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Jurisprudence

Legal History

Selected Works

Donald J. Kochan

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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Progression And Evolution Of International Law Scholarship Over The Past 50 Years: Some Quantitative Observations, Donald J. Kochan Dec 2015

The Progression And Evolution Of International Law Scholarship Over The Past 50 Years: Some Quantitative Observations, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

Debates have intensified in recent years about the utility of legal scholarship generally, and international law scholarship has not been immune from some specific, targeted scrutiny. Yet few fields of legal scholarship have a history like international law scholarship, where the courts and other authorities have identified scholars of international law as holding a special place of privilege and stature in the interpretation of international law. This essay examines the unique role of international law scholarship in the interpretation of international law by courts and other authorities. Furthermore, through various data compilations and the depictions of trends in more than …


Much Ado About Pluralities: Pride And Precedent Amidst The Cacophy Of Concurrences, And Re-Percolation After Rapanos, Donald J. Kochan, Melissa M. Berry, Matthew J. Parlow Dec 2007

Much Ado About Pluralities: Pride And Precedent Amidst The Cacophy Of Concurrences, And Re-Percolation After Rapanos, Donald J. Kochan, Melissa M. Berry, Matthew J. Parlow

Donald J. Kochan

Conflicts created by concurrences and pluralities in court decisions create confusion in law and lower court interpretation. Rule of law values require that individuals be able to identify controlling legal principles. That task is complicated when pluralities and concurrences contribute to the vagueness or uncertainty that leaves us wondering what the controlling rule is or attempting to predict what it will evolve to become. The rule of law is at least handicapped when continuity or confidence or confusion infuse our understanding of the applicable rules. This Article uses the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Rapanos v. United States to …