Making a Smooth Intersection: NYU Law School's Journal of Legislation and Public Policy

Summary

New York University School of Law's Journal of Legislation and Public Policy (JLPP) is a scholarly legal publication devoted to the analysis of public policy, legislation, and legal issues. It provides a forum for law students and faculty members to explore and debate legal, social, and public policy issues. The journal publishes all manner of scholarly work, from legal articles to essays and book reviews.


JLPP was founded in 2003 and is comprised of a board of editors, a staff of student editors, and a faculty advisor. The editors focus on publishing high quality academic legal writing and have developed their own standards for submissions. The articles and reviews published in the journal cover a wide range of topics, including constitutional law, civil rights and civil liberties, criminal law, immigration law, international law, labor law, and environmental law. Additionally, the journal has published works on topics related to public policy, such as constitutional reform and educational reform.

JLPP is dedicated to promoting legal scholarship on topics relevant to the current public policy debate. The journal strives to publish original and innovative pieces on topics of legal and social importance. The journal also serves as an educational resource for students and professionals, providing them with tools to research and understand the current developments in law and public policy.

The journal serves as an outlet for a diversity of perspectives, enabling its authors to explore the various facets of important legal issues. The quality of the journal's work is also maintained through peer review from the editors and reviewers. The journal also works hard to ensure that the published material is timely and reliable.

JLPP is committed to providing its authors with resources to help them further their understanding of public policy and law. In addition to its articles and book reviews, the journal provides its authors with the opportunity to participate in panel discussions and presentations. These events give authors the chance to elaborate on their ideas, engage in open dialogue, and receive feedback from their peers.

New York University School of Law's Journal of Legislation and Public Policy (JLPP) provides students and faculty members with a platform to explore and debate public policy, legislation, and legal issues. The journal publishes original and innovative pieces on topics of legal and social importance and aims to promote legal scholarship on current public policy debates. JLPP is comprised of a board of editors, a staff of student editors, and a faculty advisor. The journal offers numerous resources to its authors, including peer review, panel discussions, and presentations. The journal is dedicated to providing its authors with the tools they need to explore and understand the current developments in law and public policy.
 

The Journal of Legislation and Public Policy at New York University School of Law

The Journal of Legislation and Public Policy at New York University School of Law was established in 1997 with the mission of making the legal intersection of legislation and public policy research more accessible to the legal community.

In this digital age, the process of creating, evaluating and interpreting public policies can be sometimes be confusing and difficult to follow. The Journal of Legislation and Public Policy aims to provide a comprehensive platform for discussing the legal issues arising from public policy issues.

By introducing a variety of perspectives from both academics and practitioners, the journal assists in developing an overall understanding of public policy in the United States. The publication serves as a forum for legal scholars, legislators, policy makers, and practitioners to come together and discuss pressing legal matters.

 

Diverse Perspectives and Contributions

The Journal of Legislation and Public Policy at New York University School of Law offers articles, reviews, and comments on a range of topics related to public policy. The publication covers issues such as energy, technology, tax, health, and labor. It also examines constitutional issues and their implications on the U.S. legal system. The journal also provides a platform for practitioners to express their thoughts and opinions on the legal aspects of public policy. If Law & Order epitomizes the fictional end of the spectrum of America's fascination with legal issues and legal actors, then the realm where politics, legislation and public policy intersect may operate as its real-world balancing force. Pieces of legislation like the Campaign Finance Reform Act or the Religious Land Use Act are the results of decisions made by the players in this realm, and these decisions hold impact for many Americans. Where the decisions of ersatz District Attorney Jack McCoy entertain, the choices made by a state legislature or the U.S. Congress proclaim-funds are directed, behavior is controlled, and the daily lives of millions are given limits and freedoms.

Studying and understanding these public policy choices is essential to an educated system of democratic participants. That check-and-balance dream of the Fathers surely anticipated that some group of inquiring minds would perpetually analyze and question the results of these lawmaking bodies and the current public policy issues they face.

Enter the New York University School of Law Journal of Legislation and Public Policy.

Since April of 1997, the Journal of Legislation and Public Policy has sought to publish articles that examine a specific policy issue, specific piece of legislation, or a proposed legislative initiative. Knowing that strong analysis leads to more productive debate, the Journal recognizes that its title should always direct its mission. "It is critical that all of our articles have both components," said Editor-In-Chief Heather Pierce. "We're the Journal of Legislation and Public Policy." This requires that a wide net of inquiry be cast and discussed before settling upon a narrow aim. It is a balance that may seem simple, but in the world of law creation- if one is honest-no issue is completely detached from the broader social experience.

Examining the reach and ambition of both a past and upcoming issue of this young Journal reveals that its mission is likely to be achieved with considerable success. In the fall of 2003, it published papers resulting from an earlier symposium entitled "Teaching Legislation" that focused on the legislative aspect of its mission. Currently the Journal is compiling an issue of papers that were written from a symposium it co-sponsored with the Health Law Society, named "Increasing Access to Healthcare." This symposium sustains the balance by providing a direct focus on public policy. Where "Teaching Legislation" concerned itself with the role of legislatures in public law, the Journal's upcoming health-care symposium issue covers a broad range of topics, from reducing medical errors to why the modern health-care crisis exists in the first place.

"We were astounded at how different the pieces were," said Pierce, referring to the soon-to-be-published health-care issue. "The topic range illustrates the complexity of the situation." On a public policy scale this could not be more true. The health-care question attracts the opinions and ideas of lawyers, physicians, hospitals, and insurance companies, contributing to a lively debate that will certainly make this forthcoming December issue a worthwhile read.

Located off Washington Square in New York City, the office of the Journal knows the talented energies of a variety of members. The Journal is made up of 40 second-year staff editors, approximately 20 third-year articles editors, and an executive board. Unlike some Journals, this small community randomly assigns second-year editors to assist and learn from third-year editors, and these assignments shift at least once during the semester. This way, every Journal member is "more invested right from the beginning," due to a more varied involvement in the publication process, Pierce noted. It also "increases the institutional memory" of the Journal, she continued, thereby allowing for more involved projects like symposiums or a special section in each issue of the Journal called "Recent Developments."

"Recent Developments" is an example of how the Journal is driven to inform its potential audience in distinctive ways. According to Pierce, these essay-length pieces, written by Journal staff, "invoke brief and thoughtful analysis of a current piece of legislation." Items in "Recent Developments" allow more staff writing to be published, and the section seemingly allows the staff to further strengthen their joint commitment to the Journal. Most importantly, these pieces enable a reader to get a "good grasp of policy issues without being overburdened," said Managing Editor Rachel Grand. And when the policy issue is one like same-sex marriage, for example, parsing down the rhetoric and presenting clear analysis makes this section a valuable contribution to public debate.

The enthusiasm and professionalism of editors Pierce and Grand help to reveal why the Journal's content is so compelling. Where Pierce brings a Master's in Public Health to the table, Grand holds interest in topics from the study of bioethics to workplace gender discrimination. It does not seem unreasonable to assume that the entire staff at the Journal offers a similar variety of interests and expertise that contribute to this intellectual vigor. Past issues of the Journal contain articles with topics ranging from employment law statutes to transportation subsidies, and student notes discussing the public's role in caring for the elderly and juvenile curfews.

In an election year where policy argument is ignored in favor of campaign strategy, and in a modern America where Law & Order episodes are "ripped from the headlines," the line between fiction and reality, in regards to law, legislation, and policy issues, has undeniably blurred. Thankfully, the New York University School of Law Journal of Legislation and Public Policy is picking up where negligent reporting has failed. This Journal provides a fresh and substantive outlet for future and current legal leaders to consider the prospect for public law. That is a great thing for public policy and a great thing for the polity.

Visit the New York University School of Law Journal of Legislation and Public Policy at: http://www.law.nyu.edu/journals/legislation/index.html.

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