Law Commons^™

Discovery In International Legal Developments Year In Review: 1996, Christopher J. Borgen

Faculty Publications

American procedure regarding international discovery stems from 28 U.S.C. §§ 1781-83, and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP or Rule) 28(b). Broadly speaking, these rules are concerned with the mechanics of assessing requests for discovery in the United States to assist a proceeding in a foreign country and attempts by one or more parties before a U.S. court to obtain evidence located in another country. This article serves as a brief review of developments during the year.

Class Action Chaos? The Theory Of The Core And An Analysis Of Opt-Out Rights In Mass Tort Class Actions, Michael A. Perino

Faculty Publications

From breast implants to cigarettes, mass tort class actions are a prominent and controversial part of the contemporary litigation landscape. A critical component of these actions is the ability of class members to “opt out” and thereby exclude themselves from the effect of any class judgment. The tension between individual autonomy and the desire for global resolution of mass controversies has led to an intense debate concerning the circumstances under which opt-out rights should be constrained, if at all.

This Article makes five distinct contributions to the class action literature. First, the Article applies the game theoretic concept of the …

Of Grinches, Alchemy And Disinterestedness: The Commission's Magically Disappearing Conflicts Of Interest, G. Ray Warner

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

Christmas 1997 has come and gone. Santa, in the form of the National Bankruptcy Review Commission, delivered lots of shiny new toys to the children of bankruptcyland. A few got only switches and lumps of coal, and all of the children wondered whether their new toys would really work.

Mary Megafirm had wanted only one thing from Santa. Over the years, she had grown bigger and bigger, and by now she had pretty much outgrown the old professional qualification rules. She had never much liked that nasty and bothersome "disinterestedness" standard, but in recent years the disinterestedness standard was …

Disparate Effects In The Criminal Justice System: A Response To Randall Kennedy's Comment And Its Legacy, Janai S. Nelson

Faculty Publications

For many African Americans, the criminal justice system symbolizes an oppressive force, and yet, is a necessary institution in an increasingly lawless society. African Americans are at the same time its victims and beneficiaries, although various sentiments exist regarding the extent to which they are either. It is precisely this paradox, coupled with the promulgation of certain criminal legislation and legal precedent which directly and, potentially, adversely affect the African-American community that inspired the author to address the issues and arguments raised in Randall Kennedy's The State, Criminal Law, and Racial Discrimination: A Comment, 107 Harv. L. Rev. 1255 (1994), …

Family Fundamentals, Richard C. Reuben

Faculty Publications

On the surface, ML.B. v. S.L.J., No. 95-853, hardly seems worthy of the nation's highest court, in part because our scheme of federalism generally leaves issues such as child custody to state law. But peeling back the layers of this case reveals the potential for a significant ruling on the constitutional treatment of family relationships, fundamental rights and access to courts for civil proceed with a appeals.

The Failure Of The Religious Freedom Restoration Act Under Section 5 Of The Fourteenth Amendment, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Legislature Mulls Change Of Article 8; Corporate Law, Francis J. Facciolo

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

A major revision of Article 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code was passed by the New York Assembly on July 2, 1996, but did not receive Senate consideration prior to adjustment. In light of the strong support given Proposed Article 8 by the banking and securities industries, the New York State Legislature will probably give serious consideration to passage when the next legislative session begins.

Although the supporters of Proposed Article 8 have stoutly maintained that it is primarily a clarification of the existing Article 8 and that the proposed changes are insignificant, the proposal actually includes major changes …

Crime Legislation And The Public Interest: Lessons From Civil Rico, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

This Securities Symposium provides an opportunity to evaluate civil RICO's place in American law at the end of the private remedy's first quarter-century. In its essence, civil RICO is the unfortunate product of crime legislation hastily enacted in the heat of a national political campaign. Rushing toward adjournment, Congress enacted RICO on October 12, 1970 as Title IX of the omnibus Organized Crime Control Act (OCCA). President Nixon signed the OCCA on October 15. Less than three weeks later, Americans preoccupied with crime went to the polls in off-year congressional elections after a shrill campaign dominated by ‘law and order‘ …

In Pursuit Of Health, Richard C. Reuben

Faculty Publications

Managed-care advocates praise its cost controls on treatments for beginning to tame the health care beast, which devoured nearly 14 percent of the nation's gross domestic product in 1994, according to the U.S. Department of Health and. Human Services. Such belt-tightening is necessary to allocate health care dollars rationally, advocates contend, pointing to direct patient costs as proof that a healthy balance has been achieved. But critics contend that managed care is more about making money than saving it. Even though costs have gone down, they argue, premiums have remained high and corporate profits have soared. More significantly, they charge …

Applying Equilibrium And The Ficas Model: A Case Study Of Capital Adequacy And Currency Trading, Raj Bhala

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Beyond Bosnia And In Re Kasinga: A Feminist Perspective On Recent Developments In Protecting Women From Sexual Violence, Linda A. Malone

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Lawyer Turns Peacemaker, Richard C. Reuben

Faculty Publications

No doubt millions of people and businesses have benefited from simpler, less stressful modes of dispute resolution. Moreover, ADR is primed for much greater growth, as witnessed by the breathtaking expansion of court-related programs, the rush of lawyers and nonlawyers alike to mediation training seminars, and the pledge of thousands of businesses and large law firms to consider ADR options. But the child born of necessity is still, at best, teetering between adolescence and adulthood. For all of its potential to reshape the ways problems are solved, it still shows a dark side-coercion, conflicts, competency issues and commercialism -that leaves …

The Restatement's Rejection Of The Misappropriation Tort, Gary Myers

Faculty Publications

Some legal theories, like the proverbial vampire, refuse to die. The common law tort of misappropriation is one such legal theory, and the recent Restatement (Third) of Unfair Competition (Restatement) may finally lead to the demise of this outdated cause of action. Misappropriation began advisedly enough as a means of protecting certain intellectual property rights from unjust usurpation, often by direct competitors employing improper means. Arising before comprehensive copyright, patent, and trademark laws were fully developed, the tort may have played an important role in protecting intangible proprietary interests.The tort's high water mark was the 1918 Supreme Court decision in …

The Authority Of A Guardian To Commit An Adult Ward, David M. English

Faculty Publications

Placement in a mental health facility may be made through either a voluntary or involuntary commitment. Involuntary commitment usually requires a number of protective safeguards, including a court hearing, the appointment of counsel, and the meeting of a statutory criterion such as danger to self or others. Voluntary commitment is much more informal, with a written application and clinical assessment being all that is normally required. Most voluntary commitments are made upon application.of a patient who has the ability to give informed consent. But in a substantial number of states an individual also may be committed by his or her …

James Landis: The Administrative Process, Charles H. Koch Jr.

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Police Under The Gun, Richard C. Reuben

Faculty Publications

Back in 1968, Justice William O. Douglas warned in a dissenting opinion in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, that the Court was opening a Pandora's box by eschewing the traditional "probable cause" standard for Fourth Amendment search and seizures in traffic stop cases, and permitting warrantless detentions based merely on "reasonable suspicion."

More than a quarter-century later, the confusion over the "reasonable suspicion" approach is still commanding the Supreme Court's attention. A pair of cases on the justices' argument calendar this spring address the tension between legitimate traffic stops and those based on pretext.

Walker Trinkaus: The Conversable Professor, Gerald F. Uelmen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Revolving Door Part I: A Federal Prosecutor Returns To School, Frank O. Bowman Iii

Faculty Publications

Law teaching is hard work. To my trial lawyer friends who expressed envy at the easy life I must be enjoying, I often said they should imagine having to prepare and present five or six oral arguments a week, every week, for months on end. To the novice teacher presenting several courses for the first time, the task often feels just that daunting. As practicing lawyers, we flatter ourselves that we are "experts" in our fields, and thus that it would be a simple matter to step over to the local law school and, with minimal preparation, unburden ourselves of …

A Bludgeon By Any Other Name: The Misuse Of Ethical Rules Against Prosecutors To Control The Law Of The State, Frank O. Bowman Iii

Faculty Publications

My objective here is threefold: (1) to explain these ethical rules and demonstrate how each is in conflict with longstanding principles of federal criminal law; (2) to explain why these rules are illegitimate, both as rules of ethics and as rules of positive law; and (3) to offer some observations on how the dispute over these rules can sharpen our thinking about the nature and proper limits of ethical rules governing lawyers.

To Tell The Truth: The Problem Of Prosecutorial "Manipulation" Of Sentencing Facts, Frank O. Bowman Iii

Faculty Publications

Frank O. Bowman, III*In January of this year, Francesca Bowman, Chair of Probation Officers Advisory Group, sent a letter to Judge Richard P. Conaboy, Chairman of the Sentencing Commission, summarizing the results of a survey sent to probation officers in eighty-five districts. It expresses the concern that, in the view of some probation officers, the government usually” is cooperative in supplying information to probation officers preparing presentence investigation reports, but that there appear to be exceptions when the government wants to protect a plea agreement.”

Reply: The Need For Real Striker Replacement Reform, Rafael Gely, Leonard Bierman

Faculty Publications

Introduction In a recent article in the North Carolina Law Review, Louisiana State University Law Professor William R. Corbett proposes an innovative solution to the contentious issue of the right of employers to permanently replace economic strikers pursuant to the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or “Act”). Professor Corbett's proposal is based on two arguments. First, he argues that the current legal distinction between “economic” and “unfair labor practice” strikes -- whereby employers are prevented from permanently replacing employees striking over employer unfair labor practices but may permanently replace employees striking over economic issues -- is a useful one and …

Fairness In Civil Rights Arbitration, Douglas E. Abrams

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Fourth Amendment Handbook, Gerald F. Uelmen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Recent Litigation On Interlibrary Loan And Document Delivery, James S. Heller

Faculty Publications

Professor Heller discusses how two recent federal copyright law decisions, Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music in the United States Supreme Court and American Geophysical Union v. Texaco in the Second Circuit, may affect the interlibrary loan and document delivery services provided by libraries.

Re-Tailoring Jury Trial Rights, Richard C. Reuben

Faculty Publications

The debate over improving the civil justice system has gone through many permutations over the years. Discovery, punitive damages and alternative dispute resolution are but a few of the paths that have been pursued. A case argued to the U.S. Supreme Court in January addresses the question from yet another-and potentially a more fundamental direction: the reach of the Seventh Amendment's guarantee of a jury trial in civil cases in federal court.

Statutory Interpretation In Securities Jurisprudence: A Failure Of Textualism, Ediberto Román

Faculty Publications

This Article critiques the development of textualist theory in securities jurisprudence and analyzes the Central Bank decision as an example of the defects inherent in the application of a textualist approach. It demonstrates how the development of textualist securities jurisprudence stemmed from decisions that casually rejected precedent and mischaracterized existing law, thereby resulting in a distortion of the legislature’s intent. An analysis of the Securities Exchange Act demonstrates how the Central Bank Court’s approach towards statutory interpretation led to its failure to analyze other relevant Exchange Act provisions, including the most relevant provision – Section 20(a). The first section of …

A Symposium Precis, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Chain Of Custody, Paul C. Giannelli

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Teaching The Elephant To Dance: Privatizing The Fda Review Process, Elizabeth Price Foley, Elizabeth C. Price

Faculty Publications

Considers the implications of privatizing the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) review of the safety and efficacy of medical devices and drugs. Concludes that the FDA's flaws - namely, a risk avoidance culture and autocratic style of regulation - can only be accomplished by breaking the agency's monopolization of this review function.

Performing In A Racially Hostile Environment, Phoebe Weaver Williams

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.