Law Commons^™

Social Media Accountability For Terrorist Propaganda, Alexander Tsesis

Faculty Publications & Other Works

Terrorist organizations have found social media websites to be invaluable for disseminating ideology, recruiting terrorists, and planning operations. National and international leaders have repeatedly pointed out the dangers terrorists pose to ordinary people and state institutions. In the United States, the federal Communications Decency Act's § 230 provides social networking websites with immunity against civil law suits. Litigants have therefore been unsuccessful in obtaining redress against internet companies who host or disseminate third-party terrorist content. This Article demonstrates that § 230 does not bar private parties from recovery if they can prove that a social media company had received complaints …

The Variation In The Use Of Sub-Regional Integration Courts Between Business And Human Rights Actors: The Case Of The East African Court Of Justice, James T. Gathii

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No abstract provided.

90th Anniversary Of Women Law Graduates, Thomas M. Haney

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No abstract provided.

An Active Learning Approach To Teaching Tough Topics: Personal Jurisdiction As An Example, Cynthia M. Ho

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No abstract provided.

Customary International Law, The Separation Of Powers, And The Choice Of Law In Armed Conflicts And Wars, John C. Dehn

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After over fourteen years of continuous armed conflict, neither courts nor commentators are closer to a common understanding of how, or the extent to which, international and U.S. law interact to regulate acts of belligerency by the United States. This Article articulates and defends the first normative theory regarding the general relationship of customary international law to the U.S. legal system that fully harmonizes Supreme Court precedent. It then applies this theory to customary international laws of war to articulate the legal framework regulating the armed conflicts of the United States. It demonstrates that the relationship of customary international law …

Foster Care Reentry Laws: Mending The Safety Net For Emerging Adults In The Transition To Independence, Bruce A. Boyer

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While state child welfare agencies are notoriously bad parents, for some youth they remain the best available option. This is particularly true for older youth who have no other viable choice for permanency, and who must therefore aim toward achieving independence as graduates from the foster care system. Because of the many challenges facing youth exiting foster care to independence, most states now permit youth to receive continuing foster care services and supports beyond 18, and in many cases up to 21. Frequently, however, the goal of extending time in care for older youth is impacted by the opposition of …

Modernizing Informed Consent: Expanding The Boundaries Of Materiality, Nadia N. Sawicki

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Informed consent law’s emphasis on the disclosure of purely medical information – such as diagnosis, prognosis, and the risks and benefits of various treatment alternatives – does not accurately reflect modern understandings of how patients make medical decisions. Existing common law disclosure duties fail to capture a variety of non-medical factors relevant to patients, including information about the physician’s personal characteristics; the cost of treatment; the social implications of various health care interventions; and the legal consequences associated with diagnosis and treatment. Although there is a wealth of literature analyzing the merits of such disclosures in a few narrow contexts, …

Bending The Curve: Reflections On A Decade Of Illinois Juvenile Justice Reform, Diane C. Geraghty

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No abstract provided.

Dear I.R.S., It Is Time To Enforce The Campaigning Prohibition. Even Against Churches, Samuel Brunson

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In 1954, Congress prohibited tax-exempt public charities, including churches, from endorsing or opposing candidates for office. To the extent a tax-exempt public charity violated this prohibition, it would no longer qualify as tax-exempt, and the IRS was to revoke its exemption.

While simple in theory, in practice, the IRS rarely penalizes churches that violate the campaigning prohibition and virtually never revokes a church's tax exemption. And, because no taxpayer has standing to challenge the IRS's inaction, the IRS has no external imperative to revoke the exemptions of churches that do campaign on behalf of or against candidates for office.

This …

Taxing Utopia, Samuel Brunson

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Nineteenth-century American religious movements challenged many aspects of American society. Although their challenges to mainstream America's vision of sex and marriage remain the best-known aspects of many of these groups, their challenges to traditional American economics are just as important. Eschewing individual ownership of property, many of these new Christian movements followed the New Testament model of a body of believers that held all property in common.

In the early twentieth century, these religious communal groups had to contend with something new: an income tax. Communalism did not fit into the individualistic economic system envisioned b-y the drafters of the …

Ip Litigation In United States District Courts: 1994 To 2014, Matthew Sag

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This Article undertakes a broad-based empirical review of intellectual property (“IP”) litigation in U.S. federal district courts from 1994 to 2014. Unlike the prior literature, this study analyzes federal copyright, patent, and trademark litigation trends as a unified whole. It undertakes a systematic analysis of the records of more than 190,000 cases filed in federal courts and examines the subject matter, geographical, and temporal variation within federal IP litigation over the last two decades.

This Article analyzes changes in the distribution of IP litigation over time and their regional distribution. The key findings of this Article stem from an attempt …

Strength In Intellectual Property Protection And Foreign Direct Investment Flows In Least Developed Countries, James T. Gathii

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No abstract provided.

Informed Consent As Compelled Professional Speech: Fictions, Facts, And Open Questions, Nadia N. Sawicki

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No abstract provided.

Saving The Serengeti: Africa's New International Judicial Environmentalism, James T. Gathii

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This Article analyzes recent environmental law decisions of Africa's fledgling international courts. In 2014, for example, the East African Court of Justice stopped the government of Tanzania from building a road across Serengeti National Park because of its potential adverse environmental impacts. Decisions like these have inaugurated a new era of enhanced environmental judicial protection in Africa. This expansion into environmental law decision-making by Africa's international trade courts contrasts with other international courts that are designed to specialize on one issue area such as human rights or international trade, but not both. By contrast, Africa's international courts are simultaneously pushing …

The Declaration Of Independence As Introduction To The Constitution, Alexander Tsesis

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No abstract provided.

A Collision Course Between Trips Flexibilities And Investor-State Proceedings, Cynthia M. Ho

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This Article discusses an important, yet understudied threat to patent, as well as other intellectual property sovereignty under TRIPS: pending and potential challenges by companies under international agreements protecting investments. Although such agreements have existed for decades, Philip Morris and Eli Lilly are blazing a new path for companies to sue countries they claim interfere with their intellectual property rights through so-called investor-state arbitrations. These suits seek hundreds of millions in compensation and even injunctive relief for alleged violations of internationally agreed intellectual property norms. The suits fundamentally challenge TRIPS flexibilities at the very time the Declaration on Patent Protection …

Ethical Limitations On The State's Use Of Arational Persuasion, Nadia N. Sawicki

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Policymakers frequently use arational appeals – such as those relying on emotion, cognitive biases, and subliminal messaging – to persuade citizens to adopt behaviors that support public goals. However, these communication tactics have been widely criticized for relying on arational triggers, rather than reasoned argument. This Article develops a fuller account of the non-consequentialist objections to arational persuasion by state actors, as well as the arguments in favor of such tactics, that have been presented by scholars of rhetoric, political theory, and cognitive science. The Article concludes by proposing ethically justifiable limitations on state communications that should be compelling to …

Diversifying To Mitigate Risk: Can Dodd–Frank Section 342 Help Stabilize The Financial Sector?, Steven A. Ramirez, Kristin N. Johnson, Cary Martin Shelby

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No abstract provided.

Developing Prevention-Oriented Discipline Codes Of Conduct, Miranda Johnson, Pamela A. Fenning

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No abstract provided.

The Declaration Of Independence And Constitutional Interpretation, Alexander Tsesis

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This Article argues that the Reconstruction Amendments incorporated the human dignity values of the Declaration of Independence. The original Constitution contained clauses, which protected the institution of slavery, that were irreconcilable with the normative commitments the nation had undertaken at independence. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments set the country aright by formally incorporating the Declaration of Independence's principles for representative governance into the Constitution.

The Declaration of Independence provides valuable insights into matters of human dignity, privacy, and self-government. Its statements about human rights, equality, and popular sovereignty establish a foundational rule of interpretation. While the Supreme Court has …

Balancing Free Speech, Alexander Tsesis

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This article develops a theory for balancing free speech against other express and implied constitutional, statutory, and doctrinal values. It posits that free speech considerations should be connected to the underlying purpose of constitutional governance. When deciding difficult cases involving competing rights, judges should examine (1) whether unencumbered expression is likely to cause constitutional, statutory, or common law harms; (2) whether the restricted expression has been historically or traditionally protected; (3) whether a government policy designed to benefit the general welfare weighs in favor of the regulation; (4) the fit between the disputed speech regulation and the public end; and …

Just Listening: The Equal Hearing Principle And The Moral Life Of Judges, Barry Sullivan

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No abstract provided.

Multifactoral Free Speech, Alexander Tsesis

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This Article presents a multifactoral approach to free speech analysis. Difficult cases present a variety of challenges that require judges to weigh concerns for the protection of robust dialogue, especially about public issues, against concerns that sound in common law (such as reputation), statutory law (such as repose against harassment), and in constitutional law (such as copyright). Even when speech is implicated, the Court should aim to resolve other relevant individual and social issues arising from litigation. Focusing only on free speech categories is likely to discount substantial, and sometimes compelling, social concerns warranting reflection, analysis, and application. Examining the …

A Profile Of Bio-Pharma Consolidation Activity, Jordan Paradise

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No abstract provided.