Law Commons^™

Online Law: The Spa's Legal Guide To Doing Business On The Internet, Thomas J. Smedinghoff, Tom W. Bell

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Attorneys and academics have of late benefitted from a surge in the number of texts discussing the emerging law of the Internet. Online Law: The SPA's Legal Guide To Doing Business On The Internet, edited by Thomas J. Smedinghoff and published by the Software Publishers Association, represents a particularly welcome contribution. It achieves its limited goals about as well as any paper-bound book could--and does so at a nicely limited price.

The Communications Decency Act: Aborting The First Amendment?, Sheryl L. Herndon L. Herndon

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

On February 8, 1996, President Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 into law and explained that the legislation would "stimulate investment, promote competition, [and] provide open access for all citizens to the Information Superhighway." However, contrary to the goal of "opening wide the door to the Information Age," provisions of the Act violate the Constitution's First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech by imposing far-reaching new federal criminal liabilities on Americans who exercise their free speech rights on the Internet. In particular, a little-noticed provision of the Act, which expands an 1873 law banning abortion-related speech by criminalizing Internet …

Markman V. Westview Instruments, Inc.: Patent Construction Is Within The Exclusive Province Of The Court Under The Seventh Amendment, Sue Ann Mota

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

How Have The Procedural Aspects Of The Telecommunications Act Of 1996 Worked?, Clinton Miller, Charles H. Carrathers Iii, Michael Schwarzwalder, Rod Johnson, Jill Butler

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Good morning. I am Clinton Miller. I'm one of the three members of the Virginia State Corporation Commission and charged with moderating this next panel. I will give you a brief overview before they begin because there may be some people in the room who are not deeply familiar with the procedural aspects of the Telecommunication Act of 1996.

Local Franchising: What Role Will Localities Play In The Regulations Of The Telecommunications Industry? Will They Become Providers Of Telecommunications Service To The Public?, Anthony Gambardella, Dana G. Coltrin, Timothy M. Kaine, David W. Ogburn Jr.

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Good morning, everybody. I am Tony Gambardella with the firm of Woods, Rogers & Hazelgrove in Richmond--formerly with the State Corporation Commission. We started yesterday's discussion with the promise of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The main promise was, as of February 8, 1996, Congress had deregulated the telecommunications industry. The problem with the promise is that Congress retained some regulation within the industry. We have regulation at the federal level. We have a huge state role and this morning we are going to add another level--local government. Local governments have a role under the Act. There is some dispute …

Free Speech & The Internet: The Inevitable Move Toward Government Regulation, James J. Black

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The explosive growth in the number of people communicating from computers around the world via the Internet ("Net") has led to the proliferation of another type of speech, namely, scholarly articles on virtually every aspect of the Net and its many influences on life in America. One topic that has received a great deal of attention is the extent to which laws applicable within the geographical territory of the United States may be applied to the freewheeling world of Cyberspace, which knows virtually no geographical limitations. Many commentators in the United States have followed one of two streams of argument: …

Copyright On The Www: Linking And Liability, Edward A. Cavazos, Coe F. Miles

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The World Wide Web (WWW) is so often used as a way of interacting with the Internet that many people mistakenly confuse the two, referring to the Internet as the "Web" and vice versa. Of course, the Internet and its native applications predate the development of the WWW protocols by decades. Still, given the overwhelming amount of available Internet bandwidth now devoted to the transmission of web pages, there is no doubt that the WWW is the interface of choice for most users of the world's most pervasive computer network. The WWW is not the Internet, but there can be …

State Criminal Laws In Cyberspace: Reconciling Freedom For Users With Effective Law Enforcement, Sean M. Thornton

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

With the proliferation of online activities in recent years, legal thinkers and the criminal justice system have faced new questions concerning the conflict of state criminal laws. These new questions have old answers; the doctrine of constructive presence has established a state's authority to prescribe an out-of-state activity that has in-state effects. Beyond the mechanical application of jurisdictional rules, however, there lie deeper policy questions concerning the fairness of subjecting computer users to multiple, inconsistent bodies of law. Cyberspace exists in all jurisdictions, and in no particular jurisdiction, at once. There is an apparent tension between the free flow of …

Richmond Law Magazine: Winter 1997

Richmond Law Magazine

Features:

A Window on the World

Something to Do that Matters

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Criminal Law And Procedure, Betty Layne Desportes, Steven D. Benjamin

University of Richmond Law Review

This article discusses holdings and trends in the published cases of the Virginia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Virginia from August 1996 to July 1997. Although the form of this article generally follows the same form used by prior authors, several subject headings have been renamed to reflect the current focus of the courts. For example, during this period the court of appeals grappled with the "community caretaker" doctrine, bifurcated sentencing proceedings in felony cases, jury selection, and various hearsay exceptions. The supreme court addressed an indigent defendant's right to expert assistance, administrative license suspensions, and speedy …

Convoluted Essence: Indian Rights And The Federal Trust Doctrine, David E. Wilkins

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

In recent years there has been growing resentment from what one might term, for lack of a better phrase, the "anti-trust" segment. These commentators have offered a host of arguments to support their position: the trust doctrine has been and is still used primarily to "give moral color to depredations of tribes;" it is "an assertion of unrestrained political power over Indians, power that may be exercised without Indian consent and without substantial legal restraint;" and it is really a "metaphor for federal control of Indian affairs without signifying any enforceable rights of the tribal `beneficiaries.'" Yet others suggest that …

The Supreme Court's Rejection Of Government Indemnification To Agent Orange Manufacturers In Hercules, Inc. V. United States: Distinguishing The Forest From The Trees?, Kacey Reed

University of Richmond Law Review

In recent years, the Supreme Court clarified the scope of immunity afforded to contractors for damages resulting from the performance of a government contract. However, the extent of the government's responsibility to indemnify third party claims resulting from a government contract has remained relatively obscure. Without clear direction, courts rejected government indemnification, relying upon a variety of detailed points of contract law which often concealed larger issues. In an appellate court dissent, Judge Plager criticized this result, warning that "undue attention to trees . . . often hides the forest."' Recently, in Hercules, Inc. v. United States, the Supreme Court …

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Wards Cove Packing Or Not Wards Cove Packing? That Is Not The Question: Some Thoughts On Impact Analysis Under The Age Discrimination In Employment Act, Mack A. Player

University of Richmond Law Review

Assume two employers, A and B. Each gives a separate objective test to select employees for a particular position. Employer A utilizes a pen-and-paper, multiple choice examination that has questions in three major categories: 1) biology and genetics which includes DNA theory, cloning, etc.; 2) astrophysics, with questions about time, space, light relationships, "black holes," novas, etc. and 3) microprocessor engineering, the internet, silicon chips, and the like.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Taxation, Craig D. Bell

University of Richmond Law Review

This article reviews significant recent developments in the law affecting Virginia taxation. Each section covers recent judicial decisions and legislative changes over the past year. The. overall purpose of this article is to provide Virginia tax and general practitioners with a concise overview of the recent developments in Virginia taxation most likely to have an impact on Virginia practitioners. This article, however, will not discuss many of the numerous legislative technical changes to the State Taxation Code of Title 58.1.

University Of Richmond Law Review

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Debt Financing And Motivation, George G. Triantis

University of Richmond Law Review

An individual's performance in a given activity is a function of her effort and her competence, as well as her surrounding conditions. Effort, in turn, can be divided into three characteristics: direction, intensity and duration. Intensity and duration of effort reflect the individual's motivation with respect to the given activity. Motivation is the product of a cognitive process that anticipates the outcomes of effort and, particularly, the degree to which the individual will be satisfied or dissatisfied with her performance. While individuals might define satisfaction in terms of input (i.e., the amount of effort applied to the task), they more …

Interview: The Future Of Corporate Governance In The United States, Ronald J. Gilson

University of Richmond Law Review

This is an interview of Professor Ronald J. Gilson. The interviewer is Cheryl L. Conner.

The Technically Skilled Worker And The Corporation: Dagwood, Dilbert And Beyond, Nancy J. Jensen

University of Richmond Law Review

Corporate America finds itself in a sea of change. This change is the result of many factors including rapid technological developments so revolutionary that some have suggested that a third industrial revolution, the Age of Informatics, is at hand. Dynamic and profound changes in corporate organiza- tions abound as a result of the numerous leveraged buyouts of the 1980s and globalization of the world economy.

Free Speech In Cyberspace: Communications Decency And Beyond, Robert M. O'Neil

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

It is a great honor to be this year's Emanuel Emroch Lecturer. Though I never had the privilege of knowing Mr. Emroch, I do feel on this occasion as though I were almost an honorary member of the Emroch family. And I am deeply grateful to that family for having continued a tradition which seems to me as fitting and as appropriate a memorial as one could imagine. It is a living memorial in the best sense and it gives those who gather in the name of the person being so honored a chance not only to carry on their …

Obtaining And Enforcing Trade Dress For Computer Graphical User Interfaces - A Practitioner's Guide, John P. Musone

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

A computer program that successfully incorporates an intuitive graphical user interface possesses a tremendous competitive advantage over its competitors. Interface development accordingly has become a critical aspect of software development. Without legal protection, however, this advantage is illusory as competitors are otherwise free to copy unprotected interface features. Interface creators have predominately used copyright law to protect the overall "look and feel" of their interfaces. However, copyright protection for interfaces increasingly appears to be the exception rather than the rule.

Reassessing Fault Factors In No-Fault Divorce, Peter N. Swisher

Law Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is not to "turn back the clock" through the rehabilitation of fault grounds as the sole means for securing a divorce in America. Rather, this article will explore the ways in which fault-based factors, when applied to serious or egregious marital misconduct that significantly contributes to the marital breakdown, may still be utilized in order to bring about enhanced social, economic, and legal protection to spouses on divorce, while concurrently establishing a greater sense of responsibility and accountability in marital relationships.

Bringing The "Real World" To Advance Legal Research, Timothy L. Coggins

Law Faculty Publications

Nearly all U.S. law schools include an Advanced Legal Research course as an elective course for second and third-year students. The justification for the course is obvious, and proponents of advanced courses have succeeded easily in convincing law school curriculum committees to approve chem. Most Advanced Legal Research courses also use "real-world figures" (guest speakers) ro supplement and enhance the instruction provided by the professors of the courses.3 The experiences and current positions of rhe "real-world" speakers are diverse, including librarians, attorneys, publisher/vendor representatives, and government officials. This article discusses the reasons for using real-world figures in Advanced Legal Research …

Wills, Trusts And Estates (Annual Survey Of Virginia Law, 1995-97), J. Rodney Johnson

Law Faculty Publications

The General Assembly enacted legislation dealing with wills, trusts, and estates that added, amended, or repealed a number of sections of the Code of Virginia in the 1996 and 1997 sessions. In addition, there were eleven Supreme Court of Virginia opinions in the two-year period ending April 18, 1997, that involved issues of interest to the general practitioner as well as the specialist in wills, trusts, and estates. This article reports on all of these legislative and judicial developments.

Why Congress Should Not Split The Ninth Circuit, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

During the first session of the 104th Congress, the United States Senate Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 956, a proposal to split the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The measure would have established a new Twelfth Circuit consisting of Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington and would have left California, Hawaii, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands in the Ninth Circuit. This vote may appear insignificant; however, it could actually have had enormous consequences.

Congress has divided appeals courts only twice since creating the modem appellate system in 1891. Neither House of Congress had …

Some Cautions About Structural Overhaul Of The Federal Courts, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Once a Century: Time for a Structural Overhaul of the Federal Courts substantially improves understanding of the federal judicial system. Professor Martha Dragich first clearly describes the phenomena which she attributes to unprecedented increases in the number of appeals since the 1960s. The writer asserts that this "crisis of volume" has compromised "appellate justice" and made federal case law less "coherent." Because Professor Dragich finds that appeals courts' dual responsibilities to correct error in specific cases and to declare the law have also decreased justice and coherence, she proposes the creation of District Court Appellate Panels for correcting error and …

Suggestions For Studying The Federal Appellate System, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The United States Congress recently authorized the appointment of a Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals. That entity has an historic opportunity to analyze carefully the federal appellate system and make valuable suggestions for improvement, thereby charting the destiny of the intermediate appeals courts for the twenty-first century. The creation of this new commission is important because now is a critical time for the appellate courts. All twelve regional circuits have experienced exponential docket growth but have possessed insufficient resources to treat the cases: this crisis of volume now seriously threatens the system.

This Article initially …

Civilizing Religion, Kurt T. Lash

Law Faculty Publications

Is it appropriate to restrict abortion at any stage in pregnancy on the ground that human life is sacred? Should the public square be open to biblical arguments against homosexuality? Or, to frame the issue in a more scholarly fashion: What role may religious arguments play, if any, either in public debate about what political choices to make or as the private basis of a political choice? In his recent book, Religion in Politics: Constitutional and Moral Perspectives, Michael Perry addresses these questions as a matter of constitutional law and political morality. Perry has been down this road before, most …

Property Law, W. Wade Berryhill

Law Faculty Publications

As legal years go, action on the 1996 legislative and judicial fronts was relatively quiet in the area of property law. The legislative activity which spawned most of the interest was bills addressing the definitional limits of the unauthorized practice of law in real estate closings. These bills were not enacted and have been carried over for the next legislative session. Several judicial decisions, although none could be described as landmark determinations, are of interest and clarify points of law. These cases, as well as selected items of legislation which are believed to be of the most practical interest to …

Museletter: Fall 1996, Allen Moye

Museletter

Table of Contents:

Law Library Welcomes the Class of 1999!

Steven Hinckley Leaves Richmond

Computer Lab Upgrade

New Face in the Library: David Keats

Fall Brown Bag Sessions

How We Spent Our Summer "Vacation"

Library Hours

Circulation Policies

Research Guides