Law Commons^™

Toward A Mature Doctrine Of Informed Consent: Lessons From A Comparative Law Analysis, John G. Culhane, King-Jean Wu, Oluyomi Faparusi, Eric J. Juray

John G. Culhane

This article undertakes a comparative, critical evaluation of the law of informed consent as it has developed in several nations (the U.S., Taiwan, Britain, and Canada) over the past several decades. It argues for extending the doctrine to cover all cases in which physicians and their patients discuss appropriate care (including prescription drugs), and presents a modified subjective approach to causation, based on the Canadian approach, as the model most consistent with the fundamental tenets of the doctrine.

The Short, Puzzling(?) Life Of The Civil Union, John G. Culhane

John G. Culhane

In the battle for marriage equality, equal protection has proven to be a more successful strategy than fundamental rights. This outcome is perhaps surprising, given that civil unions arguably afford at least "formal" equality to same-sex couples. Yet the supreme courts of Connecticut and California have emphasized the denial of equality that the difference in names connotes - civil unions or domestic partnerships v. marriage - and therefore have moved dramatically towards real equality. These two courts were the first to declare that sexual orientation is a suspect (California) or quasi-suspect (Connecticut) classification, thereby radically changing the debate and the …

Sex, Fear, And Public Health Policy (Reviewing Gay Bathhouses And Public Health Policy, Wm. J. Woods & Diane Binson Eds. (2003), John G. Culhane

John G. Culhane

No abstract provided.

Tort, Compensation, And Two Kinds Of Justice, John G. Culhane

John G. Culhane

Following the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Congress moved swiftly to pass legislation that both protected potential tort defendants against crushing liability and created a fund to compensate those killed or injured by the terrorists. Although the Victim Compensation Fund does not provide the full recovery that a plaintiff might gain through a tort suit, it nonetheless reflects a tort law bent by allowing recovery of full economic loss.

This Article argues that the Fund confuses two kinds of justice. Corrective justice (herein, tort law) is concerned with repairing an inequality between parties that wrongful conduct has created. …

Recurring Nightmare: Barriers To Effective Treatment Of Hiv In The United States And Internationally, John G. Culhane

John G. Culhane

Developing nations face many of the same barriers to the effective prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS as the developed nations. The article examines successful and unsuccessful approaches to prevention in the United States, and compares these to the obstacles faced by those attempting to deal with the HIV/AIDS pandemic in other nations. It suggests ways of addressing deeply rooted obstacles such as the treatment of women and racial and sexual minorities. A complex web of approaches that draws on international, national, and local laws and government, as well as the participation of community groups, stands the only chance of substantially …

Defining A Proper Role For Public Nuisance Law In Municipal Suits Against Gun Sellers: Beyond Rhetoric And Expedience, John G. Culhane, Jean M. Eggen

John G. Culhane

During the past few years, more than a score of municipalities (and the State of New York) have brought suit against gun manufacturers, distributors and retailers, seeking to hold them accountable for the consequences of gun violence within the municipalities' jurisdiction. This article critically assesses whether the theory of public nuisance is an appropriate vehicle for bringing such suits. Inasmuch as public nuisance theory is itself only dimly understood, the article begins with an historical summary of public nuisance law. It then considers contemporary objections to the continued vitality of public nuisance, and concludes that, properly defined and limited, public …