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Full-Text Articles in Law
Why Isn’T Congress More Corrupt?: A Preliminary Inquiry, Richard L. Hasen
Why Isn’T Congress More Corrupt?: A Preliminary Inquiry, Richard L. Hasen
Fordham Law Review
In the aftermath of the indictment of New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on corruption charges, law professor (and recent reformist gubernatorial candidate) Zephyr Teachout published an op-ed in the New York Times entitled “Legalized Bribery.” In it, she argued that campaign contributions are a “gateway drug” to bribes and that politicians are “pre- corrupted” by taking campaign contributions and doing favors for contributors. She wants campaign finance limits, public financing, and limits on outside income for legislators. Although Teachout used powerful rhetoric and suggested worthy reforms, I see her as offering an empirical hypothesis about the relationship between …
Love, Equality, And Corruption, Zephyr Teachout
Love, Equality, And Corruption, Zephyr Teachout
Fordham Law Review
What is corruption? Unless one takes an absolute (and hard to defend) view of words’ meanings—there is a fixed meaning, it cannot differ—this question can mean different things. What has it meant in the past? What has it meant to judges? What social function does the word play? Does it have any meaning at all, or is it just another word for a different idea? Does the meaning it had historically have any coherence? Does the meaning it has now have any coherence? What do most people think it means? What do most scholars think, or most lawyers, …
Cross-Border Corruption Enforcement: A Case For Measured Coordination Among Multiple Enforcement Authorities, Jay Holtmeier
Cross-Border Corruption Enforcement: A Case For Measured Coordination Among Multiple Enforcement Authorities, Jay Holtmeier
Fordham Law Review
The steady increase in cooperation and information sharing among governments is a trend commonly noted in discussions of current anticorruption enforcement. There is no shortage of evidence to support this observation. In 2013 and 2014 alone, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recognized the cooperation and assistance of foreign law enforcement authorities in at least twenty-three actions brought under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA or “the Act”). U.S. enforcement authorities—once the world’s primary anticorruption enforcers—increasingly can and do rely on the help of their international counterparts and are pursuing more investigations that run …
The Uncomfortable Truths And Double Standards Of Bribery Enforcement, Mike Koehler
The Uncomfortable Truths And Double Standards Of Bribery Enforcement, Mike Koehler
Fordham Law Review
In recent years, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement has become a top priority for the U.S. government, and government enforcement officials have stated that “we in the United States are in a unique position to spread the gospel of anti-corruption” and that FCPA enforcement ensures not only that the United States “is on the right side of history, but also that it has a hand in advancing that history.”
However, the FCPA is not the only statute in the federal criminal code concerning bribery. Rather, the FCPA was modeled in large part after the U.S. domestic bribery statute, and …
The “Demand Side” Of Transnational Bribery And Corruption: Why Leveling The Playing Field On The Supply Side Isn’T Enough, Lucinda A. Low, Sarah R. Lamoree, John London
The “Demand Side” Of Transnational Bribery And Corruption: Why Leveling The Playing Field On The Supply Side Isn’T Enough, Lucinda A. Low, Sarah R. Lamoree, John London
Fordham Law Review
The domestic and international legal framework for combating bribery and corruption (“ABC laws”), including both private and public corrupt practices that are transnational (cross border) in character, has dramatically expanded over the last twenty years. Despite these developments, major gaps remain. This Article examines one of the largest systemic gaps: the absence of effective tools to control the demand side of transnational bribery and corruption—the corrupt solicitation of a benefit—especially when it involves a public official.
Keynote Address, Preet Bharara
Keynote Address, Preet Bharara
Fordham Law Review
Thank you, professor, for that introduction. It was quite the introduction. It is true my brother started a very successful online diaper company. It was mentioned that we do not have enough followers on our Twitter feed. My brother is a much more clever member of the family. My recollection is that when he started that company, he had a slogan—he and some folks came up with this slogan for the diaper company—which was—and it was emblazoned on a t-shirt which was one of the few perks of being related to somebody who started a company, and I from time …
Criminal Corruption: Why Broad Definitions Of Bribery Make Things Worse, Albert W. Alschuler
Criminal Corruption: Why Broad Definitions Of Bribery Make Things Worse, Albert W. Alschuler
Fordham Law Review
Although the law of bribery may look profoundly underinclusive, the push to expand it usually should be resisted. This Article traces the history of two competing concepts of bribery—the “intent to influence” concept (a concept initially applied only to gifts given to judges) and the “illegal contract” concept. It argues that, when applied to officials other than unelected judges, “intent to influence” is now an untenable standard. This standard cannot be taken literally. This Article defends the Supreme Court’s refusal to treat campaign contributions as bribes in the absence of an “explicit” quid pro quo and its refusal to read …
History, Governmental Structure, And Politics: Defining The Scope Of Local Board Of Health Power, Pekham Pal
History, Governmental Structure, And Politics: Defining The Scope Of Local Board Of Health Power, Pekham Pal
Fordham Law Review
Local boards of health often issue regulations that have broad effects that surpass the borders of the city or county to which they apply. Promulgation of such rules by board of health members appointed by the executive branch implicates separation of powers concerns; because such regulations may so extensively burden a locality’s citizens, it may be more appropriate for elected officials to adopt these regulations. Indeed, local businesses or other interested parties often bring suit challenging local board of health actions. Courts apply different analytical methodologies to review these challenges, which often leads to incongruent local health agency discretion for …
Opening Remarks, John D. Feerick
Opening Remarks, John D. Feerick
Fordham Law Review
I salute those who have been involved in the planning of this program and will be moderating, serving on panels, and making presentations throughout the day. I am not quite sure what my present qualifications are to be the opening speaker in such an august gathering of outstanding academics, teachers, lawyers, good government leaders, public servants, and others of distinction. My work these years of my life is largely in the field of social justice and poverty. I am no stranger to the field of law reform, however.
Corrupt And Unequal, Both, Lawrence Lessig
Corrupt And Unequal, Both, Lawrence Lessig
Fordham Law Review
Rick Hasen has presented the issue of money in politics as if we have to make a choice: it is either a problem of equality or it is a problem of corruption. Hasen’s long and influential career in this field has been a long and patient struggle to convince those on the corruption side of the fight (we liberals, at least, and, in an important sense, we egalitarians too) to resist the temptation to try to pass—by rendering equality arguments as corruption arguments, and to just come out of the closet. Hasen had famously declared that the corruption argument supporting …
Fighting Corruption In America And Abroad, Jed Handelsman Shugerman
Fighting Corruption In America And Abroad, Jed Handelsman Shugerman
Fordham Law Review
The exchanges at the symposium and these Articles highlight the gap between public opinion and legal culture on the definition of corruption and the problems that flow from that gap. Teachout’s and Lessig’s legal argument that corruption can be institutional and banal roughly corresponds with the public’s moral intuition. Conversely, Lessig’s and Hasen’s intuitive moral reaction—that corruption is the evil of quid pro quo—maps onto the legal conclusion of the U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v. FEC that corruption is narrowly defined as quid pro quo. Note the reversal of moral and legal positions: Teachout and Lessig’s legal …
Voter Primacy, Sarah C. Haan
Voter Primacy, Sarah C. Haan
Fordham Law Review
This Article argues that Citizens United v. FEC expanded the audience for campaign finance disclosure to include a group that had never before been held relevant to campaign finance disclosure—corporate shareholders—and explores the constitutional, policy, and political consequences of this change. In part IV of Citizens United, the U.S. Supreme Court departed from more than thirty years of campaign finance disclosure analysis to treat corporate shareholders as a target audience for corporate electoral spending disclosure, holding that the governmental interest advanced by campaign finance disclosure laws includes an interest in helping corporate shareholders “determine whether their corporation’s political speech advances …
The Lawyer's Role In A Contemporary Democracy, Promoting The Rule Of Law, Government Lawyers, Democracy, And The Rule Of Law, W. Bradley Wendel
The Lawyer's Role In A Contemporary Democracy, Promoting The Rule Of Law, Government Lawyers, Democracy, And The Rule Of Law, W. Bradley Wendel
Fordham Law Review
No abstract provided.
The Push To Private Religious Expression: Are We Missing Something?, Kathleen A. Brady
The Push To Private Religious Expression: Are We Missing Something?, Kathleen A. Brady
Fordham Law Review
No abstract provided.
A Case For Fairness In Public Works Contracting, Gene Ming Lee
A Case For Fairness In Public Works Contracting, Gene Ming Lee
Fordham Law Review
No abstract provided.
The Erosion Of The Principle That The Government Must Follow Self-Imposed Rules, Rodney A. Smolla
The Erosion Of The Principle That The Government Must Follow Self-Imposed Rules, Rodney A. Smolla
Fordham Law Review
No abstract provided.
Professional Discipline: Unfairness And Inefficiency In The Administrative Process, Michael R. Lanzarone
Professional Discipline: Unfairness And Inefficiency In The Administrative Process, Michael R. Lanzarone
Fordham Law Review
No abstract provided.
De Facto Takings And The Pursuit Of Just Compensation, Thomas S. Szatkowski
De Facto Takings And The Pursuit Of Just Compensation, Thomas S. Szatkowski
Fordham Law Review
No abstract provided.
De Facto Takings And The Pursuit Of Just Compensation, Thomas S. Szatkowski
De Facto Takings And The Pursuit Of Just Compensation, Thomas S. Szatkowski
Fordham Law Review
No abstract provided.
Congressional Power To Require Defense Expenditures, Gerald W. Davis
Congressional Power To Require Defense Expenditures, Gerald W. Davis
Fordham Law Review
No abstract provided.
The Nature Of Succession, James T. Connor
Losses Resulting From Stock Becoming Worthless – Deductability Under Federal Income Tax Laws, Joseph B. Lynch
Losses Resulting From Stock Becoming Worthless – Deductability Under Federal Income Tax Laws, Joseph B. Lynch
Fordham Law Review
No abstract provided.
The Lawyer And The Defense Of Constitutional Democracy In America, Ignatius M. Wilkinson
The Lawyer And The Defense Of Constitutional Democracy In America, Ignatius M. Wilkinson
Fordham Law Review
No abstract provided.
American Public Law, Robert Ludlow Fowler