Law Commons^™

T-Mobile Usa Inc. V. Department Of Finance For Baltimore City: What The Latest Salvo In Disproportional Cellular Phone Taxation Means For The Future, Daniel P. Slowey

Duke Law & Technology Review

Seventeen percent of the average monthly cellular phone bill in 2004 was comprised of federal, state, and local taxes. As the number of wireless subscribers across the nation continues to increase, states, cities, and counties are increasingly seizing upon cellular taxation as a panacea for budget shortfalls. The Maryland Tax Court’s recent decision in T-Mobile USA, Inc. v. Department of Finance for Baltimore City held state and county taxes on the sale of individual cellular lines as legal excise taxes rather than illegal sales taxes. This iBrief will highlight the origins of telecommunications taxation, examine the ruling in T-Mobile in …

Videoconferencing In Immigration Proceedings, Aaron Haas

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “When there is mention of a legal trial, a certain picture naturally comes to mind. One sees a judge in his black robe sitting on a raised bench. Lawyers are stationed at tables on either side of the courtroom, prepared to present their arguments to the court. A jury box may sit off to the side, holding a cross-section of citizens culled from the population to perform their ancient duty. The courtroom is made of fine wood and polished marble, and it is adorned with the accouterments of justice—American flags, seals, paintings of honored jurists—which let an observer know …

Censorship By Proxy: The First Amendment, Internet Intermediaries, And The Problem Of The Weakest Link, Seth F. Kreimer

All Faculty Scholarship

The rise of the Internet has changed the First Amendment drama, for governments confront technical and political obstacles to sanctioning either speakers or listeners in cyberspace. Faced with these challenges, regulators have fallen back on alternatives, predicated on the fact that, in contrast to the usual free expression scenario, the Internet is not dyadic. The Internet's resistance to direct regulation of speakers and listeners rests on a complex chain of connections, and emerging regulatory mechanisms have begun to focus on the weak links in that chain. Rather than attacking speakers or listeners directly, governments have sought to enlist private actors …

When Is Employee Blogging Protected By Section 7 Of The Nlra?, Katherine M. Scott

Duke Law & Technology Review

The National Labor Relations Act forbids employers from retaliating against certain types of employee speech or intimidating those who engage in it. This iBrief examines how blogging fits into the current statutory framework and recommends how the National Labor Relations Board and the courts should address the unique features of employee blogs.

What’S The Hang Up? The Future Of Voip Regulation And Taxation In New Hampshire, Kate Winstanley

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

Alice in Austria wishes to call her friend Bob in Boston, using a Boston area code to avoid charges for an international call. Using VoIP, Alice may initiate her call from any location in Austria where she may find Internet access. Once Alice connects to the Internet, she can transmit her call with the aid of a VoIP service provider, such as Skype. In order to hear and communicate with Bob, Alice can rely on a microphone and a headset that she can plug into her computer. Through VoIP, not only may Alice carry on a telephone conversation, but most …

The End Of Net Neutrality, William G. Laxton Jr.

Duke Law & Technology Review

In 2005, the FCC changed the competitive landscape of the high-speed Internet access industry by classifying both DSL and cable modem service as "information services." While many hail this move as a victory for competition and free markets, others fear the ruling could jeopardize the future of the Internet. This iBrief examines the potential end of "net neutrality" and concludes that new federal regulations are unnecessary because antitrust laws and a competitive marketplace will provide consumers with sufficient protection.

Les Enfants De La Guerre : Adolescence Et Violence Postcoloniale Chez Badjoko, Dongala, Kourouma Et Monénembo, Koffi Anyinefa

Présence Francophone: Revue internationale de langue et de littérature

This essay deals with the representation of African child-soldiers in three novels and an autobiography. Why do children take part in African postcolonial civil wars? How are they portrayed? These children are not —as public opinion would often have it— only the victims of postcolonial violence, but are also agents of social change. Their violent involvement in political affairs constitutes the most radical form of their determination to be heard, and the most eloquent form of their protest against their precarious living conditions in a postcolonial Africa in crisis.

The “Csi Effect”: Better Jurors Through Television And Science?, Michael Mann

Michael D. Mann

This Comment explores how television shows such as CSI and Law & Order have created heightened juror expectations in courtrooms across America. Surprise acquitals often have prosectors scratching their heads as jurors hold them to this new "Hollywood" standard. The Comment also analyzes the CSI phenomena by reflecting on past legal television shows that have influenced the public's perception of the legal profession and how the "CSI effect" has placed an even greater burden on parties to proffer some kind of forensic evidence at trial.

The Comment was published in volume 24 of the Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal (2006).

Keeping The Promise, Erik Ugland, Karen Slattery

Erik Ugland

No abstract provided.

Shielding Journalist-“Bloggers”: The Need To Protect Newsgathering Despite The Distribution Medium, Laura Durity

Duke Law & Technology Review

The failure to agree on a sufficiently narrow definition of "journalist" has stalled efforts to enact a federal shield law to legally protect reporter-source communications from compelled disclosure in federal court. The increasing use of the Internet in news coverage and the greater reliance by the public on the Internet as a news source creates further problems as to who should qualify for federal shield law protection. This iBrief argues that a functional definition of "journalist" can be created to shield journalists from compelled source disclosure so as to protect the free flow of information to the public, but limits …

Paradoxical Impact Of Asymmetric Regulation In Taiwan's Telecommunications Industry: Restriction And Rent Seeking, Yuntsai Chou, Kung-Chung Liu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The mobile penetration rate in Taiwan has climbed from 6.86 to 112.15. Mobile phone accounts per 100 capita in the first 6 years of market competition, during this time the state-owned incumbent Chunghua Telecom has been dethroned by a new entrant, Taiwan Cellular Corp. This paper addresses the cause of Taiwan's unprecedented mobile growth, and provides policy solutions for countries that strive to improve their telecommunications sectors in a short time scale. The authors highlight the fundamental role of asymmetric regulation, rather than pure liberalization, in the creation of the deregulated telecommunications industry in Taiwan. The asymmetric regulation in Taiwan …

Common Law Property Metaphors On The Internet: The Real Problem With The Doctrine Of Cybertrespass, Shyamkrishna Balganesh

All Faculty Scholarship

The doctrine of cybertrespass represents one of the most recent attempts by courts to apply concepts and principles from the real world to the virtual world of the Internet. A creation of state common law, the doctrine essentially involved extending the tort of trespass to chattels to the electronic world. Consequently, unauthorized electronic interferences are deemed trespassory intrusions and rendered actionable. The present paper aims to undertake a conceptual study of the evolution of the doctrine, examining the doctrinal modifications courts were required to make to mould the doctrine to meet the specificities of cyberspace. It then uses cybertrespass to …

Strategic Improprieties: Cultural Studies, The Everyday, And The Politics Of Intellectual Properties, Kembrew Mcleod, Ted Striphas;

Kembrew McLeod

No abstract provided.

When Discrimination Is Good: Encouraging Broadband Internet Investment Without Content Neutrality, Christopher E. Fulmer

Duke Law & Technology Review

Cable television and traditional telephone companies are increasingly offering the same set of services: telephone, television, and broadband Internet access. Competition between these two types of companies would ordinarily require them to improve these services, but unless broadband providers have the ability to discriminate on the basis of content and charge Internet video providers that compete with their own video services, the growth of the Internet will be stunted, as broadband providers will not improve the capacity of their networks.

Fighting Terrorism In An Electronic Age: Does The Patriot Act Unduly Compromise Our Civil Liberties?, Christopher P. Raab

Duke Law & Technology Review

The USA PATRIOT Act is tremendously controversial, both lauded by law enforcement and decried by civil liberties groups. This iBrief considers two of the Act's communications monitoring provisions, concluding that each compromises civil liberties to a greater degree than is necessary to combat terrorism. Accordingly, Congress should revise the USA PATRIOT Act, bringing it into line with the Constitution.

Completing The Connection: Achieving Universal Service Through Municipal Wi-Fi, K. Joon Oh

Duke Law & Technology Review

The federal universal service scheme is designed to ensure that everyone has affordable access to advanced telecommunications and information services. Despite the development of cost-effective technologies that drastically reduce the cost of telephone services vis-à-vis the Internet and Wi-Fi networks, federal regulations generally prevent municipalities or private companies from providing wireless Internet access with universal service funds. Federal regulations have replaced technology costs, lack of business incentives, and consumer affordability as the primary barrier to universal service. Competitive neutrality, the pro-competitive and technology-neutral approach to universal service funding, must be fully embraced in order to empower local communities with the …

Vicarious Liability And The Private University Student Press, Nancy Whitmore

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

Once described as a quintessential marketplace of ideas by the Supreme Court of the United States, the academic marketplace has been criticized recently for institutionalizing a left-leaning ideology within its curriculum and academic discourse. As a result, national activists and organizations have been calling on state legislatures and university administrators to adopt policies and report on steps taken to encourage intellectual diversity and protect political and cultural minorities from faculty bias and academic retribution in the classroom and other university settings. But who would win a constitutional showdown between the academy and those seeking to infuse academic discourse with alternative …

Faculty And Male Football And Basketball Players On University Campuses: An Empirical Investigation Of The "Intellectual" As Mentor To The Student Athlete, Keith Harrison

Dr. C. Keith Harrison

No abstract provided.

Information Warfare: The Legal Aspects Of Using Satellites And Jamming Technologies In Propaganda Battles, Mark J. Sundahl

Law Faculty Contributions to Books

This paper examines the right of states to broadcast propaganda by satellite in times of war. In exploring this issue, the author addresses the hypothetical question of whether a state may use DBS technology to broadcast a commercial news program, such as CNN, into an enemy state in wartime as part of a larger campaign to win the support of the civilian population. The author begins by establishing that that the consent of a receiving state is required prior to such broadcasts, whether in peacetime or in times of war. This requirement of "prior consent" is the only restriction of …

The President Over The Public: The Plebiscitary Presidency At Center Stage, Lori Cox Han

Political Science Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"In this chapter, I will address the question of the usefulness of the public presidency in the current political environment (that is, can a president’s communication strategy make a difference in terms of what he achieves), as well as the constitutional danger, if any, posed by a president’s attempt at public leadership. Has the public presidency, and its focus on the public aspects of the office, thrown the constitutional balance of power between the three branches out of balance? Does the president really gain political power within the constitutional framework of our government if he is a skilled and effective …

The Best Puffery Article Ever, David A. Hoffman

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article provides the first extensive legal treatment of an important defense in the law of fraud and contracts: puffery. Legal authorities commonly say they make decisions about whether defendants should be able to utter exaggerated, optimistic, lies based on assumptions about buyer behavior, concluding that consumers do not rely on such speech. However, as the Article shows, such analyses are proxies for a deeper analytical question: does the speech encourage or discourage a type of consumption activity that the court deems welfare maximizing? The Article presents a novel constitutional analysis of puffery doctrine that focuses on the meaning of …

New Strategies For An Old Medium: The Weekly Radio Addresses Of Reagan And Clinton, Lori Cox Han

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

"While a rich literature exists on presidential communications (including the public/rhetorical presidency and the presidential/press relationship), only recently have presidential scholars begun to analyze weekly radio addresses as an important primary unit of analysis (Rowland and Jones 2002; Sigelman and Whissell 2002a, 2002b). This article analyzes how the use of radio has fit into the overall development of White House communication strategies during the television age, and takes an in-depth look at how Reagan and Clinton used weekly radio addresses to communicate with both the American public and the news media. Specifically, the issues considered here include the strategy development …

Representing The Media At Trial, Joseph A. Tomain, Richard M. Goehler, Amanda G. Main

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Ua12/8 Departmental Update, Wku Police

WKU Archives Records

WKU Police departmental newsletters for 2006.

Doe V. Bell, Harley Abrevaya

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.

Citizen Participation In Rulemaking: Past, Present, And Future, Cary Coglianese

All Faculty Scholarship

Administrative law scholars and governmental reformers argue that advances in information technology will greatly expand public participation in regulatory policy making. They claim that e-rulemaking, or the application of new technology to administrative rulemaking, promises to transform a previously insulated process into one in which ordinary citizens regularly provide input. With the federal government having implemented several e-rulemaking initiatives in recent years, we can now begin to assess whether such a transformation is in the works—or even on the horizon. This paper compares empirical observations on citizen participation in the past, before e-rulemaking, with more recent data on citizen participation …

Rhetoric Of Disputes In The Courts, The Media, And The Legislature, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Decision Rules For Juries, Catherine T. Struve

All Faculty Scholarship

Recent scholarship on constitutional decision rules distinguishes courts from other constitutional decision makers, but has not explored distinctions - within the judicial institution - between judges and juries. Correlatively, social science literature on jury comprehension has proposed methods for improving jury instructions, but that literature has not considered in any detail the doctrinal complexities of constitutional law. This Article, drawing upon both fields, presents an agenda for crafting constitutional decision rules specifically for juries. Implementing this agenda will enhance the adjudication of constitutional tort claims, and could also render constitutional doctrine more accessible to non-lawyers.

Comments On Stealth Marketing And Editorial Integrity, R. Polk Wagner

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Network Neutrality And The Economics Of Congestion, Christopher S. Yoo

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.