Law Commons^™

The Chosen People In Our Wilderness, Susan P. Koniak

Faculty Scholarship

Strangers there are among us, practicing with weapons for something they believe might come - something some of them believe should come. Militia men, patriots, self-proclaimed true Americans. Chosen people. What are we, members of the power elite, the academy, the legal intelligentsia - the other chosen people - to make of them? Sideshow freaks may titillate even a scholar, but they rarely, if ever, inform. Is there more here?

Along with the authors of Gathering Storm and Rural Radicals, I believe there is. Neither of these books sets out to convince lawyers or law professors in particular that …

Human Cloning - Should The United States Legislate Against It, George J. Annas, John Robertson

Faculty Scholarship

Two weeks after Scottish researcher Ian Wilmut told the world in February that he had cloned an adult sheep, he went before the U.S. Senate to say that cloning humans would be unethical and "quite inhumane." He warned Congress, however, against acting rashly to adopt legislation that might stifle biological research.

Unlike Britain, Spain, Germany and Denmark, the United States has no national law that bans the cloning of humans, although President Clinton has ordered a ban on federal funding for human-cloning experiments. Whether there should be a legal ban is one issue before a presidential advisory panel.

As a …

Adea Doctrinal Impediments To The Fulfillment Of The Wirtz Report Agenda, Michael C. Harper

Faculty Scholarship

Ideally, this symposium marking the three-decade anniversary of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) would present an opportunity to assess how well the ADEA has achieved its plausible goals. However, I recognize that any definitive assessment of the success of a statute like the ADEA, which requires the modification of the behavior of social actors, must depend on the kind of sophisticated empirical study for which I have neither the time, resources or capability. I also recognize that defending my identification of the goals of the ADEA might itself require an entire essay.

Therefore, I will present a more …

The Laws Of Genetics, Michael S. Baram

Faculty Scholarship

It used to be that high technology meant nuclear physics and missile systems, and presented the threat of physical destruction. Today, "high tech" means biotechnology and electronic communication systems, and the focus has shifted to concerns about more subtle problems like loss of privacy, inability to control personal information, and the discriminations and other adversities that often follow.

Government Precommitment To Tax Incentive Subsidies: The Impact Of United States V. Winstar Corp. On Retroactive Tax Legislation, Daniel S. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Regulatory Reform And The Chevron Doctrine: Can Congress Force Better Decisionmaking By Courts And Agencies, Mark Burge

Faculty Scholarship

This Note examines recent legislative proposals for reform of the Chevron doctrine' in federal administrative law and suggests an alternative solution that sets more definite boundaries delineating the roles of courts, agencies, and the public in questions of statutory interpretation. Part I of this Note provides background information on the problem of determining when courts should defer to government agencies on questions of statutory construction. It asserts that past legislative proposals are a valuable resource for addressing this problem. Part II uses the various opinions in Babbitt v. Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Great Oregon to describe …

From Product To Process: Evolution Of A Legal Writing Program, Diane Edelman, Jo Ann Durako, Kathryn Stanchi, Brett Armdur, Lorray Brown, Rebecca Connelly

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Legal Differences Without Economic Distinctions: Points, Penalties, And The Market For Mortgages, Alan L. Feld

Faculty Scholarship

Economic analysis can serve many functions when applied to the law, most notably prediction (how people' react to laws and lawmaking processes), evaluation (whether these reactions result in social efficiency), and description (which features of laws, and lawmaking are salient). Here we propose to describe. We use economic analysis to show a legal difference without an economic distinction. We demonstrate the economic equivalence of two practices in the mortgage market. Interestingly, widespread bans exist on one of these practices, but no restrictions exist on the other.

Specifically, in this essay we examine the relationship among points, prepayment penalties, and financial …

Genetic Information And The Workplace: Legislative Approaches And Policy Challenges, Karen H. Rothenberg, Barbara Fuller, Mark Rothstein, Troy Duster, Mary Jo Ellis Kahn, Rita Cunningham, Beth Fine, Kathy Hudson, Mary-Claire King, Patricia Murphy, Gary Swergold, Francis Collins

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Emergency Care And Managed Care - A Dangerous Combination, Diane E. Hoffmann

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Enterprise Liability And The Emerging Managed Health Care System, William M. Sage

Faculty Scholarship

“Enterprise medical liability” is a term used to describe a system in which health care organizations bear responsibility for medical malpractice in addition to or instead of individual health professionals. Enterprise liability is in many senses a natural outgrowth of the increasing dependence of medical practice on institutional resources and expertise. Proposals for enterprise liability surfaced briefly from the academic literature into the political spotlight during the 1993-94 health care reform debate. At that time, objections to the concept as a basis for medical malpractice liability, even in a restructured health care system, were nearly universal.

Just five years later, …

Seeking Shelter In The Minefield Of Unintended Consequences - The Traps Of Limited Liability Law Firms, Susan Saab Fortney

Faculty Scholarship

This article addresses the overlooked negative consequences of law firms transitioning from a traditional partnership to a limited liability partnership or company. Part I of this article introduces the topic by providing a brief history of the development of LLCs and LLPs and noting the lack of attention given to the detrimental consequences of such firm structures. Part II reviews the forces behind the limited liability movement and the emergence of limited liability law firms. Part III surveys the statutory approaches to limiting vicarious liability in LLCs and LLPs. Part IV then examines possible internal consequences of attorneys’ practicing as …

Book Review: Public Choice Theory: A Unifying Framework For Judicial Activism, 110 Harvard Law Review 1161 (1997) (Reviewing Charles M. Haar, Suburbs Under Siege: Race, Space, And Audacious Judges(1996)), Dana Brakman Reiser

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Public Choice Theory: A Unifying Framework For Judicial Activism, Dana Brakman Reiser

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Fidelity To Our Imperfect Constitution, James E. Fleming

Faculty Scholarship

What is the question of fidelity a question about? The topic of our Symposium, "Fidelity in Constitutional Theory," raises two fundamental questions: Fidelity to what? and What is fidelity? The short answer to the first-fidelity to the Constitution-poses a further question: What is the Constitution? For example, does the Fourteenth Amendment embody abstract moral principles or enact relatively concrete historical rules? And does the Constitution presuppose a political theory of majoritarian democracy or one of constitutional democracy? The short answer to the second-being faithful to the Constitution in interpreting it-leads to another question: How should the Constitution be interpreted?' Does …

A Farewell To Principles, Gary S. Lawson

Faculty Scholarship

Larry Alexander and Ken Kress have written one of the most interesting and engaging articles on jurisprudence in recent times- That is not surprising, as they are two of the most consistently interesting and engaging figures on the contemporary legal scene. Their case against the use of Dworkinian legal principles in adjudication is simply devastating. In particular, their argument that Dworkinian legal principles must be identical to correct moral principles in all future cases-their so-called "Argument from Fit" 2 -seems to me unanswerable.

The Missing View Of The Cathedral: The Private Law Paradigm Of European Legal Integration, Daniela Caruso

Faculty Scholarship

The traditional partition between public and private law continues to reinforce the belief that public law is the only proper realm of political debate, where decisions having redistributional consequences are and should be taken. This allows for a seemingly minor role of private law in the debate on European integration. This article challenges such a traditional image by noticing the central role of private law in the several legal systems of the European Union, and by analysing a few instances of resistance to private law integration. The analysis suggests that, while fully engaged in debating the public law implications of …

The Pecos River Controversy- How Did We Get Here?, G. Emlen Hall

Faculty Scholarship

Conference program only.

Internet Entrepreneurs, New Traffic Patterns, And Policy Issues, Michael S. Baram, Marv Goldschmitt, Richard J. Testa, Thomas C. Siekman

Faculty Scholarship

Welcome to the first session of the Internet Law Symposium co-sponsored by the Center for Law and Technology² at Boston University School of Law and the law firm of Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault.³ This session will focus on a variety of Internet 4 law and public policy issues and their implications for business.

Voicing Differences (Comment), Margaret E. Montoya

Faculty Scholarship

Jane Aiken and Kimberly O'Leary undertake the difficult work of developing specific approaches and techniques for taking account of characteristics such as race/ethnicity, gender, dis/ability, and sexual identity in clinical pedagogy. Carolyn Grose uses outsider narratives and popular culture to challenge the "pre-understanding" of students, and to assist them to accept client stories as true and valid. Focusing on the professional value of striving to promote justice, fairness, and morality identified in the MacCrate Report, Professor Aiken exhorts us to promote justice by unmasking privilege, the invisible package of unearned assets--about which I (we? or you?) was "meant" to remain …

Academic Mestizaje: Re/Producing Clinical Teaching And Re/Framing Wills As Latina Praxis, Margaret E. Montoya

Faculty Scholarship

What follows is an analysis that draws connections between activist teaching and activist scholarship and posits that it is the activism, the focus on the needs of Latinas/as, that makes them community service. In Part I, I describe the community lawyering program, one of the clinical law options, available at the University of New Mexico School of Law. In Part Il, I undertake to re-frame the law of wills in order to make this end-of-life ritual more relevant to the lives of Latinas/os. I then I enact a LatCritique of academic discussions and Outsider discourses. I conclude by examining our …

Whose Water Is It? Private Rights And Public Authority Over Reclamation Project Water, Reed D. Benson

Faculty Scholarship

The American West, for the most part, is an arid place. The average annual precipitation in the seventeen western states is twenty-one inches, but in many places is far less. Often there is too little water to go around, even in places such as Oregon that are ommonly believed to be wet.' Water is valuable everywhere because it is indispensable; it is even more precious in the West because it is scarce.

Construction Work: The Canons Of Indian Law (Case Note), Max J. Minzner

Faculty Scholarship

Congressional pronouncements in the area of Indian law have often been both sweeping and contradictory. To clear away some of the resulting confusion, the Supreme Court has adopted canons for construing these acts: Most importantly, ambiguous statutes and treaties are interpreted in favor of the tribes. In Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie, the Ninth Circuit applied this canon in interpreting the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), determining that Alaska's native villages qualify as "Indian country." This Case Note will show that the court's reliance on the canon of construction was misplaced. The most consistent interpretation of recent Supreme …

Legal Ethics & Practical Politics: Musings On The Public Perception Of Lawyer Discipline, Paula A. Monopoli

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Judging The Judges: Racial Diversity, Impartiality And Representation On State Trial Courts, Sherrilyn A. Ifill

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Religion Clauses And Freedom Of Speech In Australia And The United States: Incidental Restrictions And Generally Applicable Laws, David S. Bogen

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Generally Applicable Laws And The First Amendment, David S. Bogen

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Legal Process And Choice Of Law, William L. Reynolds

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Keynote Address: Redefining Our Roles In The Battle For Inclusion Of People Of Color In Legal Education, Phoebe A. Haddon

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

In Defense Of The Superfund Liability System: Matching The Diagnosis And The Cure, Rena I. Steinzor, Linda E. Greer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.