Law Commons^™

The Changing View Of The “Bystander” In Holocaust Scholarship: Historical, Ethical, And Political Implications, Victoria J. Barnett

Utah Law Review

The role of “bystanders” has been a central theme in discussions about the ethical legacy of the Holocaust. In early Holocaust historiography, “bystander” was often used as a generalized catchall term designating passivity toward Nazi crimes. “Bystander behavior” became synonymous with passivity to the plight of others, including the failure to speak out against injustice and/or assist its victims. More recent scholarship has documented the extent to which local populations and institutions were actively complicit in Nazi crimes, participating in and benefitting from the persecution of Jewish citizens, not only in Germany but across Europe. This newer research has sparked …

The Bystander During The Holocaust, Robert A. Goldberg

Utah Law Review

The German people today have embraced their sense of collective responsibility. They have accepted the seamless case of genocide and its implications are part of the national soul. They have come to full reckoning, determined to remember a difficult past and not repeat it. The Austrians, the Dutch, and the Poles have yet to reach the point of confession or even an awareness of responsibility. Perhaps the most remarkable symbol of national responsibility is the grassroots Stolperstein or Stumble Stone project, which began in Germany in 1992 with the goal to remember the victims of the Holocaust individually. Cobblestone-size concrete …

Benchslaps, Joseph P. Mastrosimone

Utah Law Review

The practice of judges issuing so-called benchslaps is growing both in popularity and concern. Such published decisions and orders seek to publicly shame lawyers for their alleged unethical or unprofessional lawyering. Legal blogs have picked up on this trend, celebrating and elevating benchslaps to become a part of legal popular culture. However, the practice of using embarrassing and belittling published decisions to punish or to deter unethical or professional conduct raises serious concerns that the issuing judge is violating his or her own ethical duties.

This Article criticizes the practice and concludes that it must end based on three arguments: …