Law Commons^™

The Criminalization Of Walking, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

The simple act of walking is sometimes criminalized in the United States. Anti-jaywalking statutes and ordinances—originally motivated by auto-industry lobbyists in the 1920s—call for fines and, sometimes, imprisonment for crossing the street. Additionally, some localities have interpreted statutes against “child neglect” to encompass a parent’s decision to let their kid walk outside alone. The result of this criminalization? Such policies have reduced pedestrian liberty, increased automobile traffic and pollution, and created a disincentive for physical activity in the midst of an obesity and diabetes epidemic. In addition to discussing these effects, this Article argues that the purported safety benefits of …

Rlt: A Preliminary Examination Of Religious Legal Theory As A Movement, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Taking The Ethical Duty To Self Seriously: An Essay In Memory Of Fred Zacharias, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Lawyering Decisions—October 2009 Term, Eileen Kaufman

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Ensuring Public Trust At The Municipal Level: Inspectors General Enter The Mix, Patricia E. Salkin, Zachary Kansler

Scholarly Works

Although federal, state and local government officials are subject to applicable codes of ethical conduct and are under the jurisdiction of ethics enforcement agencies created pursuant to these laws, ethics oversight agencies are limited in the breadth and scope of covered activities. With an increase in reported allegations of corruption, particularly at the local government level, this article explores the addition of the audit function, through inspectors general, to ensure greater transparency and accountability of public officials.

The article begins with a very brief historical overview of the emergence of the inspector general concept in Europe and its adoption in …

You Can Only Race If You Can’T Win? The Curious Cases Of Oscar Pistorius & Caster Semenya, Shawn M. Crincoli

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Contested Meanings: Achievement And Ambition At An Elite Law School, Deborah Waire Post

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Applying Jewish Legal Theory In The Context Of American Law And Legal Scholarship: A Methodological Analysis, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Sprawl In Europe And America, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

Defenders of suburban sprawl assert that sprawl is inevitable in affluent societies, based on trends in Western Europe. According to supporters of this Inevitability Theory, European cities have decentralized and become more car-dependent, thus proving that even where governments are more aggressively anti-sprawl than American government, anti-sprawl policies will be futile.

This Article compares Western Europe to the United States, and criticizes the Inevitabilty Theory on the grounds that:

(1) Europe is in fact far less automobile-dependent than the United States;
(2) Europe has not, contrary to the Inevitability Theory's claims, become more car-dependent and suburbanized in recent years; and …

Of Inkblots And Omnisignificance: Conceptualizing Secondary And Symbolic Functions Of The Ninth Amendment, In A Comparative Hermeneutic Framework, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

In this Essay, Levine focuses on a particular hermeneutic approach common to the interpretation of the Torah and the United States Constitution: a presumption against superfluity. This presumption accords to the text a considerable degree of omnisignificance, requiring that interpreters pay careful attention to every textual phrase and nuance in an effort to find its legal meaning and implications. In light of this presumption, it might be expected that normative interpretation of both the Torah and the Constitution would preclude a methodology that allows sections of the text to remain bereft of concrete legal application. In fact, however, both the …

Shelter From The Storm: An Analysis Of U.S. Refugee Law As Applied To Tibetans Formerly Residing In India, Eileen Kaufman

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Copulemus In Pace: A Meditation On Rape, Affirmative Consent To Sex, And Sexual Autonomy, Dan Subotnik

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Lawyer Scribe: The Litchfield Law School, Laptops, And The Metaphysics Of Soul-Searching, Louise Harmon

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Louis Marshall, Julius Henry Cohen, Benjamin Cardozo, And The New York Emergency Rent Laws Of 1920: A Case Study In The Role Of Jewish Lawyers And Jewish Law In Early Twentieth Century Public Interest Litigation, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

In this Article, Levine examines the litigation surrounding the New York Emergency Rent Laws of 1920. In particular, he focuses upon a series of cases litigated by two of the most prominent Jewish lawyers in United States in the first half of the twentieth century: Louis Marshall and Julius Henry Cohen. Among other notable aspects of the litigation, the cases reached the New York Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court, which at that time included two of the most eminent jurists in the history of the United States, Judge Benjamin N. Cardozo and Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, …

"Curst Be He That Moves My Bones:" The Surprisingly Controlling Role Of Religion In Equitable Disinterment Decisions, Peter Zablotsky

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Charles Reich's Journey From The Yale Law Journal To The New York Times Best-Seller List: The Personal History Of The Greening Of America, Rodger D. Citron

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Illuminating The Dark: The Stories Of Lowell B. Komie And The Pursuit Of Meaningful Work, Louise Harmon

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Reflections On Responsibilities In The Public Square, Through A Perspective Of Jewish Tradition: A Brief Biblical Survey, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

In recent years, there has developed in the United States a substantial and growing interest in the role of religion in the public square. Within religious communities, the conversation has, at times, focused on the approach of specific religious traditions toward their own responsibilities to contribute to and influence the moral, ethical, and legal standards of American society. For Jewish communities living in the United States, these questions comprise yet another application of issues the Jewish people has confronted throughout its history. To the extent that the nature of American political and social structures differ significantly from those experienced by …

The Nuremberg Trials And American Jurisprudence: The Decline Of Legal Realism, The Revival Of Natural Law, And The Development Of Legal Process Theory, Rodger D. Citron

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

In Memoriam: Deborah Hecht, Jeffrey B. Morris

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Looking Beyond The Mercy/Justice Dichotomy: Reflections On The Complementary Roles Of Mercy And Justice In Jewish Law And Tradition, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

In one of his earliest encyclicals, Dives in Misericordia, Pope John Paul II explored the concepts of mercy and kindness, with a focus on notions of divine love and compassion. Building upon these observations, and drawing extensively on the work of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik and other scholars of Jewish law and philosophy, Levine considers the complementary roles of justice and mercy in Jewish tradition. Toward that end, Levine places these concepts in a broader perspective, viewing mercy as representative of attributes such as kindness, compassion, love, and peacefulness, while understanding justice in terms of more exacting principles, such as strict …

Richard Posner Meets Reb Chaim Of Brisk: A Comparative Study In The Founding Of Intellectual Legal Movements, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

Of the various movements that have surfaced in American legal theory in recent decades, law and economics has emerged as perhaps the most influential, leading some to characterize it as the dominant contemporary mode of analysis among American legal scholars. In this essay, Levine considers law and economics in the context of a comparative discussion of another prominent intellectual legal movement, the Brisker method of Talmudic analysis, which originated in Eastern Europe in the late nineteenth century and quickly developed into a leading method of theoretical study of Jewish law. The Brisker method takes its name from the city of …

An Introduction To Self-Incrimination In Jewish Law, With Application To The American Legal System: A Psychological And Philosophical Analysis, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

In recent years, American courts and legal scholars have increasingly turned to Jewish legal tradition for insights into various issues confronting the American legal system. Jewish law has provided an alternative model and, at times, a contrast case that some have found particularly helpful in illuminating complex, controversial, and unsettled areas of American law. In light of these developments, this Essay aims to consider the efficacy of drawing on Jewish law to facilitate a more thoughtful analysis of issues in American law, with a specific focus on the issue of self-incrimination. The Essay begins with a brief discussion of the …

A Look At American Legal Practice Through A Perspective Of Jewish Law, Ethics, And Tradition: A Conceptual Overview, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

Levine examines the roles of legislative and judicial bodies, in the context of a discussion of broader principles of legislation in the Jewish legal system. In recent years, American legal scholars have increasingly looked to Jewish law as a model of an alternative legal system that considers many of the issues present in the American legal system. In relation to the roles of legislative and judicial bodies, the Jewish legal system provides a particularly illuminating contrast to the American legal system, in part because in Jewish law, the same authority, the Sanhedrin, or High Court, serves in both a legislative …

Rediscovering Julius Henry Cohen And The Origins Of The Business/Profession Dichotomy: A Study In The Discourse Of Early Twentieth Century Legal Professionalism, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

This article addresses one of the central contemporary debates over the nature of the practice of law, reflected in the business/profession dichotomy. Specifically, the article presents an exploration of the discourse and underlying attitudes of early twentieth century legal professionalism, in the context of a close analysis of Cohen's 1916 classic, The Law: Business or Profession?, a highly influential work that is a standard citation in the contemporary debate. The article contrasts Cohen's rhetoric and underlying approach to professionalism against the anti-Semitism, nativism, classism, economic protectionism, and general elitism often expressed by leaders of the early twentieth century bar who, …

Portraits Of Criminals On Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska: The Enigmatic Criminal, The Sympathetic Criminal, And The Criminal As Brother, Samuel J. Levine

Scholarly Works

Deconstructing Bruce Springsteen's album, "Nebraska," Levine demonstrates how Springsteen's songs challenge modern paradigms of crime, punishment and the American criminal justice system. Professor Levine deconstructs the message of the album by introducing the reader to the three categories of criminals who appear on the album: The enigmatic criminal; the sympathetic criminal; and the "criminal as brother." Professor Levine first examines the enigmatic criminal who materializes in Springsteen's title track, "Nebraska." This criminal shows no remorse for his crime and makes no attempt to justify or explain his actions. The enigmatic criminal demonstrates how an exploration of the criminal mindset may …

Discussion: A Focus On Federalism, Jeffrey B. Morris

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Supreme Court 2002 Term - The Property Cases: Iolta, Qui Tam Actions, And Punitive Damages (Symposium: The Fifteenth Annual Supreme Court Review), Leon D. Lazer

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Community Service Component Of An Alternative Bar Exam, Eileen Kaufman

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

September 11th: Pro Bono And Trauma, Marjorie A. Silver

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.