Law Commons^™

The Civil Rights Act Of 1866 Revisited, John Hope Franklin

UC Law Journal

The United States Supreme Court's landmark decision in Runyon v. McCrary interpreted section one of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to forbid discrimination on the basis of race in the private sector and was widely viewed by many lawyers, legal historians, and labor and civic organizations as a significant step towards the elimination of racial discrimination in our country. Since 1976 when Runyon was decided, federal courts have fashioned an extensive body of law supporting the broad protections of the Act. It came as a distinct jolt, therefore, when the Court expressed its desire last Term, in Patterson v. …

Collective Rights And Individual Remedies: Rebalancing The Balance After Lingle V. Norge Division Of Magic Chef, Inc., Jane Byeff Korn

UC Law Journal

Collective bargaining agreements protect unionized workers by prohibiting discharges for other than just cause and by providing a grievance and arbitration process through which unjustly discharged employees can receive reinstatement and back pay. At-will employees historically had no such protection. In recent years, courts have made exceptions to the at-will rule, and wrongfully discharged employees now may recover tort damages. Because of the disparity in the damages recoverable in arbitration and tort actions, many unionized employees are ignoring collective bargaining agreements and suing for the tort of wrongful termination. In Lingle v. Norge Division of Magic Chef, Inc., the United …

I Didn't Ask To Be Born: The American Law Of Disinheritance And A Proposal For Change To A Sytem Of Protected Inheritance, Deborah A. Batts

UC Law Journal

Until recently, parents in every state except Louisiana legally could disinherit their children for any reason, or for no reason. Although disinheritance may have been rare at one time, in today's society, with divorce and remarriage commonplace, the possibility of disinheritance by noncustodial parents has increased considerably. The state often must support a disinherited minor child, while the deceased parent is free to leave the estate to anyone. This Article explores the tension between the testator's right of testamentary freedom and the child's right of inheritance. It suggests that this tension should be resolved in favor of protecting the rights …

Forcing The Federal Hand: Reserved Water Rights V. States' Rights For Instream Protection, Heather Blomfield Lee

UC Law Journal

The judicially created federal reserved rights doctrine provides that when the federal government withdraws land from the public domain for a special purpose, such as a national forest or park, it implicitly reserves the amount of unappropriated appurtenant water necessary to accomplish the purposes for which the land is reserved. Due to ambiguities in various statutes that create federal land reservations it is uncertain when the reserved rights doctrine is applicable. The United States Supreme Court has construed the doctrine narrowly, holding that for "secondary purposes" of a federal land reservation, the federal government must seek water rights through state …

Borrowing Foley V. Interactive Data Corp. To Finance Lender Liability Claims, Ann-Marie Davidow

UC Law Journal

The reaches of the California Supreme Court decision in Foley v. Interactive Data Corp. have yet to be explored, but the decision has serious implications for commercial contract claims of tortious breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Defendants' attorneys argue that the Foley court's refusal to recognize the tort of breach of the covenant in wrongful termination cases precludes the use of that tort in all commercial contracts except insurance contracts. On the other hand, plaintiffs' attorneys point to the unique characteristics of the employer-employee relationship to distinguish that relationship from the relationships formed in certain …

Beyond The Waste Land: Law Practice In The 1990s, David Schuman

UC Law Journal

Law practice has begun to resemble the world in T.S. Eliot's enigmatic poem, "The Waste Land." Professor Schuman suggests that the problem is confrontation: our basic misconception is that justice requires victors and vanquished, exclusion of the opponent rather than inclusion. Lawyers increasingly are unable to contain the aggressive and combative nature of the system and too often treat insensitivity, ruthlessness, and paranoia as professional virtues; virtues which then infect their personal lives. In stark contrast, observers throughout history Would have treated this isolation and defensive living as absurd or dangerous.

This essay suggests that rather than fantasize about a …

Toward A Wrongful Termination Statute For California, Joseph Grodin

UC Law Journal

Wrongful termination litigation based on common law principles continues to flourish in California, despite some setbacks in the courts. The author believes that while common law developments have been helpful overall, legislation is necessary to provide meaningful protection to employees within a framework of fairness to employers.

This Article explores options and offers suggestions with respect to various parameters of possible legislation: the type of management decisions that would be subject to regulation; the standard by which they should be regulated; the categories of employers to which the statute should apply; the categories of employees that the statute should protect; …

Does The Cold Nose Know--The Unscientific Myth Of The Dog Scent Lineup, Andrew E. Taslitz

UC Law Journal

Thousands of "dog scent lineups" have been conducted in both the United States and Europe. In a "dog scent lineup," a dog scents an object found at the scene of a crime and then sniffs a line of suspects (or objects touched by suspects). If the dog "alerts" to a particular suspect, that alert is used as substantive evidence that the person identified committed the crime. Such lineups have resulted in the conviction of persons for robbery, rape and murder, and have lead to sentences of life imprisonment or even death.

Most American courts have rejected legal challenges to dog …

Deregulation Of The Practice Of Law: Panacea Or Placebo, Meredith Ann Munro

UC Law Journal

A battle is being waged in California to deregulate the practice of law-to create a free market in which all who wish to practice law may do so with! impunity. Deregulation advocates, including a committee of the California State Bar, point to the overwhelming need to provide affordable legal services for the poor and middle class. California presently has a large number of lay practitioners who are meeting this need by offering legal services that often cross over into the bounds of the unauthorized practice of law. Those who wish to maintain the status quo cite evidence that many of …

Liability Of Attorneys, Accountants, Appraisers, And Other Independent Contractors Under The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, And Enforcement Act Of 1989, Raymund G. Kawasaki

UC Law Journal

The Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) was signed into law in August 1989 to address the thrift industry's financial crisis. One of FIRREA's goals is to protect financial institutions against fraud, waste, and insider abuse. In order to achieve this goal, FIRREA contains provisions that expand the scope of regulatory enforcement powers and increase the magnitude of penalties that regulatory agencies may levy against violators of the statute. Attorneys, accountants, appraisers, and independent contractors are specifically targeted by FIRREA's enforcement provisions and thus are subject to the severe penalties available under the statute. This Note …

Sex Stereotyping And The Promotion Of Women To Positions Of Power, Mary F. Radford

UC Law Journal

In Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, the United States Supreme Court set out a framework for decisionmaking in cases in which impermissible factors, such as sex stereotyping, play a role in an employment decision. This Article examines the case in light both of current feminist legal theories and of psychological and sociological studies evidencing the prevalence of sex stereotyping in the workplace. The Article compares the Hopkins case with cases such as Craft v. Metromedia, Inc. and Hishon v. King & Spaulding, in which women also have sought-and been denied- success, in the highest positions of leadership and power in their …

Pure Symbols And The First Amendment, Calvin R. Massey

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Charitable Contribution Planning: Perils And Precautions, William T. Hutton

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Mathematical Prescriptions For Relief Of The Public Charity Status Blues, William T. Hutton

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Culture And Certainty: Legal History And The Reconstructive Project, Joan C. Williams

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

They Moved Away: Stories Of Location And Relocation, Jo Carrillo

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Toward A Wrongful Termination Statute For California, Joseph R. Grodin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Past, Present And Future In Wrongful Termination Law, Joseph R. Grodin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Exchange On The Eleventh Amendment, Calvin R. Massey

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Judicial Responsibility In Italy: A New Statute, Ugo Mattei

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Has The Chancellor Shot Himself In The Foot? Looking For A Middle Ground On Rule 11 Sanctions, Melissa Lee Nelken

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Federal Rule 11 On Lawyers And Judges In The Northern District Of California, Melissa Lee Nelken

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Sameness Feminism And The Work/Family Conflict, Joan C. Williams

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Unrequited Gifts: The Tax Fallout, William T. Hutton

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

"I Didn't Tell Them Anything About You": Implied Assertions As Hearsay Under The Federal Rules Of Evidence, Roger C. Park

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Important Developments In Exempt Organizations, Stephen Schwarz, Miriam Galston

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

By What Authority?: Reflections On The Constitutionality And Wisdom Of The Flag Protection Act Of 1989, David L. Faigman

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Reforming Jury Trials, William W. Schwarzer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Extinguishment Of Easements: Division Of Proceeds Clauses, William T. Hutton

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Group Actions In Civil Procedure: The United States Experience, Mary Kay Kane

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.