Law Commons^™

Regulation And Regulatory Processes, Cary Coglianese, Robert Kagan

Robert Kagan

Regulation of business activity is nearly as old as law itself. In the last century, though, the use of regulation by modern governments has grown markedly in both volume and significance, to the point where nearly every facet of today’s economy is subject to some form of regulation. When successful, regulation can deliver important benefits to society; however, regulation can also impose undue costs on the economy and, when designed or implemented poorly, fail to meet public needs at all. Given the importance of sound regulation to society, its study by scholars of law and social science is also of …

Magna Carta Then And Now: A Symbol Of Freedom And Equal Rights For All, Eugene K B Tan, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee

Jack Tsen-Ta LEE

Magna Carta became applicable to Singapore in 1826 when a court system administering English law was established in the Straits Settlements. This remained the case through Singapore’s evolution from Crown colony to independent republic. The Great Charter only ceased to apply in 1993, when Parliament enacted the Application of English Law Act to clarify which colonial laws were still part of Singapore law. Nonetheless, Magna Carta’s legacy in Singapore continues in a number of ways. Principles such as due process of law and the supremacy of law are cornerstones of the rule of law, vital to the success, stability and …

Dealing With Dirty Deeds: Matching Nemo Dat Preferences With Property Law Pragmatism, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

My "Very Idea" Of Rod - And Yours, Harry Arthurs

Harry Arthurs

Text of introductory address to symposium The Unbounded Level of the Mind: Rod Macdonald's Legal Imagination, held at McGill University's Faculty of Law, February 7-8, 2014. The author expresses his admiration and affection for Prof Maconald, taking as his clue something he says frequently and in various formulations: “The very idea of law [he says] must be autobiographical”. [Roderick A. Macdonald & Martha-Marie Kleinhans, "What is a Critical Legal Pluralism?" Canadian Journal of Law and Society , 12 (1997), 25-46, 46]. Quote: "If that’s true, then the “very idea” of Rod himself must be “autobiographical”. I’m therefore going to begin …

The "Majestic Equality" Of The Law: Why Constitutional Strategies Do Not Produce Equality, Harry Arthurs

Harry Arthurs

Paper Presented at a workshop on Equality, at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Nantes, France, in June, 2014. Two epidemiological studies — the Whitehall Studies of 1967 and 1988 — famously demonstrated that socio-economic status is a primary determinant of health outcomes. By locating a large cohort of British civil servants on a social-class gradient, researchers were able to show that individuals at successively lower levels on that gradient experienced diminishing prospects of good health and longevity. This conclusion was complemented by subsequent studies that concluded that degrees of inequality in a society — rather than absolute levels of wealth …

The Intelligibility Of Extralegal State Action: A General Lesson For Debates On Public Emergencies And Legality, François Tanguay-Renaud

François Tanguay-Renaud

Some legal theorists deny that states can conceivably act extralegally in the sense of acting contrary to domestic law. This position finds its most robust articulation in the writings of Hans Kelsen and has more recently been taken up by David Dyzenhaus in the context of his work on emergencies and legality. This paper seeks to demystify their arguments and ultimately contend that we can intelligibly speak of the state as a legal wrongdoer or a legally unauthorized actor.

The Importance Of Not Being Ernest, Allan C. Hutchinson

Allan C. Hutchinson

Formalists have long tried to develop a legal theory, based on the internal rationality of law, which would free it from the influences of instrumentality and ideology. Focussing on the philosophical proposals of Ernest Weinrib, the author argues that this goal is both illusory and undesirable. Weinrib's theory assumes rather than proves the existence of this rationality, which is simply defined as an interrelationship between form and content. In order to maintain the coherence of this fragile relationship, Weinrib is either forced to articulate his theory on such a level of abstration so as to be irrelevant or to reintroduce …

The Corporate Conspiracy Vacuum (Formerly "Corporate Conspiracy: How Not Calling A Conspiracy A Conspiracy Is Warping The Law On Corporate Wrongdoing"), J.S. Nelson

J.S. Nelson

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.

How Far Out Of Step Is The Supreme Court Of The United States?, Brian Christopher Jones

Brian Christopher Jones

The Future Of Governmental Ethics: Law And Morality, Jon L. Mills

Jon L. Mills

Based on a speech presented at the 16th International Symposium on Economic Crime, Cambridge University, England September 13-19, 1998.

The Constitutional Rhetoric Of White Innocence

Cecil J. Hunt II

This article discusses the Supreme Court’s use of the rhetoric of white innocence in deciding racially inflected claims of constitutional shelter. It argues that the Court’s use of this rhetoric reveals that it has adopted a distinctly white-centered-perspective which reveals only a one-sided view of racial reality and thus distorts its ability to accurately appreciate the true nature of racial reality in contemporary America. This article examines the Court’s habit of consistently choosing a white-centered-perspective in constitutional race cases by looking at the Court’s use of the rhetoric of white innocence first in the context of the Court’s concern with …

Some Lessons Learned From The Aids Pandemic, 19 Annals Health L. 63 (2010), Mark E. Wojcik

Mark E. Wojcik

No abstract provided.

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 …

What's Guilt (Or Deterrence) Got To Do With It?: The Death Penalty, Ritual, And Mimetic Violence, 38 Wm. & Mary L. Rev. 487 (1997), Donald L. Beschle

Donald L. Beschle

No abstract provided.

Irs's Recent Uncertain Tax Positions Initiative: A Tangle Of Accounting, Tax And Privilege Issues, 9 Depaul Bus. & Comm. L.J. 401 (2011), Kathryn J. Kennedy

Kathryn J. Kennedy

Given the extremely limited source of resources available to the IRS in recent years, it's not surprising that it is exploring all sorts of avenues to increase its efficiency, particularly relying on corporate taxpayers to self report questionable tax positions. Under the banner of "corporate governance" and "transparency," the Service issued a series of proposals in 2010 requiring disclosure of uncertain tax positions ("UTPs") by corporate taxpayers. The Service essentially piggybacked on the recently imposed 2006 audit requirements that reserves be posted for contingent tax liabilities (i.e., tax positions that could later not be sustained, and therefore had to be …

The Business Of Expression: Economic Liberty, Political Factions And The Forgotten First Amendment Legacy Of Justice George Sutherland, 10 Wm. & Mary Bill Rts. J. 249 (2002), Samuel R. Olken

Samuel R. Olken

In The Business of Expression: Economic Liberty, Political Factions And The Forgotten First Amendment Legacy of Justice George Sutherland, Samuel Olken traces the dichotomy that emerged in constitutional law in the aftermath of the Lochner era between economic liberty and freedom of expression. During the 1930s, while a deeply divided United States Supreme Court adopted a laissez faire approach to economic regulation, it viewed with great suspicion laws that restricted the manner and content of expression. During this period, Justice George Sutherland often clashed with the majority consistently insisting that state regulation of private economic rights bear a close and …

Regulating Extraterritoriality: New Frontiers In Public Law, Danielle Ireland-Piper

Danielle Ireland-Piper

No abstract provided.

Public Law In A Comparative And Inter-Disciplinary Paradigm, Danielle Ireland-Piper

Danielle Ireland-Piper

No abstract provided.

Comparative Legal Traditions: Text, Materials, And Cases On Western Law. 3rd Edition., Paolo Carozza, Mary Glendon, Colin Picker

Paolo G. Carozza

This new edition includes some significant revisions since the last edition was published in 1994. The new edition includes: A greater emphasis on Public Law in the Continental and Common law traditions; More coverage of the impact of the regional European law (EC EU and ECHR) on the legal traditions;Some updated Problems (including one concerning Mixed Jurisdictions); and Numerous updates to the Common Law Tradition materials in light of the many significant reforms in England over the last ten years.

Cleaning The Muck Of Ages From The Windows Into The Soul Of Income Tax, John Passant

John Passant

The aim of this paper is to provide readers with an insight into Marx’s methods as a first step to understanding income tax more generally but with specific reference to Australia’s income tax system. I do this by introducing readers to the ideas about the totality that is capitalism, appearance and form, and the dialectic in Marx’s hands. This will involve looking at income tax as part of the bigger picture of capitalism, and understanding that all things are related and changes in one produce changes in all. Appearances can be deceptive and we need to delve below the surface …

California’S Good Samaritan Law: Correcting Ambiguities To Induce Action, Sara Popovich

Sara Popovich

This Note argues that California should amend its Good Samaritan law by either creating a duty to assist or clarifying the statute. It first outlines the history of Good Samaritan law in California and describe developments in the law through today. It then argues that Good Samaritan law in California is ineffective because citizens still fear legal liability and thus refuse to assist during emergencies. Finally, it proposes specific changes to the California Good Samaritan law.

Insuring Floods: The Most Common And Devastating Natural Catastrophies In America, Christopher French

Christopher C. French

Putting The Democracy In Democracy And Distrust: The Coherentist Case For Representation Reinforcement, Michael C. Dorf

Michael C. Dorf

Nearly a quarter of a century after its publication, Democracy and Distrust remains the single most perceptive justificatory account of the work of the Warren Court and modern constitutional law more broadly. Yet, the continuing influence of John Hart Ely’s process theory of American constitutional law may seem surprising, given that the account has been incisively criticized as both too limited and too sweeping. Beginning with Laurence Tribe’s "Puzzling Persistence of Process-Based Constitutional Theories" and culminating in the work of Ronald Dworkin and others, critics have argued that the representation-reinforcing approach to interpreting the Constitution is no less laden with …

Preliminary Thoughts On The Virtues Of Passive Dialogue, Michael Heise

Michael Heise

The judicial, legislative, and executive branches interact in many ways. These interactions fuel a constitutional dialogue that serves as a backdrop to myriad governmental activities, both large and small. The judiciary's participation is necessary, desirable, and, as a practical matter, inevitable. In my article I analyze two competing models that bear on the normative question: What form should the judiciary's participation take? Debates over the judiciary's appropriate role in the public constitutional dialogue have captured scholarly attention for decades. Recent attention has focused on a growing distinction between the active and passive models of judicial participation. My article approaches this …

Epstein And Levmore: Objections From The Right?, Emily Sherwin, Maimon Schwarzschild

Emily L Sherwin

No abstract provided.

Epstein's Property, Emily Sherwin

Emily L Sherwin

In an era of skepticism about common law traditions and sensitivity to claims of distributive injustice, Richard Epstein has been an unflinching defender of private property rights. He has insisted that property rights are intelligible, and reminded us of their importance to social and economic welfare. In this paper, I shall offer what I believe is a friendly interpretation of Epstein's writings on property, and then pose some internal questions about the approach he has outlined. I begin with a quick summary of his description of property rights in an ideal legal regime.

Agencies, Courts, And The Limits Of Balancing, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

Courts have struggled in several very different contexts to determine when a decision maker can consider costs that are not explicitly addressed in the governing statute. This issue arises when agencies decide whether to conduct a rulemaking or what rule to issue after a rulemaking. It also arises when courts decide whether to enjoin a violation of a statute or whether to vacate an administrative rule rather than simply remanding. Judicial opinions point in different directions and often ignore each other.

This Article contends that the same principles should govern judicial and agency discretion to consider costs across all these …

The Neomercantilist Fallacy And The Contextual Reality Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Philip Nichols

Philip M. Nichols

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is domestic legislation and should be analyzed as such. This article addresses a persistent failure in analysis of the Act, by scholars and policymakers alike. Many discussions of the Act approach it from a neomercantilist perspective. This approach contains three flaws. First, whereas neomercantilism envisions manipulation of the market to give advantage to national champion industries, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was adopted for the purpose of strengthening and enhancing the integrity of the global market. A neomercantilist perspective is contrary to the purpose of the Act. Second, this article shows that neomercantilism fundamentally misunderstands …

Protecting Marine Biodiversity In Latin America Through Area-Based Fisheries Regulation, Xiao Recio-Blanco

Xiao Recio-Blanco

Governments all around the world have addressed the challenge of marine resources management enacting laws and enforcing public policies. To date, most of these initiatives have failed. In Latin America, sophisticated environmental protection statutes are already in place. Unfortunately, these statutes are largely overlooked by sea users and government officials. Lack of compliance has become the most significant hurdle to the sustainable use of Latin America’s marine resources.

Recently, governments and Non-Governmental Organizations in Latin America have showed increased interest in Marine Spatial Planning (MSP). MSP is a process that analyzes the spatial distribution of human activities at sea. The …