Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Law
What The Shutts Opt-Out Right Is And What It Ought To Be, Brian Wolfman, Alan B. Morrison
What The Shutts Opt-Out Right Is And What It Ought To Be, Brian Wolfman, Alan B. Morrison
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
This article discusses the ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Phillips Petroleum Co. v. Shutts, 472 U.S. 797 (1985), regarding the right of an absent class member to opt out of a class action. The article addresses both the current prevailing understanding of Shutts, which is based on the personal jurisdiction strain of due process jurisprudence, and what the authors believe is a more useful understanding, based on the property rights strain of due process jurisprudence. As an addendum to the article, the authors propose a new civil procedure rule governing class actions that would implement …
Protecting Plaintiffs' Sexual Pasts: Coping With Preconceptions Through Discretion, Jane H. Aiken
Protecting Plaintiffs' Sexual Pasts: Coping With Preconceptions Through Discretion, Jane H. Aiken
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
Part I of this Article traces the development of the civil application of Rule 412, the so-called “Rape Shield Rule”. Part II analyzes the inconsistencies within the cases decided under the new civil rule and links those inconsistencies to the language of the rule. It identifies the trends within the cases about what constitutes probative value for purposes of the rule and how courts assess prejudice. The Article concludes that rules of evidence designed to remedy bias of fact finders should not be cast as discretionary. Many of the problems that arise in the interpretation of Rule 412 could be …