Law Commons^™

The Public Safety Exception To Miranda: Analyzing Subjective Motivation, Marc Schuyler Reiner

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues, however, that the appropriate inquiry under Quarles is whether an actual and reasonable belief in an emergency motivated the interrogating officer. This Note proposes a two-prong test to facilitate this inquiry. The subjective motivation prong evaluates the officer's subjective motivation as revealed by objective factors: the. content of the officer's questions, when he asked them, and when the suspect received Miranda warnings. The objective reasonableness prong looks at the objective circumstances to determine the reasonableness of the officer's belief in an emergency.

Part I demonstrates that the Quarles opinion actually contemplates and requires analysis of the officer's …

Regulating Viatical Settlements: Is The Invisible Hand Picking The Pockets Of The Terminally Ill?, Russell J. Herron

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The newly emerging viatical settlement industry has attracted considerable attention from both insurance regulators and advocates for the terminally ill. In a viatical settlement, a terminally ill person names a viatical settlement company as beneficiary under his life insurance policy in exchange for an immediate lump-sum cash payment of less than face value of the policy. To date, viatical settlement payments to people with AIDS (PWAs) have been disturbingly low as a percentage of the face value of PWA policies. This Note examines the few enacted viatical settlement regulations and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' model regulations as they …

Calming Aids Phobia: Legal Implications Of The Low Risk Of Transmitting Hiv In The Health Care Setting, American Bar Association Aids Coordinating Committee

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Scientists are concluding that the risk of becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS based on transmission from an infected health care worker is infinitesimal: in fact, only one health care worker has ever been documented as the source of HN transmission to a patient. This Article sets forth the medical evidence concerning this low risk and argues that legal decision making should incorporate these facts into its analysis of legal problems involving HN-infected health care workers. The Article analyzes three areas of such legal decision making: (1) employment and related credentialing of HN-infected health care workers; (2) liability …

Fictions, Fault, And Forgiveness: Jury Nullification In A New Context, David N. Dorfman, Chris K. Iijima

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Recently, critics of the Anglo-American jury system have complained that juries in criminal trials have been ignoring the law, in favor of defendants who claim that they lack criminal responsibility because they are afflicted by the various victimization syndromes now popularized in the mass media. In this Article, Professors Dorfman and Iijima counter this characterization of the "runaway" jury and argue that juries are not ignoring the law, but rather, are exercising a primary power of the jury, to nullify the application of the law when such application to a particular defendant is unjust. The Authors trace the development of …

The Information Highway Must Pay Its Way Through Cities: A Discussion Of The Authority Of State And Local Governments To Be Compensated For The Use Of Public Rights-Of-Way, Clarence A. West

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

In the ever-changing telecommunications industry there appears to be an enormous amount of confusion not only as to the appropriate amount of compensation chargeable to the users of public rights-of-way, but also as to the very authority of state and local governments to require compensation. This was not always the case. It has long been a well-settled legal principle that local governments may receive reasonable "rental" compensation from private commercial entities for their use of local public property for private economic gain, even where federal statutory law restricts local governments from denying access to rights-of-way for telecommunications services. For example, …

Telecommunications In Transition: Unbundling, Reintegration, And Competition, David J. Teece

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The world economy is experiencing a technological revolution, fueled by rapid advances in microelectronics, optics, and computer science, that in the 1990s and beyond will dramatically change the way people everywhere communicate, learn, and access information and entertainment. This technological revolution has been underway for about a decade. The emergence of a fully-interactive communications network, sometimes referred to as the "Information Superhighway," is now upon us. This highway, made possible by fiber optics and the convergence of several different technologies, is capable of delivering a plethora of new interactive entertainment, informational, and instructional services that are powerful and user-friendly. The …

Turner Broadcasting, The First Amendment , And The New Electronic Delivery Systems, Henry Geller

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

After ducking the issue of the First Amendment status of cable television for years, the United States Supreme Court rendered its most important decision concerning the regulation of the new electronic media in Turner Broadcasting, Inc. v. FCC. Turner involved the constitutionality of the "must-carry" provisions of the 1992 Cable Act (the "Act" or "Cable Act") which require cable systems to carry specified local broadcast television stations. While cable television began over four decades ago as a community antenna service, it changed drastically after the advent of satellite in the mid-1970's to also provide scores of satellite-delivered programs and to …

Unconstitutional Telco-Cable Cross-Ownership Ban: It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time, Arthur Bresnahan

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

This article is a survey of the law regarding the federal government's ability to regulate a telephone company's provision of video programming to subscribers in its service area. Part I of the article is a history of the telco-cable cross-ownership ban. Part II is an analysis of the cases striking down the ban, exploring the rationale of these cases on a consolidated basis. Part III is a summary of the applicable standards by which to evaluate future attempts by Congress or the FCC to regulate telephone companies' provision of video programming.

Direct Democracy And Bioethical Choices: Voting Life And Death At The Ballot Box, Judith F. Daar

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Direct democracy, the political process that enables citizens to draft, circulate, and enact laws, has become the refuge for grassroots organizations seeking statutory validation in a legislative arena perceived to be unresponsive or unfriendly to their concerns. One group of citizens, advocates for physician-aid-in-dying, has recently emerged on the national scene, sponsoring state ballot initiatives in three states and pledging to continue their quest for legalization of physician-assisted death throughout the country. In this Article, Professor Daar examines the interplay between direct democracy and regulation of end-of-life decision making. This examination reveals that lawmaking by initiative, as seen through the …

Electronic Mail And Michigan's Public Disclosure Laws: The Argument For Public Access To Governmental Electronic Mail, Daniel F. Hunter

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note explores the potential for citizens to request electronic mail (e-mail) records from government agencies using public disclosure laws, with emphasis on the Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). E-mail is a medium that has come to replace both telephone calls and paper documents for many purposes. The applicability of public disclosure laws to e-mail, however, is less than clear. Telephone conversations by public employees for most purposes are confidential, while paper records created by those same employees can be requested under the FOIA. Thus, should public e-mail remain private and confidential or should it be subject to FOIA …

The Federal Arbitration Act And Individual Employment Contracts: A Better Means To An Equally Just End, William F. Kolakowski Iii

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that courts should adopt a narrow reading of the employment contract exception to the FAA, thus making arbitration agreements in most individual employment contracts enforceable under the Act. Part I argues that a textual analysis of the FAA supports a narrow interpretation of the exception. Because some courts and commentators have argued that the text favors a broad interpretation, Part II examines the legislative history of the exception and demonstrates that no firm conclusions can be drawn about congressional intent regarding the exception's scope. Finally, Part III demonstrates that a narrow reading of the exception best serves …

Misunderstanding Positivism, Anthony J. Sebok

Michigan Law Review

It is important that I point out the limited purposes of this article. I cannot, in the context of the argument I make, prove that positivism will not inevitably collapse into a conservative theory of law. Nor can I prove that positivism is not vulnerable to jurisprudential arguments unrelated to the attempt to link positivism with formalism, legal process, and originalism. I recognize that strong arguments have been made that modem positivism's attempts to divorce itself from classical positivism's command theory of law has opened up more problems than it has solved. I have certain views on whether that divorce …

Supplemental Jurisdiction Over Claims By Plaintiffs In Diversity Cases: Making Sense Of 28 U.S.C. § 1367 (B), Darren J. Gold

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines the language and legislative history of section 1367(b) and proposes a uniform test for determining the circumstances in which subsection (b) authorizes the exercise of supplemental jurisdiction. Part I of this Note explains the doctrines of pendent and ancillary jurisdiction and examines how the Supreme Court's decision in Finley v. United States called these doctrines into question. Part II examines the language and legislative history of section 1367 and concludes that the statute only prohibits the exercise of supplemental jurisdiction over claims by plaintiffs in diversity cases when doing so would permit plaintiffs to circumvent the complete …

The Case Against Section 1983 Immunity For Witnesses Who Conspire With A State Official To Present Perjured Testimony, Jennifer S. Zbytowski

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that witnesses who conspire with a state official to present perjured testimony at a judicial proceeding should not have absolute immunity from a section 1983 suit for damages. Part I provides background information on section 1983 and explains why a witness-state conspiracy satisfies the requirements of a section 1983 cause of action. Part I also summarizes the Supreme Court's doctrinal approach to section 1983 immunity. Finally, Part I examines two Supreme Court cases which are relevant to the issue of immunity for witness conspirators: Briscoe v. LaHue, and Malley v. Briggs. Part II applies the …

School Finance Adequacy As Vertical Equity, Julie K. Underwood

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In this Article, Dean Underwood explains that school finance cases can be divided into three waves of reform. The first wave involved efforts to use the Federal Equal Protection Clause to overturn financing systems. Litigants in the second wave turned to state equal protection and due process clauses. Finally, the third wave involved the utilization of education clauses in state constitutions as the predominant litigation vehicle. These three waves embody two primary approaches to school finance litigation. The first approach involves a challenge to the adequacy of a state's funding system under either the state or federal equal protection clause, …

Establishing Education Program Inadequacy: The Alabama Example, Martha I. Morgan, Adam S. Cohen, Helen Hershkoff

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The authors draw on their experience as attorneys for a statewide class of plaintiff school children in the liability phase of ongoing public education reform litigation in Alabama to demonstrate the availability of state and nationally recognized standards concerning educational resources (inputs) and results (outputs) that can serve as evidentiary tools for assessing and for establishing a state public education system's failure to satisfy constitutional mandates of educational adequacy. The Article discusses the usefulness and limitations of using such standards as a starting point in a court's constitutional analysis. It suggests an integrated approach that links input and output standards …

Accelerated Education As A Remedy For High-Poverty Schools, William H. Clune

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

High-poverty schools, and the students who attend them, have historically faced substantial challenges in providing and receiving, adequate education. Despite some relief from the courts, school finance remedies that require the redistribution of monetary aid to low-wealth districts have encountered strong political opposition. In this Article, Professor Clune makes a renewed claim for accelerated education as the primary focus of adequacy litigation in school reform cases. He describes the nation's educational condition, in which there exists a disturbing correlation between poverty and low educational outcomes. He then drafts a vision of a comprehensive, school reform remedy, one that emphasizes institutional …

Achieving Equity And Excellence In Kentucky Education, C. Scott Trimble, Andrew C. Forsaith

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In this Article, Trimble and Forsaith discuss the landmark Kentucky school finance case, Rose v. Council for Better Education, 790 S.W.2d 186 (Ky. 1989), and the school reform efforts it spawned. In Council for Better Education, the Kentucky Supreme Court held that the state had failed its duty under the state constitution to provide all students with an adequate education, which it defined in terms of seven categories of knowledge and skills students should acquire. The State General Assembly responded with the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), which significantly boosted state funding as well as established an ambitious accountability system …

Decreasing The Costs Of Jurisdictional Gridlock: Merger Of The Securities And Exchange Commission And The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Mark Frederick Hoffman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Jurisdictional conflict exists between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), primarily due to the language of the 1974 CFTC Act. This Act grants the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction to regulate certain financial instruments which, given the increasing complexity and "hybrid" nature of such instruments, might simultaneously be subject to SEC regulation. This Note first explores the history of the two agencies and the statutory language giving rise to the jurisdictional conflict. This Note then examines several instances of jurisdictional conflict that resulted in extensive costs for the respective agencies and the United States' financial …

Oklahoma School Finance Litigation: Shifting From Equity To Adequacy, Mark S. Grossman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article traces the history of Oklahoma school finance litigation from the initial challenge based on funding inequity to a recent lawsuit founded on alleged constitutional inadequacies in the state system. Although the legal challenge based on funding inequity was unsuccessful in the courts, the pendency of the suit helped push the state legislature toward some reforms. The threat of a new lawsuit based on alleged inadequacies in the state school system, together with a serious funding shortfall, propelled a comprehensive education reform plan through the state legislature in 1990. The association of local school boards that led the equity …

Educational Adequacy: A Theory And Its Remedies, William H. Clune

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The Articles in this volume explore a broad range of issues raised by adequacy litigation. This Introduction will summarize the Articles, discuss the theory of adequacy, and explore highlights of the Articles' examination of key aspects of judicial remedies.

Intellectual Property And The Costs Of Commercial Exchange: A Review Essay, Robert P. Merges

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Commercial Law of Intellectual Property by Peter A. Alces and Harold F. See

History's Stories, Stephan Landsman

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Stories of Scottsboro by James Goodman

Parents And The State: Joining Forces To Report Incest And Support Its Victims, Lynne Olman Lourim

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

As many as 60,000 to 100,000 children each year become victims of child sexual abuse in this country, according to some estimates. These children typically suffer long-lasting effects of the abuse. This Note, in focusing on (step)father-daughter incest, looks at the predominance of males as perpetrators, daughters as victims, and mothers as non-abusers. The Note examines the dynamics within incestuous families and the characteristics common to each member in these families. It particularly considers the position of mothers in these families, who often are subservient to and financially dependent on the incest perpetrator. This Note then discusses how these mothers' …

Improving Constitutional Criminal Procedure, Welsh S. White

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Failure of the Criminal Procedure Revolution by Craig M. Bradley

Rearranging Deck Chairs On The Titanic: The Inadequacy Of Modest Proposals To Reform Labor Law, Charles B. Craver

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Agenda for Reform: The Future of Employment Relationships and the Law by William B. Gould IV

Pragmatism, Feminism, And The Problem Of Bad Coherence, Catharine Pierce Wells

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Reinterpreting Property by Margaret Jane Radin

De Jure Revolution?, Margaret M. Russell

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Failed Revolutions: Social Reform and the Limits of Legal Imagination by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic, and Crusaders in the Courts: How a Dedicated Band of Lawyers Fought for the Civil Rights Revolution by Jack Greenberg.

Law School: A Survivor's Guide, Benjamin C. Bair

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Law School: A Survivor's Guide by James D. Gordon III

The Case For Appellate Court Revision, Joseph F. Weis Jr.

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Rationing Justice on Appeal: The Problems of the U.S. Courts of Appeals by Thomas E. Baker