Law Commons^™

Saving Title Vii: Using Intent To Distinguish Harassment From Expression, Robert Austin Ruescher

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Like two reluctant boxers in a ring, the First Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 have been sparring halfheartedly for years, circling and jabbing each other in courts and law reviews. The bout pits the constitutional right to be free from government censorship against the statutory "right to work in an environment free from discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult." As stated by the Supreme Court in another context, it pits "the First Amendment rights of the speaker" against "the protection the statute provides for the unwilling listener."

Both the First Amendment and Title VII …

Derivative Suits In Bankruptcy, Keith Sharfman

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

It is a fundamental tenet of corporate law that creditors, unlike shareholders, may not bring derivative suits on a firm's behalf—even if the firm is, or is nearly, insolvent. Corporate law affords creditors who are unhappy with a corporate debtor's management various remedies, such as the right (in limited circumstances) to put the firm into receivership or to sue the directors and officers directly for breaches of fiduciary duty. But the derivative suit is not among them.

The formal rationale for denying derivative standing to creditors is that a derivative suit is an assertion of ownership rights, and (in …

"We Are An Equal Opportunity Employer": Diversity Doublespeak, Cheryl L. Wade

Faculty Publications

There are too few discussions about race and race relations among corporate managers and directors. The rhetoric used in these infrequent discussions revolves around the idea of diversity in the workplace. In recent years, when speaking about employees and race issues, corporate actors have become curiously silent about discrimination and racism. This Article provides several examples of the rhetorical devices used by corporate spokespersons that ignore persisting problems with discrimination and racism by focusing solely on diversity efforts. Diversity rhetoric allows corporate managers to avoid responsibility for enduring discrimination in the workplace. Diversity efforts, without antidiscrimination efforts, increase the likelihood …

Book Review Of Gender On Trial: Sexual Stereotypes And Work/Life Balance In The Legal Workplace, Nicole Buonocore Porter

Faculty Publications

Holly English's book, Gender on Trial: Sexual Stereotypes and Work/Life Balance in the Legal Workplace, offers a very interesting, albeit mostly anecdotal, look at the many real or perceived sexual stereotypes in the legal workplace. Her book is the result of interviews with 180 lawyers (fifty of them men) over a two-year period in all regions of the country. Her main purpose of the book was to "explore the fact that persistent gender stereotypes present a continuing obstacle that obstructs the availability of broad opinions and choices for men and women lawyers." Through eight substantive chapters, she seeks to explore …

Building On Bedrock: The Continued Evolution Of Jury Reform, G. Thomas Munsterman, Paula L. Hannaford-Agor

Faculty Publications

Abundantly clear is that, far from being an enclave from the pressures and concerns of contemporary society, jury service readily absorbs and reflects those concerns in ways that can both support and challenge the American jus­tice system. Some of these concerns cut across many stages of jury service, and their effects are felt in unexpected ways. To sift through and identify the most noteworthy jury improvement efforts and concerns in the last seven years, we turned to technology (coincidently one of the hottest topics in jury service) and examined the topics that subscribers to Jur-E Bulletin, the National Center …

Why Do Hung Juries Hang?, Paula Hannaford-Agor, Valerie P. Hans, Nicole L. Mott, G. Thomas Munsterman

Faculty Publications

The National Center for State Courts examined dead-locked, or “hung,” juries to see what characteristics they share and how they might be avoided. As one part of the study, surveys of jurors, judges, and attorneys were conducted in four jurisdictions. The Central Division, Criminal, of the Los Angeles County (California) Superior Court and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia were selected because of reported concerns about hung jury rates in those jurisdictions. The Maricopa County (Arizona) Superior Court was chosen because of an innovative procedure there that permits judges to allow further evidence and arguments when a jury …

Same Struggle, Different Difference: Ada Accommodations As Antidiscrimination, Michael Ashley Stein

Faculty Publications

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was heralded as an "emancipation proclamation" for people with disabilities, one that would achieve their equality primarily through its reasonable accommodation requirements. Nevertheless, both legal commentators and Supreme Court Justices assert that the ADA's employment mandates distinguish the ADA from earlier antidiscrimination measures, most notably Title VII, because providing accommodations results in something more than equality for the disabled. The Article challenges this prevalent belief by arguing that ADA-mandated accommodations are consistent with other antidiscrimination measures in that each remedies exclusion from employment opportunity by questioning the inherency of established workplace norms, and by …

The Vienna Convention On The Law Of Treaties In U.S. Treaty Interpretation, Evan J. Criddle

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Non-Procrustean Bankruptcy, Richard M. Hynes

Faculty Publications

Many advocates of bankruptcy reform bristle at aspects of the bankruptcy system they find distributively "unfair." These scholars point to the instances in which wealthy debtors have been able to retain million-dollar homes and luxury items, examples which at first glance might offend any reasonable sense of decency or fairness. Yet if bankruptcy provides insurance otherwise unavailable because of market failures, then an ideal bankruptcy system would embrace much of this inequality in post-bankruptcy standards of living. The wealthy generally choose private contracts that ensure their high standards of living. Though others envy these benefits, they do not wish to …

School Accountability And ‘High Stakes’ Testing, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Intrabrand Restraints And The Theory Of The Firm, Alan J. Meese

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Sec Debarment Of Officers And Directors After Sarbanes-Oxley, Jayne W. Barnard

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Generalizing Disability, Michael Ashley Stein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Under The Empirical Radar: An Initial Expressive Law Analysis Of The Ada, Michael Ashley Stein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

"Secret Combinations": A Legal Analysis, Nathan B. Oman

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Empiricism: Quasi-Neutral Principles And Constitutional Truths, Timothy Zick

Faculty Publications

The absence of neutrality and objectivity in constitutional decision-making has vexed scholars and courts. In this Article, the author describes and analyzes "constitutional empiricism," a trend instituted by the Rehnquist Court, which is characterized by judicial reliance in constitutional review on empirical and scientific conventions and processes. Courts have generally relied upon traditional sources, such as text and history, to interpret consititutional powers and rights. In its search for neutrality and objectivity, however, the Court has recently turned not only to social science and other data, which are fast becoming common sources of interpretation, but also to the precepts and …

The Situation: An Introduction To The Situational Character, Critical Realism, Power Economics, And Deep Capture, Jon Hanson, David Yosifon

Faculty Publications

Throughout most of this introductory Article, we will focus our arguments primarily on economics and law and economics. We believe, however, that the implications of our inquiry extend far beyond those domains. The tendencies we hope to elucidate find their origins in the human animal, not in any particular legal theoretic perspective. It happens that these tendencies are especially prominent in law and economics, currently the dominant theoretical paradigm for creating and analyzing legal policy. But the relevance of our thesis is not confined to one approach , or even to legal-political questions. All humans are more or less implicated, …

Pay Secrecy/ Confidentiality Rules And The National Labor Relations Act, Rafael Gely, Leonard Bierman

Faculty Publications

This article seeks to provide a comprehensive account of doctrinal issues related to the use of pay secrecy/confidentiality rules (“PSC rules”) under the NLRA. In Part II, we describe what pay secrecy/confidentiality is and discuss recent survey evidence of their presence in workplaces across the United States. In Part III, we describe the current legal framework under which PSC rules are evaluated under the NLRA, while in Parts IV and V, we explore various doctrinal issues related to these rules in more detail. This leads us to Part VI, where we ponder the future of PSC rules under the NLRA …

Ten Things Deans Can Do With Students, R. Lawrence Dessem

Faculty Publications

A healthy relationship with students is beneficial to one's deanship, law school, and to the dean herself. An experienced provost once told me that serving as dean was the best job that he had ever had because he still had significant contact with students. Deans should take advantage of the possibilities for student interactions that their deanships afford them. What follows is my “top ten list” of ways in which deans can build a positive relationship with their students.

Human Rights And Genetic Discrimination: Protecting Genomics' Promise For Public Health, Anita Silvers, Michael Ashley Stein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Rhetorically Reasonable Police Practices: Viewing The Supreme Court's Multiple Discourse Paths, Kathryn R. Urbonya

Faculty Publications

This Article analyzes the United States Supreme Court's numerous and shifting rhetorical discourse paths for declaring whether particular governmental practices constituted unreasonable searches or seizures under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. It examines how the Court has manipulated classic discourse paths arising from text, history, precedent and structure. It reveals that among and within each of these categories, the Court has created conflicting approaches. The Article argues that the Court's construction of Fourth Amendment reasonableness has depended upon which discourse paths it has selected as well as how it has characterized the values embedded within the discourse …

Copyrighting Facts, Michael S. Green

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Using Statutes To Set Legislative Rules: Entrenchment, Separation Of Powers, And The Rules Of Proceedings Clause, Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

W & M Law School Came First. Why Care?, W. Taylor Reveley Iii

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Envisioning A Global Legal Culture, Charles H. Koch Jr.

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Road To No Warez: The No Electronic Theft Act And Criminal Copyright Infringement, Eric Goldman

Faculty Publications

In the second half of the 1990s, copyright owners repeatedly sought Congress's help addressing the challenges posed by the Internet and other new technologies. Congress responded with a suite of new protections, including restrictions against circumvention, longer copyright terms, increased statutory damages, and criminalization of willful non-commercial infringement.

This Article examines the latter of those changes, effectuated through the No Electronic Theft Act (the "Act" or the "NET Act"). The Act represents a significant change to copyright law be cause it subtly shifts the paradigm underlying criminal copyright infringement.

Part I of this Article discusses the Act's development, from the …

Intellectual Property And Social Needs In A Networked World, Howard C. Anawalt

Faculty Publications

Interlaced economies and silicon-based ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) have combined to produce much of what we understand as “globalization.” ICT exist because clever and innovative people figure out how to harness nature’s principles and put them to work. They invent. The inventors may be individuals or small research groups, or they may be employees of corporations or universities. In any event, what they invent creates value, value which their employers or they themselves wish to own and control.

Bring Back The Draft?, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Introduction: Rights Of Attribution, Section 43(A) Of The Lanham Act, And The Copyright Public Domain, Tyler T. Ochoa

Faculty Publications

In Dastar Corporation v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the former owner of the copyright in a "work made for hire" has a federal right of attribution that continues to exist even after the formerly copyrighted work has entered the public domain.

Fifteen intellectual property law professors filed anamicus brief in the case in support of the Petitioner. The brief, which is reprinted following this introduction, attempts to place the Dastar case in its historical context, as merely the latest effort on the part of former copyright owners to use trademark and unfair …

Constitutional Decision-Making Outside The Courts, Michael J. Gerhardt

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.