Law Commons^™

From Oxford To Williamsburg: The Evolution Of Legal Education And Law Libraries Across The Pond, James S. Heller

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

In Memorium: Bernard Wolfman, Michael A. Fitts

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Line In The Sand: The Affair Between Henry Ii And Thomas Becket, Deana Perry

Deana Perry

No abstract provided.

Why Harlan Fiske Stone (Also) Matters, Eric H. Schepard

Eric H Schepard

Harlan Fiske Stone has been largely overlooked in the recent legal literature even though his legacy should influence how we resolve contemporary legal problems. This article examines Stone’s archived correspondence, his speeches and opinions, and numerous secondary sources to demonstrate why he is more important now than at any time since his death in 1946. As Attorney General from 1924-25, Stone’s decision to prohibit the Bureau of Investigation (BI, today’s FBI) from spying on domestic radicals established a framework that should guide the troublesome relationship between domestic intelligence and law enforcement that reemerged after September 11, 2001. As an Associate …

Bush V. Gore: The Worst (Or At Least Second-To-The-Worst) Supreme Court Decision Ever, Mark S. Brodin

Mark S. Brodin

In the stiff competition for worst Supreme Court decision ever, two candidates stand heads above the others for the simple reason that they precipitated actual fighting wars in their times. By holding that slaves, as mere chattels, could not sue in court and could never be American citizens, and further invalidating the Missouri Compromise, which had prohibited slavery in new territories, Dred Scott v. Sanford charted the course to secession and Civil War four years later. By disenfranchising Florida voters and thereby appointing popular-vote loser George W. Bush as President, Bush v. Gore set in motion events which would lead …

The Letter Of Richard Wyche: An Interrogation Narrative, Christopher G. Bradley

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

This is a translation, with introduction, of the Letter of Richard Wyche—one of only two heresy interrogation narratives from medieval England written from the perspective of the accused heretic.

The Letter is an autobiographical account of Richard Wyche’s interrogation, in 1402-1403, at the hands of church officials. Wyche originally composed the Letter in (Middle) English but it survives only in a Latin translation, alongside other forbidden texts in a manuscript now in Prague. Wyche wrote and covertly sent away this Letter to an audience of intimates sympathetic to the cause (the so-called Wycliffite or Lollard heresy) before his interrogations ended. …

Punishment's Justification, Jeffrey T. Renz

Jeffrey T Renz

Kant’s late 18th Century articulation of retribution and Bentham and Mill’s 19th Century theory of deterrence have survived as the chief justifications for punishing criminals. The two have always been in competition, despite some attempts (chiefly by John Rawls and H.L.A. Hart) to have one serve the other.

The debate between retributivists and utilitarians has recently taken on new life. See C. Flanders, Retribution and Reform, 70 Md. L. Rev. 8 (2010); D. Gray & J. Huber, Retributivism for Progressives: A Reply to Professor Flanders, 70 Md. L. Rev. 141 (2010); D. Markel, Bentham on Stilts: The Bare Relevance of …

The Oregon And California Railroad Grant Lands’ Sordid Past, Contentious Present, And Uncertain Future: A Century Of Conflict, Michael Blumm

Michael Blumm

This article examines the long, contentious history of the Oregon & California Land Grant that produced federal forest lands now managed by the Bureau of Land Management (“O&C lands”), including an analysis of how these lands re-vested to the federal government following decades of corruption and scandal, and the resulting congressional effort that created a management structure supporting local county governments through overharvesting the lands for a half-century. The article proceeds to trace the fate of O&C lands through the “spotted owl wars” of the 1990s, the ensuing Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP), the timber salvage rider of 1995, and the …

Federalist Or Friends Of Adams: The Marshall Court And Party Politics, Mark A. Graber

Mark Graber

No abstract provided.

Theorizing American Freedom (Reviewing Aziz Rana, The Two Faces Of American Freedom (2010)), Anthony O'Rourke

Book Reviews

This is a review essay of The Two Faces of American Freedom, by Aziz Rana. The book presents a new and provocative account of the relationship between ideas of freedom and the constitutional structure of American power. Through the nineteenth century, Rana argues, America’s constitutional structure was shaped by a racially exclusionary, yet economically robust, concept that he calls “settler freedom.” Drawing on the burgeoning interdisciplinary field of settler colonial studies, as well as on the vast historical literature on civic republicanism, Rana contends that the concept of settler freedom necessitated a constitutional framework that enabled rapid territorial expansion and …

The Great Onyx Cave Cases -- A Micro-History, Bruce Ziff

Bruce Ziff

Controversies surrounding property rights to the Great Onyx Cave in Kentucky have given rise to two legendary decisions with enduring legal importance. The first of these, Edwards v. Sims (1929), is a leading authority on the extent of ownership below the surface of land. The second, Edwards v. Lee's Administrator (1936), concerns the appropriate measure of damages for trespass. Stripped to essentials, the facts that led to these rulings are quite straightforward: E discovered a cave beneath his surface, which he developed into a thriving tourist attraction. However, it turns out that approximately one-third of the cave passes below, well …

Why Harlan Fiske Stone (Also) Matters, Eric H. Schepard

Eric H Schepard

Harlan Fiske Stone has been largely overlooked in the recent legal literature even though his legacy should influence how we resolve contemporary legal problems. This article examines Stone’s archived correspondence, his speeches and opinions, and numerous secondary sources to demonstrate why he is more important now than at any time since his death in 1946. As Attorney General from 1924-25, Stone’s decision to prohibit the Bureau of Investigation (BI, today’s FBI) from spying on domestic radicals established a framework that should guide the troublesome relationship between domestic intelligence and law enforcement that reemerged after September 11, 2001. As an Associate …

Justice John Marshall Harlan I, Richard Maloy

Richard Maloy

No abstract provided.

Why Harlan Fiske Stone (Also) Matters, Eric H. Schepard

Eric H Schepard

Harlan Fiske Stone has been largely overlooked in the recent legal literature even though his legacy should influence how we resolve contemporary legal problems. This article examines Stone’s archived correspondence, his speeches and opinions, and numerous secondary sources to demonstrate why he is more important now than at any time since his death in 1946. As Attorney General from 1924-25, Stone’s decision to prohibit the Bureau of Investigation (BI, today’s FBI) from spying on domestic radicals established a framework that should guide the troublesome relationship between domestic intelligence and law enforcement that reemerged after September 11, 2001. As an Associate …

Why Harlan Fiske Stone (Also) Matters, Eric H. Schepard

Eric H Schepard

Harlan Fiske Stone has been largely overlooked in the recent legal literature even though his legacy should influence how we resolve contemporary legal problems. This article examines Stone’s archived correspondence, his speeches and opinions, and numerous secondary sources to demonstrate why he is more important now than at any time since his death in 1946. As Attorney General from 1924-25, Stone’s decision to prohibit the Bureau of Investigation (BI, today’s FBI) from spying on domestic radicals established a framework that should guide the troublesome relationship between domestic intelligence and law enforcement that reemerged after September 11, 2001. As an Associate …

Circumventing The Electoral College: Why The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact Survives Constitutional Scrutiny Under The Compact Clause, Michael Brody

Michael Brody

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVC) presents an emerging legal issue that straddles the line between political science and law. The NPVC is an interstate compact in which member states will allocate all of their electoral votes to the winner of the national vote, as opposed to the traditional state vote. The bill would not be effective until states possessing a majority of the nation's electoral votes (270) have become members. If enacted by enough states, the NPVC would all but put an end to the Electoral College, and the United States would essentially move to a direct national …

Why Harlan Fiske Stone (Also) Matters, Eric H. Schepard

Eric H Schepard

Harlan Fiske Stone has been largely overlooked in the recent legal literature even though his legacy should influence how we resolve contemporary legal problems. This article examines Stone’s archived correspondence, his speeches and opinions, and numerous secondary sources to demonstrate why he is more important now than at any time since his death in 1946. As Attorney General from 1924-25, Stone’s decision to prohibit the Bureau of Investigation (BI, today’s FBI) from spying on domestic radicals established a framework that should guide the troublesome relationship between domestic intelligence and law enforcement that reemerged after September 11, 2001. As an Associate …

Why Harlan Fiske Stone (Also) Matters, Eric H. Schepard

Eric H Schepard

Harlan Fiske Stone has been largely overlooked in the recent legal literature even though his legacy should influence how we resolve contemporary legal problems. This article examines Stone’s archived correspondence, his speeches and opinions, and numerous secondary sources to demonstrate why he is more important now than at any time since his death in 1946. As Attorney General from 1924-25, Stone’s decision to prohibit the Bureau of Investigation (BI, today’s FBI) from spying on domestic radicals established a framework that should guide the troublesome relationship between domestic intelligence and law enforcement that reemerged after September 11, 2001. As an Associate …

Why Harlan Fiske Stone (Also) Matters, Eric H. Schepard

Eric H Schepard

Harlan Fiske Stone has been largely overlooked in the recent legal literature even though his legacy should influence how we resolve contemporary legal problems. This article examines Stone’s archived correspondence, his speeches and opinions, and numerous secondary sources to demonstrate why he is more important now than at any time since his death in 1946. As Attorney General from 1924-25, Stone’s decision to prohibit the Bureau of Investigation (BI, today’s FBI) from spying on domestic radicals established a framework that should guide the troublesome relationship between domestic intelligence and law enforcement that reemerged after September 11, 2001. As an Associate …

Reconstruction And Empire: Legacies Of The U.S. Civil War And Puerto Rican Struggles For Home Rule, 1898-1917, Sam Erman

Sam Erman

The Civil War and U.S. Empire transformed U.S. relationships among race, law, and constitutionalism in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Traditional accounts portray these events as iterative, with Republicans and the Supreme Court abandoning ideals of Reconstruction just in time for the United States – through annexation from Spain of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines – to take a deliberate imperial turn in 1898-1899. That account is wrong. As recent scholarship has anticipated, debates over meanings of the Civil War, the early postbellum period, and the Reconstruction Amendments to the Constitution raged on into the 20th century. Puerto Rican …

Why Harlan Fiske Stone (Also) Matters, Eric H. Schepard

Eric H Schepard

Harlan Fiske Stone has been largely overlooked in the recent legal literature even though his legacy should influence how we resolve contemporary legal problems. This article examines Stone’s archived correspondence, his speeches and opinions, and numerous secondary sources to demonstrate why he is more important now than at any time since his death in 1946. As Attorney General from 1924-25, Stone’s decision to prohibit the Bureau of Investigation (BI, today’s FBI) from spying on domestic radicals established a framework that should guide the troublesome relationship between domestic intelligence and law enforcement that reemerged after September 11, 2001. As an Associate …

Why Harlan Fiske Stone (Also) Matters, Eric H. Schepard

Eric H Schepard

Harlan Fiske Stone has been largely overlooked in the recent legal literature even though his legacy should influence how we resolve contemporary legal problems. This article examines Stone’s archived correspondence, his speeches and opinions, and numerous secondary sources to demonstrate why he is more important now than at any time since his death in 1946. As Attorney General from 1924-25, Stone’s decision to prohibit the Bureau of Investigation (BI, today’s FBI) from spying on domestic radicals established a framework that should guide the troublesome relationship between domestic intelligence and law enforcement that reemerged after September 11, 2001. As an Associate …

Why Harlan Fiske Stone (Also) Matters, Eric H. Schepard

Eric H Schepard

Harlan Fiske Stone has been largely overlooked in the recent legal literature even though his legacy should influence how we resolve contemporary legal problems. This article examines Stone’s archived correspondence, his speeches and opinions, and numerous secondary sources to demonstrate why he is more important now than at any time since his death in 1946. As Attorney General from 1924-25, Stone’s decision to prohibit the Bureau of Investigation (BI, today’s FBI) from spying on domestic radicals established a framework that should guide the troublesome relationship between domestic intelligence and law enforcement that reemerged after September 11, 2001. As an Associate …

Why Harlan Fiske Stone (Also) Matters, Eric H. Schepard

Eric H Schepard

This article argues that Harlan Fiske Stone has been largely overlooked in the recent legal literature even though his legacy should influence how we resolve contemporary legal problems. It examines Stone’s archived correspondence, his speeches and opinions, and numerous secondary sources to demonstrate why he is more important now than at any time since his death in 1946. As Attorney General from 1924-25, Stone’s decision to prohibit the Bureau of Investigation (BI, today’s FBI) from spying on domestic radicals established a framework that should guide the troublesome relationship between domestic intelligence and law enforcement that reemerged after September 11, 2001. …

Peirce And The Law: A New Hypothesis, Geoffrey Metcalf Turley

Geoffrey Turley

This article suggests that lawmaking should be informed by philosopher Charles Peirce's formulation of the scientific method. It tracks the development of Peirce's method into a specific, three step process: hypothesis, in which we suggest a general rule that would explain an observed phenomenon; deduction, in which we determine what real world consequents we expect to follow if our hypothesis is correct; and induction, in which we conduct experiments to see if those consequents do indeed occur. The article suggests that lawmaking should more strictly apply this method, using the legislature to make statutes that predict how the law should …

Breakthrough Science And The New Rehabilitation, Meghan J. Ryan

Meghan J. Ryan

Breakthroughs in pharmacology, genetics, and neuroscience are transforming how society views criminals and thus how society should respond to criminal behavior. Although the criminal law has long been based on notions of culpability, science is undercutting the assumption that offenders are actually responsible for their criminal actions. Further, scientific advances have suggested that criminals can be changed at the biochemical level. The public has become well aware of these advances largely due to pervasive media reporting on these issues and also as a result of the pharmaceutical industry’s incessant advertising of products designed to transform individuals by treating everything from …

Outing-- And Ousting-- The "Hidden" Hyde: Toward Repeal And Replacement Of The Hyde Amendment, Rebecca Stewart

Rebecca K Stewart

Poorly crafted statutes have always created interpretive quandaries for judges and litigants, and these problems naturally tend to be exacerbated when substantive legislation is passed as a result of less than substantive legislative processes, such as through limitations riders to appropriations bills. However, these issues become vastly more troublesome when Congress intentionally subverts measures intended to restrain such processes. This Article examines the passage of one such rider, commonly known as the Hyde Amendment, exploring its origins and curious subtextual codification, and analyzing its life in the federal courts over more than a dozen years.

The Article argues that early …

Dormancy Versus Innovation: A Next Generation Dormant Commerce Clause, Sam Kalen

Sam Kalen Mr.

The vitality of the dormant commerce clause is becoming increasingly suspect. Modern academic commentary questions the Supreme Court’s rationale for this negative aspect of the Commerce Clause. Yet the emphasis of the scholarship overlooks how our society has changed dramatically since the Court developed its present analysis, and it is the analysis perhaps more than the rationale that is bankrupt. The analysis the Court employs under the clause is cabining innovate state and local programs, such as responses to climate change. The article, therefore, traces the dynamic nature of the dormant commerce clause, how its modern formulation ignores societal changes …

The Emerging Restrictions Of Sovereign Immunity: Premptory Norms Of International Law, The Un Charter, And The Application Of Modern Communications Theory, Winston P. Nagan

Winston P Nagan

The article is titled The Emerging Restrictions on Sovereign Immunity: Peremptory Norms of International Law, the UN Charter, and the Application of Modern Communications Theory. The article provides a fresh re-examination of the conceptual foundations of the sovereign immunity doctrine in the light of the changing character of sovereignty itself. This is done in the context of the changing expectations in international law generated by the UN Charter, and the development of human rights and humanitarian law. The article applies the innovative communications theories generated by the New Haven School to provide a more realistic and relevant approach to the …

Classical Contract Law, Past And Present, Anat Rosenberg

Anat Rosenberg

This paper synthesizes and refocuses a wide range of histories of nineteenth-century contract law. It uncovers an inadvertent consensus among historians: despite significant controversies engaging rival historical schools of contract law, it is almost universally agreed that nineteenth-century law embodied an elaborate version of individualism; that the alternatives to its individualism were status and collectivism — but they functioned as external critiques and so left contract's conceptual link with individualism intact; and that the individualism grounded in contract law was in keeping with broad cultural mores. The consensus effectively entrenches a questionable historical artifact: the idea of a single meaning …