Digital Commons Network^™

Predictive Decisionmaking, Michael B. Abramowicz

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In this Article, Professor Abramowicz identifies a regulatory strategy that he calls "predictive decisionmaking" and provides a framework for assessing it. In a predictive decisionmaking regime, public or private decisionmakers make predictions, often of future legal decisions, rather than engage in normative analysis. Several scholars, particularly in recent years, have offered proposals that fit within the predictive decisionmaking paradigm, but have not noted the connection among these proposals. The Article highlights five different mechanisms on which predictive decisionmaking regimes may rely, including predictive standards, enterprise liability, accuracy incentives, partial insurance requirements, and information markets. After identifying several advantages that predictive …

Punishment And Accountability: Understanding And Reforming Criminal Sanctions In America, Donald Braman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The vast majority of Americans favor sanctions that require offenders to engage in responsible behavior - to work, pay restitution, or support dependents; to participate in a mandatory job training, literacy, or drug treatment program; or to meet some other prosocial obligation. While this intuitive preference crosses political and ideological divides, nothing in our classical theories of punishment properly accounts for or develops this intuition. In this Article, Donald Braman explores the popular preference for and the benefits that attach to these accountability-reinforcing sanctions. Reviewing existing and original ethnographic, interview, and survey data, he describes why these sanctions have such …

Emerging Policy And Practice Issues (2005), Steven L. Schooner, Christopher R. Yukins

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This paper, presented at the West Government Contracts Year in Review Conference (covering 2005), attempts to identify the key trends and issues for 2006 in U.S. federal procurement. In an effort to make sense of the current reforms, the paper focuses upon what seems to be the common imperative underlying the various initiatives: the need to bring order to a procurement function as it devolves away from the Government user - what some might call the "devolution" or "outsourcing" of the contracting function. The paper also addresses emerging issues including, among others, the death of competitive sourcing; the acquisition workforce …

Review Essay: 'Seeing Beyond The Limits Of International Law,' Jack L. Goldsmith And Eric A. Posner, 'The Limits Of International Law', Paul Schiff Berman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In 'The Limits of International Law,' Jack Goldsmith and Eric Posner use the simplifying assumptions of rational choice theory in an attempt to demonstrate that international law has no independent valence whatsoever. Rather, according to the authors, each state single-mindedly pursues its own rational interest and obeys international legal norms only to the extent that such norms serve those pre-existing interests. In this Review Essay, I argue that their vision of international law is deeply flawed. In particular, I take issue with the authors' assumption that states simply have pre-existing unitary interests that they then rationally pursue. First, I argue …

Dialectical Regulation, Territoriality, And Pluralism, Paul Schiff Berman

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Scholarly and policy debates about territoriality and nation-state sovereignty are turning to the ways in which such concepts might be changing in an increasingly interconnected world of interlocking governance structures and systems of communication. Robert Ahdieh's provocative and generative essay, Dialectical Regulation, 38 Conn. L. Rev. 863 (2005-2006), attempts a model for understanding this new plural order. He argues that intersystemic regulation is now a significant legal reality, and analyzes the types of interactions we would expect to see among these multiple regulatory authorities. Ahdieh aims to define dialectical regulation, in which regulators exist in some kind of formal structural …

Shareholders As Proxies: The Contours Of Shareholder Democracy, Dalia Tsuk Mitchell

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article explores the long-standing suspicion of the individual shareholder and the corresponding ambivalence about shareholder democracy as it is seen in conversations about the shareholder's role in the modern public corporation throughout the twentieth century.

The article examines two competing conceptions of the shareholder's role in the corporation: one focuses on the role of shareholders as investors, the other emphasizes the role of shareholders as potential participants in corporate management. I argue that scholars and reformers who have conceived of shareholders as investors limited the locus of shareholder democracy to the market. The writings of Louis Brandeis, Henry Manne, …

Clogs In The Pipeline: The Mixed Data On Women Directors And Continued Barriers To Their Advancement, Lisa M. Fairfax

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The longstanding disparity between the percentage of women in the workforce and their membership on corporate boards indicates that women continue to face significant barriers to corporate board membership. Evidence drawn from an empirical study on women directors at Fortune 100 companies demonstrates that the mere passage of time does not eliminate these barriers. This empirical study confirms that women have made considerable progress since 1934, but the aggregate number of women directors is small when compared against their percentages in the workforce and school population.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 may have resulted in changes in board composition that …

Post-Katrina Reconstruction Liability: Exposing The Inferior Risk-Bearer, Steven L. Schooner, Erin Siuda-Pfeffer

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This Article describes the doctrinal, functional, and moral flaws inherent in the Gulf Coast Recovery Act (GCRA), a United States Senate bill that would provide liability protection to government contractors engaged in disaster relief work in the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina, as well as in future disaster areas. First, the Article discusses the history of the government contractor defense and finds that the protection provided by the GCRA is quite unlike the traditional government contractor defense. This Article further argues that this doctrinal departure cannot be justified on grounds of efficiency or fairness, as the GCRA allocates risk away …

Constitutional Obstacles To Regulating Violence In The Media, Catherine J. Ross

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This chapter examines whether speech containing violent imagery that is made available to children can be subjected to government regulation that will survive constitutional scrutiny. The first section of this chapter reviews the general limits that the First Amendment places on the government’s power to regulate speech. The second section arguees that violent speech may not be regulated based on its content because “violence” is not one of the limited legal categories constituting “unprotected” speech, such as obscenity.

The third section examines the government’s burden to demonstrate that violent speech harms children before it can regulate such speech, and concludes …

Federalism, Instrumentalism, And The Legacy Of The Rehnquist Court, Peter J. Smith

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This paper starts from the proposition that although the Rehnquist Court imposed limits on federal power in the name of states' rights far more aggressively than did its post-1937 predecessors, it just as often chose not to impose limits in cases that otherwise fairly can be thought to have presented a question of federalism. The article then makes three claims. First, the article argues that any ultimately satisfying account of the Rehnquist Court's federalism doctrine must acknowledge that the decisions have often appeared to be driven as much by the Justices' policy preferences about the underlying substantive matters at issue …

The Marshall Court And The Originalist's Dilemma, Peter J. Smith

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

In response to Anti-Federalist complaints that the Constitution was dangerous because it was ambiguous, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton argued that judges would construe the Constitution in the same manner that they construed statutes, and in the process would fix the meaning of ambiguous constitutional provisions. In other words, the original understanding was that constitutional ambiguities would be resolved, among other means, through adjudication. During his lengthy tenure, Chief Justice John Marshall had ample occasion to fix constitutional meaning, and he presided over a Court that resolved many constitutional ambiguities according to a nationalistic view of the relationship between the …

The 'Parisian Prowler': The Effects Of Modernity On Flanerie And Poetry Of Charles Baudelaire, Caroline Turner Dye

Honors Theses

This thesis explores the physical changes wrought in nineteenth century Paris that ushered the city into modernity, and led to the creation of a new figure, the flaneur. Through the eyes of one Parisian author specifically, Charles Baudelaire, I will the character of the flaneur in his historical context. examine Research was performed both in Paris during the summer of 2005, with walking tours of the city and reading original texts, and throughout the fall semester of 2005. Primary sources, maps, lithographs, photographs, and interviews were consulted as I uncovered the architectural modifications that occurred during the Second Empire under …

A Risk Analysis Of Ambrosia Furniture Company, Jared Foster Martin

Honors Theses

The following analysis was created upon request from Ambrosia Furniture Company in an attempt to fully identify, analyze, and address exposure to risk. In order to evaluate and identify specific areas of risk, the report takes into consideration financial records, history of losses, and reviews company policies. These areas of risk were then further examined and analyzed to determine what actions and managerial techniques would best minimize their costs and effects. With these principles in mind, this report has further delineated these exposures into five primary groups. These groups were then correlated so as to allow for a more efficient …

The Truth Shall Set You Free: Journalists' Addiction To Truth In The Face Of Danger, Margaret O'Brien Middleton

Honors Theses

As maligned as they may be at times, journalists are constantly relied upon for information. Everyday, people watch television, read newspapers, and browse articles on the internet about dangerous events happening throughout the world. It is journalists’ responsibility to bring this news to their readers. However, many stories come with a very high price. In order to report on the things that are most important to society - things that are also usually the most dangerous -journalists are forced to put themselves in the line of fire to deliver the story. The question that this thesis strives to answer is …

Constitutional Structure, Judicial Discretion, And The Eighth Amendment, Bradford R. Clark

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The Supreme Court recently resolved a longstanding split in its Eighth Amendment jurisprudence when it declared that the cruel and unusual punishments clause delegates to federal courts broad discretion to exercise independent judgment to evaluate the propriety of punishments authorized by state law. The Court claimed authority to displace a punishment - however widely employed - based on the Court's own assessment of the penological effectiveness of the punishment and the moral culpability of the particular class of offenders. Notably, the Court did not, and has not in the modern era, attempted to justify its approach in terms of either …

Nongovernmental Organizations And International Law, Steve Charnovitz

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article examines NGOs and their advocacy activities aimed at influencing international relations. The article addresses longstanding issues such as the legal status of NGOs, as well as new problems such as whether NGO lobbying in intergovernmental forums is democratically legitimate. In doing so, the article draws upon past scholarship to shed light on the guiding ideas in the contemporary debate regarding NGOs. Part I examines issues regarding the identity of NGOs and then catalogs the ways that state practice incorporates NGOs into authoritative decision making. Part II looks at the legal status of NGOs in international law. Part III …

A Constitutional Hierarchy Of Religions? Justice Scalia, The Ten Commandments, And The Future Of The Establishment Clause, Thomas Colby

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

If there is one principle of Establishment Clause jurisprudence that has enjoyed the unanimous support of all of the Justices of the Supreme Court over the last half century, it is that all religions are afforded equal status under the Constitution. With his dissenting opinion in the 2005 Ten Commandments cases, however, Justice Scalia has upset that consensus. According to Justice Scalia's dissent, the Establishment Clause affords greater protection to the believers of some religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) than others (Hinduism, Buddhism, no religion, everything else). Turning traditional constitutional law on its head, Justice Scalia's approach treats the Establishment Clause …

The Relevance Of The Nlra And Labor Organizations In The Post-Industrial Global Economy, Charles B. Craver

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

As the United States continues to transition from a manufacturing to a post-industrial service-oriented economy that is directly affected by global competition, the strength of domestic labor organizations has declined and private sector union membership has fallen to below 8 percent. Most unions continue to behave like the craft and industrial organizations of the mid-1900s. They employ appeals that once worked well for blue collar manufacturing workers to appeal to new-age white collar and service personnel who view traditional unionization as working class. If labor organizations hope to appeal to twenty-first century employees, they must devise strategies that will resonate …

Privacy Issues Affecting Employers, Employees, And Labor Organizations, Charles B. Craver

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Privacy issues arise regularly in employment environments. Employers frequently assert privacy rights when denying non-employee union organizers access to employment premises and limiting the distribution of union literature or the solicitation of authorization cards by current employees. On the other hand, when employers desire to monitor employee computer usage on firm computers to be sure they are not accessing inappropriate sites or engaging in other inappropriate electronic behavior, they give short shrift to employee privacy claims. When employer premises are open to the general public, non-employee access to external areas such as parking lots might provide an appropriate accommodation between …

The Common Law As An Iterative Process: A Preliminary Inquiry, Lawrence A. Cunningham

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The common law often is casually referred to as an iterative process without much attention given to the detailed attributes such processes exhibit. This Article explores this characterization, uncovering how common law as an iterative process is one of endless repetition that is simultaneously stable and dynamic, self-similar but evolving, complex yet simple. These attributes constrain the systemic significance of judicial discretion and also confirm the wisdom of traditional approaches to studying and learning law. As an iterative system, common law exhibits what physicists call sensitive dependence on initial conditions. This generates a path dependency from which it may be …

Too Big To Fail: Moral Hazard In Auditing And The Need To Restructure The Industry Before It Unravels, Lawrence A. Cunningham

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Large audit firms may believe that they are too big to fail. Arthur Andersen's 2002 criminal indictment reduced their number from five to four, and the government decided in 2005 to avoid indicting KPMG for crimes it admitted committing. If audit firms interpret the government's reluctance to indict as signaling aversion to tough action against them, moral hazard arises. This offsets auditing improvements mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that are designed to strengthen auditors' reputations with managers for thoroughness and improve financial statement reliability. Neutralizing this moral hazard requires a credible alternative industry structure so that when a …

The Mysterious Ways Of Mutual Funds: Market Timing, Lawrence A. Cunningham, Tamar Frankel

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The term market timing was little known outside the arcane world of mutual funds until state attorneys general from across the country popularized it. The term's innocuous-sounding ring assumed a more pernicious note when the mysterious ways of mutual funds became more transparent. In its pernicious sense, market timing denominates mutual fund insiders using the inscrutable structures of mutual funds to provide benefits selectively to favored participants at the expense of less favored participants. Mutual fund shares are not like common stocks; investments made using these vehicles are unlike those made through traditional securities markets. While the peculiar features of …

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Legal Implications And Research Opportunities, Lawrence A. Cunningham, Stephen Kwaku Asare, Arnold Wright

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Congress passed the Sarbanes Oxley Act to restore investor confidence, which had been deflated by massive business and audit failures, epitomized by the demise of the Enron Corporation and Arthur Anderson LLP. The Act altered the roles and responsibilities of auditors, corporate officers, audit committee members, as well as other participants in the financial reporting process. We evaluate the potential legal implications of some of the Act's major provisions and anticipate participants' likely responses. Our evaluation suggests that these provisions will significantly change behavior, increase compliance costs and alter the legal landscape. We also identify promising avenues for future research …

Language, Deals And Standards: The Future Of Xml Contracts, Lawrence A. Cunningham

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

eXtensible Markup Language (XML) structures information in documentary systems ranging from financial reports to medical records and business contracts. XML standards for specific applications are developed spontaneously by self-appointed technologists or entrepreneurs. XML's social and economic stakes are considerable, especially when developed for the private law of contracts. XML can reduce transaction costs but also limit the range of contractual expression and redefine the nature of law practice. So reliance on spontaneous development may be sub-optimal and identification of a more formal public standard setting model necessary. To exploit XML's advantages while minimizing risks, this Article envisions creating a publicly …

Public Law Values In A Privatized World, Laura T. Dickinson

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Although domestic administrative law scholars have long debated privatization within the US, this debate has not confronted the growing phenomenon of privatization in the international realm or its impact on the values embodied in public international law. Yet, with both nation-states and international organizations increasingly privatizing foreign affairs functions, privatization is now as significant a phenomenon internationally as it is domestically. For example, states are turning to private actors to perform core military, foreign aid, and diplomatic functions. Military privatization entered the popular consciousness in 2004, when private contractors working for the US government abused detainees at Abu Ghraib prison …

Torture And Contract, Laura T. Dickinson

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This essay is a contribution to the War Crimes Research Symposium: "Torture and the War on Terror” at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, October 7, 2005. The symposium raised important questions about the problem of torture and the use of torture in the so-called "War on Terror." In considering this problem, this essay focuses on an aspect of the issue that has only recently received popular and scholarly attention, but that is likely to have profound implications: the privatization of military functions, and specifically, the privatization of torture. Such privatization may, at first blush, seem to render it …

Filartiga’S Legacy In An Era Of Military Privatization, Laura T. Dickinson

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Filartiga v. Pena-Irala established the idea that domestic tort suits might be brought under the Alien Tort Claims Act ("ATCA") against those accused of violating human rights norms. But what is the legacy of this case in an era of military privatization? Are there available legal responses to what we might call the privatization of torture? In the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, where detainees were tortured and abused, the individuals involved in the torture included not only members of the military, but contractors hired from the private sector. Because U.S. constitutional scrutiny traditionally applies only to state actors, privatization …

The Jurisdictional Heritage Of The Grand Jury Clause, Roger A. Fairfax Jr.

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

For the first 150 years of our constitutional history, a valid grand jury indictment was deemed to be a mandatory prerequisite to a federal court's exercise of criminal subject matter jurisdiction. Under that view of the Grand Jury Clause, a defendant in a federal felony case could neither waive nor forfeit the right to grand jury indictment. A critical examination of the historical evidence reveals that the legal realist criminal procedure reform project of the early twentieth century advanced a pragmatic critique of the usefulness of the grand jury that culminated in a provision of the Federal Rules of Criminal …

Coordination, Property & Intellectual Property: An Unconventional Approach To Anticompetitive Effects & Downstream Access, F. Scott Kieff

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Countless high profile cases like the recent patent litigation threatening to shut down the BlackBerry® service have long drawn sharp criticism; and in response, most of the intellectual property (IP) literature argues for the use of weaker, or liability rule, enforcement as a tool for solving the problems of anticompetitive effects and downstream access while still providing sufficient rewards to IP creators. This paper takes an unconventional approach under which rewards don't matter much, but coordination does matter a great deal. The paper shows how stronger, or property rule, enforcement facilitates the good type of coordination that increases competition and …

Engineering A Deal: Toward A Private Ordering Solution To The Anticommons Problem, F. Scott Kieff, Troy A. Paredes

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

The problems of the intellectual property ("IP") anticommons are infamous. Many people fear that the potential for vast numbers of IP rights to cover a single good or service will prevent an enterprise from even attempting to launch a business for fear of being unduly taxed or retarded or simply held up. This Article offers a solution based on private ordering within the context of existing laws. This approach uses a limited liability entity structured so that IP owners are given an actual stake in the operating business and thus an incentive to participate in the enterprise; and yet at …