is a journal of legal scholarship currently published by an independent student group at the University of Michigan Law School. One of the most prestigious journals of public policy, law reform, and politics, JLR is published quarterly, with special issues dedicated to symposia. The Journal of Law Reform is dedicated to promoting the improvement of the law when needs are disclosed and useful proposals can be advanced, and to providing a forum for identifying and addressing undisclosed needs for reform. JLR strives to provide legislators and policy-makers with the tools necessary to influence the evolution of the law. To supply these tools, JLR publishes Articles and student-written Notes that propose legal reforms. These reforms can occur in one of three ways: (1) changing the actual text of laws; (2) changing the enforcement of laws; or (3) changing the interpretation of laws.
Periodically, JLR hosts symposia where academics and policymakers from across the country come together to discuss legal reform. Past symposia have focused on topics such as media regulation, market-oriented welfare reform, managed care reform, jury reform, and Title IX reform. In March 2007, JLR hosted a symposium with the University of Michigan Law School Child Advocacy Clinic.
Contents |
[edit] History
The JLR was founded in 1968 under the name Prospectus: A Journal of Law Reform. The JLR was originally conceptualized as a faculty edited journal. Before the publication of the first issue, the untimely death of Professor Frank E. Cooper, the JLR's first faculty editor, transformed the JLR into a wholly student-run journal.[1] Then-Dean and Professor of Law Francis A. Allen authored the founding article of Prospectus. In his Prospectus for Reform, Dean Allen established two goals for the Journal: "to report efforts to improve the law and its administration and to stimulate thought and ... action to this end,"[2] and "to enlarge the opportunities for law journal experience of students at the University of Michigan Law School."[3] Starting with its fourth volume in 1971, the JLR adopted its current name, the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform.
David L. Callies served as the first Managing Editor of Prospectus. A year later, Ronald B. Schram became the first Editor-in-Chief. Roger A. Manlin served as the first Editor-in-Chief of the JLR under its current name. The first woman to serve as Editor-in-Chief was Margaret L. Houy. The current Editor-in-Chief is Chad J. Lindner.
[edit] Selection
The University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform uses a competitive process that takes into account a writing sample, an editing exercise, and a personal statement. JLR selects between 46 and 50 editors annually from the incoming second-year law school class. Because student publication is a primary focus of the JLR, applicants are encouraged to identify an area of society in need of reform that could serve as the basis for a Note.
[edit] Significant JLR Articles
- Ellen Katz et al., Documenting Discrimination in Voting Under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act Since 1982, 39 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 643 (2006).
- Lawrence W. Waggoner, The Uniform Probate Code's Elective Share: Time for a Reassessment, 37 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 1 (2003).
- Steven J. Markman, Forward: The Truth in Criminal Justice Series, 22 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 425 (1989).
- Herbert Hovenkamp, Derek Bok and the Merger of Law and Economics, 21 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 515 (1988).
- Senator Al Gore, Federal Biotechnology Policy: The Perils of Progress and the Risks of Uncertainty, 20 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 965 (1987).
- James Boyd White, Doctrine in a Vacuum: Reflections on What a Law School Ought (and Ought Not) to Be, 18 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 251 (1985).
- Wayne R. Lafave, Seizures Typology: Classifying Detentions of the Person to Resolve Warrant, Grounds, and Search Issues, 17 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 417 (1984).
- James J. White, Allocation of Scarce Goods under Section 2-615 of the Uniform Commercial Code: A Comparison of Some Rival Models, 12 U. Mich. J.L. Reform 503 (1979).
