Law Commons^™

The Agony Of War And A World Without Law, Josh Zetlin

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

This note analyzes Lewis Milestone's classic film A//.Quiet on the Western Front in order to illustrate the importance of law in society. Philosophers and legal theorists have pondered endlessly on the importance of law and the roles it serves. Building upon the concepts such as the "social contract," the creators of our legal system carved out particular areas of laws to satisfy specific societal wants and needs. Milestone's war epic reveals how war destroys these legal institutions. The chaos of war and unaccountability for immoral acts shatters the foundation of law, bringing great suffering to the characters in the film. …

Regulating Relationships Between Competing Broadcasters, Christopher S. Reed

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

In response to mounting economic challenges in the media industry, some broadcasters have started entering into agreements whereby one station agrees to sell advertising, produce programming, or take over certain other functions of another station in the same market. Though such arrangements, often called local marketing or time brokerage agreements, are not particularly new in the broadcasting field, they have been used with increasing frequency in recent years.

This article examines the form and function of cooperative agreements among broadcasters and explores the reasons why such agreements are attractive business propositions for those who enter into them. It then describes …

Will Twitter Be Following You In The Courtroom: Why Reporters Should Be Allowed To Broadcast During Courtroom Proceedings, Adriana C. Cervantes

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Thanks to micro-blogging and social networking tools, we no longer have to pick up a phone to call our friends and ask them what they are doing. Instead we turn to our laptop, BlackBerry, or iPhone to get instant information available to us through the Internet. Twitter is a key player in the Internet information exchange line-up and has made its way into one of the oldest and most archaic forums: the courtroom. The current law does not properly address whether reporters should be allowed to tweet, but this trend is becoming more prevalent. Twitter needs to be addressed with …

Lost In Forest Grove: Interpreting Idea's Inherent Paradox, Natalie Pyong Kocher

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

The passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act ("IDEA"), a major civil rights bill, provided children with disabilities heightened access to education. At the heart of the IDEA is a school district's responsibility to provide each child with an individualized education, often referred to as a "free appropriate public education" ("FAPE"). Where a public school district is itself unable to provide a FAPE, IDEA requires the district to pay for the student's enrollment in a private school. Courts initially interpreted IDEA to require that parents give public school districts an opportunity to provide a FAPE before removing their child …

Engquist And The Erosion Of The Equal Protection Clause: An Attempt To Stop The Creep Of Irrational Dicta, Darien Shanske

UC Law Journal

This Article is about the erosion of the protections offered by the Equal Protection Clause resulting from the Supreme Court's decision in Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture. Lower courts, purportedly following Engquist, have limited the reach of the Equal Protection Clause in several dozen cases in the last year. Until Engquist, it was uncontroversial that any person alleging irrational treatment by a government official could at least challenge the government official to give a reason that would satisfy rational basis review. Since the Supreme Court decided Engquist, lower courts have leapt to find that government officials cannot be found …

Copyright Infringement And Harmless Speech, Christina Bohannan

UC Law Journal

Copyright law is a glaring and unjustified exception to the rule that the government may not prohibit speech without a showing that it causes real harm. While the First Amendment sometimes protects even harmful speech, it virtually never allows the prohibition of harmless speech. Yet, while other speech-burdening laws, such as defamation and right-of-publicity laws, require that the defendant's speech is likely to cause harm, copyright law does not make harm a requirement of infringement. Copyright law considers harm to the market for the copyrighted work as a factor in fair use analysis, but harm is not always required and …

Beyond The Squabble: Putting The Tenderloin Community Justice Center In Context, Michael Cobden, Ron Albers

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

The Tenderloin Community Justice Center ("CJC") began operation in May 2009 amid a tense political and economic climate. Although it employs an innovative approach to alleviating crime, the CJC is not a novel concept, but rather modeled after successful community courts already in existence. As a product of community efforts, the CJC aims to address the shortcomings of the traditional court system, which has been ineffective in reducing crime and recidivism rates, by offering alternatives to incarceration. By coordinating service providers intimately with the court, the CJC provides a centralized system that allows it to comprehensively examine an offender's problems …

Defining The Problem, Hadar Aviram

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

Litigation Over Prison Medical Services, Aaron Rappaport

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

An Overview Of Special Populations In California Prisons, Eumi K. Lee

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

Reconceptualizing Restorative Justice, Kate E. Bloch

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

Decent Work, Human Rights, And The Millennium Development Goals, Gillian Macnaughton, Diane F. Frey

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

The Millennium Development Goals ("MDGs") have provided the global framework for international development and poverty elimination policy for almost a decade. This framework includes time-bound targets and indicators to monitor progress toward the Goals. Initially, full employment and decent work for all was not part of the MDG framework. In 2007, however, the UN General Assembly approved four new MDG targets, including the achievement of "full and productive employment and decent work for all." This article discusses this new MDG target and its indicators from social justice and human rights perspectives. It argues that uniting the overlapping agendas of the …

We've Been Waiting A Long Time - The Struggle To Pass The Filipino Veterans Equity Act And A Bittersweet Ending To A Sixty-Three-Year Battle, Paul Daniel Rivera

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into effect the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Buried amidst the hundreds of pages and the billions of dollars given out by the bill was Title X, Section 1002, a diminutive two pages of text authorizing the federal government to give "Payments to Eligible Persons Who Served in the United States Armed Forces in the Far East During World War II." However, Section 1002 was neither designed nor included to create jobs or stimulate the economy. In reality, Section 1002 was included to authorize a long-deserved $198 million payout to …

The Role Of The Subconscious In Intellectual Property Law, Robin Feldman

UC Law Science and Technology Journal

Human behavior stems from a fascinating tangle of conscious and subconscious impulses. Issues resulting from this combination can become relevant in a wide variety of legal contexts, including choosing where to place a burden or whom to hold liable. These nuances are particularly important in intellectual property, as much of it stems from the human mind as it interacts with the natural world as well as previous creations. This piece will consider how Intellectual Property law handles subconscious impulses on the part of participants in the system. Looking at examples from Copyright, Trade Secret, and Patent law, this Article argues …

Shifting The Burden: Proving Infringement And Damages In Patent Cases Involving Inconsistent Manufacturing Techniques, Julie E. Zink

UC Law Science and Technology Journal

The law is clear that it is the plaintiff-patentee's burden to prove both infringement and damages. It is unclear, however, in cases involving inconsistent manufacturing techniques, what level of evidence is required to meet this burden and when, if at all, such burden should pass to the defendant-infringer to provide rebuttal evidence. One consideration in this analysis is when findings of infringement can extend to the entire product line. Another matter considered in this paper is how the court deals with the confusion of goods and the commingling of records. This Article examines the various patent doctrines that may have …

Injunctive Relief Post Ebay And The Various Applications Of The Four-Factor Test In Differing Technological Industries, Engey Elrefaie

UC Law Science and Technology Journal

In the 2006 opinion for eBay v. MercExchange the Supreme Court struck down the Federal Circuit's blanket rule of granting injunctions for patent infringement. Outlining a four-factored test, the Court declared that injunctive relief should be determined based on "principles of equity." This note discusses the implications of this decision on the biotechnology and software industries, and how lower courts have applied this test to reach varying results.

Falcon, Point Reyes National Seashore, Richard Hurlburt

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

Dolphins, Whales, And The Future Of The International Whaling Commission, Yui Nishi

UC Law SF International Law Review

Whaling has become a global controversy over the past few decades. In particular, countries such as Japan continue to hunt small cetaceans for both consumption and curbing purposes. Moreover, "small cetaceans" do not fall under the protection of the International Whaling Commission (hereafter "IWC"); therefore, the hunts are virtually unregulated. While the intensely emotional aspect is a significant part of the controversy, this note proposes a scientific, reason-based approach to this topic, which considers what solutions may be beneficial to all countries involved. Specifically, this note proposes that nations through international cooperation (1) conduct intensive scientific research in order to …

A Crumbling Pyramid: How The Evolving Jurisprudence Defining Employee Under The Adea Threatens The Basic Structure Of The Modern Large Law Firm, Jessica Fink

UC Law Business Journal

Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as well as other federal anti-discrimination laws, only "employees" as defined by the statute are permitted to sue. In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts have provided guidance regarding when partners in large law firms might be deemed "employees" protected by these laws. What has emerged from the courts' decisions in these cases is a test that places significant emphasis on the amount of power and control that a partner has within a firm: Partners deemed to lack a sufficient amount of power and control within their firms may be …

Humonetarianism: The New Correctional Discourse Of Scarcity, Hadar Aviram

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

Criminological accounts of penological discourse in the United States often focus on the transition to more punitive policies beginning in the late 1970s, which led the U.S. to top international charts of incarceration rates per capita. However, recent developments in punitive policies and practices suggest a reversal of the punitive pendulum. This article maps these developments, arguing that they represent the emergence of a new correctional discourse, called humonetarianism, which focuses on scarcity of resources and on cost-benefit analysis as its main raison d'être.

This article begins by tracing the history of humonetarianism, offering two complementary genealogies for this discourse. …

A Deadly Response: Unconscious Racism And California's Provocative Act Doctrine, Katherine N. Hallinan

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

In rural Northern California, two young black men are shot multiple times from behind. Their friend, who is also black, is charged with their murders, while the gunman, who is white, walks free. During an alleged gang brawl between teenagers, a young Latino man is stabbed and killed. His friends, and not the actual perpetrator, are charged and convicted of the crime. The defendants are Latino, the gunman is white. California's little-known provocative act doctrine, which holds felons liable for killings that are provoked by a felon's provocative act, is the vehicle prosecutors used to charge each of these young …

Dangerousness, Risk, And Release, Hadar Aviram, Valerie Kraml, Nicole Schmidt

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

Changing The Topography Of Sentencing, Kate E. Bloch

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

The Centerpiece To Real Reform - Political, Legal, And Social Barriers To Reentry In California, Eumi K. Lee

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

Sentencing Reform In California, Aaron Rappaport

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

Can These Bones Live - A Look At The Impacts Of The War On Drugs On Poor African-American Children And Families, Nekima Levy-Pounds

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

The war on drugs has resulted in sharp increases in prison sentences for many drug-related crimes. Due to the structure of the federal sentencing guidelines and the disparity in sentences relating to power cocaine and crack, the primary burden of these increased sentences has disproportionately affected poor African Americans. The war on drugs legislation has also had a marked impact on another population - the families and children of the incarcerated. This article discusses the rationales behind the war on drugs legislation, addressing both the initial enactments and subsequent statutes and cases that have changed the landscape of drug-related sentencing. …

Harming Vulnerable Children: The Injustice Of California's Kinship Foster Care Policy, Meredith L. Alexander

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

California denies state foster care benefits to nonfederally eligible foster children when they are placed with relative caregivers (a placement known as "kinship foster care"). This note explores the unique benefits and needs of kinship foster care, and analyzes the current legal framework regarding kinship foster care, including the justifications for California's policy. The author argues that this California policy fails to embrace the unique benefits and needs of kinship foster care. Furthermore, the policy is contradictory to the state mandated placement priority with relatives. By not properly supporting kinship foster care, California is harming the state's most vulnerable children …

La Mauvaise Qualite De La Loi: Vagueness Doctrine At The French Constitutional Council, Patricia Rrapi

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

In France, over the last ten years, vagueness of statutes has been one of the most important constitutional issues. The Constitutional Council has developed a doctrine known as the "quality of law doctrine" which it uses to invalidate statutes that are "unintelligible" or "inaccessible." The quality of law doctrine is similar to the American vagueness Doctrine. In reality, there are several vagueness doctrines in U.S. Constitutional law. The best known is the one developed in First Amendment cases. But there are others, such as the intelligible principle doctrine, used to determine the validity of delegation of legislative powers. This Article …

Sexting And The First Amendment, John A. Humbach

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

"Sexting" and other teen autopornography are becoming a widespread phenomenon, with perhaps 20% of teenagers admitting to producing nude or semi-nude pictures of themselves and an ever greater proportion, perhaps as much as 50%, having received such pictures from friends and classmates. It is, moreover, beginning to result in criminal prosecutions. Given the reality of changing social practices, mores, and technology utilization, today's pornography laws are a trap for unwary teens and operate, in effect, to criminalize a large fraction of America's young people. As such, these laws and prosecutions represent a stark example of the contradictions that can occur …

Thirty-Five Years After Berkelman: Seeking A New Debate About Ability Grouping, Matt Chayt

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

In 1974, a suit filed by the parents of San Francisco children argued that the operation of a selective public school, Lowell High School, inherently violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. While the suit successfully changed Lowell's admissions policy with regard to gender, the plaintiffs' broader arguments were largely ignored.

This Note re-examines this suit, which challenged the educational practice known as "ability grouping." Integrating current Supreme Court jurisprudence about equal opportunity in education and other relevant case law, the Note argues for a new conversation, one expressly aimed at racial and economic justice, about contemporary ability …