Jurisprudence Commons^™

The Second Time As Tragedy: The Assisted Suicide Cases And The Heritage Of Roe V. Wade, Seth F. Kreimer

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Unmasking Undue Influence, Ray D. Madoff

Ray D. Madoff

The substantial passage of wealth that occurs upon death in the United States each year brings into focus the tension between the belief that people should be able to dispose of their wealth as they wish and society’s interest in maintaining social stability. Nowhere is this tension more apparent than in the doctrine of undue influence. The dominant paradigm presents the undue influence doctrine as providing a double benefit of protecting freedom of testation as well as preventing overreaching by others. In this Article, the author challenges the dominant paradigm by demonstrating how the undue influence doctrine denies freedom of …

Relativism, Reflective Equilibrium, And Justice, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

THIS PAPER IS THE CO-WINNER OF THE FRED BERGER PRIZE IN PHILOSOPHY OF LAW FOR THE 1999 AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE BEST PUBLISHED PAPER IN THE PREVIOUS TWO YEARS.

The conflict between liberal legal theory and critical legal studies (CLS) is often framed as a matter of whether there is a theory of justice that the law should embody which all rational people could or must accept. In a divided society, the CLS critique of this view is overwhelming: there is no such justice that can command universal assent. But the liberal critique of CLS, that it degenerates into …

If It Can't Be Lake Woebegone...A Nationwide Survey Of Law School Grading And Grade Normalization Practices, Nancy Levit, Robert Downs

Nancy Levit

This article explores various methods of grade normalization used by law schools. Based on a survey of 116 responding ABA accredited law schools, 84% have some form of grade normalization policy, and the trend is toward adoption of grade normalization. The survey assessed the types of normalization plans (distributional requirements, required means, required medians, set standard deviations, and informal policies), as well as the reasons schools have adopted such plans. It also inquired about methods for ensuring faculty compliance as well as justifications for departures from grade norms.

The article considers and responds to the arguments against grade normalization and …

Once A Rapist? Motivational Evidence And Relevancy In Rape Law, Katharine K. Baker

Katharine K. Baker

Feminist scholars and activists have long sought to reform rape laws and evidence rules in order to increase the number of successful rape prosecutions in the United States. In partial response to these efforts, and in an effort to decrease crime, the 104th Congress amended the Federal Rules of Evidence by adding Rule 413, which makes prior acts of sexual assault by alleged rapists admissible in criminal sexual assault cases. The new Rule 413 was meant to level the legal playing field between rapists and their accusers. Professor Baker argues that the new Rule is misguided because it fails to …

Taking Care Of Our Daughters, A Book Review Of Martha Fineman, The Neutered Mother, The Sexual Family And Other Twentieth Century Tragedies, Katharine K. Baker

Katharine K. Baker

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of People, For Michigan Republic, Ex Rel V. State Of Michigan, 30 J. Marshall L. Rev. 937 (1997), Phillip A. Hendges

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ex Post Facto Laws: Supreme Court New York County People V. Griffin (Decided December 5, 1996

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reforming The Federal Criminal Code: A Top Ten List, Paul H. Robinson

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

From Black And White To High Definition Equal Protection, Seth F. Kreimer

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Protecting The Environment: Finding The Balance Between Delaney And Free Play, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr., Howard C. Kunreuther

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Anasazi Jurisprudence, John W. Ragsdale Jr

Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Franklin S. Spears: A Proud Legacy To Texas Jurisprudence In Memoriam., James L. Branton

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Justice Franklin S. Spears: A Son's Perspective On His Father In Memoriam., Carleton B. Spears

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Justice Franklin S. Spears: Unsung Hero Of Texas Justice In Memoriam., Thomas R. Phillips

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Of Ivory Columns And Glass Ceilings: The Impact Of The Supreme Court Of The United States On The Practice Of Women Attorneys In Law Firms Comment., Nancy L. Farrer

St. Mary's Law Journal

This Commentary examines the effect United States Supreme Court decisions on sex discrimination in the legal profession. Discrimination against women currently appears to be alive and well in the legal field. Decisions like Bradwell v. Illinois and In re Lockwood frustrated women attorneys for over a century, allowing states to determine women were unfit for occupations in areas like law. Hishon v. King & Spalding, and later, Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, applied Title VII protections to evaluations of potential law firm partners—a process previously closed and unassailable for most of the history of the legal profession. More recently, Harris v. …

The Interaction Of The Division Order And The Lease Royalty Clause., Laura H. Burney

St. Mary's Law Journal

Because lease royalty clauses, which establish the obligation of the lessee to pay royalties to the lessor, generally fail to include the details necessary to calculate a lessor’s royalty, lessee or third party purchasers historically have implemented a division order. An additional document in the payment process, the division order protects against a lessee or third party purchaser’s liability for conversion or failure to account properly. Recent court of appeals and Supreme Court of Texas opinions provide an analysis of the interaction of the lease royalty clause and the division order under Texas statutory and case law. The awkward wording …

Doing Justice: A Challenge For Catholic Law Schools Essay., Grace M. Walle

St. Mary's Law Journal

The numerous allegations of misconduct against high-ranking United States political figures and the associated attorneys are disheartening, but even more disconcerting is the general public’s acquiescence to these ethical deviations. The common assumption that “all lawyers are crooks” fails to outrage anyone. The fact most, if not all, recent ethical violators attended law schools and began their political careers as lawyers prompts questions of the legal education process. Understanding what justice encompasses may begin in books and the classroom, but justice in legal practice requires far more. The aspiration of “doing justice” may stem from religious belief, but this goal …

Defining The Limits Of Federal Court Jurisdiction Over States In Bankruptcy Court., Patricia L. Barsalou

St. Mary's Law Journal

Sovereign immunity jurisprudence has always been a confusing jumble of assumptions which seem incomprehensible. Despite the confusion, understanding sovereign immunity has become more important in the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida. The constitutional issues raised in Seminole Tribe amount to a reinterpretation of the fundamental balance of power between federal and state governments and the power of Congress to affect that balance. Not all sovereign immunity is sovereign immunity. Many courts use the term to identify both the common-law doctrine and the “immunity” granted to the states through the Eleventh …

The Food And Drug Administration's Final Rule On Tobacco Advertising Is All Butt Final: Commercial Speech Doctrine Will Be Tested Once More Under A Stricter Central Hudson Analysis In The Aftermath Of 44 Liquormart, Inc. V. Rhode Island Comment., Joe R. Hinojosa

St. Mary's Law Journal

In 1996 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) promulgated regulations affecting the advertising, sale, and promotion of tobacco. President Clinton supported the FDA’s claim it has the power to regulate tobacco products not as drugs, but as medical delivery devices of nicotine. Meaning tobacco sellers, retailer, distributors, and manufacturers would be subject to strict rules concerning how and where tobacco products may be advertised, distributed, and promoted. Despite the FDA’s claims, these measures were oriented toward discouraging children from smoking. Opponents of the regulations claim the restrictions constitute blatant infringement of commercial speech. The FDA argues that while advertising is …

The Prospects For Challenging U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy In Light Of The World Court's Advisory Opinion On The Legality Of The Threat Or Use Of Such Weapons Comment., Stephen Gordon

St. Mary's Law Journal

In an opinion, the World Court concluded “the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law,” the only exception being “in an extreme circumstance of self-defense, where survival of a State is at stake.” The Court’s opinion could read as prohibiting the most common ways the United States incorporated nuclear weapons into its defense strategy. First, it may prevent the United States from using such weapons again legally. Second, if the opinion does not render using nuclear weapons illegal in all circumstances, it might prohibit the United States from ever being the …

The Antiterrorism Act, The Immigration Reform Act, And Ideological Regulation In The Immigration Laws: Important Lessons For Citizens And Noncitizens., Kevin R. Johnson

St. Mary's Law Journal

This Article analyzes how the Antiterrorism Act and the Immigration Reform Act reflect a larger historical dynamic in the relationship between domestic subordination and immigration law. The U.S. government historically employed immigration laws in an effort to protect the established political and social order. History reveals a strong correlation between the severe treatment politically subversive U.S. citizens received and the constriction of the immigration laws. This Article argues the lack of constitutional protections for noncitizens helps to explain the recurrent backlash against them. The treatment of noncitizens suggests how far the government might go to suppress domestic political dissent by …

Immigration Reform: Seeking The Right Reasons., Lamar Smith, Edward R. Grant

St. Mary's Law Journal

The legacy of immigration to the United States permeates the debate over current immigration policy. Because our self-definition as a nation is at stake in this debate, the issue of immigration arouses our deepest sentiments regarding the communities in which we live. We do not need to search far back in our history to find examples of imprudent law-making. Both the 1924 and 1925 immigration laws were motivated in large part by purposes which eventually undermined the principles on which they rested. These acts serve as prime examples of how employing erroneous reasons to enact even well-intentioned laws can be …

Distinguishing Fong Yue Ting: Why The Inclusion Of Perjury As An Aggravated Felony Subjecting Legal Aliens To Deportation Under The Antiterrorism And Effective Death Penalty Act Violates The Eighth Amendment Comment., Gregory L. Ryan

St. Mary's Law Journal

Responding to the terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City, Congress spent several months researching and discussing the best ways to strengthen the United States’ ability to deter and punish terrorism. In 1996, Congress sent a bill to the President designed to make the country safer, and President Clinton signed the bill into law: The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). The AEDPA mandates a foreign national convicted of perjury be deported. Tucked away in the middle of the AEDPA, strict sanctions are imposed on noncitizens who commit perjury or subordination of perjury. In an attempt to strengthen the …

The Mutation Of Choice Recent Development., Kathleen A. Cassidy Goodman

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

A Tortured Construction: The Illegal Immigration Reform And Immigrant Responsibility Act's Express Bar Denying Criminal Aliens Withholding Of Deportation Defies The Principles Of International Law Comment., Bobbie Marie Guerra

St. Mary's Law Journal

The United States has never fully complied with international agreements concerning refugee’s rights to not be returned to a country where he or she faces certain threats of torture. This lack of compliance by the United States is exacerbated by two conflicting interests: the growing insistence on keeping aliens outside the nation’s borders and protecting international refugees who endure gross violations of their human rights. The recent amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provide a contemporary example of the volatility and inconsistency of the United States’ immigration policy. In April 1996, Congress enacted the Antiterrorism and Effective Death …

So Long Sweetheart - State Farm Fire & (And) Casualty Co. V. Gandy Swings The Pendulum Further To The Right As The Latest In A Line Of Setbacks For Texas Plaintiffs., Timothy D. Howell

St. Mary's Law Journal

Some legal commentators would analogize the description of the prisoner of The Pit and the Pendulum to modern tort law and policy. Like a pendulum, tort law is always in motion, swinging between two ideologies: those being the plaintiff-oriented rights of the 1970s-80s, and the tort-reforms which began in the mid-80s. This trend continued until the 1990s and the decision of State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Gandy where Texas plaintiffs began experiencing setbacks. The Gandy decision likely curtails the use of the “sweetheart deal” a practice, in which an insured defendant first settles with the plaintiff, then assigns …

Title Iii Of The Violence Against Women Act: The Answer To Domestic Violence Or A Constitutional Time-Bomb Comment., Yvette J. Mabbun

St. Mary's Law Journal

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) was enacted in 1994 to combat the growing and widespread epidemic of domestic violence. Congressional committees assigned to study this epidemic found that violent attacks by men topped the list of dangers to an American woman’s health. In an attempt to raise society’s awareness of the problem of violence against women and to ameliorate the victimization of women, Congress enacted VAWA. Specifically, Title III of VAWA establishes a federal civil right for victims of violent, gender-motivated crimes. These provide victims with either injunctive or monetary compensation. Consequently, there have been questions about the constitutionality …

Abandoned Frozen Embryos And Texas Law Of Abandoned Personal Property: Should There Be A Connection Comment., Lynne M. Thomas

St. Mary's Law Journal

In vitro fertilization (“IVF”) has become almost commonplace in society. The widespread utilization of IVF and cryopreservation raises new questions with respect to ownership and disposition of embryos. This legal confusion may be addressed by either crafting specific regulations for that particular technology as its implications become apparent, or by applying current law. IVF first began in Great Britain, and the British Parliament passed a law mandating destruction of abandoned frozen embryos five years after cryopreservation. Destruction of the embryos potentially caused the loss of reproduction capability for those persons whose embryos were destroyed. While the number of abandoned frozen …

Genetic Testing, Nature, And Trust, Anita L. Allen

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.