Law Commons^™

The Gratuities Debate And Campaign Reform – How Strong Is The Link?, George D. Brown

George D. Brown

The federal gratuities statute, 18 USC § 201(c), continues to be a source of confusion and contention. The confusion stems largely from problems of draftsmanship within the statute, as well as uncertainty concerning the relationship of the gratuities offense to bribery. Both offenses are contained in the same statute; the former is often seen as a lesser-included offense variety of the latter. The controversy stems from broader concerns about whether the receipt of gratuities by public officials, even from those they regulate, should be a crime. The argument that such conduct should not be criminalized can be traced to, and …

Qatar, Al Jazeera, And The Arab Spring, Ahmed E. Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

No abstract provided.

Direito E Poder Em Nietzsche, Paulo Ferreira Da Cunha

Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

A crítica impiedosa e fria de Nietzsche ao Direito moderno, aos direitos, à democracia e a vários esteios da nossa actual civilização ajudar-nos-à certamente a compreender melhor a situação de ataque mais subtil, politicamente correto e hipócrita que se vive já a essa "Weltanschauung", e poderá vir a agravar-se. Nietzsche fala claro, e profeticamente. Só que, felizmente, as profecias (ao menos as políticas: mas parece até que todas) podem ser contrariadas pelas vontade das pessoas. E os piores vaticínios poderão sê-lo se tivermos vontade de preservar a democracia, a liberdade, os direitos, e o Direito moderno, aprofundando-os e não deixando-os …

Technology Management Trends In Law Schools, Carol A. Watson, Larry Reeves

Carol A. Watson

Discusses the role of librarians in law school technology management and analyzes technology staffing survey results for 2002, 2006, and 2010. While survey results indicate a trend toward establishing separate information technology departments within law schools, librarians are and will continue to be actively involved in law school technology.

Globalization And The Environment: Why All The Fuss?, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

The relationship between globalization and environmental policies presents more nuances than the popular paradigm of free trader versus self-serving protectionists, the familiar model of environmentalist battling greedy polluters, or the outmoded view of a progressive multilateral agenda juxtaposed against a parochial, inward-looking domestic one. This piece sets out a structural and analytical framework for addressing the major issues in the field -- including (1) unilateral trade-based measures to protect the environment; (2) science-based tests applied through trade agreements; (3) disciplines on foreign investment that may have a "chilling effect" on environmental regulation; and (4) the relationship between free trade agreements …

The Transatlantic Gmo Dispute Against The European Communities: Some Preliminary Thoughts, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

Any day now, a World Trade Organization panel is expected to rule in a dispute between the U.S. and the EU concerning market access for genetically-engineered foods and crops. This piece, written before the release of the WTO panel's report, analyzes novel systemic issues concerning the impact of WTO law on regulatory design, at both the national and international levels, that are raised by this dispute. These include (1) the application of WTO disciplines to regulatory schemes that require prior governmental approval to protect the environment and public health from newly-introduced products and substances; (2) the role of precaution as …

The Role Of Science In The Uruguay Round And Nafta Trade Disciplines, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

The central theme of this article is the necessity for deference to decision-making processes of national regulatory authorities in the application of these new trade disciplines and the need for trade-based reviews of national regulatory measures to operate within clearly defined limits. Accordingly, this article first examines and summarizes the relevant texts, including the original 1947 GATT, the Uruguay Round, and the NAFTA texts on standards. Next, the article considers the role of science in the standard-setting process with reference to the copious literature on this topic. Finally, the article takes up the difficult question of the application of the …

At War With The Environment, David A. Wirth

David A. Wirth

In this Article, Professor Wirth reviews the book National Defense and the Environment by Stephen Dycus, a recognized expert in both environmental and national security law. The emphasis of the book is on containing and remediating the environmental excesses of the American defense-industrial complex, with a domestic policy focus. While Professor Wirth considers Dycus’ work an intellectually rewarding and refreshing new entry into the ongoing environment-as-security colloquy, he does not consider the book to be accessible to a general audience given the book’s fundamentally legalistic nature.

A Tale Told By A President, Mark A. Graber

Mark Graber

Part I of this essay makes the case for symbolic politics. Presidents often have political reasons for subjecting courts to mere words. Part II makes the case for constitutional hardball.

Global Law And The Environment, Robert V. Percival

Robert Percival

This article explores three areas in which globalization is profoundly affecting the development of a global environmental law. First, countries increasingly are borrowing law and regulatory innovations from one another to respond to common environmental problems. Although this is not an entirely new phenomenon, it is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Second, lawsuits seeking to hold companies liable for environmental harm they have caused outside their home countries are raising new questions concerning the appropriate venue for such transnational liability litigation and the standards courts should apply for enforcement of foreign judgments. Third, nongovernmental organizations are playing an increasingly important …

China's "Green Leap Forward" Toward Global Environmental Leadership, Robert V. Percival

Robert Percival

This article argues that China may be on the verge of a “Green Leap Forward” that could make it a global environmental leader. This article argues that two principal forces have contributed to this development. First, Chinese officials now realize that a global shift away from fossil fuels will create enormous business opportunities on a global scale. Chinese companies are now making enormous strides in the development of green technology, such as solar power, wind energy, and electric cars, with the active assistance of the Chinese government. Second, realizing that climate change severely threatens China, and stung by the criticism …

Corporate Ethics In A Devilish System, Kent Greenfield

Kent Greenfield

Prepared for a roundtable on corporate ethics at the University of Maryland School of Law, this essay argues that discussions of corporate ethics that focus on mere compliance with law are too narrow. While an emphasis on legal compliance is indeed crucial, a dedication to legality standing alone is hardly a robust sense of ethics, corporate or otherwise. Whether one takes guidance from religious norms or from secular philosophers, there are significant areas of agreement as to what amounts to ethical behavior: acting with due care for others; taking responsibility for the effect of one's actions; being honest; considering broadly …

The Impact Of "Going Private" On Corporate Stakeholders, Kent Greenfield

Kent Greenfield

As capital markets in the United States increasingly "go private," it is unclear how the privatization of corporate finance will affect non-shareholder stakeholders of firms, most centrally employees, communities, and the environment. Some scholars and public policy experts believe that concern for such stakeholders should not hold any relevance in the discussion of corporate law in general, and thus may be presumed to believe the same about a conversation about privatization. In such a view, these concerns lie outside the realm of corporate governance law; they therefore should be of no great moment in the debate over whether public policy …

A Bridle, A Prod And A Big Stick: An Evaluation Of Class Actions, Shareholder Proposals And The Ultra Vires Doctrine As Methods For Controlling Corporate Behavior, Adam Sulkowski, Kent Greenfield

Kent Greenfield

Written for the recent conference at St. John’s University Law School on “People of Color, Women, and the Public Corporation,” this paper evaluates recently applied methods of influencing corporate behavior on employment practices and recommends that a dormant legal doctrine be revitalized and added to the “tool box” of activists and concerned shareholders. The methods of influencing corporate behavior that are evaluated include class action lawsuits and shareholder proposals to amend corporate policy. In both contexts, there are procedural hurdles to achieving success. Even when success is achieved, there are limits to the actual changes in organizational behavior that result. …

Disparate Impact Is Not Unconstitutional, Michael Evan Gold

Michael Evan Gold

[Excerpt] In Ricci v. DeStefano, the "New Haven Firefighters" case, whitefirefighters and one Hispanic firefighter sued the city of New Haven, Connecticut and city officials under Title VII. The plaintiffs claimed the city had committed intentional discrimination or disparate treatment against them when the city disregarded the results of promotion examinations that had an adverse effect on black and Hispanic applicants. The Supreme Court sustained the claim. In his concurring opinion, Justice Scalia invited attorneys in subsequent cases to consider arguing that the disparate impact theory of employment discrimination is unconstitutional. He reasoned as follows: • The Constitution prohibits the …

The Social And Behavioral Implications Of Location-Based Services, Katina Michael, M.G. Michael

Associate Professor Katina Michael

The social and behavioral implications of location-based services (LBS) are only now beginning to come to light in advanced markets where the services have been adopted by just a little over half the market (Microsoft 2011). Depending on one’s definition of what constitutes location-based services, statistics on the level of adoption differ considerably. While it is helpful to provide as broad a list of applications as possible in what constitutes LBS (e.g. everything from in-vehicle navigation systems to downloading a map using a computer), it can also cloud the real picture forming behind this emerging technology. Emerging not in the …

The Economic Value Of Broadcast Innovation – Impact On The U.S. Treasury, Rajiv M. Hazaray

Rajiv M Hazaray

Every day, more and more Americans begin to use smartphones, tablets, and wireless modems to access new mobile applications and services that are proliferating at an astounding pace. Some have argued that without a fundamental shift of spectrum from broadcasters to commercial wireless operators the nation will soon face a massive “mobile traffic jam” and that auctioning broadcast spectrum will deliver a revenue windfall to the U.S. Treasury.

But the opposite is true. The best way to meet the projected explosive growth in mobile data is to allow broadcasters to use point-to-multipoint “Broadcast Overlay” technology to provide the most efficient …

La Sociedad Mercantil Unipersonal: Pertinencia De Su Utilización En México, Max Garcia

Max Garcia Sanchez

No abstract provided.

Merger Control Reform In Brazil, Víctor Pavón-Villamayor

Víctor Pavón-Villamayor

No abstract provided.

The Rubber Bands Are Broken; Opening The ‘Punctualized’ European Administration Of Justice, Paul Van Den Hoven

Paul van den Hoven

In this paper the speculative thesis is explored that in our era of digital connectivity, the remarkable capacity of a legal institution to absorb a huge amount of social dynamics as if it is a priori already present in a closed, ‘punctualized’ institution , leads to a serious loss of public legitimacy. The main argument is that such response to alternative, ‘rich’ narratives isolates the institution in an era in which digital technology creates actants that make such isolation untenable.

The Promise Principle And Contract Interpretation, Juliet P. Kostritsky

Juliet P Kostritsky

The promise principle and its roots in a certain type of morality of individual obligation, which play the central role in Charles Fried’s vision of Contract law, have importantly contributed to rescuing Contract law from absorption into Tort law and from the imposition of externally imposed standards that are collective in origin. It makes a mammoth contribution to alerting us to the tyranny of interference with individual self-determination. However, this essay questions whether a promise centered system derived from a moral philosophy of promising (without an observable and testable foundation in reality) and geared to internal individual obligation and duty …

Instituciones, Conflicto Armado Y Poder Político En El Municipio Colombiano. 2001-2011, Mauricio García-Villegas, Javier Revelo-Rebolledo

Javier Revelo-Rebolledo

Resolving Large, Complex Financial Firms, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Mark Greenlee, James Thomson

James B Thomson

How to best manage the failure of systemically important fi nancial fi rms was the theme of a recent conference at which the latest research on the issue was presented. Here we summarize that research, the discussions that it sparked, and the areas where considerable work remains.

“El Art. 168-A: Delito De Condiciones Riesgosas Y Perjudiciales Para La Seguridad Laboral E Higiene Industrial: Breves Cuestiones”, Javier Fernando Quiñones

Javier Fernando Quiñones

Como parte de la política de reforzamiento de la legislación laboral del reciente gobierno se ha añadido el Art. 168-A al Código Penal. El delito es una imitación del modelo español y puede implicar un uso intensivo del Art. 27 del Código Penal.

Judaism And Sprawl, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

A speech explaining the relationship between suburban sprawl, Jewish values and Jewish observance.

How Well Does Bankruptcy Work When Large Financial Firms Fail? Some Lessons From Lehman Brothers, Thomas Fitzpatrick, James Thomson

James B Thomson

There is disagreement about whether large and complex financial institutions should be allowed to use U.S. bankruptcy law to reorganize when they get into financial difficulty. We look at the Lehman example for lessons about whether bankruptcy law might be a better alternative to bailouts or to resolution under the Dodd-Frank Act’s orderly liquidation authority. We find that there is no clear evidence that bankruptcy law is insufficient to handle the resolution of large complex financial firms.

Regulated Into Automobile Dependence: How City Hall Mandates Sprawl And What Planners Can Do About It, Michael E. Lewyn

Michael E Lewyn

A brief (about 20-minute) speech explaining why government regulation promotes automobile-dependent development.

Reflections And Perspectives On Reentry And Collateral Consequences, Michael Pinard

Michael Pinard

This essay addresses the continued and dramatic increase in the numbers of individuals released from correctional institutions and returning to communities across the United States. It provides a brief history of the collateral consequences of criminal convictions, and the ways in which these consequences impede productive reentry. It then highlights national and state efforts to address to persistent reentry obstacles and to better understand the range and scope of collateral consequences. It concludes by offering suggestions for reform.

Challenges Of Implementing Incentive Auctions In Other Economies: A Mexican Perspective, Víctor Pavón-Villamayor

Víctor Pavón-Villamayor

No abstract provided.

Public Perception Study 2011: Mental Illness, Drug And Alcohol Abuse, Oscar T. Mcknight

Oscar T McKnight Ph.D.

This study examined the public perception of mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse. Field-interviews with participants occurred "on the street" with no difficulty. Participants offered ten general recommendations to professionals developing programs for mental illness, drug or alcohol abuse. The public stressed the professional responsibilities of physicians, pharmacists, counselors and teachers to prevent drug abuse.