Law Commons^™

Memorandum Of Amici Curiae In Support Of Petition For Writ Of Certiorari, Pasadena Receivables, Inc. V. Loren W. Parker,, Peter A. Holland

Court Briefs

The petition for certiorari to the Maryland Court of Appeals by Loren Parker concerned the interpretation of Maryland Rule of Evidence 5-902, specifically the authentication of business records by debt buyers.

The central issue was whether a debt purchaser is bound by the same rules of evidence for the admissibility of business records as other Maryland businesses. Rule 5-902(b) provides for the self-authentication of records of a regularly conducted business activity. It requires that a party served with a 5-902(b) notice must object within 5 days. The petitioner debtor argued that this rule was being abused by debt buyers, like …

Hollow Hopes And Exaggerated Fears: The Canon/Anticanon In Context, Mark A. Graber

Faculty Scholarship

Students of American constitutionalism should add constitutional decisions made by elected officials to the constitutional canon and the constitutional anticanon. Neither the canonical nor the anticanonical constitutional decisions by the Supreme Court have produced the wonderful results or horrible evils sometimes attributed to them. In many cases, elected officials made contemporaneous constitutional decisions that had as much influence as the celebrated or condemned judicial rulings. More often than not, judicial rulings matter more as a result of changing the political dynamics than by directly changing public policy. Law students and others interested in constitutional change, for these reasons, need to …

Misogynistic Cyber Hate Speech, Danielle Keats Citron

Faculty Scholarship

In her testimony, Professor Citron provided a picture of misogynistic cyber hate, from the very worst abuses involving the harassment of individuals to less virulent forms of misogyny.

Brief Of Amici Curiae In Support Of Plaintiff-Appellant, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission V. The Picture People, Inc., No. 11-1306, Marc Charmatz, Debra Patkin

Court Briefs

The National Association for the Deaf and the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Civil Rights of Persons with Disabilities Clinic submitted an amici curiae Brief in EEOC v. Picture People, 684 F.3d 981 (10th Cir. 2012). At issue in Picture People was whether deaf or hard of hearing individuals may be discharged from an employment position in a photography studio because the employer believes the employee may have a limited ability to communicate verbally when the employer has accommodated the employee’s hearing disability. The brief supports the retaliation argument proffered by the EEOC in their …

The Imperative Of Returning To The Fundamental Principles Of The "Three Gongs" [Openness, Fairness, And Justice], Daniel J. Mitterhoff

Faculty Scholarship

This commentary highlights the failure to set policy priorities under China’s near decade old government procurement system and bemoans the consequences of China's mixed policy signals. The author calls for China to return focus upon the guiding principles of the three “gongs”--“gongkai,” “gongping” and “gongzheng” (translated as “openness, fairness and justice) . Before China can rationally and successfully pursue secondary socio-economic policies through government procurement, or alternatively open its public procurement market to foreign suppliers, it must first master the art of maximizing competition for public contracting opportunities in its domestic public purchasing regime.

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Fall 2011-Winter 2012

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Back To Basics: An Agenda For The Maryland General Assembly To Protect The Environment, Rena I. Steinzor, Lee Huang

Faculty Scholarship

Maryland has a long-held reputation as a regional and national leader in environmental protection. But in some areas, especially enforcement, that reputation warrants scrutiny. For example, Maryland charges less than Pennsylvania and Virginia for some pollutant discharge permits, and the state does not assess permit fees for municipalities despite the resources required to administer those permits. The penalties for violating the Clean Water Act have remained chronically below the level allowed under federal law. Maryland law does not require MDE to penalize polluters for the full amount of the economic gain they achieved by flouting the law, unlike laws in …

C-Drum News, V. 5, No. 1, Fall 2011

The C-DRUM News

No abstract provided.

In Practice, V. 12, No. 1, Fall 2011

In Practice

No abstract provided.

Newsletter Fall & Winter 2011

Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Environmental Law At Maryland, No. 32, Fall 2011

Environmental Law at Maryland

No abstract provided.

Brief Of Amici Curiae On Behalf Of Appellants, Paul Dewolfe, Jr., Et Al. V. Quinton Richmond, Et Al., 2011 No. 34, A.J. Bellido De Luna, Michael Pinard

Court Briefs

In this case the appellants sought to overturn a decision by the Circuit Court for Baltimore City that held criminal defendants have a right to representation by an attorney at an initial bail hearing. Due to their concern about the quality of justice given to criminal defendants in the state’s criminal justice process, law professors at both the University of Baltimore and the University of Maryland filed an amicus brief with the Maryland Court of Appeals in support of the appellees.

The amici presented one issue: Did a Court of Appeals decision in 2001 holding that the Maryland Public Defender …

Is Congress Politicizing The Irs And Its Enforcement Process?, Donald B. Tobin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Epa's Iris Program: Evaluating The Science And Process Behind Chemical Risk Assessment, Rena I. Steinzor

Congressional Testimony

No abstract provided.

Trademark Licenses: Even In A Hypothetical Or Actual World, Footstar Got It Right, Saul Ehrenpreis

Student Articles and Papers

The core of many companies' business model depends heavily on access to a trademark license. Unfortunately, despite possessing a license and turning a profit, some of these companies run into difficulties and are forced to file for chapter 11. This article analyzes the legal issues faced by a company in this situation. First, it explores the existing tension at the intersection of bankruptcy and trademark law, then discusses the three approaches courts have taken to resolving this tension. It concludes with the proposal that only one of these approaches appropriately balances the competing interests at stake.

Opening The Industry Playbook: Myths And Truths In The Debate Over Bpa Regulation, Thomas Mcgarity, Rena I. Steinzor, Matthew Shudtz, Lena Pons

Faculty Scholarship

For the last two decades, scientists have amassed evidence that bisphenol A (BPA) poses a threat to human health. Although scientists have targeted BPA as a public health concern, plastics industry lobbyists have attempted to thwart the efforts of federal, state, and local authorities to reduce exposure to BPA. This paper reviews the major arguments advanced by the plastics industry and debunks them as “myths” that public health officials must reject. The five topics covered include: the myth of scientific consensus on safety; the myth that only studies complying with “Good Laboratory Practices” guidelines are adequate for making regulatory decisions; …

Implementing Dodd-Frank: A Review Of The Cftc‟S Rulemaking Process: Testimony, Michael Greenberger

Congressional Testimony

The Relationship of Unregulated OTC Derivatives to the Meltdown. It is now accepted wisdom that it was the non-transparent, poorly capitalized, and almost wholly unregulated over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives market that lit the fuse that exploded the highly vulnerable worldwide economy in the fall of 2008. Because tens of trillions of dollars of these financial products were pegged to the economic performance of an overheated and highly inflated housing market, the sudden collapse of that market triggered under-capitalized or non-capitalized OTC derivative guarantees of the subprime housing investments. Moreover, the many undercapitalized insurers of that collapsing market had other multi-trillion dollar …

Hearing On The American Energy Initiative Transparency In Regulatory Analysis Of Impacts On The Nation Act Of 2011, Rena I. Steinzor

Congressional Testimony

No abstract provided.

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Spring-Summer 2011

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Twelve Crucial Health, Safety, And Environmental Regulations: Will The Obama Administration Finish In Time?, Amy Sinden, Rena I. Steinzor, Matthew Shudtz, James Goodwin, Yee Huang, Lena Pons

Faculty Scholarship

When President Obama came to the White House and put his appointees in place, they faced a long to-do list. For the preceding eight years, the dominant view within the Executive Branch had been that health, safety, and environmental regulation was a nuisance to business, cutting into industry profits in service of objectives that had never been part of President George W. Bush’s agenda.

By the time Bush II left office on January 20, 2009, little had been done and a lot of important safeguards had been rolled back. Crucial rules mandated by Congress were delayed or derailed, and enforcement …

Environmental Law At Maryland, No. 31, Spring 2011

Environmental Law at Maryland

No abstract provided.

Implementation Of Title Vii Of The Wall Street Reform And Consumer Protection Act. Hearing Before The United States Senate, Committee On Agriculture, Nutrition And Forestry - 112th Cong., 1st Sess., Michael Greenberger

Congressional Testimony

The Relationship of Unregulated OTC Derivatives to the Meltdown. It is now accepted wisdom that it was the non-transparent, poorly capitalized, and almost wholly unregulated over-the-counter (―OTC‖) derivatives market that lit the fuse that exploded the highly vulnerable worldwide economy in the fall of 2008. Because tens of trillions of dollars of these financial products were pegged to the economic performance of an overheated and highly inflated housing market, the sudden collapse of that market triggered under-capitalized or non-capitalized OTC derivative guarantees of the subprime housing investments. Moreover, the many undercapitalized insurers of that collapsing market had other multi-trillion …

The Anatomy Of A Search: Intrusiveness And The Fourth Amendment, Renée Mcdonald Hutchins

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of The Thirteenth Amendment On The Common Law, David S. Bogen

Schmooze 'tickets'

No abstract provided.

Congressional Authority To Interpret The Thirteenth Amendment: A Response To Professor Tsesis, Jennifer Mason Mcaward

Schmooze 'tickets'

No abstract provided.

The Thirteenth Amendment, Interest Convergence, And The Badges And Incidents Of Slavery, William M. Carter Jr.

Schmooze 'tickets'

This article explores the gap between the Thirteenth Amendment's promise and its implementation.

Involuntary Servitude, Public Accommodations Laws, And The Legacy Of Heart Of Atlanta Motel V. United States , Linda C. Mcclain

Schmooze 'tickets'

No abstract provided.

Why Originalism Is Of So Little Use In Interpreting The Thirteenth Amendment, Henry L. Chambers

Schmooze 'tickets'

The 13th Amendment affords two very different visions. One vision limits the 13th Amendment’s scope to ending slavery and involuntary servitude without more. The second expands the 13th Amendment’s scope to include an anti-subordination principle. Proponents of both visions rely on originalism to support their visions. Unfortunately, originalism does not help us reach a clearly correct conclusion regarding the scope of the 13th Amendment.

That is fine, because the core question regarding the interpretation of the 13th Amendment ought to be whether the amendment is constitutionally transformative. That is, does the 13th Amendment announce a constitutional principle that requires that …

Getting Right Without Lincoln, Daniel W. Hamilton

Schmooze 'tickets'

This short piece is taken from a review of the three important books considered below. This review is part of my current exploration of the historiography of slavery and the Constitution in Civil War legal history.

Brian McGinty, Lincoln and the Court; Stephen C. Neff, Justice in Blue and Gray: A Legal History of the Civil War; Lea VanderVelde, Mrs. Dred Scott: A Life on Slavery’s Frontier

The Slavery And Involuntary Servitude Of Immigrant Workers: Two Sides Of The Same Coin, Maria L. Ontiveros

Schmooze 'tickets'

No abstract provided.