Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Law

Courts Under Pressure: Judicial Independence And Rule Of Law In The Trump Era, Johanna Kalb Jan 2018

Courts Under Pressure: Judicial Independence And Rule Of Law In The Trump Era, Johanna Kalb

Articles

No abstract provided.


When Impunity And Corruption Embrace: How The Past Becomes The Future In The Struggle Against Torture And Genocide, Elizabeth M. Iglesias Jan 2018

When Impunity And Corruption Embrace: How The Past Becomes The Future In The Struggle Against Torture And Genocide, Elizabeth M. Iglesias

Articles

In this article, Professor Elizabeth Iglesias takes up the challenge of overcoming impunity for atrocity crimes as a problem of structural corruption. Beginning with the 2013 trial and conviction of Guatemalan leader Efrain Rios Montt for crimes against humanity and genocide in the courts of his own country, the article turns to the scandal surrounding United States' President Donald Trump's repeated threats to fire the special counsel investigating allegations that he and his campaign colluded with foreign nationals to steal the 2016 presidential election and the scandal surrounding the nomination and confirmation of Gina Haspel as the first woman to …


Doctrinal Reasoning As A Disruptive Practice, Jessie Allen Jan 2018

Doctrinal Reasoning As A Disruptive Practice, Jessie Allen

Articles

Legal doctrine is generally thought to contribute to legal decision making only to the extent it determines substantive results. Yet in many cases, the available authorities are indeterminate. I propose a different model for how doctrinal reasoning might contribute to judicial decisions. Drawing on performance theory and psychological studies of readers, I argue that judges’ engagement with formal legal doctrine might have self-disrupting effects like those performers experience when they adopt uncharacteristic behaviors. Such disruptive effects would not explain how judges ultimately select, or should select, legal results. But they might help legal decision makers to set aside subjective biases.