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Full-Text Articles in Law

Deciding, Curtis E.A. Karnow Jan 2015

Deciding, Curtis E.A. Karnow

Curtis E.A. Karnow

Review of cognitive fallacies judges may encounter, such as expectation fallacies, cognitive dissonance, narrative fallacies and generally problems with associative reasoning


Complexity In Litigation: A Differential Diagnosis, Curtis E.A. Karnow Jan 2015

Complexity In Litigation: A Differential Diagnosis, Curtis E.A. Karnow

Curtis E.A. Karnow

This note examines complex litigation with the goal of providing practical options for its management. It is written from a judge’s perspective. I review the definition of a “complex” case and explain its emphasis on the need for a judge to manage the case, with a focus on enabling settlement. I address a series of specific characteristics or aspects of complex cases, explaining how these affect the progress of the case. Then the note explores the many tools and techniques judges have to manage and ameliorate difficult aspects of complex cases. {Pre-print. Final article as published differs substantially and is …


Taking Another Look At Second-Look Sentencing, Meghan J. Ryan Jan 2015

Taking Another Look At Second-Look Sentencing, Meghan J. Ryan

Meghan J. Ryan

An unprecedented number of Americans are currently behind bars. Our high rate of incarceration, and the high bills that it generates for American taxpayers, has led to a number of proposals for sentencing reform. For example, a bill recently introduced in Congress would roll back federal mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug offenders, and the Obama Administration has announced a plan to grant clemency to hundreds of non-violent drug offenders. Perhaps the most revolutionary proposal, though, is one advanced by the drafters of the Model Penal Code, namely that judges be given the power to resentence offenders who have been …


El Juez Constitucional Ante El Juicio De Ponderación, Juan Luis Hernández Macías Jan 2015

El Juez Constitucional Ante El Juicio De Ponderación, Juan Luis Hernández Macías

Juan Luis Hernández Macías

No abstract provided.


Fearing The Bogeyman: How The Legal System's Overreaction To Perceived Danger Threatens Families And Children, David Pimentel Jan 2015

Fearing The Bogeyman: How The Legal System's Overreaction To Perceived Danger Threatens Families And Children, David Pimentel

David Pimentel

In the last generation, American parenting norms have shifted dramatically, reflecting a near obsession with child safety and especially the risk of stranger abduction. A growing body of literature shows, however, that the threats to children are more imagined than real, and that the effort to protect children from these “bogeymen” may be doing more harm than good. Advocates of “Free-Range” parenting argue that giving children a long leash can help them learn responsibility, explore the world outside, get physical exercise, and develop self-sufficiency. But the State, usually acting through Child Protective Services (CPS), is likely to second-guess parents’ judgments …


When Judges Have Reasons Not To Give Reasons: A Comparative Law Approach, Mathilde Cohen Dec 2014

When Judges Have Reasons Not To Give Reasons: A Comparative Law Approach, Mathilde Cohen

Mathilde Cohen

Influential theories of law have celebrated judicial reason- giving as furthering a host of democratic values, including judges’ accountability, citizens’ participation in adjudication, and a more accurate and transparent decision-making process. This Article has two main purposes. First, it argues that although reason- giving is important, it is often in tension with other values of the judicial process, such as guidance, sincerity, and efficiency. Reason-giving must, therefore, be balanced against these competing values. In other words, judges sometimes have reasons not to give reasons. Second, contrary to common intuition, common law and civil law systems deal with this tension between …


Cognitive Fallacies Reading List, Curtis E.A. Karnow Dec 2014

Cognitive Fallacies Reading List, Curtis E.A. Karnow

Curtis E.A. Karnow

Reading list of books, articles, reports, and other material relating to cognitive fallacies, i.e., errors in reasoning which affect us all, including lawyers and judges. These errors in turn affect lawyers’ competence and judges’ ability to provide fair, impartial and well-reasoned decisions.


The Chilean Constitutional Tribunal And The 2005 Amendment. A Castling Between Career And Academic Judges, Sergio Verdugo Sverdugor@Udd.Cl, Diego Pardow Dec 2014

The Chilean Constitutional Tribunal And The 2005 Amendment. A Castling Between Career And Academic Judges, Sergio Verdugo Sverdugor@Udd.Cl, Diego Pardow

Sergio Verdugo R.

After a constitutional amendment in 2005, the Chilean Constitutional Tribunal is becoming more active in exercising its powers against the executive branch. This effect is mainly due to a castling in the composition of the court between career judges and justices coming from the academia. Chilean judges have had a long-standing reputation of being deferential with the government and of following a rule of unanimity. That attitude, however, goes beyond partisan affiliation. As it is shown in this paper, the changes in the behavior of the court seems to be more related with a change in the underlying legal culture, …


Juror Bias, Voir Dire, And The Judge-Jury Relationship (Symposium), Nancy S. Marder Dec 2014

Juror Bias, Voir Dire, And The Judge-Jury Relationship (Symposium), Nancy S. Marder

Nancy S. Marder

No abstract provided.


Collegium 2.0: How Should India Appoint Its Judges, Shubhankar Dam Dec 2014

Collegium 2.0: How Should India Appoint Its Judges, Shubhankar Dam

Shubhankar Dam

No abstract provided.


Judging Multidistrict Litigation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch Dec 2014

Judging Multidistrict Litigation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

High-stakes multidistrict litigations saddle the transferee judges who manage them with an odd juxtaposition of power and impotence. On one hand, judges appoint and compensate lead lawyers (who effectively replace parties’ chosen counsel) and promote settlement with scant appellate scrutiny or legislative oversight. But on the other, without the arsenal class certification once afforded, judges are relatively powerless to police the private settlements they encourage. Of course, this power shortage is of little concern since parties consent to settle. Or do they? Contrary to conventional wisdom, this Article introduces new empirical data revealing that judges appoint an overwhelming number of …


Literary Justice, Scott Dodson, Ami Dodson Dec 2014

Literary Justice, Scott Dodson, Ami Dodson

Scott Dodson

This microsymposium essay empirically (and somewhat humorously) measures which current U.S. Supreme Court justice is the most literate, as determined by citations to great works of literary fiction. It further identifies the justices' favorite literary authors. Consistent with the mission of the Green Bag, the essay is meant to be lighthearted and entertaining, but it also recognizes the underlying importance of the intersection of legal opinion-writing and literary fiction.


Democracia E Autogoverno Da Magistratura Na Itália - A Experiência Do Conselho Superior Da Magistratura, Eduardo Meira Zauli Dr. Dec 2014

Democracia E Autogoverno Da Magistratura Na Itália - A Experiência Do Conselho Superior Da Magistratura, Eduardo Meira Zauli Dr.

Eduardo Meira Zauli

This paper deals with the problem of the relationship between the self-government of judiciary and democratic system. The role of judicial councils in contemporary democracies, and particularly the status and the roles played by the Superior Council of the Italian Magistracy (CSM) in the legal and political system of Italy is object of analysis. For such a reconstruction of the emergence and evolution of the CSM is taken, and then presented their main institutional characteristics. Then we present some of the weaknesses of the performance of CSM in the field of professional evaluation and disciplinary power and its relations with …


A Framework For Understanding Property Regulation And Land Use Control From A Dynamic Perspective, Donald J. Kochan Dec 2014

A Framework For Understanding Property Regulation And Land Use Control From A Dynamic Perspective, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

Our land use control system operates across a variety of multidimensional and dynamic categories. Learning to navigate within and between these categories requires an appreciation for their interconnected, dynamic, and textured components and an awareness of alternative mechanisms for achieving one’s land use control preferences and one’s desired ends. Whether seeking to minimize controls as a property owner or attempting to place controls on the land uses of another, one should take time to understand the full ecology of the system. This Article looks at four broad categories of control: (1) no controls, or the state of nature; (2) judicial …


Law And Economics In Der Welt Des Zivilrechts: Die Situation Brasilianischer Gerichte, Mariana Pargendler, Bruno Meyerhof Salama Dec 2014

Law And Economics In Der Welt Des Zivilrechts: Die Situation Brasilianischer Gerichte, Mariana Pargendler, Bruno Meyerhof Salama

Bruno Meyerhof Salama

Auch wenn der Fortschritt von law and economics in einigen Zivilrechtsländern von Zeit zu Zeit anerkannt wird, besteht die herkömmliche Auffassung noch immer darin, dass die Rechtsberufe auf zivilrechtlichen Gebieten für ökonomische Argumentationen unzugänglich sind. Zumindest für Brasilien ist jedoch die Annahme der Isolierung der Rechtspraxis von ökonomischer Argumentation schlechthin falsch. Der zunehmende Einsatz ökonomischer Argumentation an den brasilianischen Gerichten keine Folge blinder Nachahmung ausländischer Modeströmungen ist. Im Gegenteil, dieser Einsatz ist das Ergebnis eines tiefgreifenden Wandels von Eigenschaften und Betrieb des brasilianischen Rechtssystems – mit der Auswirkung, dass die Gerichte zunehmend mit der Gestaltung und Umsetzung öffentlicher Grundsatzpolitik beschäftigt …


Judicial Priorities, Bert I. Huang, Tejas N. Narechania Dec 2014

Judicial Priorities, Bert I. Huang, Tejas N. Narechania

Tejas N. Narechania

In an unprecedented move, the Illinois Supreme Court in the mid-1990s imposed hard caps on the state's appeals courts, drastically reducing the number of opinions they could publish, while also narrowing the formal criteria for opinions to qualify for publication. The high court explained that the amendment's purpose was to reduce the "avalanche of opinions emanating from [the] Appellate Court," which was causing legal research to become "unnecessarily burdensome, difficult and costly."
This unusual and sudden policy shift offers the chance to observe the priorities of a common law court in its production of published opinions. The method we introduce …