Law Commons^™

Empathy's White Elephant: Responding To The Subprime Mortgage Crisis Without Denigrating The Poor, Adam J. Macleod

Faculty Articles

Empathy is the new coverture. Before state legislatures abolished it in the nineteenth century, the plea of coverture nullified any attempts by a married woman to exercise sovereignty over her property. Just as coverture did to married women, the now-well-known call for empathy in our nation's judgments threatens to deny poor borrowers, as a class, the freedom and responsibility to manage their assets. Empathy, as the ideal judge would employ it, would impede the agency of, and thus denigrate, persons within that class. The injustice (and ground for the ultimate abolition) of coverture arose from its failure to respect women …

Is Usda Organic A Seal Of Deceit: The Pitfalls Of Usda Certified Organics Produced In The United States, China And Beyond, Chenglin Liu

Faculty Articles

American consumers' appetite for organic foods (organics) has dramatically increased since Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) in 1990. Because the domestic organic food industry has been unable to meet the growing demand for these products, U.S. groceries have increasingly relied on imported organics. Studies show that 40% of organic foods consumed in the United States are imported from over 100 foreign countries.

To regulate organic food production, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) accredits certifying agents, which in turn certify organic farms and handlers according to U.S. organic standards. Certifying agents can be state agencies or …

Federal Rules Update: Rules Amended As Of December 2010, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

Amendments to the Federal Rules of Procedure and Evidence become effective three years from initial drafting by an advisory committee. Proposed amendments are considered by the respective advisory committees, then circulated for public comment, and then forwarded to the Judicial Conference’s Standing Committee on Rules. If approved by the Judicial Conference, they are sent to the Supreme Court for any appropriate changes. If Congress makes no changes after approval by the Supreme Court, the amendments automatically become effective December 1. Two proposed amendments in 2010 did not become effective because they were not submitted to Congress under the procedure outlined …