Law Commons^™

Rewarding Prosecutors For Performance, Stephanos Bibas

All Faculty Scholarship

Prosecutorial discretion is a problem that most scholars attack from the outside. Most scholars favor external institutional solutions, such as ex ante legislation or ex post judicial and bar review of individual cases of misconduct. At best these approaches can catch the very worst misconduct. They lack inside information and sustained oversight and cannot generate and enforce fine-grained rules to guide prosecutorial decisionmaking. The more promising alternative is to work within prosecutors' offices, to create incentives for good performance. This symposium essay explores a neglected toolbox that head prosecutors can use to influence line prosecutors: compensation and other rewards. Rewards …

The Truth About Torts: Rethinking Regulatory Preemption And Its Impact On Public Health, William Buzbee, William Funk, Thomas Mcgarity, Nina A. Mendelson, Sidney Shapiro, David Vladeck, Matthew Shudtz

Other Publications

As consumers, we assume that the automobiles, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and other products we purchase are generally safe for their intended uses. We rely on manufacturers to design and produce safe products, and we assume that federal regulators are conscientious watchdogs of the marketplace. In most instances, our assumptions are valid and we safely go about our lives. But the regulatory system is now frayed to the point that dangerous products sometimes slip through the cracks. Vioxx, Firestone/ATX tires, and toxics-laden children’s toys have endangered and harmed millions. In these cases, society depends on the state courts as a venue …

Improving The Odds Of Government Accountability In The Disaster-Prone Era: Using The 9/11 Fund Factors To Remedy The Problem Of Toxic Katrina Trailers, Olympia Duhart

Faculty Scholarship

This article analyzes the dangers surrounding the toxicity levels in the trailers issued to Katrina survivors by FEMA, and identifies serious medical complications stemming from the temporary homes. Lack of government oversight in the process led to the distribution of formaldehyde-laced trailers that cost the government more than $2 billion and continue to poison residents years after the storm. Furthermore, the failures connected to disaster relief are even more disturbing in this disaster-prone era. More importantly, this paper also proposes the creation of a Toxic Trailer Fund to compensate residents of toxic FEMA trailers. Using the factors implicitly established by …

Whether “Hedging” Anticipated Contingency Fees Should Be Deemed Impermissible Fee-Sharing Under Section 504 When The Policy Considerations Underlying The Statute Are Not Offended, David Bloom

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Although the Bankruptcy Code establishes a clear prohibition against the sharing of fees by persons receiving compensation or reimbursement under section 504, it is unclear whether bankruptcy attorneys may be permitted to enter into “hedging” arrangements in order to obtain downside protection against risks associated with appeal. Ultimately, what is needed to decide this issue is a determination of what constitutes “sharing” of compensation within the meaning of the Code. Recently, in In re Winstar Communications, Inc., 378 B.R. 756 (Bankr. D. Del. 2007), the bankruptcy court found no ambiguity in the statute, and gave the term “sharing” …

Implementing The New Ecosystem Services Mandate Of The Section 404 Compensatory Mitigation Program--A Catalyst For Advancing Science And Policy, J.B. Ruhl, James Salzman, Iris Goodman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

On April 10, 2008, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) jointly published final regulations defining standards and procedures for authorizing compensatory mitigation of impacts to aquatic resources the Corps permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (Section 404). Prior to the rule, the Section 404 compensatory mitigation program had been administered under a mish-mash of guidances, inter-agency memoranda, and other policy documents issued over the span of 17 years. A growing tide of policy and science scholarship criticized the program's administration as not accounting for the potential redistribution of ecosystem services that …