Law Commons^™

Uncertainty And Loss In The Free Speech Rights Of Public Employees Under Garcetti V. Ceballos, Sarah F. Suma

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Resolving a circuit split, the Supreme Court declared in Garcetti v. Ceballos that the First Amendment does not protect speech made pursuant to a public employee's work duties, regardless of whether the speech relates to a matter of public concern or the government's restrictions are justifiable. This article argues that a bright line rule eliminating First Amendment protection for job-duty speech is inconsistent with the theories underlying free speech protection. Further, this article explores practical drawbacks to Garcetti's bright-line rule, including inconsistent judicial determination of the scope of job duties, a disincentive to report government abuse through one's chain-of-command, …

To Disclose Or Not To Disclose: Duty Of Candor Obligations Of The United States And Foreign Patent Offices, Gina M. Bicknell

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Many patent offices around the world have rigorous prior art disclosure requirements. U.S. patent applicants not only must meet each individual country's criteria for disclosure, but also must contend with allegations of inequitable conduct from patent infringers which may render their patents unenforceable. This article argues that the new prior art disclosure rules promulgated by the USPTO unfairly shift the burden of examining patent applications onto patent applicants, and create a situation ripe for allegations of inequitable conduct. This article also examines how other countries handle disclosure obligations, and recommends several alternative systems that would meet the USPTO's objectives of …

The Color Of Brazil: Law, Ethnic Fragmentation, And Economic Growth, Tade O. Okediji

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The influence of ethnic fragmentation on economic performance has been the subject of much scholarly inquiry in economics and political economics literature. Studies have shown that ethnic fragmentation has a distinct impact on the prospects for economic growth through its effect on government policies and in particular macroeconomic stabilization strategies. It has also become relevant in legal scholarship, especially with regard to developing antidiscrimination laws to ameliorate incessant conflict in plural societies. Accurate measurements of the scale or degree of ethnic fragmentation are important for determining sustainable economic development policies and legal policies for overall development planning. The multiple, complex, …

Corporate Social Responsibility: The Role Of Law And Markets And The Case Of Developing Countries, Antonio Vives

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In order for the corporation to engage in responsible practices, many obstacles must be overcome. One such obstacle is the belief of many managers that the corporation would be violating its fiduciary responsibility if it engaged in activities that go beyond what is required by the law. Another obstacle is that many of those practices have a real cost but are perceived not to have a corresponding tangible benefit. The article discusses and dismisses these perceived obstacles and argues that it is both through law and the workings of the market that responsible behavior can enhance society's welfare. It is …

Order Without (Enforceable) Law: Why Countries Enter Into Non-Enforceable Competition Policy Chapters In Free Trade Agreements, D. Daniel Sokol

Chicago-Kent Law Review

There has been an explosion in the past ten to fifteen years of bilateral and regional free trade agreements in Latin America (together, preferential free trade agreements or PTAs). The purpose of PTAs is to increase trade, regulatory, and investment liberalization. As trade liberalization requires more than just a reduction of tariffs, PTAs include "chapters" in a number of areas of domestic regulation. These chapters that address domestic regulation create binding commitments to liberalize domestic regulation that may impact foreign trade. Among chapters that address domestic regulation, many of the Latin American PTAs include a chapter on antitrust or competition …

The Future Of The Economic Analysis Of Law In Latin America: A Proposal For Model Codes, Juan Javier Del Granado, M. C. Mirow

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Nothing excites civilian lawyers and judges more than commissions for codification. Codification is more than an academic enterprise. Codification projects directly cut across the interface between law and life. ALACDE intends to harness this Latin American interest in codification to bring the economic approach to Latin America. A new-generation law and economics civil and commercial code will be a conscious project to restate Roman law's usefulness for coping with today's problems. Through law and economics, Roman law will renew itself. As a paradigmatic private-law system, Roman law is eminently amenable to a state-of-the-art fusion with law and economics. Sensitivity to …

What Is The Point Of International Criminal Justice?, Mirjan Damaška

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The first part of the article discusses the goals international criminal courts have set for themselves. The author believes that these goals are too numerous, that they are often in conflict, and that the courts are not well suited for the achievement of some of them. This situation generates disparity between the courts' aspiration and achievement, a degree of disorientation, and difficulty in assessing the courts' performance. Disillusionment stemming from unfulfilled expectations, and inconsistencies springing from disorientation, are harmful to any system of justice, and especially to international criminal courts whose legitimacy is still fragile.

In the second part of …

Ex-Post-Booker: Retroactive Application Of Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Christine M. Zievel

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In United States v. Booker, a dramatic decision handed down in early 2005, the Supreme Court attempted to cure Sixth Amendment issues by excising the mandatory provisions of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and changing the binding role of the Guidelines to advisory. For close to twenty years, federal circuit courts had used the Ex Post Facto Clause to prohibit sentencing judges from retroactively applying revisions of the federal Guidelines. However, after Booker's advisory mandate and the Guidelines' supposed loss of force in sentencing decisions, some circuits have now found that the same retroactive application no longer violates the …