Digital Commons Network^™

Ideas For Law Students And Recent Graduates Entering The Real World, Wendy Collins Perdue

Law Faculty Publications

In light of a more challenging job market for law school graduates due to the recession, the Virginia Lawyer asked the deans of Virginia's law schools for their thoughts on how law students could better prepare themselves for their employment searches. This was Dean Wendy Perdue's contribution.

Educating New Lawyers, Tara L. Casey

Law Faculty Publications

In this article, the author discusses how law schools have been challenged recently to place greater emphasis on preparing students for the realities of legal practice through skills training and community-based learning.

Responsibility Begins At Conception, Shari Motro

Law Faculty Publications

Under current law, most states frame men’s pregnancy-related obligations as an element of child support or as part of a parentage order, which generally kicks in only after the birth of a child and is limited to medical expenses. Until and unless the pregnancy produces a child, any costs associated with it are regarded as the woman’s responsibility. The debate around the new technology has, unfortunately, so far adopted this frame, labeling the test a paternity test and the potential obligation as child support.

Rather than focusing on the relationship between the man and a hypothetical child, the new technology …

Finding Legal, Factual, And Other Information In A Digital World, Timothy L. Coggins

Law Faculty Publications

This updated listing of Internet sites for legal, factual, and other research offers a combination of more established sites and newer sites developed since the publication of the previous listing. The article began as a comprehensive bibliography of research and other sites for an Advanced Legal Research course and a series of continuing education sessions for legal assistants and paralegals.1 The current version includes sites for primary authorities, both federal and state, as well as URLs for other types of information, such as sites that assist in finding expert witnesses and biographical and background information about individuals.

The Russian Federation Joins The Oecd Convention Against Bribery, Andrew B. Spalding

Law Faculty Publications

On April 17, 2012, the Russian Federation joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Officials in International Business Transactions (“the Convention”).[1] This is but the latest example of a recent trend among the major emerging markets toward criminalizing the bribing of foreign officials. This Insight will place Russia’s accession in context of the broader effort to establish a global anti-bribery regime.

What Is The "Invention"?, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

Patent law is in flux, with recent disputes and changes in doctrine fueled by increased attention from the Supreme Court and en banc activity by the Federal Circuit. The natural reaction is to analyze each doctrinal area involved on its own. Upon a closer look, however, many patent cases concern a single, fundamental dispute. Conflicts in opinions on such issues as claim interpretation methodology and the written description requirement are really disagreements over which "invention" the courts should be considering. There are two concepts of invention currently in play in patent decisions. The first is an "external invention" definition, in …

Tribute To Professor Carroll: “Without A Doubt”, W. Wade Berryhill

Law Faculty Publications

A tribute to Professor John Carroll.

Education & Practice (Newsletter Of The Section On Education Of Lawyer, Virginia State Bar) - V. 20, No. 2 (Spring 2012), Dale Margolin Cecka

Law Faculty Publications

Contents

Ethical Practice within Interdisciplinary Collaborations: The Law School Clinic as an Example, by Portia Cole, Asst. Professor at the Virginia Commonwealth School of Social Work

Chair’s Column, by Professor A. Benjamin Spencer of Washington and Lee School of Law

Beyond the Blame Game, by Jayne W. Barnard, Cutler Professor of Law at William & Mary Law School

William R. Rakes Leadership in Education Award

Law Faculty News

News and Events Around the Commonwealth

Section’s Website Update

2011-2012 Board of Governors

Every Adolescent Deserves A Parent, Dale Margolin Cecka

Law Faculty Publications

This article argues that all adolescents, indeed all human beings, deserve at least one parent—one person who takes the good with the bad because that person’s life is intertwined with the child’s. The child matters to the parent in a way that a friend, nephew, or foster child may not. Child welfare professionals must never lose sight of this principle when they recruit, train, and maintain parents for adolescents. The parent can be someone who is already in the young person’s life or someone who has been unable to parent in the past, but is now ready to secure that …

Spoliation In Child Welfare: Perspectives And Solutions, Dale Margolin Cecka

Law Faculty Publications

Author examines spoliation in child welfare litigation and provides ideas for preserving evidence and improvement record-keeping.

Saluting Judge Philip Pro's Quarter Century Of Nevada District Service, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

United States District Judge Philip M. Pro recently assumed senior status after more than two dozen years of exemplary service-five as chief judge-on the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, the federal trial court that serves the entire state of Nevada. Everyone who knows Judge Pro understands that senior status will not mean semi-retirement for him because he will continue devoting his tremendous energy to assuring that the District of Nevada promptly, inexpensively, and fairly resolves the myriad challenging cases on its docket.

Copyright And Federal Supremacy, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

The extent of federal power over our lives has been much in the news recently, what with the Supreme Court holding days of hearings on whether the Affordable Care Act is an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause. Like the ACA, copyright regulation is federal, but it derives its constitutional authority from a different part of the Constitution, known as the Patent and Copyright Clause, which gives Congress the power “[t]o promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” …

Commissioning Innocence And Restoring Confidence: The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission And The Missing Deliberative Citizen, Mary Kelly Tate

Law Faculty Publications

Since 1989, the United States has witnessed 289 DNA exonerations, with exonerees serving an average of thirteen years in prison. Although DNA and its unmatched power for conclusive results is what brought popular attention to wrongful convictions, the scope of the problem is vastly larger than the number of known DNA exonerations. The actual number of convicted individuals who are factually innocent is unknown. The state of North Carolina has recently responded to this national crisis via a newly created state agency. This essay applauds North Carolina's response, but urges that ordinary citizens, qua jurors, be active participants in its …

Tribute To Professor Carroll "John Was Third", James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

In any law school, there are those of us-most of us, really who like to hear ourselves talk. We think that no conversation is complete until we have voiced our views. But then there are those rare few who do not feel that need, who instead have a talent for picking their moments and crystallizing an issue with a single, insightful observation. That was John Carroll. At a faculty meeting, in a colloquy with a visiting scholar, and of course in the classroom, John could be counted on to say the wise thing at just the right time. His quiet …

What We Didn't See Before, Allison Anna Tait

Law Faculty Publications

The essays in this Issue concentrate on a primary, and crucial, cluster of analytic concerns about the ways in which governments, artists, and architects have chosen to represent the concept of justice.

Introductory Note To The International Court Of Justice: Ahmadou Sadio Diallo (Republic Of Guinea V. Democratic Republic Of The Congo) Compensation Owed By The Democratic Republic Of The Congo To The Republic Of Guinea, Chiara Giorgetti

Law Faculty Publications

On June 12, 2012, the International Court of Justice ("ICJ" or the "Court") ordered the Republic of the Congo ("DRC") to pay the Republic of Guinea ("Guinea") U.S. $95,000 in compensation for material and non-material injury to Guinea's national Ahmadou Sadio Diallo. The Judgment is notable for several reasons. First, the mere fact that the Court fixed an amount of compensation owned to Guinea is relevant, as this is only the second time in the history of the Court that such a measure was adopted. Second, in reaching its decision, the Court relied heavily on decisions of other international courts …

Trademark Tension, Part Ii, James Gibson

Law Faculty Publications

In the previous entry in this series, I discussed the narrow foundations of trademark law and its more recent expansion – in particular, how new approaches to trademark liability have departed from the law’s traditional focus on disputes about the source of competing goods. I continue that theme now by considering a tension that emerges from this expansion. Although trademark liability has expanded beyond source-identification, other aspects of trademark law have not, and these more traditional aspects can rise up and trap the unwary mark owner, or at least turn its expanded rights into expanded costs.

To understand the tension …

Which Law Governs During Armed Conflict? The Relationship Between International Humanitarian Law And Human Rights Law, Rebecca Crootof, Oona A. Hathaway, Philip Levitz, Haley Nix, William Perdue, Chelsea Purvis, Julia Spiegel

Law Faculty Publications

On May 31, 2010, in the early hours of the morning, Israeli Defense Forces boarded and occupied a flotilla of six vessels seventy-two nautical miles from the coast of Gaza. The flotilla carried food and other supplies to Gaza, which was under a naval blockade. During the incident, nine passengers were killed and several others wounded. In the aftermath, a key question that emerged was what body of law applied to the incident? Was it subject to human rights law, international humanitarian law, or some mix of the two?

This same question has been at the heart of ongoing debates …

Upside-Down Judicial Review, Corinna Barrett Lain

Law Faculty Publications

The countermajoritarian difficulty assumes that the democratically elected branches are majoritarian and the unelected Supreme Court is not. But sometimes the opposite is true. Sometimes it is the elected branches that are out of sync with majority will and the Supreme Court that bridges the gap, turning the conventional understanding of the Court's role on its head. Instead of a countermajoritarian Court checking the majoritarian branches, we see a majoritarian Court checking the not-so-majoritarian branches, enforcing prevailing norms when the representative branches do not. What emerges is a distinctly majoritarian, upside-down understanding of judicial review. This Article illustrates, explains, and …

Chapter 9: Fastcase, Gail F. Zwirner

Law Faculty Publications

In February 2005, the Virginia State Bar (VSB) Council approved plans to offer all Virginia lawyers free access to an online legal research program through a portal on the VSB's website. Then-Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell, Sr., considered access to an online research tool a high priority for Virginia attorneys and urged the VSB to provide this kind of service. On June 13, 2005, the Virginia Supreme Court adopted a formal Rule of Court directing the VSB "to contract to provide online computerized legal resea1·ch services to its members."1 In February 2006, the VSB gave its notice of intent to …

2010-2011 Veterans Law Update, Tara L. Casey

Law Faculty Publications

2011 saw multiple changes to the laws relating to veterans, their rights and benefits, and the Department of Veterans Affairs ("VA"). This Article will cover select updates to the field of veterans law codified in the Code of Federal Regulations and the United States Code, proposed in the Federal Register, and adjudicated in the courts. Part I will cover updates related directly to veterans' benefits and rights. Part II will focus on updates to rules involving veterans' caregivers and healthcare facilities. Part III will cover proposed rules dealing with veterans' claims and insurance. Part IV will focus on rules and …

Four Uncharted Corners Of Anti-Corruption Law: In Search Of Remedies To The Sanctioning Effect, Andrew B. Spalding

Law Faculty Publications

This Article is the third installment in a long-term research project that examines the effects of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in relation to its underlying policy goals. It first reiterates the various data points showing that enforcement now has the unintended effect of reducing investment in higher-corruption markets. Because this amounts to the withdrawal of capital from developing countries in protest of their political conditions, I call this the "sanctioning effect." The paper then seeks to push the envelope of current anti-bribery debates by exploring connections to four fields of academic inquiry not typically associated with the FCPA. …

The False Promise Of The Converse-1983 Action, John F. Preis

Law Faculty Publications

The federal government is out of control. At least that's what many states will tell you. Not only is the federal government passing patently unconstitutional legislation, but its street-level officers are ignoring citizens' constitutional rights. How can states stop this federal juggernaut? Many are advocating a "repeal amendment, " whereby two-thirds of the states could vote to repeal federal legislation. But the repeal amendment will only address unconstitutional legislation, not unconstitutional actions. States can't repeal a stop-and-frisk that occurred last Thursday. States might, however, enact a so-called "converse-1983" action. The idea for converse-1983 laws has been around for some time …

How Are Law Schools Addressing Major Changes In The Practice Of Law And In Accrediting Standards For Legal Education?, Margaret Ivey Bacigal

Law Faculty Publications

There was a consensus at the first panel discussion on how law schools are addressing major changes in legal practice and accrediting standards for legal education, that law schools are doing a good job teaching critical thinking and legal analysis. A recurring theme was that more experiential legal education is needed to help students become "practice ready." Deficits in legal writing, problem solving, and understanding the various contexts within which legal problems arise were concerns. A major issue is how do schools enhance legal education given the unsustainable costs and changes in the legal profession?

Can We Regulate Our Way To Energy Efficiency? Product Standards As Climate Policy, Noah M. Sachs

Law Faculty Publications

In this Article, I demonstrate that the regulatory strategy for energy efficiency is working. Although information disclosure, financial incentives, and other softer alternatives to regulation play a vital role in reducing energy demand, these should be viewed as complements to efficiency regulation, rather than replacements. The regulatory approach has led to substantial cost and energy savings in the past, it has enjoyed bipartisan political support, and it targets products and behaviors that are difficult to address through other policy tools. Given the politics of climate change in the United States, which make federal carbon taxes or a cap-and-trade system infeasible, …

Commentary, Considering Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, And Bisexual Nominees For The Federal Courts, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Professor Tobias details the ultimately unsuccessful nomination of Edward DuMont to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 2010-11 to illustrate the obstacles encountered by LGBT individuals in the federal judicial selection process.

Filling The Judicial Vacancies In A Presidential Election Year, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

In this essay, Professor Tobias responds to Professors Gerhardt and Painter, praising their work and providing further suggestions for how the judicial nominations process might be improved. The essay begins with a brief examination of judicial selection problems that have arisen since the failed nomination of Judge Robert Bork in 1987. Finding that partisan politics have frustrated the nomination process for a quarter century, Professor Tobias engages in a critical analysis of President Barack Obama's efforts to make improvements. He first explains the changes that the Obama administration has implemented and then critically analyzes the benefits and failings of those …

The Ghost That Slayed The Mandate, Kevin C. Walsh

Law Faculty Publications

Virginia v. Sebelius is a federal lawsuit in which Virginia has challenged President Obama's signature legislative initiative of health care reform. Virginia has sought declaratory and injunctive relief to vindicate a state statute declaring that no Virginia resident shall be required to buy health insurance. To defend this state law from the preemptive effect of federal law, Virginia has contended that the federal legislation's individual mandate to buy health insurance is unconstitutional. Virginia's lawsuit has been one of the most closely followed and politically salient federal cases in recent times. Yet the very features of the case that have contributed …

The Anti-Injunction Act, Congressional Inactivity, And Pre-Enforcement Challenges To Section 5000a Of The Tax Code, Kevin C. Walsh

Law Faculty Publications

Section 5000A of the Tax Code is one of the most controversial provisions of federal law currently on the books. It is the minimum essential coverage provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("ACA" or "Act")-a provision more popularly known as the individual mandate. Opponents challenged this provision immediately upon its enactment on March 23, 2010. The Supreme Court is poised to hear arguments about its constitutionality in one of these challenges, just over two years later.

There is a puzzle surrounding the Supreme Court's consideration of these cases. Everyone seems to want an answer to the question …

It's About Time, David Frisch

Law Faculty Publications

This Article critically evaluates the view widely held by courts that contract claims for lost leisure or personal time do not justify compensation. The thesis of this Article is that while the conventional judicial wisdom may be correct about some forms of nonpecuniary loss, it is entirely wrong regarding lost time. After setting aside assumptions, I show that traditional arguments against this form of recovery are deeply flawed Most importantly, I rely on the recognition of hedonic damages by forensic economists to debunk the myth that loss of time is no more than an everyday aspect of life not worthy …