Law Commons^™

Gandhi’S Prophecy: Corporate Violence And A Mindful Law For Bhopal, Nehal A. Patel

Nehal A. Patel

AbstractOver thirty years have passed since the Bhopal chemical disaster began,and in that time scholars of corporate social responsibility (CSR) havediscussed and debated several frameworks for improving corporate responseto social and environmental problems. However, CSR discourse rarelydelves into the fundamental architecture of legal thought that oftenbuttresses corporate dominance in the global economy. Moreover, CSRdiscourse does little to challenge the ontological and epistemologicalassumptions that form the foundation for modern economics and the role ofcorporations in the world.I explore methods of transforming CSR by employing the thought ofMohandas Gandhi. I pay particular attention to Gandhi’s critique ofindustrialization and principle of swadeshi (self-sufficiency) …

Avenues To Foreign Investment In China’S Shipping Industry—Have Lease Financing Arrangements And The Free Trade Zones Opened Markets For Foreign Non-Bank Investment?, Rick Beaumont

Rick Beaumont

No abstract provided.

Two Conflicting Filing Periods For A Constructive Discharge Claim: Which One Is A Better Measure?, Aditi Kumar

Aditi Kumar

Constructive discharge is a long-standing phenomenon. The doctrine emerged in the 1930s in the context of alleged unfair labor practices under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Constructive discharge occurs when the working conditions are so intolerable that a reasonable employee feels that she no choice but to quit her job. The Supreme Court brought the discussion of constructive discharge to light in Pennsylvania State Police v. Suders[1] where it discussed this principle in a hostile work environment context. Over the years, there has been much debate over the time period when a constructive discharge claim should begin. Since …

Full Faith And Conflict Of Law: The Peculiar Legacy Of Legal Federalism, Sheldon D. Pollack

Sheldon D Pollack

The new constitution crafted by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was a major improvement over its predecessor (the ill-fated Articles of Confederation), especially in concentrating greater political authority at the center of the confederation, it imposed a flawed constitutional structure on the new regime based on the same untenable proposition that undermined the national government of the Confederacy—namely, that it was possible to preserve the states as separate “sovereign” political organizations within the political union. In adopting a federal constitutional structure for the new republic (as opposed to a “consolidated” or “unitary” government), the Founders institutionalized a …

Full Faith And Conflict Of Law: The Peculiar Legacy Of Legal Federalism, Sheldon D. Pollack

Sheldon D Pollack

The new constitution crafted by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was a major improvement over its predecessor (the ill-fated Articles of Confederation), especially in concentrating greater political authority at the center of the confederation, it imposed a flawed constitutional structure on the new regime based on the same untenable proposition that undermined the national government of the Confederacy—namely, that it was possible to preserve the states as separate “sovereign” political organizations within the political union. In adopting a federal constitutional structure for the new republic (as opposed to a “consolidated” or “unitary” government), the Founders institutionalized a …

Buying Voice: Financial Rewards For Whistleblowing Lawyers, Nancy J. Moore, Kathleen Clark

Nancy J Moore

“Buying Voice: Financial Incentives for Whistleblowing Lawyers”

Kathleen Clark and Nancy J. Moore

Abstract

The federal government relies increasingly on whistleblowers to ferret out fraud, and has awarded whistleblowers over $4 billion under the False Claims Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform and Consumer Protection Act. May lawyers ethically seek whistleblower rewards under these federal statutes? A handful of lawyers have tried to do so as FCA qui tam relators. They have not yet succeeded, but several court decisions suggest that they might be able to do so under confidentiality exceptions to state ethics law, which several courts have …

Choosing The Choice: Distilling And Designating Contract Choice Of Law In Virginia, Jessica Pak

Jessica Pak

Choice of law[1] has been said to cause more “consternation and confusion among the bench and bar” than any legal subject.[2] Contract interpretation, in turn, has been identified by the great choice of law theorist Joseph Beale as the most confusing issue in the conflict of laws.[3] Unfortunately, the perplexity of this legal topic is paralleled by its practical importance. Choice of law is a matter of paramount concern in any dispute involving more than one jurisdiction, as a court cannot adjudicate a case without first ascertaining which law applies. Particularly in contract cases where the laws …

Same-Sex Marriage And Conflict Of Law: The “Other” Constitutional Issue, Sheldon D. Pollack

Sheldon D Pollack

A constitutional issue of great significance has confounded our political and legal systems in recent decades. This involves the legal status afforded same-sex marriage. Under longstanding tradition, marriage in all fifty states was restricted to a union of one man and one woman (a “traditional marriage”). But tradition began to erode in the 1990s, gradually giving way to a tacit acceptance of same-sex marriage in various regions of the United States. The result has been several decades of unsettled and conflicting law with respect to the legal status of such unions, with some states recognizing same-sex marriages and others prohibiting …

Islamic Theory Of Conflict Of Commercial Law: A Proposition, Anowar Zahid

Anowar Zahid

The parties to an international commercial/financial contract may choose a single law or a combination of law like English law and Islamic law to settle their dispute that may arise therefrom. At the same time, they may choose a forum (law court or arbitration tribunal) belonging to an Islamic jurisdiction. Such a choice of law and forum deserve a theoretical enquiry from Islamic perspective since it gives rise two important issues. First, if the choice is a single secular law and it conflicts with Shari'ah law in full or in part, then how the forum will reconcile the conflicts. It …

What Remains Of Vicarious Jurisdiction For Establishing General Jurisdiction Over Corporate Defendants After Daimlerag V. Bauman, Keri M. Martin

Keri M. Martin

When, if ever, should a corporation be subject to a court’s jurisdiction based solely on the activities of another entity? Commonly, injured plaintiffs pursue foreign corporations to recover for injuries inflicted upon them by some activity of that corporation or its subsidiary. Where plaintiffs are unable to establish personal jurisdiction over the foreign corporation directly, plaintiffs may attempt to establish jurisdiction over the corporation indirectly by imputing to it the in-forum activities of a closely related subsidiary. This form of jurisdictional blame shifting has been termed “vicarious jurisdiction,” and it stems from the understanding that more than one entity may …

Revisiting Curd V. Mosaic Fertilizer, Llc. A Perversion Of Private Standing Under Section 376.313 Of Florida’S Pollution Discharge Prevention And Recovery Act, Levi L. Wilkes

Levi L Wilkes

No abstract provided.

The Recognition Of Indigenous Peoples’ Land: Application Of The Customary Land Rights Model On The Bedouin Case, Morad Elsana

Morad Elsana

ABSTRACT This paper introduces new possibilities for the recognition of Bedouin land in Israel. It shows that the application of the prevalent methods of indigenous land recognition is possible in the Bedouin case, and it would bring legal recognition of Bedouin land rights. The paper first presents the recognition of indigenous peoples land right in Canada, Australia, and other countries, while concentrating on the native title doctrine and the adoption of indigenous customary law. It shows how many colonial legal systems eventually discovered that their judicial systems included principles that recognize indigenous customary land rights. The application of such principles …

Something To Lex Loci Celebrationis: Federal Marriage Benefits Following United States V. Windsor, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

This article provides one of the first substantive treatments of United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court's recent same-sex marriage case. The article's thesis proposes lex loci celebrationis (the place of marriage) as the proper method for determining marriage for federal law purposes. Failure to adopt lex loci celebrationis may violate the Fifth Amendment equal protection guarantee or the constitutional right to travel. Further, adoption of the lex loci celebrationis standard furthers marital stability and predictability.

Waging War On Specialty Pharmaceutical Tiering In Pharmacy Benefit Design, Chad I. Brooker

Chad I Brooker

Specialty drugs represent a growing concern for both health insurance issuers and beneficiaries given their exceedingly high (and growing) costs—representing almost half of all drug spend by 2017. Payers have sought to reduce their specialty drug spend by sharing more of the cost of these drugs with the beneficiaries who depend on them through the creation of specialty drug tiers. This has forced some patients to choose between forgoing other needs to pay for their medications or not take them at all. While several states have sought to outlaw the use of specialty drug tiers or limit pharmaceutical OOP cost-sharing, …

Which Is Greater: The Right To Parent Or The Rights Of A Parent? The Legal And Ethical Quandaries When A Minor Child Diagnosed With Cancer Wishes To Utilize Oocyte Cryopreservation And Advanced Reproductive Technology For Future Procreation., Jessica M. Hallgren

Jessica M Hallgren

No abstract provided.

Conflicting Federal And State Medical Marijuana Policies: A Threat To Cooperative Federalism, Todd Grabarsky

Todd Grabarsky

The legal status of medical marijuana in the United States is something of a paradox. On one hand, federal government has placed a ban on the drug with no exceptions. On the other hand, over one-third of the states have that legalizes the cultivation, distribution, and consumption of the drug for medical purposes. As such, the usage of medical marijuana is an activity that is at the same time proscribed (by the federal government) and encouraged (by state governments through their systems of regulation and taxation). This Article seeks to shed light on this unprecedented nebulous zone of legality in …

Federal Prohibition Of Medical Marijuana In Pain Management: Undue, Unimportant, And Irrational, Michael L. Timm Jr.

Michael L. Timm Jr.

This paper provides a review of the historical right of the people of the United States to seek, and use, alternative medicinal treatment options in the realm of managing both the pain and symptoms associated with a variety of illnesses. The focus then turns to the right involved: a patient’s ability to employ medical marijuana instead of a commonly prescribed narcotic or mass-market non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesic (NSAIA) drug to manage pain and increase quality of life under the advice and consent of a treating physician. No one article has argued that there is a fundamental, important, or at least recognizable …

Blatant Bribery Or Locally Lawful?: Is The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’S “Local Laws” Defense Extinct?, Erik J. King

Erik J King

Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), it is an affirmative defense if the payments in question were lawful under the written laws of a foreign country. This defense has been largely overlooked by commentators and used sparingly in the court system. This Note examines the utility of this defense, and finds that although the concept underlying the defense remains somewhat alive in certain types of foreign laws that could conceivably excuse a foreign investor, the defense has lost all practical value. U.S. judicial interpretations, multilateral efforts against similar exceptions in other anti-bribery laws, and the subsuming effect of other …

Death To Immunity From Service Of Process Doctrine!, John Martinez

John Martinez

Death to Immunity From Service of Process Doctrine!

By John Martinez, Professor of Law

S.J. Quinney College of Law

at the University of Utah

ABSTRACT

The immunity from service of process doctrine provides that a nonresident cannot be served while going to, attending, and leaving an ongoing judicial proceeding. However, the doctrine evolved while "tag" jurisdiction was in vogue, whereby mere presence in the forum state sufficed, and the nonresident only had to be "tagged" with service to confer jurisdiction on the forum state. This article suggests that modern "minimum contacts" territorial jurisdiction theory more adequately addresses the concerns of …

Preliminary Injunction Standards In Massachusetts State And Federal Courts, Arthur D. Wolf

Arthur D. Wolf

Attorneys frequently have the choice of filing a complaint in state or federal court because of concurrent jurisdiction. State courts presumptively have jurisdiction over claims rooted in federal law. At times, state courts are required to entertain federal claims. Similarly, federal courts have authority over state claims because of diversity, federal question, and supplemental jurisdiction. Many claims are rooted in both state and federal law, such as antitrust, civil rights, environmental, consumer protection, and civil liberties. Confronted with the choice of state or federal court, the attorney must evaluate a variety of factors before deciding in which court to file. …

Monopolies And The Constitution: A History Of Crony Capitalism, Steven G. Calabresi

Steven G Calabresi

This article explores the right of the people to be free from government granted monopolies or from what we would today call “Crony Capitalism.” We trace the constitutional history of this right from Tudor England down to present day state and federal constitutional law. We begin with Darcy v. Allen (also known as the Case of Monopolies decided in 1603) and the Statute of Monopolies of 1624, both of which prohibited English Kings and Queens from granting monopolies. We then show how the American colonists relied on English rights to be free from government granted monopolies during the Revolutionary War …

The Word Commons And Foreign Laws, Thomas O. Main

Thomas O Main

Dual trends are colliding in U.S. courts. The first trend is a tidal wave of cases requiring courts to engage the domestic laws of foreign legal systems; globalization is the principal driver of this escalation. The second trend is a profound and ever-increasing skepticism of our ability to understand foreign law; the literature of pluralism and postmodernism has illuminated the uniquely local, language-dependent, and culturally embedded nature of law. Courts cope with this dissonance by finding some way to avoid the application of foreign law. But these outcomes are problematic because parties are denied access to court or have their …

My Space Or Theirs? Trying To Reconcile The Messy Judicial Doctrine For Off-Campus Student Expression, Ryan C. Tuck

Ryan C Tuck

The Supreme Court's student expression jurisprudence is notoriously muddled, but regarding one major question, the Court basically has remained silent: whether and when schools can regulate student expression that originates physically beyond the campus and lacks any indicia of school sponsorship. The Court has included some suggestive language in its four landmark student expression cases, including its most recent decision in 2007, but the Court never has resolved this issue. And after denying a pair of petitions for certiorari earlier this year, the Court appears unlikely to do so anytime soon. (The Court denied a similar petition the previous term.) …

Admissibility Of Dna Evidence: Italy Under Attack, Adina Rosenfeld

Adina Rosenfeld

The purpose of this paper is to compare the differences and similarities in the evidentiary rules for DNA in Italy and in the United States in the light of their two different legal traditions. This note will compare American and Italian rules of evidence and procedure for the admissibility of DNA in criminal trials and analyze the most relevant differences between the two systems. Based on this comparison, the note will argue that Amanda Knox would not have been convicted of murdering her roommate in American lower court because the DNA evidence would not have been admissible. In Italy, Knox …

Umbrella Clauses, Will Theory And Forum Selection Clauses, Wenxiong Zhuang

WenXiong Zhuang

Umbrella clauses in investment treaties ostensibly give rise to second-order derivative treaty obligations to observe first-order obligations. The interpretation of the ambit of umbrella clauses has proven to be highly controversial, with a marked jurisprudential split between two lines of arbitral decisions. In this paper, I utilize H.L.A. Hart’s distinction between core and penumbra meanings and the will theory of contract to show that umbrella clauses should be read widely to include contractual obligations. I then go on to analyze forum selection clauses in underlying contracts, which exemplify the intersection between the international and municipal legal orders and potentially lead …

Expressing Faith In And Giving Credit To State Courts: The Erie Doctrine And Interjurisdictional Preclusion, Jonathan S. Ross

Jonathan S Ross

The Full Faith and Credit Clause and statute require federal and state courts to give the same effect to a state court’s judgment as would the state court that rendered the judgment. Thus, the provisions promote national unity and prevent litigants from resorting to other courts after incurring adverse judgments. While the full faith and credit provisions do not acknowledge exceptions, the Court has long recognized that exceptions to them exist. However, the Court has not set forth the limits of many of these exceptions. Absent Supreme Court guidance, state and federal courts have considered and applied various novel full …

Expressing Faith In And Giving Credit To State Courts: The Erie Doctrine And Interjurisdictional Preclusion, Jonathan S. Ross

Jonathan S Ross

The Full Faith and Credit Clause and statute require federal and state courts to give the same effect to a state court’s judgment as would the state court that rendered the judgment. Thus, the provisions promote national unity and prevent litigants from resorting to other courts after incurring adverse judgments. While the full faith and credit provisions do not acknowledge exceptions, the Court has long recognized that exceptions to them exist. However, the Court has not set forth the limits of many of these exceptions. Absent Supreme Court guidance, state and federal courts have considered and applied various novel full …

Stare Decisis And Conflicts Between The Divisions Of Washington State Court Of Appeals: Resolving A Problem At The Trial Court Level, Mark Deforrest

Mark DeForrest

The Washington Court of Appeals is a single court that sits in three geographically distinct divisions. A case from a division is binding on trial courts throughout the state, but not on the other divisions within the court of appeals. Conflicts between the divisions occur, placing trial courts in a Catch-22 situation when faced with conflicting authorities from the court of appeals. This article identifies and explains the problem, and provides background information on the history and function of Washington's junior appellate court. The article also identifies and critiques four possible solutions of the problem facing trial courts. Ultimately, the …

An Historical Reassessment Of Full Faith And Credit, Jeffrey M. Schmitt

Jeffrey M Schmitt

The Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) has generated a great deal of academic debate over Congress’s power under the Full Faith and Credit Clause. Although modern scholars have advanced a range of different interpretations, recent scholarship has argued that the Clause was originally understood to have granted Congress virtually unlimited power to prescribe how state acts and judgments would apply in other states. Under this prevailing historical view, DOMA would thus be consistent with the original meaning of the Full Faith and Credit Clause.

This Article offers a new account of the historical understanding of the Full Faith and Credit …

Conflict In The Court? Supreme Court Recusal From Marbury To The Modern Day, James Sample

James Sample

For justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, controversies pitting personal conflicts ¬¬— whether actual or merely alleged — against the constitutional commitment to the rule of law increasingly form the basis of a caustic and circular national dialogue that generates substantially more heat than light. While the profile of these controversies is undoubtedly waxing, the underlying tensions stretch back at least to Marbury v. Madison. For all its seminal import, in Marbury, Chief Justice John Marshall adjudicated a case involving, inter alia, the validity of judicial commissions Marshall had himself signed and sealed while serving simultaneously as the outgoing Secretary …