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Legal History Commons

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Selected Works

1998

Articles 1 - 7 of 7

Full-Text Articles in Legal History

Lex Mercatoria And Legal Pluralism: A Late Thirteenth-Century Treatise And Its Afterlife, Daniel Coquillette, Mary Elizabeth Basile, Jane Fair Bestor, Charles Donahue Jr. Dec 1997

Lex Mercatoria And Legal Pluralism: A Late Thirteenth-Century Treatise And Its Afterlife, Daniel Coquillette, Mary Elizabeth Basile, Jane Fair Bestor, Charles Donahue Jr.

Daniel R. Coquillette

Lex Mercatoria is the earliest known treatment of what a later age would call “the law merchant”. This work provides important insights into the legal framework of English commerce in the reign of Edward


The Perfectionisms Of John Rawls, Steve Sheppard Dec 1997

The Perfectionisms Of John Rawls, Steve Sheppard

Steve Sheppard

John Rawls’s strict theory of perfectionism would have more appeal if it were reconstructed by balancing it with moderate cultural perfectionism. In his work, A Theory of Justice, John Rawls framed the modern idea of legal perfectionism. In his thought experiment, Rawls gave different players various theories of justice that contrast with his “original position,” in which principles of justice are decided from behind a veil of ignorance. The first of the theories, strict perfectionism, argued society should be structured in a way that produces the utmost levels of excellence in someone, but not everyone. The second theory, moderate perfectionism, …


Heteronormativity And The Federal Tax Code, Nancy J. Knauer Dec 1997

Heteronormativity And The Federal Tax Code, Nancy J. Knauer

Nancy J. Knauer

Proponents of same-sex marriage demand equal marriage rights as a matter of fundamental human dignity and as a means to gain certain legal benefits and protections. The ability to file joint federal income tax returns is invariably listed as one of the benefits associated with marriage. This outsider perspective contradicts the popular notion that the income tax is anti-marriage and offers a useful vantage point from which to analyze the marital provisions of the federal tax code, the treatment of the provisions in tax scholarship, and legislative proposals for "pro-family" tax reform. The joint filing provisions are just one example …


Dalla Simbologia Giuridica A Una Filosofia Giuridica E Politica Simbolica ? Ovvero Il Diritto E I Sensi, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha Dec 1997

Dalla Simbologia Giuridica A Una Filosofia Giuridica E Politica Simbolica ? Ovvero Il Diritto E I Sensi, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

La prima conseguenza della nostra cultura giuridica dell'audizione che è anche cultura dell'oralità, del discorso e della scrittura (di tutto ciò che serve per parlare e fissare quello che può essere detto) è la volontaria atrofia degli altri sensi: il tatto, il gusto, l'olfatto e la vista. Il Diritto quasi non tocca le cose. Le concepisce mentalmente, le dice, però, anche se con i guanti deve toccare il corpo del delitto.


Constitutional Structure As A Limitation On The Scope Of The "Law Of Nations" In The Alien Tort Claims Act, Donald J. Kochan Dec 1997

Constitutional Structure As A Limitation On The Scope Of The "Law Of Nations" In The Alien Tort Claims Act, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

Jurisdiction matters. Outside of the set of jurisdictional constraints, the judiciary is at sea; it poses a threat to the separation of powers and risks becoming a dangerous and domineering branch. Jurisdictional limitations serve a particularly important function when the judiciary is dealing with issues of international law. Since much of international law concerns foreign relations, the province of the executive and, in part, the legislature, the danger that the judiciary will act in a policy-making role or will frustrate the functions of the political branches is especially great. The Framers of the Constitution were particularly concerned with constructing a …


"Public Use" And The Independent Judiciary: Condemnation In An Interest-Group Perspective, Donald J. Kochan Dec 1997

"Public Use" And The Independent Judiciary: Condemnation In An Interest-Group Perspective, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

This Article reexamines the doctrine of public use under the Takings Clause and its ability to impede takings for private use through an application of public choice theory. It argues that the judicial validation of interest-group capture of the condemnation power through a relaxed public use standard in Takings Clause review can be explained by interest group politics and public choice theory and by institutional tendencies inherent in the independent judiciary. Legislators can sell the eminent domain power to special interests for almost any use, promising durability in the deal given the low probability that the judiciary will invalidate it …


Pages Per Term In The United States Reports And Converting Supreme Court Citations To Term Announced: A Statistical Research Tool, Donald J. Kochan Dec 1997

Pages Per Term In The United States Reports And Converting Supreme Court Citations To Term Announced: A Statistical Research Tool, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

This short article presents a valuable statistical research tool for those involved in analysis of U.S. Supreme Court opinions. Researchers are made available the data regarding the number of pages that the Supreme Court has written each term and provides an easier basis for identifying this page count with the term announced, which is not otherwise immediately evident from the volume number of the U.S. Reports.