Law Commons^™

Right To Talk: Has Justice Antonin Scalia Compromised His Objectivity With A Public Remark?, Lloyd B. Snyder

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

With two assisted suicide cases scheduled for argument before the Supreme Court this term, Justice Antonin Scalia already has publicly staked out his position on the issue. While sentiments he expressed in 1990 in Cruzan v. Director, Missouri Department of Health, 497 U.S. 261, are well-known, Scalia told an audience at Catholic University late last year that it is "absolutely plain there is no [constitutional] right to die." Is it proper for sitting judges to make such statements? While no one would deny Scalia his First Amendment right to say what he pleases, that hardly quells concerns about the advisability …

Post-Verdict Interviews: The Key To Understanding The Decision Behind The Verdict, 30 J. Marshall L. Rev. 507 (1997), Christine J. Iversen

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Real World Perspective On Choice Of Law, Robert A. Sedler

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Who’S Afraid Of Humpty Dumpty: Deconstructionist References In Judicial Opinions, Madeleine M. Plasencia

Articles

This Article examines the treatment of deconstruction in United States judicial opinions.' A handful of cases have directly referred to the French philosopher and literary theorist, Jacques Derrida.2 In each of these cases, the court has rejected Derrida's philosophy, apparently out of a fear that recognition of any legitimacy of Derrida's thoughts would lead to the self-destruction of the legal world. These courts have misunderstood that consideration or recognition of Derrida's philosophy in the legal context would not unavoidably lead to the end of all meaningful legal discourse in the United States. A discussion of these cases will serve as …

Teaching An Old Law New Tricks: Rethinking Section 16, Ellen Taylor

Faculty Publications By Year

No abstract provided.

What Price Peace: From Nuremberg To Bosnia To The Nobel Peace Prize, Malvina Halberstam

Articles

No abstract provided.

Holmes's Path, David J. Seipp

Faculty Scholarship

The most important event in American legal history to have taken place at Boston University School of Law was the delivery, by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., of a speech entitled The Path of the Law.' He was an Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court at the time. The occasion was the dedication of a new building for the School of Law, a building the school would occupy for sixty-seven years. Holmes delivered the speech on January 8, 1897, one hundred years ago.

Juno Moneta: On The Erotics Of The Marketplace, Jeanne L. Schroeder

Articles

The article explores how property and the feminine, as legal fictions, facilitate the creation of subjectivity through the lens of Hegelian philosophy and Lacanian psychoanalysis. It critiques the liberal individual as an insufficient concept for subjectivity, arguing that subjectivity is constructed, not natural. The analysis examines how legal frameworks privilege masculine metaphors, such as possession, while repressing feminine ones, and posits that the pursuit of a perfect market represents a destructive ideal that undermines freedom and subjectivity.

Making Sausage: The Ninth Circuit's Opinion, Carl E. Schneider

Articles

As I write, the Supreme Court has just agreed to hear Compassion in Dying v. Washington and Quill v. Vacco, the two cases in which United States circuit courts of appeals held that a state may not constitutionally prohibit physicians from helping a terminally ill person who wishes to commit suicide to do so. These cases have already received lavish comment and criticism, and no doubt the Supreme Court's opinion will garner even more. Reasonably enough, most of this analysis addresses the merits of physician-assisted suicide as social policy. I, here, want to talk about how setting bioethical policy …

Book Review Of Patterns Of American Jurisprudence, By Neil Duxbury, William P. Lapiana

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Towards A (Bayesian) Convergence?, Richard D. Friedman

Articles

If I understand them correctly, several leading Bayesioskeptics (Allen, Callen, Stein) acknowledge - with varying degrees of specificity and varying degrees of grudgingness - that standard probability theory can be useful as an analytical tool in considering evidentiary doctrines and the probative value of evidentiary items.

Answering The Bayesioskeptical Challenge, Richard D. Friedman

Articles

In recent years, some scholars of evidence, myself among them, have made active use of subjective probability theory - what is sometimes referred to as Bayesianism - in thinking about issues and problems related to the law of evidence. But, at the same time, this use has been challenged to various degrees and in various ways by scholars to whom I shall apply the collective, if somewhat misleading, label of Bayesioskeptics. I present this brief paper to defend this use of probability theory, and to discuss what I believe is its proper role in discourse about evidentiary issues.

Doing Justice: A Challenge For Catholic Law Schools Essay., Grace M. Walle

St. Mary's Law Journal

The numerous allegations of misconduct against high-ranking United States political figures and the associated attorneys are disheartening, but even more disconcerting is the general public’s acquiescence to these ethical deviations. The common assumption that “all lawyers are crooks” fails to outrage anyone. The fact most, if not all, recent ethical violators attended law schools and began their political careers as lawyers prompts questions of the legal education process. Understanding what justice encompasses may begin in books and the classroom, but justice in legal practice requires far more. The aspiration of “doing justice” may stem from religious belief, but this goal …

Defining The Limits Of Federal Court Jurisdiction Over States In Bankruptcy Court., Patricia L. Barsalou

St. Mary's Law Journal

Sovereign immunity jurisprudence has always been a confusing jumble of assumptions which seem incomprehensible. Despite the confusion, understanding sovereign immunity has become more important in the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida. The constitutional issues raised in Seminole Tribe amount to a reinterpretation of the fundamental balance of power between federal and state governments and the power of Congress to affect that balance. Not all sovereign immunity is sovereign immunity. Many courts use the term to identify both the common-law doctrine and the “immunity” granted to the states through the Eleventh …

The Food And Drug Administration's Final Rule On Tobacco Advertising Is All Butt Final: Commercial Speech Doctrine Will Be Tested Once More Under A Stricter Central Hudson Analysis In The Aftermath Of 44 Liquormart, Inc. V. Rhode Island Comment., Joe R. Hinojosa

St. Mary's Law Journal

In 1996 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) promulgated regulations affecting the advertising, sale, and promotion of tobacco. President Clinton supported the FDA’s claim it has the power to regulate tobacco products not as drugs, but as medical delivery devices of nicotine. Meaning tobacco sellers, retailer, distributors, and manufacturers would be subject to strict rules concerning how and where tobacco products may be advertised, distributed, and promoted. Despite the FDA’s claims, these measures were oriented toward discouraging children from smoking. Opponents of the regulations claim the restrictions constitute blatant infringement of commercial speech. The FDA argues that while advertising is …

Comparative Law And Comparative Literature: A Project In Progress, Mitchel De S.-O.-L'E. Lasser

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

How Law Is Formal And Why It Matters, Robert S. Summers

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Who's Afraid Of Functional Claims - Reforming The Patent Law's 112, 6 Jurisprudence, Mark Weston Janis

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Undead Laws: The Use Of Historically Unenforced Criminal Statutes In Non-Criminal Litigation, Hillary Greene

Faculty Articles and Papers

Long after criminal laws have lost their vigor in the context for which they were drafted, they may rise again elsewhere. The American legal system has yet to develop a coherent policy delineating when or if historically unenforced penal statutes can be invoked in non-penal contexts. This issue is particularly evident in cases where the relevant laws are caught between shifting moral sentiments. Fornication, for example, remains illegal in many states,' but it is rarely prosecuted. Should one of the participants in this criminal act contract a sexually transmitted disease and sue her partner in tort, however, these disused statutes …

Is Law Narrative?, Jane B. Baron, Julia Epstein

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Franklin S. Spears: A Proud Legacy To Texas Jurisprudence In Memoriam., James L. Branton

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Justice Franklin S. Spears: Unsung Hero Of Texas Justice In Memoriam., Thomas R. Phillips

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Justice Franklin S. Spears: A Son's Perspective On His Father In Memoriam., Carleton B. Spears

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

Professional Responsibility And The Litigator: A Comprehensive Guide To Texas Disciplinary Rules 3.01 Through 4.04., Barbara Hanson Nellermoe, Fidel Rodriguez Jr.

St. Mary's Law Journal

In 1991, the Texas Supreme Court addressed the issue of widespread discovery abuse. Technological advancements have brought new challenges to an attorney’s conduct in litigation and in the discovery process. The Texas Code of Professional Responsibility was repealed in 1990 and was replaced by Article 10, § 9 of the State Bar Rules (the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct). The Order of Adoption of the Texas Lawyer’ Creed states “the conduct of a lawyer should be characterized at all time by honest, candor, and fairness.” It is therefore mandatory for attorneys to refrain from engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, …

The Mutation Of Choice Recent Development., Kathleen A. Cassidy Goodman

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract Forthcoming.

A Tortured Construction: The Illegal Immigration Reform And Immigrant Responsibility Act's Express Bar Denying Criminal Aliens Withholding Of Deportation Defies The Principles Of International Law Comment., Bobbie Marie Guerra

St. Mary's Law Journal

The United States has never fully complied with international agreements concerning refugee’s rights to not be returned to a country where he or she faces certain threats of torture. This lack of compliance by the United States is exacerbated by two conflicting interests: the growing insistence on keeping aliens outside the nation’s borders and protecting international refugees who endure gross violations of their human rights. The recent amendments to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provide a contemporary example of the volatility and inconsistency of the United States’ immigration policy. In April 1996, Congress enacted the Antiterrorism and Effective Death …

Distinguishing Fong Yue Ting: Why The Inclusion Of Perjury As An Aggravated Felony Subjecting Legal Aliens To Deportation Under The Antiterrorism And Effective Death Penalty Act Violates The Eighth Amendment Comment., Gregory L. Ryan

St. Mary's Law Journal

Responding to the terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City, Congress spent several months researching and discussing the best ways to strengthen the United States’ ability to deter and punish terrorism. In 1996, Congress sent a bill to the President designed to make the country safer, and President Clinton signed the bill into law: The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). The AEDPA mandates a foreign national convicted of perjury be deported. Tucked away in the middle of the AEDPA, strict sanctions are imposed on noncitizens who commit perjury or subordination of perjury. In an attempt to strengthen the …

Anti-Immigrant Backlash And The Role Of The Judiciary: A Proposal For Heightened Review Of Federal Laws Affecting Immigrants Comment., Valerie L. Barth

St. Mary's Law Journal

The hostile environment in the United States toward immigrants, as indicated by the Welfare Reform Act and Proposition 187, calls for a more meaningful judicial review of laws affecting immigrants. Although subjecting the federal government’s actions regarding immigrants to heightened review might seem to be a radical step, this Comment will explain why such a move is necessary. Part II discusses historical justifications for subjecting state and federal laws affecting immigrants to different levels of scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause. Part III presents arguments for labeling immigrants a “suspect” class. Part IV considers the constitutionality of the Welfare Reform …

The Fourteenth Amendment And Title Ix: A Solution To Peer Sexual Harassment Comment., Connie C. Flores

St. Mary's Law Journal

Despite the high occurrence of sexual harassment in schools, many school officials, who are aware of the abuse, do nothing to prevent it. Yet, some officials are beginning to recognize peer abuse is not acceptable due to the detrimental effects on students. As a result, many schools have implemented successful programs to prevent peer harassment. Furthermore, when schools have not responded adequately to the problem, student victims have turned to the courts, suing schools for failure to ensure an environment free from discrimination. Although victims have had little success in taking these cases to court, constitutional and statutory provisions exist …

The U.S. Attorney: Fateful Powers Limited Essay., Tom Rickhoff

St. Mary's Law Journal

Nothing more separates the United States from some of history’s most ruthless and resourceful enemies, the Mexican drug syndicates, than an intermittent trickle of water. In spite of this crisis, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has languished without a presidentially-appointed leader since the Branch Davidian nightmare. Considering the historical influence of the U.S. Attorney’s office, the current situation in the Western District of Texas is somewhat surprising. At one time, U.S. Attorneys exercised almost total discretion as to how the federal government impacted the lives of the powerful as well as the powerless. One of the primary obstacles in restoring effective …