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Full-Text Articles in Law

Making Judge-Speak Clear Amidst The Babel Of Lawspeakers, Michael A. Wolff Nov 2014

Making Judge-Speak Clear Amidst The Babel Of Lawspeakers, Michael A. Wolff

Missouri Law Review

As law became more of a publicly traded commodity in the 1990s, courts, including the Supreme Court of Missouri, began to hire public information officers. It may strike you as odd, when you think about it, as to why a court that communicates with words would need someone assigned to explain to the wordsmiths of the media – and sometimes to the public itself – what judges meant by the collections of words in their judicial opinions. But today, we take it for granted that public information officers are essential to the operation of a state supreme court, and although …


If We Could, Then So Can You: The Seventh Circuit Resurrects Its Judge Versus Arbitrator Analogy To Reinstate A Repeat Arbitrator Note, Collin Koenig Jan 2012

If We Could, Then So Can You: The Seventh Circuit Resurrects Its Judge Versus Arbitrator Analogy To Reinstate A Repeat Arbitrator Note, Collin Koenig

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Arbitration clauses provide a method for companies to settle business disputes without expending the amount of time and resources required in judicial proceedings. When an arbitration clause is invoked, a neutral third party takes on the role of adjudicator, and the parties defer to the unbiased decision of that neutral. Sometimes what is "unbiased" becomes more uncertain when parties contract for the right to appoint their own arbitrators. Trustmark Ins. Co. v. John Hancock Life Ins. Co. stands for the principle that the Seventh Circuit will relax the impartiality standard to which they hold party-appointed arbitrators, especially compared to the …


Charles B. Blackmar: Professor, Judge, Chief Justice And Charlie, Michael A. Wolff Jan 2007

Charles B. Blackmar: Professor, Judge, Chief Justice And Charlie, Michael A. Wolff

Missouri Law Review

This eulogy was delivered by Michael A. Wolff, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri, at the funeral service for Judge Charles Blackmar, who died January 20, 2007, at the age of 84.


Monastic Life Of A Federal Distric Judge, The, Colleen Mcmahon Nov 2005

Monastic Life Of A Federal Distric Judge, The, Colleen Mcmahon

Missouri Law Review

There is no one on earch more monk-like than a federal district judge. As a result, there is no one on earth who more surely needs to have some understanding of core monastic virtures in order to do the job well.


Reflections On Judging: A Discussion Following The Release Of The Blackmun Papers, Martha Dragich Pearson, Christina E. Wells Nov 2005

Reflections On Judging: A Discussion Following The Release Of The Blackmun Papers, Martha Dragich Pearson, Christina E. Wells

Missouri Law Review

Justice Blackmun's papers were opened to the public on March 4, 2004, the fifth anniversary of his death. Held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, the collection includes over half a million items, many handwritten by Justice Blackmun. Anyone can read them. For legal scholars, this kind of research can only be described as exhilarating and many of the articles in this symposium draw on research from Justice Blackmun's papers. For the public, the release comes at a time when the interest in judges is particularly acute.


Revelations From The Blackmun Papers On The Development Of Death Penalty Law, Martha Dragich Pearson Nov 2005

Revelations From The Blackmun Papers On The Development Of Death Penalty Law, Martha Dragich Pearson

Missouri Law Review

Justice Blackmun's legacy is strongly linked to two issues - abortion and capital punishment. Blackmun's opinions in these controversial areas account for much of the notion that his ideology changed while on the Court. Participants in this Symposium have reflected on these and other areas where Justice Blackmun left his mark on American law. Professor Deason explores the arbitrability cases and shows that the Court struggled - and Justices changed their minds - even in connection with relatively technical legal issues arising in non-controversial commercial contexts. One reason the Court struggles with some issues is that legal standards are (or …


Some Reflections On The Symposium: Judging, The Classical Legal Paradigm And The Possible Contributions Of Science, Christina E. Wells Oct 2005

Some Reflections On The Symposium: Judging, The Classical Legal Paradigm And The Possible Contributions Of Science, Christina E. Wells

Faculty Publications

One theme running through the many excellent contributions to this symposium involves the myriad influences on judicial decision-making. As Professor Wrightsman notes, Supreme Court Justices' personal characteristics may affect their ability to influence colleagues and, consequently, the outcome of Supreme Court decisions. Professor Ruger observes that judges have both attitudinal and jurisprudential preferences that may change over time, affecting legal outcomes differently as time passes. Professor Sisk similarly notes that judges' personal values and experiences influence their decision-making. These observations are consistent with those of numerous other scholars, who find wide-ranging and diverse influences on the judicial resolution of legal …


Foreword - Reflections On Judging: A Discussion Following The Release Of The Blackmun Papers , Christina E. Wells, Martha Dragich Oct 2005

Foreword - Reflections On Judging: A Discussion Following The Release Of The Blackmun Papers , Christina E. Wells, Martha Dragich

Faculty Publications

Justice Blackmun's papers were opened to the public on March 4, 2004, the fifth anniversary of his death. Held in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, the collection includes over half a million items, many handwritten by Justice Blackmun. Anyone can read them. For legal scholars, this kind of research can only be described as exhilarating and many of the articles in this symposium draw on research from Justice Blackmun's papers. For the public, the release comes at a time when the interest in judges is particularly acute.


Can A Good Judge Be A Good Politician - Judicial Elections From A Virtue Ethics Approach, Marie A. Failinger Apr 2005

Can A Good Judge Be A Good Politician - Judicial Elections From A Virtue Ethics Approach, Marie A. Failinger

Missouri Law Review

In this Article, I argue that direct judicial elections, at least to the extent that they mimic other general elections, are not the wisest course for selecting judges, though not precisely for the usual reasons cited by commentatorse.g., that lawyers are in a better position to evaluate the merits of judicial candidates than the public because they are less likely to be swayed by singleissue politics or irrelevant matters.8 In fact, it seems to me that both the perspectives of the practicing bar and the public are necessary to hold judges accountable. For example, a lawyer may be in a …


A Government Of Laws And Also Of Men: Judge William K. Thomas, R. Lawrence Dessem Jan 2001

A Government Of Laws And Also Of Men: Judge William K. Thomas, R. Lawrence Dessem

Faculty Publications

Judge William K. Thomas served for more than forty years as a common pleas judge and as a judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. During his service on the state and federal bench, Judge Thomas epitomized the qualities of fairness, integrity, justice, and compassion that we expect in our judiciary. This article highlights some of the qualities that made Judge Thomas a truly great judge, as well as some of the highlights of his judicial career. It is written as a memorial tribute by one of his former law clerks.


Legitimacy Of The Constitutional Judge And Theories Of Interpretation In The United States, William B. Fisch, Richard S. Kay Jan 1994

Legitimacy Of The Constitutional Judge And Theories Of Interpretation In The United States, William B. Fisch, Richard S. Kay

Faculty Publications

The Legitimacy of the Constitutional Judge and Theories of Interpretation in the United States The paper addresses the sources of legitimacy of a judge exercising the power to declare acts of government invalid on constitutional grounds, and their relationship to theories of interpretation of the constitutional texts.


Judge's Role In Settlement: Opinions From Missouri Judges And Attorneys, The, James A. Wall Jr., Dale E. Rude Jan 1988

Judge's Role In Settlement: Opinions From Missouri Judges And Attorneys, The, James A. Wall Jr., Dale E. Rude

Journal of Dispute Resolution

This study investigates judges' involvement in settlement, and the opinions that Missouri judges and attorneys hold toward that involvement. In a survey of 1,100 judges and 1,550 attorneys, we found that Missouri judges differ significantly from Missouri attorneys. Specifically, Missouri judges prefer less judicial involvement in settlement and they, in the cases sent to them, were less aggressive in facilitating settlement. Finally, judges and attorneys from Missouri's metropolitan areas were found to favor stronger involvement in settlement than were their counterparts from the non-metropolitan areas.