Digital Commons Network^™

Workplace Electronic Privacy Protections Abroad: The Whole Wide World Is Watching, William A. Herbert

William A. Herbert

Legal and public policy ideas and concepts are known to traverse national borders. The rapidity of this multinational exchange of ideas has been substantially enhanced through the technological revolution over the past two decades. How a nation adopts or rejects particular ideas and concepts reflects on its particular history, culture and priorities. The establishment of legal protections for privacy against intrusions by governments, employers, companies and individuals represents a concept that has been adopted in different ways by other nations. This article will focus on how the European Union and certain Western countries have approached the issue of protecting individual …

Clitoridectomy And The Economics Of Islamic Marriage & Divorce Law, Ryan M. Riegg

Ryan M. Riegg

Redefining Harm, Reimagining Remedies And Reclaiming Domestic Violence Law, Margaret Johnson

Margaret E Johnson

Women subjected to domestic violence are disserved by the civil domestic violence laws that should effectively address and redress their harms. The Civil Protective Order [CPO] laws should remedy all domestic abuse and not solely physical violence or criminal acts. All forms of abuse, including psychological, emotional, economic and physical abuse, cause severe emotional distress, physical harm, isolation, sustained fear, intimidation, poverty, degradation, humiliation, and coerced loss of autonomy. Moreover, all abuse is interrelated, because, as researchers have demonstrated, most domestic violence is the fundamental operation of systemic oppression through the exertion of power and control. Given the effectiveness of …

For-Profit Philanthropy, Dana Brakman Reiser

Dana Brakman Reiser

This essay examines Google’s adoption of the novel and unorthodox for-profit philanthropy model. Google created a division of its for-profit company that is tasked with pursuing philanthropic activities. Specifically, this division is responsible for addressing the global issues of climate change, poverty, and emerging diseases. Of course, companies have long blended philanthropic and business objectives. They make contributions, commit to corporate social responsibility, or even form as social enterprises. For-profit philanthropy, though, differs from these familiar techniques in both structure and scale. Likewise, for-profit philanthropy stands in stark contrast to the nonprofit, tax-exempt form of organization typically used by those …

The Right To Privacy And America's Aging Population, Kristine Knaplund

Kristine Knaplund

As the number of elderly grows significantly, especially those with cognitive impairments, how do we as a society deal with their need for privacy and intimate association? Two critical issues have so far gone unaddressed in the legal literature: the lack of personal freedom suffered by those who move into large assisted living facilities and nursing homes, versus the lack of social support for those who remain in their own homes. While seniors in nursing homes are lectured and ridiculed, even transferred involuntarily, for having a sexual relationship, elderly living alone are being preyed upon by unscrupulous caregivers who know …

Trapped In The Law? How Lawyers Reconcile The Legal And Social Aspects Of Their Work, Hadar Aviram

Hadar Aviram

This Article addresses an immensely important, and often neglected, problem faced by legal practitioners in their daily professional lives: how do legal actors feel, and act, when the cases in which they are involved have evident, and disturbing, socio-economic implications? This situation is particularly uncomfortable for prosecutors, judges, and defense attorneys, whose criminal case workload often reflects much deeper social inequalities and problems, and whose defendant population is characterized by an overrepresentation of disempowered groups. Legal actors who engage daily with "the tip of the social iceberg" in the courtroom are keenly aware of the broader aspects of the problem; …

Evangelizing Climate Change, Albert Lin

Albert C Lin

Any effective response to climate change must address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from individuals, who are responsible for nearly one-third of total annual emissions. A leading proposal for doing so, developed by Michael Vandenbergh and Anne Steinemann, advocates the disclosure of information about an individual’s emissions, resulting harms, and steps that can be taken to reduce emissions. Providing information on individuals’ contribution to climate change will be important in countering common misconceptions that individual activities do not matter to the environment. Such proposals, however, give insufficient attention to the role of personal values. Values matter to efforts to change individual …

Voluntary Disclosure Of Hiv/Aids Status By A Public Health Official To Law Enforcement Agents: The Shortcomings Of South Dakota's Law Section 34-22-12.1(6) And Traditional Public Health Measures, Daniel C. Moon

Daniel C Moon

Section 34-22-12.1(6) of South Dakota’s Codified Laws grants the Secretary of the Health Department to disclose private medical information regarding an individual’s HIV/AIDS status if he or she thinks that that individual is engaged in intentionally infecting another person with HIV/AIDS. This law is problematic because it does not (1) adequately protect an individual’s privacy, and (2) achieve its public health goals. From the privacy aspect, it provides less protection to information regarding an individual’s HIV/AIDS status from three aspects: (1) less protection than the same information possessed by covered entities under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”), …

Unchaste And Incredible: The Use Of Gendered Conceptions Of Honor In Impeachment, Julia Simon-Kerr

Julia Simon-Kerr

The American rules for impeaching witnesses developed against a cultural background that equated a woman's "honor," and thus her credibility, with her sexual virtue. The idea that a woman's chastity informs her credibility did not originate in rape trials and the confusing interplay between questions of consent and sexual history. Rather, gendered notions of honor so permeated American legal culture that attorneys routinely attempted to impeach female witnesses by invoking their sexual histories in cases involving such diverse claims as title to land, assault, arson, and wrongful death. But while many courts initially accepted the notion that an unchaste woman …

How The Government Can Protect Home Mortgage Consumers: A Proposal To Provide Consumers A Risk Assessment Of Mortgages, Adeline Park

Adeline Park

The recent sub-prime mortgage crisis has revealed the consumer’s vulnerability in the home mortgage marketplace. Consumers face an overwhelming variety of mortgage options, and are not motivated to invest the necessary time and resources to comprehend the meaning and implications of each loan feature. I propose that the government assess the risk of each loan feature available in the home mortgage market, based on the historical number of foreclosures each loan type has yielded. The government will then require lenders to display the risk assessment icon on all sales, marketing, and advertising materials. The risk assessment icon will identify the …

Habitations Of Cruelty - Pitfalls Of Expanding Hate Crime Legislation To Include The Homeless, Scott Steiner

Scott A Steiner

Hate crime law has developed and expanded substantially since its earliest forms. A concerted effort is currently underway to expand existing hate crime legislation to include the homeless.

This paper provides a history of both state and federal hate crime legislation, examines precisely what a hate crime is (and how that definition differs from state to state), explores the growing problem of violence against the homeless, and analyzes recent developments in expanding state and local law to protect based on homelessness.

It offers both arguments in favor and arguments against the expansion of hate crime laws to include the homeless …

Habitations Of Cruelty - Pitfalls Of Expanding Hate Crime Legislation To Include The Homeless, Scott A. Steiner

Scott A Steiner

Hate crime law has developed and expanded substantially since its earliest form. A concerted effort is currently underway to expand existing hate crime legislation to include the homeless.

This paper provides a history of both state and federal hate crime legislation, examines precisely what a hate crime is (and how that definition differs from state to state), explores the growing problem of violence against the homeless, and analyzes recent developments in expanding state and local law to protect based on homelessness.

It offers both arguments in favor and arguments against the expansion of hate crime laws to include the homeless …

Acerca De La Responsabilidad Social Y El Desarrollo Económico Del País: Ignorantia Legis Excusat, Ignorantia Facti Non Excusat, Gastón Fernández Cruz, Renzo E. Saavedra Velazco

Renzo E. Saavedra Velazco

La presente nota tiene como propósito exponer los defectos en la transmisión de información por parte de la clase política peruana respecto de los procesos de "concesión" y/o "privatización". Tales defectos han generado una errónea percepción por parte de la sociedad que ha devenido en movimientos contrarios a tales procesos.

Cultural Norms As A Source Of Law: The Example Of Bottled Water, Christine A. Klein

Christine A. Klein

As a metaphor for the interaction of law and culture, a crystal-clear bottle of water is striking in its simplicity and purity. Bottled water has spawned a rich subculture of beverage drinkers, united by the truths and myths of bottled water that they embrace. More recently, an equally fertile subculture of bottled water protest has begun to coalesce. Notably, the cultural norms evidenced by supporters and detractors go far beyond mere hydration, touching upon such far-flung notions as health, taste, convenience, status, morality, anti-privatization, sustainability, and truth-telling. In contrast, the legal narrative is surprisingly sparse, overlooking an important opportunity to …

Differential Power In Intact Same-Sex Families Based On Legal And Cultural Understandings Of Parentage, Deirdre M. Bowen

Deirdre M Bowen

Do intact same-sex couples in which one member of the couple became pregnant with assisted reproduction or one member was the primary adopter, and the other member became a parent through second parent adoption understand the legal protections afforded them? In short the answer is no. An interesting family dynamic arises around who can claim the “true” status as parent based on their legal understandings of parenthood and their interactions with the dominant culture. While high profile custody cases on this issue have been decided in the United States with varying results, no research has examined the impact of uneven …

Valuable Asset Or Vibrant Force? Intellectual Property And Conceptions Of Culture, Olufunmilayo B. Arewa

Olufunmilayo B. Arewa

Discussions of intellectual property as property often implicitly rely upon conceptions of value that give primacy to economic and business value while dismissing or even ignoring questions of cultural value. Questions of cultural value are, however, fundamental to discussions of intellectual property today. Discussions of intellectual property often emphasize treating cultural material as valuable assets and highlight the role of intellectual property in protecting such assets. Valuable asset models of culture accentuate the business and economic utility of intellectual property assets. Valuable asset approaches, however, typically reflect an incomplete understanding of the roles of culture and the intersection of culture …

"Old And Making Hay:" The Results Of The Pro Bono Institute Survey On The Viability Of A "Second Acts" Program To Transition Attorneys To Retirement Through Pro Bono Work, Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt, Esther F. Lardent, Reena Glazer, Kellen Ressmeyer

Kenneth G. Dau-Schmidt

In his 1998 Fairchild Lecture, Professor Marc Galanter proposed the idea that senior attorneys should be encouraged to undertake “a second ‘public service’ career” as a way of transitioning to retirement. The logic for encouraging such “Second Acts” in lawyers’ careers is compelling. As Professor Galanter has demonstrated, in the coming years, there will be record numbers of attorneys navigating the transition to retirement as the “Baby Boomers” reach their golden years. This substantial body of highly skilled lawyers could have a significant impact on fulfilling unmet needs for legal representation. If even 5% of the practicing attorneys over sixty-five …

Eyes Wide Shut: How Ignorance Of The Common Interest Doctrine Can Compromise Informed Consent, Katharine Schaffzin

Katharine Traylor Schaffzin

The common interest doctrine offers many time and cost-saving advantages to clients. It also carries with it the consequence that counsel representing a party to a common interest group accept ethical or fiduciary responsibilities on behalf of the other members of that group. This pseudo-attorney-client relationship may limit an attorney's abilities to fulfill her ethical obligations to her client. This article explores the mechanisms for protecting the client and the attorney before entering a common interest arrangement.

‘Baby Boomers’ And The Branding Of Political Speech: An Unintended Consequence Of Bono’S Red Campaign, Robert E. Koulish

Robert E. Koulish

In this paper I will examine the likely demise of the commercial speech doctrine. The paper examines Bono's Red Campaign and cause related marketing as a case study to reveal how the supreme court is likely to vote on commercial speech the next time it visits the issue. The Court came close to overthrowing the doctrine in its 2002 Nike non-decision. Next time out, the Court is likely to blur the distinction between commercial speech and political speech, and thus give corporations the right of personhood to mislead consumers in advertising, marketing and public relations. The demise of commercial speech …

The Disaggregation Of Race And Class In United States Civil Rights Law, Rebecca Zietlow

Rebecca E Zietlow

Despite the advances that African Americans have made in our country as a result of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, poverty stubbornly persists in communities of color throughout our country. Our current civil rights paradigm, which is rooted in the Equal Protection Clause, and prohibits intentional state discrimination on the basis of immutable characteristics, simply is not working. This article suggests an alternative approach, one based not solely in equality norms but in facilitating the belonging of outsiders in our society. The subordination of people of color in our society has never been just about race. Rather, racism …

The Evolution Of Women's Rights In Inheritance, Kristine Knaplund

Kristine Knaplund

No abstract provided.

Throwing It All Away: Community, Data Privacy And The False Choices Of Web 2.0, Eli Edwards

Eli Edwards

Online privacy has long been a challenge, but the rise of Web 2.0 technologies has made it easier for more people to share personal information about themselves. There is a particular concern that young people who have grown accustomed to baring their private information in the public Internet sphere are especially vulnerable to potential harms now and in the near future. There is even a recurrent meme that posits people today, especially young people immersed in the digital culture, no longer value the right to privacy; the assumption is that between the equal values of community and privacy, Web 2.0 …

Religious Freedom In The Face Of Harsh State And Local Immigration Laws, Michael Scaperlanda

Michael A. Scaperlanda

No abstract provided.

“Regulating The Political Thicket: Congress, The Courts, And State Reapportionment Commissions", David A. Schultz

David A Schultz

No abstract provided.

Religious Arguments And The United States Supreme Court: A Review Of Amicus Curiae Briefs Filed By Religious Organizations, Andrew S. Mansfield

Andrew S Mansfield

This paper analyzes forty-five amicus curiae briefs filed by religious organizations with the Supreme Court since Brown v. Board of Education, 348 U.S. 886, decided in 1954, through the decision in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood, 546 U.S. 320, rendered in 2006. The forty-five amicus curiae briefs were filed in nineteen cases and concern issues that are often identified as “moral.” Analysis of the amicus curiae briefs filed with the Supreme Court by religious organizations provides at least three crucial insights. First, the legal arguments presented by religious organizations, as reflected in amicus curiae briefs filed with the Supreme Court, provide …

The Trouble With Stockjobbers: The South Sea Bubble, The Press And The Legislative Regulation Of The Markets, Benedict Sheehy

Benedict Sheehy

Abstract: The South Sea Bubble Act of 1721 is often taken as the first securities legislation. Further it is understood to be a response to a stock market scandal. In fact, the Act was enacted prior to the scandal and indeed the likely cause of the collapse of the stock bubble itself. This article reviews the historical context, including the finance of government of the era, the development of the South Sea Company and its bubble, the legislation, burst and subsequent effects. It places securities legislation in its historical context as part of a broader movement in corporate law, shifting …

Do Cognitive Biases Affect Adjudication?: A Study Of Labor Arbitrators (With Monica Biernat), Martin H. Malin, Monica Biernat

Martin H. Malin

Labor arbitrators were presented with four cases to decide, each involving a challenge to discipline or discharge of an employee resulting from a work-family conflict. Arbitrators were randomly given versions of the cases in which the gender and one other characteristivc of the employee were varied. The results showed little evidence of direct gender bias in decision-making but did reflect bias against single parents and employees with eldercare, as opposed to childcare, responsibilities. Implications for other adjudicators, including judges, jurors and administrative agency officials are discussed.

Liars And Terrorists And Judges, Oh My: Moral Panic And The Symbolic Politics Of Appellate Review In Asylum Cases, Eric M. Fink

Eric M Fink

As part of the REAL ID Act, Congress amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to restrict judicial review of adverse credibility determinations by immigration judges. The change came in the wake of controversy of judicial reversals of adverse credibility determinations that the reviewing courts saw as inappropriately speculative and lacking in evidentiary support. Critics, including some appellate judges, have in turn alleged that the appellate courts have been insufficiently deferential to the factual determinations of Immigration Judges (IJs) and the BIA.

This paper examines the argument offered in support of limiting judicial review in this area, and provides an empirical …

Five Decades Of Family Law, Sanford N. Katz

Sanford N. Katz

No abstract provided.

Unprofitable Lending: Modern Credit Regulation And The Lost Theory Of Usury, Brian M. Mccall

Brian M McCall

With almost daily news stories about the crisis in our credit markets, it seems inevitable that a new political and academic debate about credit regulation is commencing. With Americans paying billions of dollars in finance charges every year and some loosing their homes, it is time to ask fundamental questions about the liberality of credit supply and terms. Rather than readjusting usury limits or tinkering with disclosure requirements, it is time to reassess America’s philosophy of lending. Although the current socio-economic belief that more credit is better has held dominance for several centuries, history offers an alternative theory. Surprisingly, a …