Law Commons^™

Cipollone V. Liggitt Group, Inc., Federal Preemption And The Preservation Of State Common Law Claims (Product Liability), David J. Stout

Faculty Scholarship

In virtually every case involving a defective product you can anticipate the manufacturer or supplier seeking refuge behind the tired refrain "the Government let me do it." At its most basic the doctrine of preemption limits the operation of state law in areas where Congress has intended that federal law be exclusive or controlling.

It is to be hoped that the wave of federal preemption has crested and that the federal courts will, under the specific guidance of Cipollone, be less inclined to look beyond the expressed purpose of Congress to find state common law tort claims preempted.

The Government Contractor Defense, David J. Stout

Faculty Scholarship

Litigation involving defective products has increasingly become a pre-trial battle to overcome a series of technical defenses that have become a stock part of the manufacturer's defense.

Defendants invariably raise the government contractor defense where the defective product resulted from some governmental involvement in the manufacturing process, no matter how peripheral or superfluous was the government's involvement in that process.

The defense by its nature only applies to design defect cases. A defect in the manufacturing process is not protected by the defense.

R. V. Parks: Automatism And Murder, Laura Spitz, Isabel Grant

Faculty Scholarship

In R. v. Parks' the Supreme Court of Canada had the opportunity to clarify the test for distinguishing between insane and non-insane automatism and to locate sleep-walking, or somnambulism, within this dichotomy. Its judgments accomplished neither purpose satisfactorily and thus the case is more striking for its unusual facts than for its advancement of the law. The question before the Supreme Court of Canada was simple: was Parks entitled to an absolute acquittal on the basis that his acts were involuntary, or was the involuntariness caused by a disease of the mind, thus leaving him only with the defence of …

Popular Sovereignty, Vigilantism And The Constitutional Right Of Revolution, Christian G. Fritz

Faculty Scholarship

The focus of this article is the interplay of an indigenous American idea -- popular sovereignty -- and two American traditions: vigilante justice and constitutional conventions during the nineteenth century. While the traditions may seem unconnected, they are linked by the doctrine of popular sovereignty, which was based on the notion that the people' are the ultimate and only legitimate basis for government and that the 'the people' possess the right to reform, alter, or abolish their government at any time. What emerged in the debates over both the proposed California constitution of 1849 and the San Francisco vigilante activities …

Colonization, Antoinette M. Sedillo Lopez

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Life Style, Health Status, And Distributive Justice, Robert L. Schwartz

Faculty Scholarship

The newest and most original scapegoat upon which we can place the blame for the high cost of health care are those whose life style choices puts their health or lives at risk. Of course, if our health care cost and access problems are a consequence of unhealthy choices made by autonomous individuals, we are relieved of the obligation of figuring out how to reform our health care delivery system. In that case, the solution to our health care problem is obvious - we merely need to impose appropriate penalties on those who make costly, immoral and unhealthy life style …

California Dreaming: Water Transfers From The Pacific Northwest, Clifford J. Villa

Faculty Scholarship

A prolonged drought in California has prompted renewed interest in proposals to transfer water from the Pacific Northwest, where rainfall is more plentiful, to the arid Southwest. While recent storms have obviated the need for water transfers at the present time, it is likely these proposals will resurface with the next drought. This Comment will examine past proposals, and discuss less expensive and less drastic means for satisfying the need for water in the Southwest.

Recognizing And Enforcing State And Tribal Judgments: A Round Table Discussion Of Law, Policy And Practice, Christine Zuni Cruz, Richard E. Ranson Honorable, Philip Sam Deloria, Robert N. Clinton, Robert Laurence, Nell Jessup Newton, Mario E. Occhialino Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

This article was adapted from a roundtable convened to discuss issues regarding full faith and credit between state and tribal court systems.

Tribal sovereignty is often talked about in the abstract, but people are somewhat reluctant to deal with the practical issues that are involved when sovereignty is actually exercised. This discussion looks at some of the practical and political concerns in the governmental relationship between the judicial branches. This area touches the lives of Indian people the most directly and immediately as it impacts the ability of Indian people to do personal business, and business.