Digital Commons Network^™

A Theory Of Political Control And Agency Discretion, Randall L. Calvert, Mathew D. Mccubbins, Barry R. Weingast

Faculty Scholarship

A major issue in the study of American politics is the extent to which electoral discipline also constrains bureaucrats. In practice, executive agencies operate with considerable independence from elected officials. However,the entire process of policy execution is a game among legislators.the chief executive. and bureaucratic agents. It includes the initial delegation of authority, the choice of policy alternatives,and opportunities for oversight and control. A simple model of this process demonstrates an important distinction between bureaucratic authority and bureaucratic discretion. Indeed.in its simplest form, the model predicts a world in which bureaucrats are the sole active participants in policymaking, but in …

Vanessa Redgrave V. Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc.: A Breach Of Constitutional Dimension, Maria O'Brien

Faculty Scholarship

In Vanessa Redgrave v. Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc., 399 Mass. 93 (1987), the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) issued an important ruling on the parameters of the Commonwealth's relatively new Civil Rights Act (MCRA)' by answering two questions certified to it by the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The SJC held that MCRA is essentially the state equivalent of 42 U.S.C. §1983 without the federal "state action" requirement.' This article briefly examines the SJC's decision in Redgrave in light of Massachusetts precedent and the vast federal experience with §1983 actions (Section I) and then considers the …

Ferroelectric Nematic Liquid Crystals: Realizability And Molecular Constraints, Rolfe G. Petschek

Faculty Scholarship

There is no fundamental reason that fluids should not be ferroelectric. However, the only knownferroelectric fluids are chiral smectic-C liquid crystals and related structures. We examine the possibility that molecules with permanent dipole moments can form a ferroelectric nematic phase, the least ordered conceivable ferroelectric phase. We show that reasonable electric dipole interactions between diskshaped molecules may lead to such a phase, and calculate the phase diagram using mean-field theory. Some constraints on the constituent molecules are discussed.

Drug Product Liability And Health Care Delivery Systems, William M. Sage

Faculty Scholarship

This note will use the principles of law and economics to examine the interaction of market structures and product liability rules in a world of imperfect information. The goals of the analysis are to create incentives for optimal care by producers and consumers, induce the socially appropriate amount of consumption of each product (often referred to as the "activity level"), and minimize the costs of bearing the risk of injury. The note will conclude that the existence of health maintenance organizations ("HMOs") and similar prepaid providers with superior information capacity and total patient care responsibility may create a context in …

Aids And The Right To Health Care, Taunya Lovell Banks

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

U.C.C. Methodology: Taking A Realistic Look At The Code, John L. Gedid

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Informed Decision-Making And The Law Of Torts: The Myth Of Justiciable Causation, Neil B. Cohen, Aaron D. Twerski

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

An Identified Histaminergic Neuron Can Modulate The Outputs Of Buccal-Cerebral Interneurons In Aplysia Via Presynaptic Inhibition, Hillel J. Chiel

Faculty Scholarship

We have identified 2 buccal-cerebral interneurons (BCIs), B17 and B18, that appear to be involved in the coordination of feeding behavior in Aplysia. The BCIs have their cell bodies in the buccal ganglion, but send axons to the cerebral ganglion via the cerebral-buccal connectives. The BCIs appear to make monosynaptic connections with neurons in the cerebral ganglion that modulate extrinsic muscles involved in feeding behavior. B17 and B18 are activated antiphasically during a motor program induced by stimulating the esophageal nerve and appear to 'read out' different phases of the buccal program to different cells in the cerebral ganglion. B17 …

Taxation Without Premeditation: An Economic Analysis Of The Structure, Regulation And Strangulation Of The Private Activity Bond Market, Kevin Outterson

Faculty Scholarship

Private Activity Bonds (PABs) are private debt issued under the auspices of state governments. The states issued $119.4 billion dollars of long-term PABs in 1985. Utilizing the state government conduit transforms the bond interest into federally tax exempt income. As a result, PABs bear lower interest rates than comparable taxable bonds. PAB financing significantly reduces private capital costs at the expense of the Federal Treasury. The structure of the PAB subsidy is fundamentally flawed. State governments subsidize local businesses and investments with PABs, often in competition with sister states. The states receive significant local benefits, but bear no direct costs …

Developing A Consensus Of Constraint: A Judge's Perspective On Judicial Retention Elections, Joseph R. Grodin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Exercise Of Jurisdiction Over And Enforcement Of Judgments Against Alien Defendants, Mary Kay Kane, Ronan E. Degnan

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

An Artificial Intelligence Course In A Liberal Arts Program, John F. Dooley

Faculty Scholarship

This paper describes the design and implementation of an undergraduate course in Artificial Intelligence (AI) within a liberal arts college curriculum. The course aims to introduce students to both the theoretical foundations and practical applications of AI while aligning with the ACM Curriculum ’78 guidelines. It emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach that integrates computer science concepts with broader ethical and societal considerations relevant to AI’s impact on human life.

The course content includes foundational topics such as problem solving, search strategies, knowledge representation, inference, and heuristic programming. Lisp is employed as the primary programming language to facilitate symbolic computation and the …

Confederate And Carpetbaggers: The Precedential Value Of Decisions From The Civil War And Reconstruction Era, Jim Paulsen, James Hambleton

Faculty Scholarship

Many Texas attorneys consulting older decisions for guidance breathe sighs of mental relief when they read a Texas Supreme Court case, rather than one of those pesky Court of Appeals or Commission of Appeals decisions with an arcane writ history or "judgment adopted" designation. After all, Texas Supreme Court cases are the top of the heap, precedent-wise, unless they have been overruled. Right? Well, maybe. In Texas, there are good and bad vintages for Texas Supreme Court opinions. The Civil War and Reconstruction years, from 1861 through 1873, are a particularly interesting legal vinyard.

Surprisingly enough, despite the century or …

Presidential Influence On Congressional Appropriations Decisions, D.Roderick Kiewiet, Mathew D. Mccubbins

Faculty Scholarship

We investigate the extent to which possession of the veto allows the president to influence congressional decisions regarding regular annual appropriations legislation. The most important implication of our analysis is that the influence the veto conveys is asymmetrical: it allows the president to restrain Congress when he prefers to appropriate less to an agency than Congress does; it does not provide him an effective means of extracting higher appropriations from Congress when he prefers to spend more than it does. This asymmetry derives from constitutional limitations on the veto, in combination with the presence of a de facto reversionary expenditure …

Nationwide Service Of Process: Due Process Limitations On The Power Of The Sovereign, Robert A. Lusardi

Faculty Scholarship

There are a number of instances in which a federal court asserts personal jurisdiction by service of process beyond the territorial limits of the state in which it sits. The most common examples of these assertions of jurisdiction are the use of a state's long-arm statute and the "bulge" provision of the federal rules. But, in addition, there are a number of statutes by which Congress has authorized nationwide service of process in particular circumstances.

It is generally accepted that Congress may authorize expansion limits of the states in which it sits, including authorization of extraterritorial service of process. However, …

Informed Decision-Making And The Law Of Torts: The Myth Of Justiciable Causation, Aaron Twerski, N. B. Cohen

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Luther Martin, Maryland And The Constitution, William L. Reynolds

Faculty Scholarship

Reviews the life and contributions of Maryland lawyer and scholar Luther Martin (1748-1826).

Hush: The Criminal Status Of Confidential Information After Mcnally And Carpenter And The Enduring Problem Of Overcriminalization, John C. Coffee Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

Each of the last three decades has witnessed an intense public reaction to a distinctive type of "white collar" crime. In the early 1960's, public attention was riveted by the Electrical Equipment conspiracy and the image of senior corporate executives of major firms meeting clandestinely to fix prices. In the mid-1970's, the focus shifted to corporate bribery, as the media ran daily stories regarding questionable payments abroad and illegal political contributions at home. The representative white collar crime of the 1980's is undoubtedly "insider trading." The archetype of this new kind of criminal in the public's mind is Ivan Boesky …

Standards For Organizational Probation: A Proposal To The United States Sentencing Commission, John C. Coffee Jr., Richard Gruner, Christopher D. Stone

Faculty Scholarship

This proposal was prepared by the authors in their capacities as consultants to the United States Sentencing Commission. It has not been adopted or endorsed by the Commission. If adopted, the proposal would constitute Part D(2) of the Sentencing Commission's Organizational Sentencing Guidelines (to be continued in Chapter 8 of the Commission's Guidelines Manual).

Race, Reform, And Retrenchment: Transformation And Legitimation In Antidiscrimination Law, Kimberlé W. Crenshaw

Faculty Scholarship

Recent works by neoconservatives and by Critical legal scholars have suggested that civil rights reforms have been an unsuccessful means of achieving racial equality in America. In this Article, Professor Crenshaw considers these critiques and analyzes the continuing role of racism in the subordination of Black Americans. The neoconservative emphasis on formal colorblindness, she argues, fails to recognize the indeterminacy of civil rights laws and the force of lingering racial disparities. The Critical scholars, who emphasize the legitimating role of legal ideology and legal rights rhetoric, are substantially correct, according to Professor Crenshaw, but they fail to appreciate the choices …

The Unwisdom Of Allowing City Growth To Work Out Its Own Destiny, Garrett Power

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Adventures In Finance, Deborah A. Demott

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Professional Qualification And Educational Requirements For Law Practice In A Foreign Country: Bridging The Cultural Gap, Roger J. Goebel

Faculty Scholarship

This Article will discuss preparation for transnational legal practice, and the extent of the right to engage in transnational legal practice in major commercial centers. It is divided into five parts: (I) the role of the transnational lawyer in bridging the cultural gap; (II) education in preparation for transnational practice; (III) professional qualification requirements for foreign lawyers in New York and several major commercial centers abroad; (IV) the extent of the lawyer's right to provide services and the right of professional establishment in the EEC; and (V) some general reflections on desirable qualification requirements for law firms and individuals to …

Getting To Market: The Scientific And Legal Climate For Developing An Aids Vaccine, Wendy K. Mariner, Robert C. Gallo

Faculty Scholarship

Expectations of a vaccine to prevent acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are rising. Not only are the prospects for an effective immunogen improving, but immunization appears to hold the greatest promise for halting the spread of infection and disease.' Identification of the causal agent-the retrovirus called HTLV-III, LAV, or generically, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)-has provided the direction and limited the options for containing the disease.

Prevention is, of course, critical where the disease must be presumed to be fatal in all cases. Although there is no clear evidence that any single exposure to HIV will result in infection or disease, prudence …

Of Carrots And Sticks: Evaluating The Role Of The Class Action Lawyer, Mary Kay Kane

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Texas Session Laws: Same Chapter, Different Verse, James Hambleton, Jim Paulsen

Faculty Scholarship

An inconsistency in the publication of Texas session laws, beginning with the tag-end of the 68th Legislature, promises to create considerable confusion in finding and citing session laws. The problem stems from the fact that one publisher produced the paper pamphlet "advance sheets" for new laws, while another released the bound volumes of the same session laws. As one might expect, page numbers do not coincide.

The Impact Of Fraudulent Conveyance Law On Future Advances Supported By Upstream Guaranties And Security Interests, Steven L. Schwarcz

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Public Contracts, Private Contracts, And The Transformation Of The Constitutional Order, Thomas W. Merrill

Faculty Scholarship

Modern interpretation of the Contract Clause of article 1, section 10 has created a dual standard of judicial review that bottoms upon the classification of a particular contract as public or private. However, which particular category has received greater deference has changed depending upon the precedential climate. Within his Article, Professor Merrill outlines three modern justifications for affording greater protection to public obligations “Kantian theory,” “process theory,” and “utilitarian theory.” He argues, however, that none of these theories adequately justify the dual standard of review, and concludes that a unitary analysis of the contract clause that affords no presumptions in …

Rico: The Crime Of Being A Criminal Parts Iii And Iv, Gerard E. Lynch

Faculty Scholarship

In the first portion of this study, we saw that the Supreme Court in its 1981 Turkette decision endorsed what was already the consensus view of the courts of appeals that a group of individuals associated in fact to pursue entirely illegitimate purposes could constitute a RICO enterprise. Prosecutions of such associations have quickly become the leading use of the statute. It can be reliably estimated that more than forty percent of the reported appellate cases involving RICO indictments concern prosecutions in which the alleged enterprise was such an illicit association. When the cases are classified by the nature of …

Better Late Than Never: Publication Of The Decisions From The 1845 Term Of The Republic Of Texas Supreme Court, James Hambleton, David A. Greenblatt

Faculty Scholarship

Two years ago, this column featured the rediscovery of a full year's worth of decisions issued by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas that had never been printed. Paulsen & Hambleton, Whatever Happened to 7845? The Missing Decisions of the Texas Supreme Court, 48 Tex. B.J. 830 (1985). Those decisions now have been collected and will appear in the December 1986 issue of the Texas Law Review (The Missing Cases of the Republic, 65 Texas L. Rev. 377 (1986)). Although none of the missing cases are likely to have any direct bearing on the outcome of the Texaco-Pennzoil …