Gale Encyclopedia Of American Law 3Rd Edition Volume 8 P34 docx

to protect the public health. Thus, state laws requiring the vaccination of all children before they are allowed to attend school are constitu- tional because the laws are designed to prevent the widespread epidemic of contagious diseases. Public health protection has been deemed to outweigh any competing interest in the exercise of religious beliefs that oppose any forms of medication or immunization. A number of cases have involved the issue of whether there is a compelling state interest to require that a blood transfusion be given to a patient whose religion prohibits such treatment. In these cases, the courts look to the specific facts of the case, such as whether the patient is a minor or a mentally incompetent individual, and whether the patient came to the hospital voluntarily seeking help. The courts have generally authorized the transfusions in cases of minors or mentally incompetent patients in recognition of the compelling government interest to protect the health and safety of people. However, the courts are divided as to whether they should order transfusions where the patient is a competent adult who steadfastly refuses to accept such treatment on religious grounds despite the understanding that her or his refusal could result in death. The use of secular courts to determine intra-church disputes has raised issues under boththeFreeExerciseClauseandtheEstab- lishment Clause. The Su preme Court decided in the 1871 case of Watson v. Jones, 80 U.S. 679, 20 L. Ed. 666, that judicial intervention in cases involving ownership and control of church assets necessarily had to be limited to determining and enforcing the decision of the highest judicatory b ody within the particu lar religious group. For con gregational religious groups,suchasBaptistsandJews,themajority of the congregation was considered the highest judicatory body. In hierarchical religions, such as the Roman Catholicism and Russian Ortho- doxy, the diocesan bishop was considered the highest judicatory authority. The Supreme Court consistently applied that principle until its 1979 decision in Jones v. Wolf, 443 U.S. 595, 99 S. Ct. 3020, 61 L. Ed. 2d 775. In that case, the Court held that the “neutral principles of law developed for use in all property disputes” could be constitutionally applied in intra- church litigation. Under this case, courts can examine the language of the church charters, real and PERSONAL PROPERTY deeds, and state statutes relating to the c ontrol of property generally. Religious Oaths Prohibited The Constitution also refers to religion in Article VI, Clause 3, which provides, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” The provision is binding only on the federal government. In early American history, individual states commonly required religious oaths for public officers. But after the Revolutionary War, most of these religious tests were eliminated. As of 2010, the individual states, through their constitutions or statutes, have restrictions simi- lar to that of the U.S. Constitution on imposing a religious oath as a condition to holding a government position. Freedom to express religious beliefs is entwined with the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of expression. The federal or state gover- nments cannot require an individual to declare a belief in the existence of God as a qualification for holding office (Torcaso v. Watkins, 367 U.S. 488, 81 S. Ct. 1680, 6 L. Ed. 2d 982 [1961]). Congress took an unprecedented step when it passed the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. (Pub. L.105-292, 112 Stat. 2787). The law seeks to promote religious freedom worldwide. It created a special representative to the SECRETARY OF STATE for international religious freedom. This representative serves on a U.S. Commission on International Religious Free- dom, an advisory organization. The act gives the president authority to take diplomatic and other appropriate action with respect to any country that engages in or tolerates violations of religious freedom. In extreme circumstances, the president is empowered to impose eco- nomic sanctions on countries that systemati- cally deny religious freedom. Standing In several cases, the Court has ruled that a person or an organization lacks standing to challenge a government’s actions on First Amendment grounds. In Hein v. Freedom from Religion Foundation, Inc., 551 U.S. 587, 127 S. Ct. 2553, 168 L. Ed. 2d 424 (2007), an organization challenged the faith-based initiatives of President George W. Bush, arguing that these initiatives violated the Establishment Clause. In a 5–4 GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 318 RELIGION decision, the Court held that the organization lacked taxpayer standing to bring the challenge. FURTHER READINGS Blomquist, Robert F. 2003. “Law and Spirituality: Some First Thoughts on an Emerging Relation.” UMKC Law Review 71 (spring). Haarscher, Guy. 2002. “Freedom of Religion in Context.” Brigham Young University Law Review 2002 (spring). Novak, David. 2009. In Defense of Religious Liberty. Wilmington, Del.: ISI Books. Semonche, John E., ed. 1985. Religion and Law in American History. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Skotnicki, Andrew. 2000. Religion and the Development of the American Penal System. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America. Spiropoulos, Andrew C. 1997. “The Constitutionality of Holiday Displays on Public Property (Or How the Court Stole Christmas).” Oklahoma Bar Journal (May 31). Vile, John R., David L. Hudson, Jr., and David Schultz. 2009. Encyclopedia of the First Amendment. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. Williams, Cynthia Norman. 2003. “America’s Opposition to New Religious Movements: Limiting the Freedom of Religion.” Law and Psychology Review 27 (spring). CROSS REFERENCES Charities; Ecclesiastical Courts; Flag; Immunization Pro- grams; Parent and Child; Schools and School Districts; Scopes Monkey Trial; Standing. REMAINDER A future interest held by one person in the real property of an other that will take effect upon the expiration of the other property interests created at the same time as the future interest. The law of real property permits a person who owns real estate to convey all or part of her rights in the property to another person or persons. Legal conveyances of property become more complicated when the person who owns the property, the grantor, gives a present interest (the right to the possession and use of the property) in the property to one person for either life or a set period of time, and also gives a future interest (also called a nonpossessory interest) in the property to another person. The future interest is called a remainder, and the holder of this interest is called the remainderman. Remainders are subdivided into two princi- pal categories: contingent remainders and vested remainders. A contingent remainder can be created in two different ways. First, it can be a remainder to a person not ascertained at the time the interest is created. For example, Tom owns Blackacre in fee simple, which means he owns it with no ownership limitations. While Bob and Jane are alive, Tom conveys Blackacre to Bob for life, with a remainder to the heirs of Jane. The heirs of Jane are not yet known, so they have a contingent remainder. A remainder also will be classified as contingent, whether or not the remainderman is ascertained, where the possibility of becoming a present interest is subject not only to the expiration of the preceding property interest but also to some specific event occurring before the expiration of the preceding interest. This event is called a special condition precedent. For example, if Tom owns Black acre in fee and conveys Blackacre to Bob for life and then to Jane if she marries Bill, then Jane has a contingent remainder in fee, conditioned on the death of Bob and the marriage to Bill. A vested remainder is a future interest to an ascertained person, with the certainty or possibility of becoming a present interest subject only to the expiration of the preceding property interests. If Tom owns Blackacre in fee simple and conveys Blackacre to Bob for life and to Jane in fee simple, Jane has a vested remainder in fee that becomes a present interest upon the death of Bob. As a remainderman, she simply has to wait for Bob’s death before assuming a present interest in Blackacre. For a remainder to be effective, it must be contained in the same instrument of convey- ance (document, such as a deed) that grants the present interest to another person. CROSS REFERENCE Estate. REMAND To send back. A higher court may remand a case to a lower court so that the lower court will take a certain action ordered by the higher court. A prisoner who is remanded into custody is sent back to prison subsequent to a PRELIMINARY HEARING before a tribunal or magistrate until the hearing is resumed, or the trial is commenced. Cases removed from state to federal court can then be remanded to state court from federal court. REMEDIAL STATUTE A law enacted for the purpose of correcting a defect in a prior law, or in order to provide a remedy GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION REMEDIAL STATUTE 319 where none previously existed. Remedial statutes are typically liberally construed. One promiment example of a federal remedial statute designed to protect public health is the Comprehensive Environ mental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), more commonly known as “Super- fund.” CERCLA was enacted in 1980 to give the federal government the ability to respond to various forms and instances of environmental pollution and hazards. In 1986, CERCLA was amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). CERCLA autho- rized two types of response actions: short-te rm removals, where actions may be taken to address a hazardous release (or the threat of a hazardous release) requiring prom pt response, and long-term remedial response actions, which are meant to reduce the harm from releases (or threats of releases) of hazardous substances that are potentially damaging but not immedi- ately life-threatening. The federal government maintains a list of specific sites, the Environ- mental Protection Agency ’s National Priorities List (NPL), where these activities can be carried out The statute authorizes the use of federal funds to clean up these toxic sites. FURTHER READING U.S. Environmental Protection Agency CERCLA Overview. http://epa.gov/superfund/policy/cercla.htm (accessed Sept. 26, 2009). REMEDY The manner in which a right is enforced or satisfied by a court when some harm or injury, recognized by society as a wrongful act, is inflicted upon an individual. The law of remedies is concerned with the character and extent of relief to which an individual who has brought a legal action is entitled once the appropriate court procedure has been followed, and the individual has established that he or she has a substantive right that has been infringed by the DEFENDANT. Categorized according to their purpose, the four basic types of judicial remedies are (1) damages; (2) restitution or UNJUST ENRICHMENT; (3) coercive remedies; and (4) declaratory remedies. The remedy of damages is generally intended to compensate the injured party for any harm he or she has suffered. This kind of damages is ordinarily known as “compensatory damages.” Money is substituted for that which the PLAINTIFF has lost or suffered. NOMINAL DAMAGES , generally a few cents or one dollar, are awarded to protect a right of a plaintiff even though he or she has suffered no actual harm. The theory underlying the award of PUNITIVE DAMAGES is different, as they are imposed upon the defendant in order to deter or punish him or her, rather than to compensate the plaintiff. The remedy of restitution, which is also called unjust enrichment, is designed to restore the plaintiff to the position he or she occupied before his or her rights were violated. It is ordinarily measured by the defendant’s gains, as opposed to the plaintiff’s losses, in order to prevent the defendant from being unjustly enriched by the wrong. The remedy of restitu- tion can resu lt in either a pecuniary recovery or in the recovery of property. There are a number of specific remedies that deal with unjust enrichment. The remedy of recission permits a court to dissolve a contract, while the remedy of reformation authorizes a court to rewrite a contract to reflect the true intentions of the parties. The remedy of QUANTUM MERUIT allows a court to award payment to for wor k under a contract that was never completed. Coercive remedies are orders by the court to force the defendant to do, or to refrain from doing, something to the plaintiff. An INJUNCTION backed by the CONTEMPT power is on e kind of coercive remedy. When issuing this type of remedy, the court commands the defendant to act, or to refrain from acting, in a certain way. In the event that the defendant willfully disobeys, he or she might be jailed, fined, or otherwise punished for contempt. A decree for SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE commands the defendant to perform his or her part of a contract after a breach thereof has been established. It is issued only in cases where the subject matter of a contract is unique. Declaratory remedies are sought when a plaintiff wishes to be made aware of what the law is, what it means, or whether or not it is constitutional, so that he or she will be able to take appropriate action. The main purpose of this kind of remedy is to determine a party’s rights in a particular situation. Nature of Remedies Remedies are also categorized as “equitable” or “legal” in nature. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 320 REMEDY Monetary damages awarded to a plaintiff because they adequately compensate him or her for the loss are considered a legal remedy. An EQUITABLE REMEDY is one in which a recovery of money would be an inadequate form of relief. Courts design equitable remedies to do justice in specific situations where money does not provide complete relief to individuals who have been injured. Injunctions, decrees of specific performance, declaratory judgments, and constructive trusts are typical examples of some kinds of equitable remedies. Restitution is regarded as either a legal or equitable remedy, depending upon the nature of the property restored. The distinction between legal and equitable remedies originally came about because courts of law only had the power to grant legal remedies, whereas courts of equity granted equitable remedies to do justice in situations where money would be inadequate relief. The courts of law and the courts of equity have merged, but the distinction still has some importance because in a number of courts, a trial by jury is either granted or refused, according to whether the remedy sought is legal or equitable. When a legal remedy is sought, the plaintiff is entitled to a jury trial, but this is not true w hen an equitable remedy is requested. Sometimes a plaintiff will have both legal and equitable remedies available for the redress of personal grievances. In such a case, a plaintiff might have to exercise an ELECTION OF REMEDIES. Provisional Remedies A provisional remedy is one that is adapted to meet a specific emergency. It is the temporary process available to the plaintiff in a CIVIL ACTION that protects him or her against loss, IRREPARABLE INJURY , or dissipation of the property while the action is pending. Some types of provisional remedies are injunction, RECEIVERSHIP, arrest, attachment, and GARNISHMENT. REMISSION Extinguishment or release of a debt. A remission is conventional when it comes about through an express grant to the debtor by a creditor. It is tacit when the creditor makes a voluntary surrender of the original title to the debtor under private signature constituting the obligation. The term remission is also used in reference to the forgiveness or condonation of an injury or offense, or the act through which a FORFEITURE or penalty is forgiven. REMIT To transmit or send. To relinquish or surrender, such as in the case of a fine, punishment, or sentence; to refer to an authority, esp. to send a case back to a lower court. An individual, for example, might remit money to pay bills. CROSS REFERENCE Remand. REMITTANCE Money sent from one individual to another in the form of cash, check, or some other manner. Financial statements sent by a creditor to a debtor frequently refer to the process of submitting a monthly remittance. REMITTITUR The procedural process by which an excessive verdict of the jury is reduced. If money damages awarded by a jury are grossly excessive as a MATTER OF LAW , or perhaps significantly more than the plaintiff had sought, the judge may exercise discretion to order the plaintiff to remit a portion of the award. Rules and standards vary by jurisdiction. The inverse of remittitur, in which a jury’s award of damages is subsequently increased, is known as “additur.” The remedy of remittitur is designed to cure an award of damages that is grossly excessive, without the necessity of a new trial or an appeal. In some cases, an award by a jury is so completely out of line with the damages proven in the case that it is UNCONSCIONABLE. Ordinarily, however, an award of PUNITIVE DAMAGES will not be upset as excessive in the absence of gross error or prejudice on the part of the jury. Remittitur freque ntly occurs when a DEFEN- DANT requests a new trial because he or she regards the verdict for the PLAINTIFF as excessive. In the case of BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559 (1996), in which the buyer of a luxury sedan learned that the manufacturer had applied a second coat of paint before the sale, and was awarded $4 million in punitive GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION REMITTITUR 321 damages for thus devaluing the car (later remitted to $2 million ), the U.S. SUPREME COURT reviewed the constitutional standard of exces- sive punitive damages and the ratio of punit ive damages to COMPENSATORY DAMAGES. REMOVAL The transfer of a person or thing from one place to another. The transfer of a case from one court to another. In this sense, removal generally refers to a transfer from a court in one jurisdiction to a court in another, whereas a change of venue may be granted simply to move a case to another location within the same jurisdict ion. Normally a plaintiff has the right to choose the court where he or she will commence an action. An important exception to this rule is the defendant’s right, in some circumstances, to have a case removed from a state court to a federal court. Federal law explains this right of removal in detail. It is available only when the federal court has jurisdiction, or authority, to hear such a case. The right may be claimed only by a defendant; plaintiff cannot petition for removal of a case he or she has commenced in state court, even after the defendant asserts a counterclaim against the plaintiff that would justify the exercise of federal jurisdiction. If a plaintiff has more than one claim against a defendant, and not all of the claims qualify for removal, it is not clear whether the whole case should be sent to the applicable federal court. Sometimes the individual claims that support federal jurisdiction can be severed and heard in federal court individually. This can be done if the removable claims are sufficiently distinct that they can be determined on their own. Otherwise they must be tried together. A federal court has discretion to weigh the circumstances and decide each case on its own facts. The right of the plaintiff to pick the court must be balanced with the right of the defendant to use a federal court when there is federal jurisdiction. The same considerations apply when there are multiple defendants, and some are entitled to removal of the case but others are not. If there are multiple defendants and multiple claims, the reasoning can become rather confusing. The process of removal raises serious questions concerning FEDERALISM, the relation- ship of the states and the federal government. The idea of a federal court ousting a state court from a lawsuit already pending in the state is somewhat unsettling. The removal procedure itself emphasizes the poten tial for conflict. A person who is sued in a state court files a petition in the nearest federal court asking for removal of the action, which has the effect of removing the action to the federal court. A copy of that petition is then filed in the state court. The state court can take no further action whatsoever unless, and until, the federal court remands, or sends, the case back to it. The procedure generally works well because federal judges are careful to recognize the legitimate interests of the states in determining causes that are not necessarily federal in nature. CROSS REFERENCE Federal Question. RENDER Return; yield; pay or perform, as in charges or services. To render judgment means to pronounce, declare, or state the decision of the court in a particular case. To render a verdict means that a jury agrees upon and returns a written decision into court and hands the decision to the judge sitting at the trial. RENEWAL Rehabilitation; reestablishment; substitution of a new right or obli gation for another of the same or similar nature. In regard to bonds, renewal signifies an extension of time for maturity. A stipulation for the renewal of a lease requires the making of a new lease, as opposed to an extension, which involves adding time to a leasehold agreement already in existence without executing a new instrument. v RENO, JANET President BILL CLINTON appointed Janet Reno to be U.S. attorney general on February 11, 1993. She was his third choice for the post. The first woman to serve as U.S. attorney general, Reno previously served as the state attorney for Florida’s Dade Count y, which includes Miami. During her first term as attorney general, Reno sought stricter GUN CONTROL laws, lobbied for funding for more local police officers, and worked with communities to develop more effective methods of crime prevention. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 322 REMOVAL Reno was born on July 21, 1938, in Miami, Florida. Her parents were journalists w ho worked for Miami daily newspapers. Reno attended public sch ools in Dade County and enrolled at Cornell University in 1956. After her graduation in 1960, she attended Harvard Law School, one of only 16 women in a class of more than 500 students. She graduated in 1963 but found that her gender made it difficult to find work as a lawyer in Miami. In 1971 Reno was named staff director of the Florida House Judiciary Committee. In that position, she oversaw the revision of the Florida court system. In 1973, she was named counsel for the state senate’s committee responsible for revising the Florida Criminal Code. That same year, she accepted a position in the Dade County state attorney’s office. She quickly succeeded in organizing a juvenile division within the office. Reno left the state attorney’sofficein1976to become a partner in a private Miami law firm. She was drawn back into government service in 1978 when the Dade County state attorney stepped down before the end of his term. Appointed to be state attorney, Reno was elected to a full term in November 1978, and the voters returned her to office four more times. As state attorney, Reno managed an office of 940 employees with an annual budget of $30 million and a yearly docket of 120,000 cases. She established a career-criminal unit that worked with federal officials and local law enforcement to arrest and convict career criminals and to sentence them to substantial prison time. Reno also helped establish the Miami drug court, which has been a model for courts in the United States. The drug court provides alternative punishment for nonviolent offenders who have a drug-abuse problem. More than half of those offenders who have completed the program have remained free of drugs. Janet Reno 1938– ▼▼ ▼▼ 2000 1975 1950 ❖ 1939–45 World War II 1950–53 Korean War 1961–73 Vietnam War ◆ ◆ ◆ 1938 Born, Miami, Fla. 1960 Earned A.B. in chemistry from Cornell University 1967 Formed law partnership of Lewis and Reno ◆ 1963 Graduated from Harvard Law School 1973 Appointed to Dade County state attorney’s office; organized a juvenile court division within two months ◆ 1971 Named staff director of the Florida House Judiciary Committee 1978–92 Served as Florida state attorney ◆ ◆ 1990 Ran unopposed for reelection to state attorney’s office ◆ 1993 Became first woman appointed U.S. attorney general; approved raid of Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas ◆ 1994 Helped President Clinton win congressional approval of biggest crime legislation in U.S. history; appointed Kenneth Starr independent counsel to investigate Whitewater allegations 2002 Ran unsuccessfully for Democratic nomination in Florida gubernatorial race 2000 Ordered federal agents to seize Elian Gonzales from Miami relatives for repatriation to Cuba; inducted into National Women’s Hall of Fame 1993–2000 Served as U.S. Attorney General ◆ 1998 Won approval from federal judicial panels to expand Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr’s Whitewater inquiry to include investigating subordination of perjury; refused to appoint independent counsel to investigate campaign finance allegations against President Clinton; filed federal antitrust litigation against Microsoft Corporation 2009 Received the American Judicature Society’s Justice Award ◆ ◆ Janet Reno. ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION RENO, JANET 323 Reno also focused attention on prevention programs that enabled children to grow in a safe, constructive environment. She helped to reform the juvenile justice system and pursued delinquent fathers for CHILD SUPPORT payments . As U.S. attorney general, Reno entered the public spotlight almost immediately. On Febru- ary 28, 1993, approximately 100 agents from the BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMS (ATF) raided the Waco, Texas, compound of the members of the Branch Davidian religious cult, who were led by David Koresh. The agents and cult members exchanged gunfire. Four ATF agents died, six cult members were killed, and 16 others were wounded. After the unsuccessful raid, a long standoff ensued. Reno oversaw the negotiations between Koresh and agents of the FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI). For 51 days negotiations continued, but in April the FBI alerted Reno that cult members were planning a mass SUICIDE. Although Koresh had released some children, many remained in the compound. Reno ordered an ASSAULT on the compound, which took place on April 19, 1993. Cult members started fires in three locations, which soon engulfed the wooden buildings. Approxi- mately 86 cult members, including 17 children, died that day. Reno, expressing anguish over the loss of life, particularly the children’s lives, took full responsibility for the decision to storm the compound. She came under heavy attack for having approved the plan, which she defended as having been based on the information known at the time. She conceded, however, that based on the results, it obviously had been the wrong decision. Reno became embroiled in another major national controversy in 1999 and 2000 after fisherman found a six-year-old boy named Elian Gonzalez floating in an inner tube off the coast of Florida on Thanksgiving Day in 1999. The boy’s mother and stepfather had tried to flee Cuba, but both died after their boat capsized. The boy’s relatives in Miami wanted him to stay in the United States, but his father, who rem ained in Cuba, demanded his return. For four months during 2000, the nation debated whether the boy should be returned to Cuba. Reno and the now-defunct IMMIGRATION and NATURALIZATION Service (INS) maintained that the boy should be returned to his father but allowed the courts to make the decision. When a federal court ruled that the boy should be returned to his father, Reno and the INS demanded that the relatives turn the boy over to authorities. The relatives refused, and Reno eventually ordered armed federal agents to enter the home of the relatives who were keeping the boy. Elian was eventually returned to his father in Cuba. Reno came under fire for a number of reasons during the controversy, most notably due to her decision to use armed guards to gain CUSTODY of the boy. Reno’s greatest achievement during the first Clinton administration was helping the pre si- dent win congressional approval of the 1994 crime bill, the most substantial crime legisla tion in U.S. history (Pub. L. No. 103-322, 108 Stat. 1796). The $30.2 billion measure was a complex mixture of government spending and changes to previous CRIMINAL LAW. It authorized the funding of social programs, the hiring of 100,000 police officers nationwide, and the building of new prisons. Reno applauded the increased legal protections afforded to women and children under the VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT OF 1994, which was contained in the bill, although, in 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down as unconstitutional. The NA- TIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION had protested Reno’s efforts to ban 19 assault-style firearms, yet Congress included this controversial measure in the final bill. The bill also prohibited gun purchases by people who are subject to court restraining orders because of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. Reno has traveled throughout the United States, meeting with local officials to encourage crime prevention programs and law enforcement methods such as community policing. Reno served two full terms as attorney general, stepping down at the end of the Clinton administration in 2001. She will be remembered for many important convictions, in cluding the capture and convictions of Theodore Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber; Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the perpetrators of the Oklahoma City bombing; Mir Aimal Kasi, who killed two CIA officers in a 1993 attack; and those responsible for the World Trade Center bombing. During her tenure, a leak to the media resulted in the false assumption of Richard Jewell’s involvement in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing. Reno later apologized and expressed her regret over the leak. NOTHING CAN MAKE ME MADDER THAN LAWYERS WHO DON ’T CARE ABOUT OTHERS . —JANET RENO GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 324 RENO, JANET In 1998 the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee voted to cite Reno for CONTEMPT of Congress for failing to disclose documents during President Bill Clinton’s IMPEACHMENT proceedings. However, the issue never came to vote in the House, and the documents were eventually turned over to Congress. In September 2001 Reno made national headlines again when she announced that she would run for governor of Florida in the 2002 election. A year later, she lost the Democratic nomination in the race to political newcomer Bill McBride. Reno has since retired from public life but frequently makes guest appearances for Democratic and other political caus es. FURTHER READINGS Anderson, Paul. 1994. Janet Reno: Doing the Right Thing. New York: J. Wiley. “Exit Interview: Janet Reno.” 2001. MacNeil/Lehrer News- hour. PBS. Available online at www.pbs.org/newshour/ bb/politics/jan-june01/reno_1-18.html (accessed August 20, 2009). Powell, H. Jefferson. 1999. The Constitution and the Attorneys General. Durham, N.C.: Carolina Academic Press. RENT STRIKE An organized protest on the part of tenants in which they withhold the payment of consideration for the use or occupation of property from their landlord until their grievances are settled. A rent strike is ordinarily unlawful since a tenant who occupies leasehold premises has a legal obligation to pay rent. Eve n if a landlord does not make needed repairs or provide necessary services, a tenant ordinarily is not released from the obligation to pay rent unless he or she leaves the premises and can show that they were uninhabitable, or unless the tenant can demonstrate that the landlord was attempt- ing to force him or her to move out. Certain courts refuse to recognize rent strikes as lawful on the grounds that any failure to pay rent constitut es a breach of the tenant’s obligation and legally makes the tenant subject to eviction. A rent strike, however, is distin- guishable from other failures to pay rent because its purpose is to coerce the landlord to take a particular action. Increasingly the courts have recognized that a rent strike is not an ordinary failure to pay rent. Some jurisdic- tions have developed procedures through which tenants are able to pay their rent into the court, or to a court-appointed receiver. The landlord receives the money only after essential repairs have been made, or the receiver can use the funds to contract for such repairs. CROSS REFERENCE Landlord and Tenant. RENUNCIATION The ABANDONMENT of a right; repudiation; rejection. The renunciation of a right, power, or privi- lege involves a total divestment thereof; the right, power, or privilege cannot be transferred to anyone else. For example, when an individual becomes a citizen of a new country, that indi- vidual must ordinarily renounce his or her citi- zenship in the old country. RENUNCIATION OF WAR Although INTERNA TIONAL LAW draws some dis- tinction between a just and an unjust war, state practice until the conclusion of WORLD WAR I had generally disregarded that distinction and main- tained war as a legitimate means of resolving disputes or increasing the power of the state. Recognized methods for resolving disputes peacefully did exist, however; under the COVE- NANT of the LEAGUE OF NATIONS, for example, member states promised to utilize such meth- ods before resorting to war. Formal rejection of war as a means of national policy for settling controversies came in 1928 with the conclusion of the Kellogg- Briand Pact. Titled the General Treaty for the Renunciation of War, the Kellogg-Briand Pact obligated signatories to abandon force in favor of negotiation, arbitration, mediation, or other methods of settling disputes peacefully. Al- though the signatories renounced war with each other, the Kellog g-Briand Pact still permitted war for self-defense, for collective enforcement of international obligations, between signatories and nonparty states, and against a signatory that had derogated its obligations under the treaty by going to war. The UNITED NATIONS Charter, which has had broader acceptance than the KELLOGG-BRIAND PACT , carries the aims of the pact further by prohibiting the use of force or even the threat of force. The charter also attempts to impose these obligations on nonmembers in Article 2(6). GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION RENUNCIATION OF WAR 325 Following WORLD WAR II, American occupa- tion forces in Japan led by General Douglas MacArthur drafted a new Japanese constitution. Article 9 of the constitution, which was adopted in 1947, declares Japan’s renunciation of war: “Aspiring sincerely to an international peace based on justice and order, the Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes.” CROSS REFERENCES Mediation; International Law. RENVOI The process by which a court adopts the rules of a foreign jurisdiction with respect to any conflict of laws that arises. In some instances, the rules of the foreign state might refer the court back to the law of the forum w here the case is being heard. The term renvoi also refers to the rules that, in a lawsuit by a nonresident upon a cause arising locally, the capacity to sue is determined by the law of the nonresident’s domicile, rather than by local law. The doctrine of renvoi is seldom followed in the United States and has also been rejected by a number of foreign legal scholars. REORGANIZATION The process of carrying out, through agreements and legal proceedings, a business plan for winding up the affairs of, or foreclosing a mortgage upon, the property of a corporation that has become insolvent. Reorganization is ordinarily accomplished by way of a JUDICIAL SALE of the property of the corporation. The purchasers then often form a new corporation to which substantially all assets of the old are transferred. CROSS REFERENCE Bankruptcy. REORGANIZATION PLAN A scheme authorized by federal law and promul- gated by the president whereby he or she alters the structure of federal agencies to promote govern- ment efficiency and economy through a transfer, consolidation, coordination, authorization, or abolition of functions. A reorganization plan must specify the reorganizations that the president deems to be necessary after making an investigation. A plan may provide for 1. the transfer of the whole or a part of an agency, or of the whole or a part of the functions thereof, to the jurisdiction and control of another agency; 2. the abolition of all or a part of the functions of an agency, except that no enforceme nt function or statutory program shall be abolished by the plan; 3. the consolidation or coordination of the whole or a part of an agency, or of the whole or a part of the functions thereof, with the whole or a part of another agency or the functions thereof; 4. the consolidation or coordination of a part of an agency or the functions thereof with another part of the same agency or the functions thereof; 5. the authorization of an officer to delegate any of his or her functions; or 6. the abolition of the whole or a part of an agency that does not have, or on the taking effect of the reorganization plan will not have, any functions. No more than three plans may be pending before Congress at one time. In the message conveying a reorganization plan, the president must specify, with respect to each abolition of a function encompassed in the plan, the statutory authority for the exercise of the function. The message must also estimate any reduction or increase in expenditures, itemized whenever practicable, and describe in detail any improve- ments in management, delivery of federal services, execution of the laws, and increases in efficiency of government operations that, it is expected, will ensue from the reorganization plan. The president can withdraw the plan at any time prior to the conclusion of 60 calendar days of President Calvin Coolidge, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover, and Secretary of State Frank Kellogg (all three standing), with representatives of the governments that ratified the Kellogg- Briand Pact, a formal renunciation of war. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION 326 RENVOI DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY REORGANIZATION PLAN Introduction This Reorganization Plan is submitted pursuant to Section 1502 of the Department of Homeland Security Act of 2002 (“the Act”), which requires submission, not later than 60 days after enactment, of a reorganization plan regarding two categories of information concerning plans for the Department of Homeland Security (“the Department” or “DHS”): (1) The transfer of agencies, personnel, assets, and obligations to the Department pursuant to this Act. (2) Any consolidation, reorganization, or streamlining of agencies transferred to the Department pursuant to this Act. Section 1502(a). Section 1502(b) of the Act identifies six elements, together with other elements “as the President deems appropriate,” as among those for discussion in the plan. Each of the elements set out in the statute is identified verbatim below, followed by a discussion of current plans with respect to that element. This plan is subject to modification pursuant to Section 1502(d) of the Act, which provides that on the basis of consultations with appropriate congressional committees the President may modify or revise any part of the plan until that part of the plan becomes effective. Additional details concerning the process for establishing the Department will become available in the coming weeks and months, and the President will work closely with Congress to modify this plan consistent with the Act. Plan Elements (1) Identification of any functions of agencies transferred to the Department pursuant to this Act that will not be transferred to the Department under the plan. Except as otherwise directed in the Act, all functions of agencies that are to be transferred to the Department pursuant to the Act will be transferred to the Department under the plan. The functions of agencies being transferred to the Department which the Act directs are not to be transferred are the following: • Pursuant to Section 201(g)(1) of the Act, the Computer Investigations and Operations Section (“CIOS”) of the National Infrastructure Protection Center (“NIPC”) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) will not transfer to the Department with the rest of NIPC. CIOS is the FBI headquarters entity responsible for managing all FBI computer intrusion field office cases (whether law enforcement or national security related). • Pursuant to Sections 421(c) & (d) of the Act, the regulatory responsibilities and quarantine activities relating to agricultural import and entry inspection activities of the United States Department of Agriculture (“the USDA”) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (“APHIS”) will remain with the USDA, as will the Secretary of Agriculture’s authority to issue regulations, policies, and procedures regarding the functions transferred pursuant to Sections 421(a) & (b) of the Act. • Pursuant to Subtitle B of Title IV of the Act, the authorities of the Secretary of the Treasury related to Customs revenue functions, as defined in the statute, will not transfer to the Department. • Functions under the immigration laws of the United States with respect to the care of unaccompanied alien children will not transfer from the Department of Justice to DHS, but will instead transfer to the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Section 462 of the Act. (2) Specification of the steps to be taken by the Secretary to organize the Department, including the delegation or assignment of functions transferred to the Department among officers of the Department in order to permit the Department to carry out the functions transferred under the plan. (A) Steps to be taken by the Secretary to organize the Department. The President intends that the Secretary will carry out the following actions on the dates specified. All of the following transfers shall be deemed to be made to DHS, and all offices and positions to be established and all officers and officials to be appointed or named shall be deemed to be established, appointed, or named within DHS. January 24, 2003 (effective date of the Act pursuant to Section 4): • Establish the Office of the Secretary. • Begin to appoint, upon confirmation by the Senate, or transfer pursuant to the transfer provisions of the Act, as many of the following officers as may be possible: (1) Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security (2) Under Secretary for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (3) Under Secretary for Science and Technology (4) Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security (5) Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response (6) Director of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (7) Under Secretary for Management (8) Not more than 12 Assistant Secretaries (9) General Counsel (10) Inspector General (11) Commissioner of Customs Reorganization Plan [continued] A sample reorganization plan. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION REORGANIZATION PLAN 327 . U.S. 488 , 81 S. Ct. 1 680 , 6 L. Ed. 2d 982 [1961]). Congress took an unprecedented step when it passed the International Religious Freedom Act of 19 98. (Pub. L.105-292, 112 Stat. 2 787 ). The law. federal court. REMEDIAL STATUTE A law enacted for the purpose of correcting a defect in a prior law, or in order to provide a remedy GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION REMEDIAL STATUTE. CONTROL laws, lobbied for funding for more local police officers, and worked with communities to develop more effective methods of crime prevention. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 322