Law Commons^™

Cyber Plungers: Colonial Pipeline And The Case For An Omnibus Cybersecurity Legislation, Asaf Lubin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The May 2021 ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline was a wake-up call for a federal administration slow to realize the dangers that cybersecurity threats pose to our critical national infrastructure. The attack forced hundreds of thousands of Americans along the east coast to stand in endless lines for gas, spiking both prices and public fears. These stressors on our economy and supply chains triggered emergency proclamations in four states, including Georgia. That a single cyberattack could lead to a national emergency of this magnitude was seen by many as proof of even more crippling threats to come. Executive Director of …

The Games They Will Play: Tax Games, Roadblocks, And Glitches Under The 2017 Tax Legislation, David Gamage, David Kamin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The 2017 tax legislation brought sweeping changes to the rules for taxing individuals and business, the deductibility of state and local taxes, and the international tax regime. The complex legislation was drafted and passed through a rushed and secretive process intended to limit public comment on one of the most consequential pieces of domestic policy enacted in recent history. This Article is an effort to supply the analysis and deliberation that should have accompanied the bill’s consideration and passage and describes key problem areas in the new legislation. Many of the new changes fundamentally undermine the integrity of the tax …

Making Sausage: What, Why And How To Teach About Legislative Process In A Legislation Or Leg-Reg Course, Deborah A. Widiss

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Although a rapidly growing number of law schools require students to take a course on legislation, many of these courses teach very little about how laws are actually enacted. This essay, written for a special issue of the Journal of Legal Education, argues that study of the legislative process helps students interpret and apply statutory language.

The essay surveys existing text books and supplemental resources that could be easily integrated into a Leg-Reg or Legislation class to explain modern Congressional procedure. The focus is the multiple distinct paths that bills may take through a legislative body and the written …

The Future Of Section 2 Of The Voting Rights Act In The Hands Of A Conservative Court, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer

Articles by Maurer Faculty

This Essay argues that the future of the majority-minority district is in peril, as a conservative majority on the Court stands poised to strike down section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. When the Court takes up the constitutionality of Section 2, binding precedent will play a secondary role at best. Instead, the Justices’ policy goals and ideological preferences - namely, their personal disdain for the use of race in public life - will guide the Court’s conclusion. In this vein, Justice Kennedy holds the fate of the Act in his hands. To be clear, this Essay is not trying …

Database Protection In The United States Is Alive And Well: Comments On Davison, Marshall A. Leaffer

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Why Kelo Is Not Good News For Local Planners And Developers, Daniel H. Cole

Articles by Maurer Faculty

When the Supreme Court announced its 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London, few legal scholars were surprised at the outcome, which was premised on precedents extending back to the middle of the 19th century. Legal scholars were surprised, however, by the intense political reaction to Kelo (fueled substantially by Justice O'Connor's hyperbolic dissent), as property-rights advocates, legislators (at all levels of government), and media pundits assailed the ruling as a death knell for private property rights in America.

Kelo's combination of relative legal insignificance and high political salience makes it an interesting case study in cross-institutional dynamics, …

Patent Abolitionism, Mark D. Janis

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this Article, Professor Janis argues that modem enthusiasm for large-scale legislative reforms in patent law should be received with caution in view of the history of patent law reform. That history suggests that patent law is more resilient--or perhaps more impervious to change-than modem reformers recognize. To explore these propositions, Professor Janis analyzes the history of the mid-Victorian era British patent abolitionism movement. He demonstrates that much of the reform dialogue of that era, from the elucidation of major problems in the patent system, to the formulation of legislative solutions, mirrors quite closely the modem U.S. patent reform debate. …

The Dynamic Judicial Opinion, William D. Popkin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Eskridge's article on Dynamic Statutory Interpretation advances an aggressively pragmatic theory of interpretation but has had more influence among academics than judges because of a failure to attend to the problems of writing a candid, pragmatic and dynamic judicial opinion. This article argues that, although not free from doubt, a candid judicial opinion is preferable, and discusses how to write such an opinion - suggesting that judges rely on the "intent of the statute," not legislative intent; and adopt a personal/exploratory style in presenting their views.

Inter Partes Patent Reexamination, Mark D. Janis

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

United States V. Mcgoff: Can Lawyers Be Taught How To Read Statutes, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Statutory Interpretation In America: Dipping Into Legislative History, Part Ii, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Statutory Interpretation In America: Dipping Into Legislative History, Part I, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Statutory Interpretation: Dipping Into Legislative History, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Legislative Process And Drafting In U.S. Law Schools: A Close Look At The Lammers Report, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Clear Legal Drafting: What's Holding Us Back?, F. Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Limiting Conglomerate Mergers: The Need For Legislation, Joseph F. Brodley

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Teaching Legal Writing In The Law Schools (With A Special Nod To Legal Drafting), Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Book Review. Dale, William, Legislative Drafting: A New Approach, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Legal Drafting: Writing As Thinking, Or, Talk-Back From Your Draft And How To Exploit It, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Seminar On Legal Drafting Raises Questions On Teaching, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Book Review. Federal Environmental Law (E. Dolgin And T. Guilbert, Eds.), A. Dan Tarlock

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Professionalizing Legislative Drafting: A Realistic Goal?, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The teaching of skills that result in sound legislative drafting is neglected in law schools, and professionalism in legislative drafting is lacking on both the federal and state fronts. With the adoption by the American Bar Association of seven major principles relating to the drafting of federal legislation, perhaps there is more hope now that there will be a move toward professionalism.

Statutory Interpretation: The Uses And Anatomy Of Context, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Every communication that is generated by a written instrument consists of two elements which must be considered in arriving at the meaning of the communication. Those elements are: (1) the written vehicle itself, and (2) its surrounding context. The surrounding context which thus completes the communication consists only of those underlying cultural aspects which, when considered in relation to the written vehicle, are: (1) relevant to the written vehicle, (2) reliable, (3) shared by the author and the audience, and (4) relied on by both author and audience to complete the communication. The author suggests that those cultural elements which …

The Catholic University Study Of Federal Legislative Drafting In The Executive Branch: A Foreword, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Address On Consumer Credit Protection Legislation, William J. Pierce

Addison Harris Lecture

No abstract provided.

One Approach To Teaching Legal Drafting, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Statutory Interpretation: Core Meaning And Marginal Uncertainty, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Diseases Of Legislative Language, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In this article Professor Dickerson examines some of the most basic problems facing the legislative draftsman in his attempt to obtain clarity in statutes. He discusses the "diseases" of ambiguity, over-vagueness, over-precision, over- and under-generality and obesity, and distinguishes them from useful devices with which they are often confused.

The Difficult Choice Between "And" And "Or", Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Legislative Drafting In London And In Washington, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.