Law Commons^™

The Pension Game: Age- And Gender-Based Inequities In The Retirement System, Camilla E. Watson

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This Article begins by stressing the importance of retirement benefits in general and employer-provided benefits in particular. It then addresses specific current issues of age and gender discrimination under both the private retirement and Social Security systems. Gender-based discrimination is emphasized because of the overlap between gender-based discrimination and age discrimination. Finally, this Article suggests specific reforms for a fairer and more adequate systems in the twenty-first century.

Roman Law And English Law: Two Patterns Of Legal Development, Alan Watson

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It is commonplace among scholars to link in thought the growth of Roman law and of English law. S.F.C. Milsom begins his distinguished Historical Foundations of the Common Law with the words: "It has happened twice only that the customs of European peoples were worked up into intellectual systems of law; and much of the world today is governed by laws derived from the one or the other." More strikingly, some scholars see an essential similarity in legal approaches in the two systems. Fritz Pringsheim entitled a well-known article The Inner Relationship Between English and Roman Law. W.W. Buckland and …

Preliminary Reflections On Mckesson And American Trucking Associations, Walter Hellerstein

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On June 4, 1990, the Supreme Court issued its long awaited decisions in McKesson Corp v. Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco and American Trucking Associations, Inc. v. Smith. Both cases raised the question of whether a taxpayer has a right to a refund of unconstitutional state taxes. This article analyzes these decisions separately and considers the implications of these decisions on future state tax litigation. The article has two purposes: first, to analyze the McKesson and American Trucking Association cases; and second, to consider their implications for future constitutional challenges to state taxes. The article concludes by stating …

Human Gene Therapy And The Law: An Introduction To The Literature, Edward J. Larson

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This essay will review introductory selections on the law of human gene therapy in the context of four common starting points: the discovery of DNA structure, past efforts to regulate genetic engineering, America's experience with eugenics, and historical, constitutional, or cultural values.

Sex, Lies And Jurisprudence: Robert Bork, Griswold, And The Philosophy Of Original Understanding, Glenn Harlan Reynolds

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This article analyzes Robert Bork's philosophy of original understanding jurisprudence in the context of the Supreme Court's decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, and concludes that Bork's theory does not perform as advertised and in fact -- contrary to Bork's representations -- actually supports the outcome reached by the Supreme Court in the Griswold case. It nonetheless concludes that original understanding interpretation has something to offer, if not as much as Bork claims.

Roundtable: The United States Constitution And The Adoption Of International Human Rights Instruments: Freeing The Political Logjam: Keynote Address: Proposals For The Future, Louis B. Sohn

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As it has already been mentioned today, we are living in a rather exciting time as far as human rights are concerned. Since 1917, we have lived under both the shadow of the Soviet Revolution and the threat of Communism becoming the great idea of the future. We know now that this did not come to pass, and that communism has proved to be unable to assert is superiority over other existing political systems. A chance and opportunity now exists for the United States to show that it can do better, that its goal is not to take over the …

The Bar Exam Essay Maze: A Roadmap Through The Tangle, Bevery Mcqueary Smith

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No abstract provided.

Abortion Rights (Symposium: The Supreme Court And Local Government Law; The 1989-90 Term), Eileen Kaufman

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No abstract provided.

Falling Off The Vine: Legal Fictions And The Doctrine Of Substituted Judgment, Louise Harmon

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No abstract provided.

The Modern Blood Feud: Thoughts On The Philosophy Of Terrorism, Christopher L. Blakesley

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Herman Melville brilliantly lets us feel, through Captain Ahab, the sensation of destructive rage, hatred and violence. Sadly, Melville's insight penetrates to the core of society, perhaps of each of us, in today's omnipresent terroristic melodrama. We have all suffered moments of vicarious terror and rage over the past few years as we watched news accounts of terrorist incidents, such as the downing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The melodrama of terrorism has penetrated each of our lives. We see it and feel the rage nearly on a daily basis. Innocent children, women and men aboard Pan …

Major Contemporary Issues In Extradition Law, Christopher L. Blakesley

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In this piece Professor Blakesley provides remarks on high crimes in international law, and the ability to extradite state and high government officials for committing them.

The Transformation Of American Property Law: A Comparative Law Approach, Alan Watson

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This Article looks at aspects of a particular societal problem as it was approached at different historical periods in Roman, French, and American property law. The main point of the Article is to clarify understanding of the American course of development through an awareness of how the problem was dealt with elsewhere. This awareness will cast doubt on the simplicity of the American course of development as explained in a distinguished book, and on the relationship of the legal development to economic change. In THE TRANSFORMATION OF AMERICAN LAW, 1780-1860, Morton J. Horwitz seeks "to show that one of the …

The Unimportance Of Precedence In The Law Of Federal Courts, Michael L. Wells

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Part I of this Article asserts that the Supreme Court pays little attention to precedent in federal courts law. My examples in support of this claim are taken from important areas of federal courts doctrine, where two major upheavals have taken place in the past thirty years. First, the Warren Court rewrote the law to expand access to federal court. then under Chief Justice Burger, the Court undid many of the changes wrought by its predecessor. The discussion in Part I of prominent departures from precedent is not offered as decisive proof that stare decisis is less important in federal …

Whose Nature? Practical Reason And Patriarchy, Lynne Henderson

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No abstract provided.

Affirmative Action Doctrine And The Conflicting Messages Of Croson, Doug D. Scherer

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No abstract provided.

The Viability Of Citizens’ Suits Under The Clean Water Act After Gwaltney Of Smithfield V. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Bevery Mcqueary Smith

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No abstract provided.

Pitfalls Of Public Policy: The Case Of Arbitration Agreements, Jeffrey W. Stempel

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As the juxtaposition of these quotations suggests, judges have long held disparate views on the legitimacy and value of “public policy” considerations as a basis for legal decision making. The popular notion posits that Justice Holmes and legal realists carried the day, making public policy analysis an ordinary part of the adjudication process. The story, of course, is more complex than this legal version of Don Quixote. Many judges and lawyers, including Justice Holmes in other writings, continued to speak of adjudication in more formalist and positivist terms, with most laypersons in apparent agreement. Judge Burroughs' view of public policy …

Patterson And Civil Rights: What Rough Beast Slouches Towards Bethlehem To Be Born?, Peter Brandon Bayer

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Contrary to its assertions, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Patterson decision marks a stark departure from the federal courts' former practice of according Congressional civil rights enactments a broad reading to effectuate their remedial purposes. Indeed, Patterson offers an exceedingly narrow interpretation of this nation's oldest civil rights law, the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

In addition to its effect on the scope and application of § 1981, Patterson must be read in conjunction with several other decisions issued during the same term that limit—indeed retreat from—the application of civil rights laws designed to restore both lost opportunities and …

Civil Rights In Employment: The New Generation, Linda H. Edwards

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In July 1989, Title VII was twenty-five years old. It is generally assumed that the first twenty-five years have seen significant changes in the economic opportunities available to America’s minorities and women. But with the rise to power of the Reagan appointees, the Supreme Court is clearly fashioning a new approach to issues of civil rights in employment. This article analyzes the new Court’s emerging themes and proposes a congressional response.

Installment Method Asset Sales By S Corporations, Mary Lafrance

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This Article examines the impact of recent developments on a particular category of taxpayer: the S corporation whose shareholders desire to sell some or all of the corporation's assets. While an installment sale of assets has, for many taxpayers, lost much of its previous allure, such sales may still be commercially desirable under certain circumstances—e.g., where a buyer lacks ready cash or adequate borrowing power. In such a case, some S corporations may be able to achieve significant tax savings through proper planning and documentation of an installment sale. Until Congress or the Treasury provides needed clarification, however, …

Note, Maynard V. Cartwright: Channeling Arizona's Use Of The Heinous, Cruel Or Depraved Aggravating Circumstance To Impose The Death Penalty, Terrill Pollman

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“Death is qualitatively different from other punishments that can be imposed by the state.” Recognition of this disturbing conclusion led to the heightened scrutiny demonstrated in a series of United States Supreme Court rulings beginning with Furman v. Georgia, which set forth the constitutionally acceptable range of discretion that a judge or jury may use in imposing the death penalty. States have attempted to bring their statutes within the Furman v. Georgia range by articulating aggravating circumstances that warrant the imposition of the death penalty. One controversial circumstance that many states employ permits a capital sentence where the offense …

Response, [To Kathryn Abrams, Hiring Woman], Thomas B. Mcaffee

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This article is a response to an article by Professor Kathryn Abram about the recruitment and hiring of women law professors. Professor McAffee confronts an issue that Professor Abrams does not—that of giving women a “preference” in hiring. Professor McAffee also adds to Professor Abrams’ reflections about the question of how law schools should go about hiring more women.

The Original Meaning Of The Ninth Amendment, Thomas B. Mcaffee

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This Article presents the case for the residual rights reading of the ninth amendment as against the affirmative rights interpretation. The author evaluates the merits of these opposing views to determine whether the proponents of the new orthodoxy have really made the case for discarding the received reading. This analysis of the recent literature also raises questions about the way in which constitutional scholarship is conducted. The author concludes that the original meaning of the ninth amendment lends critical support to the project of originalist jurisprudence in the individual rights area and undercuts modem claims linking the ninth amendment to …

Review Of Christopher F. Mooney, Public Virtue: Law And The Social Character Of Religion (1986), Leslie C. Griffin

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No abstract provided.

Section 301'S Preemption Of State Law Claims: A Model For Analysis, Rebecca White

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Congress, in section 301(a) of the Labor Management Relations Act, has provided a cause of action for breach of a collective bargaining agreement. This statute has long been interpreted as ousting state law claims for breach of contract when the contract involved is a collective bargaining agreement.

To what extent Congress, in enacting section 301, intended to foreclose other state law claims by the parties to or the individuals covered by a collective bargaining agreement is an issue that has recently gained prominence. The Supreme Court has decided four such cases unanimously in the last four years.

Such contemporary and …

The International Reach Of Rule 10b-5: The Myth Of Congressional Silence, Margaret V. Sachs

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This article challenges the conventional wisdom that in adjudicating the international reach of rule 10b-5 courts begin with a blank legislative slate. The history of the securities laws demonstrates that this conventional wisdom is erroneous in two important respects. First, the securities markets of the 1920's were highly international, as Congress was well aware when it enacted the 1933 and 1934 Acts. Second, Congress nevertheless chose to protect only those investors whose trades occur inside the United States-“domestic traders” -- regardless of whether the securities traded are domestic or foreign. As a result, foreign traders lack standing to sue under …

The Federal Transfer Tax Consequences Of Joint And Mutual Wills, Amy Morris Hess

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No abstract provided.

In Lieu Of Preclusion: Reconciling Administrative Decisionmaking And Federal Civil Rights Claims, Marjorie A. Silver

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No abstract provided.

Reflections On Identity, Diversity And Morality, Deborah W. Post

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The author reflects over events in her life that helped her define herself and her ethical identity, a black woman teacher.