Law Commons^™

Does The Second Amendment Protect Firearms Commerce?, David B. Kopel

David B Kopel

The Second Amendment protects the operation of businesses which provide Second Amendment services, including gun stores. Although lower federal courts have split on the issue, the right of firearms commerce is demonstrated by the original history of the Second Amendment, confirmed by the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller, and consistent with the Court's precedents on other individual rights.

How Do We Know When Political Societies Change?, Peter Aschenbrenner

Peter J. Aschenbrenner

Predicates, features, attributes and properties of a system are liable to change. How does the change get marked down? For this purpose what facet of a system should command our attention? Any system worth the name, Our Constitutional Logic argues, is aware of its own standing in civil society. OCL considers the issues raised.

Inventing Around Edison’S Lamp Patent: The Role Of Patents In Stimulating Downstream Development And Competition, Ron D. Katznelson, John Howells

Ron D. Katznelson

We provide the first detailed empirical study of inventing around patent claims. The enforcement of Edison’s incandescent lamp patent in 1891-1894 stimulated a surge of patenting. Most of these later patents disclosed inventions around the Edison patent. Some of these patents introduced important new technology in their own right and became prior art for new fields, indicating that invention around patents contributes to dynamic efficiency. Contrary to widespread contemporary understanding, the Edison lamp patent did not suppress technological advance in electric lighting. The market position of General Electric (“GE”), the Edison patent-owner, weakened through the period of this patent’s enforcement.

Difficulties With The Interordinal Laws Of Cultural Property As Applied In The United States, And Proposed Solutions, Jeffrey John Miles

Jeffrey John Miles

This paper evaluates the interordinal web of international cultural property law as applied in the United States. The work explores problematic areas where law fails to adequately protect against illicit trade in cultural property from art to artifacts. The complexity in this area stems from the often opaque movements of cultural property and the overlapping legal regimes of foreign nation states and domestic federal and state laws. After evaluating the structure of these laws as applied in the United States, I propose solutions to improve coverage where lacunas exist.

Digital Copyright, Jessica Litman

Jessica Litman

No abstract provided.

Un Estudio Sistemático Sobre Las Obligaciones Alternativas, Ricardo Geldres Campos

Ricardo Geldres Campos

El autor analiza la estructura de la obligación alternativa, centrando su atención en la elección de la prestación ya sea a cargo del deudor o del acreedor. En ese sentido, explica el sentido de la imposibilidad originaria y la sobrevenida en función del juicio de imputabilidad, y además expone la transferencia del riesgo con motivo de la presencia del supuesto de caso fortuito. Por otra parte, desarrolla algunos supuestos no contemplados por el Código Civil respecto a la imposibilidad del cumplimiento de la obligación alternativa.

Two Concepts Of Freedom In Criminal Jurisprudence, Roni M. Rosenberg

Roni M Rosenberg

The goal of this essay is to identify and discuss two aspects of liberty by examining the distinction between act and omission in criminal jurisprudence. Criminal law makes a significant distinction between harmful actions and harmful omissions and, consequently, between killing and letting die. Any act that causes death is grounds for a homicide conviction -- subject, of course, to the existence of the other elements necessary for establishing criminal liability, such as causation and mens rea. However, liability for death by omission is subject to the additional identification of a duty to act. In other words, the defendant …

A Case Study On Court Of Appeals Finality, Michael J. Nolan

Michael J. Nolan

The article illustrates the New York Court of Appeals jurisdictional requirement of finality by tracing the history of a case in which leave to appeal was sought, and dismissed, 5 separate times.

Disaggregating Corpus Christi: The Illiberal Implications Of Hobby Lobby's Right To Free Exercise, Katharine Jackson

Katharine Jackson

This paper first examines and critiques the group rights to religious exercise derived from the three ontologies of the corporation suggested by different legal conceptions of corporate personhood often invoked by Courts. Finding the implicated groups rights inimical to individual religious freedom, the paper then presents an argument as to why a discourse of intra-corporate toleration and voluntariness does a better job at protecting religious liberty.

Extract From Heidi Kitrosser, Interpretive Modesty, Geo. L.J. (Forthcoming 2016), Citing Bailey-Tillman Exchange, Seth Barrett Tillman

Seth Barrett Tillman

Heidi Kitrosser, Interpretive Modesty, 104 Geo. L.J. (forthcoming 2016) (manuscript at 38 n.161), citing Bailey-Tillman exchange.

[13 May 2015]

Lodging The Sustainable Development Goals In The International Trade Regime: From Trade Rhetoric To Trade Plethoric, Nasser A. Alreshaid

Nasser A Alreshaid

While the international community is stimulated by the new sustainable development goals’ impetus, the global trade regime lives through its 40’s mid-life crisis and anticipates what it does not know. Views of the multilateral trading system being stalled by a proliferation of other preferential trade agreements, signal a deep inquiry into this policy trend. What this paper intends to highlight though, is that if lessons are drawn from the new sustainable development goals, these global trade challenges could be mere air turbulence. By introducing the needs of states and their constituents through these goals, an inclusive and more representative international …

What Notice Did, Jessica Litman

Jessica Litman

In this article, I explore the effect of the copyright notice prerequisite on the law's treatment of copyright ownership. The notice prerequisite, as construed by the courts, encouraged the development of legal doctrines that herded the ownership of copyrights into the hands of publishers and other intermediaries, notwithstanding statutory provisions that seem to have been designed at least in part to enable authors to keep their copyrights. Because copyright law required notice, other doctrinal developments were shaped by and distorted by that requirement. The promiscuous alienability of U.S. copyrights may itself have been an accidental development deriving from courts' constructions …

Single-Firm Event Studies, Securities Fraud, And Financial Crisis: Problems Of Inference, Andrew Baker

Andrew Baker

Lawsuits brought pursuant to section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Actdepend on the reliability of a statistical tool called an event study to adjudicate issues ofreliance, materiality, loss causation, and damages. Although judicial acceptance of theevent study technique is pervasive, there has been little empirical analysis of the ability ofevent studies to produce reliable results when applied to a single company’s security.
Using data from the recent financial crisis, this Note demonstrates that the standardmodelevent study used in most court proceedings can lead to biased inferences sanctionedthrough the Daubert standard of admissibility for expert testimony. In particular, in thepresence …

Correctional Discharge Planning & The Missing Linkages, D'Andre D. Lampkin

D'Andre Devon Lampkin

This research project explores correctional rehabilitation and disconnects between correctional facilities and linkage to follow up mental health treatment. One of the components to releasing inmates is providing them with services that help reintroduce them into society. For the mentally ill, linkage to mental health services after spending any amount of time in a correctional facility is heavily dependent on follow through by the former inmate and the expediency and capacity of the mental health departments’ outpatient facilities within the community the former inmate is released into.

3d Printing And Healthcare: Will Laws, Lawyers, And Companies Stand In The Way Of Patient Care?, Evan R. Youngstrom

Evan R. Youngstrom

Today, our society is on a precipice of significant advancement in healthcare because 3D printing will usher in the next generation of medicine. The next generation will be driven by customization, which will allow doctors to replace limbs and individualize drugs. However, the next generation will be without large pharmaceutical companies and their justifications for strong intellectual property rights. However, the current patent system (which is underpinned by a social tradeoff made from property incentives) is not flexible enough to cope with 3D printing’s rapid development. Very soon, the social tradeoff will no longer benefit society, so it must be …

Revisiting The Notion Of Full Protection And Security Of Foreign Direct Investments In Post-Gadhafi Libya: Two Governments, Tribal Violence, Militias, And Plenty More, Nasser A. Alreshaid

Nasser A Alreshaid

The escalating violence and deteriorating conditions in today’s Libya have questioned the very likelihood of the survival of foreign investments there. Deemed an oil-producing hub, many oil concessions have been granted to foreign investors in Libya. The challenge that follows is how to legally ensure the full protection and security of investors. This notion is tested in the post-Gadhafi Libya situation in the context of a two-government state, where militias with extremist ideologies in most instances, defy an internationally recognized government and take control over Libyan territories. Such territories contain oil terminals, which leads to a partial or complete disruption …

James Wilson And The Moral Foundations Of Popular Sovereignty, Ian C. Bartrum

Ian C Bartrum

This paper explores the moral philosophy underlying the constitutional doctrine of popular sovereignty. In particular, it focuses on the Scottish sentimentalism that informed James Wilson’s understanding of that doctrine. Wilson, a transplanted Scotsman, was perhaps the nation’s preeminent lawyer in the middle 1780s. He was one of the most important delegates to the Constitutional Convention, one of the nation’s first law professors, and served as Associate Justice on the first Supreme Court. In these capacities, he developed the most sophisticated and coherent account of popular sovereignty among the founding generation. My initial effort is to enrich our understanding of Wilson’s …

Extract From Brian Hunt, Murdoch's Dictionary Of Irish Law (Dublin, Bloomsbury Professional 6th Ed. Forthcoming Circa Spring 2016), Citing Tillman & Tillman's A Fragment On Shall And May, Seth Barrett Tillman

Seth Barrett Tillman

This is an extract from Brian Hunt, Murdoch's Dictionary of Irish Law (Dublin, Bloomsbury Professional 6th ed. forthcoming circa Spring 2016), citing Tillman & Tillman's A Fragment on Shall and May.

[23 July 2015]

What Should Law Enforcement Role Be In Addressing Quality Of Life Issues Associated With Section 8 Housing?, D'Andre D. Lampkin

D'Andre Devon Lampkin

The purpose of this research project is to discuss the challenges law enforcement face when attempting to address quality of life issues for residents residing in and around Section 8 federal housing. The paper introduces readers to the purpose of Section 8 housing, the process in which residents choose subsidized housing, and the legal challenges presented when law enforcement agencies are assisting city government to address quality of life issues. For purposes of this research project, studies were sampled to illustrate where law enforcement participation worked and where law enforcement participation leads to unintended legal ramifications.

Nonmoral Theoretical Disagreement In Law, Alani Golanski

Alani Golanski

I agree with Dworkin that there is widespread theoretical disagreement in law. I hope to show, however, why this disagreement should not be seen as moral in nature. Legal philosophers have nearly always viewed the existence of theoretical disagreement in law as the indicium of moral dispute. If that is so, and if such disagreement is widespread, then this would be compelling evidence of law’s incorporation of moral standards. Thus, theoretical disagreement has posed a powerful challenge to the "positivist" approach, which claims that, for the most part, legality can be determined without resort to moral criteria. This paper draws …

Algunas Reflexiones En Torno A La Prescripción Extintiva En La Acción Pauliana O Revocatoria, Ricardo Geldres Campos

Ricardo Geldres Campos

El autor analiza la figura de la acción pauliana como mecanismo de tutela a favor del acreedor. Explica que el fundamento de su prescripción viene a ser la tutela del interés del tercero adquiriente, para que de esa forma no se encuentre sometido eternamente a la revocatoria, y no afecte gravemente su patrimonio; de igual forma, señala que aquella deberá computarse desde que el acreedor toma conocimiento del acto de disposición efectuado por el deudor a favor del tercero. Asimismo, afirma que las causales de suspensión y de interrupción previstas en el código han sido pensadas para las relaciones obligatorias, …

Verification Methods In Cyber Attack Treaties, Grant Hodgson

Grant Hodgson

The fundamental differences between cyber weapons and traditional military weapons present challenges to verification techniques used in the past. This paper will discuss the challenges in constructing, implementing, and verifying a cyberattack treaty. Part I, will discuss the nature of cyberattacks and what makes them difficult for verification purposes. Part II will describe techniques that have previously been used to verify other treaties. Each technique is evaluated for its potential efficacy when applied to cyberattacks.

La Representación Sin Poder: El Requerimiento Y La Revocación Unilateral, Ricardo Geldres Campos

Ricardo Geldres Campos

En este artículo, el autor analiza y reflexiona sobre la normativa del derecho comparado (BGB, Codice italiano y los Principios de Unidroit) en relación a los supuestos en que pueda encontrarse el dominus ante la representación sin poder (ratificar el contrato, no ratificar el contrato y, permanecer en silencio) y las consecuencias jurídicas derivadas de las misma en nuestro ordenamiento jurídico; asimismo, se denota las consecuencias jurídicas negativas en contra del tercero contratante, por la expectativa indefinida sometida a la ratificación, al no contar con una tutela efectiva en nuestro ordenamiento jurídico; ante esto se plantea la posibilidad de aplicar …

Castles In The Sand: Engineering Insular Formations To Gain Legal Rights Over The Oceans, Joshua L. Root

Joshua L. Root

This article examines States' attempts to engineer rocks into islands proper, and low-tide elevations into islands for the purposes of gaining legal rights over the oceans. It pays particular attention to the South China Sea.

Crashing Into The Unknown: An Examination Of Crash Optimization Algorithms Through The Two Lanes Of Ethics And Law, Jeffrey K. Gurney

Jeffrey K Gurney

Autonomous vehicles will encounter situations where an accident is truly unavoidable, requiring the vehicle to decide whom or what to hit. In such situations, the vehicle will make difficult ethical decisions based upon its programming — more specifically, how its crash-optimization algorithm is programmed.This Article examines crash-optimization algorithms from an ethical and legal standpoint through the lenses of six moral dilemmas. Ethically, the Article focuses specifically on utilitarian and Kantian ethics. Legally, the Article considers the tort and criminal law implications of crash-optimization algorithms.In addition, the Article discusses whether autonomous vehicles should even make ethical decisions. Concluding that they should …

Democracy And Torture, Patrick A. Maurer

Patrick A Maurer

September 11th spawned an era of political changes to fundamental rights. The focus of this discussion is to highlight Guantanamo Bay torture incidents. This analysis will explore the usages of torture from a legal standpoint in the United States.

The Myth Of The Trade Secret Troll: Why We Need A Federal Civil Claim For Trade Secret Misappropriation, James Pooley

James Pooley

Trade secret theft is a federal crime, but civil cases must be brought in state court. Because commerce is now global and most assets are information-based, misappropriation is easier, faster and quicker. State court processes are insufficient for interstate or international disputes. The proposed Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015 would address the problem by adding a civil claim to the Economic Espionage Act. Arguments against it tend to be based on incorrect assumptions or speculation. The legislation provides sufficient safeguards against abuse, and would not inhibit labor mobility or lead to the appearance of "trade secret trolls."

“And Ain’T I A Woman?”: Feminism, Immigrant Caregivers, And New Frontiers For Equality, Shirley Lin Esq.

Shirley Lin Esq.

Part I draws from a body of feminist political and social science theories regarding social reproduction to assess the situation of immigrant domestic workers and their recent efforts to claim inclusion in workplace laws and protections. It locates the increasingly carceral dynamics that are expressed in the law and in state infrastructure that continually undermine immigrant women’s economic and social stability. Part II examines the importance of immigrant women workers in the United States and their disproportionate share in the “feminization” of low-wage work at a time when society’s critical social-reproductive work has been shifted to them. Part III analyzes …

Vacatur Of Awards Under The Tennessee Uniform Arbitration Act: Substance, Procedure, And Strategies For Practitioners, Steven Feldman

Steven Feldman

Currently, a lively debate exists in the academic community about the fairness of contractual arbitration clauses. The commentators, however, rarely explore the doctrinal aspects of arbitration as found in the Uniform Arbitration Act, the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act, and the Federal Arbitration Act.

This oversight is regrettable because standard form arbitration clauses are a fixture on the current legal landscape and the odds are high that arbitration in its current form will continue for many years to come.

This article analyzes the Tennessee Uniform Arbitration Act (TUAA). One of the most challenging TUAA topics is the action for vacatur (annulment) …

Standing And Collective Cultural Rights, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

The procedural question of standing has deep implications for the definition and enforcement of cultural rights. Cultural rights have individual and collective elements that can lead to several entities seeking access to justice when these rights are violated. This chapter focuses on the question of standing to explore the contours of existing cultural human rights and possible reparations flowing from their violation. It considers claims by (1) an individual member of the group who has been wronged because of their membership of the group; (2) a collective action brought by the group; and (3) a representative action on behalf of …