Law Commons^™

Ripping Off Grandma And Grandpa Without Hurting The Banks Of America: Allowing The Elderly And Other Easy Prey To Pay For The Crimes Of Immoral Individuals And Institutions, Brett D. Maxfield

Brett D Maxfield

This paper looks at the abuses of the banks of America in the ways they influence the law of credit and debt collection and what can be done to reform the system.

The First Amendment Constitutional Implications Of Facebook And Myspace And Other Online Activity Of Students In Public High Schools, Brandon J. Hoover

Brandon J. Hoover

My paper, entitled The First Amendment Constitutional Implications of MySpace and Facebook, will explore what constitutional issues may arise through the use of social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook. The paper will begin with an explanation of social networking websites; how such sites were developed, how many users each cite has, and how such sites work. The central focus of the paper will be on youth who use such sites. After laying the basic framework of what these sites are and what they do, the paper will next turn to the First Amendment issue of free speech. Some …

King Solomon’S Solution To The Disposition Of Embryos: Recognizing A Property Interest And Using Equitable Division, Kansas R. Gooden

Kansas R Gooden

In your family law class, your professors have probably not lectured on the area of embryo disposition in divorce proceedings. Were you aware that courts across the country have ruled that the right not to procreate trumps the right to procreate in these situations? When divorce and IVF combine, it results in a complex legal battle. When a couple that used IVF divorces, who should get the remaining embryos? This article asserts that embryos should be considered property. The elements of ownership, possession, use, and exclusion, otherwise known as the bundle of sticks, are present. American law has taken an …

Clearly, Using Intensifiers Is Very Bad--Or Is It?, Lance N. Long, William F. Chistensen

Lance N. Long

Although scholars have generally found that overusing intensifiers (words such as “clearly,” “obviously,” and “very”) negatively affects the persuasiveness or credibility of a legal argument, no one has studied actual appellate briefs to determine whether there is a relationship between intensifier use and the outcome of an appeal. This article describes two empirical studies of appellate briefs, which show that the frequent use of intensifiers in appellate briefs (particularly by an appellant) is usually associated with a statistically significant increase in adverse outcomes for an “offending” party. But--and this was an unexpected result--if an appellate opinion uses a high rate …

"And I Would Have Gotten Away With It Too, If It Hadn't Been For You Meddling Kids And Your Dog," Uh, I Mean Legal Ethics Rules: A Proposal For Rules Requiring Disclosure Of Attorney "Ghostwriting" Of Pro Se Litigants' Court Documents And Allowing Limited Appearances For Such Attorneys, Michael W. Loudenslager

Michael W. Loudenslager

More and more pro se litigants are making their way to the courthouse. Pro se litigants have become common especially in state housing and family law courts and in federal bankruptcy court. In response, a growing number of attorneys have started providing unbundled or limited scope legal services to these litigants. This involves a client hiring an attorney to perform a discrete task in a lawsuit and nothing else. One particular form of discrete task legal services involves attorney “ghostwriting.” In such arrangements, an attorney drafts pleadings or other court documents for pro se litigants. However, the legal assistance that …

Speech, Spam, And Central Hudson: Redefining The Terms Of Commercial Speech, Justin Torres

Justin Torres

Congressional attempts to curtail the growth of email spam consistent with the First Amendment highlight the uncertainty and confusion surrounding the Supreme Court’s commercial speech doctrine. This confusion stems from two central yet ambiguous terms central: “commercial speech” and “substantial state interest.” Throughout its commercial speech cases, the Court has broadened and narrowed the definition of commercial speech in various contexts, subjecting some speech to commercial speech regulations while exempting other speech. And it has steadily broadened the definition of “substantial state interest” to take in a number of dignitary and moral harms, to the point that the requirement is …

Omniveillance, Privacy In Public, And The Right To Your Digital Identity: A Tort For Recording And Disseminating An Individual’S Image Over The Internet, Josh Blackman

Josh Blackman

Internet giant Google recently began photographing American streets with a new technology they entitled Google Street View. These high-resolution cameras capture people, both outside, and inside of their homes, engaged in private matters. Although the present iteration of this technology only displays previously recorded images, current privacy laws do not prevent Google, or other technology companies, or wealthy individuals, from implementing a system that broadcasts live video feeds of street corner throughout America. Such pervasive human monitoring is the essence of the phenomenon this Article has termed omniveillance. This threat is all the more realistic in light of projected trends …

The Law Firm Caste System, Tiffani N. Darden

Tiffani N. Darden

Diversity eludes the most prestigious legal employers—the federal judiciary, academia, and elite law firms—despite enlightened scholarship diagnosing the quandaries of workplace equity in professional settings. While recruitment efforts stream attorneys of color into the lower ranks of corporate law firms, management and the profession still grapple with retention challenges. How can the legal profession, including law firms, resolve this problem? In addressing this question, I examine the uncharted intersection between two bodies of legal scholarship: workplace equity theory and the institutional analyses of law firm diversity. The primary data collection method for this study consists of personal interviews with diversity …

Holistic Approaches To Classroom Instruction, A Precursor To More Collaborative Lawyers: Reflections Of A Professor And Collaborative Lawyer, Kathy-Ann K. Hart

Kathy-Ann K Hart

Coupling of academia and practice in legal curricula can make programs of law study more holistic than many of them currently are. Encouraging law students to learn in more than one way in the classroom engages them as multi-dimensional learners or beings. As a collaborative lawyer I have a vested interest in increasing the numbers of lawyers who choose collaborative practice and I believe that peaceful, more co-operative ways of practicing law (like employing collaborative principles) can create future lawyers and a legal profession that’s healthier and happier. In this article, I reflect on my application of holistic approaches in …

Beyond The Prisoners' Dilemma: Coordination, Equity, And Law, Richard H. Mcadams

Richard H. McAdams

ABSTRACT: Legal scholars across all fields explore the game theoretic idea of cooperation as illustrated by the Prisoners’ Dilemma (“PD”) and its variants. By contrast, other games – especially those involving equity and coordination – have proved far less influential. Examples include the games known as Stag Hunt, Hawk-Dove, and Battle of the Sexes. After documenting a dramatic disparity in the legal literature favoring the PD game, this paper raises and rejects two possible justifications for the neglect of other games: (1) that the PD occurs more frequently than other situations; and (2) that other game situations are less important …

Shari'ah's Black Box: Civil Liability And Criminal Exposure Surrounding Shari'ah-Compliant Finance, David Yerushalmi

David Yerushalmi

This article examines the multitude of legal issues - both criminal and civil - that Shari'ah-compliant finance (SCF) presents to U.S. financial institutions and their professional advisers. In short, SCF is the practice of investing in conformity with Islamic law (Shari'ah). Such investment appears at first glance innocuous. With only a modicum of probing, however, SCF turns out to be a black box, where the financial industry and their legal professionals have hidden a doctrine at war with the West and have ignored the dangers and risks posed by Shari'ah authorities who determine the rules and principles of this industry. …

Hungry For Victory: Why High School Wrestling Coaches Should Not Be Held Liable For Injuries Resulting From Weight Loss, Alexander J. Pal

Alex J Pal

The purpose of this Note is to advocate for the universal application of primary assumption of the risk as a defense to a negligence cause of action involving interscholastic wrestling. Primary assumption of the risk is a defense which infers that a participant in a particular activity knew or should have known of a risk inherent in that activity. If a court deems a plaintiff to have assumed such a risk, they will be barred from recovering in a lawsuit. Jurisdictions are not in agreement in applying this doctrine in a sports setting.

Application of the doctrine in the sport …

Celebrity In Cyberspace: A Personality Rights Paradigm For Personal Domain Name Disputes, Jacqueline Lipton

Jacqueline D Lipton

When the Oscar™-winning actress Julia Roberts fought for control of the domain name, what was her aim? Did she want to reap economic benefits from the name? Probably not, as she has not used the name since it was transferred to her. Or did she want to prevent others from using it on either an unjust enrichment or a privacy basis? Was she, in fact, protecting a trademark interest in her name? Personal domain name disputes, particularly those in the space, implicate unique aspects of an individual’s persona in cyberspace. Nevertheless, most of the legal rules developed for these disputes …

Privacy, Authenticity, & Equality: The Moral And Legal Case For The Right To Homosexual Marriage, Jeffery L. Johnson

Jeffery L Johnson

Deeply and widely held political and moral values, as well as contemporary constitutional principles, demand that we look more thoroughly at our commitment to equality, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Such an examination, I argue, makes it close to self-evident that homosexual couples should have the right to full legal marriage.

The Technology Of Law And Economics, John H. Moran

John H Moran

The article suggests that the field of Technology drives the fields of Economics and Law. It relies on Richard Posner's law and economics ideas, but also argues that technologists have increasing influence on the emerging world order, to the detriment of the existing government and banking based power structure.

When Theory Met Practice: Teaching Tort Law From A Practical Perspective, Prentice L. White

Prentice L White

WHEN THEORY MET PRACTICE: TEACHING TORT LAW FROM A PRACTICAL PERSPECTIVE ABSTRACT When I initially entered the world of academia, I did so with the intention of not only teaching my students the black letter law, but I also envision an opportunity to share with them my experiences in the practice. My philosophy has always been “How can you teach what you have not learned.” Learning is an on-going process and it is not limited to the classroom—especially in professional school. That’s why it was so important for me to share a practical experience with my students as much as …

Faster, Higher, And Stronger: Why Athletes Should Have The Choice To Use Performance-Enhancing Drugs, Robert J. Bello

Robert J Bello

From: Robert Bello Date: January 28, 2008 RE: Abstract Performance-enhancing drugs can be safely and effectively used when taken in smaller dosages to help athletes perform better. They are outlawed in sports by current legislation due to the adverse effects caused by high dosages and a decades old assumption that those are the typical side effects and usage patterns. The complete ban ignores the benefits of performance-enhancing drugs and creates many problems of its own. A large reason why athletes suffer adverse side effects from steroids is because they take them with little knowledge and without medical supervision. Lacking supervision, …

Tax Incentives: A Solution To Economic Uncertainty, Jared A. Hermann

Jared A Hermann

The article compares current economic conditions within the United States to those conditions present in the quarters preceding the 2001 recession. The article also discusses the interrelationship between consumer confidence levels and economic activity. The purpose of this article is to address the current economic uncertainty within the United States and recommend as a solution the temporary extension of the capital gains and dividend tax cuts of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Such an extension will restore confidence in the economy by incentivizing investment activity and enhancing economic growth. In light of recent developments concerning …

Learned Hand’S District Court Opinions, 1916-1917: A Macrostructural Analysis Employing Cognitive Psychology Principles, Jeffrey A. Van Detta

Jeffrey A. Van Detta

What makes a judge a good trial court writer? Should this be measured by the writing of the appeals court judges who review them? Does it even matter if trial court judges write well? Examining trial court opinions that Judge Learned Hand wrote 1916-1917 on the U.S. District Court, this article answers those questions by applying principles of cognitive psychology in a detailed critical evaluation of each opinion and its legal and society context. This article makes a very substantial contribution to the study of legal linguistics, cognitive psychology as applied in critical reading of judicial opinions, and of Learned …

The Medium Of Exchange Paradigm: A Fresh Look At Compensated Live-Organ Donation, Dean Lhospital

Dean Lhospital

For over twenty years, human live-organ sales have been banned in the United States and most of the rest of the world. Observations and data arising from black market transactions and the few legal markets for organs suggest that permitting and regulating organ sales leads to more humane conditions than outlawing sales. Despite the data, opponents of organ sales still argue that selling human organs devalues human life. This article examines the panoply of organ markets – white, grey, and black – and identifies the source of this cognitive dissonance. Recognizing that there is a fundamental paradox in ethical objections, …

Capital In Chaos: The Subprime Mortgage Crisis And The Social Capital Response, Raymond H. Brescia

Raymond H Brescia

“Capital in Chaos: The Subprime Mortgage Crisis and the Social Capital Response,” examines the role of trust and the absence of social capital in the subprime mortgage crisis, with a particular focus on the impact of the subprime crisis on communities of color.

Just Semantics: The Lost Readings Of The Ada, Jill C. Anderson

Jill C. Anderson

Just Semantics: The Lost Readings of the ADA

Jill C. Anderson

INTRODUCTION

I. THE NARROWED DISABILITY DEFINITION

II. DE DICTO-DE RE AMBIGUITY

III. HOW THE COURTS MISS AMBIGUITY

IV. RESOLVING AMBIGUITY

V. APPLICATIONS IN CASE LAW

VI. IMPLICATIONS FOR REFORM

CONCLUSION

Abstract

Disability rights advocates and commentators agree that the ADA has veered far off course from its mandate of protecting people with disabilities---actual or perceived---from discrimination. They likewise agree that the fault lies in the language of the statute itself and in the courts’ “literalist” reading of its definition of disability. As a result, many disability rights advocates have …

Two Crises Of Confidence: Securing Non-Proliferation And The Rule Of Law Through Security Council Resolutions, Vik Kanwar

Vik Kanwar

This timely article describes the powers of the United Nations Security Council as they have developed in the field of non-proliferation, and demonstrated in recent resolutions, and goes on to propose a normative framework based on the model of reciprocal “confidence-building” measures to ensure the legality and legitimacy of these resolutions.

Recent proliferation crises (concerning Iran, North Korea, and non-state proliferation networks) have led the Council draw upon various sources-- express and implied powers under the UN Charter, powers granted by specific treaties, and an unusual degree of international consensus-- to expand its powers. This paper attempts to transcend false …

Situating Emotion: A Critical Realist View Of Emotion And Nonconscious Cognitive Processes For Law And Legal Theory, David J. Arkush

David J. Arkush

This Article attempts to clarify legal thinking about emotion in decision making. It surveys evidence from psychology and neuroscience on the extensive role that emotion and related nonconscious cognitive processes play in human behavior, then evaluates the treatment of emotion in three legal views of decision making: rational choice theory, behavioral economics, and cultural cognition theory. The Article concludes that each theory is mistaken to treat emotion mostly as a decision objective rather than a part of the decision-making process and, indeed, to treat it as a force that mostly compromises that process. The Article introduces the view that emotion …

Electronically Manufactured Law, Katrina Fischer Kuh

Katrina F Kuh

Electronically Manufactured Law

Forthcoming, Harvard Journal of Law & Technology (Vol. 22, Fall Issue)

We increasingly communicate and experience law through an electronic medium. Existing scholarship suggests that prior changes in the communication of law – from oral to scribal, scribal to moveable type, the widespread publication of cases – influenced the development of the law, including by contributing to the rise of basic concepts such as precedent. One element of the present shift in the communication of law is that the process by which we find the law has been transformed. Specifically, legal case research, once conducted exclusively through …