Law Commons^™

Cutting The Gordian Knot: How And Why The United Nations Should Vest The International Court Of Justice With Referral Jurisdiction, Andrew L. Strauss

School of Law Faculty Publications

The International Court of Justice — the global system's oldest and most venerable tribunal — has failed to meet its full potential. This is in large measure due to the requirement that the Court may only assert jurisdiction over states with their consent, which is often withheld. To help correct for this failure, this article proposes that the Court be given a referral jurisdiction. Referral jurisdiction would empower the Court to issue advisory opinions on interstate disputes without the requirement of state consent. Standing in the way of nonconsent-based jurisdiction, however, is the problem of the Gordian Knot: The world's …

The Antislavery Judge Reconsidered, Jeffrey M. Schmitt

School of Law Faculty Publications

It is conventionally believed that neutral legal principles required antislavery judges to uphold proslavery legislation in spite of their moral convictions against slavery. Under this view, an antislavery judge who ruled on proslavery legislation was forced to choose, not between liberty and slavery, but rather between liberty and fidelity to his conception of the judicial role in a system of limited government. Focusing on the proslavery Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, this article challenges the conventional view by arguing that the constitutionality of the fugitive act was ambiguous; meaning that neutral legal principles supported a ruling against the fugitive act …

The Doctrine Of Discovery And The Elusive Definition Of Indian Title, Blake Watson

School of Law Faculty Publications

On April 15, 2011, the Lewis & Clark Law Review hosted its Spring Symposium, entitled “The Future of International Law in Indigenous Affairs: The Doctrine of Discovery, the United Nations, and the Organization of American States.” While the Symposium participants agree that the doctrine of discovery should be rejected, they disagree on the impact of the discovery doctrine on native land rights in the United States. This Article examines the differing views of Indian title. Specifically, it contrasts the “limited owner” view of Indian title, under which Indian tribes retained nearly all of their proprietary rights, subject only to …

A Global Parliament: Essays And Articles, Andrew L. Strauss, Richard A. Falk

School of Law Faculty Publications

Democracy is the guiding principle for fairly and peacefully making community decision at the local, provincial, and national levels of human society. In this compilation of works, Falk and Strauss argue for a practical approach to now finally extending democratic decision-making to the global system.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta): An Assessment, Dalindyebo Shabalala

School of Law Faculty Publications

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (‘ACTA’) is motivated by the perceived lack of progress of multilateral enforcement of intellectual property rights. Building on the equivalent provisions in EU and US bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs), the ACTA parties sought to establish best practice international standards to which other countries could aspire or adhere. Proponents stressed the need to combat the increase in global piracy and counterfeiting, drawing on estimates of the scale of the problem, such as those from the OECD that suggested international trade in counterfeit and pirated products amounted to some $200 billion in 2005 (excluding domestically …

How United States V. Jones Can Restore Our Faith In The Fourth Amendment, Erica Goldberg

School of Law Faculty Publications

United States v. Jones, issued in January of this year, is a landmark case that has the potential to restore a property-based interpretation of the Fourth Amendment to prominence. In 1967, the Supreme Court abandoned its previous Fourth Amendment framework, which had viewed the prohibition on unreasonable searches in light of property and trespass laws, and replaced it with a rule protecting the public’s reasonable expectations of privacy. Although the Court may have intended this reasonable expectations test to provide more protection than a test rooted in property law, the new test in fact made the Justices’ subjective views about …

The Impact Of The American Doctrine Of Discovery On Native Land Rights In Australia, Canada, And New Zealand, Blake Watson

School of Law Faculty Publications

In Johnson v. McIntosh, John Marshall proclaimed that European discovery of America “gave exclusive title to those who made it . . . .” 21 U.S. 543, 574 (1823). Marshall presented a revised version of the discovery doctrine in Worcester v. Georgia, 31 U.S. 515 (1832), yet it is Johnson that remains the leading decision on native property rights in the United States. The Johnson discovery rule has not only diminished native rights in the United States, but has also influenced the definition of indigenous land rights in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

This Article sheds light on …

Applying The Rules Of Discovery To Information Uncovered About Jurors, Thaddeus A. Hoffmeister

School of Law Faculty Publications

As more and more personal information is placed online, attorneys are increasingly turning to the internet to investigate and research jurors. In certain jurisdictions, the practice has become fairly commonplace. One prominent trial consultant has gone so far as to claim, “Anyone who doesn’t make use of [internet searches] is bordering on malpractice.” While this may somewhat overstate the importance of investigating jurors online, it nonetheless demonstrates just how routine the practice has become. Aside from increased acceptance among practitioners, courts have both approved of and encouraged online investigation of jurors.

While many view this practice as a benefit to …