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Full-Text Articles in Law
Of Brutal Murder And Transcendental Sovereignty: The Meaning Of Vested Private Rights, Adam J. Macleod
Of Brutal Murder And Transcendental Sovereignty: The Meaning Of Vested Private Rights, Adam J. Macleod
Faculty Articles
The idea of vested private rights is divisive; it divides those who practice law from those who teach and think about law. On one side of the divide, practicing lawyers act as though (at least some) rights exist and exert binding obligations upon private persons and government officials, such that once vested, the rights cannot be taken away or retrospectively altered. Lawyers convey estates in property, negotiate contracts, and write and send demand letters on the supposition that they are specifying and vindicating rights, which are rights not as a result of a judgment by a court in a subsequent …
Navigating Some Deep And Troubled Jurisprudential Waters: Lawyer–Expert Witnesses And The Twin Dangers Of Disguised Testimony And Disguised Advocacy, W. William Hodes
Navigating Some Deep And Troubled Jurisprudential Waters: Lawyer–Expert Witnesses And The Twin Dangers Of Disguised Testimony And Disguised Advocacy, W. William Hodes
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
Expert testimony is indispensable to the uniquely American system of adversary justice. Without the assistance of expert witnesses with specialized knowledge, based on either science or experience and practice, jury verdicts would often be the result of pure whim and prejudice, or random and arbitrary decision-making. At the same time, the use of compensated, partisan expert witnesses poses significant dangers to the fair and just determination of disputes. This Article examines the enhanced dangers that can appear when the expert witness is a lawyer, chiefly the pervasive use of “disguised testimony” and “disguised advocacy.” The Article concludes with some suggestions …