Law Commons^™

Objecting To Court Ordered Mediation, Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

Maryland judges have wide discretion to refer parties to mediate a variety of civil matters. Title 17 of the Maryland Rules, enacted in 1998, governs mediation of civil cases in the circuit courts. These rules are supplemented by Maryland Rule 9-205, which addresses mediation of child custody and visitation disputes. Although these rules define mediation and address mediator qualifications in some detail, they say very little about either a party's right to object to mediation or the court's authority to compel participation in mediation.

Given that the mediation rules are relatively new and mediation orders would generally be considered interlocutory, …

Symposium: Bruce Springsteen And The American Lawyer: "Meanness In This World", Garrett Epps

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As part of a symposium on Bruce Springsteen and American law, this essay considers the themes explored by Springsteen in his song "Nebraska," which was inspired by the story of Charles Starkweather and Caril Anne Fugate, two young "lovers" who indulged in a remarkable course of violence in Nebraska during the 1950s. The essay asks to what extent the song, and the story, echo the themes of emigration and displacement that are key elements in the history and current reality of the American West. The essay compares the story of Starkweather and Fugate with the current case of Christian Longo, …

An Experiment In Integrating Critical Theory And Clinical Education, Margaret E. Johnson

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Critical theory is important in live-client clinical teaching as a means to achieve the pedagogical goals of clinical education. Feminist legal theory, critical race theory, and poverty law theory serve as useful frameworks to enable students to deconstruct assumptions they, persons within institutions, and broader society make about the students' clients and their lives. Critical theory highlights the importance of looking for both the "obvious and non-obvious relationships of domination." Thus, critical theory informs students of the presence and importance of alternative voices that challenge the dominant discourse. When student attorneys ignore or are unaware of such voices, other voices …

The Irrational Supreme Court, Michael I. Meyerson

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Rationality is prized by lawyers. The 'rational review' test provides the constitutional minimum for due process and equal protection analysis. Unfortunately, even in an idealized world populated by perfectly rational people not all causes of irrational decision-making can be avoided. The basic nature of group decision-making inevitably creates the possibility of certain kinds of irrationality. The core of the problem is that, while deciding which party prevails is a binary decision [either one side or the other wins], there are often multiple issues that need to be decided in any particular case. The task of creating a system for selecting …

A Theory Of Access To Justice, Robert Rubinson

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This Article draws upon three observations: 1) the vast majority of disputes involve low-income litigants; 2) the vast majority of public and private resources of dispute resolution are allocated to disputes involving wealthy individuals and organizations; 3) any principled moral or ethical analysis demonstrates that the stakes are much higher in disputes involving low-income disputants than in disputes involving affluent individuals or organizations. Thus, the legal matters that attract a minute percentage of dispute resolution resources implicate issues of food and shelter, life and death. The Article describes a methodology - called "Resources of Dispute Resolution" or "RDR" - for …

The Market For Justice, The "Litigation Explosion," And The "Verdict Bubble": A Closer Look At Vanishing Trials, Frederic N. Smalkin, Frederic N.C. Smalkin

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Recently, a respected jurist has lamented the declining number of federal jury trials. Chief Judge William Young of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, writing in the Federal Lawyer, pointed out that jury trials in federal civil cases declined 26% in the decade between 1989 and 1999, which he attributed to four factors: the district court judiciary's loss of focus on the core function of trying jury cases; the business community's loss of interest in jury adjudication (opting out of the legal system altogether in favor of arbitration); Congress's marginalizing the district court judiciary; and the …

Recent Developments: State V. Snowden: Hearsay Statements Made By Child Abuse Victims To A Social Worker May Not Be Admitted At A Criminal Trial Through The Social Worker Under Maryland's "Tender Years" Statute, Erica C. Mudd

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments: Fitzgerald V. State: A Drug-Dog Sniff Of Exterior Portions Of A Residence Does Not Constitute A Search Under The Fourth Amendment Of The U.S. Constitution, Lindsay Victoria Ruth Moss

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments: Lee V. Cline: The Maryland Tort Claims Act Broadens The Scope Of Qualified Immunity Afforded To State Personnel To Encompass Both Intentional Torts And Constitutional Torts, Stephanie Freer

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments: Rausch V. Allstate Ins. Co.: A Tenant's Liability In A Subrogation Action Is Determined By The Reasonable Expectations Of The Parties To The Lease, Nancy Chung

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

University Of Baltimore Law Review Volume 34 Number 3 (Spring 2005) Front Matter

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Comments: Walking The Line Of Admissibility: Why Maryland Courts Should Reexamine The Admissibility Of Field Sobriety Tests, Rick M. Grams

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Adverse Employment Action In Retaliation Cases, Brian A. Riddell, Richard A. Bales

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Comments: Maryland Is Dying For A Slayer Statute: The Ineffectiveness Of The Common Law Slayer Rule In Maryland, Tara L. Pehush

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Comments: Check Your Privacy Rights At The Front Gate: Consensual Sodomy Regulation In Today's Military Following United States V. Marcum, Captain Erik C. Coyne

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Unified Family Courts In Maryland And California: Their Relevance For Ontario's Family Justice System, Barbara A. Babb

All Faculty Scholarship

The Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario has contracted with the University of Baltimore School of Law's Center for Families, Children and the Courts to prepare this research paper. The purpose of the paper is to provide an overview of unified family courts and court-connected family services in two jurisdictions, Maryland and California, as agreed to by officials of the Ministry. The overview provides information about the structure of each jurisdiction's unified family court, family services connected to the court, the role of judicial and quasi-judicial officers, the assignment and specialization of the judiciary, rules or processes to deal …

Time To Decide? The Laws Governing Mothers' Consents To The Adoption Of Their Newborn Infants, Elizabeth Samuels

All Faculty Scholarship

Adoption in the United States is a complex patchwork of law and practice that involves payments of nearly two billion dollars annually in fees and expenses. The adoptions that involve domestically born, voluntarily placed infants raise unique issues. In these as in all adoptions involving parental consent, two generally accepted goals of ethical and humane practice are first, avoiding unnecessary separation of families by ensuring that birth parents make informed and deliberate decisions and second, protecting the finality of placements. The two goals are ideally complementary, but in the case of domestic infant adoptions, there is a danger that pressure …

University Of Baltimore Law Forum Volume 35 Number 2 (Spring 2005) Front Matter

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Justice Douglas, The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, And Maryland Legal History, John A. Lynch Jr.

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Same Sex Marriage: Is Maryland Ready?, Mark F. Scurti

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments: Baltimore Science Fiction Society, Inc. V. Sdat: An Organization Not Engaging In Formal Or Systematic Instruction Can Qualify As Serving An "Educational Purpose" And May Therefore Be Eligible For Exemption From Property Taxes, Ayodeji O. Badaki

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments: Dehn V. Edgecombe: Absent The Doctor-Patient Relationship, A Patient's Spouse Does Not Possess An Independent Medical Malpractice Cause Of Action, Mark Patrick Johnson

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments: Montgomery County Board Of Education V. Horace Mann Insurance Co.: A School Board Must Defend Its Teachers Against Tort Claims If A Potentiality Of Coverage Exists Under The Language Of An Insurance Policy, Jacob Y. Statman

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments: Newman V. State: An Attorney's Disclosure Under Rule 1.6 Of The Maryland Rules Of Professional Conduct Does Not Defeat A Client's Assertion Of The Attorney-Client Privilege, Julia J. Messick

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments: Towson University V. Conte: A Jury's Role In A Wrongful Discharge Case Does Not Include That Of Ultimate Fact-Finder, Kimmeria Bayton

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments: Weitzel V. State: Pre-Arrest Silence In The Presence Of A Law Enforcement Officer Is Inadmissible As Direct Evidence Of A Defendant's Guilt, Mcevan H. Baum

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Forum Faces: Alexander L. Cummings, Victoria Z. Sulerzyski

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

The New Maryland Rules Of Professional Conduct And Mediation: Perplexing Questions Answered And Perplexing Questions That Remain, Robert Rubinson

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Comment: When Considering Whether Prior Criminal Convictions Are Admissible In Subsequent Civil Proceedings As A Hearsay Exception, Should Maryland Keep Its Kuhl Or Take A Walk On The Wald Side?, Michael Rynd

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.

Recent Developments: Beyond Sys., Inc. V. Realtime Gaming Holding Co.: A Maryland Court Cannot Exercise Personal Jurisdiction Over An Out-Of-State Defendant Based Solely On The Existence Of Defendant's Internet Website Or Link, David Schaffer

University of Baltimore Law Forum

No abstract provided.