Law Commons^™

Implementing A Progressive Consumption Tax: Advantages Of Adopting The Vat Credit-Method System, Itai Grinberg

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

A credit–method value–added tax, a payroll tax, and a business–level wage subsidy can approximate the economic and distributional consequences of a subtraction–method X–tax. Such a credit–method progressive consumption tax has administrative advantages as compared to a subtraction–method progressive consumption tax, once certain political factors are taken into account. Further, unlike a subtraction–method system, a credit– method progressive consumption tax could easily interact with other tax systems around the world and comply with World Trade Organization rules without sacrifi cing best practice VAT design features that allow for effective enforcement.

Housing Affordability For Households Of Color In Massachusetts, Michael E. Stone

Institute for Asian American Studies Publications

While housing is deeply significant for all of us, in our society it tends to pose particular challenges to many, if not most, people of color. For one thing, households of color continue to have considerably lower incomes, on average, than White-headed households. This means that households of color can, on average, afford less and therefore have fewer housing choices available, just for economic reasons alone. Yet we are not in a world where differential housing choices are determined only by ability to pay. Residential segregation by race persists and is not merely a consequence of unacceptable practices of the …

No.1 - December 2006, Center Of Civil Law Studies

The Center of Civil Law Studies Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Elder Economic Security Initiative: The Elder Economic Security Standard For Massachusetts, Laura Henze Russell, Ellen A. Bruce, Judith M. Conahan

Gerontology Institute Publications

What is an adequate income for older adults in Massachusetts to age in place? How does it vary according to where they live, and their life circumstances: whether they are living alone or with a spouse, rent or own their home, drive a car or use other transportation? How do elders’ living costs change as their health status and life circumstances change? What happens if they need long-term care to keep living at home?

This report will address these questions through the development of a measure of income adequacy for older adults using the WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard …

The Value Of U.S. Patents By Owner And Patent Characteristics, James Bessen

Faculty Scholarship

This paper uses renewal data to estimate the value of U.S. patents, controlling for patent and owner characteristics. Estimates of U.S. patent value are substantially larger than estimates for European patents, however, the ratio of U.S. patent value to R&D for firms is only about 3%. Patents issued to small patentees are much less valuable than those issued to large corporations, perhaps reflecting imperfect markets for technology. Litigated patents are more valuable, as are highly cited patents. However, patent citations explain little variance in value, suggesting limits to their use as a measure of patent quality.

Reconstructing Richard Epstein, Eduardo M. Peñalver

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Towards A Common Law Originalism, Bernadette Meyler

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Originalists' emphasis upon William Blackstone's "Commentaries on the Laws of England" tends to suggest that the common law of the Founding era consisted in a set of determinate rules that can be mined for the purposes of constitutional interpretation. This Article argues instead that disparate strands of the common law, some emanating from the colonies and others from England, some more archaic and others more innovative, co-existed at the time of the Founding. Furthermore, jurists and politicians of the Founding generation were not unaware that the common law constituted a disunified field; indeed, the jurisprudence of the common law suggested …

Kelo's Moral Failure, Laura S. Underkuffler

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Worldcat Collection Analysis Service And The Desert States Law Library Consortium, Michelle Rigual

Faculty Scholarship

In November, 2005, the eight libraries of the Desert States Law Library Consortium (University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, University of Colorado, University of Denver, University of Utah, Brigham Young, and University of Nevada Las Vegas) licensed OCLC's WorldCat Collection Analysis Service (WCA). WCA is designed to provide objective information concerning the makeup of a library's collection, including subject coverage, age of materials, languages of publication and material types and audience level. Multi-institution comparisons provide detail and summary views of how two or more collections overlap or differently specialize, subdivided by subject areas, languages of publication, …

Oclc: Worldcat Collection Analysis Service And The Desert States Law Library Consortium, Michelle Rigual

Faculty Scholarship

Looking and benefits and best practices of WorldCat Collection Analysis in a subject-specific consortium.

In November, 2005, the eight libraries of the Desert States Law Library Consortium (University of New Mexico, University of Arizona, Arizona State University, University of Colorado, University of Denver, University of Utah, Brigham Young, and University of Nevada Las Vegas) licensed OCLC's WorldCat Collection Analysis Service (WCA). WCA is designed to provide objective information concerning the makeup of a library's collection, including subject coverage, age of materials, languages of publication and material types and audience level. Multi-institution comparisons provide detail and summary views of how two …

Inside The Bankruptcy Judge's Mind, Jeffrey J. Rachlinski, Chris Guthrie, Andrew J. Wistrich

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

In this paper, we extend our prior work on generalist judges to explore whether specialization leads to superior judicial decision making. To do so, we report the results of a study of federal bankruptcy judges. In one prior study of bankruptcy judges, Ted Eisenberg reported evidence suggesting that bankruptcy judges, like generalist judges, are susceptible to the "self-serving" or "egocentric" bias when making judgments. Here, we report evidence showing that bankruptcy judges are vulnerable to anchoring and framing effects, but appear largely unaffected by the omission bias, a debtor's race, a debtor's apology, and "terror management" or "mortality salience."'

Because …

Federal Court Self-Preservation And Terri Schiavo, Jack M. Beermann

Faculty Scholarship

If the federal court in Florida had granted preliminary relief to allow itself more time to consider the constitutional claims that Terri Schiavo's parents brought on her behalf, and if, as expected, those claims were ultimately rejected, the federal court would have been placed in the unenviable position of having to be the institution that made the final decision to terminate Terri Schiavo's feeding and other treatment. Although I have no way of knowing whether this fact, which has not been noted in the commentary,' actually entered into the mind of any of the federal judges who considered the case, …

Law Library Briefs, Roger Williams University School Of Law Library

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Duty In Tort Law: An Economic Approach, Keith N. Hylton

Faculty Scholarship

Theories of tort law have focused on the breach and causation components of negligence, saying little if anything about duty. This paper provides a positive economic theory of duty doctrine. The theory that best explains duty doctrines in tort law is the same as the theory that explains strict liability doctrine. The core function of both sets of doctrines is to regulate the frequency or scale of activities that have substantial external effects. Strict liability aims to suppress or tax activities that carry unusually large external costs. Duty doctrines, especially those relieving actors of a duty of care, serve several …

Court Review: Volume 43, Issue 3-4 - Cover

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

No abstract provided.

Court Review: Volume 42, Issue 3-4 - Table Of Contents

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

No abstract provided.

Court Review: Volume 42, Issue 3-4 - Complete Issue

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

No abstract provided.

Court Review: Volume 42, Issue 3-4 - Book Review: A Judge's Role In The Rule Of Law, William F. Hurst Iv

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

Two recently published books, On the Rule of Law: History, Politics, Theory by Brian Z. Tamanaha, and The Rule of Law in America by Ronald A. Cass, provide an in-depth analysis into what the rule of law means today, its history, and what impact its meaning has on the current American judiciary.

Court Review: Volume 42, Issue 3-4 - Editor's Note

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

This issue presents four viewpoints on current issues involving judicial elections, politics, and the effect of public opinion on the courts. In our lead article, Shira Goodman and Lynn Marks of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts tell the story of Pennsylvania’s 2005 retention election for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. With very little warning, public opposition developed to the retention of two justices: one was retained with 54% of the vote and one was thrown out of office with only 49% voting to retain him. The election was unusual because it did not relate to opinions issued by either justice. Rather, the …

Court Review: Volume 42, Issue 3-4 - Lessons From An Unusual Retention Election, Shira J. Goodman, Lynn A. Marks

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

On November 8, 2005, something happened in Pennsylvania that has never happened before: an appellate judge, a supreme court justice no less, lost an uncontested retention election. Not only was the loss unprecedented, but with the exception of one retention election in 1993, appellate justices and judges in Pennsylvania routinely have won retention by margins of 70% to 30%. This year, one justice lost his retention election and another barely won with just 54% of the vote.

Retention elections have been a feature of judicial elections in Pennsylvania since the state constitution was amended in 1969. Following election to an …

Court Review: Volume 42, Issue 3-4 - Seizing The Accountability Moment: Enlisting Americans In The Fight To Keep Courts Fair, Impartial, And Independent, Bert Brandenberg

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

Did the 2005 uproar over Terri Schiavo’s end-of-life case mark a peak in the recent surge of attacks on the independence of America’s courts? When the case generated threats to impeach and even murder the presiding judge, and Congress passed a bill seeking to manipulate the case, broad public disapproval helped end the political crisis.1 The President backpedaled—“I believe in an independent judiciary. I believe in checks and balances”2—and dispatched the Vice President and Attorney General to add their reassurances. Just a few months later, Supreme Court nomination hearings offered little hint of the rising tide of fury that courts …

Court Review: Volume 42, Issue 3-4 - A Profile Of Settlement, John Barkai, Elizabeth Kent, Pamela Martin

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

Ninety-eight percent of civil cases settle,1 right? Well, not exactly. Although claims of settlement rates of 90% and above are cited frequently, settlement rates really are not that high. Many commentators start with an accurate picture of low, single-digit trial rates (typically 2%-3%), but then they inappropriately assume the inverse—namely, that all the remaining cases are settled. Commentators ignore the fact that a significant proportion of cases are terminated for reasons other than trial or settlement, and their mistake goes undetected because most state judicial systems do not collect any information about settlements.

On the other hand, other people, speaking …

Court Review: Volume 42, Issue 3-4 - Judges, Law, Politics & Strategy, Frank B. Cross

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

In law, we commonly presume that judges reach decisions based on legal materials, such as precedents. In political science, researchers typically presume that judges do not reach decisions based on such legal materials. They maintain that the apparent reliance on precedent to reach decisions is simply a hoax designed to provide cover for a particular outcome. These researchers traditionally argued that judges reach their personally preferred outcome in the case and then rationalize it after the fact with references to precedent, conveniently supplied them by the attorneys for their preferred side.

Much of the empirical research on judicial decision making …

Court Review: Volume 42, Issue 3-4 - Directory Of Officers And Board Of Governors, 2005-2006

Court Review: Journal of the American Judges Association

Directory of Officers and Board of Governors of American Judges Association

Nuance And Complexity In Regulatory Takings Law, Gregory M. Stein

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

A Constitutional Amendment To Reform Kentucky’S Courts, Kurt Metzmeier

Faculty Scholarship

Responding to a confused patchwork of trial courts with overlapping jurisdiction, uneven justice around the state, and a growing backlog of appellate cases, voters in Kentucky went to the polls on November 4, 1975, to approve a sweeping constitutional amendment that radically revised Kentucky’s court system. Although reformers had decried Kentucky’s confusing court system since the 1940s, the real roots of the revision of the judicial article can be found in the failed movement in the late 1960s to replace Kentucky’s 1891 constitution. Unbowed by the defeat, judicial reformers immediately set out to pass a separate amendment reforming the courts, …

Comparativa Entre Les Reformes Dels Estatuts D'Autonomia De Catalunya I D'Andalusia [Comparative Analysis Of The Reforms Of The Charters Of Autonomy Of Catalonia And Andalucía], Albert Lamarca-Marquès, Vanessa Casado-Pérez

Faculty Scholarship

En els ordenaments jurídics continentals europeus no és habitual l’admissió d’escrits acadèmics independents adreçats als tribunals de justícia en el marc de procediments de gran importància. En els països del Common Law, especialment en les jurisdiccions nordamericanes, mitjançant el procediment anomenat d’Amicus Curiae es permet d’adreçar aquesta mena d’escrits als tribunals de justícia, que hauran de decidir si els tenen o no en compte. A través de les pàgines d’InDret, hem volgut oferir aquest document de comparació d’ambdós Estatuts per contribuir al debat jurídic en el marc del procés de reforma dels Estatuts d’Autonomia a l’Estat i en relació als …

Welfare Polls: A Synthesis, Matthew D. Adler

All Faculty Scholarship

“Welfare polls” are survey instruments that seek to quantify the determinants of human well-being. Currently, three “welfare polling” formats are dominant: contingent-valuation surveys, QALY surveys, and happiness surveys. Each format has generated a large, specialized, scholarly literature, but no comprehensive discussion of welfare polling as a general enterprise exists. This Article seeks to fill that gap. Part I describes the trio of existing formats. Part II discusses the actual and potential uses of welfare polls in government decisionmaking. Part III analyzes in detail the obstacles that welfare polls must overcome to provide useful well-being information, and concludes that they can …

Hepatitis C In Prisons: Evolving Toward Decency Through Adequate Medical Care And Public Health Reform, Andrew Brunsden

Articles & Chapters

Hepatitis C (HCV) in prisons is a public health crisis tied to current drug policy's emphasis on the mass incarceration of drug users. Prison policy acts as a barrier to HCV care by limiting medical care for the infected, especially drug users, and by inhibiting public health measures addressing the epidemic. This Comment argues that courts mistakenly limit prisoners' Eighth Amendment right to basic medical care when they defer to prisons that apply HCV policies as categorical rules of treatment. Where current standards of care mandate individualized patient evaluation for treatment, prison policies that eschew this principle exhibit deliberate indifference …

Materiality And Social Change: The Case For Replacing "The Reasonable Investor" With "The Least Sophisticated Investor" In Inefficient Markets, Margaret V. Sachs

Scholarly Works

The current materiality standard for federal securities fraud is a mid-twentieth-century construct that fails to accommodate certain twenty-first century realities. This Article argues that its reach should be restricted to preserve it for the many circumstances in which it continues to function well.

The current standard measures materiality from the standpoint of "the reasonable investor," a savvy person who grasps market fundamentals. This standard has a fatal flaw: its inability to protect unsophisticated investors who are duped by implausible falsehoods in inefficient markets. This flaw can no longer be ignored given Internet and telemarketing securities fraud and its many unsophisticated, …