Law Commons^™

The Irrepressible Myth Of Klein, Howard M. Wasserman

Faculty Publications

The Reconstruction-era case of United States v. Klein remains the object of a “cult” among commentators and advocates, who see it as a powerful separation of powers precedent. In fact, Klein is a myth—actually two related myths. One is that it is opaque and meaninglessly indeterminate because, given its confusing and disjointed language, its precise doctrinal contours are indecipherable; the other is that Klein is vigorous precedent, likely to be used by a court to invalidate likely federal legislation. Close analysis of Klein, its progeny, and past scholarship uncovers three identifiable core limitations on congressional control over the workings of …

Putting The Community Back Into The ‘Community Benefit’ Standard, Jessica Wilen Berg

Faculty Publications

The responsibility of hospitals to provide charity care raises fundamental questions about the structure of the United States' health care system. There has been little concrete effort to reassess the obligations of hospitals. This Article seeks to fill that gap by proposing a novel framework for analyzing hospitals' community obligations. This new framework challenges traditional notions of individual charity care and provides a normative basis for encouraging a shift toward public health benefits.

Property And The Public Forum: An Essay On Christian Legal Society V. Martinez, B. Jessie Hill

Faculty Publications

Christian Legal Society v. Martinez is situated at the intersection of various, and arguably conflicting, lines of doctrine. In ultimately holding that the Hastings College of Law could decline to recognize the student chapter of the Christian Legal Society due to the group’s refusal to accept members who did not conform their beliefs and conduct to the principles of CLS (particularly regarding homosexuality),the Supreme Court was required to sort through a tangle of precedents involving free speech limitations in nonpublic for a, religious groups’ rights of equal access to school facilities, and freedom of expressive association.

Perhaps less obviously, however, …

Legal Forms And The Common Law Of Patents, Craig Allen Nard

Faculty Publications

The question of institutional choice is important in all areas of the law, but particularly in the context of patent law with its divergent stakeholders, decentralized variance among industries regarding how the patent system is viewed and relied upon, and a persistent focus on reform in recent years. For over two hundred years, the courts have been the dominant force in the development of patent law. It should therefore come as no surprise to learn that a significant portion of American patent law, including some of the most important and controversial patent law doctrines, is either built upon judicial interpretation …

Fiqh And Canons: Reflections On Islamic And Christian Jurisprudence, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

Although American scholarship has begun to address both Christian and Islamic jurisprudence in a serious way, virtually none of the literature attempts to compare the place of law in these two world religions. This Essay begins to compare Islamic and Christian conceptions of law and suggests some implications for contemporary debates about religious dispute settlement. Islam and Christianity are subtle and complex religions. Each has competing strands; each has evolved over millennia and expressed itself differently over time. Moreover, although systematic treatments of Islamic law are beginning to appear in English, much remains available only in languages, like Arabic, that …