Law Commons^™

Is Terrorism Always The Same?, Philip Chase Bobbitt

Brendan F. Brown Lecture Series

Under different names and guises, terrorism has been around for centuries. Like a mutating virus, it constantly evolves and adapts to reflect the state that it aims to destroy. So said Philip Chase Bobbitt of the University of Texas during his Oct. 31 Brendan Brown Lecture. One of America’s leading theorists in international security, Bobbitt explained that the rise to prominence of nation-states in the 20th century was mirrored by terror organizations that posed as nationalist movements: the IRA, the PLO, etc. Today, said Bobbitt, we see “market-states,” countries defined more by trade patterns than national boundaries. In response, terrorist …

The Trial Of Saddam Hussein — Victor’S Justice?, Charles H.B. Garraway Obe

Brendan F. Brown Lecture Series

As tempting as it might be for an international tribunal of judges to blast the cruel legacy of Saddam Hussein before the eyes of an approving world, a rushed and strident show trial does not serve the interest of justice, declared retired British military lawyer Charles Garraway. Delivering the 77th Brendan F. Brown Lecture, “The Trial of Saddam Hussein — Victor’s Justice,” Garraway said meaningful justice can only be meted out by Iraqis themselves, according to their own laws and procedures. Thus, preparations are moving slowly as prosecutors insist on getting the trial right as a matter of law and …

Sovereignty During The Saeculum: Implications Of A Jurisprudence Of Subjectivity, Patrick M. Brennan

Brendan F. Brown Lecture Series

The John F. Scarpa Chair of Catholic Legal Studies at Villanova University School of Law delivered a lecture titled, Sovereignty During the Saeculum: Implications of a Jurisprudence of Subjectivity.

Traditional Paradisms For The Causes Of War Applied To The International Trading System: Nation-State Institutions In A World Of Market-States, Antonio F. Perez

Scholarly Articles

The first object of this paper, therefore, is to consider in very general terms the intellectual history of the study of the relation between trade and peace, using two key texts from the beginning and the end of the Cold War - first, Kenneth Waltz's "Man, the State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis" 3; and, second, Philip Bobbitt's "The Shield of Achilles: War, Peace, and the Course of History.

The second part of this paper will argue that Waltz's normative commitments are revealed in the order of his presentation and Bobbitt's normative commitments are revealed in the ostensibly descriptive thesis …

In Memoriam: Steven P. Frankino, Ralph J. Rohner

Miscellaneous Historical Documents

A dedication to former Dean Steven P. Frankino appearing in 55 Cath. U. L. Rev. 1 (2005).

Speaking With One Broadband Voice: The Case For A Unified Circuit Appeals Process After Brand X Internet Services V. Fcc, J. Israel Balderas

CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Technology Policy (1993-2015)

No abstract provided.

Voice Over Internet Protocol: Ending Uncertainty And Promoting Innovation Through A Regulatory Framework, R. Alex Dufour

CommLaw Conspectus: Journal of Communications Law and Technology Policy (1993-2015)

No abstract provided.

Clinical Legal Education: An Annotated Bibliography, J.P. "Sandy" Ogilvy

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Human Rights And Bioethics: Formulating A Universal Right To Health, Health Care, Or Health Protection?, George P. Smith Ii

Scholarly Articles

Codifying, and then implementing, an international right to health, health care, or protection is beset with serious roadblocks - foremost among them being contentious issues of indeterminacy, justiciability, and progressive realization. Although advanced - and to some degree recognized under the rubric of a social or cultural entitlement within the law of human rights and, more particularly, the U.S. Declaration on Human Rights, together with International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and presently UNESCO's Draft Declaration on Universal Norms on Bioethics - attainment …

Natural Born In The U.S.A.: The Striking Unfairness And Dangerous Ambiguity Of The Constitution’S Presidential Qualifications Clause And Why We Need To Fix It, Sarah Helene Duggin, Mary Beth Collins

Scholarly Articles

This article explores the controversy surrounding the natural born citizenship proviso in order to demonstrate why a constitutional amendment is necessary to eliminate its inherent inequity and uncertain applicability, and to offer substantive recommendations for initiating such an amendment. Part I begins with a brief discussion of the historical and legal context of the natural born citizenship proviso. Part II explores the elusive nature of the term "natural bom Citizen," and Part III focuses on the perils of passively awaiting judicial resolution of its meaning. The structural and policy reasons why limiting the Presidency to natural born citizens is inconsistent …

Playing Poohsticks With The British Constitution? The Blair Government's Proposal To Abolish The Lord Chancellor, Susanna Frederick Fischer

Scholarly Articles

This paper critically assesses a recent and significant constitutional change to the British judicial system. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 swept away more than a thousand years of constitutional tradition by significantly reforming the ancient office of Lord Chancellor, which straddled all three branches of government. A stated goal of this legislation was to create more favorable external perceptions of the British constitutional and justice system. But even though the enacted legislation does substantively promote this goal, both by enhancing the separation of powers and implementing new statutory safeguards for judicial independence, the process of constitutional reform did not comport …

Greed Among American Lawyers, Lisa G. Lerman

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Congressional Threats Of Removal Against Federal Judges, Marc O. Degirolami

Scholarly Articles

This article explores the use of threats of removal against federal judges and why their incidence is likely to increase. In Part I, after presenting the textual sources authorizing judicial removal, I survey briefly the history and quality of certain judicial impeachments and threatened removals. In Part II, I examine two recent pieces of legislation, the Feeney Amendment and House of Representatives Resolution 568 (which has not yet been enacted), that serve as able vehicles for legislators to threaten judges with removal for noncompliance with certain political ideologies or objectives. In Part III, I ask what may explain the increased …

Border Crossings: Understanding The Civil, Criminal, And Immigration Implications For Battered Immigrants (And Others) Fleeing Across State Lines With Their Children, Catherine F. Klein, Leslye E. Orloff, Hema Sarangapani

Scholarly Articles

This article provides an overview of the impact of state criminal parental kidnapping or custodial interference statutes on immigrant survivors of domestic violence who already have left or wish to leave their state with their children. Specifically, it discusses the jurisdictional laws that relate to interstate custody, criminal implications of intrastate versus interstate custodial interference, the varying applicability of custodial interference statutes for parents who do and do not have court-ordered custody of their children, statutory exceptions or defenses available to survivors of domestic violence facing prosecution on charges of criminal parental kidnapping, and immigration consequences related to a conviction …

Tila ‘Finance’ And ‘Other’ Charges In Open-End Credit: The Cost-Of Credit Principle Applied To Charges For Optional Products Or Services, Ralph J. Rohner, Thomas Durkin

Scholarly Articles

The thesis of this article is that a more workable approach to characterizing fees for optional products and services is possible by focusing on charges that represent payment for discrete products or services of value to the consumer, freely chosen by consumers as contract options which do not affect the amount of credit available to the consumer, the consumer's access to it, or the allocation of payment responsibility and credit risk in the transaction or plan. In other words, these fees are for separate-or separable-purchases, analogous to subsequent events in closed-end credit that require no new disclosure or adjustment in …

Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik’S ‘Confrontation’: A Reassessment, Marshall J. Breger

Scholarly Articles

Responding to a recent symposium on Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik's 1964 article on the propriety of Christian-Jewish dialogue, this essay begins by assessing several arguments put forth by Soloveitchik. These include the incommensurability of religious faith, the risks interreligious dialogue presents to the Jewish minority, the dangers of syncretism, and the ability to separate neatly the sacred and the profane. The article then proceeds to discuss the nature of Catholic-Jewish today, and concludes with thoughts about the future of Christian and Jewish interaction.

Moral Communities Or A Market State: The Supreme Court’S Vision Of The Police Power In The Age Of Globalization, Antonio F. Perez, Robert J. Delahunty

Scholarly Articles

In essence, this Article attempts to explain the underlying logic of two intersecting lines of recent Supreme Court decisions. The first line of cases concerns the allocation of constitutional power between the Nation and the States (i.e., cases about "federalism"); the other line concerns claims of individual right against exercises of purported State power (i.e., cases about "individual rights"). The federalism cases deal, respectively, with the powers of the States against Congress in the regulation of domestic matters"' and as against the Executive (and, less often, Congress) in influencing foreign affairs. The individual rights cases deal with equal access to …

Re-Validating The Doctrine Of Anticipatory Nuisance, George P. Smith Ii

Scholarly Articles

The law of nuisance has long been seen as the heart of real property law - this because of its distributive and re-distributive force in land use. In its present form, while often ad hoc in application, a nuisance is defined generally as merely some interference with the use and enjoyment of the land. The most common remedy to abate a nuisance is injunctive relief in equity. Yet, judicial creativity has been seen through the use of such remedies as awards of permanent damages and the compensated injunction. The doctrine of anticipatory nuisance is brought into focus usually when a …

Bank Insolvency Regimes In The United States And The United Kingdom, Heidi Mandanis Schooner

Scholarly Articles

Bank insolvency regimes vary widely. First, many countries maintain separate bank insolvency rules from those that govern insolvency of other firms or individuals. Other countries have no special regime and rely on their general insolvency law for bank closure. Second, some countries rely on an administrative process for bank closure in which the bank supervisor, bank insurer, or other agency has the power to appoint the conservator or receiver, and, in some instances, may appoint itself to the job. Other countries rely on a judicial process in which the bank supervisor (or bank managers or creditors) must apply to the …

Legal Frameworks For Economic Transition In Iraq – Occupation Under The Law Of War Vs. Global Governance Under The Law Of Peace, Antonio F. Perez

Scholarly Articles

After over a decade as the ruling conventional wisdom under the rubric of the so-called Washington Consensus, the prospect of reconstruction and development through fiscal austerity, privatization and liberalization of markets is under considerable attack today from many quarters. One common theme of these challenges-to what has been received wisdom-focuses not on the technical characteristics of development, but rather its connection to political development.

Universal Human Rights, The United Nations, And The Telos Of Human Dignity, William J. Wagner

Scholarly Articles

In this short essay, I seek to provide a description of the way the rights framework, by its nature, functions to unify global practice around normative ideals. I then outline obstacles, both theoretical and practical, to the effective functioning of this framework and the advancement of its purpose. Next, I lay out and critique the means that the Church, in its official teaching, proposes for overcoming these obstacles. I conclude by sketching briefly what I understand to be a more adequate program for addressing the impediments that exist to the realization of the aspiration of universal respect for human dignity …

The ‘Wall’ Decisions In Legal And Political Context, Geoffrey R. Watson

Scholarly Articles

No abstract provided.

Between Scylla And Charybdis: The Disagreement Among The Federal Circuits Over Whether Federal Law Criminalizing The Intrastate Possession Of Child Pornography Violates The Commerce Clause, Susanna Frederick Fischer

Scholarly Articles

Like Homer's hero Odysseus, who was confronted with the impossible challenge of safely navigating between Scylla, a terrifying monster, and Charybdis, a gigantic whirlpool, federal appeals courts are caught between two conflicting legal principles in cases involving the constitutionality of federal child pornography statutes. The United States Supreme Court unanimously held in New York v. Ferber that the First Amendment did not prohibit the regulation of child pornography even if it was not obscene under the famous standard set out in Miller v. California.

Child pornography is one of the most difficult problems facing judges today, both for those who …