Law Commons^™

Inside The Black Box: Comment On Diamond And Vidmar, Valerie P. Hans

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

It is an honor to be invited to comment on the first publication of the Arizona Jury Project, a study of Arizona juries that includes videotaping and analysis of jury room discussions and deliberations. It is a remarkable and unique project, made possible by an unusual confluence of people, places, and events. In an insightful opinion some years ago, United States Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis observed that "[i]t is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic ...

Megafirms, Randall S. Thomas, Stewart J. Schwab, Robert G. Hansen

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This Article documents and explains the amazing growth of the largest firms in law, accounting, and investment banking. Scholars to date have used various supply-side theories to explain this growth, and have generally examined only one industry at a time. This Article emphasizes a demand-side explanation of firm growth and shows how the explanation is similar for firms in all "project" industries. Legal regulation also plays an important role in determining industry structure. Among the areas covered in this Article are the growth of Multidisciplinary Practice firms (MDPs). MDP growth can best be understood by looking more broadly at the ...

Trade Secrets, Non-Competes, And Unfair Competition, Office Of Continuing Legal Education At The University Of Kentucky College Of Law

Continuing Legal Education Materials

Materials from the conference on Trade Secrets, Non-Competes, and Unfair Competition held by UK/CLE in October 2001.

Revisiting The Taxation Of Punitive Damages, Gregg D. Polsky, Dan Markel

Scholarly Works

In our recent article, Taxing Punitive Damages, available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1421879, we argued (1) that plaintiffs in punitive damages cases should be allowed to introduce to the jury evidence regarding the deductibility of those damages by defendants, and (2) that this jury tax-awareness approach is better than the Obama Administration’s suggested alternative of disallowing those deductions.

To our delight, Professor Larry Zelenak and Paul Mogin have each provided published comments to our piece on Virginia Law Review's In Brief companion website. Professor Zelenak’s thoughtful response focuses on our prescriptive claim that jury tax-awareness is ...

Shifting Winds: Court Whittles Away At Plaintiffs' Recovery Of Attorney Fees, Carl W. Tobias, Margaret L. Sanner

Law Faculty Publications

A Supreme Court ruling in a case brought by an assisted-living home doesn't offer much assistance to civil rights lawyers. The ruling in Buckhannon Board & Care Home v. West Virginia will frustrate plaintiffs' efforts to recover attorney fees in litigation to vindicate important societal values such as the prevention of discrimination. But it shouldn't come as a big surprise. Buckhannon is only the most recent of numerous High Court decisions since the 1980s that can complicate attempts by plaintiffs lawyers to secure attorney's fees.

Moot Court Teams 2001-2002, Kellie Casey Monk

Materials from All Student Organizations

No abstract provided.

Estate Litigation In Kentucky, Office Of Continuing Legal Education At The University Of Kentucky College Of Law

Continuing Legal Education Materials

Materials from the conference on Estate Litigation in Kentucky held by UK/CLE in July 2001.

Experts, Carl E. Schneider

Articles

George Bernard Shaw famously said that all professions are conspiracies against the laity. Less famously, less elegantly, but at least as accurately, Andrew Abbott argued that professions are conspiracies against each other. Professions compete for authority to do work and for authority over work. The umpire in these skirmishes and sieges is the government, for the state holds the gift of monopoly and the power to regulate it. In Abbott's terms, "bioethics" is contesting medicine's power to influence the way doctors treat patients. If it follows the classic pattern, bioethics will solicit work and authority by recruiting government ...

Judges, Prosecutors, Jurors, And Organized Labor: Four Perspectives Of Corporate Citizenship, Noel Beasley, Janine P. Geske, Valerie P. Hans, E. Michael Mccann, Frank Daily

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Some people argue that the civil jury is in decline. They argue that it's not really so important to be focusing on jurors and jurors' views about corporate responsibility as it might have been in prior times. I want to raise some arguments in favor of the continuing importance of the civil jury. First of all, the cases that juries try may be very important cases in terms of the company and in terms of the role of the company vis-a-vis government regulation. Jurors are symbolic representatives of the public in the courtroom. Finding out what juries do when ...

Memorandum Of Argument For Leave To Appeal Of The Appellant James R. Demers, Court Of Appeal For Province Of British Columbia, Jeffrey C. Tuomala

Faculty Publications and Presentations

No abstract provided.

"Whodunit" Versus "What Was Done": When To Admit Character Evidence In Criminal Cases, Sherry F. Colb

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

In virtually every jurisdiction in the United States, the law of evidence prohibits parties from offering proof of an individual's general character traits to suggest that, on a specific occasion, the individual behaved in a manner consistent with those traits. In a criminal trial in particular, the law prohibits a prosecutor's introduction of evidence about the defendant's character as proof of his guilt. In this Article, Professor Colb proposes that the exclusion of defendant character evidence is appropriate in one category of cases but inappropriate in another. In the first category, which Professor Colb calls "whodunit" cases ...

Agenda: A Cartography Of Governance: Exploring The Province Of Environmental Ngos, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law, University Of Colorado Boulder. Environmental Program, University Of Tulsa. National Energy-Environment Law & Policy Institute, University Of Colorado Boulder. United Government Of Graduate Students

A Cartography of Governance: Exploring the Province of Environmental NGOs (April 7-8)

Presented by: the Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy on April 7 & 8, 2001. Symposium director: Lakshman D. Guruswamy.

Co-sponsored by: University of Colorado School of Law, University of Colorado Environmental Program, University of Tulsa National Energy-Environment Law and Policy Institute, University of Colorado United Government of Graduate Students.

The papers and edited proceedings of the conference will be published in a special symposium issue of the Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law & Policy (CJIELP).

"The first objective of the Symposium was to understand and explore the growing importance of nongovernmental actors, and delineate the manner in which they have changed the cartography of national and international governance. The importance of this objective was demonstrated by the carnage of September 11, 2001. The recent terrorist attacks also demonstrated the extent to which we are inhabitants of a global village. This Symposium attempted to understand the manner in which two nonterrorist, nongovernmental entities have become increasingly important actors in this global village. It reviewed the manner in which corporations and NGOs are changing the geo-political and socio-economic boundaries of national and international governance.

The second objective brings special focus to bear on environmental NGOs. The second objective seeks answers to the questions: Have not-for-profits or NGOs, gone too far in diminishing the role of the public sector and the nation-state? Is the prevailing faith in the increasingly important role played by NGOs misplaced?

After establishing the importance of nongovernmental actors in national and international governance, the Symposium sought to ascertain whether not-for-profits or NGOs have gone too far in diminishing the role of the public sector and the nation-state. It also addressed the corollary issue of whether the prevailing faith in the increasingly important roles played by NGOs is misplaced.

The Symposium identified four case studies in an attempt to shed light on these questions and to acknowledge the functions that each sector is best suited to perform. Specifically, the Symposium employed the prism of environmental policy, science, and law to examine the roles played by NGOs in addressing: (1) GMOs; (2) dams; (3) wildlife and species; and (4) indigenous peoples." -- Lakshman D. Guruswamy, Cartography of Governance: An Introduction, 13 Colo. J. Int'l Envtl. L. & Pol'y 1-3 (2002).

Appeal From Jury Or Judge Trial: Defendants' Advantage, Kevin M. Clermont, Theodore Eisenberg

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The prevailing "expert" opinion is that jury verdicts are largely immune to appellate revision. Using a database that combines all federal civil trials and appeals decided since 1988, we find that jury trials, as a group, are in fact not so special on appeal. But the data do show that defendants succeed more than plaintiffs on appeal from civil trials, and especially from jury trials. Defendants appealing their losses after trial by jury obtain reversals at a 31% rate, while losing plaintiffs succeed in only 13% of their appeals from jury trials. Both descriptive analyses of the results and more ...

Aggregation, Auctions, And Other Developments In The Selection Of Lead Counsel Under The Pslra, Jill E. Fisch

Faculty Scholarship at Penn Law

No abstract provided.

3rd Annual Computer & Technology Law Institute, Office Of Continuing Legal Education At The University Of Kentucky College Of Law

Continuing Legal Education Materials

Materials from the 3rd Annual Computer & Technology Law Institute held by UK/CLE in March 2001.

Outrageous Opponents: How To Stop Them In Closing Argument, Ronald L. Carlson, Michael S. Carlson

Popular Media

Most attorneys try to sum up their cases in a fashion that comports with accepted law and local practice. All too frequently, however, one has the misfortune of running into Rambo, the over-the-top opponent. Before his peroration is concluded, Rambo has trampled on the law of trial practice by making half a dozen improper arguments. He urges evidence that never came up at trial. He injects hearsay into the proceedings. He adds his own opinions about which witnesses were lying and the legal fault of your client. And, this is just the beginning. Adding insult to injury, the unjust tactics ...

Removal From State Court Under The Fsia: Escape Hatch Or Booby Trap, Charles H. Brower Ii

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Character Evidence, Paul C. Giannelli

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

“Other Acts” Evidence: Part Ii, Paul C. Giannelli

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Joseph Henry Lumpkin Inn Of Court Team Members 2001-2002, Kellie Casey Monk

Materials from All Student Organizations

No abstract provided.

Scientific Evidence In Civil And Criminal Cases, Paul C. Giannelli

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Secondary Effects Of Environmental Justice Litigation: The Case Of West Dallas Coalition For Environmental Justice V. Epa, Gregg P. Macey, Lawrence E. Susskind

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Politics And Denial, Pierre Schlag

Articles

No abstract provided.

Globalization And Cross-Border Litigation,, Mary Kay Kane

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Taking Action Against Auctions: The Third Circuit Task Force Report, Jill E. Fisch

Faculty Scholarship at Penn Law

No abstract provided.

Estates & Trusts: 2001 Survey Of Florida Law, Eloisa Rodriguez-Dod

Faculty Publications

This article discusses relevant changes in Florida probate and trust statutes and regulations through mid-2001, updating a prior survey published in 1998. The article highlights and summarizes, some aspects of the elective share provisions and other legislative changes to the Florida Probate Code and Trust Administration Statutes. Amendments to the Florida Probate Rules are also highlighted. Lastly, the article highlights some significant cases decided during mid-2001 that affected this area of the law.

Damage Awards In Perspective: Behind The Headline-Grabbing Awards In Exxon Valdez And Engle, Theodore Eisenberg

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Large punitive damages awards in tobacco litigation, the Exxon Valdez oil spill case, and other cases dominate the public perceptions about damages. These large awards and the mass of compensatory awards can be best understood in relation to other awards. In fact, total awards in tried contract cases have risen faster than tort awards. In the highly visible world of large punitive damages awards, the Exxon Valdez award fits well within the traditional pattern of punitive awards. The largest punitive award, that against the tobacco industry in Engle, is best understood against the background of the tobacco industry's national ...

Evidence: 1999-2000 Survey Of New York Law, Faust Rossi

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Advocacy Of Negotiated Rulemaking: A Response To Philip Harter, Cary Coglianese

Faculty Scholarship at Penn Law

For many years, advocates of negotiated rulemaking have advanced enthusiastic claims about how negotiated rulemaking would reduce litigation and shorten the rulemaking process. In an earlier study, I tested these claims systematically by assessing the effectiveness of negotiated rulemaking against existing rulemaking processes. I found that negotiated rulemaking neither saves time nor reduces litigation. Recently, Philip Harter, a longtime advocate of negotiated rulemaking, has criticized my study and asserted that negotiated rulemaking has succeeded remarkably in achieving its goals. Harter criticized the way I measured the length of the rulemaking process, claimed that I failed to appreciate differences in litigation ...

Two Observations On Holocaust Claims, William W. Bratton

Faculty Scholarship at Penn Law

No abstract provided.