Law Commons^™

Paying Eliza: Comity, Contracts, And Critical Race Theory, Or 19th Century Choice Of Law Doctrine And The Validation Of Antebellum Contracts For The Purchase And Sale Of Human Beings, Diane J. Klein

ExpressO

During the period before the Civil War, courts in non-slave-holding states were sometimes called upon to enforce contracts for the purchase and sale of human beings (or contracts whose consideration otherwise consisted of human beings), and sometimes did so, for reasons arguably having more to do with inter-state contract law than with the “peculiar institution” itself. What may be more surprising, and more difficult to understand, is that some “Union” courts went on doing so even after the Civil War ended, when substantive changes of law, together with well-established exceptions to general principles favoring out-of-state contract enforcement, made the contrary …

'Prima Paint' Pushed Compulsory Aribitration Under The 'Erie' Train, Richard L. Barnes

ExpressO

As the face of commerce changes, the law usually follows, albeit at some distance. The United States Supreme Court has recently sped the pace. In a line of cases, some old, some recent, but all feeding off of one another, the Court has held that challenges to agreements which contain arbitration provisions must go to the arbitrator first. Courts may hear formational challenges only where they challenge the arbitration provision alone. In the Supreme Court, arbitration, with its vast potential for abuse as well as for good, has found a friend.

The Court’s doctrine of choice, “severability,” raises serious concerns …

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.

Bond Repudiation, Tax Codes, The Appropriations Process And Restitution Post-Eminent Domain Reform, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

This brief comment suggests where the anti-eminent domain movement might be heading next.

The Action Bias In American Law: Internet Jurisdiction And The Triumph Of Zippo Dot Com, Richard Greenstein

ExpressO

American law reflects the stories we tell ourselves about who we are as a nation. To illustrate the effect of America’s stories on the law, I identify and describe in this essay a particular characteristic of American law: an “action bias” – a propensity to bestow disproportionately greater legal significance upon affirmative acts than on failures to act – and I argue that this bias reflects, in turn, a powerful myth at the core of the self-image of the United States, a myth I call the “Immigrant’s Tale.”

To illustrate this thesis, I give a number of instances of the …

Understanding Jurisprudential Approaches To Islam, Marc L. Roark

ExpressO

The United States recent deal with a United Arab Emirites Company to operate seven U.S. Ports highlights a growing tension in U.S. and Arabic commercial relations. One tension that has remained unnoticed is the role that U.S Courts play in interpreting Islamic texts when the commercial or legal outcome depends on an understanding of the religious culture. This article describes seven cases that demonstrate various approaches to this problem. This article utilizes an approach by James Boyd White, and suggests that translation or its kin transliteration can help judges in deciding Islamic legal principles.

Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Markets & Democracy: The Illegitimacy Of Corporate Law, Daniel J.H. Greenwood

ExpressO

Corporate law does not conform to ordinary democratic norms. Unlike human citizens, corporations may decide which law will govern their most fundamental acts of self-governance. The corporate law corporation choose in turn influences the corporate goals and decision-making processes that determine what the corporation looks for in corporate law in a reflexive system independent of ordinary political processes.

This system seems on its face to violate the most fundamental principle of popular sovereignty–all non-Delaware citizens of the United States are excluded from even formal participation in the process of determining American corporate law, and even Delaware citizens are reduced to …

Good Faith In The Cisg: Interpretation Problems In Article 7, Benedict C. Sheehy

ExpressO

ABSTRACT: This article examines the dispute concerning the meaning of Good Faith in the CISG. Although there are good reasons for arguing a more limited interpretation or more limited application of Good Faith, there are also good reasons for a broader approach. Regardless of the correct interpretation, however, practitioners and academics need to have a sense of where the actual jurisprudence is going. This article reviews every published case on Article 7 since its inception and concludes that while there is little to suggest a strong pattern is developing, a guided pattern while incorrect doctrinally is preferable to the current …