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Full-Text Articles in Law

“Rule Of Inclusion" Confusion, Dora Klein Jan 2021

“Rule Of Inclusion" Confusion, Dora Klein

Faculty Articles

Some rules of evidence are complex. The federal rules governing the admissibility of hearsay statements,' for example, include at least forty different provisions. Numerous judges and scholars have commented on the complexity of the hearsay rules. Not all rules of evidence are complex, however. For example, the federal rules governing the admissibility of character evidence are relatively straightforward: evidence that is offered for the purpose of proving character is inadmissible, subject to a few well-defined exceptions. Despite this relative straightforwardness, many of the federal circuit courts of appeals have overlaid the rules regarding character evidence particularly Rule 404(b)--with unnecessary interpretive …


Standards Of Legitimacy In Criminal Negotiations, Wesley Macneil Oliver, Rishi Batra Jan 2015

Standards Of Legitimacy In Criminal Negotiations, Wesley Macneil Oliver, Rishi Batra

Faculty Articles

Scholarship on negotiation theory and practice is rich and well developed. Almost no work has been done, however, to translate to the criminal context the lessons learned about negotiation from extensive empirical study using the disciplines of economics, game theory, and psychology. This Article suggests that defense lawyers in criminal negotiations can employ tools frequently useful to negotiators in other arenas: neutral criteria as a standard of legitimacy. Judges sometimes exercise a type of discretion analogous to prosecutorial discretion. When they do so, they offer an independent, reasoned, and publicly available assessment of the factors that a prosecutor ought to …


Developing Environmental Law For All Citizens, Patricia W. Moore, Eliana S. Pereira, Gillian Duggin Jan 2015

Developing Environmental Law For All Citizens, Patricia W. Moore, Eliana S. Pereira, Gillian Duggin

Faculty Articles

On 20 May 2002, Timor-Leste became a country. Its Constitution, which came into force on 20 May 2002, is based on civil law, with many similarities to Portugal's legal system. The Constitution also laid the foundation for environmental law, which the government has been developing ever since. This overview of the development of environmental law in Timor-Leste describes the constitutional provisions that are the source of environmental law in the country; presents the policy basis for environmental law; reviews the legal instruments governing the environment that the government has adopted since 2002; introduces draft laws under consideration at the end …


Judicial Participation In Plea Bargaining: A Dispute Resolution Perspective, Rishi Batra Jan 2015

Judicial Participation In Plea Bargaining: A Dispute Resolution Perspective, Rishi Batra

Faculty Articles

There is a common perception that judges do not or should not play a role in the criminal plea bargaining discussions between prosecutors and defense counsel. However, in many state jurisdictions, judicial participation is allowed or even encouraged by statute or by case law. This Article briefly summarizes some of the issues with the plea bargaining process, including how structural issues with the way defense counsel are appointed and compensated, along with the power of prosecutors, makes good representation for defendants less likely. By then performing a fifty-state survey of rules for judicial participation in plea bargaining, the Article explicates …


The Rule Of Law In China And The Prosecution Of Li Zhuang, Vincent R. Johnson, Stephen C. Loomis Jan 2013

The Rule Of Law In China And The Prosecution Of Li Zhuang, Vincent R. Johnson, Stephen C. Loomis

Faculty Articles

The rule of law is a philosophical concept, an ideal against which any legal system can be measured. Whether China adheres to the rule of law is critical not only to people in China but also to other nations that look to China for leadership. Serious questions can be raised about whether the recent Chongqing da hei fell short of compliance with the rule of law in the criminal law field. This article considers the Li Zhuang case from a comparative perspective rooted in legal principles that resonate cross-culturally. The article recounts the recent development of a new Chinese legal …


Empathy's White Elephant: Responding To The Subprime Mortgage Crisis Without Denigrating The Poor, Adam J. Macleod Jan 2011

Empathy's White Elephant: Responding To The Subprime Mortgage Crisis Without Denigrating The Poor, Adam J. Macleod

Faculty Articles

Empathy is the new coverture. Before state legislatures abolished it in the nineteenth century, the plea of coverture nullified any attempts by a married woman to exercise sovereignty over her property. Just as coverture did to married women, the now-well-known call for empathy in our nation's judgments threatens to deny poor borrowers, as a class, the freedom and responsibility to manage their assets. Empathy, as the ideal judge would employ it, would impede the agency of, and thus denigrate, persons within that class. The injustice (and ground for the ultimate abolition) of coverture arose from its failure to respect women …