Law Commons^™

How Much Can Be Charged For Expert-Witness Appearance Fees In Interstate Water Litigation?, Robert H. Abrams

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.

Female Genital Mutilation: Exploring Strategies For Ending Ritualized Torture; Shaming, Blaming, And Utilizing The Convention Against Torture, Patricia A. Broussard

Journal Publications

The intent of this article is to graphically describe female genital mutilation (FGM); discuss the background of FGM and its health, psychological, and social implications; propose some workable solutions to ending FGM; and raise the level of awareness of the pain and suffering of women around the world. In part, this article will discuss invoking the Convention against Torture against those nations unwilling to end this horrific practice. There is also a caveat to this article: the author acknowledges that discussing solutions to the practice of FGM is not a simplistic and straight-forward endeavor. Solutions to ending FGM are as …

Right Responsibility: Does The Right To Procreate Include The Responsibility To Parent?, A Felicia Epps

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.

Boundary Waters Treaty Of 1909 As A Model For Interjurisdictional Water Governance, Robert H. Abrams

Journal Publications

In an age of increasing interjurisdictional water conflict and water management concern, the list of accomplishments of the Boundary Water Treaty of 1909 (BWT), reached in a harmonious manner, raises the possibility that, perhaps, the management mechanisms of the BWT might beneficially be used in other contexts. This Article will take up that possibility in the context of three contemporary American interstate water allocation disputes. These disputes are (1) a relatively simple cross-border complaint by a downstream state, South Carolina, that North Carolina cities are using too much water of the Catawba River; (2) the basin-wide dispute regarding water use …

Diversity Matters: Aba Lpm Section Addresses Firm Management's Role, Joan R. M. Bullock

Journal Publications

Law firms must address the individual perceptions of their attorneys with respect to diversity issues so that everyone's contributions to the firm's mission and bottom line are acknowledged and valued.

Marybeth Peters Is Almost Right: An Alternative To Her Proposals To Reform The Compulsory License Scheme For Music, William Henslee

Journal Publications

Since Napster made mass digital downloads and online piracy available and accessible in June of 1999, the music industry has been under attack. Traditionally, record companies have received their revenue from phonorecord sales and use of the music in film, television, and advertisements. Performers have received their income from record companies based on a percentage of the sales income after the company has recouped its investment in the artist.

With the current technology and digital marketing available, all of the players in the music business believe that the revenue distribution models need to change but, to date, have been reluctant …

Amicus Curiae Brief In Support Of Petitioner, Service Vision Plan Inc. V. United States Case No. 08-164, Darryll K. Jones

Amicus Briefs

No abstract provided.

Massachusetts V. Epa And The Future Of Environmental Standing In Climate Change Litigation And Beyond, Randall S. Abate

Journal Publications

This Article focuses on the future scope of environmental standing after Massachusetts v. EPA. Injury in fact has been and remains the most controversial component of the environmental standing test within and outside the context of global environmental harms. Part I of this Article discusses the background context of environmental standing for global environmental harms and its corresponding origins in procedural and substantive injury claims in cases involving purely domestic environmental harms. Part II examines the landmark decision in Massachusetts v. EPA and considers how it confirms and extends standing jurisprudence for global environmental harms, yet fails to resolve some …

Climate Change And Freshwater Resources, Robert H. Abrams, Noah D. Hall, Bret B. Stuntz

Journal Publications

Earth's climate is warming. This is the unequivocal conclusion of climate scientists. Despite the complexities of climatology, certain consistent trends emerge with implications for water availability: as the world gets warmer, it will experience increased regional variability in precipitation, with more frequent heavy precipitation events and more susceptibility to drought. These simple facts will have a profound impact on freshwater resources throughout the United States, as the warmer climate will reduce available water supplies and increase water demand. Unfortunately, current water law and policy are not up to the new challenges of climate change and resulting pressures on freshwater resources. …

Settlement Of The Acf Controversy: Sisyphus At The Dawn Of The 21st Century, Robert H. Abrams

Journal Publications

The ancient Greek myth in which Sisyphus is condemned to perpetually roll a massive boulder up a hill only to have it fall back down now symbolizes repetitive, ultimately fruitless effort. The Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) basin rapidly has become the emblem of Sisyphean water conflict in the eastern United States. It has the potential to rival some of the West's long-running water disputes, although it will never challenge the Colorado River in that regard.

At the outset, it is important to recognize that there are many parties with an interest in the ACF basin. The most prominent in recent years are …

"Dirty Pretty Things" And The Law: Curing The Organ Shortage & Health Care Crises In America, Jennifer M. Smith

Journal Publications

There is an organ shortage crisis in the world, especially for kidneys and livers, resulting in approximately 6,000 deaths annually in the United States alone. There is also a health care crisis in the United States, with roughly sixteen percent of the population uninsured, resulting in approximately 18,000 deaths annually. In 1984, the National Organ Transplant Act ("NOTA') banned the acquisition of human organs in exchange for valuable consideration, primarily to prevent the exploitation of poor people--those who are most likely to sell their organs. Transplant professionals are increasingly pushing to legalize the outright sale of human organs from living …

Slipping Through The Cracks And Into Schools: The Need For A Uniform Sexual Predator Tracking System, Cheryl Page

Journal Publications

Over half a million registered sex offenders currently live in the United States. Sex offenses are among the most devastating crimes because of the long-lasting emotional, physical, and psychological effects it has on victims. Sadly, most victims of sex offenses are innocent children. "Most sex offenders are not in prison, and ... are largely unknown to people in the community." Sex offenders also have a propensity for reoffending their crimes. "While community supervision and oversight is widely recognized as essential, the system for providing such supervision is overwhelmed." There are many loopholes in the current system that allow sex offenders …

Non-Education In America: Gateway To Subsistence Living, Cheryl Page

Journal Publications

Dropout rates are the proverbial canary-in-the-coal-mine. If ever there was a predictor of poverty, discrimination, abuse, neglect, inability to parent-in short the suffering of an entire generation-it is the lack of experience and education we are affording our minority students. This lack of education is invariably accompanied by lack of not only opportunity, but sustainability. We have a potential generation of students unable to make their way through life independent of government support. The worst crime in a capitalist society is to leave an entire group without the skill set to compete. Perhaps the biggest hurdle to objectively identifying schools …

Money, Fear And Prejudice: Why The Courts Killed Terri Schiavo, Priscilla Norwood Harris

Journal Publications

On March 31, 2005, thirteen days after the court-ordered removal of her feeding tube, Theresa Marie Schindler Schiavo (Terri) died from dehydration. At the time of her death, Terri did not suffer from a terminal condition; if provided with nourishment, her life expectancy was at least ten years. Since February 1990, Terri had been unconscious. Terri left no living will or written directive as to her wishes. Family members vehemently disagreed as to whether Terri, raised in the Catholic faith, would have wanted her feeding tube removed. To legally end Terri's life, Florida law required the person petitioning for her …

Who Is A Terrorist - Drawing The Line Between Criminal Defendants And Military Enemies, Benjamin Priester

Journal Publications

The threat of terrorist attacks by al Qaeda and other transnational terrorist organizations is a constant topic of public discourse in the United States. Despite its prominence, the nature of that threat is notoriously difficult to define. On the one hand, terrorists might be compared to other kinds of organized, dangerous criminals who should be prosecuted and punished using the federal criminal law. On the other hand, terrorists might be compared to enemy soldiers engaged in warfare against the United States. There are problems with either approach, however, because the threat posed by al Qaeda and other transnational terrorist organizations …

The Inevitable Demise Of The Implied Employment Contract, Jonathan Fineman

Journal Publications

In this article, Professor Fineman argues that courts' decision in the early 1980s to apply implied contract doctrine to employment relationships did not have the intended results. Employers immediately began restructuring their employment documents, and eventually found a way to essentially avoid liability through careful drafting of personnel documents. Professor Fineman further argues that the failure of contract law was inevitable based on the limitations of contract theory. Finally, Professor Fineman suggests a method to more successfully enforce workplace norms by looking to broader-based norms prevalent in the industry or applicable to the type of job position at issue,

Third-Party Profit-Taking In Tax Exemption Jurisprudence, Darryll K. Jones

Journal Publications

Nothing is free, not even charity. In almost every case, a tax-exempt nonprofit organization must transact with profit-seekers to achieve the charitable goal for which the organization has been granted tax exemption. The organization will have to fund somebody's accession to wealth. It may be, for example, that a particular nonprofit organization need only hire one or two employees to deliver meals to elderly beneficiaries. Even in that circumstance, an organization must normally pay market rates for the labor necessary to achieve its charitable goal. Employees will profit; the law presumes as much, and we would be hard pressed to …

Automobile Emissions And Climate Change Impacts: Employing Public Nuisance Doctrine As Part Of A "Global Warming Solution" In California, Randall S. Abate

Journal Publications

The battle against climate change and its impacts in the United States must be waged on many fronts and requires many weapons. Until the federal government provides a comprehensive and mandatory legislative response to the climate change problem, gap-filling efforts such as regional, state, and local legislative initiatives and climate change litigation will be essential to achieve some progress in the ongoing challenge to combat the causes and effects of climate change. This Article focuses on one of those gap-filling efforts: public nuisance suits against power companies and automobile manufacturers for the climate change impacts caused by emissions from those …

Shattering And Moving Beyond The Gutenberg Paradigm: The Dawn Of The Electronic Will, Joseph Karl Grant

Journal Publications

Legislators in Nevada have already acted to modernize the law of wills. This Article advocates that other states follow their lead and depart from what is described as the "Gutenberg Paradigm" by adopting similar legislation and embracing electronic technology. Part One of this Article explores the history of print and the emergence of the "Gutenberg Paradigm." Part Two examines the history and policy underpinnings of will execution formalities, and the role of the "writing" requirement. Part Three explores the use of electronic wills as conforming and nonconforming testamentary instruments. Part Three, also, highlights some of the pitfalls and shortcomings of …

The Latino Lawful Permanent Resident Removal Cases: A Case Study Of Nicaragua And A Call For Fairness And Responsibility In The Administration Of U.S. Immigration Law, Maritza I. Reyes

Journal Publications

This Note aims to contribute to current dialogue by raising issues of fairness, responsibility, and human dignity that merit special consideration in any immigration reform proposal regarding the laws that apply to lawful permanent residents who have committed crimes. Part I analyzes the underlying motivation for the enactment of the immigration laws that were passed in 1996. Part II utilizes a case analysis of issues faced by deportees from Nicaragua to illustrate how the foreign policy of the United States affects the governments, economies, and migration trends of other countries. Parts III and IV borrow from the analysis in Part …

A Prairie Perspective On Global Warming And Climate Change: The Use Of Law, Technology, And Economics To Establish Private Sector Markets To Compliment Kyoto, Ronald C. Griffin

Journal Publications

We are in the midst of an environmental calamity that few perceive as grave. The climate is changing. Civilization is suffering. One person can do little to cope with these problems on a global scale. But farmers can do something about their farming operations to contribute less to climate change.

Today, two percent of the population feeds us. With mechanical advancements, new farm machinery, innovative practices, products, commodities, securities, and markets folk can do something to reward farmers for their efforts to slow the pace of climate change.