Law Commons^™

A House Divided: The Incompatible Positions Of The Centers For Disease Control And The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission On Obesity As A Disability, Kent Kauffman

Kent D Kauffman

The question whether obesity was a covered disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was inconsistently answered by the federal courts. But the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) revised the federal government's position on obesity as a disability, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has, as a result, taken a more assertive role in this area of disability discrimination. The difficulty with the EEOC's position is that is disregards the reality that obesity presents in the workplace, one of ever-burgeoning and unsustainable costs. It is also a stance that is antipathetic to …

Beyond Practical Skills: Nine Steps For Improving Legal Education Now, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

It has been five years since the Carnegie Report “Educating Lawyers” called upon law schools to adopt an integrated approach to professional education that teaches practical skills and professionalism across the curriculum. Yet so far, very few schools have responded to this clarion call for wholesale curricular reform. Considering the inertial effect of traditional law school pedagogy and the institutional impediments to change, this delay is not surprising. A fully integrated approach to teaching professional skills (such as the medical school model) would require major resource reallocations, realignment of teaching responsibilities, redesign of courses, and a change to graduation requirements. …

No Protectable Property Interest In Making Land Use Decisions And Other Ethics In Land Use Issues 2009-2010, Patricia Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

This annual review of reported decisions and opinions focused on ethical considerations in land use planning and decisionmaking, continues to highlight the hotly litigated issues surrounding conflicts of interest of various players in the land use game.

Teaching Government Law & Policy In Law School: Reflections On Twenty-Five Years Of Experience, Patricia Salkin

Patricia E. Salkin

No abstract provided.

The Model Penal Code’S Wrong Turn: Renunciation As A Defense To Criminal Conspiracy, R. Michael Cassidy

R. Michael Cassidy

While the Model Penal Code was certainly one the most influential developments in criminal law in the past century, the American Law Institute (ALI) took a seriously wrong turn by recognizing a defense of “renunciation” to the crime of conspiracy. Under the Model Penal Code formulation, a member of a conspiracy who later disavows the agreement and thwarts its objective (for example, by notifying authorities of the planned crime in order to prevent its completion) is afforded a complete defense to conspiracy liability. This defense has enormous implications for crimes involving national security and terrorism, which are typically planned covertly …

Ethical Issues In Open Adoption, Frederic Reamer, Deborah Siegel

Deborah H Siegel

Total secrecy and confidentiality no longer typify adoption in the United States. Today, most adoptions involve an exchange of information or some form of contact between the birth family and adoptive family - so-called open adoptions. This article provides a comprehensive overview of ethical issues associated with various forms of open adoption, including issues of privacy, confidentiality, self-determination, paternalism, conflicts of interest, deception, and truthtelling.We present guidelines for social work practice in open adoptions, based on current ethical theory and ethical standards in social work.

What Is A Lawyer? A Reconstruction Of The Lawyer As An Officer Of The Court, Deborah Hussey Freeland

Deborah M. Hussey Freeland

This paper engages with the central question in legal ethics concerning the lawyer's role, analyzing this fundamental question in terms of professional identity. Literature in this debate frames the lawyer either as a professional who exists entirely to serve her client (the "standard conception"), or as a professional whose primary duties are to the legal system. I reposit and examine the lawyer's professional identity as an officer of the court--an identity marginalized by those who favor the standard conception--noting that the phrase was coined to draw attention to a supplanting threat to legal professionalism. Providing a uniquely detailed examination of …

Right To Counsel Denied: Confusing The Roles Of Lawyers And Guardians, Alberto Bernabe

Alberto Bernabe

Temptations Of The Sirens: Ethical Issues In Libraries, Herbert Cihak, Joan Howland

Herbert E. Cihak

In this article, librarians are challenged and encouraged to integrate ethical analysis into all aspects of library decision making. An approach to ethical issues in the workplace is outlined, and difficult ethical situations are viewed through the prism of a culture of ethical behavior.