Law Commons^™

The Constitutional Right To Free Communication Of The Institutionalized Resident, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article comes from the notes and comments section of the North Carolina Central Law Journal from 1973.

Justified by the generic first amendment protection to unabridged expression and association, a United States citizen cannot be unreasonably denied the right to communicate by mail; by telephone; with legal counsel; with the opposite sex; with others. In most states where such a citizen becomes "mentally ill," the person may be involuntarily civilly committed. Although there is no justification for such a commitment beyond the fact that the individual is sick and is in need of care, often the individual's first amendment …

Some Themes In The Proposed Federal Rules Of Evidence, Paul F. Rothstein

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Although the Federal Rules of Evidence are under consideration by Congress, it is unlikely that many of their major themes will be reversed. The present article examines some of these themes as they appear in the Supreme Court-approved draft. The aim is merely to make more explicit the effects of the Rules and suggest some questions for study.

Consumer Involvement And The Consumer Product Safety Act, Joseph A. Page

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The notion that consumers should actively participate in the administration and enforcement of a federal statute designed to protect them from unreasonable risks of harm is a distinguishing feature of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). History suggests that when Congress entrusts to a federal agency authority to intrude into the market place on behalf of the general public (or a segment thereof), in a matter of time the agency becomes overly responsive to, or even captive of, the corporate interests subject to regulation. The absence of public-interest pressures- a very raison d'etre for the setting up of the regulatory …

Taxing Stock Dividends And Economic Theory, Stephen B. Cohen

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Since 1936, the Internal Revenue Code has treated elective stock dividends on common stock, which are taxed on receipt as shareholder ordinary income gain, differently from pro rata stock dividends on common, which are received tax-free. This difference in treatment was reenacted in Section 305 of the 1954 Code; and while the Tax Reform Act of 1969 changed many details of stock dividend taxation, the basic distinction between elective and pro rata stock dividends was, if anything, reinforced. The major purpose of the 1969 amendments to Section 305 was to impose a shareholder ordinary income tax on transactions with the …

How The Uniform Crime Victims Reparations Act Works, Paul F. Rothstein

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Uniform Crime Victims Reparations Act, approved by the American Bar Association's House of Delegates, has been submitted to state legislatures. This timely act seeks recompense for the victims of crimes, but also incorporates numerous safeguards to prevent abuse.

The American Bar Association's House of Delegates, meeting in Houston on February 5, 1974, approved an idea whose time is rapidly approaching the Uniform Crime Victims Reparations Act. The act is the product of a committee of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws for which I served as consultant and reporter over its three years of deliberations. The …

Evidence: Introduction, Paul F. Rothstein

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The United States Supreme Court's evidentiary ruling during 1971-72 manifested a hardening attitude toward criminal defendants. For example, police stop-and-frisk authority was broadened (and with it the use of evidence obtained therefrom); the scope of the immunity from criminal prosecution required to be granted by a governmental body before self-incriminatory statements can be compelled from a witness was narrowed; the right to have counsel at line-ups was limited to post-indictment or post-charge line-ups (with a consequent broadening of the use of counselless identification evidence); the preliminary burden of proof on the government to initially prove the voluntariness of confessions was …

The Second Circuit Review: Ix. Evidence: Introduction, Paul F. Rothstein

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The past year's developments in the law of evidence have been characterized by a hardening attitude toward criminal defendants. The United States Supreme Court's evidentiary rulings during the term covered by the Second Circuit Review (1971-72) manifested this trend (although not uniformly). For example, police stop-and-frisk authority was broadened (and with it the use of evidence obtained therefrom); the scope of the immunity from criminal prosecution required to be granted by a governmental body before self-incriminatory statements can be compelled from a witness was narrowed; the right to have counsel at line-ups was limited to postindictment or post-charge line-ups (with …

The Proposed Amendments To The Federal Rules Of Evidence, Paul F. Rothstein

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Supreme Court has approved a uniform code of evidence for all federal courts. Amendments to the Supreme Court's rules are now pending in the House of Representatives. From the point of view of a specialist in the law of evidence, Professor Rothstein analyzes the differences between the Supreme Court's proposals and the House amendments and suggests solutions to these conflicts.

The Judiciary And Education Reform: A Reassessment, Judith C. Areen

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Professor Areen examines the judicial attempt to provide equal educational opportunity, and questions the basic premises upon which judicial intervention is based. The author concludes that judicial efforts to equalize educational opportunity have been misdirected. The goals sought to be attained by judicial intervention must be reconsidered before an effective education can be provided for all.

The Suitability Rule And Economic Theory, Stephen B. Cohen

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The published rules of both the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provide that a broker or dealer in the securities market may recommend the purchase of a security only when there is a reasonable basis for believing that the security is "suitable" for the customer.

Bleak House 1968: A Report On Consumer Test Litigation, Philip G. Schrag

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The author presents the practical problems of consumer test-case litigation. Writing in an informal, anecdotal style, he addresses himself to law students, telling them of the many obstacles they will face in this type of practice. The author relates the innumerable and exasperating delaying tactics employed by his adversaries in several cases now being litigated. Looking beyond the theoretical efficacy of test-case litigation as a solution to the morass of consumers' grievances, the author's experiences suggest the need for basic reform of state procedure in order to permit more speedy resolution of the issues raised by such litigation.

Book Review Of Daniel G. Baldyga's: How To Settle Your Own Insurance Claim, Joseph A. Page

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

How to Settle tries to exploit the same vein mined in spectacular fashion by Norman F. Dacey, who parlayed deep dissatisfaction with the probate system and popular resentment of lawyers into a runaway best-seller. It would seem, up to this point anyway, that people more readily worry about the inevitability of death and its legal consequences than the possibility of personal injury caused by the legal fault of another. Nonetheless, How to Settle does merit some attention, at least within the confines of a specialized journal and under circumstances unlikely to promote a sales backlash, so that all its shortcomings …

Of Mace And Men: Tort Law As A Means Of Controlling Domestic Chemical Warfare, Joseph A. Page

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The use of MACE and other chemical sprays by the police and the public has caused considerable comment and controversy during the last several years. Recognizing the seriousness of the problem, Professor Page analyzes the efficacy of present law to control the misuse of chemical sprays. In this analysis Professor Page first discusses the deve/opmellt of the use of MACE and the heated controversy that surrounds both its employment and potentially deleterious effects. He then turns to the application of intentional tort, negligence, warranty, and strict liability concepts as methods by which victims of MACE might hold the user or …

Causation In Common Sense: A Reply To Messrs. Hart And Honore, Paul F. Rothstein

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

[Review Of] Richard A. Levine & George D. Horning, Jr., Manual Of Federal Practice, Sherman L. Cohn

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Today the federal court is becoming increasingly familiar to the average attorney. Gone is the day when federal practice was limited to a select bar in the largest cities. Going is the day when an attorney can economically and realistically limit himself to the state court practice. Social Security, government contract, tax, labor, federal tort matters now bring the federal presence into every hamlet. Every Congress increases that presence and the occasion for federal court litigation-our increasingly mobile society renders a diversity case more and more usual. Yet many attorneys outside the District of Columbia have not the slightest acquaintance …

The Proposed Federal Rules Of Appellate Procedure, Sherman L. Cohn

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

After a discussion of the history of uniform procedural rules and the authority of the Supreme Court to promulgate uniform appellate rules, Professor Cohn discusses some of the problems of expense and delay which are found in the appellate system today. In his analysis of the Proposed Uniform Rules of Federal Appellate Procedure, the author gives special emphasis to those areas where the rules constitute a departure from present practice. In addition, several changes are suggested in areas in which the author believes further improvement can be made.

The New Federal Rules Of Civil Procedure, Sherman L. Cohn

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The amendments to the civil rules continue a process of transition from legal formulas toward adaptation to the practicalities of the various factual situations involved. This process was commenced with the early reform movement when the strictures of common-law, form-of-action pleading were abolished and the artificial separation of law and equity was ended. It continued through the original promulgation of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which attempted to eliminate many of the legalistic but artificial restrictions that code practice perpetuated. The current amendments move closer to what Mr. Justice Goldberg termed "the aims of a liberal, nontechnical application" of …

Beacon Theatres And The Constitutional Right To Jury Trial, Paul F. Rothstein

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

A Re-Evaluation Of The Privilege Against Adverse Spousal Testimony In The Light Of Its Purpose, Paul F. Rothstein

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The recent development in American federal criminal evidence law to be examined and compared with English law in this paper, is a new evolutionary turn taken by the husband-wife privilege against adverse spousal testimony, manifest in the Supreme Court decision of Wyatt v. United States. The House of Lords, in Rumping v. D.P.P., just decided, suggests that the English spousal privileges might be susceptible of similar development.