Law Commons^™

A State's Power To Enter Into A Consent Decree That Violates State Law Provisions: What "Findings" Of A Federal Violation Are Sufficient To Justify A Consent Decree That Trumps State Law?, David W. Swift

ExpressO

In the last forty years federal courts have played a prominent role in reshaping our public institutions. And while some scholars question the efficacy of these structural injuctions, the authority of federal courts to order such relief is generally unquestioned. What is open to debate, however, is whether state officials can agree to a remedy they would not have had the authority to order themselves; and if so, to what extent must an underlying constitutional violation be proved so as to justify the remedy?

This article discusses the competing theories and concludes that a remedy that violates state law may …

Good Faith In The Cisg: Interpretation Problems In Article 7, Benedict C. Sheehy

ExpressO

ABSTRACT: This article examines the dispute concerning the meaning of Good Faith in the CISG. Although there are good reasons for arguing a more limited interpretation or more limited application of Good Faith, there are also good reasons for a broader approach. Regardless of the correct interpretation, however, practitioners and academics need to have a sense of where the actual jurisprudence is going. This article reviews every published case on Article 7 since its inception and concludes that while there is little to suggest a strong pattern is developing, a guided pattern while incorrect doctrinally is preferable to the current …

Dead Men Telling Tales - A Policy-Based Proposal For Survivability Of Qui Tam Actions Under The Civil False Claims Act, Vickie J. Williams

ExpressO

The civil False Claims Act is a powerful tool used by both the federal government and private citizens, under the statutes "qui tam" or "whistleblower" provisions, to fight fraud against the government. Use of the statute has continually risen in recent years, and recoveries under the statute are in the billions of dollars. The unique relationship between a private citizen whistleblower and the government who both have an interest in the case raises many interesting procedural and substantive issues of federal law. This article proposes an answer to one of these questions. The article proposes that a whistleblower suit survives …

Small Business Participation In Air Force Procurement: Participation Trends And The Effect Of Acquisition Reform Initiatives On Air Force Procurement Via Selected Contract Types In Selected Product Categories, Douglas E. Leedy

Theses and Dissertations

Small Businesses (SB) have been of recognized important to the Federal Government for many years. This thesis explores the role of SB contractors in Air Force (AF) procurement and the effects of recent acquisition reform (AR) initiatives on their involvement, including their method of involvement (contract type), product areas in which they participate, and possible new areas of measurement. This thesis answers the research and investigative questions in three ways. First, it explores the correlation of AR initiatives to SB participation as a whole, via selected contract types, and in selected product categories via causal regression models. Next, it identifies …

2003 Government Contract Decisions Of The Federal Circuit, Douglas L. Patin

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Performance Based Service Acquisition (Pbsa): A Dynamic Look At Pbsa In The Air Force, Fred J. Lacey Iv

Theses and Dissertations

Federal procurement has typically focused much of its efforts on the acquisition of products, with acquisition of services not being held in as high of regard. However, recent changes have required the Department of Defense and the US Air Force (USAF) to increase spending on services. This significant increase in spending on services suggests a need to ensure acquisition professionals are prepared to apply sound business judgment to Performance Based Service Acquisition (PBSA) strategies. PBSA involves acquisition strategies, methods, and techniques that describe and communicate measurable outcomes rather than direct performance processes. The Secretary of Defense, in order to ensure …

Going To War With Defense Contractors: A Case Study Analysis Of Battlefield Acquisition, Ryan M. Novak

Theses and Dissertations

The escalating use of contractors on the battlefield in highly critical operational areas is a trend that is increasing across the DoD. Contractors have a vital role supporting CONUS missions, but they are also on the battlefield in defense of our nation, supporting the warfighter and their weapon systems. As the use of contractors on the battlefield continues to gain favor within the DoD, and as contractor s roles continue to expand and become more critical, it is imperative to improve the current way that the DoD, and specifically Air Force acquisition professionals, procure such services. This research analyzes inputs …

Measuring Small Business Participation In Air Force Contracting: The Impact Of Acquisition Reform, William C. Pike

Theses and Dissertations

Congress has mandated the Air Force to reform and streamline its acquisition procedures while promoting participation by small business contractors. Reports on the federal government as a whole suggest that the acquisition reforms have had a negative effect on small business participation, with a declining number of small businesses receiving contract awards. A causal regression model is used to determine that the Air Force has actually increased the number of small businesses receiving contract awards over the past thirteen years and has maintained a steady stream of new small businesses into that group. Variables are tested to determine their effect …

Development Of Measures Of Success For Corporate Level Air Force Acquisition Initiatives, Carey E. Petit

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research is to suggest a framework for developing measures of success for corporate level Air Force acquisition initiatives. Because this research is exploratory, it focuses on only one initiative: the 2002 Lighting Bolt initiative Focus on results, not process. A qualitative method approach was used to suggest a four part framework. Through the review of literature, common steps for creating metrics were established and recurrent characteristics of good metrics were identified. Then interviews were conducted with acquisition practitioners who have experience with the initiative. Finally, those three parts were applied to the initiative as a case …

Land For Maine's Future Program: Increasing The Return On A Sound Public Investment, Richard Barringer, Hugh Coxe, Jack Kartez, Catherine Reilly, Jonathan Rubin

Economics and Finance

Maine is nowhere a more special place than in the quality of its landscape and the traditions of its land use. Among the mo st privately-owned of all the states, Maine’s natural diversity and beauty combine with its traditions of resource stewardship, open access, and appreciation of nature to distinguish it in the public mind and national imagination. In recent decades, however, these traditions have come under assault from the forces of economic and social change; and the people of Maine have responded. In 1986, Governor Joseph Brennan’s Special Commission on Outdoor Recreation recognized the growing threats to Maine’s natur …

Force, Inc.: The Privatization Of Punishment, Policing, And Military Force In Liberal States, Clifford Rosky

Utah Law Faculty Scholarship

Should our punishment, policing, and military institutions be public, private, or both? Is there a special link between the project of government and the exercise of force? These two questions have vexed philosophers for several centuries, and lately, they have begun to present more practical problems as well. In the past three decades, private punishment, policing, and military markets have blossomed and boomed in liberal states. Private prisons, police, and armies have been popping up around the world, punishing criminals, fighting crimes, keeping peace, and waging war. The use of force has generated unprecedented profits, and the boundaries between public …

State Sovereign Immunity And The Plaintiff State: Does The Eleventh Amendment Bar Removal Of Actions Filed In State Court?, 38 J. Marshall L. Rev. 513 (2004), Virginia F. Milstead

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Alaska Statehood Act Does Not Guarantee Alaska Ninety Percent Of The Revenue From Mineral Leases On Federal Lands In Alaska, Ivan L. Ascott

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment argues that Alaska's position that Congress purposefully incorporated the Mineral Leasing Act into the Statehood Act through section 28(b), and in doing so, permanently granted the state ninety percent of the revenues from mineral development on federal lands, is legally incorrect. The text of the Act simply does not support the position that mineral-lease and royalty proceeds from federal lands are part of Alaska's "compact." In addition, the legislative history of the Act does not support Alaska's position, nor does case law that has addressed related issues. Following this Introduction, Part II of this Comment expands on Alaska's …

Making Federal Information Technology Accessible: A Case Study In Social Policy And Procurement, Christopher R. Yukins

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires that all information technology bought by the federal government be accessible to persons with disabilities. That goal, simple to state, has been enormously complex to implement. In imposing a social initiative on the procurement system, Congress has left a huge number of issues unresolved - including, most critically, who is to pay for the initiative. This article reviews the issues raised by Section 508, and traces common patterns that emerge when, as with Section 508, social goals are implemented through a large, complex, and deeply entrenched procurement system. The article traces the impact …

Facing The Challenge: Corruption State Capture And The Role Of Multinational Business, 37 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1181 (2004), Nikolay A. Ouzounov

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Competitive Sourcing Policy: More Sail Than Rudder, Steven L. Schooner

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This essay predicts that the Bush administration's competitive sourcing initiative will fail. Granted, the number of government employees will continue to shrink, while the number of contractor personnel serving the Government will methodically increase. But the Government's unwillingness to appreciate the policy's costs leads to the corresponding failure to identify, obtain, and invest appropriate resources needed to properly effectuate the policy. The Government simply lacks sufficient qualified acquisition, contract management, and quality control personnel to handle the outsourcing burden. Because the Government is ill-positioned to successfully out-source in a manner that generates higher quality services, lower prices, greater efficiency, or, …