Law Commons^™

Introduction: The Sustainability Principle, Irma S. Russell

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No abstract provided.

Streamlining Nepa To Combat Global Climate Change: Heresy Or Necessity?, Irma S. Russell

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No abstract provided.

Batson, Empowerment And New Jury Models: The Case For ‘Open Inquiry’, Patrick C. Brayer

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This 2009 article recommends the practice technique of “open inquiry,” which encourages attorneys and courts to ask jurors to openly identify their race, gender, and ethnicity during voir dire for purposes of appellate review under Batson v. Kentucky and related holdings. An open inquiry helps protect the rights of all jurors to sit. It thus creates a greater chance that juries are more diverse and promotes more voices and experiences during deliberation. The open inquiry method also promotes individual juror participation and increases the group's receptiveness toward individual voices during deliberations. Most importantly, open inquiry forces practitioners to rethink how …

Mothers And Sons: The Lloyd Schlup Story, Sean O'Brien

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This article tells the back story of the near-execution of Lloyd Schlup, condemned to die in Missouri for the 1984 murder of fellow Missouri State Penitentiary prisoner Arthur Dade, Jr. Mr. Schlup came within hours of execution before the Supreme Court granted certiorari on his case to decide whether a prisoner who is probably innocent can avail himself of the habeas corpus remedy. Mr. Schlup's and Mr. Dade's mothers played pivotal roles in the ultimate outcome of Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298 (1995). Dedicated to the memory of Nancy Slater.

Throwing The Baby Out With The Bathwater: A Call To Reinstate The Public Housing Drug Elimination Program, Wendy Tolson Ross

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In fiscal year 2002, the federal government, upon recommendation by the Office of Management and Budget, eliminated funding to the Public Housing Drug Elimination Program (PHDEP), a grant program designed to assist public housing authorities in fighting drugs and crime. In explaining its decision, the government cited (1) the program’s ineffectiveness, (2) its duplication of activities, and (3) the availability of other enforcement tools (e.g., evictions) to control crime and drugs in public housing. On the surface, the budgetary concerns appear to be sound. However, today, seven years later, crime and drug violence are still causing problems in public housing …

A Step Too Far: Pyett And The Compelled Arbitration Of Statutory Claims Under Union-Controlled Labor Contract Procedures, Mark Berger

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Over time, the Federal Courts have become increasingly supportive of and deferential to arbitration and mandatory arbitration clauses. Because arbitration under Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) were governed by different but analogous statutes, however, there were always rules carved out for CBA-related arbitration, specifically with regard to claims of discrimination based on statutes external to the CBA. However, as the mandatory arbitration of statutory claims became accepted under non-CBA agreements, the reasoning of this rule was undermined. In 14 Penn Plaza v. Pyett, the Supreme Court abandoned this separation and adopted a rule that CBAs could mandate that statutory claims be …

Death Penalty Stories: Lessons In Life-Saving Narratives, Sean O'Brien

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No abstract provided.

A Little Of This, Little Of That: Potential Effects On Entrepreneurship Of The Mccain And Obama Tax Proposals, Anthony J. Luppino

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No abstract provided.

Fixing A Hole: Eliminating Ownership Uncertainties To Facilitate University-Generated Innovation, Anthony J. Luppino

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No abstract provided.

The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act: An Industry-Government Partnership, Jeffrey E. Thomas

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No abstract provided.

Cease Fire: Win-Win Strategy On Gun Policy For The Obama Administration, Allen K. Rostron

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Amidst all the economic trouble, one industry has reason to celebrate. Sales of firearms increased significantly before the 2008 election, driven by fears that as President Barrack Obama would bring tighter restrictions on guns. The FBI reported that almost fifty percent more background checks were conducted in the first week of November 2008 compared to the same week in 2007.

While generating a surge for the gun industry, the 2008 elections may have a more significant effect on policy issues surrounding guns. After several years of momentum in favor of the National Rifle Association (NRA), the 2008 election favored gun …

The Gendered Nature Of Domestic Violence: Statistical Data For Lawyers Considering Equal Protection Analysis, Molly Dragiewicz, Yvonne F. Lindgren

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In Woods v. Horton, the California’s Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento ruled that a state Health and Safety Code section funding domestic violence shelter services specifically for battered women and their children violated equal protection. Using the strict scrutiny standard of review, the court held that under the state’s Equal Protection Clause, women and men are “similarly situated” with regard to domestic violence and, therefore, the language in the code should be revised to make state funding for domestic violence shelter services under that code gender-neutral. Woods is the first successful legal decision for the anti-feminist “fathers’ rights” …

The Evolution Of The Trial Judge From Counting Case Dispositions To Commitment To Fairness, Kevin Burke, Steve Leben

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No abstract provided.

The Theory And The Practice Reflective Writing Across The Curriculum, Nancy Levit

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No abstract provided.

Helping Parents Tell Their Children About Separation And Divorce: Social Science Frameworks And The Lawyer's Counseling Responsibility, Joan B. Kelly, Mary Kay Kisthardt

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No abstract provided.

Thinking Like A Research Expert: Schemata For Teaching Complex Problem-Solving Skills, Paul D. Callister

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The difference between expert and novice problem solvers is that experts have organized their thinking into schemata or mental constructs to both see and solve problems. This article demonstrates why schemata are important, arguing that they need to be made explicit in the classroom. It illustrates the use of schemata to understand and categorize complex research problems, map the terrain of legal research resources, match appropriate resources to types of problems, and work through the legal research process. The article concludes by calling upon librarians and research instructors to produce additional schemata and develop a common hierarchical taxonomy of skills, …

Learning From Litigation: What Can Lawsuits Teach Us About The Role Of Human Gene Patents In Research And Innovation, Christopher M. Holman

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In 2007, I published an article entitled "The Impact of Human Gene Patents on Innovation and Access: A Survey of Human Gene Patent Litigation," in which I reported the results of a project to identify and characterize all instances in which a human gene patent was asserted in a lawsuit. For the purposes of this study, I essentially treated any US patent claiming a product or process involving one or more specific human genes as a "human gene patent."

In the present article I explore in greater depth some of the implications of the 2007 study, and discuss some general …

Pedagogic Techniques: Multi-Disciplinary Courses, Annotated Document Review, Collaborative Work & Large Groups, Anthony J. Luppino

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No abstract provided.

Protecting Gun Rights And Improving Gun Control After District Of Columbia V. Heller, Allen K. Rostron

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The Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, rejecting the narrow interpretation of the Second Amendment that most courts previously embraced, might seem to be a significant setback for gun control supporters and a major victory for gun rights advocates. Challenging that conventional wisdom, the author contends that Heller ultimately will help rather than hinder the push toward strong, sensible gun control laws. Justice Scalia’s opinion for the majority in Heller ultimately backs away from the most drastic implications of its reasoning and instead steers toward a more moderate approach under which virtually all existing gun laws should …

Deeply Persistently Conflicted: Credit Rating Agencies In The Current Regulatory Environment, Timothy E. Lynch

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Credit rating agencies have a pervasive and potentially devastating influence on the financial well-being of the public. Yet, despite the recent passage of the Credit Rating Agency Reform Act, credit rating agencies enjoy a relative lack of regulatory oversight. One explanation for this lack of oversight has been the appeal of a self-regulating approach to credit rating agencies that claim to rely deeply on their reputational standing within the financial world. There are strong arguments for doubting this approach, including the conflicting self-interest of credit rating agencies whose profits are gained or lost depending on their ability to lure the …

Cohabitation, Domestic Partnerships, And Nontraditional Families Annotated Bibliography, Nancy Levit

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This annotated bibliography covers law review articles, American Law Reports (ALR), and some web articles published between 2005 and 2008. The topics covered include adoption, ADR, bankruptcy, all aspects of child custody and support, cohabitation, divorce and dissolution, domestic or intimate partner violence, civil unions, estate planning, paternity, international aspects, lesbian, gay and bisexual parents, marriage in all its varieties, tax and trial issues.

The Perils Of Taking Property Too Far, Christopher Heaney, Julia Carbone, E. Richard Gold, Tania Bubela, Christopher M. Holman, Allessandra Colaianni, Tracy R. Lewis, Bob Cook-Deegan

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Many policies governing biobanks revolve around ownership and control of the materials and information in them. Those who manage biobanks may be tempted to seek the broadest legal rights possible over material and data. However, we suggest that even if ownership and control were clearly defined by the law and readily obtained by biobanks, how legal rights are used in practice matters as much or more than the rules for ownership. We draw lessons from the stories of genetic testing for Canavan disease and inherited breast and ovarian cancers. In both cases, the use or assertion of legal rights led …

Those Who Forget The Regulatory Successes Of The Past Are Condemned To Failure, William K. Black

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This paper shows that the reregulation of the savings & loan (S&L) industry was successful because the regulators correctly identified the primary cause of the second phase of the debacle as an epidemic of “accounting control fraud” and took effective measures to contain such frauds. Control frauds occur when the persons controlling a seemingly legitimate organization use it as a “weapon” to defraud. In the financial sector, accounting control fraud is the “weapon of choice.” The regulators’ primary insights were (1) that lenders optimize accounting fraud by engaging in a distinctive operational pattern that would be irrational for any honest …

Introduction: Symposium On Law, Entrepreneurship, And Economic Recovery, Anthony J. Luppino

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No abstract provided.