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Disaggregated State In Transnational Environmental Regulation, The , Hoi L. Kong Apr 2013

Disaggregated State In Transnational Environmental Regulation, The , Hoi L. Kong

Missouri Law Review

This Article argues against a positivist view of international environmental law that (i) conceives of states as unitary entities that speak with one voice in pursuit of a single national interest,1 and that focuses on (ii) authoritative sources of law and (iii) the binding force of these sources of law. Further, this Article argues for a view of transnational law that (i) views the state as disaggregated, rather than unitary, (ii) focuses on informal legal mechanisms that do not have authoritative status and (iii) directs attention towards law’s facilitative functions and away from law’s binding force. This special issue’s theme …


Farmer And The Tax Man: The Scope Of The Tax Forgiveness Provision In Chapter 12 Bankruptcy, The Comment , David A. Martin Jan 2013

Farmer And The Tax Man: The Scope Of The Tax Forgiveness Provision In Chapter 12 Bankruptcy, The Comment , David A. Martin

Missouri Law Review

In Hall v. United States, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari upon the petition of debtors from the Ninth Circuit and resolved the circuit split in favor of the IRS. Faced with the familiar task of statutory interpretation, the opinion of the Supreme Court will inevitably affect economically distressed farmers nationwide. A primary concern of the Court was that an incorrect statutory interpretation would leave the Code in shambles because of the interdependency of its provisions. Because Hall primarily addresses issues of statutory interpretation, Part II of this Comment will outline the statutory background of the two …


Delicate Balancing Of Paternalism And Freedom To Contract: The Evolving Law Of Unconscionability In Missouri, A Law Summary , Scott Lee Smithson Jr. Jan 2013

Delicate Balancing Of Paternalism And Freedom To Contract: The Evolving Law Of Unconscionability In Missouri, A Law Summary , Scott Lee Smithson Jr.

Missouri Law Review

The contracts defense of unconscionability – infrequently exercised and less frequently successful – requires that a contractual provision be so odious that it “shocks the conscience” of the adjudicator. Case law suggests that during the last century, unconscionability has been argued successfully less than twenty times in the state of Missouri. The nature of an overall unconscionability analysis is rather tenuous, given that the defense is highly fact intensive, and a range of factors, rather than elements, controls. Despite this, Missouri courts had applied a uniform test in nearly every contract situation for decades, including contracts whose terms included a …


Proposal For A National Mortgage Registry: Mers Done Right, A , Dale A. Whitman Jan 2013

Proposal For A National Mortgage Registry: Mers Done Right, A , Dale A. Whitman

Missouri Law Review

In this Article, Professor Whitman analyzes the existing legal regime for transfers of notes and mortgages on the secondary market, and concludes that it is highly inconvenient and dysfunctional, with the result that large numbers of market participants simply did not observe its rules during the huge market run-up of the early and mid-2000s. He also considers Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS), which was designed to alleviate the inconveniences of repeatedly recording mortgage assignments, but concludes that it was conceptually flawed and has proven to be an inadequate response to the problem. For these reasons the legal system was ill-prepared …


Corporate Gatekeeper In Ethical Perspective, The , Christopher T. Hines Jan 2013

Corporate Gatekeeper In Ethical Perspective, The , Christopher T. Hines

Missouri Law Review

The fallout from the financial crisis continues to inform the development of corporate and securities law, and the new regulatory landscape for economic activity within the United States is beginning to take form. This evolutionary process, however, has been anything but stable or certain. As might be expected, in concert with such momentous change in law and policy, recriminations for and associated investigations of past activity continue to affect competent regulators as well as market participants. Nevertheless, while many of the underlying causes of the financial crisis are now better understood by both policy makers and scholars, the question remains …


Drawing On The Constitution: An Empirical Inquiry Into The Constitutionality Of Warrantless And Nonconsensual Dwi Blood Draws , Kevin Stockmann Jan 2013

Drawing On The Constitution: An Empirical Inquiry Into The Constitutionality Of Warrantless And Nonconsensual Dwi Blood Draws , Kevin Stockmann

Missouri Law Review

This Note assesses how courts have interpreted the text of Schmerber to justify conclusions while determining whether policy justifications support any particular interpretation. It then considers whether empirical data may favor one interpretation of Schmerber by examining the dissipation rate of alcohol from an individual’s bloodstream, the average time it takes a law enforcement officer to obtain a warrant for a blood draw on an alleged intoxicated driver, and the reliability of retrograde extrapolation. This Note confirms that neither the text of Schmerber nor the policy underlying its holding clearly favors a particular interpretation on the constitutionality of warrantless and …


Two Wrongs Do Not Make A Right: Reconsidering The Application Of Comparative Fault To Punitive Damage Awards , Victor E. Schwartz, Christopher E. Appel Jan 2013

Two Wrongs Do Not Make A Right: Reconsidering The Application Of Comparative Fault To Punitive Damage Awards , Victor E. Schwartz, Christopher E. Appel

Missouri Law Review

The purpose of this Article is to reexamine and appropriately analyze the application of comparative fault to punitive damages. The Article challenges the conventional wisdom that these spheres of law should remain separate. Part II begins with an overview of the development of the law of comparative fault with punitive damages. It discusses the limited attention that has been paid to potential overlap in these areas of law and draws parallels with other developments in the law of comparative fault supporting more accurate and just awards of damages. Part III analyzes the public policy arguments for and against applying comparative …


Eighth Circuit Bungles Bundled Discounts: The Court Avoids Resolving Bundled Discounts Note , Melissa A. Cullmann Jan 2013

Eighth Circuit Bungles Bundled Discounts: The Court Avoids Resolving Bundled Discounts Note , Melissa A. Cullmann

Missouri Law Review

In Southeast Missouri Hospital v. C.R. Bard, Inc., the Eighth Circuit passed on an opportunity to choose a bundled discount test and instead focused on the proper market for the products at issue. This Note first explores the bundled discounts and contracts at issue in the instant decision. It then provides a detailed explanation of bundled discounts and the various tests proposed for them, as well as an explanation of the Eighth Circuit’s precedent concerning bundled discounts. The Note concludes by analyzing the instant decision and discussing why the court should have addressed bundled discounts in its opinion and the …


Table Of Contents - Issue 1 Jan 2013

Table Of Contents - Issue 1

Missouri Law Review

Table of Contents - Issue 1


Currently Mandated Myopia Of Rule 10b-5: Pay No Attention To That Manager Behind The Mutual Fund Curtain, The , Kelly S. Kibbie Jan 2013

Currently Mandated Myopia Of Rule 10b-5: Pay No Attention To That Manager Behind The Mutual Fund Curtain, The , Kelly S. Kibbie

Missouri Law Review

This Article examines the current state of the Rule 10b-5 right of action following a constricting trilogy of Supreme Court cases that have rendered it a myopic remnant of the right previously endorsed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and hundreds of courts over a span of numerous decades. The Roberts Court’s pronouncement in Janus Capital Group, Inc. v. First Derivative Traders has generated an immense amount of criticism and a slew of conflicting lower court decisions. By effectively abolishing most private Rule 10b-5 claims against secondary actors, including lawyers, accountants, credit rating agencies, underwriters and …


Cloaking A Challenge To Missouri's Marriage Amendment With A Challenge For Survivor Benefits, Benjamin S. Harner Nov 2012

Cloaking A Challenge To Missouri's Marriage Amendment With A Challenge For Survivor Benefits, Benjamin S. Harner

Missouri Law Review

This Law Summary focuses on Glossip’s ongoing challenge to receive survivor benefits. The case not only implicates the Missouri Constitution’s equal protection and due process clauses, but it is also controversial because it involves the same-sex marriage issues that have stirred national debate for quite some time. This Law Summary will discuss each of these issues. Specifically, Part II provides the legal background for Missouri’s equal protection and substantive due process clauses and provides case law pertaining to situations similar to Glossip’s that have arisen in other states. Part III provides a more in-depth background of Glossip’s lawsuit, focusing on …


Table Of Contents - Issue 4 Nov 2012

Table Of Contents - Issue 4

Missouri Law Review

Table of Contents - Issue 4


Law Deans In Jail , Morgan Cloud, George Shepherd Nov 2012

Law Deans In Jail , Morgan Cloud, George Shepherd

Missouri Law Review

A most unlikely collection of suspects – law schools, their deans, U.S. News & World Report and its employees – may have committed felonies by publishing false information as part of U.S. News’ ranking of law schools. The possible federal felonies include mail and wire fraud, conspiracy, racketeering, and making false statements. Employees of law schools and U.S. News who committed these crimes can be punished as individuals, and under federal law the schools and U.S. News would likely be criminally liable for their agents’ crimes. Some law schools and their deans submitted false information about the schools’ expenditures and …


Troubling Ambition Of Federal Rule Of Evidence 502(D), The , Michael Correll Nov 2012

Troubling Ambition Of Federal Rule Of Evidence 502(D), The , Michael Correll

Missouri Law Review

Federal Rule of Evidence 502 promised to change American litigation for the better. It was heralded as a solution to the gross inequity and spiraling litigation costs associated with the painstaking, cumbersome, and largely wasteful document reviews necessary to protect the attorney-client privilege. And in some measure, it succeeded. It has brought uniformity, predictability, and equity to issues of inadvertent disclosure and subject matter waiver. But a largely overlooked provision of the rule promises even bigger, and more troubling changes. Federal Rule of Evidence 502(d) authorizes district courts to enter discovery orders protecting parties from the waiver consequences normally attached …


Fast-Track Sentencing: A Potential Solution To The Divisive Discretion, Elizabeth Weber Nov 2012

Fast-Track Sentencing: A Potential Solution To The Divisive Discretion, Elizabeth Weber

Missouri Law Review

This Summary examines the current federal sentencing regime, the establishment of fast-track programs, and the resulting circuit split regarding whether a judge can grant a defendant a more lenient sentence based on the lack of availability of a fast-track option in that jurisdiction. Further, it discusses more recent developments regarding the circuit split and how the new DOJ policy purports to resolve the issue. Finally, this Summary argues that while this change does solve the sentencing disparity problem, it conflicts with the congressional policy underlying the official sanction of fast-track programs.


What's It To You: The First Amendment And Matters Of Public Concern , Mark Strasser Nov 2012

What's It To You: The First Amendment And Matters Of Public Concern , Mark Strasser

Missouri Law Review

This Article traces the development of the “matters of public concern” doctrine, explaining the role that the concept has played in cases ranging from defamation3 to employment termination to publication of (allegedly) private facts.4 The Article discusses various inconsistencies in the Court’s jurisprudence, both with respect to what counts as a matter of public concern5 and with respect to the relative importance of the protection of such matters. 6 It concludes that the current jurisprudence cannot help but cause confusion and inconsistent results in the lower courts and must be clarified at the earliest opportunity. 7


The Role Of The Judiciary In Charter Schools' Policies , Kate Gallen Nov 2012

The Role Of The Judiciary In Charter Schools' Policies , Kate Gallen

Missouri Law Review

Part II of this Comment will provide a detailed history about the development of charter schools nationally. Part III then answers the question of whether widespread support for charter schools is a wise policy choice. Part IV outlines how Missouri has created a strong charter culture, while Part V discusses how Georgia failed to do so, and the consequences of each of those decisions. The Comment finally concludes by arguing for the continued judicial support and more purposeful legislative support of charter schools.


From Stem To Stern: Navigating Bankruptcy Practice After Stern V. Marshall, Michelle Wright Nov 2012

From Stem To Stern: Navigating Bankruptcy Practice After Stern V. Marshall, Michelle Wright

Missouri Law Review

In order to provide a foundation for understanding the Court’s reasoning in Stern, Part II of this Comment briefly covers the history of bankruptcy in America. Section III explains how the Supreme Court of the United States’ holding in Stern v. Marshall16 has affected bankruptcy courts’ disposition of state law claims. Scholars’ interpretations of Stern range from understanding it as a narrow holding that will change little in bankruptcy, to questioning whether it foreshadows the Court holding the entire bankruptcy system is unconstitutional in a future case. Given the breadth of opinions that the decision supports, it is predictable that …


Symposium: Cyberbullying: Emerging Realities And Legal Challenges: Foreword , Christina E. Wells Jun 2012

Symposium: Cyberbullying: Emerging Realities And Legal Challenges: Foreword , Christina E. Wells

Missouri Law Review

Bullying and its effects concern many of us in the United States. As many as thirty percent of students in grades five through ten have experienced at least one bullying incident in a given year.] Studies further show that up to thirty-five percent of students have been the victims of cyberbullying - i.e., the use of online mediums to bully others. Most observers agree that this number is likely to rise. Such bullying physically and psychologically affects students. It can disrupt their education and cause depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts. After several highly publicized suicides, there appears …


Cyberbullying From Psychological And Legal Perspectives, Philip C. Rodkin, Karla Fischer Jun 2012

Cyberbullying From Psychological And Legal Perspectives, Philip C. Rodkin, Karla Fischer

Missouri Law Review

In this Article, we begin Part II by a brief exploration of the history of bullying in social science research. Part III is a description of the ways that social scientists have attempted to define bullying, and by extension, cyberbullying. We pay particular attention to understanding the roles that the intentionality of the bully, the repetition of the problematic behavior, and the power asymmetry of the bully-victim dyad play in distinguishing bullying from other negative behavior. In Part IV, we track the relationship between bullies and their social worlds, noting that some bullies are marginalized within a broader peer culture …


Bullying Victimization As A Disability In Public Elementary And Secondary Education, Douglas E. Abrams Jun 2012

Bullying Victimization As A Disability In Public Elementary And Secondary Education, Douglas E. Abrams

Missouri Law Review

As Jamey entered Williamsville North, his life was torn between outward signs of emotional strength and inner impulses toward personal despair. In May of 2011, he used his webcam to produce and post online his video for the "It Gets Better Project," which seeks to fortify students who are bullied because of perceptions about their sexual orientation. The project's perspective is that the sting of childhood and adolescent bullying fades with the passage of time. "All you have to do is hold your head up and you'll go far," Jamey spoke directly into the camera, "Just love yourself and you're …


How Not To Criminalize Cyberbullying, Lyrissa Lidsky, Andrea Pinzon Garcia Jun 2012

How Not To Criminalize Cyberbullying, Lyrissa Lidsky, Andrea Pinzon Garcia

Missouri Law Review

This essay provides a sustained constitutional critique of the growing body of laws criminalizing cyberbullying. These laws typically proceed by either modernizing existing harassment and stalking laws or crafting new criminal offenses. Both paths are beset with First Amendment perils, which this essay illustrates through 'case studies' of selected legislative efforts. Though sympathetic to the aims of these new laws, this essay contends that reflexive criminalization in response to tragic cyberbullying incidents has led law-makers to conflate cyberbullying as a social problem with cyberbullying as a criminal problem, creating pernicious consequences. The legislative zeal to eradicate cyberbullying potentially produces disproportionate …


Still Disconnected: Current Failures Of Statutory Approaches To Bullying Prevention In Schools , Daniel B. Weddle Jun 2012

Still Disconnected: Current Failures Of Statutory Approaches To Bullying Prevention In Schools , Daniel B. Weddle

Missouri Law Review

This Article will offer a brief critique of current bullying legislation and suggest changes to the legislation designed to achieve the good intentions that usually motivate such legislative efforts. It will also briefly address some of the less well-meaning legislative efforts and suggest that legislators duped by their uncharitable colleagues into passing counter-productive bullying legislation take the necessary steps to reverse the damage. Because of the brevity of this Article, I will focus primarily upon weaknesses that legislatures should address and will not discuss the strengths that can be found in a few legislative efforts to deal with bullying in …


The Debate On Whether Life Sentences Should Be Considered: Will Missouri's Proportionality Review Remain Meaningful, Alexandra E. Wilson-Schoone Jun 2012

The Debate On Whether Life Sentences Should Be Considered: Will Missouri's Proportionality Review Remain Meaningful, Alexandra E. Wilson-Schoone

Missouri Law Review

This Law Summary will address the Supreme Court of Missouri's proportionality review jurisprudence, the rationales of two opinions in Deck," and the relationship of the Deck opinions to precedent and public policy. Additionally, this Summary will address the court's subsequent application of and debate about proportionality review as well as the legislative response. Finally, this Summary will conclude that for proportionality review to serve a meaningful function, the court must consider all affirmed, factually similar capital cases that resulted in either life imprisonment or a death sentence because only considering factually similar cases which resulted in the death penalty essentially …


Taking Nature Back: Why Tax Strategy Law Is Relevant To Gene Patents, Amy E. Sestric Jun 2012

Taking Nature Back: Why Tax Strategy Law Is Relevant To Gene Patents, Amy E. Sestric

Missouri Law Review

On July 29, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the validity of several controversial patents in Association for Molecular Pathology v. United States Patent and Trademark Office.' The patents, exclusively assigned to Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Myriad), claim two human genes fundamental to understanding, researching, and diagnosing common strains of familial breast and ovarian cancers. Patients expressed concern that Myriad's exclusivity over the two genes made diagnosis excessively expensive and precluded the availability of independent second opinion testing. Although the Supreme Court of the United States vacated and remanded the Federal Circuit's decision, the Federal …


And Baby Makes Two: Posthumously Conceived Children And The Eighth Circuit's Denial Of Survivors Benefits , Stephanie Liu Jun 2012

And Baby Makes Two: Posthumously Conceived Children And The Eighth Circuit's Denial Of Survivors Benefits , Stephanie Liu

Missouri Law Review

In light of the recent Supreme Court of the United States case of Astrue v. Capato, which involved a similar issue, this Note will address the lack of uniformity and guidance among the respective appellate courts regarding the issue. Specifically, the emerging circuit split concerning posthumously conceived children and their rights to Social Security benefits based on the earning records of their deceased, genetic fathers will be examined. In order to do so, the facts and holding of Beeler are first discussed, followed by an explanation of Assisted Reproductive Technology. Next, the Social Security Act, along with relevant provisions and …


The Right To Remain Silent: Garcetti V. Ceballos And A Public Employee's Refusal To Speak Falsely, Ashley M. Cross Jun 2012

The Right To Remain Silent: Garcetti V. Ceballos And A Public Employee's Refusal To Speak Falsely, Ashley M. Cross

Missouri Law Review

Both Bowie and Jackler, when compared with a wide variety of public employee free speech case law, stand out as cases where a public employee is not seeking protection of his right to speak, but rather, is seeking protection of the right not to speak falsely or protection of the right to refrain from speaking at all. This Summary seeks to review the progression of public employee case law up to Garcetti and then discusses Garcetti's effect on subsequent circuit decisions attempting to apply its standards. Next, a review of the ineffectiveness of current whistleblower protection laws suggests that employees …


Table Of Contents - Issue 3 Jun 2012

Table Of Contents - Issue 3

Missouri Law Review

Table of Contents


All Those Like You: Identity Aggression And Student Speech , Ari Ezra Waldman Jun 2012

All Those Like You: Identity Aggression And Student Speech , Ari Ezra Waldman

Missouri Law Review

This Article answers two categories of questions, one social and another legal. The first series of questions is about the sociology of identity aggression and it seeks to determine whether there is a difference between, say, calling someone a "faggot" and calling someone a "dork." If there is a difference, to what extent is there empirical evidence that suggests that one is more harmful to the victim, to his community, and to his school? The legal problem flows directly from the relative harm posed by identity aggression: it is too simplistic to see the Court's student speech jurisprudence like a …


Regulating Student Cyberspeech, Barry P. Mcdonald Jun 2012

Regulating Student Cyberspeech, Barry P. Mcdonald

Missouri Law Review

Part I of this Article will provide the First Amendment background for thinking about these disputes. It will explain how the Court has interpreted that amendment to provide primary and secondary students in American public schools with free speech rights, albeit not as broad as they enjoy in their capacities as ordinary citizens of our country. It has given public school administrators special power to regulate student speech as necessary to achieve the task the people have assigned them - the effective education of their children. When cyberbullying occurs then, as it often does, completely or partially off of school …