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Full-Text Articles in Law

Of Apples And Trees: Adoption And Informed Consent, Ellen Wertheimer Nov 2006

Of Apples And Trees: Adoption And Informed Consent, Ellen Wertheimer

Working Paper Series

This article argues that the doctrine of informed consent should apply to the process of adopting a child. There is substantial evidence that all adopted children are at higher risk of learning disabilities and mental health problems than nonadopted children. The article first summarizes the social science evidence demonstrating these risks and discusses some of the reasons why more extensive studies have not yet been done. The article then turns to the law of informed consent as created and applied in the contexts of medicine and law, and concludes that informed consent doctrine should apply to the process of adoption. …


Wrongful Discharge: The Use Of Federal Law As A Source Of Public Policy, Nancy M. Modesitt Apr 2006

Wrongful Discharge: The Use Of Federal Law As A Source Of Public Policy, Nancy M. Modesitt

All Faculty Scholarship

Wrongful discharge in violation of public policy circumscribes the employment at-will doctrine by prohibiting employers from firing employees who engage in conduct that is deemed to be protected by state or federal public policy. While much has been written about the pros and cons of such wrongful discharge claims, to date no scholarship has focused on the problems that arise when the source of public policy is a federal rather than state statute. This article analyzes the historical and current approaches to the use of federal statutes as a source of public policy to protect employees against discharge, concluding that …


Information, Litigation, And Common Law Evolution, Keith N. Hylton Apr 2006

Information, Litigation, And Common Law Evolution, Keith N. Hylton

Faculty Scholarship

It is common in the legal academy to describe judicial decision trends leading to new common law rules as resulting from conscious judicial effort. Evolutionary models of litigation, in contrast, treat common law as resulting from pressure applied by litigants. One apparent difficulty in the theory of litigation is explaining how trends in judicial decisions favoring one litigant, and biasing the legal standard, could occur. This article presents a model in which an apparent bias in the legal standard can occur in the absence of any effort toward this end on the part of judges. Trends can develop favoring the …


Engler V. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co. And Negligent Infliction Of Emotional Distress, Michael K. Steenson Jan 2006

Engler V. Illinois Farmers Insurance Co. And Negligent Infliction Of Emotional Distress, Michael K. Steenson

Faculty Scholarship

The rules governing negligent infliction of emotional distress claims differ significantly from state to state. The predominant rule is the bystander recovery rule, which permits recovery by persons who are not physically threatened by the defendant’s negligent conduct but who suffer emotional distress from witnessing injury to a third person. In bystander recovery jurisdictions, the required degree of proximity of the plaintiff to the accident scene, how the plaintiff hears about the accident, the plaintiff’s relationship to the person actually injured in the accident, and the proof required to establish severe emotional distress vary, sometimes significantly, from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. …


Offer-Of-Judgment Rules And Civil Litigation: An Empirical Study Of Automobile Insurance Litigation In The East, Tom Baker, Albert H. Yoon Jan 2006

Offer-Of-Judgment Rules And Civil Litigation: An Empirical Study Of Automobile Insurance Litigation In The East, Tom Baker, Albert H. Yoon

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


The Unwarranted Conclusions Drawn From Vincent V. Lake Erie Transportation Co. Concerning The Defense Of Necessity, George C. Christie Jan 2006

The Unwarranted Conclusions Drawn From Vincent V. Lake Erie Transportation Co. Concerning The Defense Of Necessity, George C. Christie

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.