Digital Commons Network^™

Land Use And Housing Policies To Reduce Concentrated Poverty And Racial Segregation, Myron Orfield

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No abstract provided.

The Regulatory Void Of Contingent Work, Stephen F. Befort

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No abstract provided.

Political Violence And Gender In Times Of Transition, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

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At the heart of transitional justice discourse is an ongoing conversation about accountability for human rights violations that occur in a context of regime repression or violent conflict. That accountability dialogue has generally been preoccupied with attempts to define the forms of political violence that should be addressed by various formal and informal mechanisms, such as trials and other truth-seeking processes. This Article will examine the multiple ways in which transitional justice processes have conceptualized political violence, and how that maps onto a gendered understanding of violence experiences and accountability mechanisms in a transitional context.

The Role Of Status Quo Bias And Bayesian Learning In The Creation Of New Legal Rights, Francesco Parisi, Robert L. Scharff

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We consider the role of status quo bias and Bayesian learning on the creation of new legal rights utilizing a model of legal evolution in which judges have limited discretion to create new precedent based on personal values, but, in the long run, are constrained by efficiency criteria. Our model demonstrates that status quo bias may effectively transform an ex ante inefficient rule into an ex post efficient rule. Because these legal rights are internalized over time through a process of Bayesian learning, new precedent is vulnerable to reversal until the new right has been sufficiently recognized and accepted.

Institutional Review Boards, Regulatory Incentives, And Some Modest Proposals For Reform, Dale Carpenter

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It is time to rethink the role of Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) in approving social science research. While most law professors conduct their research in an almost unregulated environment - pouring through cases, statutes, and each other's articles, all without the kind of human interaction subject to IRB regulation - their colleagues elsewhere in the university have been coping for decades with an increasingly intrusive bureaucracy that sometimes undermines basic academic values. Three things seem very clear. First, there are a lot of IRBs - at least 4,000 - and their numbers are growing. Second, they have recently "increased their …

A Cognitive Theory Of Trust, Claire Hill, Erin O'Hara O'Connor

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Interpersonal trust is currently receiving widespread attention in the academy. Many legal scholars incorrectly assume that interpersonal trust is an unmitigated good (or bad) and that legal policy should therefore be crafted to maximize (or minimize) trust. A more nuanced understanding of trust indicates instead that it should be promoted or discouraged, depending on the context. Such an understanding needs to reflect the fact that trust and distrust can, and often do, coexist. In most relationships, the parties trust one another with regard to some matters and yet distrust one another with regard to other matters. More specifically, developing a …

Forty Years Of Codification Of Estates And Trusts Law: Lessons For The Next Generation, Mary Louise Fellows, Gregory S. Alexander

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In this paper we develop two theses. First, we argue that uniform law proposals that ask courts and practitioners to abandon revered legal traditions and ways of thinking about estates and trusts, even when they are intent-furthering proposals, face resistance until in time the glories of the past and the risks of a new legal regime fade in importance in legal thought. Second, we argue that, especially within an environment in which states seek to gain competitive advantage over their counterparts in other states, the glories of the past and the risks of a new legal regime fade fastest when …

A Parent-Centered Radial Layout Algorithm For Interactive Graph Visualization And Animation, Andrew Pavlo, Christopher Homan, Jonathan Schull

Articles

We have developed (1) a graph visualization system that allows users to explore graphs by viewing them as a succession of spanning trees selected interactively, (2) a radial graph layout algorithm, and (3) an animation algorithm that generates meaningful visualizations and smooth transitions between graphs while minimizing edge crossings during transitions and in static layouts. Our system is similar to the radial layout system of Yee et al. (2001), but differs primarily in that each node is positioned on a coordinate system centered on its own parent rather than on a single coordinate system for all nodes. Our system is …

Latcrit X Afterword: Beyond The First Decade: A Forward-Looking History Of Latcrit Theory, Community And Praxis, Berta Hernandez-Truyol, Angela Harris, Francisco Valdes

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No abstract provided.

Videotaping Investigative Interviews Of Children In Cases Of Child Sexual Abuse: One Community's Approach, Frank E. Vandervort

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Legal scholars have long debated the efficacy and necessity of videotaping investigative interviews with children when allegations of child sexual abuse have surfaced. This debate has been advanced from the perspectives of adversaries in the criminal justice system, prosecutors and defense advocates. Absent from this debate has been the perspective of the broader community. This debate has failed to consider how other investigative tools might be used in conjunction with videotaping to advance the interests of the community. Moreover, the debate about videotaping has taken place with little actual data. This Article seeks to accomplish two goals. First, it seeks …

The Three Goals Of Taxation, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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The current debate in the United States about whether the income tax should be replaced with a consumption tax has been waged on the traditional grounds for evaluating tax policy: efficiency, equity, and administrability. For example, Joseph Bankman and David Weisbach recently argued for the superiority of an ideal consumption tax over an ideal income tax on three grounds: First, that the consumption tax is more efficient because it does not discriminate between current and future consumption,' while both income and consumption taxes have identical effect on work effort. Second, that the consumption tax is at least as good at …

Discourse On The Interface Of Matheatics And Physics: A Panel Discussion Sponsored By Dit And The Ria., Brendan Goldsmith

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No abstract available

Getting Away With Murder: Guatemala's Failure To Protect Women And Rodi Alvarado's Quest For Safety, Angélica Cházaro

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This report examines the underlying conditions that cause women like Rodi to flee their home countries and seek protection elsewhere. The report starts with a description of the circumstances that led Rodi to leave Guatemala. It then analyzes the widespread violence against and murders of women in Guatemala, specifically focusing on the number of murders, the victims, the brutality of the crimes, the context in which they occur, and the theories behind the murders. It next looks to the aspects of the Guatemalan legal and judicial systems that render women vulnerable to violence and then fail to protect them. It …

The Weight Of The World: Consuming Traditional Masculine Ideologies, Andrew Dunne, Olivia Freeman, Roger Sherlock

Articles

This paper explores the relationship between the body, masculinity and the consumption of body-focussed activities. It examines the meaning and importance of strength training for men.
Strength training is of interest because its increase in popularity is occurring at a particular point in time when a growing number of men are experiencing insecurities over their masculine identities as a result of recent socio-economic changes. This paper proposes that men today are facing a dilemma in terms of masculine identity. This dilemma hinges on the growing objectification of the male body in the media and its cultural messages regarding masculinity.

On The Stickiness Of Default Rules, Omri Ben-Shahar, John A. E. Pottow

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It was once perceived, and still is commonly taught, that default rules in contract law must mimic efficient arrangements. Otherwise, these rules impose needless transaction costs upon parties who seek to opt out of them to reach more efficient positions. In settings where these costs are high, parties might find themselves "stuck" in a default, unable to reach the outcome that they prefer. The strong version of this account-that the only factor that can make an inefficient default rule stick is the direct cost of drafting a tailored provision-has been gradually reappraised. It is by now recognized that factors beyond …

Maiming The Cubs, James J. White

Articles

It is easy to believe that students are made anxious and even depressed by law school and that the anxiety and depression stay with many students throughout school. It is harder to believe that these stresses cause permanent and irreversible change and that the ills of lawyers are traced in any meaningful way to the stresses of the three years of law school.

Post-Admissions Educational Programming In A Post-Grutter World: A Response To Professor Brown, Evan H. Caminker

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When asked to provide commentary on another scholar's reflections on Grutterl and Gratz and affirmative action, I am usually struck by two fears. First, because so much ink has been spilled on this topic, I worry the main presenter will have nothing new and interesting to say. Today this worry has been put to rest; I am so pleased that Professor Dorothy Brown offers a number of novel and intriguing observations and, in the end, advances a novel and intriguing proposal about the role Critical Race Theory ought to play in our nation's law school classrooms. Second, for the same …

Improving Criminal Jury Decision Making After The Blakely Revolution, J. J. Prescott, Sonja B. Starr

Articles

The shift in sentencing fact-finding responsibility triggered in many states by Blakely v. Washington may dramatically change the complexity and type of questions that juries will be required to answer. Among the most important challenges confronting legislatures now debating the future of their sentencing regimes is whether juries are prepared to handle this new responsibility effectively - and, if not, what can be done about it. Yet neither scholars addressing the impact of Blakely nor advocates of jury reform have seriously explored these questions. Nonetheless, a number of limitations on juror decision making seriously threaten the accuracy of verdicts in …

The Irrational Auditor And Irrational Liability, Adam C. Pritchard

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This Article argues that less liability for auditors in certain areas might encourage more accurate and useful financial statements, or at least equally accurate statements at a lower cost. Audit quality is promoted by three incentives: reputation, regulation, and litigation. When we take reputation and regulation into account, exposing auditors to potentially massive liability may undermine the effectiveness of reputation and regulation, thereby diminishing integrity of audited financial statements. The relation of litigation to the other incentives that promote audit quality has become more important in light of the sea change that occurred in the regulation of the auditing profession …

But I Didn't Do Anything Wrong: Revisiting The Rights Of Non-Offending Parents In Child Protection Proceedings, Vivek Sankaran

Articles

Steven, a minor living with his mother, enjoyed a nurturing relationship with his father, Mark. He saw his father every weekend and looked forward to their time together. Mark looked for ways in which to stay involved in his child's life. Two days ago, the Department of Human Services (DHS) removed Steven from his mother's custody because, unbeknown to Mark, Stevens mother was selling drugs in the home. At the time of removal, the police did not inquire about the whereabouts of Stevens father; DHS immediately placed Steven in a foster home.

Maiming The Cubs, James J. White

Articles

In the last twenty years much has been written about the deleterious effect that law school has on the mental well-being of law students.' Many have called for "humanizing" law school. In support of their case, the advocates of humanizing cite numerous anecdotes, much scholarly writing in the psychology literature, and even a few rigorous studies of law students. A principal voice is that of Professor Krieger who has done the most careful and elaborate study, a study of students at two law schools.1 You should understand that Professor Krieger and his cohorts do not merely claim that we make …

Perpetuating The Impermanence Of Foster Children: A Critical Analysis Of Efforts To Reform The Interstate Compact On The Placement Of Children, Vivek Sankaran

Articles

The importance of expediting the placement of foster children into permanent homes has emerged as a dominant theme in child welfare policy. Identifying and finalizing legally secure placements provides children with psychological stability and a sense of belonging, and limits the likelihood of future disruptions of familial relationships. Upon a child's entry into foster care, child welfare agencies, under both federal and state laws, are compelled to develop a detailed plan to ensure a child's prompt placement into such a home. If a parent is unable to rectify the conditions causing the child's placement in foster care within a year, …

Grados De Libertad: Democracia Y Antidemocracia En Cuby Y Luisiana, 1898-1900, Rebecca J. Scott

Articles

This comparative study between the quest for political racial inclusivity in 1890s Louisiana and the fight against state-sanctioned racialized violence in Cuba in the early 1900s exposes similarities, tensions, and differences between the two systems. The article traces the evolving contests for citizenship and suffrage in each climate at the end of the 19th century and into the beginning of the twentieth, juxtaposing the expression of race, suffrage, and citizenship in the constitution and political climate of each locale. In 1898, the new Louisiana state constitution disenfranchised African-Americans, while in 1900 Cuba was positioning itself for a grant of universal …

Forces Driving And Shaping Legal Training Reform In Japan, Daniel H. Foote

Articles

After canvassing the history of, and rationale for, legal training reform, the article examines the recommendations of the Justice System Reform Council. It then examines some of the forces that led to the reforms; some of those forces that helped shape the reforms; and the major aspects of the reforms themselves. The second half of the article undertakes an initial assessment of the first year of operation of the new system, focusing on the University of Tokyo, and based upon the author's first-hand experience.

The Supreme Constitutional Court Of Egypt On Islamic Law, Veiling And Civil Rights: An Annotated Translation Of Supreme Constitutional Court Of Egypt Case No. 8 Of Judicial Year 17, Clark B. Lombardi, Nathan J. Brown

Articles

The jurisprudence of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt is creative and influential in the Arab world. Among its opinions, Case No. 8 of Judicial Year 17, decided on May 18, 1996, is particularly interesting. In this opinion, the SCC argues that a regulation on face-veiling in public schools is consistent not only with Islamic law, but with the Egyptian Constitution's guarantees of freedom of religion and freedom of expression. Not only does it illustrate the SCC's approach to Islamic legal reasoning, but it gives insight into the Court's views with respect to civil and political rights. The case also …

Biotechnology Entrepreneurship And Ethics: Principles, Paradigms, And Products, Patricia C. Kuszler

Articles

Biotechnology, whether in the context of new drugs derived from DNA and genetic technology, genetically modified food, or biologics making use of living cells, raises ethical concerns at a variety of different levels. At the research level, there is concern that the very nature of research is being subverted, rather than enhanced, by entrepreneurship. This area of ethical concern has intensified in the United States as a result of the conflicts of interests resulting from the growing alliance between University academia and private industry in the research enterprise. As we travel down the research path into development of a drug …

Syringes In The Sea: Why Federal Regulation Of Medical Waste Is Long Overdue, Chryssa V. Deliganis, Steve P. Calandrillo

Articles

Medical waste is produced everywhere that people live and by almost everyone at some point in their lives. Its treatment and disposal implicates the environment, public health, the economy, human dignity, and aesthetics. With the many issues involved, the need for federal regulation of medical waste today is manifest.

This Article examines the problem of medical waste disposal and evaluates the current state-based approach to regulation. Although many states have implemented stringent medical waste programs with some success, the absence of direct federal regulation in this area is problematic. The need for national leadership is clear, especially with respect to …

Tending To The Spirit: A Proposal For Healing The Hearts Of Black Children In Poverty Black Children And Their Families In The 21st Century: Surviving The American Nightmare Or Living The American Dream, Steven H. Hobbs, Shenavia Baity

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No abstract provided.

Effects Of Retinal Image Degradation On Pre-Attentive Visual Search (Pavs) Efficiency For Flicker, Movment And Orientation Stimuli, Peter Davison, James Loughman

Articles

Background: Previous research has shown that several clinical conditions cause increased pre-attentive visual search (PAVS) times, implying reduced parallel search capabilities in glaucoma and DLB dementia. The purpose of the research reported here was to examine for the first time the resistance of PAVS to dioptric blur using targets differing from the background in terms of flicker, vertical displacement, and orientation. Resistance would enhance the applicability of PAVS as a screening method for glaucoma and other clinical conditions affecting performance of a substantial area of the retina. Method: Computer generated flicker, orientation and vertical displacement targets were used to assess …

Indexing Change In Lis Work: Implications For Recruiting Managers, John Cullen, Allison Kavanagh

Articles

Purpose: This paper reports on three periods of library and information service (LIS) recruitment data collected over a six-year timeframe with the aim of developing a tool for indexing change in the recruitment and labour market for workers in the field. Methodology / Approach: The recruitment data was collected in an Irish context over three distinct 12-month timeframes (1999, 2001-2002 and 2005). The two earlier annual sets of data have already been reported and discussed (the latter in Library Management in 2004a), and the most recent set (2005) is presented here. The data over the three timeframes is compared here, …