Digital Commons Network^™

A Quick Overview Of The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities, Michael Ashley Stein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bankruptcy Reform And Homeownership Risk, Melissa B. Jacoby

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Non-Analytical Thinking In Law Practice: Blinking In The Forest, Kandis Scott

Faculty Publications

Non-analytical thinking is indispensable to good legal representation .Despite its importance in law practice, it is devalued and neglected in the conventional law school curriculum. Even in clinical legal education, where the potential to teach students to use this mode of thinking is most obvious, the elevation of theory and analysis has stifled the impulse of clinical professors to teach students to "blink." One way law schools can counteract this trend, and thereby better train law students for practice, is to enhance clinical teachers' nonanalytical skills through more practice opportunities.

The (Neglected) Importance Of Being Lawrence: The Constitutionalization Of Public Employee Rights To Decisional Non-Interference In Private Affairs, Paul M. Secunda

Faculty Publications

This paper argues that whatever debates continue to stew regarding the true meaning of Lawrence v. Texas, at the very least, Lawrence represents the recognition of an individual's heightened interest in decisional non-interference in private affairs. This is an important constitutional development since a problem under the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions only arises when the government offers a benefit, like government employment, conditioned on the waiver of a preferred constitutional right. Thus, a government employer, post-Lawrence, should be prohibited, under the doctrine of unconstitutional conditions, from firing a government employee who exercises her rights to decisional non-interference in private affairs. …

Convicting The Innocent: Aberration Or Systemic Problem?, Rodney J. Uphoff

Faculty Publications

In practice, the right to adequate defense counsel in the United States is disturbingly unequal. Only some American criminal defendants actually receive the effective assistance of counsel. Although some indigent defendants are afforded zealous, effective representation, many indigent defendants and almost all of the working poor are not. The quality of representation a defendant receives generally is a product of fortuity, of economic status, and of the jurisdiction in which he or she is charged. For many defendants, the assistance of counsel means little more than counsel's help in facilitating a guilty plea. With luck, money, and location primarily determining …

Reflections On Law Schools And The Idea Of The University, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

Thomas Baker is one of the founding faculty members of the Florida International University College of Law and this article is based on a speech delivered in October of 2002 during the university's Annual Faculty Convocation. It details the composition of both the entering classes and the law faculty and discusses the law school's mission to provide opportunities for minorities to attain representation in the legal profession that is proportionate to their representation in the population. It explores the role of law schools in higher education and notes the FIU College of Law's efforts to incorporate important developments in the …

The Right To Counsel In Criminal Cases, A National Crisis, Mary Sue Backus, Paul Marcus

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Coming Out For Kids: Recognizing, Respecting, And Representing Lgbtq Youth, Barbara A. Fedders

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Politically Motivated Bar Discipline, James E. Moliterno

Faculty Publications

Bar discipline and admission denial have a century~long history of misuse in times of national crisis and upheaval. The terror war is such a time, and the threat of bar discipline has once again become an overreaction to justifiable fear and turmoil. Political misuse of bar machinery is characterized by its setting in the midst of turmoil, by its target, and by its lack of merit. The current instance of politically motivated bar discipline bears the marks of its historical antecedents.

The Invisible Pillar Of Gideon, Adam M. Gershowitz

Faculty Publications

In 1996, the State of South Carolina charged Larry McVay with common-law robbery. McVay, who was employed part-time and took home less than $160 per week after taxes, claimed that after paying his basic living expenses he had no money left with which to hire an attorney. A South Carolina court disagreed and denied McVay’s request for appointed counsel. Seven years later, Scott Peterson was arrested for the murder of his wife and unborn child in California. Although Peterson owned a home, drove an expensive SUV, and was carrying $10,000 in cash when he was captured, he claimed to be …

The Descendants Of Fassihi: A Comparative Analysis Of Recent Cases Addressing The Fiduciary Claims Of Disgruntled Constituents Against Attorneys Representing Closely-Held Entities, Matthew Rossman

Faculty Publications

Accordingly, this Article will examine three recent cases closely and then make observations about what these "descendants of Fassihi" say about the state of the law and how they should impact attorney behavior. To provide proper context for this discussion, a short summary of Fassihi and other contemporary responses to the issues raised in Fassihi follows.

Democracy And Social Justice: Founding Centers For Social Justice In Law Schools, Stephanie M. Wildman

Faculty Publications

Protecting democracy by combating inequality is the task of social justice lawyers. The practice of democracy mandates inclusion of the diverse populations of this nation into the social order. Social justice lawyers seek to give material meaning to democratic ideals in the daily lives of individuals and communities that are marginalized, subordinated, and underrepresented. Currently, not enough lawyers serve the disenfranchised and not enough lawyers emerge from disenfranchised communities. Hence, the disenfranchised continue to be denied access to legal resources, to the detriment of democracy.

Legal educators must begin to think about how to institutionalize consciousness about social justice as …

Professional Responsibility Redesigned: Sparking A Dialogue Between Students And The Bar, Lois R. Lupica

Faculty Publications

In recent years, there have been many public and private, formal and informal complaints about the behavior of lawyers. Moreover, lawyers' tenuous reputation for honesty and integrity has been tarnished by recent, well-publicized scandals. The public, as well as members of the bench and bar, have further decried a decline in attorney professionalism. More than once, it has been suggested that in some way, failings of law schools are to blame. In response to these observations about the professional behavior of lawyers and as a result of the author's experiences of teaching a traditional, Socratic-method Professional Responsibility class for many …

Race Matters In Bankruptcy, A. Mechele Dickerson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Vanishing Trial Report, John M. Lande

Faculty Publications

Some in the alternative dispute resolution community are afraid that ADR will be blamed for the apparent disappearance of trials. A close look at the data, however, suggests that changing patterns of litigation are not necessarily bad and that the growth of ADR is probably as much a result of these changes as a cause of them.

The Majoritarian Rehnquist Court?, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Judicial Dialogue For Legal Multiculturalism, Charles H. Koch Jr.

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Protective Assistance For Elders: Maine Experience And Comparisons, Alison Barnes

Faculty Publications

This thoughtful analysis of Maine's Adult Protective Services for the elderly encompasses statutes involved, services provided, those who can be served, required reporting, emergency interventions, and possible sources of funding. Methods for preventing abuse and exploitation are examined. Barnes discusses legal remedies concerning misappropriated funds as well as civil and criminal actions against abusers. The reasons for self neglect and refusal of care are also explored.

Spotlight: Response To Violence Against Women At The University Of Missouri At Columbia, Mary M. Beck

Faculty Publications

The University of Missouri (“MU”) sits in the picturesque college town of Columbia on the largest and oldest campus of the Missouri University system. MU is a land grant institution created with funds and land appropriated by the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. The University “honors [that public trust] and accepts the associated accountability” by acquiring, creating, transmitting, and preserving knowledge. “MU's primary mission in research and doctoral education . . . provides the basis for service to the people of [Missouri] via outreach programs.” Domestic violence impacts MU's land grant influenced service mission. Its organizational departments, educational units, …

The Ethics Of Using Judges To Conceal Wrongdoing, John P. Freeman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Instruct The Jury: Crane's Serious Difficulty Requirement & Due Process, Kenneth Gaines

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Maternity Leave Under The Fmla: An Analysis Of The Litigation Experience , Rafael Gely, Timothy D. Chandler

Faculty Publications

We begin with a brief description of trends in female labor force participation and the presence of dual-earner households in the U.S. labor market, conditions which likely led to the need for family and medical leave legislation. We then review various practices that business and government organizations have implemented to balance work and family conflicts, as well as related features of the FMLA, particularly those pertaining to childbirth and adoption. With this background in place, we introduce a framework for examining FMLA litigation. We then review cases litigated in federal court under the FMLA involving requests for family leave due …

Decollectivization And Democracy: Current Law Practice In Romania, Kandis Scott

Faculty Publications

Why have decollectivized Romanian lawyers failed to become important actors in the consolidation of their nation's democracy? Interviews of legal professionals in four Romanian cities suggest that their failure to participate in civil society inhibits avocats from becoming agents of change.

Notwithstanding the 1990-2002 statutes privatizing the bar, daily Romanian law practice differs little from collectivized practice. A similar resemblance to United States solo and small-firm practice is so striking as to belie the influence of the communist past in determining the behavior of typical Romanian lawyers today. The economics of law practice seem to explain consistent behavior in both …

With All Deliberate Speed: Civil Human Rights Litigation As A Tool For Social Change, Beth Van Schaack

Faculty Publications

It has been said that Filártiga v. Pena-Irala is the Brown v. Board of Education of human rights litigation. Like Brown, Filártiga presents one of those rare “breakthrough moments” in law. In Filártiga, the Second Circuit confirmed that victims of human rights abuses abroad could seek legal redress in United States courts under the then-obscure Alien Tort Statute (ATS). Filártiga thus inaugurated a steady line of cases in U.S. courts invoking the ATS and related statutes to adjudicate international human rights claims. For a variety of reasons, including the very existence of these statutes, civil litigation has emerged as a …

The Debtor-Patient: In Search Of Non-Debt Alternatives, Melissa B. Jacoby

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

First Options, Consent To Arbitration, And The Demise Of Separability: Restoring Access To Justice For Contracts With Arbitration Provisions, Richard C. Reuben

Faculty Publications

This article describes the context and current state of the law in this area under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), urges the Court to continue its path toward actual consent to arbitration, and suggests an approach for finally reconciling the tension between Prima Paint and First Options. Part II describes the nature and historical context of the arbitrability problem. Part III focuses specifically on the doctrine of separability, which is the most critical (and most complex) of these exceptions. Part IV discusses the impact on separability of recent U.S. Supreme Court case law, especially the 1995 decision in First Options …

Continuing Fictions Of Latin American Law, Jorge L. Esquirol

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

So, You Want To Be A Partner At Sidley & Austin?, Rafael Gely, Leonard Bierman

Faculty Publications

One of the effects of the “industrialization” of professional organizations has been a shift in the business forms that these organizations adopt. Some organizations have shifted from partnership associations into professional corporations. Other organizations have remained partnerships in form, but have significantly restructured the roles of partners.

Research On Self-Represented Litigation: Preliminary Results And Methodological Considerations, Paula Hannaford-Agor, Nicole Mott

Faculty Publications

As various programs for self-represented litigants proliferate and costs increase, fund­ing agencies are beginning to demand that programs demonstrate their effectiveness through empirical evaluation. This article recounts some of the lessons learned from a National Center for State Courts' research project on improving access to justice for self-represented litigants. First, the article briefly describes the problems faced by courts as a result of the influx of self-represented litigants. The article then describes automated case-level data and litigant self-reported data from five jurisdictions and some preliminary findings. We conclude with a discussion of problems that we encoun­tered in analyzing those data.

Reconciling What The First Amendment Forbids With What The Copyright Clause Permits: A Summary Explanation And Review, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.