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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Law Of Citations And Seriatim Opinions: Were The Ancient Romans And The Early Supreme Court On The Right Track?, Joshua M. Austin Nov 2010

The Law Of Citations And Seriatim Opinions: Were The Ancient Romans And The Early Supreme Court On The Right Track?, Joshua M. Austin

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This article explores the oft forgotten and somewhat misunderstood ancient Roman law methodology known as the Lex Citandi, or Law of Citations. The Law of Citations was a relatively simple theory in which authority was given to the writings of five key jurists from the classical period of Roman law, and the majority won the day. Thus, in a way, the method of separate opinions was born. It was a theory revisited by our Supreme Court in its early days through seriatim, or separate, opinions; and perhaps still seen today in the modern day Supreme Court's concurrences and dissents. This …


Clarifying Murky Mers: Does Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., Have Authority To Assign The Mortgage Note In A Standard Illinois Foreclosure Action?, Kevin M. Hudspeth Nov 2010

Clarifying Murky Mers: Does Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., Have Authority To Assign The Mortgage Note In A Standard Illinois Foreclosure Action?, Kevin M. Hudspeth

Northern Illinois University Law Review

As the number of mortgage foreclosure actions has substantially increased over recent years, legal scrutiny of the mortgage foreclosure process has likewise increased. The question of whether a little known corporation called Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Incorporated (MERS) has authority to assign the promissory note secured by a mortgage has become an important question faced by courts in recent months and years. Due to the frequency with which mortgage notes are traded on the secondary mortgage market, the plaintiff in a mortgage foreclosure action is rarely the same party who originated the loan. Under Illinois law, the party entitled to …


The Need For Rational Boundaries In Civil Conspiracy Claims, Mark A. Behrens, Christopher E. Appel Nov 2010

The Need For Rational Boundaries In Civil Conspiracy Claims, Mark A. Behrens, Christopher E. Appel

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Recently, the tort of civil conspiracy has become a favored weapon of plaintiffs' lawyers in mass tort product liability litigation involving asbestos, breast implants, tobacco, automotive tires and other products, as well as in toxic tort cases. Civil conspiracy claims are often asserted by plaintiffs to allege the liability of peripheral defendants based on their associations with the party primarily responsible for the allegedly injurious product—the manufacturer—such as through membership in a relevant industry or trade association. These claims also fit into a broader pattern of plaintiffs' attorneys seeking to extend concepts of vicarious liability, even to implicate entire industries. …


Kicking "Single-Entity" To The Sidelines: Reevaluating The Competitive Reality Of Major League Soccer After American Needle And The 2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement, Matthew J. Jakobsze Nov 2010

Kicking "Single-Entity" To The Sidelines: Reevaluating The Competitive Reality Of Major League Soccer After American Needle And The 2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement, Matthew J. Jakobsze

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The negotiation of the 2010 Collective Bargaining Agreement brought tense times for professional soccer in the United States. The Major League Soccer Players’ Union sought free agency as a part of the 2010 CBA, a term that would have brought considerable relief from the restrictions imposed through Major League Soccer’s centralized contracting system. In a steadfast effort to retain control, minimize labor costs, and avoid antitrust liability, Major League Soccer refused to yield to the players’ demands. As a result, the parties reached impasse. Devoid of decertification as an option to expose the teams to antitrust scrutiny, the players threatened …


Vol. 31, No. 1, Fall 2010: Table Of Contents And Masthead, Northern Illinois University Law Review Nov 2010

Vol. 31, No. 1, Fall 2010: Table Of Contents And Masthead, Northern Illinois University Law Review

Northern Illinois University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Considerations For Professional Sports Teams Contemplating Going Public, Bryan A. Green, Jorge E. Leal Garrett Nov 2010

Considerations For Professional Sports Teams Contemplating Going Public, Bryan A. Green, Jorge E. Leal Garrett

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The recent and lingering recession has put a significant financial strain on many industries and businesses in the United States, especially professional sports teams. While professional sports teams may not be the most profitable investment to begin with, owners must still keep them as financially sound as possible. This is especially true in these tough financial times. Going public provides the opportunity to raise capital rapidly and thus cannot be overlooked. Having sufficient capital resources is not just important from a business aspect, but is also necessary from a competitive standpoint. As a result, many teams must explore every avenue …


Misreading Knight, Josh Hess Nov 2010

Misreading Knight, Josh Hess

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This article provides an explanation to an as-yet unresolved historical anomaly: The government's 1911 decision to prosecute U.S. Steel under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The government filed suit in the face of clearly hostile precedent. In 1895's United States v. E.C. Knight, a landmark decision, the Supreme Court held that the Sherman Act could not reach large manufacturing combinations simply by virtue of their size. In the course of providing an explanation, this article examines contemporary legal scholarship and comes to the surprising conclusion that Progressive Era legal scholars believed E.C. Knight had been overruled by 1911. This fact has …


Torture, Inc.: Corporate Liability Under The Torture Victim Protection Act, Emily M. Martin Nov 2010

Torture, Inc.: Corporate Liability Under The Torture Victim Protection Act, Emily M. Martin

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA) was passed by Congress to provide a modern cause of action for victims of torture around the world. The TVPA allows victims anywhere to bring suit in the Untied States for torture committed abroad by foreign nationals. Currently, there is a split in the circuits over whether the TVPA can be used to hold corporations liable for use of torture. This Comment takes the position that the TVPA can and should be applied to corporations in order to be consistent with the Act's legislative history and to fill dangerous gaps in governance over multinational …


Can A Computer Read A Doctor's Mind? Whether Using Data Mining As Proof In Healthcare Fraud Cases Is Consistent With The Law Of Evidence, Colin Caffrey Jul 2010

Can A Computer Read A Doctor's Mind? Whether Using Data Mining As Proof In Healthcare Fraud Cases Is Consistent With The Law Of Evidence, Colin Caffrey

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Healthcare fraud is a growing problem in the United States. Data mining is increasingly being used to combat it. After briefly explaining data mining, this article analyzes whether evidence obtained by data mining is admissible in court under the laws of evidence. It then examines the issue under both the Federal Rules of Evidence and the common law. This article focuses on three key questions: (1) Whether the use of prior acts by practitioners is proper under the law of evidence? (2) Is testimony based on data mining proper expert testimony? and (3) Does the methodology of data mining satisfy …


A Discussion Of The Seventh Circuit's Electronic Discovery Pilot Program And Its Impact On Early Case Assessment, Tina B. Solis Jul 2010

A Discussion Of The Seventh Circuit's Electronic Discovery Pilot Program And Its Impact On Early Case Assessment, Tina B. Solis

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In response to the skyrocketing costs of electronic discovery, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Electronic Discovery Committee has enacted a pilot program called the Principles Relating to the Discovery of Electronically Stored Information ("Principles"). The Principles' purpose is to reduce the burden and cost of discovery in litigation brought on primarily by the use of electronic stored information in today's world. The Principles emphasize cooperation and proportionality. As a result, counsel and their clients must not only understand the identity and location of a client's ESI prior to the initial status conference but also meet and confer with opposing …


At Issue Waiver Of The Attorney-Client Privilege In Illinois: An Exception In Need Of A Standard, Kevin Bennardo Jul 2010

At Issue Waiver Of The Attorney-Client Privilege In Illinois: An Exception In Need Of A Standard, Kevin Bennardo

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This essay analyzes the "at issue" exception to the attorney-client privilege and suggests the adoption of a specified standardized test for finding the exception in Illinois. In general terms, at issue waiver of the attorney-client privilege occurs when a party pleads a claim or defense that places at issue the subject matter of privileged material over which she has control. Throughout the years, United States jurisdictions have employed four approaches for testing the application of the at issue exception, although recently the focus has been on two primary tests (the Hearn test and the anticipatory waiver test). Illinois courts have …


Getting Ready To Settle: The Exclusion Of Settled Defendants And Ready V. United/Goedecke Services, Inc.'S Impact Upon Statutory Interpretation In Illinois, Jason Meares Jul 2010

Getting Ready To Settle: The Exclusion Of Settled Defendants And Ready V. United/Goedecke Services, Inc.'S Impact Upon Statutory Interpretation In Illinois, Jason Meares

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In Ready v. United/Goedecke Services, Inc., the Illinois Supreme Court held that settled defendants are not to be considered when apportioning liability between parties to a suit. In so holding, the court manipulated several tenets of statutory construction in novel ways. This Note analyzes the court's reasoning, the practical implications of the decision for plaintiffs and defendants, as well as the uncertain future of statutory interpretation in Illinois courts.


How The Lack Of Prescriptive Technical Granularity In Hipaa Has Compromised Patient Privacy, Tim Wafa Jul 2010

How The Lack Of Prescriptive Technical Granularity In Hipaa Has Compromised Patient Privacy, Tim Wafa

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This article argues that HIPAA legislation has a severe flaw within its architecture, which has compromised patient privacy. Although the drafters of the legislation recognized the importance of providing comprehensive federal legislation to improve regulatory uniformity amongst states, they failed to recognize the importance highly specific ("granular") technical requirements play in facilitating improved privacy for patients. HIPAA rules surrounding technology implementation give too much latitude to covered entities, and as a result, provide inadequate protection to protected health information. HIPAA rules should be amended to mandate baseline technical ("granular") standards to ensure uniform efficacy in the safeguarding of protected health …


Vehicle Search Incident To A Lawful Arrest: The New Two-Part Rule From Arizona V. Gant Misses The Mark, Alexander J. Geocaris Jul 2010

Vehicle Search Incident To A Lawful Arrest: The New Two-Part Rule From Arizona V. Gant Misses The Mark, Alexander J. Geocaris

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Note examines the recent Supreme Court decision of Arizona v. Gant and how it affects a vehicle search incident to a lawful arrest exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement. The rationales for a search incident to a lawful arrest were established by Chimel v. California to search the reachable area of an arrestee for an officer's safety and to prevent the destruction of evidence. In New York v. Belton, the Supreme Court established a bright-line rule that officers may search the passenger compartment of a vehicle as incident to a lawful arrest since the Court found that Chimel …


Vol. 30, No. 3, Summer 2010: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review Jul 2010

Vol. 30, No. 3, Summer 2010: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review

Northern Illinois University Law Review

No abstract provided.


It Is Now Safe To Move About The Cabin: Revisiting Air Carrier Liability For Passenger Injuries Due To Turbulence Using A Res Ipsa Loquitur Theory Of Negligence, Andrew R. Loeffler May 2010

It Is Now Safe To Move About The Cabin: Revisiting Air Carrier Liability For Passenger Injuries Due To Turbulence Using A Res Ipsa Loquitur Theory Of Negligence, Andrew R. Loeffler

Northern Illinois University Law Review

When a passenger on a commercial air carrier is injured as a result of an encounter with turbulence, the traditional negligence analysis applies to determine whether the airline is liable for the passenger's damages. As a common carrier, the airline owes its passengers the "highest duty of care." This Comment discusses whether the time has come to change the analysis in airline turbulence injuries to one of res ipsa loquitor--that the injury speaks for itself and would not occur without negligence by another. A review is made of the significant advances in weather forecasting, turbulence prediction, turbulence detection, and airline …


Application Of The Remedial Purpose Canon To Cercla Successor Liability Issues After United States V. Bestfoods: Why State Corporate Law Should Be Applied In Circuits Encompassing Substantial Continuity Exception States, Lea J. Heffernan May 2010

Application Of The Remedial Purpose Canon To Cercla Successor Liability Issues After United States V. Bestfoods: Why State Corporate Law Should Be Applied In Circuits Encompassing Substantial Continuity Exception States, Lea J. Heffernan

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Congress enacted the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) in 1980 to address the growing problem of improper hazardous waste disposal. Due to the rushed enactment of CERCLA, however, Congress failed to fully and explicitly identify the standards that courts should invoke to determine issues of liability. Despite this ambiguity, the United States' federal courts have unanimously determined that successor corporations should be held liable under CERCLA; however, the level of liability that courts should impose on those successor corporations is still under debate. Several United States federal courts remain split with regard to whether state corporate law …


Illinois Courts And The Law Of Miranda Waivers: A Policy Worth Preserving, Timothy P. O'Neill May 2010

Illinois Courts And The Law Of Miranda Waivers: A Policy Worth Preserving, Timothy P. O'Neill

Northern Illinois University Law Review

For the last several decades, Illinois courts have followed a wise policy of refusing to accept Miranda waivers from suspects whose mental deficiencies have prevented them from knowingly understanding their rights. Yet, it is possible that the United States Supreme Court may be ready to reject this position and hold as a matter of federal law that a suspect's waiver cannot be found invalid based merely on the suspect's subjective state of mind without some objective showing of coercive police action. Regardless of what the Supreme Court may eventually decide, this essay urges Illinois courts to retain its current procedure …


Out-Of-State Wine Retailers Corked: How The Illinois General Assembly Limits Direct Wine Shipments From Out-Of-State Retailers To Illinois Oenophiles And Why The Commerce Clause Will Not Protect Them, Christopher G. Sparks May 2010

Out-Of-State Wine Retailers Corked: How The Illinois General Assembly Limits Direct Wine Shipments From Out-Of-State Retailers To Illinois Oenophiles And Why The Commerce Clause Will Not Protect Them, Christopher G. Sparks

Northern Illinois University Law Review

481 In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court in Granholm v. Heald reexamined the interplay between the dormant Commerce Clause and the Twenty-first Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Granholm caused many states, including Illinois, to reexamine their regulation of liquor distribution and the shipment of wine into their jurisdictions. Based on Granholm, Illinois created a new winery shipper's license to enable out-of-state wineries could ship to Illinois consumers; however, in its creation, Illinois removed the longstanding ability of out-of-state wine retailers to ship to Illinois consumers. This Comment examines the implications of the dormant Commerce Clause on Illinois' new license in …


Vol. 30, No. 2, Spring 2010: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review May 2010

Vol. 30, No. 2, Spring 2010: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review

Northern Illinois University Law Review

No abstract provided.


The 1970 Illinois Constitution: A Well-Tailored Garment, James W. Hilliard May 2010

The 1970 Illinois Constitution: A Well-Tailored Garment, James W. Hilliard

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In American political theory, a state constitution is the supreme and fundamental law of a state. A state constitution must meet present and foreseeable needs, but must also allow for appropriate change to address evolving needs and conditions. The 1970 Illinois Constitution directs that, at least once every twenty years, the question of whether a state constitutional convention should be called must be submitted to the voters. In 2008, the second automatic proposed call for a state constitutional convention overwhelmingly failed. This article explains the history, theory, and purposes of state constitutions in the American political system. The article recounts …


The Benefits Of Limiting Strict Liability For Used-Product Sellers, Antonio J. Senagore May 2010

The Benefits Of Limiting Strict Liability For Used-Product Sellers, Antonio J. Senagore

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This article urges courts to adopt the majority rule that strict liability should not apply to the mere commercial sale of a used good. Despite that majority rule, a significant minority of courts still imposes strict liability on new- and used-product sellers alike. This split persists because courts adopting the minority rule have overlooked the significant economic and social benefits of the used product market. This article examines the specific benefits of a used product market according to the policies leading to the creation of strict products liability. The used-product market fosters efficiency, which lets low-income consumers buy affordable quality …