Law Commons^™

Never Let A Good Crises Go To Waste, Richard Pomp

Faculty Articles and Papers

A problem with temporary tax study commissions is that by the time their findings are released, changes in the political environment may have rendered their suggestions worthless. Permanent standing commissions are needed. The temporary crisis of the current pandemic, an opportunity for tax reform, illustrates this point.

In this article, Professor Pomp argues for the creation of a permanent state body tasked with managing tax reform. It would perform research and analysis, educate legislatures about how current law operates, initiate proposals, and draft legislation. Being permanent, such a body would be proactive enough to respond to a temporary crisis.

In …

Did Multicultural America Result From A Mistake? The 1965 Immigration Act And Evidence From Roll Call Votes, Douglas M. Spencer, Gabriel J. Chin

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Misreading Like A Lawyer: Cognitive Bias In Statutory Interpretation, Jill Anderson

Faculty Articles and Papers

Statutory interpretation dilemmas arise in all areas of law, where we often script them as scenes of conflict between a statute's literal text and its animating purpose. This Article argues that, for an important class of disputes, this supposed discord between text and purpose is an illusion. In fact, lawyers are overlooking ambiguities of literal meaning that align well with statutory purpose. The form of ambiguity in question inheres not in individual words, but at the level of the sentence. What triggers a split in readings are verbs that linguists classify as "opaque," which are perfectly common in legal texts: …

Curbing Energy Sprawl With Microgrids, Sara Bronin

Faculty Articles and Papers

Energy sprawl - the phenomenon of ever-increasing consumption of land, particularly in rural areas, required to site energy generation facilities - is a real and growing problem. Over the next twenty years, at least sixty-seven million acres of land will have been developed for energy projects, destroying wildlife habitats and fragmenting landscapes. According to one influential report, even renewable energy projects - especially large-scale projects that require large-scale transmission and distribution infrastructure - contribute to energy sprawl. This Article does not aim to stop large-scale renewable energy projects or even argue that policymakers focus solely on land use in determining …

Just Semantics: The Lost Readings Of The Americans With Disabilities Act, Jill Anderson

Faculty Articles and Papers

Disability rights advocates and commentators agree that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has veered far off course from the Act's mandate of protecting people with actual or perceived disabilities from discrimination. They likewise agree that the fault lies in the language of the statute itself and in the courts' so-called literalist reading of its definition of disability. As a result, many disability rights advocates have pinned their hopes for doctrinal reform on the proposed ADA Restoration Act, now in congressional committee. Although the Act would likely be a boon to plaintiffs, its chances of passage are uncertain. This Article …

United States V. Lara As A Story Of Native Agency, Bethany Berger

Faculty Articles and Papers

In this contribution to the University of Tulsa's symposium on United States v. Lara (2004), I tell the history of Lara as a story of unified agency by Indian peoples and suggest that it is part of a broader transformation in the relationship of Indian people to Indian law. In United States v. Lara, the Supreme Court affirmed congressional power under the constitution to recognize inherent criminal jurisdiction over non-member Indians, although the Supreme Court had declared there was no such jurisdiction as a matter of federal common law. That the jurisdiction was inherent is significant, because it means that …

The Evolution Of The Electric Utility Industry, Richard Pomp

Faculty Articles and Papers

This article examines the evolution of the electric utility industry in three parts: I. Discovery, Innovation, and Expansion; II. Increased Demand, Improved Technology, and Increased Regulation; and III. Diversification, Regionalism, and Deregulation.

Part I begins with an examination of how the electric industry came to be, starting with incandescent light. The power industry at this time consisted of three segments that still exist today; generation, transmission, and distribution. Municipalities initially issued franchises and charters to power cities, which resulted in fierce competition to provide power at the lowest rates. Through 1880 to 1900, electricity-use increased rapidly, attracting private companies to …

Exoneration Clauses In Wills And Trust Instruments, Robert Whitman

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Revocation And Revival: An Analysis Of The 1990 Revision Of The Uniform Probate Code And Suggestions For The Future, Robert Whitman

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Preparing For The Future Of Probate In America, Robert Whitman

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.