Law Commons^™

Legal Reform In Contemporary Japan, Eric Feldman

All Faculty Scholarship

In this chapter I offer a preliminary assessment of a quickly moving target—legal reform and its impact on rights in Japan. Although a broad consensus has emerged among interested parties that at least some degree of reform is desirable, there is significant disagreement about the goals of reform, and also about the likelihood that it will achieve certain objectives. Some commentators believe that the Japanese legal system is on the cusp of a “revolution” that will shore up long-neglected rights and create new entitlements. Others predict that the consequences of reform will be modest; and they despair that aggrieved individuals …

Policy Analysis For Natural Hazards: Some Cautionary Lessons From Environmental Policy Analysis, Matthew D. Adler

All Faculty Scholarship

How should agencies and legislatures evaluate possible policies to mitigate the impacts of earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and other natural hazards? In particular, should governmental bodies adopt the sorts of policy-analytic and risk assessment techniques that are widely used in the area of environmental hazards (chemical toxins and radiation)? Environmental hazards policy analysis regularly employs proxy tests, in particular tests of technological “feasibility,” rather than focusing on a policy’s impact on well-being. When human welfare does enter the analysis, particular aspects of well-being, such as health and safety, are often given priority over others. “Individual risk” tests and other features of …

Exploding The Class Action Agency Costs Myth: The Social Utility Of Entrepreneurial Lawyers, Myriam E. Gilles, Gary B. Friedman

Articles

In this article, we challenge the traditional view that entrepreneurial plaintiffs' class action lawyers operating entirely according to their own economic self-interest serve no social utility, or worse yet, tremendous disutility. In seeking to counter this notion, we try to show that the agency costs problem long derided in class action practice is overblown: in the majority of small-claims class actions, there is no legitimate reason to care whether class members are being undercompensated (or compensated at all), nor any reason to worry that entrepreneurial lawyers are being overcompensated. Rather, we assert that the driving force behind class action practice …

Notes On The Antiquities Act And Alaska, John Freemuth

Celebrating the Centennial of the Antiquities Act (October 9)

2 pages.

The Road To The Antiquities Act And Basic Preservation Policies It Established, Francis P. Mcmanamon

Celebrating the Centennial of the Antiquities Act (October 9)

3 pages.

Antiquities Act Monuments: The Elgin Marbles Of Our Public Lands?, James R. Rasband

Celebrating the Centennial of the Antiquities Act (October 9)

13 pages.

Includes bibliographical references

Agenda: Celebrating The Centennial Of The Antiquities Act, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, University Of Colorado Boulder. Center Of The American West

Celebrating the Centennial of the Antiquities Act (October 9)

For 100 years, the Antiquities Act has been used by nearly every President in the 20th century to set aside and protect lands threatened with privatization and development. The list of lands first protected under the Antiquities Act – and that might never have been protected without it – is truly remarkable. Many of our most treasured national parks including the Grand Canyon, Olympic, Zion, Arches, Glacier Bay, and Acadia, began as national monuments. All told, Presidents have issued 123 proclamations setting aside millions of acres of land under the Antiquities Act.

The Natural Resources Law Center and the Center …

Slides: The Monumental Legacy Of The Antiquities Act Of 1906: The Rainbow Bridge National Monument In Context, Mark Squillace

Celebrating the Centennial of the Antiquities Act (October 9)

Presenter: Professor Mark Squillace, Director, Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado School of Law

35 slides

Slides: The Centennial Of The Antiquities Act: A Cause For Celebration?, James R. Rasband

Celebrating the Centennial of the Antiquities Act (October 9)

Presenter: Professor James R. Rasband, Brigham Young University School of Law

20 slides

Use It Or Pretenders Will Abuse It: The Importance Of Archival Legal Information, Theodore Eisenberg

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Archival information about the legal system should inform policymaking. Despite claims of soaring civil damages awards, modem historical data show no to little growth in tort awards and no real growth in punitive damages awards. The data also show a dramatic forty-year decline in trial rates from more than ten percent of case dispositions to less than two percent. The decline needs to be explained in part by using archival data. Contrary to perceptions underlying the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005, little systematic evidence exists that state and federal courts process class actions significantly different. These results contradict the …

Why (Only) Esops?, Robert C. Hockett

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Fall 2006

Bill of Particulars

No abstract provided.

A Contractarian Argument Against The Death Penalty, Claire Oakes Finkelstein

All Faculty Scholarship

Opponents of the death penalty typically base their opposition on contingent features of its administration, arguing that the death penalty is applied discriminatory, that the innocent are sometimes executed, or that there is insufficient evidence of the death penalty’s deterrent efficacy. Implicit in these arguments is the suggestion that if these contingencies did not obtain, serious moral objections to the death penalty would be misplaced. In this Article, Professor Finkelstein argues that there are grounds for opposing the death penalty even in the absence of such contingent factors. She proceeds by arguing that neither of the two prevailing theories of …

A Diversity Theory Of Charitable Tax Exemption -- Beyond Efficiency, Through Critical Race Theory, Toward Diversity, David A. Brennen

Scholarly Works

Part I of the article presents Robin Paul Malloy's Law and Market Economy Theory (“LMT”) as an example of the basis for a normative explanation of the charitable tax exemption. LMT addresses the relationship among law, markets, and culture. Thus, using LMT, this part demonstrates how traditional law and economic analysis, premised on self-interest and wealth maximization, simply does not capture the essence of the many values that impact the marketplace and the market exchange process. Instead, LMT approaches legal analysis in a broader market context and is premised on the need to promote a process of sustainable wealth formation …

Minding The Gaps: Fairness, Welfare, And The Constitutive Structure Of Distributive Assessment, Robert C. Hockett

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

Despite over a century’s disputation and attendant opportunity for clarification, the field of inquiry now loosely labeled “welfare economics” (WE) remains surprisingly prone to foundational confusions. The same holds of work done by many practitioners of WE’s influential offshoot, normative “law and economics” (LE).

A conspicuous contemporary case of confusion turns up in recent discussion concerning “fairness versus welfare.” The very naming of this putative dispute signals a crude category error. “Welfare” denotes a proposed object of distribution. “Fairness” describes and appropriate pattern of distribution. Welfare itself is distributed fairly or unfairly. “Fairness versus welfare” is analytically on all fours …

Understanding The Influence Of Climate Forecasts On Farmer Decisions As Planned Behavior, Ikrom Artikov, Stacey Hoffman, Gary Lynne, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Q. Steven Hu, Alan Tomkins, Kenneth Hubbard, Michael Hayes, William J. Waltman

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

Results of a set of four regression models applied to recent survey data of farmers in eastern Nebraska suggest the causes that drive farmer intentions of using weather and climate information and forecasts in farming decisions. The model results quantify the relative importance of attitude, social norm, perceived behavioral control, and financial capability in explaining the influence of climate-conditions information and short-term and long-term forecasts on agronomic, crop insurance, and crop marketing decisions. Attitude, serving as a proxy for the utility gained from the use of such information, had the most profound positive influence on the outcome of all the …

Understanding Farmers’ Forecast Use From Their Beliefs, Values, Social Norms, And Perceived Obstacles, Qi Hu, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Gary Lynne, Alan Tomkins, William J. Waltman, Michael Hayes, Kenneth Hubbard, Ikrom Artikov, Stacey Hoffman, Donald A. Wilhite

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

Although the accuracy of weather and climate forecasts is continuously improving and new information retrieved from climate data is adding to the understanding of climate variation, use of the forecasts and climate information by farmers in farming decisions has changed little. This lack of change may result from knowledge barriers and psychological, social, and economic factors that undermine farmer motivation to use forecasts and climate information. According to the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the motivation to use forecasts may arise from personal attitudes, social norms, and perceived control or ability to use forecasts in specific decisions. These attributes are …

Christian Faith And Political Life: A Dialogue [With Jason Carter], J. Randy Beck

Scholarly Works

Several months before the 2004 presidential election, a seminar at the University of Georgia School of Law explored views of law and legal institutions reflected in various Christian theological traditions. The class included an unusually gifted group of students from a variety of theological and political backgrounds. One student brought a particularly unique and relevant set of experiences to the course. Jason Carter grew up as the grandson of Jimmy Carter, a former Democratic President who has often discussed the political implications of his Christian faith. Jason also observed first hand the interaction of Christian faith and political activity as …

8th Annual Open Government Summit: Access To Public Records Act & Open Meetings Act, 2006, Department Of Attorney General, State Of Rhode Island

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Abortion: Ensuring Access, Sanda Rodgers, Jocelyn Downie

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Access to reproductive health care is essential to women’s health, and for some women, abortion is a key component of that care. But not all women in Canada have adequate, or in some cases any, access to abortion. It is important for Canadian physicians to know the facts about access to abortion so that they can better protect and promote the health of their female patients.

The Future Of International Law Is Domestic (Or, The European Way Of Law), William W. Burke-White, Anne-Marie Slaughter

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Max Weber, Talcott Parsons And The Sociology Of Legal Reform: A Reassessment With Implications For Law And Development, Chantal Thomas

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Precious, Worthless, Or Immeasurable: The Value And Ethic Of Water, Gabriel Eckstein

Faculty Scholarship

This Article introduces and briefly explores some of the topics related to the value and ethics of water that were considered at the symposium, Precious, Worthless, or Immeasurable: The Value and Ethic of Water, which took place November 2-4, 2006, at the Texas Tech University School of Law. The purpose of the Symposium was to consider how this precious liquid is valued, assessed, and perceived with regard to law and regulations, economics and commerce, people and communities, culture and religion, and others aspects of society that are impacted by water. While far from a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter, …

The Place Of Competition In American Election Law, In The Marketplace Of Democracy, Nathaniel Persily

All Faculty Scholarship

This forthcoming book chapter defines the problem of diminished political competition, describes the relevant legal analogies concerning regulation of economic competition, and explains how the law shapes the competitive environment for elections. It also details how Supreme Court justices have sometimes tried to incorporate competitiveness concerns into their election law decisions in cases concerning ballot access, redistricting, campaign finance, party reform, and term limits. For the most part, constitutional law proves to be both a blunt and a coarse instrument for addressing excesses of partisan greed or self-interest, but justices of varying ideological leanings have invoked such concerns (usually in …

Cause Lawyering And Social Movements: Can Solo And Small Firm Practitioners Anchor Social Movements?, Brenda Bratton Blom

Faculty Scholarship

As the demand for affordable legal services grows, law schools and the legal profession struggle to respond. By examining lessons from successful social movements in the last century, Cause Lawyering and Social Movements: Can Solo and Small Firm Practitioners anchor Social Movements looks at the Law School Consortium Project and its potential to participate in and anchor the social movements of our time. The collaboration of the law schools, networks of solo and small firm attorneys and activists at the local, regional and national level provide key elements for powerful change given the technological developments of the 21st century.

Irish Legal System.Com; An Educational Game About The Irish Legal System, Peter Dee

Dissertations

The major project is about the design, development and implementation of an educational game which focuses on the Irish legal system. The written report describes how the idea for the game came about, how the project was managed and implemented, and how it works to provide the user with information about principal areas of law in Ireland. The project involved four phases across a fifteen week calendar schedule. Each phase was broken down into separate steps to enable easier management. Milestones were used to indicate progress and best practices were followed throughout each stage of the project. Research material and …

The Consciousness Of Religion And The Consciousness Of Law, With Some Implications For Dialogue, Howard Lesnick

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Spring 2006

Bill of Particulars

No abstract provided.

Prevalence Of Substantive Consolidation In Large Bankruptcies From 2000 To 2004: Preliminary Results, William H. Widen

Articles

No abstract provided.

What's Wrong With Being Creative And Aggressive?, W. Bradley Wendel

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

When I tell people that I am a law professor specializing in legal ethics, they usually have one of two reactions: “Legal ethics—that’s an oxymoron!” or “I bet you always have a lot to do.” The second reaction is the more interesting of the two, because it rightly implies that legal ethics is a fascinating field, in part because lawyers are always thinking of new ways to get into trouble. Many run-of-the-mill lawyer disciplinary cases involve simple wrongdoing, such as stealing from client funds, which does not present conceptually interesting issues. Contemporary high-profile legal ethics scandals, by contrast, are made …