Law Commons^™

Judicial Accountability To The Past, Present, And Future: Precedent, Politics And Power, Stephen B. Burbank

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No abstract provided.

Two Valuable Treatises On Civil Procedure, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr.

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No abstract provided.

A Government Of Laws And Not Men: Prohibiting Non-Precedential Opinions By Statute Or Procedural Rule, Amy E. Sloan

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Non-precedential judicial opinions issued by the federal appellate courts have generated significant controversy. Given that the federal appellate courts are unlikely to abandon the practice of issuing non-precedential opinions on their own, what other options exist for prohibiting the practice? This article discusses the constitutionality of a procedural rule or statute prohibiting the federal appellate courts from prospectively designating selected opinions as non-precedential. It explains how the rules governing non-precedential opinions allow federal appellate courts to "opt out" of their own rules of precedent. It then examines the rulemaking process, showing how the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure are promulgated …

Jurisdictional Conflict And Jurisdictional Equilibration: Paths To A Via Media, Stephen B. Burbank

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No abstract provided.

Lawyer For The Situation, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr.

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No abstract provided.

Agency Choice Of Policymaking Form, Elizabeth Magill

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An administrative agency delegated some task--protect the environment, assure the integrity of the securities markets, improve auto safety--might carry out that obligation by adopting a rule, bringing or deciding a case, or announcing its interpretation of the statute. Although agencies are unique institutions in this respect, this state of affairs generates little comment. This Article aims to rectify that by identifying, evaluating, and coming to terms with the phenomenon of agency choice of policymaking form. That phenomenon can be simply stated: The typical administrative agency is authorized to use a range of distinct policymaking forms to effectuate its statutory mandate …

"Announcement" By Federal Judicial Nominees, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr.

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No abstract provided.

The Feeney Amendment And The Continuing Rise Of Prosecutorial Power To Plea Bargain, Stephanos Bibas

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No abstract provided.

Introduction To The Jury At A Crossroad: The American Experience (Symposium Editor), Nancy S. Marder

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No abstract provided.

Apprendi In The States: The Virtues Of Federalism As A Structural Limit On Errors, Stephanos Bibas

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No abstract provided.

What Do We Mean By "Judicial Independence"?, Stephen B. Burbank

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In this article, the author argues that the concept of "judicial independence" has served more as an object of rhetoric than it has of sustained study. He views the scholarly literatures that treat it as ships passing in the night, each subject to weaknesses that reflect the needs and fashions of the discipline, but all tending to ignore courts other than the Supreme Court of the United States. Seeking both greater rigor and greater flexibility than one usually finds in public policy debates about, and in the legal and political science literatures on, judicial independence, the author attributes much of …

The Implications Of Transition Theory For Stare Decisis, Jill E. Fisch

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No abstract provided.

The War On Terrorism And The Constitution, Michael I. Meyerson

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Discussion of civil liberties during wartime often omit the fact that there can be no meaningful liberty at all if our homes and offices are bombed or our loved ones are killed or injured by acts of terror. The Government must be given the tools necessary to accomplish its vital mission. The first priority must be to win the war against terrorism. There are, however, other priorities. The United States, in its just battle for freedom, must ensure that freedom is preserved during that battle as well. Moreover, care must be taken so that an exaggerated cry of “emergency” is …

Juries, Justice And Multiculturalism, Nancy S. Marder

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No abstract provided.

Lawyers On The Auction Block: Evaluation And Selection Of Class Counsel By Auction, Jill E. Fisch

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The lead counsel auction has attracted increasing attention. Auction advocates argue that auctions introduce competitive market forces that improve the selection and compensation of class counsel. The benefits of the auction, the;' claim, include lower legal fees and better representation. Careful scrutiny reveals that auction advocates have overlooked substantial methodological problems with the design and implementation of the lead counsel auction. Even if these problems were overcome, the auction procedure is flawed: Auctions are poor tools for selecting firms based on multiple criteria, compromise the judicial role, and are unlikely to produce reasonable fee awards. Although the existing record is …

Semtek, Forum Shopping, And Federal Common Law, Stephen B. Burbank

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No abstract provided.

Rethink The Laws Relating To Fathers (Change: With The Decline In Married Mothers And Traditional Families, The Legal Image Of Dads Needs Re-Examination), Jane C. Murphy

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This "marital presumption" permitted courts to assume a set of biological facts in the name of preserving the sanctity and stability of what was assumed to be the cornerstone of a healthy society — the traditional family of husband, wife and children. In the last decades of the 20th century, science developed paternity testing with results approaching certainty. Despite the availability of DNA testing, the marital presumption is still used in many courtrooms to answer the question of who is the legal father. What one scholar has called "the law's struggle to preserve the fiction of an older moral order" …

The Judiciary In The United States: A Search For Fairness, Independence And Competence, Stephen J. Shapiro

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Alexander Hamilton referred to the judiciary as “the least dangerous branch” because it could neither make nor enforce the law without help from the other two branches of government. In the years since then, however, courts and judges in the United States have assumed a much more prominent role in society. American judges preside over criminal trials and sentence those convicted, decide all kinds of civil disputes, both large and small, and make important decisions involving families, such as child custody. They have also become the primary guarantors of the civil and constitutional rights of American citizens.

The case of …

Juries And Technology: Equipping Jurors For The Twenty-First Century (Symposium), Nancy S. Marder

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No abstract provided.

Managing Punitive Damages: A Role For Mandatory "Limited Generosity" Classes And Anti-Suit Injunctions?, Joan E. Steinman

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In this Article, I consider whether "limited generosity" classes may be used to determine a defendant's entire liability for punitive damages arising from a defined course of conduct. The goals of such a class action would include adequately punishing and deterring the defendant, keeping the defendant's liability within state-mandated and constitutional limits, and facilitating equitable distribution of the damages among injured plaintiffs. The Article describes the legal limits on punitive damages liability that states have established and that the Supreme Court has held substantive due process to impose, and then carefully examines whether such limits constitute a predicate for mandatory …

Making Progress The Old-Fashioned Way, Stephen B. Burbank

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No abstract provided.

Judicial Fact-Finding And Sentence Enhancements In A World Of Guilty Pleas, Stephanos Bibas

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No abstract provided.

The Complicated Ingredients Of Wisdom And Leadership, Michael A. Fitts

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No abstract provided.

The Interplay Of Race And False Claims Of Jury Nullification, Nancy S. Marder

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No abstract provided.

The Myth Of The Nullifying Jury, Nancy S. Marder

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Jury nullification, an issue that has received much public attention, has been used loosely to describe verdicts with which members of the press and public disagree. One aim of this article is to explain what nullification is and to identify and describe three different situations in which nullification is likely to arise. Another aim is to offer two conceptions of the jury before assessing whether nullification is helpful or harmful to the judicial system. One conception, "a conventional view," largely held by judges, regards the jury as a fact-finding body and little more. My own conception, which I have labeled …

The Architecture Of Judicial Independence, Stephen B. Burbank

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No abstract provided.

Joint Defense Agreements And Disqualification Of Co-Defendant's Counsel,, Arnold Rochvarg

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How should courts rule on the issue of joint defense agreements and motions for disqualification of another joint defense member's attorney in subsequent litigation? After analyzing prior cases that attempt to resolve the issue, it is clear that no generally accepted analysis of the disqualification issue exists. This article proposes an analytic framework for courts to use when ruling on such motions for disqualification arising in the context of prior joint defense agreements.

Although some courts have found an implied attorney-client relationship among all members and attorneys of the joint defense agreement, this view is flawed and based on a …

Juries And Damages: A Commentary, Nancy S. Marder

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No abstract provided.

Sovereign Indignity? Values, Borders And The Internet: A Case Study, Eric Easton

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This article focuses on the publication ban issued by a Canadian court in a notorious murder trial, and the popular reaction to the publication ban, as a case study of the new global communications environment. Part I reconstructs the factual circumstances that provoked the ban, as well as the responses of the media, the legal establishment, and the public. Part II examines the ban itself, the constitutional challenge mounted by the media, and the landmark Dagenais decision. Part III reflects on the meaning of the entire episode for law, journalism, and national sovereignty.

The Dagenais decision demonstrates the continued independence …

Deliberations And Disclosures: A Study Of Post-Verdict Interviews Of Jurors, Nancy S. Marder

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No abstract provided.