Law Commons^™

An American Original, Ronald L. Carlson

Scholarly Works

This is one of many articles tributing Judge Myron H. Bright in recognition of thirty years of service on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. This article describes Professor Carlson's relationship with Judge Bright and details Judge Bright's career.

Challenging Defamatory Opinions As An Alternative To Media Self-Regulation, James F. Ponsoldt

Scholarly Works

This Essay analyzes defamation law as it applies to the media. Part I summarizes the state of defamation law prior to the 1990 Supreme Court decision in Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., when opinion was presumed immune from liability. Part II examines the holding in Milkovich, which suggests the potential liability for recklessly defamatory statements couched as or in the context of opinion. Part III reviews post-Milkovich decisions during the 1990's. This Essay concludes that the predictions of Milkovich were accurate in many jurisdictions and could apply to televised allegations during the coverage of the Clinton affair. …

De Minimis Discrimination, Rebecca H. White

Scholarly Works

Is there any basis for a de minimis exception to our employment discrimination laws? This Article suggests a way of analyzing the issue of de minimis discrimination that comports with the language of and policies underlying Title VII and also with judicially developed disparate treatment theory. It approaches this project from a normative and doctrinal, not a deontological, perspective. Congress has enacted laws prohibiting discrimination in employment, and the appropriate question, in the first instance, is how those statutes should best be interpreted. Although the focus is on Title VII, the analysis undertaken here may be usefully applied to other …

Mend It Or End It? What To Do With The Independent Counsel Statute, Julian A. Cook

Scholarly Works

The tenure of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr has generated much debate among scholars, politicians, and the media in recent years regarding the efficacy of the independent counsel statute, which is scheduled to expire in June 1999. Enacted in response to the Watergate saga, and particularly the infamous “Saturday Night Massacre,” the independent counsel statute was designed to remove politics from the prosecution of executive branch officials and to foster public confidence in the prosecutorial process. Advocates claim that the statute, though flawed, is the best system available to address alleged criminal wrongdoing by high-ranking executive branch officials, as well as …

Volume 33, Issue 1 (Fall 1998), University Of Georgia School Of Law

Advocate Magazine

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• A Conversation with Dean David Shipley - Get to know the new dean's opinions on a host of issues through an interview conducted by the Georgia Advocate.
• Heeding the Profession's Inherent Call to Service - The motivation is not self-promotion, so you may be unaware of just how much the law school does for the community. Caldwell Professor Milner Ball 0.0.'71) explores the quiet ways the entire law school community-faculty, staff and students-work to better society.
• Around the Peach State in 120 Days - Dean Shipley has spent much of his first four months on the road …

Constitutional Remedies, Section 1983 And The Common Law, Michael L. Wells

Scholarly Works

Constitutional tort law marries the substantive rights granted by the Constitution to the remedial mechanism of tort law. The sweeping language of 42 U.S.C. 1983 provides that "[e]very person who, under color of any [state law] subjects, or causes to be subjected, any [person] to the deprivation of any [constitutional rights] shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress." Constitutional tort suits raise, in a new context, many tort-like remedial questions relating to causation, immunity, and damages--and therein lies a problem. The usual source of answers to …

Remedies For The Misappropriation Of Intellectual Property By State And Municipal Governments Before And After Seminole Tribe: The Eleventh Amendment And Immunity Doctrines, Paul J. Heald, Michael L. Wells

Scholarly Works

Part I of this Article addresses relief available to intellectual property owners under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Before Congress's express abrogation of state sovereign immunity in 1992, federal, state, and local governments were nonetheless potentially liable for misappropriations of intellectual property that constituted takings without just compensation. This examination of the Supreme Court's Fifth Amendment jurisprudence is also key to answering the critical question of whether federal patent, copyright, and trademark laws establish rights in “property” for the purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment, for only under section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment may Congress abrogate a state's …

Tort Claims Against The State: Georgia's Compensation System, R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Scholarly Works

The State's immunity from liability for the torts of its officers and employees claims legendary status in American law. Indeed, immunity's history now looms as daunting as the doctrine itself. As with most epochal accounts, this history varies according to version--versions, assuredly, for many tastes. In sum, nevertheless, the offerings attest to a legal principle persisting as (at least) the point of departure in most jurisdictions. Anchored in both history and rationale, therefore, state tort immunity long dominated the law of the United States. Over time, indeed, the doctrine's durability proved unequal only to that of its critics. Those critics …

Sunbeam Products, Inc. V. The West Bend Co.: Exposing The Malign Application Of The Federal Dilution Statute To Product Configurations, Paul J. Heald

Scholarly Works

Some judicial opinions lack persuasive authority because they are poorly written. Others establish dangerous precedent or enshrine pernicious attitudes into law. Still others twist the language of prior opinions or misuse legislative history. Although a focus on rhetorical structure, effect on society, or quality of legal reasoning is helpful in identifying what constitutes a very bad judicial opinion, this essay will instead expose the blander evils of indifference and inattentitveness. My “worst” opinion -- Sunbeam Products, Inc. v. The West Bend Co. -- will not have a catastrophic effect on American life and culture, but rather provides an important illustration …

State And Local Taxation Of Electronic Commerce: Reflections On The Emerging Issues, Walter Hellerstein

Scholarly Works

When Ed Cohen honored me with the invitation to present the principal paper on state and local taxation of electronic commerce for this conference, I was pleased to accept, but with one caveat. Because most of my waking hours over the past year seem to have been consumed by the preparation of papers addressed to state taxation of electronic commerce, I warned Ed that much of what I might have to say would not be new -- at least to me. But a funny thing happened on the way to this forum. When I set about my task to prepare …

Civil (Tort) Litigation: The Search For Data Continues, Thomas A. Eaton

Scholarly Works

What do we "know" about tort litigation in Georgia? How many tort suits are filed? What kinds of cases are filed? How many settle and how many go to trial? Do jurors tend to rule in favor of one party or the other? What are the typical damages awarded in cases in which the plaintiff prevails? How often are punitive damages awarded?

Volume 32, Issue 2 (Spring 1998), University Of Georgia School Of Law

Advocate Magazine

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Law Day & Family Day '98: A Pictorial Review - The Scopes trial, examined in Prof. Ed Larson's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, headlines Law Day. This photo essay takes you through the day's numerous activities, including the naming of the Governor Carl E. Sanders Boardroom.
• Some Practical Advice: Maximizing Your Investment Return on Legal Technology - Legal technology expert Tom Rowe (J.D. '86) shares advice you can use on getting the most for your money from computers.
• Long-Awaited Law School History is Published! - The School of Law's remarkable past is explored in the history, A Unique and …

The Structure Of Blackstone's Commentaries, Alan Watson

Scholarly Works

Duncan Kennedy's view of Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England as the first systematic attempt to present a theory of the whole common law system is interesting but wrong. Blackstone himself listed his predecessors, "those who have laboured in reducing our laws to a System": Glanville, Bracton, Britton, the author of Fleta, Fitzherbert, Brook, Lord Bacon, Sir Edward Coke, Dr. Cowell, Sir Henry Finch, Dr. Wood, Sir Matthew Hale. Certainly their arrangements are not free from defects. In particular, as Blackstone pointed out, the arrangement of Fitzherbert and Brook was alphabetical, and Bacon purposely avoided any regular …

Folsom V. Marsh And Its Legacy, L. Ray Patterson

Scholarly Works

The fair use doctrine has become so important in American copyright law that it is somewhat surprising to learn that the case credited with creating it, Folsom v. Marsh, was so poorly reasoned that it may be entitled to first place in the category of bad copyright decisions. The case was a bill in equity for copyright piracy, the style of which comes from plaintiff, Folsom, Wells and Thurston, printers and publishers, and defendants, Marsh, Capen and Lyon, booksellers.

If one of the characteristics of a bad legal decision is that it gives rise to a myth as to what …

Hazardous Waste Determination And Government Enforcement Actions In The Resource Conservation And Recovery Act And The Law No. 24051: Comparison Between The United States And Argentina, Eduardo Jose Conghos

LLM Theses and Essays

The incremental generation and disposal of hazardous waste, causing severe environmental pollution, has become one the world’s most important ecological problems starting with the Stockholm Conference in 1972. This paper examines two legislative reactions to pollution caused by hazardous wastes in the United States, under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 1976 (RCRA), and Argentina, in Law No. 24051. This paper makes a comparative analysis of the material provisions of both the RCRA and the Law with emphasis on the tools and actions provided for the enforcement of the RCRA and the Law. The paper concludes that the RCRA and …

Mexico: The Case For Creation Of A National Court Of Human Rights, Nauhcatzin T. Bravo-Aguilar

LLM Theses and Essays

The continuing oppression and violation of human rights in Mexico is predicated on the abuse of executive power, suppression of the powers of the Comision Nacional de Derechos Humanos (the National Commission for the Protection of Human Rights), and the usurpation of the authority of the judiciary. This thesis conducts a comparative analysis of the protection of human rights under the Constitution of the United States, the German Basic Law, and the Constitution of Mexico. It analyses the concept of the judicial review of executive and legislative powers and advocates for the establishment of a National Court of Human Rights …

Foreign Banking Legislation In The U.S., Jun Chen

LLM Theses and Essays

This thesis addresses the dramatic change in legislation for the operation of foreign banks in the U.S in reaction to more recent myriad of opportunities for foreign banks within the U.S. The author takes on an historical perspective to the nature and concept of foreign banking, the International Banking Act of 1978, the Foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act of 1991, and the problems and lessons learned from the Daiwa and BCCI scandals. The author concludes with analysis and comments on current U.S. foreign banking legislation while proposing that U.S. banking regulations on foreign banks, though necessary to protect the U.S. …

American Depository Receipts As A Way For Russian Companies To Enter The U.S. Capital Market, Dmitry Gladkov

LLM Theses and Essays

The international capital market has become more developed in the last two decades because of advances in information technology, increased co-operation among financial regulators and the sophistication of the market players. This paper focuses on depository receipts as an essential element in the market integration process. The paper explores how domestic investors and corporations can acquire, issue and trade in foreign securities on the major stock markets of other countries, especially emerging markets such as the Russian Federation. This paper reviews the development of European Depository Receipts (EDRs), Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) and the American Depository Receipts (ADRs) in the …

Copyright Protection Of Software, Severine Desimpelaere

LLM Theses and Essays

Computer technology has developed within the last decades with many advancements which require intellectual property protections. This thesis addresses the need for the legal protection of software by the vast body of copyright laws. This thesis examines the history, nature, textual and practical compositions of copyright laws and their adaptability to computer technology. The thesis further analyses the scope of copyright protection with emphasis on the Computer Software Copyright Act of 1980 (CSCA), the regime of international conventions for the protection of software as well as other statutory protections for the owners and users of the software. The thesis concludes …

A New Regulatory Environment For The Telecommunication Industry, Jerome Lavigne Delville

LLM Theses and Essays

The idea of information superhighways has been spurred by consumer demand, technological development and political institutions. These advancements and interests require a regulatory framework to control the operation of, and competition within the telecommunications industry. This paper focuses on government regulation of telecommunication carriers, information services (internet), video-programming and wireless telecommunication (spectrum). This paper also highlights the roles of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as compared to previous laws prior to the 1996 Act.

Obtaining Damages From Unconstitutional Convictions: A Comparative Study Between Habeas Corpus And Amparo, Francisco Donde

LLM Theses and Essays

This thesis focuses on the right of victims of political and other unconstitutional convictions to obtain legal relief in Mexico. The thesis critically examines the writs of Amparo and habeas corpus, their uses and enforcements in Mexico, including, the policy for the creation of the writs – liberty. This thesis makes a comparative analysis of the use of the Mexican writ of Amparo and the writ of habeas corpus vis-à-vis enforcement mechanisms in the United States for unconstitutional convictions. The thesis concludes with proposals for amendments to the Amparo statute in Mexico to create the possibility for damages as …

Exercising The Doctrine Of Judicial Review By Establishing A Constitutional Court In Mexico, Irma Leticia Leal-Moya

LLM Theses and Essays

This thesis focuses on the doctrine of judicial review and the need to establish a constitutional court in Mexico. The paper critically examines the doctrine of judicial review under the common law (US) and civil law (Germany) jurisdictions. Although the doctrine of judicial review in Mexico is a combination of both models, several decades of institutional arrangements prevent the Mexican judicial system from achieving effective instruments to enforce basic constitutional principles and maintain an equilibrium of powers. This thesis proposes a constitutional review that will create independent constitutional courts, with powers to review executive and legislative powers.

International Aspects Of Banking Regulations - Panama And U.S., Annette Cecilia De Leon Molina

LLM Theses and Essays

Globalization has resulted in a significant increase in the number of foreign banks operating in the United States and the Republic of Panama, thus requiring regulation. This paper deals with the proposed legislative framework by the Republic of Panama to modernize its foreign banking regulations. The paper examines the dynamics of the Basic Accord Capital Standards and U.S. regulation of foreign banks in comparison to the Panama current banking regulations, with the goal to adopting international best practices. The paper concludes by proposing that the Republic of Panama should embrace regulatory revisions at the same level as regulatory schemes in …

Interaction Between National Environmental Marketing Regulations And International Trade, Pirkko-Liis Harkmaa

LLM Theses and Essays

The environmental marketing of goods and products have a substantial influence on the demand and supply. This thesis reviews the scope, advantages and disadvantages of diverse types of environmental marketing and further addresses the need for international regulations on eco-labeling programs. This thesis finds that there is a substantial connection between trade and environmental marketing which has resulted in the need for an international harmonization of eco-labeling strategies including the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The thesis concludes with propositions for a uniform international standard on eco-labeling for the adoption of environmentally-sound best practices and the mitigation of …

Labelling Genetically Modified Products Under International Law, Mary Caroline Harris

LLM Theses and Essays

This paper focuses on the debate on the health, policy and legal regimes that require the special labeling of food, drugs and other products that contain genetically-modified-organisms. The paper examines national and international regulatory schemes on genetically-modified-organisms and the roles of the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and World Trade Organization (WTO) conventions for non-restrictive global trade. This paper analyzes the scope, aims and objectives of the proposed international Biosafety Protocol in line with the overarching goals of GATT/WTO. The paper concludes that the food industry and individual producers should have the liberty to decide whether to label …

Officers And Directors Compensation In American Law, Laurence Melanie Rouzioux

LLM Theses and Essays

Since the 1980s, executive compensation of directors and officers in U.S. Corporations have increased sharply. This paper reflects upon the public criticism of corporations that paid exorbitant amounts as salary and other benefits to their directors and officers. This paper focuses on the laws of corporations in Delaware as they relate to directors and officers’ compensation. The author examines different concepts such as the doctrine of waste that creates a duty that a corporation cannot give away or waste its assets. The author concludes that executive compensation packages should mirror Delaware corporation laws while remaining reasonable flexible to account for …

The United Nations Convention For The International Sale Of Goods (Cisg) And Related Issues Of Conflict Of Laws, Francesco Pifferi

LLM Theses and Essays

This paper addresses a need for legal predictability in international sale of goods. The author explores the twin purposes of the CISG to provide uniform substantive rules for international sale contracts and to solve conflict of laws problems through a uniform choice of law principle. The paper explores the regime of conflict of law rules in the CISG in comparison with the Hague Convention on the Law Applicable to the Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, EC Rome Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations, and the Inter-American Convention on the Law Applicable to International Contracts. The scope …

The Director's Fiduciary Duty In A Close Corporation, Saichai Ue-Orrachorphong

LLM Theses and Essays

This paper focuses on a comparative analysis of the fiduciary duties of directors in a close corporation in Thailand and the U.S. The author describes the legal standards for director’s conduct and protective measures established by law and judicial rules that protect directors that act honestly and in the best interest of the corporation. The paper examines concepts such as the business judgment rule, duty of loyalty and duty of care under the Model Business Corporation Act as well as under Thai law. The paper concludes with a suggestion that Thai law should give more leeway to directors in the …

Study Of Electronic Cash: Its Impact On The Economy And Society, And Its Future, Sanjana Prasad

LLM Theses and Essays

Technological advancement has introduced an electronic method for the payment for goods and services. With these advancements and the growth of the internet, the market-place of the world has become one universe without borders. This paper examines the various methods of electronic payment for goods and services and the domestic and international laws that govern their operations. The paper explores concerns about money laundering, counterfeiting, internet security, cyber scams in electronic cash as well as proffered security solutions to these problems. The paper concludes with the proposition that electronic cash in the form of cards (ATM) are more accessible to …

Good Faith Principle Under Vienna Sales Convention - A Comparative Study, Chuan Li

LLM Theses and Essays

This paper focuses on the good faith principle in contracts and international trade. The paper examines the description of the good faith principle in common law and civil law jurisdictions and various approaches to Article 7 (1) of the Vienna Sales Convention that requires the need to promote the observance of good faith in international trade. The paper reviews the drafting history of the Article, interpretation of good faith under common law and civil law, the UNIDROIT and Uniform Commercial Code. The paper concludes by proposing a uniform understanding of the Convention’s good faith principle by clarifying its function, its …