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Full-Text Articles in Law

Contempt Power And The United States Courts, Joshua Carback Jan 2023

Contempt Power And The United States Courts, Joshua Carback

Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice

Contempt power is one of the most important legacies of English common law in federal common law. Substantively, the contempt power of the United States Courts is relatively similar to that employed by the Court of King’s Bench in the eighteenth century. Procedurally, however, it is quite different. The Rules Enabling Act of 1934 created an interbranch framework for crafting procedural rules for the United States Courts. All three branches of the federal government collaborated under that framework with the intention of rationalizing, systemizing, and delimiting the boundaries of contempt power. The culmination of decades of strenuous rulemaking, unfortunately, was …


Judges As Agents Of The Law, Daniel Harris Jan 2020

Judges As Agents Of The Law, Daniel Harris

Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice

No abstract provided.


The “Law Of Ramsey County” – Reflections Of A Trial Judge On State Government Gridlock, Kathleen Gearin Jan 2019

The “Law Of Ramsey County” – Reflections Of A Trial Judge On State Government Gridlock, Kathleen Gearin

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Winter Of Discontent: A Circumscribed Chevron, Nicholas R. Bednar Jan 2019

The Winter Of Discontent: A Circumscribed Chevron, Nicholas R. Bednar

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.


Separation Of Powers In New Mexico: Item Vetoes, State Policy-Making, And The Role Of State Courts, Michael B. Browde Jan 2019

Separation Of Powers In New Mexico: Item Vetoes, State Policy-Making, And The Role Of State Courts, Michael B. Browde

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.


From Warren To Burger: Race Relations Inside The Court, Robert Fabrikant Jan 2017

From Warren To Burger: Race Relations Inside The Court, Robert Fabrikant

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.


Get Out From Under Your Overcoat, Jeanne J. Graham Jan 2015

Get Out From Under Your Overcoat, Jeanne J. Graham

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.


Tribute To Justice Rosalie Wahl, Donovan W. Frank Jan 2014

Tribute To Justice Rosalie Wahl, Donovan W. Frank

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.


Tribute To Justice Rosalie Wahl, Eric J. Magnuson Jan 2014

Tribute To Justice Rosalie Wahl, Eric J. Magnuson

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.


Tribute To Justice Rosalie Wahl, Sharon Sayles Belton Jan 2014

Tribute To Justice Rosalie Wahl, Sharon Sayles Belton

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.


Tribute To Justice Rosalie Wahl, Harriet Lansing Jan 2014

Tribute To Justice Rosalie Wahl, Harriet Lansing

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.


Tribute To Justice Rosalie Wahl, Eric S. Janus Jan 2014

Tribute To Justice Rosalie Wahl, Eric S. Janus

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.


Forum, Federalism, And Free Markets: An Empirical Study Of Judicial Behavior Under The Dormant Commerce Clause Doctrine, Mehmet K. Konar-Steenberg, Anne F. Peterson Jan 2011

Forum, Federalism, And Free Markets: An Empirical Study Of Judicial Behavior Under The Dormant Commerce Clause Doctrine, Mehmet K. Konar-Steenberg, Anne F. Peterson

Faculty Scholarship

This study examines judicial behavior under the dormant Commerce Clause doctrine by drawing on an original database of 459 state and Federal appellate cases decided between 1970 and 2009. The authors use logit regression to show that state judges are more likely to uphold state and local laws against dormant Commerce Clause attack than their Federal judicial counterparts, a result that is consistent with the interstate rivalry issues animating the doctrine. The study also finds that Republican-dominated judicial panels at the state level are more likely to side with tax challengers invoking the dormant Commerce Clause doctrine than are Democratic …


A Tribute To Justice Esther M. Tomljanovich, Paul H. Anderson Jan 2006

A Tribute To Justice Esther M. Tomljanovich, Paul H. Anderson

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.


In Praise Of Contextuality - Justice O'Connor And The Establishment Clause, Marie Failinger Jan 2006

In Praise Of Contextuality - Justice O'Connor And The Establishment Clause, Marie Failinger

Faculty Scholarship

Among Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s lasting contributions to Supreme Court Jurisprudence has been her attempt to contextualize Religion Clause jurisprudence, to move the Court in the direction of considering the circumstances surrounding government in assessing its constitutionality. Typical of this contributor has been her two decades of work in Establishment Clause law, in particular, ended by Lynch v. Donnelly, in which she introduced the “non-endorsement” test and one of the Ten Commandment cases, McCreary County, Kentucky v. American Civil Liberties Union, in which it was most recently employed. The non-endorsement test has served as one of the two commonly competing …


The Jurisprudence Of Justice Esther Tomljanovich: Balancing The Scales Of Justice, Ann L. Iijima Jan 2005

The Jurisprudence Of Justice Esther Tomljanovich: Balancing The Scales Of Justice, Ann L. Iijima

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.


Federal Court Special Masters: A Vital Resource In The Era Of Complex Litigation, Mark A. Fellows, Roger S. Haydock Jan 2005

Federal Court Special Masters: A Vital Resource In The Era Of Complex Litigation, Mark A. Fellows, Roger S. Haydock

William Mitchell Law Review

This article is dedicated to all those who have served as special masters in federal court. After serving as a judicial master, it is easy to believe in the importance of the role in our grand system of justice. After reading this article, we hope it will be clear how vital masters are to everyone receiving fair, just, and expedient civil justice.


Special Masters In State Court Complex Litigation: An Available And Underused Case Management Tool, Lynn Jokela, David F. Herr Jan 2005

Special Masters In State Court Complex Litigation: An Available And Underused Case Management Tool, Lynn Jokela, David F. Herr

William Mitchell Law Review

This article examines the role masters have played in litigation and explores the benefits that might be obtained from the greater use of masters in the future. The FJC survey of federal judges appointing special masters concluded that special masters were “extremely or very effective.” The FJC study is an empirical survey of the effectiveness of special masters, and it includes commentary from judges regarding their experience after appointing special masters. These benefits include better, faster, and fairer resolution of litigation in the cases in which masters are used, as well as an easing of the burdens these cases place …


2004 Special Masters Conference: Transcript Of Proceedings, Various Special Masters Jan 2005

2004 Special Masters Conference: Transcript Of Proceedings, Various Special Masters

William Mitchell Law Review

A historic gathering of special masters occurred on October 15th and 16th, 2004 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Federal and state court-appointed masters from around the country met for the first time to share their experiences as special masters and to form a national association of court appointed masters. This issue of the William Mitchell Law Review contains articles presented at the conference and the transcript of faculty presentations. Throughout the transcript of faculty presentations, the word “speaker” denotes a conference attendee.


Can Good Judges Be Good Politician? Judicial Elections From A Virtue Ethics Approach, Marie Failinger Jan 2005

Can Good Judges Be Good Politician? Judicial Elections From A Virtue Ethics Approach, Marie Failinger

Faculty Scholarship

In this article, the author argues that it is only possible to determine whether judges are likely to be good judges if we understand the practice of judging and the telos of justice toward which its aims, and that elections cannot help voters determine what qualities are necessary in judges and for what reasons. Moreover, I argue that traditional elections require virtues in politicians which are not often found in good (virtuous) judges, making them an unsuitable way of selecting candidates.


Virtuous Judges And Electoral Politics: A Contradiction?, Marie Failinger Jan 2004

Virtuous Judges And Electoral Politics: A Contradiction?, Marie Failinger

Faculty Scholarship

Judge Thomas J. Spargo serves as a fascinating poster-child in the debate on what’s wrong (or right) with judicial elections. Judge Spargo, campaigning for re-election as Justice of the Berne Town Court in upstate New York, was accused of “failing to observe the high standards of conduct” expected as a judge because he handed out doughnuts to voters. Judge Spargo’s case and others illustrate that popular debates about the merits of judicial elections versus judicial selection commissions have probably been mis-focused on two “second-order questions rather than concentrating on “first-order” concerns in judicial selection. This article discusses these questions and …


Foreword, Helen Meyer Jan 2004

Foreword, Helen Meyer

William Mitchell Law Review

The William Mitchell Law Review has decided once again to dedicate one issue of this annual volume to Recent Decisions of the Minnesota Supreme Court. This issue reviews some of the court’s more important decisions from the 2003-04 term. If tradition is honored, the articles and notes you find in these pages will be thorough, well-written, and thoughtful in their analysis of each decision. This annual review is a tradition that gives our legal community a wonderful opportunity to publicly comment on the work of the court. This public testing of the court’s work is a healthy part of the …


Windfall Justice: Sentences At The Mercy Of Hypertechnicality, Jack Nordby Jan 2004

Windfall Justice: Sentences At The Mercy Of Hypertechnicality, Jack Nordby

William Mitchell Law Review

Once upon a time (a time not so remote as to be beyond the memories of many of us who still toil in the vineyards of justice), the severity of a criminal sentence was determined largely at the whim of the trial judge, who was guided only by vague considerations of suitability. Non-premeditated murder, for example, might be punished by anything from probation to forty years in prison. A parole board exercised a similarly subjective power to temper the term with early release. Then, about a quarter century ago, the legislature created a commission to establish sentencing “guidelines,” said to …


Foreword, Sam Hanson Jan 2003

Foreword, Sam Hanson

William Mitchell Law Review

Introduction to issue of Recent Decisions of the Minnesota Supreme Court (from 2002-03 term).


Minnesota Court Of Appeals Hears Oral Argument Via Interactive Teleconferencing Technology, Edward Toussaint Jan 2000

Minnesota Court Of Appeals Hears Oral Argument Via Interactive Teleconferencing Technology, Edward Toussaint

Faculty Scholarship

The Minnesota Court of Appeals is dedicated to providingaffordable access to the appellate process. Access to theappellate process is central to our vision. In order to promote this vision, the Minnesota Court ofAppeals has taken the initiative to implement Interactive VideoTeleconferencing ("IVT"). This essay will discuss the historybehind this decision, the mechanics of its implementation, andthe benefits and challenges of its application to the appellateprocess.


The Justice Who Wouldn't Be Lutheran: Toward Borrowing The Wisdom Of Faith Traditions, Marie Failinger Jan 1998

The Justice Who Wouldn't Be Lutheran: Toward Borrowing The Wisdom Of Faith Traditions, Marie Failinger

Faculty Scholarship

Although many authors have debated the propriety of the use of religious arguments in public policy discussions and lawmaking, few have critically reviewed the jurisprudence of particular judges through the lens of their own faith-traditions. Preliminarily, this article attempts a modest contribution to the discussion about the use of religious argument in public discussions by suggesting that judicial opinions should be viewed rhetorically and that religious assumptions and claims may legitimately be "borrowed" analogically into such opinions, at least their forensic and epideictic elements. More concretely, it analyzes themes in some of Justice William Rehnquist's opinions to determine how consistent …


A Tribute To Anne Simonett, Edward Toussaint Jan 1995

A Tribute To Anne Simonett, Edward Toussaint

Faculty Scholarship

Tribute to Judge Anne Simonett, from Judge Edward Toussaint, Chief Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals.


Rosalie Wahl: Her Extraordinary Contributions To Legal Education, James F. Hogg Jan 1995

Rosalie Wahl: Her Extraordinary Contributions To Legal Education, James F. Hogg

Faculty Scholarship

Justice Rosalie Wahl is well-known as the first woman to be appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, but she has made a lesser known, yet critical, contribution to the quality and effectiveness of legal education in this country. As chair of the American Bar Association's Section on Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, Wahl created the MacCrate Commission. The MacCrate Report charts the way for improvement in law school teaching and learning, and the discussion following the report lead to the creation of an ABA Commission to take testimony and review the ABA Accreditation Standards. Wahl also chaired this …


Judicial Vacancies And Delay In The Federal Courts: An Empirical Evaluation, In Symposium, The Civil Justice Reform Act, A. Kimberley Dayton Jan 1993

Judicial Vacancies And Delay In The Federal Courts: An Empirical Evaluation, In Symposium, The Civil Justice Reform Act, A. Kimberley Dayton

Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines the relationship between federal district court judicial vacancies --whether caused by the executive branch's failure to timely nominate judges, Congress's failure to confirm presidential nominees, or some other reason -- and delays in processing the civil caseload. The hypotheses tested are several configurations of the hypothesis “judicial vacancies cause delay.” The statistical method of analysis of covariance is used to test this hypothesis and thereby evaluate the degree to which delays, defined by reference to certain case management statistics, are correlated to vacancy rates in individual federal district courts, and within the federal system as a whole. …


Case Management In The Eastern District Of Virginia, In Symposium, Civil Litigation In The 1990'S, Part Ii, A. Kimberley Dayton Jan 1992

Case Management In The Eastern District Of Virginia, In Symposium, Civil Litigation In The 1990'S, Part Ii, A. Kimberley Dayton

Faculty Scholarship

Part I of this Article describes the administrative structure of the Eastern District of Virginia and its case management practices. Part II demonstrates that, despite the Eastern District of Virginia's status as one of the busiest federal district courts, it has consistently been one of the most efficient and effective federal courts in the nation. As a result, in Part III, this Article concludes that the experience of the Eastern District of Virginia raises many questions about the premises underlying the Civil Justice Reform Act, the proposed amendments to the Federal Rules, and the means by which Congress and the …