Law Commons^™

"Issue Voting" By Multimember Appellate Courts: A Response To Some Radical Proposals, John M. Rogers

Vanderbilt Law Review

A judge on a multimember appellate court can vote against the result of his or her own reasoning by deferring to a majority on a subissue on which the judge differs. When Justice White did just this in Pennsylvania v. Union Gas,' soon followed by a similarly anomalous vote by Justice Kennedy in Arizona v. Fulminante, I examined the pool of United States Supreme Court cases in which this kind of voting was possible. Out of more than one hundred fifty earlier cases where one or more of the justices might have voted in such a way, only two justices …

How Outcome Voting Promotes Principled Issue Identification: A Reply To Professor John Rogers And Others, Maxwell L. Stearns

Vanderbilt Law Review

In his provocative article, "Issue Voting" by Multimember Appellate Courts: A Response to Some Radical Proposals,' Professor John M. Rogers has provided a valuable opportunity for those of us interested in the structural aspects of appellate court decisionmaking--especially Supreme Court decisionmaking--to step back, to compare notes, and to evaluate an increasingly prominent proposal for institutional reform. More importantly, this Colloquium provides an opportunity to explore more deeply several anomalies associated with appellate court decisionmaking. At the outset, I should emphasize that while he devotes a considerable portion of his article to evaluating my scholarship on appellate court decisionmaking, as Professor …

Appellate Court Voting Rules, Scott B. Smith

Vanderbilt Law Review

During the 1996 term, the United States Supreme Court made a candid confession about its voting practices. In Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, the Court overruled Pennsylvania v. Union Gas Co. and recognized that when a justice defers to the majority against his or her own reasoning inconclusive precedent results. Union Gas was particularly unusual because Justice White switched his vote to assure a result in a three-remedy case where none of the three remedies had the support of a majority. In Seminole Tribe, the Court admitted Union Gas "has, since its issuance, been of questionable precedential value, largely …

Issues And Outcomes, Guidance, And Indeterminacy: A Reply To Professor John Rogers And Others, David G. Post, Steven C. Salop

Vanderbilt Law Review

There is now a small but growing literature on the proper voting procedure for multijudge panels. Professor John Rogers began the most recent round of thinking about these vexing issues, arguing that a judge on a multimember panel should never "vote against the result of his or her own reasoning by deferring to a majority on a sub-issue on which the judge differs." We responded, arguing in favor of just such action, which we labeled "issue voting." We criticized Professor Rogers's preferred mode of multimember court adjudication, which we labeled "outcome voting," on the grounds that it provided limited guidance …

Service Of U.S. Punitive Damages Complaint Passes Constitutional Muster In Germany, Ingrid L. Lenhardt

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In today's global market, disputes between U.S. and foreign parties have become a common occurrence. Courts in the United States, as well as other nations, frequently face new and complex international litigation problems. A common problem for many courts centers on the practical, mechanical requirements of bringing a lawsuit.

In this Article, the author examines the service of process of U.S. complaints for punitive damages to residents of Germany. In particular, Ms. Lenhardt analyzes the recent German Constitutional Court's ruling on international service of process. In addition, the author reviews the requirements of the Hague Convention on Service Abroad and …

Stratified Juror Selection: Cross-Section By Design, Nancy J. King, G. Thomas Munsterman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Of the various selection methods that contribute to the underrepresentation of members of racial and ethnic minority groups on juries, peremptory challenges have attracted the most attention in recent years. Yet gains in diversity from regulating, or even eliminating, peremptory challenges are necessarily limited by the composition of the venire from which jurors are chosen. This article describes methods of constructing lists of veniremembers and qualified jurors used by some courts to restore the racial and ethnic diversity that is missing from the primary source lists or is eroded in the process of summoning and qualification. It also evaluates potential …

The Ills Of The Federal Sentencing Guidelines And The Search For A Cure: Using Sentence Entrapment To Combat Governmental Manipulation Of Sentencing, Robert S. Johnson

Vanderbilt Law Review

Consider the following scenario:' The police conduct an under- cover sting operation targeting drug traffickers. An undercover officer approaches a suspected drug dealer and arranges to purchase crack cocaine. Over a period of five weeks, the suspect makes seven sales to the officer, and the police arrest him after the final sale. The total amount sold by the defendant was 50.4 grams, just enough to place him within the mandatory minimum sentence of ten years. Had he sold up to 49.9 grams, his mandatory minimum sentence would only have been five years. The district court hearing this case found it …