Law Commons^™

Rescuing Maryland Tort Law: A Tribute To Judge Sally Adkins, Donald G. Gifford

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Law-Based Arguments And Messages To Advocate For Later School Start Time Policies In The United States, Clark J. Lee, Dennis M. Nolan, Steven W. Lockley, Brent Pattison

Homeland Security Publications

The increasing scientific evidence that early school start times are harmful to the health and safety of teenagers has generated much recent debate about changing school start times policies for adolescent students. Although efforts to promote and implement such changes have proliferated in the United States in recent years, they have rarely been supported by law-based arguments and messages that leverage the existing legal infrastructure regulating public education and child welfare in the United States. Furthermore, the legal bases to support or resist such changes have not been explored in detail to date. This article provides an overview of how …

Sleep: A Human Rights Issue, Clark J. Lee

Homeland Security Publications

Recognition of sleep as a human rights issue by governmental and legal entities (as illustrated by recent legal cases in the United States and India) raises the profile of sleep health as a societal concern. Although this recognition may not lead to immediate public policy changes, it infuses the public discourse about the importance of sleep health with loftier ideals about what it means to be human. Such recognition also elevates the work of sleep researchers and practitioners from serving the altruistic purpose of improving human health at the individual and population levels to serving the higher altruistic purpose of …

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The Spectrum Of Control: A Social Theory Of The Smart City, Jathan Sadowski, Frank A. Pasquale

Faculty Scholarship

There is a certain allure to the idea that cities allow a person to both feel at home and like a stranger in the same place. That one can know the streets and shops, avenues and alleys, while also going days without being recognized. But as elites fill cities with “smart” technologies—turning them into platforms for the “Internet of Things” (IoT): sensors and computation embedded within physical objects that then connect, communicate, and/or transmit information with or between each other through the Internet—there is little escape from a seamless web of surveillance and power. This paper will outline a social …

The Algorithmic Self, Frank A. Pasquale

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

In The Debt We Trust: The Unconstitutionality Of Defaulting On American Financial Obligations, And The Political Implications Of Their Perpetual Validity, Zachary K. Ostro

Student Articles and Papers

Starting in August 2011, America has undergone a series of fiscal and political crises surrounding the threat of defaulting on the national debt and the need to raise the debt ceiling. These crises have caused tremendous stress and irreparable harm to our financial markets and political system, causing a downgrade in United States debt for the first time in history, forcing drastic budget cuts, and contributing to a sixteen-day government shutdown this past October. What is most unfortunate, however, is that all of this was preventable for the simple reason that, as a matter of constitutional law, defaulting on the …

Later School Start Times In Adolescence: Time For A Change, Paul Kelley, Clark Lee

Homeland Security Publications

This briefing paper summarizes the latest research on the subject of chronic sleep deprivation on education and health in adolescents, explores policy options to address this education and public health issue, and sets forth the recommendation that education start times be adjusted appropriately for U.S adolescents.

Citizen Engagement In The Shrinking City: Toward Development Justice In An Era Of Growing Inequality, Barbara L. Bezdek

Faculty Scholarship

What are the aims of the revitalization conducted by local officials: for which social goods? Good for whom? By what means can the city’s people understand and influence the tradeoffs made by their government in the redevelopment of city blocks already occupied by residents. This is more than a matter of development finance or physical redevelopment. It is a question of social justice, of whose reality counts in the legal process utilized to reach development decisions and approve significant public subsidy for the projects that are remaking American cities.

Sherry Arnstein, writing in 1969 about citizen involvement in planning processes …

Stop Terry : Reasonable Suspicion, Race, And A Proposal To Limit Terry Stops, Renée M. Hutchins

Faculty Scholarship

The Terry doctrine, which grants a police officer the authority to stop and frisk based on his or her reasonable suspicion rather than probable cause, was created by the Supreme Court at a time when the nation con- fronted a particular moment of violent racial strife. Since Terry was decided, the Supreme Court has continued to expand the reach of the doctrine—which opened the door for potential abuse. Existing data is increasingly proving that the loosening of constitutional standards is causing substantial harms to people of color nationwide. This article joins the existing scholarly discussion surrounding this decision to suggest …

Enhancing Communication Between Scientists, Government Officials, And The Lay Public: Advancing Science And Protecting The Public's Welfare Through Better Multi-Stakeholder Interfacing, Clark J. Lee, Patrick P. Rose, Earl Stoddard Iii

Homeland Security Publications

No abstract provided.

Direct (Anti-)Democracy, Maxwell L. Stearns

Faculty Scholarship

Legal scholars, economists, and political scientists are divided on whether voter initiatives and legislative referendums tend to produce outcomes that are more (or less) majoritarian, efficient, or solicitous of minority concerns than traditional legislation. Scholars also embrace opposing views on which law-making mechanism better promotes citizen engagement, registers preference intensities, encourages compromise, and prevents outcomes masking cycling voter preferences. Despite these disagreements, commentators generally assume that the voting mechanism itself renders plebiscites more democratic than legislative lawmaking. This assumption is mistaken.

Although it might seem unimaginable that a lawmaking process that directly engages voters possesses fundamentally antidemocratic features, this Article …

Manipulating Fate: Medical Innovations, Ethical Implications, Theatrical Illuminations, Karen H. Rothenberg, Lynn W. Bush

Faculty Scholarship

Transformative innovations in medicine and their ethical complexities create frequent confusion and misinterpretation that color the imagination. Placed in historical context, theatre provides a framework to reflect upon how the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging technologies evolve over time and how attempts to control fate through medical science have shaped -- and been shaped by -- personal and professional relationships. The drama of these human interactions is powerful and has the potential to generate fear, create hope, transform identity, and inspire empathy -- a vivid source to observe the complex implications of translating research into clinical practice through …

Implementing Dodd-Frank: A Review Of The Cftc‟S Rulemaking Process: Testimony, Michael Greenberger

Congressional Testimony

The Relationship of Unregulated OTC Derivatives to the Meltdown. It is now accepted wisdom that it was the non-transparent, poorly capitalized, and almost wholly unregulated over-the-counter (“OTC”) derivatives market that lit the fuse that exploded the highly vulnerable worldwide economy in the fall of 2008. Because tens of trillions of dollars of these financial products were pegged to the economic performance of an overheated and highly inflated housing market, the sudden collapse of that market triggered under-capitalized or non-capitalized OTC derivative guarantees of the subprime housing investments. Moreover, the many undercapitalized insurers of that collapsing market had other multi-trillion dollar …

[Features Of Conventional Scholarly Wisdom About The Thirteenth Amendment], Pamela Brandwein

Schmooze 'tickets'

No abstract provided.

Legal Impediments To The Diffusion Of Telemedicine, Diane E. Hoffmann, Virginia Rowthorn

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Wallace-Mcharg’S Plans For Greater Baltimore, Garrett Power

Legal History Publications

This essay considers the growth of the partnership between David Wallace and Ian McHarg into one of the nation’s dominant urban design and environmental planning firms. It focuses on the firm’s undertaking in the Greater Baltimore region in the 1950’s, 1960’s, and 1970’s. With the benefit of fifty years of hindsight it looks at the successes and failures of their plans for Charles Center, the Green Spring and Worthington Valleys, and the Inner Harbor. Surprisingly, prize-winning innovations praised in one generation came to be judged as the design flaws of the next. Less surprisingly, their plans to “design with nature” …

Katrina's Animal Legacy: The Pets Act, Marita Mike, Rebecca Mike, Clark J. Lee

Homeland Security Publications

This article discusses issues related to the federal Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006 (PETS Act), which was signed into law in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Issues discussed in this article include:

1. Various problems concerning animal evacuations and sheltering that Hurricane Katrina brought to light;
2. Provisions of the PETS Act and related laws and policies which were developed in response to the tragedies brought about by Hurricane Katrina; and
3. Strengths and weaknesses of the PETS Act and recommends next steps to improve implementation of the PETS Act.

China's "Green Leap Forward" Toward Global Environmental Leadership, Robert V. Percival

Faculty Scholarship

This article argues that China may be on the verge of a “Green Leap Forward” that could make it a global environmental leader. This article argues that two principal forces have contributed to this development. First, Chinese officials now realize that a global shift away from fossil fuels will create enormous business opportunities on a global scale. Chinese companies are now making enormous strides in the development of green technology, such as solar power, wind energy, and electric cars, with the active assistance of the Chinese government. Second, realizing that climate change severely threatens China, and stung by the criticism …

Global Law And The Environment, Robert V. Percival

Faculty Scholarship

This article explores three areas in which globalization is profoundly affecting the development of a global environmental law. First, countries increasingly are borrowing law and regulatory innovations from one another to respond to common environmental problems. Although this is not an entirely new phenomenon, it is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Second, lawsuits seeking to hold companies liable for environmental harm they have caused outside their home countries are raising new questions concerning the appropriate venue for such transnational liability litigation and the standards courts should apply for enforcement of foreign judgments. Third, nongovernmental organizations are playing an increasingly important …

The Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act Of 2010: Hearing Before The United States House Of Representatives, Committee On The Judiciary, Subcommittee On Commercial And Administrative Law. 111th Congress, 2nd Session, Michael P. Van Alstine

Congressional Testimony

The testimony explores the essential legal issue of the extent to which executive agreements related to H.R. 4596 have any force as law in the United States. The agreements made it clear that they did not, by themselves, “provide an independent legal basis for dismissal” of claims of Holocaust victims filed in any courts of the United States. Instead, the executive branch simply agreed to file a “statement of interest” in such lawsuits to the effect “that U.S. policy interests favor dismissal on any valid legal ground.” Some lower courts have nonetheless given the statements of interest preemptive effect as …

A Solution Looking For A Problem: Testimony Before The 2010 Maryland General Assembly On Senate Bill 570/House Bill 986: Campaign Materials – Stockholder Approval, Larry S. Gibson

Faculty Scholarship

The U.S. Supreme Court in Citizens United v Federal Elections Commission declared unconstitutional under the First Amendment right to freedom of speech federal statutory limitations on corporate political expenditures. Before Citizens United, Maryland was already among the 26 states that permitted corporations to make direct political contributions and to make independent political expenditures. Consequently, Citizens United did not change Maryland election law and practice. The Maryland General Assembly has steadfastly resisted efforts to change the Maryland approach. Over the past several years, the General Assembly has repeatedly rejected bills that would have banned political contributions by business entities. Many in …

Can An Ethical Person Be An Ethical Prosecutor? A Social Cognitive Approach To Systemic Reform, Lawton P. Cummings

Faculty Scholarship

This Article argues that certain key structural factors within the prosecutorial system in the United States lead to prosecutorial misconduct by systematically encouraging 'moral disengagement' in prosecutors. 'Moral disengagement' refers to the social cognition theory developed by Albert Bandura and others, which identifies the mechanisms that operate to disengage an individual’s moral self-sanctions that would otherwise inhibit the individual from engaging in injurious conduct. Empirical studies have shown that a person’s level of moral disengagement, as a dispositional trait, is an accurate predictor of the person’s level of aggression and anti-social behavior, and that an individual’s level of moral disengagement …

Reflections And Perspectives On Reentry And Collateral Consequences, Michael Pinard

Faculty Scholarship

This essay addresses the continued and dramatic increase in the numbers of individuals released from correctional institutions and returning to communities across the United States. It provides a brief history of the collateral consequences of criminal convictions, and the ways in which these consequences impede productive reentry. It then highlights national and state efforts to address to persistent reentry obstacles and to better understand the range and scope of collateral consequences. It concludes by offering suggestions for reform.

A Tale Told By A President, Mark A. Graber

Faculty Scholarship

Part I of this essay makes the case for symbolic politics. Presidents often have political reasons for subjecting courts to mere words. Part II makes the case for constitutional hardball.

Red Rocks, Tom Grillo, John Sipple, Ethan Weitzman

Student Environmental Law Films/Golden Tree Films

This film explores the background and issues surrounding Senate bill 799 - A bill to designate as wilderness certain Federal portions of the red rock canyons of the Colorado Plateau and the Great Basin Deserts in the State of Utah for the benefit of present and future generations of people in the United States.

Strengthening Security And Oversight At Biological Research Laboratories, Michael Greenberger

Congressional Testimony

With the advent of the Anthrax attacks in the fall of 2001, this Nation has been confronted with a serious policy conundrum. On the one hand, we have strengthened programs that encourage the use of our best scientific resources to develop countermeasures to the weaponization of highly dangerous biopathogens. On the other hand, research on those countermeasures requires the use of the very biopathogens we seek to defeat. There have been many mishaps in the handling of those pathogens, which raises the frightening prospect that the research may be as (or more) dangerous than the potential bioterrorist acts themselves. Indeed, …

An Introduction To Social Choice, Maxwell L. Stearns

Faculty Scholarship

Social choice studies the differing implications of the concept of rationality (or transitivity) for individuals versus groups under specified conditions and the significance of these differences in various institutional decision making contexts. This introductory chapter on social choice for the Elgar Handbook on Public Choice (Elgar Publishing Company, Dan Farber and Anne O’Connell, editors), introduces the basic framework of social choice, considers the implications of social choice for various legal and policy contexts, and provides a framework for evaluating a range of normative proposals grounded in social choice for reforming lawmaking institutions. After a brief introduction, part II introduces the …

For Both Love And Money: Viviana Zelizer's "The Purchase Of Intimacy", Martha M. Ertman

Faculty Scholarship

Viviana Zelizer’s recent book, The Purchase of Intimacy (2005) presents an innovative theory of how social and legal actors negotiate rights and obligations when money changes hands in intimate relationships--a perspective that could change how we understand many things, from valuations of homemaking labor to the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. This essay describes Zelizer’s critique of the reductionist “Hostile Worlds” and “Nothing But” approaches to economic exchange in intimate relationships, then explains her more three-dimensional approach, “Connected Lives.” While Zelizer focuses on family law, the essay goes beyond that context, extending Zelizer’s approach to transfers of genetic material, and concluding …

Here Comes The Judge! Gender Distortion On Tv Reality Court Shows, Taunya Lovell Banks

Faculty Scholarship

In the judicial world of television court shows women constitute a majority of the judges and where non-white women and men dominate. In real life most judges are white and male. This essay looks at the gender and racial composition and demeanor of these television reality judges. It asks whether women TV reality judges behave differently from their male counterparts and whether women’s increased visibility as judges on daytime reality court shows reinforces or diminishes traditional negative stereotypes about women, especially non-white women.

Troubled Waters: Mid-Twentieth Century American Society On "Trial" In The Films Of John Waters, Taunya Lovell Banks

Faculty Scholarship

In this Article Professor Banks argues that what makes many of filmmaker John Waters early films so subversive is his use of the “white-trash” body—people marginalized by and excluded from conventional white America—as countercultural heroes. He uses the white trash body as a surrogate for talk about race and sexuality in the early 1960s. I argue that in many ways Waters’ critiques of mid-twentieth century American society reflect the societal changes that occurred in the last forty years of that century. These societal changes resulted from the civil rights, gay pride, student, anti-war and women’s movements, all of which used …