Law and Society Commons^™

American Voter Turnout: The Influence Of Education Levels On Voter Participation, Jack Thomas Bunzel-Hardie

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

This study is intended to explore the relevant relationship between mistrust in government officials and voter turnout. Within a research article such as this, it is important to distinguish the dependent and independent factors from one another so as not to get them confused. This article identifies the growing sense of mistrust that many Americans feel towards their government officials as the independent factor while examining the relationship that voter turnout has with that growing fear, therefore making that the dependent variable. While this issue has been studied in the past there have been many new events taking place and …

“I Want Justice From People Who Did Bad Things To Children”: Experiences Of Justice For Sex Trafficking Survivors, John G. Morrissey, James Havey, Glenn M. Miles, Nhanh Channtha, Lim Vanntheary

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This research from the Butterfly Longitudinal Research Project focused on understanding the experiences and perceptions of justice and the justice system for 93 Cambodia participants (including 88 survivors of sex trafficking) as they navigated the legal system. Thirty-two of these survivors had experiences in court and provided details into their courtroom experiences, predominantly within Cambodia but also in the United States. The survivors’ experiences were diverse; however, the prevailing themes were: fear throughout their legal journeys; a low level of awareness and understanding of their legal experiences; and that NGO support was essential for these survivors to engage in the …

Corruption In The Public Sector In North Macedonia: What Can Be Done?, Teodora Gacoska

English Language Institute

The purpose of this project is to analyze the current situation of corruption in the public sector in North Macedonia and suggest possible solutions to prevent this kind of corruption.

Making And Unmaking Citizens: Law And The Shaping Of Civic Capacity, Tabatha Abu El-Haj

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

American democracy is more fragile today than in recent memory. As evidence of stubborn imbalances in political influence grow, so too does public skepticism concerning the relative benefits of our democratic institutions. Scholars have taken note, and two dominant camps have emerged to offer proposals for restoring democratic accountability and responsiveness. The first, like the public, identifies the flood of money into electoral politics as the primary source of our troubles, whereas the second points to political parties as the root of the crisis. More recently, however, a nascent third approach has emerged. Looking beyond the usual suspects—money in politics …

Ethics, Law Firms, And Legal Education, Milton C. Regan Jr.

Maine Law Review

A rash of recent corporate scandals has once again put professional ethics in the spotlight. It's hard to pick up the Wall Street Journal each day and not read that authorities have launched a new investigation or that additional indictments are imminent. Stories of financial fraud and outright looting have galvanized the public and shaken the economy. What ethical lessons can we draw from these events? Two explanations seem especially prominent. The first is a story of individuals without an adequate moral compass. Some people's greed and ambition were unchecked by any internal ethical constraints. For such deviants, no amount …

Brazil's Olympic-Era Anti-Corruption Reforms, Andrew B. Spalding

Law Faculty Publications

A country once renowned for glorifying corruption now leads what may be the furthest-reaching anti-corruption investigation in history. Brazil, once typified by its "Brazilian jeitinho" way of creatively navigating social problems,' now executes "Operation Car Wash," bringing down political and business leaders by the dozens. So too has Brazil's Congress adopted a series of dramatic, and effective, new anti-corruption laws, in response to public outcries for reform. It is deeply ironic, but not at all coincidental, that Brazil concurrently hosted the Summer Olympics. This paper chronicles the extraordinary series of events that connect - in a line that is straight …

Corruption In Developing Countries: What Keeping It In The Family Means For Everyone Else, Tonita Murray

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

The United Nations estimates that 30 per cent of all international development funding is lost to corruption. Identifying and understanding the dynamics of how such corruption occurs at the ground level could help to reduce opportunities for the diversion of funds from public purposes to private uses. An analysis of two highly publicized corruption cases in Kenya and one in Afghanistan identifies some common characteristics that may also be present in other cases around the world. The characteristics fall into four categories: (1) political, social, and cultural; (2) governance; (3) people; and (4) international. Different understandings of corruption, weak government …

The Future Of Governmental Ethics: Law And Morality, Jon L. Mills

Jon L. Mills

Based on a speech presented at the 16th International Symposium on Economic Crime, Cambridge University, England September 13-19, 1998.

Anti-Corruption Commissions In China:Panacea Or Cure-All Medicine To Fight Corruption, Chan Louis

Chan Louis

With the rapidly economic development and the overall social transformation, corruption has becoming a more prominent threat to China's long-term development. The CPC and Chinese government, while severely cracking down corruption, has proposed a series of strategic thinking to fundamentally solve the problem of corruption. The sharp weapons against corruption in China are generally two institutions, which are Commission for Discipline Inspection responsible for the inspection within the party and the People's Procuratorate, one of key functions of which is prevention and punishment of corruption. A popular saying among Chinese government officials goes: “Fear not the heavens or the earth, …

The Aftermath Of Mexico's Fuel-Theft Epidemic: Examining The Texas Black Market And The Conspiracy To Trade In Stolen Condensate., Luke B. Reinhart

St. Mary's Law Journal

Organized crime has infiltrated the oil patch, creating a theft network with an annual value of $2–$4 billion. Over the past decade, Mexican drug cartels have plundered mass amounts of natural gas condensate produced by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex)—the governing Mexican agency for production and export of hydrocarbons. The Mexican government has not sat by idly. Pemex’s production losses have skyrocketed from $300 million, between 2006 and 2011, to an estimated $585 million in 2013 alone. Considering derivative costs associated with these thefts, Pemex’s annual losses reach into the billions. Diversified and driven by profits derived from the United States black …

The Dangers Of Diversity: Ethnic Fractionalization And The Rule Of Law, Michael Touchton

Michael Touchton

Research linking ethnic cleavages to economic underdevelopment is a hallmark of recent efforts to explain economic growth. Similarly, the rule of law as a credible commitment to property rights and contract enforcement is also identified with economic development. Rather than treating these factors as rival explanations for economic development around the world, I propose the rule of law as the causal mechanism through which ethnic fractionalization (EF) influences growth in many countries. I argue ethnic diversity negatively impacts the rule of law due to the prevalence of ethnically-based patronage networks in developing countries. Public officials, I argue, face greater incentives …

The Implementation Gap: What Causes Laws To Succeed Or Fail?, David Barnhizer

David Barnhizer

It is important to go behind the “paper systems” many countries and private sector actors have created to manufacture the appearance of commitments to responsible economic activity, environmental protection and social justice. This produces the need to penetrate the veils that mask governments’ “apparent compliance” with the terms of sustainable development, and to be honest about the inability of voluntary codes of practice to shape the behavior of business and government. Implementation requires effective systems to carry out the law and policy mandates. Laws and policies are often poorly designed or deliberately sabotaged in their creation, but in many instances …

The Reality Of Business And Governmental Decision-Making In The Context Of Sustainable Development, David Barnhizer

David Barnhizer

It is absolutely rational for economic actors and decision-makers to seek to operate in their own self-interest. The challenge for anyone who wishes to influence or alter the process lies in knowing where that self-interest lies and changing the nature of the self-interest if that is required or possible. That is a far greater challenge than many understand because regardless of what we might like to do in our personal lives, it is the institution within which we work that dictates how we think and what we value in our service to that institution. Given the short time frame within …

New “Architecture” And Revitalizing The Un Global Compact, David Barnhizer

David Barnhizer

Some advocates of sustainable development possess an almost theological faith in what I refer to as “rhetorical” sustainable development as the path to providing for the sound future of human civilizations and critical ecological systems. Simply put, if we try to think “too big” and “bite off too much” then the system we are trying to control or influence consumes us and our resources and we fail miserably. There is real and predictable danger in grandeur. This means we need to think about achieving sustainability in very specific and concrete terms applied to clear goals and an honest understanding of …

Honest Services Fraud After Skilling., Pamela Mathy

St. Mary's Law Journal

The United States Supreme Court ruling in Skilling v. United States limits honest services fraud prosecutions of both public officials and private individuals to schemes involving bribes or kickbacks. Over the past two decades, federal prosecutors have used the federal mail and wire fraud statutes to reach schemes which deprive citizens of their money or property and of the intangible right to honest services. The Court’s ruling in Skilling removes a category of deceptive, fraudulent, and corrupt conduct from the scope of the honest services law. By limiting honest services fraud under the statute to bribes and kickbacks, the Court …

Revolutions In Local Democracy? Neighborhood Councils And Broadening Inclusion In The Local Political Process, Matthew J. Parlow

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Political marginalization of minorities and government corruption are two key factors that have led to the overwhelming decline and decay of America's major cities. Local governments must combat the historical entrenchment of these two evils in order to reverse the trend toward demise. Neighborhood councils may be the best structural changes to local government because they provide more meaningful opportunities for political engagement of minority groups, while also serving as an antidote to systemic corruption in local government. This Essay analyzes the problems plaguing local government in urban cities and explores how neighborhood councils may be able to help address …

The Hidden Function Of Takings Compensation, Abraham Bell, Gideon Parchomovsky

All Faculty Scholarship

To date, scholars have justified the constitutional mandate to pay compensation for takings of property on the intuitively appealing grounds that fairness demands recompensing aggrieved owners; on the basis of a belief that government that fails to pay will suffer from “fiscal illusion” and take excessively; or due to the need to neutralize politically powerful property owners who would otherwise foil socially beneficial projects. This Essay offers a new explanation of the role of takings compensation in ensuring good government. Inspired by public choice theory, we argue that takings compensation is intended to reduce the incentives for corruption by limiting …

Revolutions In Local Democracy? Neighborhood Councils And Broadening Inclusions In The Local Political Process, Matthew J. Parlow

Matthew Parlow

Corrupción Y Sistema De Justicia, Felipe Marín

Felipe Marín Verdugo

No abstract provided.

Judicial Review Of Arbitration Awards In The Fifth Circuit., Christopher D. Kratovil

St. Mary's Law Journal

In the wake of a defeat in arbitration, trial lawyers seek appellate counsel looking for some method to escape the arbitrator’s decision. Most leave such offices disappointed after having been informed arbitration awards will be set aside by the courts “only in very unusual circumstances.” The Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) fully endorses arbitration and liberally encourages its use as an alternative to traditional litigation. Consistent with Congress’ focus on speed, efficiency, and cost reduction, a critical goal of arbitration is to establish “finality” at the earliest possible point. Unfortunately, early finality is antithetical to robust appellate proceedings. Yet, the FAA …

The Paradox Of Corruption As Antithesis To Economic Development: Does Corruption Undermine Economic Development In Indonesia And China, And Why Are The Experiences Different In Each Country?, Andrew White

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The question of whether corruption is antithetical to economic development has been extensively researched and debated since the 1960s. While nearly all participants in the debate appear to agree that corruption ultimately is antithetical to long-term economic development, the extent to which it positively or negatively affects economic development in the short term depends upon highly contextual factors. In different countries and regions of the world, factors of local culture and history, the nature of the state, the type of corruption and actors involved, and the political responses and motivations to curtail corruption all inform the answer to this question. …

Human Rights Approaches Of Corruption Control Mechanisms - Enhancing The Hong Kong Experience Of Corruption Prevention Strategies, C. Raj Kumar

San Diego International Law Journal

This Article is intended to make a case for promoting transparency in governance policies from a human rights perspective so as to argue for the development of a human right to good governance in Hong Kong. Secondly, it analyzes the work of the Independent Commission against Corruption (ICAC) in Hong Kong and addresses certain concerns in improving the efficiency of the ICAC. Thirdly, it argues that rights against corruption in Hong Kong should move beyond a law enforcement and public policy issue and attain the status of a human right. Fourthly, this Article examines the growth and development of international …

Disease And Cure?, L. A. Powe Jr.

Michigan Law Review

Sunstein uses Franklin's remark to make two related points. First, citizens bear the burden of maintaining the American republic as a healthy, vibrant place; being a citizen is decidedly different from being a consumer. The former has duties, the latter wants (pp. 113-23). Second, and this is the gist of the slender book, the republic is jeopardized by the possibilities of the Internet. Sunstein assumes the correctness of MIT technology specialist Nicholas Negroponte's conclusion that in the not-too-distant future we will be able to create a "Daily Me" on the Internet that will provide the personalized information (including news) that …

The Legacy Of Geographical Morality And Colonialism: A Historical Assessment Of The Current Crusade Against Corruption, Padideh Ala'i

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This Article examines the legacy of the rule of geographical morality - that is the norm by which a citizen of the country in the North may engage in acts of corruption in any country in the South, including bribery and extortion, without the attachment of any moral condemnation to those acts. Part I of the Article begins by reviewing the impeachment trial of Warren Hastings, who served as Governor General of the Bengal from 1772-1785, on charges of bribery and corruption. It was during that impeachment proceeding when the words "principles of geographical morality" were used by, the prosectuor, …

The Future Of Governmental Ethics: Law And Morality, Jon L. Mills

UF Law Faculty Publications

Based on a speech presented at the 16th International Symposium on Economic Crime, Cambridge University, England September 13-19, 1998.

The Ethics Of The "Unprofessional Profession", Gerald Caplan

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Character and Cops: Ethics in Policing by Edwin J. Delattre

Sugar Coated Bullets: Corruption And The New Economic Order In China, Mark Findlay, Thomas Chor-Wing Chiu

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The recent political debate concerning the influence of corruption on the “new economic order” in the People's Republic of China is unique not only for its detailed and public manifestations, but also because it works around the acceptance of some degree of corporate private ownership of the means of production within China. The concern for corruption in Chinese government and commerce is not, of itself, novel.We prefer in this paper briefly to focus on the economic and political environment from within which this concern has been generated, to comment on the significance for the Government of the PRC in associating …