Law Commons^™

The Long Dying Of Nancy Cruzan, George J. Annas

Faculty Scholarship

With the Nancy Cruzan decision, ¹ the post-Reagan Supreme Court continued recreating America's legal landscape by transferring traditional rights from its citizens to state legislatures and state officials. Attorneys Bopp and Marzen see Cruzan as a cause for celebration. ² The more common view is that it is a hollow acceptance of the technological imperative that requires all Americans to engage in extensive damage control. Given the composition of the Court, constituted by President Ronald Reagan to overrule Roe v. Wade, Bopp and Marzen correctly note that the result in Cruzan was "practically inevitable." But its inevitability does not …

When Fungible Portfolio Assets Meet: A Problem Of Tax Recognition, Alan L. Feld

Faculty Scholarship

A pervasive principle in calculating income for Federal tax purposes defers consideration of gain or loss in an investment asset until a recognition event occurs. An investor can watch the value of an investment in common stock rise over a considerable period of time without incurring any tax liability. Similarly, if the value declines, the investor does not take the loss into account. When the investor terminates the investment, the tax computation takes the net accumulated gain or loss into account at that time.

Discussion and controversy concerning this deferral principle, referred to as the realization or recognition requirement,^{1 …}

Parental Leaves And Poor Women: Paying The Price For Time Off, Maria O'Brien

Faculty Scholarship

This Article presents a critique of unpaid "parental" leaves and the parental leave legislation recently passed by Congress.1 Eight states have already enacted parental leave statutes of various kinds.' For the sake of simplicity and uniformity, however, this Article focuses on the proposed federal legislation3 and its anticipated effects on unemployed and underemployed women.4 Specifically, this Article argues that the debate about parental leave 5 has ignored the possibility that the cost of this mandated benefit is likely to be borne by poor, low-skill working women6 who will find that their job opportunities narrow as employers try to shift some …

Interest Group Politics And Judicial Behavior: Macey's Public Choice, Jack M. Beermann

Faculty Scholarship

The economic theory of government has lately gained the acceptance in legal circles that it has long enjoyed in political science and economics. The economic theory, also known as "public choice," analyzes and explains government action and private political activity according to the basic assumption of economics, that individuals respond to economic incentives in their environments in a self-interested manner. The economic theory is thus useful descriptively, to explain diverse political phenomena, and prescriptively, to help formulate reform strategy.

Recovery For Pure Economic Loss In Tort: Another Look At Robins Dry Dock V. Flint, Victor P. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

In Robins Dry Dock and Repair Co. v. Flint, the Supreme Court laid down the general proposition that claims for pure economic loss are not recoverable in tort. Although courts have sometimes ignored or distinguished Robins, its holding is still a central feature of tort law. In a recent en bane decision regarding claims by those injured by a chemical spill in the Mississippi River, the Fifth Circuit engaged in an extensive debate over the continued vitality of Robins and concluded (despite five dissenters) that it remained good law.

The Robins rule is overbroad, lumping together a number of …

Inherently Discriminatory Conduct Revisited: Do We Know It When We See It?, Barbara J. Fick

Journal Articles

"This article traces the development of the inherently discriminatory doctrine, proposes some guidelines for determining when employer conduct falls under the rubric of the inherently discriminatory doctrine, and analyzes two cases dealing with employer use of temporary replacements during offensive lockouts in light of the proposed guidelines."

The Role Of The United States Senate Concerning "Self-Executing" And "Non-Self-Executing Treaties", Lori Fisler Damrosch

Faculty Scholarship

This essay concerns a pattern in treaty actions of the U.S. Senate which tends to weaken the domestic legal effect of treaties. Under this pattern, the Senate qualifies its consent to U.S. ratification of the treaty with a declaration or other condition to the effect that the treaty shall be non-self-executing, or otherwise expresses its intention that the treaty shall not be used as a direct source of law in U.S. courts. Such qualifications, referred to hereinafter as "non-self-executing declarations," give rise to important questions about the place of the affected treaties within the fabric of U.S. law, especially in …

Constitutional Control Of Military Actions: A Comparative Dimension, Lori Fisler Damrosch

Faculty Scholarship

The purpose of this essay is to examine some aspects of the legal framework for military activity in the internal law of some of the world's most powerful states. The international community has a major stake in the constitutional evolution of member states as regards the authority to decide to go to war. That stake – or those interests, since they are plural (and hold some possibility for contradiction) – can be identified as follows:

(1) to strengthen trends toward constitutionalism generally, by which I mean the concept of governance based on law;
(2) to strengthen trends toward civilian control …

Corporations, Markets, And Courts, Jeffrey N. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

The times they are a changin'. Vanguard firms of the 1980s takeover boom have announced associate layoffs and salary freezes because business is down. Bankruptcy and corporate reorganization are the hot new specialties as reflected in law school class size and law firm entrepreneurialism. Acquisition activity has fallen dramatically from the halcyon days of the 1980s. The gargantuan headline-grabbing hostile bid is now rare. In particular, the "boot-strap, bust-up" highly leveraged transaction that so engaged the passions of corporate managers and raiders now seems part of the history of corporate finance rather than its future.

Many forces have played a …

Presenting Expert Testimony, James H. Seckinger

Journal Articles

Mindful that the readers of this Commentary include both experienced advocates as well as lawyers embarking on new careers in the courtroom, this author has divided the Commentary into two parts. The first part considers the seven touchstones for a persuasive direct examination of an expert witness. This discussion should be useful for the experienced and inexperienced advocate alike. The second part of the paper is intended as a primer on practical matters surrounding the selection, preparation, and presentation of an expert as a witness at trial. Experienced advocates may find in these pages confirmation of their practice concerning the …

German Constitutionalism: A Prolegomenon, Donald P. Kommers

Journal Articles

This essay sets out to describe the main features of German constitutionalism, and it concludes by drawing some comparisons with the United States. The term "constitutionalism," however, suffers from the vice of vagueness. As Gerhard Casper has written, "it is neither clearly prescriptive nor clearly descriptive; its contours are difficult to discern; its historical roots are diverse and uncertain." Any attempt to explore the contours and roots of German constitutionalism in the global sense suggested by Casper's comment would be a major undertaking extending far beyond the limits of this study. As used here the term shall be limited to …

Self-Defense As A Justification For Punishment, George P. Fletcher

Faculty Scholarship

There are few legal ideas as basic as the principle of legitimate self-defense. Every individual, it is said, has the right to defend his or her person, property or living space against wrongful aggression and, if necessary, to kill the aggressor. This principle is so deeply ingrained in our legal thinking that it is difficult to imagine a legal system that did not acknowledge it. The concept of having rights would be virtually toothless unless we could use force to vindicate our rights against aggression.

The notion of having rights is less well-accepted in Jewish law than are the ideas …

Toward The Feminization Of Collective Bargaining Law, Gillian L. Lester

Faculty Scholarship

Canadian collective bargaining law is flawed because it fails to address the concerns of a substantial segment of the work force and overlooks women as a rich source of insight into the dynamics of the bargaining environment. The author begins by exploring the problems inherent in the classical contractualist model, arguing that current collective bargaining law reflects these weaknesses and echoes a morality and ideology which are stereotypically masculine. By analyzing the legal and practical structures of collective bargaining, the author illustrates the ways in which the "morality of the workplace" is manifested differently between men and women. The author …

Authors And Exploitations In International Private Law: The French Supreme Court And The Huston Film Colorization Controversy, Jane C. Ginsburg, Pierre Sirinelli

Faculty Scholarship

On May 28, 1991, France's Supreme Court, the Cour de cassation, rendered its long-awaited decision in Huston v. la Cinq, a controversy that opposed the heirs of film director John Huston against the French television station Channel 5 and its licensor, Turner Entertainment. Defendants sought to broadcast a colorized version of Huston's black and white film classic, The Asphalt jungle. Plaintiffs, John Huston's children and Ben Maddow, who collaborated with Huston on the film's screenplay, asserted that broadcast of a colorized version violated Huston's and Maddow's moral right of integrity in the motion picture. The central question before the Cour …

Faculty Resolution, Professor Alfred Hill, Harold L. Korn, Henry Paul Monaghan

Faculty Scholarship

Alfred Hill is everything a law professor should be. He has mastered the two areas which are most important for a law teacher's success. These are classroom performance and legal scholarship. Few of us excel in either one of these areas. The fact that Al Hill excels in both makes him truly remarkable. We of the Columbia Law School Faculty are singularly blessed to have had him in our midst for more than twenty years.

Al Hill's excellence as a teacher is best demonstrated by the enthusiastic comments of his students. He has taught many courses; his current assignments being …

Genetic Discrimination: The Use Of Genetically Based Diagnostic And Prognostic Tests By Employers And Insurers, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper analyzes the law, ethics and public policy concerning "genetic discrimination," defined as the denial of rights, privileges or opportunities on the basis of information obtained from genetically based diagnostic and prognostic tests. The Human Genome Initiative will enhance the ability to gather and organize information that may predict a person's future potential and disabilities. Enormous human benefits may ensue from understanding the etiology and pathophysiology of genetic disorders, including disease prevention through genetic counseling, and treatment of the disorders through genetic manipulation. This information will help clinicians understand and eventually treat many of the more than 4,000 diseases …

The True Sale Of Loans And The Role Of Recourse, Thomas E. Plank

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Feminist Jurisprudence - The 1990 Myra Bradwell Day Panel, Elizabeth M. Schneider, Lucinda Finley, Carin Clauss, Joan Bertin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Is It Time For A Federal Corporation Law, Roberta S. Karmel

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Judge (A Tribute To Judge Frank M. Coffin), J. Peter Byrne

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Becoming Judge Coffin's law clerk must be the most fortunate of conclusions to a legal education. His judicial craftsmanship sets a standard for thoughtful professionalism that a young lawyer can never outgrow. In those salt-scented and book-lined chambers, briefs were painstakingly and critically read, precedents and statutes honestly interpreted and challenged to yield just results, opinions written and rewritten to convey the significance of a small distinction or the applicability of a large principle.

The Hiv Positive Health Care Clinician: Rights, Obligations, And The Academy, Sherman L. Cohn

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The questions raised by a case of an HIV positive student-clinician in an acupuncture school provide an analytical framework for considering the many conflicts raised by HIV positive health care providers in general. A number of conflicting social values are discussed in the context of federal and Maryland state law. HIV positive people are protected by certain antidiscrimination laws, provided they do not pose a significant risk of transmission. This protection must be balanced against the rights of patients to informed consent, the relative risk of a relatively noninvasive procedure such as acupuncture, and the academic freedom of the school …

1992: The Case Of Financial Services, Caroline Bradley

Articles

No abstract provided.

Competitive Deregulation Of Financial Services Activity In Europe After 1992, Caroline Bradley

Articles

No abstract provided.

Who's Zoomin' Who?: Comments On Liability For Pharmaceutical Products In Canada, Allan C. Hutchinson, Sue Hodgson

Articles & Book Chapters

A collection of papers from the ninth Fulbright Colloquium held in September 1989. The papers compare legal practices and procedures in North America and Europe and the barriers to drug development caused by increased litigation in cases involving pharmaceutical products.

The Great Repression: Criminal Punishment In The Nineteen-Eighties, Michael Mandel

Articles & Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Legal Images Of Battered Women: Redefining The Issue Of Separation, Martha R. Mahoney

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Duty To Respect Generally Accepted International Standards, Bernard H. Oxman

Articles

No abstract provided.

Beyond Griswold: Foucauldian And Republican Approaches To Privacy, Stephen J. Schnably

Articles

No abstract provided.

Industry And Humanity Revisited: Everything Old Is New Again: Review Of Paul C. Weiler, Governing The Workplace, Eric Tucker

Articles & Book Chapters

The decline of American unionism is now a well-documented phenomenon. Its causes and consequences, however, remain the subject of intense debate. Regardless of one’s view of this development, it clearly poses a challenge to the traditional techniques for the legal regulation of the employment relationship, and especially for state-sponsored collective bargaining which has been the centerpiece of American labour policy since the enactment of the Wagner Act in 1935. It is this crisis in American labour and employment law which Paul C. Weiler seeks to address in his new book, “Governing the Workplace: The Future of Labor and Employment Law”. …

The Greening Of Environmental Law, D. Paul Emond

Articles & Book Chapters

Environmental law in Canada has moved through three distinct stages. The first, beginning with the passage of the early environmental protection statutes, is described as symbolic regulation. "Regulation," because these laws did purport to regulate activities that had deleterious effects on the natural environment, and "symbolic" because the level and degree of regulation was largely symbolic. By the mid '70s and early '80s these laws had given way to two complementary developments. The first involved the introduction of environmental assessment (or audit) statutes and procedures; the second involved a strengthening and expanding of the traditional regulatory tools. The clear thrust …