Law Commons^™

The Cost Of Good Intentions: Why The Supreme Court's Decision Upholding Affirmative Action Admission Programs Is Detrimental To The Cause, Leslie Yalof Garfield

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article provides an overview of the Federal Courts’ interpretation of equal protection challenges to affirmative action admission policies beginning with University of California v. Bakke through the recent Supreme Court decisions of Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger. The article then identifies and outlines the appropriate elements of a constitutionally sound affirmative action admission policy. Finally, the article concludes that the permissible policy is almost unattainable for schools other than small institutions.

Crime, War & Romanticism: Arthur Andersen And The Nature Of Entity Guilt, David N. Cassuto

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In 2002, Arthur Andersen, LLP stood trial for obstruction of justice. The prosecution offered several theories as to who at the firm had committed the crime but no one theory satisfied all twelve jurors. In an attempt to break its deadlock, the jury asked whether it could convict i f some jurors thought Person A at Andersen had done it and some thought it was Person B. Following argument, the judge ruled that it could convict.

This article argues that the court's response to the jury's query was wrong as a matter of law and policy. The ruling misconstrues the …

Crimes Against Nature, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

It is a pleasure for me to be here at St. Thomas and to see so many great legal heroes ensconced in this university, including the president and so many others. As I was signing some copies of my book Crimes Against Nature, it occurred to me that the word “environment” does not appear in the book. I thought I would talk about that today. To me, the environment is the most critical battle because it is the most critical issue in our democracy. Democracy, really all government, is about how we distribute the goods of the land. The best …

Back To Bakke: Defining The Strict Scrutiny Test For Affirmative Action Policies Aimed At Achieving Diversity In The Classroom, Leslie Yalof Garfield

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article will identify the new strict scrutiny test, and will consider the reason for creating a separate definition of strict scrutiny for evaluating affirmative action policies that achieve diversity in the classroom. Part II of the Article will review constitutional challenges to affirmative action policies prior to Grutter and Gratz, and will discuss the split in the circuits that resulted from the Court's failure to endorse Justice Powell's definition of a compelling governmental interest in Bakke. Part III will provide an analysis of the Grutter and Gratz decisions, with a particular focus on each Court's discussion of the strict …

Synopsis Of The Report Of The Second Circuit Task Force On Gender, Racial And Ethnic Fairness In The Courts, Jay C. Carlisle

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The recent Report of the Second Circuit Task Force on Gender, Racial, and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts (‘Taskforce‘) observes “some biased conduct toward parties and witnesses based on gender or race or ethnicity has occurred on the part of both judges and lawyers.” “Biased conduct toward lawyers based on gender or race or ethnicity, has occurred to a greater degree.” The Report concludes that such conduct is unacceptable and admonishes all participants in the Second Circuit courts to guard against it. The purpose of this Perspective is to review several sections of the Report. The Perspective is written from …

Hopwood V. Texas: Strict In Theory Or Fatal In Fact, Leslie Yalof Garfield

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article will examine the Hopwood decisions. Part II will review the factual and legal history behind the case. Part III will discuss the District, Circuit, and Supreme Court decisions. Finally, Part IV will critique these decisions and offer a view into the future for affirmative action admissions policies.

Should Taxpayers Pay People To Obey Environmental Laws?, John A. Humbach

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Should taxpayers have to pay people not to put pollutants into streams and reservoirs? Should taxpayers have to pay people not to kill off entire species? Should taxpayers have to reach into their pockets and pay people not to disperse development seamlessly across the countryside, relentlessly consuming, fragmenting, and degrading our nation's remaining natural lands until almost all is gone? Should we, in short, have to pay people not to engage in land-uses that have been determined to be too socially unacceptable to allow?

Procedural Fairness And Incentive Programs: Reflections On The Environmental Choice Program, David S. Cohen

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This paper explores the application of procedural fairness to the federal government’s Environmental Choice Program’s decision-making processes. While Canadian courts have traditionally required public bureaucrats to act “fairly” when implementing command models of regulation, they have only recently been confronted with demands that regulators implementing economic incentive programs also act in accordance with procedural fairness norms.

Judicial Choice And Disparities Between Measures Of Economic Values, David S. Cohen

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

An important idea, which characterizes law in society, is a reluctance to move from the status quo. In general, one can argue that legal institutions and legal doctrine are not engaged in the redistribution of wealth from one party to another. This paper explores a possible explanation for that principle. The authors' research suggests that, across a wide range of entitlements and in a variety of contexts, individuals value losses more than foregone gains. The paper argues, as a matter of efficiency, that law and social policy might have developed in a manner consistent with this valuation disparity. Furthermore, this …

"A Lost Generation": The Battle For Private Enforcement Of The Adoption Assistance And Child Welfare Act Of 1980, Barbara L. Atwell

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article suggests that the scope of enforceable section 1983 rights is broader than most courts have recognized. The Act creates comprehensive rights to 1) preplacement preventive services, 2) proper care while children are in state custody, and 3) permanency planning services. Courts must be more willing to recognize these rights and to take a more creative role in structuring injunctive relief when these rights have been violated. Part I is an overview of the Act. Part II analyzes the appropriateness of section 1983 claims under the Act. Finally, Part III analyzes the proper scope of section 1983 claims. The …

Of Persons And Property: The Politics Of Legal Taxonomy, David S. Cohen

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The essay falls into three major parts. In the first part, we explain and describe what we believe to be the core idea of law - that it represents a discursive and taxonomic economy which is used to give meaning to the world by creating a particular and partial reality. The concepts and language lawyers use, the way those media are deployed, the argumentative devices relied upon, and the values inculcated combine in conscious and unconscious ways to constitute law and a legal style of life. In part two, we tell two stories. One involves the Supreme Court's treatment of …

Suing The State, David S. Cohen

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

As one examines the ways in which we have chosen to respond to claims of individuals and firms to compensation from the federal administration, one is immediately struck by the rapid rate of growth in the number of claims and the magnitude of the compensation that has been sought in recent years. What is even more dramatic, however, is the shift in the focus of our attention away from low-level bureaucratic activity, and towards alleged administrative failures to ensure air traffic safety, combat international terrorism, regulate financial institutions, protect the interests of businesses in international trade negotiations, privatize the delivery …

Regulating Regulators: The Legal Environment Of The State, David S. Cohen

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

In this paper I focus on the ability of tort law to reduce primary costs, or losses associated with the number and seriousness of accidents. In one sense I will be analysing the state as if it were a private firm in which losses suffered by private individuals and firms are externalities. Several years ago Mark Spitzer wrote a paper on this topic in which he posited several models of state activity and analysed the incentive effects of liability rules in each case. In my view Spitzer's general conclusion - the rule which may be synthesized from all of the …

Review Of Families And The Gravely Ill: Roles, Rules, And Rights, Vanessa Merton

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Law And A New Land Ethic, John A. Humbach

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

As open space comes under increasing development pressure, existing-use zoning provides a direct and forthright way to preserve the line between urban and non-urban land use. Ultimately it may be the only practical means for protecting high-demand or sensitive areas such as wetlands, coastlines, lakeshores, floodplains, stream corridors, and pristine reservoir watersheds. This Article reviews the viability of existing-use zoning under United States Supreme Court interpretations of the Constitution's takings clause. It concludes that nothing in those interpretations disallows this straightforward approach to preserving our country's familiar patterns of land use and development.

Surrogacy And Adoption: A Case Of Incompatibility, Barbara L. Atwell

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article explores the public policy doctrine relating to contracts generally and examines specific public policies set forth in state adoption statutes. The Article concludes that surrogate parenting agreements are 1) incompatible with consent provisions of state adoption statutes, 2) inconsistent with state laws prohibiting baby-selling, and 3) inconsistent with state adoption provisions that provide for a thorough investigation of the adoptive parents in order to ensure that the adoption serves the child's best interests. Accordingly, this Article suggests that as state legislatures debate the best means of addressing the issue of surrogate parenting, they should recognize that surrogate parenting …

Court-Ordered Foster Family Care Reform: A Case Study, Michael B. Mushlin

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The authors examine the implications of G. L. v. Zumwalt, a case that resulted in a far-reaching consent decree that mandates specific reforms in policy and practice to be implemented by a public social welfare agency in its delivery of services to foster children and their families.

Curtailment Of Early Election Predictions: Can We Predict The Outcome?, Leslie Yalof Garfield

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This note analyzes the constitutional ramifications of legislative attempts to restrict early election predictions. First, specific congressional proposals and state legislative enactments will be examined. Secondly, the various standards of review the Supreme Court applies when government regulation threatens to infringe upon first amendment free speech will be examined. Lastly, this paper will examine the competing interests involved in early election predictions and will conclude that limitations on this process would be an unconstitutional impairment of the public's first amendment rights.

Protecting America's Cultural And Historical Patrimony, James J. Fishman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article suggests the procedures which the authors believe would effectively regulate the legal export of art works and be consistent with other foreign trade policies, while not unduly restricting free trade nor discouraging cultural exchange.

Legislation And The Environment: Individual Rights And Government Accountability, Richard L. Ottinger

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Recent public concern with the pollution threat has generated a rash of suggested solutions. Within the past year councils, agencies, advisory commissions, and billion-dollar programs have been urged upon us. Reorganizations and reorderings of priorities have been called for. The question remains, however, whether this welter of proposals squarely attacks the real problem-the fact that all of our institutions are rooted in the notions of inexhaustible supply and limitless ability to repair. The answer can be found only by examining specific conflicts between technology and environment and analyzing the way our institutions attempt to resolve them.