Law Commons^™

Book Review, Goldfeder's Modern Election Law, Gerald Lebovits

Hon. Gerald Lebovits

No abstract provided.

Single Room Occupancy Law In New York City, Gerald Lebovits

Hon. Gerald Lebovits

No abstract provided.

Effective Oral Argument: 15 Points In 15 Minutes, Gerald Lebovits

Hon. Gerald Lebovits

No abstract provided.

Persuading The Judge Through Writing: 15 Ways To Win, Gerald Lebovits

Hon. Gerald Lebovits

No abstract provided.

Residential Landlord-Tenant Appeals In The Appellate Term—Part Ii, Gerald Lebovits

Hon. Gerald Lebovits

No abstract provided.

Rec. A: Baldus, Christian - Müller-Graff, Peter-Christian (Editores) (2006). Die Generalklausel Im Europäischen Privatrecht. Zur Leistungsfähigkeit Der Deutschen Wissenschaft Aus Romanischer Perspektive (München: Sellier) Xxix + 193 Págs., Patricio Lazo

Patricio Lazo

No abstract provided.

Annotated Bibliography Of The Legal Literature Of Chile, Juan Javier Del Granado, Juan Carlos Marín

Juan Javier del Granado

This article assembles a suggested reading list of law books from Chile for those seeking to explore and delve into the richness of this national legal literature. Although the authors are careful to point out that broad conclusions are not supported by their limited methodology, the books were chosen for their scholarly authority. The books make up a core of distinctly doctrinal sources (digests, annotated codes, encyclopedias, treatises, and certain monographs) recommended by legal practitioners from across the nation.

Farm Tractors In Kansas: How To Perfect A Security Interest, Stephen Ware, Aaron K. Johnstun

Stephen Ware

Widespread enactment of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) occurred nearly half a century ago. Even so, significant non-uniformities in commercial law remain. One is the method of perfecting a security interest in a farm tractor.

What Makes Securities Arbitration Different From Other Consumer And Employment Arbitration?, Stephen Ware

Stephen Ware

This short piece emphasizes what makes consumer and employment arbitration in the securities industry different from consumer and employment arbitration generally. Securities law imposes non-contractual duties to arbitrate on both broker-dealers and securities employees. I believe these laws are bad policy because they restrict contractual freedom. I conclude that securities arbitration should be contractual, like other arbitration.

Selection To The Kansas Supreme Court, Stephen Ware

Stephen Ware

Kansas is the only state in the union that gives the members of its bar majority control over the selection of state supreme court justices. The bar consequently may have more control over the judiciary in Kansas than in any other state. This process for selecting justices to the Kansas Supreme Court is described by the organized bar as a “merit,” rather than political, process. Other observers, however, emphasize that the process has a political side as well. This paper surveys debate about possible reforms to the Kansas Supreme Court selection process. These reforms would reduce the amount of control …

Arbitration Law's Separability Doctrine After Buckeye Check Cashing, Inc. V. Cardegna, Stephen Ware

Stephen Ware

The recent case of Buckeye Check Cashing, Inc. v. Cardegna, is only the second Supreme Court decision applying the separability doctrine and it comes nearly forty years after the Court's first separability decision, Prima Paint Corp. v. Flood & Conklin Manufacturing Co. Arbitration's tremendous growth during those forty years - and the arrival of Buckeye - make this an opportune time to assess the current state of the separability doctrine. In doing that, this article will analyze Prima Paint and Buckeye and discuss the separability issues they leave unresolved. Finally, this article will critique the separability doctrine and call for …

Review Of "Un Peacekeeping In Lebanon, Somalia And Kosovo: Operational And Legal Issues In Practice" By Ray Murphy, Rain Liivoja

Rain Liivoja

No abstract provided.

Facebook: What The Heck Is It And Why Should I Care?, Robert A. Eckhart

Robert A. Eckhart

A simple explanation of the educational purposes of Facebook, especially as compared to using blogs from other providers/websites in class.

Enjoining Coercion: Squaring Civil Protection Orders With The Reality Of Domestic Abuse, Jeffrey R. Baker

Jeffrey R Baker

Every state provides civil protection for victims of domestic abuse, but these regimes typically fixate on physical violence. Domestic abuse, however, does not spring from violent tendencies. Rather, abuse arises from a perpetrator’s desire to exert power and control over his victim. Abusers often deploy emotional, economic, political and social tactics to coerce responses from vulnerable partners long before they resort to violence. Violence is the extreme tool to maintain control when a victim challenges the abuser’s power over her life. Civil protection systems should confront domestic abuse more comprehensively by providing relief from oppressive coercion. By empowering victims earlier …

A Slapp In The Face: Why Principles Of Federalism Suggest That Federal District Courts Should Stop Turning The Other Cheek, Lisa Litwiller

Lisa Litwiller

This article examines the nexus between state and federal law where SLAPP and Anti-SLAPP statutory schemes are litigated by a federal district court sitting in diversity. In particular, this article will explore the standard the federal court should apply when an Anti-SLAPP early motion to dismiss is brought by SLAPP defendant and the plaintiff challenges dismissal on the basis of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure pursuant to the regime established by the Supreme Court in Hannah v. Plumer.

Liability For Possible Wrongs: Causation, Statistical Probability And The Burden Of Proof, In Symposium, The Frontiers Of Tort Law, Richard W. Wright

Richard W. Wright

Courts around the world are increasingly considering whether liability should exist in various types of situations in which a plaintiff can prove that a defendant’s tortious conduct may have contributed to the plaintiff’s injury, but it is inherently impossible, given the nature of the situation, for the plaintiff to prove that the defendant’s tortious conduct actually contributed to the injury. The problematic nature of the causal issue is usually recognized when the probability of causation is not greater than 50 percent, with courts adopting different views, depending on the type of situation, on whether liability nevertheless is appropriate and, if …

Responsabilità Degli Amministratori E Corresponsabilità Dei Soci Nella S.R.L., Valerio Sangiovanni

Valerio Sangiovanni

No abstract provided.

"In All Things Love" Immigration, Policy-Making And The Development Of Preferential Options For The Poor, Michele R. Pistone, John J. Hoeffner

Michele R. Pistone

The invitation to write for this symposium stated that the preferential option for the poor “asks us to define what law and public policy would look like if consideration for the poor was at the heart of our conception of the common good.” Inquiries of this kind are useful and necessary—to a point. They also can become counter-productive. The issue of immigration, which we discuss here to illustrate our larger point about the general appropriateness of claiming that a specific policy prescription is demanded by the preferential option for the poor, presents the complications of the matter in particularly stark …

Market Failure In The Marketplace Of Ideas, Tamara R. Piety

Tamara R. Piety

Proponents of expansive First Amendment protection for commercial speech often invoke "the marketplace of ideas" metaphor. The use of this metaphor simultaneously invokes generalized notions about the commitment to free markets and free expression. It implies these values are intertwined and that more protection for commercial speech means both more freedom and more truth. I argue that expanding First Amendment protection for commercial speech will not result in the either more truth or more freedom but rather to less of each and explore the ways in which, even with only limited protection for truthful commercial speech, the market has actually …

The Adversary System Is Dead: Long Live The Adversary System: The Trial Judge As The Great Equalizer In Criminal Trials, Mary Sue Backus

Mary Sue Backus

No abstract provided.

Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds, And The Public-Private Dichotomy In A Macrosociological Framework For Law, Larry D. Barnett

Larry D Barnett

Macrosociology considers law to be one of the institutions of society and, hence, a fundamental component of a social system. Four macrosociological propositions underlie the instant paper: (i) the institutions comprising a social system are, in the long term, compatible with one another; (ii) the compatibility of institutions involves, inter alia, concepts that are similar or identical across at least some institutions; (iii) the concepts and doctrines of the institution of law manifest the properties, including the central values, of the social system; and (iv) the properties of the social system are fashioned by system-level forces. Because the propositions are …

Analytical Thomism: Traditions In Dialogue, Mario Šilar

Mario Šilar

No abstract provided.

The Anticommons And The Problem Of Numerus Clausus Of Property Rights, Enrico Baffi

enrico baffi

In the academic literature there the idea that revolutionary French lawmakers wanted to encourage the circulation of goods by limiting the possibility of creating property rights, thus reacting to the risk that the high transaction costs necessary to make several people reach an agreement would compromise the transfer of goods to a different use (and to a different owner). The so-called "theory of the anticommons" is the legal and economic development of this idea. But law and economics in recent years have led to the identification of further explanations, in terms of economic efficiency, of the principle of the numerus …

Recovering The Social Value Of Jurisdictional Redundancy, Alexandra D. Lahav

Alexandra D. Lahav

This essay, written for the Tulane Law Review Symposium on the Problem of Multidistrict Litigation, argues that the focus of proceduralists on centralization as a solution to the problems posed by modern litigation is misplaced. It is time to refocus on the social value of the multiple centers of authority that jurisdictional redundancy permits. This essay presents the case for multi-centered litigation with particular focus on the potential uses of the Multidistrict Litigation Act to realize pluralist values. The descriptive claim put forward by the essay is that jurisdictional redundancy is imbedded in our federalist system and our preference for …

"The Public's Right Of Access To 'Some Kind Of Hearing' - Creating Policies That Protect The Right To Observe Agency Hearings", Chris Mcneil

Christopher B. McNeil, J.D., Ph.D.

As administrative agencies take on greater responsibilities and increasing caseloads, the tendency may be to shield their operations from the public. This article examines the competing constitutional premises supporting access to agency hearings on one hand, and due process considerations on the other; and provides a model for use by agencies seeking to control public access to agency adjudications.

The Cy Pres Problem And The Role Of Damages In Tort Law, Goutam U. Jois

Goutam U Jois

Class action litigation presents a common problem that has received little discussion in the academic literature. In almost every case, the plaintiff class’s recovery is not fully distributed. For example, all possible plaintiffs may not come forward with their claims, the plaintiffs may not be ascertainable, or claims may not be timely submitted. Administrators are regularly posed with the problem of what to do with these residual funds. Currently, courts are free to do virtually anything with such funds. The system is ad hoc, unpredictable, and unguided by any normative principle. In these cases, I propose that the funds should …

Doctrina Como Fuente Del Derecho, Arturo Horna Marquina

Arturo Horna Marquina

la doctrina “comprende el conjunto de opiniones y argumentos de los estudiosos del derecho (juristas, abogados, filósofos y todos aquellos que se dedican al estudio del derecho desde sus diversas perspectivas).”

El Tribunal Constitucional Peruano En El 2007, Edgar Carpio Marcos Y Pedro Grandez Castro

Edgar Carpio Marcos

No abstract provided.

The Harms And Wrongs Of Stealing: The Harm Principle And Dishonesty In Theft, Alex Steel

Alex Steel

In ‘On the Nature and Rationale of Property Offences’ A P Simester and G R Sullivan argue that the Harm Principle can be used to justify property offences. This article provides a critique of that essay. It begins with an overview of the Harm Principle and some key criticisms of it. It then considers Simester and Sullivan’s argument that the conduct proscribed by property offences causes harm to the property regime generally. The article suggests that this is an overly broad notion of harm on which to base criminalisation, and one that fails to adequately identify which particular breaches of …

Justifications, Powers And Authority, Malcolm Thorburn

Malcolm Thorburn

Justification defenses have been the subject of a protracted debate in criminal law theory for the past thirty years. Both sides in this debate have assumed that the question at issue is whether the actor’s conduct is morally justified; they differ only in their views on this question. Whereas Paul Robinson has insisted that conduct is morally justified when it prevents greater harm than it causes, George Fletcher and John Gardner have insisted that the actor’s reasons for action also play a crucial role.

This article contends that both sides in the justifications debate have been asking the wrong question. …