Digital Commons Network^™

Like Sands Through The Hourglass: How To Develop A Good Legal Research Problem, Susan T. Phillips

Faculty Scholarship

Attorneys have a duty to conduct adequate legal research. Law schools have an obligation to educate students in the standard research techniques. To learn research, students must actually perform research using research problems. Therefore, professors must design appropriate problems for students to learn research skills. The first part of this article discusses the fundamentals of developing a research problem. The second part provides examples of research problems with an explanation of their development.

Healing Relationships And The Existential Philosophy Of Martin Buber, John G. Scott, Kurt C. Stange, Benjamin F. Crabtree

Faculty Scholarship

The dominant unspoken philosophical basis of medical care in the United States is a form of Cartesian reductionism that views the body as a machine and medical professionals as technicians whose job is to repair that machine. The purpose of this paper is to advocate for an alternative philosophy of medicine based on the concept of healing relationships between clinicians and patients. This is accomplished first by exploring the ethical and philosophical work of Pellegrino and Thomasma and then by connecting Martin Buber's philosophical work on the nature of relationships to an empirically derived model of the medical healing relationship. …

Judging Journalism: The Turn Toward Privacy And Judicial Regulation Of The Press, Amy Gajda

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Disclosure Of Apoe Genotype For Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease, Peter J. Whitehouse, Melissa Barber Butson

Faculty Scholarship

BACKGROUND: The apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype provides information on the risk of Alzheimer's disease, but the genotyping of patients and their family members has been discouraged. We examined the effect of genotype disclosure in a prospective, randomized, controlled trial. METHODS: We randomly assigned 162 asymptomatic adults who had a parent with Alzheimer's disease to receive the results of their own APOE genotyping (disclosure group) or not to receive such results (nondisclosure group). We measured symptoms of anxiety, depression, and test-related distress 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after disclosure or nondisclosure. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the …

Low School Engagement And Sexual Behaviors Among African American Youth: Examining The Influences Of Gender, Peer Norms, And Gang Involvement, Dexter R. Voisin

Faculty Scholarship

This research examined whether negative peer influences (i.e., norms favoring risky sex and drug use and gang involvement) mediated the relationship between school engagement (i.e., grade point averages [GPAs] obtained from school records and student-teacher connectedness) and sexual behaviors (i.e., sexual début, sex without condoms, group sex, and sex while using drugs) among African American high school adolescents, and whether these relationships varied by gender. Five hundred sixty-three high school adolescents (ages 13 to 19) completed self-administered questionnaires that assessed school engagement markers, peer influences, sexual début, and risky sex. Major findings for boys indicate that GPA was negatively associated …

Is Law - Constitutional Crisis And Existential Anxiety, Alice Ristroph

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Families Redefined: Kinship Groups That Deserve Benefits, Jane E. Cross, Nan Palmer, Charlene L. Smith

Faculty Scholarship

In Families Redefined: Kinship Groups that Deserve Benefits, the authors examine 1) the nature of kinship families, 2) the benefits accorded to married couples, 3) kinship families that lack protection and benefits, 4) the impact of denying kinship families protection and benefits, 5) the use of contract law in kinship relationships, and 6) using legislation to benefit kinship relationships.

This exploration of expanding family law protections to kinship groups addresses a series of interrelated topics. The first two sections of the article explore the characteristics and creation of kinship families in different societies. The third section addresses the legal …

Demand-Side Gatekeepers In The Market For Home Loans, Edward J. Janger, Susan Block-Lieb

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Over Under Or Through: Physicians, Law, And Health Care Reform, William M. Sage

Faculty Scholarship

My purpose in this commentary is twofold. First, I want to offer a few thoughts on why the American medical profession sometimes has a hard time accepting law on its own terms. Second, I want to suggest that even “good law” from the perspective of the medical profession—should it overcome its habits of resistance—may still be bad health policy for the United States.

What's It All About? Finding The Appropriate Problem Definition In Mediation, Leonard L. Riskin, Nancy A. Welsh

Faculty Scholarship

In this article, we propose four mechanisms to enable mediation participants to explore problems broadly and then to decide what problem definition is most appropriate for the mediation of their case:

• A three-step systematic method for determining the problem to be addressed;
• Two variations of a rule that could be adopted by courts (and private providers) that would require lawyers or mediators to implement this systematic way of working with problem definition; and
• A new rule under which a court (or private) mediation program would offer to customize any mediation in order to seek the most appropriate problem definition

We …

Conflict Of Laws (2009), Stephanie K. Marshall, Wm Frank Carroll, James P. George

Faculty Scholarship

States' and nations' laws collide when foreign factors appear in a lawsuit. Nonresident litigants, incidents outside the forum, parallel lawsuits, and judgments from other jurisdictions can create problems with personal jurisdiction, choice of law, and the recognition of foreign judgments. This article reviews Texas conflicts cases from Texas state and federal courts during the Survey period from October 1, 2007, through September 30, 2008. The article excludes cases involving federal-state conflicts, intrastate issues such as subject matter jurisdiction and venue, and conflicts in time, such as the applicability of prior or subsequent law within a state. State and federal cases …

Instream Flows And The Public Trust, Timothy M. Mulvaney

Faculty Scholarship

Empirical evidence suggests that diversion of instream flows for human use, coupled with the potential impacts of changing climatic conditions, is threatening the sustainability of aquatic life. Nonetheless, several states merely prevent stream flows from being reduced below the "7Q10 flow," or the average flow during the driest consecutive seven-day period that has a likelihood of recurring only once every ten years. Overwhelming scientific consensus suggests that 7Q10 merely preserves water quality standards by calculating the concentration of pollutants in point source discharges, without considering water quantity and numerous other core principles of instream management.

The protection of instream flows …

A Medical/Legal Teaching And Assessment Collaboration On Domestic Violence: Assessment Using Standardized Patients/Standardized Clients, Antoinette M. Sedillo Lopez, Cameron Crandall, Steve Mclaughlin, Diane Rimple, Mary Neidhart, Teresita Mccarty, Lou Clark, Carrie Martell, Gabriel Campos

Faculty Scholarship

Assessment of skills is an important, emerging topic in law school education. Two recent and influential books, Educating Lawyers published by the Carnegie Foundation and Best Practices in Legal Education, published by the Clinical Legal Education Association have both suggested dramatic reform of legal education. Among other reforms, these studies urge law schools to use outcome-based' assessments, i.e., using learning objectives and assessing knowledge and skills in standardized situations based on specific criteria, rather than simply comparing students' performances to each other.

The U.S. Move To International Accounting Standards - A Matter Of Cultural Discord - How Do We Reconcile, Neal F. Newman

Faculty Scholarship

What exists presently is a worldwide accounting structure consisting of two major regimes. U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("U.S. GAAP" or "GAAP") governs companies formed and operating inside the United States. All publicly held companies registered with the SEC must prepare and present their financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The other major accounting regime is International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). To date, over 100 countries have adopted and now use some form of IFRS.

It is inefficient for two major accounting standards to govern provinces around the world. Currently, U.S. issuers operate under one set of accounting standards, …

States Of Resistance: The Real Id Act And The Limits Of Federal Deputization Of State Agencies In The Regulation Of Non-Citizens, Shirley Lin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

When Something Is Not Quite Right: Considerations For Advising A Client To Seek Mental Health Treatment, Carol M. Suzuki

Faculty Scholarship

This Article explores rules of professional responsibility, theory, and reasoning processes related to advising clients to seek mental health treatment. Furthermore, this Article looks at cultural and financial aspects of treatment, and concludes with recommendations on how a lawyer should counsel her client once she determines that mental health treatment is appropriate. Part I discusses humanitarian reasons that support a lawyer's decision to advise her client to seek mental health treatment. Part II of this Article discusses rules of professional conduct relevant to advising a client to seek mental health treatment. Part III sets out a framework for considering how …

A Quality Life, Frances H. Miller

Faculty Scholarship

DEDICATION OF ISSUE TO ALLAN MACURDY

Allan Macurdy passed away June 23, 2008. Mr. Macurdy was a visiting associate professor at the Boston University School of Law and the director of Boston University’s Office of Disability Services. Mr. Macurdy was also a graduate of the Boston University College of Arts and Sciences (’84) and the School of Law (’86).

The following three pieces are memories of Mr. Macurdy by Professor Frances Miller, Professor Larry Yackle and William S. Richardson School of Law Dean Aviam Soifer. The tragedy of Mr. Macurdy’s passing, a noted disability rights advocate, was only underscored by …

Pandemic Preparedness: A Return To The Rule Of Law, Wendy K. Mariner, George J. Annas, Wendy E. Parmet

Faculty Scholarship

Current discussions of pandemic influenza and emergency preparedness would do well to heed the lessons of US Airways flight 1549, which landed in the Hudson River in January 2009. This article examines what past emergencies teach us about how to prevent or control epidemics and argues that it is time for a return to the rule of law in pandemic preparedness. The most important resource in emergency preparedness is a healthy, resilient population, which depends importantly on sustainable systems of medical care and public health. Preparedness thus requires more money than law. After September 11, 2001, however, federal emergency preparedness …

Managing Agricultural Water Use During Drought: An Analysis Of Contemporary Policies Governing Georgia's Flint River Basin, Mark Masters, Ronald Cummings, Brigham Daniels, Kristen Rowles, Douglas Wilson

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Creating A Paternalistic Market For Legal Rules Affecting The Benefit Promise, Brendan S. Maher

Faculty Scholarship

Notwithstanding the fact that ERISA was enacted to protect employee benefits, courts have narrowly construed the relief available when benefits are denied, out of concern that a stronger remedy would be too costly for the system to bear. Judges, I argue, are ill-equipped to make this policy judgment. Instead, a regulated, subsidized, paternalistic market should be created to permit the benefit players themselves to choose and price the strength of the remedy they desire. This is a superior means to reach the right level of remedial strength for the most players. To protect against undesirably weak remedial options being selected, …

Dairies In New Mexico: The Environmental Implications Of A New Industry, Denise D. Fort, Anthony Edwards

Faculty Scholarship

The dairy industry, at first blush, might seem to be an odd growth industry for New Mexico, but the last decade has seen an extraordinary expansion of the industry in the state. The presence of the industry has consequences for the state in several domains, including water quantity and water quality, as well as economics, animal welfare and state finances. This article is an attempt to characterize these implications for water policy and to solicit insights from those who are familiar with the industry.

Solidarity: Unfashionable, But Still American, William M. Sage

Faculty Scholarship

Illness, we are often told, is a private matter. Accordingly, none must interfere in the medical decisions that emerge from the confidential relationship be- tween physician and patient. Yet evidence of interdependence is ubiquitous in health care. One person’s malady can harm families, workplaces, clubs, churches, and sometimes entire communities. Similarly, a suffering pa- tient must rely on many individuals, associational groups, corporate entities, and government agencies for support and assistance. It is, therefore, unsurprising that various social units claim an interest and a voice in maintaining health and treating disease.

However, explicit solidarity has long been out of vogue …

Administering Marriage: Marriage-Based Entitlements, Bureaucracy And The Legal Construction Of The Family, Kristin Collins

Faculty Scholarship

Today marriage-based entitlements are considered part and parcel of marriage itself. This was not always the case. Mining hundreds of handwritten administrative records, executive branch reports, and federal statutes, this Article traces the origins of public marriage-based entitlements to an underexamined and surprisingly broad-scale system of early nineteenth-century federal military pensions and land grants that provided financial assistance to tens of thousands of widows. The story of widows’ military subsidies challenges claims to laissez-faire liberalism’s particular hold on the nineteenth century and, as important, evidences the complex mutually constitutive relationship between marriage law and social provision for women. While traditionally …

Ad Hominem Address, Jeremy Bendik-Keymer

Faculty Scholarship

In principle, Jesuit schools show cura personalis: “care of the person”. Teachers are supposed to care about you. You aren’t reducible to an enrollment number, an accounting major, a varsity letter, or to being a headache. You exceed your grade-point average. Above all, you’re a person and should be encouraged in your personal growth. The question is: how does philosophy contribute to cura personalis?

2007-2008 Survey Of Juvenile Law, Michael J. Dale

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Lincoln's Populist Sovereignty: Public Finance Of, By, And For The People, Timothy A. Canova

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Implied Reverse Preemption, Anita Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

New Groups And Old Doctrine: Rethiking Congressional Power To Enforce The Equal Protection Clause, William D. Araiza

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Manufacturers' Liability For Defective Product Designs: The Triumph Of Risk-Utility, Aaron D. Twerski, James A. Henderson, Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Discovery And Scoring Of Protein Interaction Subnetworks Discriminative Of Late Stage Human Colon Cancer, Rod K. Nibbe, Sanford Markowitz, Lois Myeroff, Rob M. Ewing, Mark R. Chance

Faculty Scholarship

We used a systems biology approach to identify and score protein interaction subnetworks whose activity patterns are discriminative of late stage human colorectal cancer (CRC) versus control in colonic tissue. We conducted two gel-based proteomics experiments to identify significantly changing proteins between normal and late stage tumor tissues obtained from an adequately sized cohort of human patients. A total of 67 proteins identified by these experiments was used to seed a search for proteinprotein interaction subnetworks. A scoring scheme based on mutual information, calculated using gene expression data as a proxy for subnetwork activity, was developed to score the targets …