Law Commons^™

Caretakers And Collaborators, Maxwell Gregg Bloche

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

A chilling subplot in the twentieth-century saga of state-sponsored mass murder, torture, and other atrocities was the widespread incidence of medical complicity. Nazi doctors’ human “experiments” and assistance in genocidal killing are the most oft-cited exemplar, but wartime Japanese physicians’ human vivisection and other grotesque practices rivaled the Nazi medical horrors. Measured by these standards, Soviet psychiatrists’ role in repressing dissent, Latin American and Turkish military doctors’ complicity in torture, and even the South African medical profession’s systematic involvement in apartheid may seem, to some, almost prosaic. Yet these and other reported cases of medical complicity in human rights abuse …

Race And Discretion In American Medicine, Maxwell Gregg Bloche

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The author’s focus in this article is on racial disparities in medical care provision--that is, on differences in the services that clinically similar patients receive when they present to the health care system. Racial disparities in health status, which is not greatly influenced (on a population-wide basis) by medical care, are beyond his scope here. Disparities in medical care access-potential patients' ability, financial and otherwise, to gain entry to the health care system in the first place, are also outside his focus. The author begins this article by putting the problem of racial disparities in medical care provision within the …

A Vision Of Health And Human Rights For The 21st Century: A Continuing Discussion With Stephen P. Marks, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Professor Marks offers an eloquent vision of health and human rights in the 21st Century. As the Director of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Professor Marks ably carries the torch that Jonathan Mann lit in the field until his tragic death on September 2, 1998. Professor Marks stands along with the leading figures in health and human rights - e.g., Audrey Chapman, Sofia Gruskin, Michael Kirby, Daniel Tarantola, Brigit Toebes, Katarina Tomasevski, and Virginia Leary.

Surrogacy From The Perspectives Of Economic And Civil Liberties, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The field of law and economics, of which Judge Posner is the leading theorist, has offered a rich and sophisticated framework for thinking about a wide variety of problems at the interface of law and society. The theory, based on economic principles for understanding behavioral incentives and disincentives, is widely taught in law schools and is influential in scholarship. I have not always agreed with the application of the theory to complex problems of individual and group behavior, yet I constantly have been impressed with the elegance of the writing and analysis.

Judge Posner thinks about surrogacy arrangements in terms …

Public Health, Ethics, And Human Rights: A Tribute To The Late Jonathan Mann, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The late Jonathan Mann famously theorized that public health, ethics, and human rights are complementary fields motivated by the paramount value of human well-being. He felt that people could not be healthy if governments did not respect their rights and dignity as well as engage in health policies guided by sound ethical values. Nor could people have their rights and dignity if they were not healthy. Mann and his colleagues argued that public health and human rights are integrally connected: Human rights violations adversely affect the community's health, coercive public health policies violate human rights, and advancement of human rights …

Unemployment Insurance And Wealth Redistribution, Gillian Lester

Faculty Scholarship

This Article evaluates the merit of liberalizing unemployment insurance eligibility as a means to achieve progressive wealth redistribution-an idea that has recently gained popularity among policymakers and legal scholars. Unemployment insurance (UI) provides temporary, partial wage replacement to workers who suffer unexpected job loss, but it tends to exclude workers who have very low wages or hours of work, or who quit for reasons considered "personal" (for example, to accommodate family demands). Professor Lester argues that while redistribution to workers who are poor or who have caregiving obligations is a desirable goal, expanding UI is a poor way to do …

Has The Fog Cleared - Attorney Work Product And The Attorney-Client Privilege: Texas's Complete Transition Into Full Protection Of Attorney Work In The Corporate Context., Fred A. Simpson

St. Mary's Law Journal

The following discussion in this Article fills the gaps in the substantive rules surrounding the attorney work product doctrine and the attorney-client privilege, thereby encouraging practitioners to utilize these tools more freely. Initially, the attorney-client privilege contemplated application only to individuals. As the rule developed in the United States, however, the scope of the privilege broadened until it included corporations. Since 1982, Texas has provided for the attorney-client privilege in Texas Rule of Civil Evidence 503.149. Notably, the Rule defined client in such a way as to include a corporation. Unlike the attorney-client privilege, the work product doctrine developed much …

The Spanish Predominant Language Ordinance: Is Spanish On The Way In And English On The Way Out., Adriana Resendez

St. Mary's Law Journal

El Cenizo's Spanish language ordinance is likely to survive a constitutional challenge. The City Council of El Cenizo’s Spanish language ordinance, however, has generated a significant amount of controversy in the United States. The ordinance stipulates that all city council meetings will be made in the city’s predominant language—Spanish. Critics argue that the ordinance has made Spanish the official language. Critics also argue that the ordinance is discriminatory toward English speakers. English only advocacy groups, such as English First and U.S. English, argue that the ordinance will create a trend across the United States of immigrants refusing to embrace an …

Class Dismissed: The Conservative Class Action Revolution Of The Texas Supreme Court., Russell T. Brown

St. Mary's Law Journal

Historically, Texas plaintiffs enjoyed tremendous flexibility in gaining certification for class action lawsuits because of a liberal approach employed by Texas trial courts. Because certification assignment occurred early in the judicial proceedings, Texas case law encouraged trial courts to grant certification of a class. Putative classes chose to seek relief in state court because of the state’s lax view regarding class actions, particularly when compared to federal courts. Concerns arose throughout Texas about the growing liberal methodology courts used to evaluate putative classes during certification. Federal influence, state lobbies, and legislative pressure led the Texas judiciary, through application of the …

Regulation Fd: Sec Reestablishes Enforcement Capabilities Over Selective Disclosure., John P. Jennings

St. Mary's Law Journal

This Recent Development focuses on the potential effects Regulation Fair Disclosure (FD) will have on the participants in the American capital market and on the stock markets themselves. Congress and the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) seek to achieve confidence in the integrity and fairness of the American stock market and protection of investors from fraud by promoting equal opportunities for investors. In order to maintain a competitive edge, vis-à-vis its foreign counterparts, the United States must continually refine its financial systems to maximize fairness and integrity. This Recent Development focuses on selective disclosure—allowing a limited segment of investors access to …

Those Dangerous Student Prayers., Kelly J. Coghlan

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Does The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Exclude Gifted And Talented Children With Emotional Disabilities - An Analysis Of J.D. V. Pawlet., Laura Ketterman

St. Mary's Law Journal

Disabled children benefit from federal legislation which guarantees a free, appropriate education. While no federal mandate requires providing special education for gifted and talented children, the government encourages schools to offer gifted and talented programs. Gifted and talented children with emotional disabilities, however, often fall between these two groups and do not qualify for special education under any legislation. Unfortunately, in many gifted and talented children with disabilities the gift hides the disability—or the disability hides the gift. To compound the problem, legislation and recent court decisions fail to recognize that gifted and talented children have unique needs which should …

Interpreting Mineral And Royalty Deeds: The Legacy Of The One-Eighth Royalty And Other Stories., Laura H. Burney

St. Mary's Law Journal

Mineral and royalty deeds are notoriously difficult to interpret. Courts complicate the interpretive process in at least two ways. First, they produce opinions that fail to appreciate and explain unique oil and gas concepts. Second, they render deed records unreliable. A variety of title problems flow from this instability. However, a common trait is frequently encountered: the influence of the one-eighth royalty provision typically used for decades in oil and gas leases. Unfortunately, courts have failed to acknowledge this influence. For this reason, title litigation will continue to loom under the legacy of the one-eighth royalty, and title examiners will …

Taas And Gi Forum V. Texas Education Agency: A Critical Analysis And Proposal For Redressing Problems With The Standardized Testing In Texas., Blakely Latham Fernandez

St. Mary's Law Journal

Texas’s use of the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) test as an accountability program has had numerous negative and far-reaching effects on minorities. Today, students in Texas public schools first take the TAAS test in the third grade. Students continue to take a form of the TAAS test each year, with the exit-level assessment initially given in the eleventh grade. Students must pass all four sections–Mathematics, English, Science, and Social Studies–in order to graduate and receive their high school diploma. Although devised to effectively motivate students, schools, and teachers with the goal of enhancing educational standards, the TAAS test …

Legislation And Genetic Discrimination, Sharona Hoffman

Journal of Law and Health

State legislation addresses genetic discrimination in both employment and health insurance. Thirty-one states have passed laws that address genetic discrimination in employment. Approximately thirteen states prohibit employers from requiring applicants to undergo genetic testing as a condition of employment. Some states have more limited restrictions. Florida prohibits only the screening of applicants for the sickle-cell trait. Wisconsin requires employers to obtain written and informed consent from applicants prior to administering genetic tests, but does not preclude their utilization altogether. Some states establish exceptions that permit genetic testing that is job-related or that is conducted, with the employee's written and informed …

Application Of Administrative Law To Health Care Reform: The Real Politik Of Crossing The Quality Chasm , Thomas R. Mclean

Journal of Law and Health

Real Politik, a term in vogue at the height of the Cold War, contemplates that in practice, governmental bodies attempt to expand their spheres of influence and control by the application of economic leverage. The federal government is clearly interested in expanding its influence into health care because of its cost. Americans spend over one trillion dollars - forty-four percent of which is paid for by the federal government - on health care each year. To control the cost of health care, governmental reformers proposed the Health Securities Act of 1993 as a frontal assault on the American health care …

Misperception And Misapplication Of The First Amendment In The American Pluralistic System: Mergers Between Catholic And Non-Catholic Healthcare Systems, Jason M. Kellhofer

Journal of Law and Health

This note questions the wisdom of those who content that Catholic health providers, to constitutionally qualify for government assistance or be permitted to merge with public entities, must be stripped of that which makes them most effective - their religious identity. The threat to sectarian healthcare has steadily been on the rise as can be seen in actions such as the American Public Health Association's recent approval of a policy statement recommending more government oversight to preclude the dropping of reproductive services when Catholic and Non-Catholic hospitals merge. Section II explores why these mergers occur and why certain services are …

The Affordable Prescription Drugs Act: A Solution For Today's High Prescription Drug Prices , John D. Pinzone

Journal of Law and Health

This article will discuss a recently proposed bill, The Affordable Prescription Drugs Act (APDA), and how it will attempt to strike a balance between reducing prices to make essential drugs more available and affordable, and working with pharmaceutical companies to make sure they profit and invest their money into research and development of new essential drugs. It argues that the APDA increases competition in the market place, thus reducing the price of prescription drugs, while still allowing pharmaceutical companies to profit from their inventions. In reaching this conclusion this article examines the bill itself, how to define an essential drug, …

Genetic Testing And Employment Litigation, Harry Zanville

Journal of Law and Health

I have only a couple of comments to make that relate to litigation hurdles and how to achieve this balance, and the first thing I want to talk about, following the wonderful presentation is, in fact, we probably don't in some ways even need a new cause of action.

The Strict Ohio Supreme Court Decision In Biddle: Third Party Law Firm Held Liable For Inducing Disclosure Of Medical Information , Kimberly Rathbone

Journal of Law and Health

Victims of unauthorized disclosures of medical information have enjoyed strict protection by state and federal courts. This is because secrecy is considered a sacred requirement in order to foster honesty and cooperation between a physician and patient. Confidentiality is considered such a vital ingredient to the physician-patient relationship by the medical profession that it is addressed in the oath, which is a prerequisite to admittance into the field of medicine: "All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or outside of my profession or in daily commerce with men, which ought not be spread abroad, …

Washington V. Glucksberg: Influence Of The Court In Care Of The Terminally Ill And Physician Assisted Suicide, Philip King

Journal of Law and Health

This Note will examine current issues pertaining to the medical care of the terminally ill individual, particularly with respect to palliative care and how the continuum of medical care incorporates the voluntary termination of a patient's life. Part II of this Note will look at the decision reached in Washington v. Glucksberg, and how the Supreme Court has contributed to the molding of care for the terminally ill. Part III will review relevant aspects of end of life care concepts and their relationship and impact upon the assisted suicide alternative. Any analysis of physician assisted suicide must include the evolution …

Cardiovascular Genetics: Case Studies, Kenneth G. Zahka

Journal of Law and Health

What I'd like to do in the next 10 or 15 minutes is use a case approach which we all use in medicine as you use in law to give you a flavor for how we as clinicians think about things that are oftentimes obviously genetic. But I want to stress to you that probably a day does not go by or a patient does not go by where I don't think in terms of genetic issues for their cardiovascular health.

The Proposed Patients' Bill Of Rights: The Case Of The Missing Equal Protection Clause, Dean Hashimoto

Dean M. Hashimoto

Congress is considering passing a patients' bill of rights. The proposed reform provides for appeals of disagreements between managed care organizations and patients over treatment decisions and also ensures access to specialists and emergency rooms. These reforms place a heavy emphasis on regulating managed care groups by assigning due process rights to patients of privately funded health plans. This article offers a vision of an alternative reform based on principles of both equality and due process. Empirical research demonstrates that although managed care systems appear to provide roughly adequate health care for the general public, they may not be providing …

Effective Advocacy Strategies For Girls: Promoting Justice In An Unjust System, Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

No abstract provided.

Contributor, Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

No abstract provided.

Co-Founder, Artistic Noise, Inc., Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

No abstract provided.

International Aspects Of Tobacco Control And The Proposed Who Treaty, Stephen D. Sugarman

Stephen D Sugarman

No abstract provided.

Tobacco Tort Litigation In California: A Better Understanding Of Civil Code Section 1714.45, Stephen D. Sugarman

Stephen D Sugarman

No abstract provided.