Law Commons^™

Felix Cohen On Legislation, Michael S. Green

Michael S. Green

Felix Cohen's and Walter Wheeler Cook's prediction theory of law was a fundamentally positivist theory, according to which the law of a jurisdiction is reducible to regularities of official behavior. Cohen used the prediction theory to argue for philosophical anarchism - that is, the view that the existence of law does not entail a duty, even a prima facie duty, of obedience. In particular, Cohen extended philosophical anarchism to adjudication. The fact that officials in a jurisdiction regularly behave in a certain way does not give a judge adjudicating a case a moral reason to do the same. In deciding …

Procedural Due Process Claims, Erwin Chemerinsky

Erwin Chemerinsky

No abstract provided.

New Hampshire Juvenile Sex Trafficking Survivor Urges Representatives To Vote Against Decriminalized Prostitution, Darlene Pawlik, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Sex Industry Advocates Aim To Decriminalize Prostitution In New Hampshire, Kelly Roy-Williams, Lisa Thompson, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Hayekian Statutory Interpretation: A Response To Professor Bhatia, John Ehrett

John Ehrett

In this Essay, I challenge Professor Gautam Bhatia’s recent claim that a Hayekian worldview offers the most rational framing of the philosophical vision underlying Justice Scalia’s jurisprudence. I argue that Hayek’s conception of law, more properly understood, emphasizes the context of social interaction patterns, rather than focusing exclusively on individual autonomous agents. I subsequently trace the resulting implications for interpretive methodology that flow from this distinction, and ultimately address the discontinuities between the normative visions of liberty espoused by Hayek and Scalia.

Public Actors In Private Markets: Toward A Developmental Finance State, Robert Hockett, Saule Omarova

Saule T. Omarova

The recent financial crisis brought into sharp relief fundamental questions about the social function and purpose of the financial system, including its relation to the “real” economy. This Article argues that, to answer these questions, we must recapture a distinctively American view of the proper relations among state, financial market, and development. This programmatic vision – captured in what we call a “developmental finance state” – is based on three key propositions: (1) that economic and social development is not an “end-state” but a continuing national policy priority; (2) that the modalities of finance are the most potent means of …

Reflections On The Past, Looking To The Future: The Fair Housing Act At 40, John A. Powell

john a. powell

A summary is presented of the Fair Housing Act that was introduced in the U.S. 40 years ago to address the housing challenges.

Taking Distribution Seriously, Robert C. Hockett

Robert C. Hockett

It is common for legal theorists and policy analysts to think and communicate mainly in maximizing terms. What is less common is for them to notice that each time we speak explicitly of socially maximizing one thing, we speak implicitly of distributing another thing and equalizing yet another thing. We also, moreover, effectively define ourselves and our fellow citizens by reference to that which we equalize; for it is in virtue of the latter that our social welfare formulations treat us as “counting” for purposes of socially aggregating and maximizing. To attend systematically to the inter-translatability of maximization language on …

The Application Of The Endangered Species Act To The Protection Of Freshwater Mussels: A Case Study, Eric Biber

Eric Biber

The success or failure of the 1973 Endangered Species Act in protecting freshwater mussels, which constitute a substantial portion of the species listed as threatened or endangered in the US, is examined. Current human threats to the survival of mussel species are reviewed, as are tools provided by the Act that might be used to protect and restore them. While the Act has prevented the extinction of most species of freshwater mussels, many remain critically endangered and declining. The inability of the statute to provide for freshwater mussel species recovery is attributed to the near-impossibility of recovering a species after …

The Rule Of Law And The Litigation Process: The Paradox Of Losing By Winning, Catherine Albiston

Catherine R. Albiston

This article expands upon the idea that repeat players influence the development of law by settling cases they are likely to lose and litigating cases they are likely to win. Through empirical analysis of judicial opinions interpreting the Family and Medical Leave Act, it shows how the rule-making opportunities in the litigation process affect the development of law and the judicial determination of statutory rights. In addition, the article explains how early judicial opinions might influence later judicial interpretations of the law. Although individuals may successfully mobilize the law to gain benefits in their disputes, that success often removes their …

Arkansas's Public Records Retention Program: Records Retention As A Cornerstone Of Citizenship And Self-Government, Richard Peltz-Steele

Richard J. Peltz-Steele

This article first provides background, charting the scope of record retention in relation to the freedom of information, then outlining record retention through its history and development in the federal government, through its general principles and modes of practice, through a sketch of the problems that have arisen specially in the electronic era, and through an overview of its development at the state level. The article then describes the recent history of record retention law in Arkansas, up to and including the initiative enacted by the General Assembly in 2005, and the process and product of a state working group …

Interests In The Balance: Fda Regulations Under The Biologics Price Competition And Innovation Act, Parker Tresemer

Parker Tresemer

Recent biotechnology advances are yielding potentially life-saving therapies, but without FDA regulations designed to minimize product costs, patients will continue to be unable to afford these expensive biologic products. Many believe that these prohibitive costs stem from weak competition from generic biologic products, also known as follow-on biologics. To correct this deficiency, and to address the often conflicting regulatory and policy concerns associated with biologic products, Congress enacted the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act. The Act created an abbreviated approval pathway for biologic products and, if effective, could increase competition while driving down product costs. But legislation alone is …

Instituições, Trabalho E Pessoas, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

Os especialistas em doenças terminais sabem que ninguém tem saudades, quando abandona a vida, do trabalho que não fez. Tem saudades sim do tempo que não passou com familiares e amigos. A sociedade contemporânea, e algumas instituições "totais" estão a potenciar até ao expoente demencial a exploração e a despersonalização dos trabalhadores, designadamente proletarizando técnicos superiores e técnicos pensantes que, sem ócio criativo, deixarão de criar. É uma crise civilizacional, nada menos.

The Citizens Were Heard, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Senators' Prostitution Bill Is A Sham, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Speak Your Voice On Prostitution Bill, Donna L. Landry, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Sex Radicals Target Rhode Island, Margaret Brooks, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

The Obstructionism Of Senator Paul Jabour, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

Testimony On Human Trafficking Bill, Rhode Island Senate Judiciary Committee, Donna M. Hughes Dr.

Donna M. Hughes

The Compact Clause And The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Derek T. Muller

Derek T. Muller

Despite previous historical failed attempts to abolish the Electoral College at the federal level, in the months following the 2000 election, several lawyers, politicians, and academics concocted a novel plan to abolish the College at the State level. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact would be enacted State by State and require each enacting State to give its electoral votes to the winner of a plurality of the national popular vote.

This Article does not attempt to address the merits or drawbacks of the system as a matter of policy. Instead, Part I begins with a brief history of the …