Law Commons^™

Circumventing Congress: How The Federal Courts Opened The Door To Impeaching Criminal Defendants With Prior Convictions, Jeffrey Bellin

Faculty Publications

This Article spotlights the flawed analytical framework at the heart of the federal courts’ approach to one of the most controversial trial practices in American criminal jurisprudence — the admission of prior convictions to impeach the credibility of defendants who testify. As the Article explains, the flawed approach is a byproduct of the courts’ reliance on a five-factor analytical framework to implement the governing legal standard enacted by Congress in Federal Rule of Evidence 609. Tracing the evolution of the fivefactor framework from its roots in pre-Rule 609 case law, the Article demonstrates that the courts’ reinterpretation of the framework …

Reasonable Suspicion Or Real Likelihood: A Question Of Semantics? Re Shankar Alan S/O Anant Kulkarni, Lionel Leo, Siyuan Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The law on apparent bias has been mired in some controversy following the High Court decision of Re Shankar Alan s/o Anant Kulkarni, where Sundaresh Menon J.C. seemingly departed from the tentative views of Andrew Phang J.C. (as he then was) in Tang Kin Hwa v. Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners Board on the issue of whether there were any material differences between the “reasonable suspicion of bias” test and the “real likelihood of bias” test, the two formulations of the test for apparent bias that have been variously adopted by different jurisdictions in the common law world. In Tang Kin …

A Unified Theory Of 28 U.S.C. Section 1331 Jurisdiction, Lumen N. Mulligan

Faculty Works

Title 28, section 1331 of the United States Code provides the jurisdictional grounding for the majority of cases heard in the federal courts, yet it is not well understood. The predominant view holds that section 1331 doctrine both lacks a focus upon congressional intent and is internally inconsistent. I seek to counter both these assumptions by re-contextualizing the Court's section 1331 jurisprudence in terms of the contemporary judicial usage of right (i.e., clear, mandatory obligations capable of judicial enforcement) and cause of action (i.e., permission to vindicate a right in court). In conducting this reinterpretation, I argue that section 1331 …

Rowan, John, 1773-1843 (Sc 1787), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1787. Photocopy of will of prominent Kentucky jurist and Congressman John Rowan, written 28 June 1840 in Louisville, Kentucky.

On Jurisdictional Elephants And Kangaroo Courts, Stephen I. Vladeck

NULR Online

No abstract provided.

Monroe County, Kentucky - Records, 1826-1842 (Sc 1761), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Small Collection 1761. Record book of William G. Howard documenting his duties as a Justice of the Peace. It includes stray notices, legal judgments, and marriages performed (Click on "Additional Files" below for typescripted list of marriages.)

Pleading Civil Rights Claims In The Post-Conley Era, A. Benjamin Spencer

Faculty Publications

Much has been made of the Supreme Court's recent pronouncements on federal civil pleading standards during the latter half of the 2006-2007 Term. Specifically, what will be the fallout from the Court's decision in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, a case that abrogated Conley v. Gibson's famous "no set of facts" formulation and supplanted it with a new plausibility pleading standard? This Article attempts to examine and distill the impact of Twombly on the pleading standards that lower federal courts are applying when scrutinizing civil rights claims. Two main approaches emerge: that of courts choosing to continue to apply a …

Judicial Foreign Policy: Lessons From The 1790s, David Sloss

Faculty Publications

This Article demonstrates that the exclusive political control thesis is incompatible with the original understanding of the Founders. The Article does not defend originalism as a method of constitutional interpretation; it merely shows that the exclusive political control thesis is inconsistent with an originalist approach.

The Article examines the implementation of U.S. neutrality policy in the period from 1793 to 1797. Other scholars have analyzed the initial formulation of U.S. neutrality policy in 1793. Scholars who focus narrowly on the year 1793, when the United States first articulated its neutrality policy, have concluded that "the federal courts played a relatively …

The Supreme Common Law Court Of The United States, Jack M. Beermann

Faculty Scholarship

The U.S. Supreme Court's primary role in the history of the United States, especially in constitutional cases (and cases hovering in the universe of the Constitution), has been to limit Congress's ability to redefine and redistribute rights in a direction most people would characterize as liberal. In other words, the Supreme Court, for most of the history of the United States since the adoption of the Constitution, has been a conservative force against change and redistribution. The Court has used five distinct devices to advance its control over the law. First, it has construed rights-creating constitutional provisions narrowly when those …

Should Securities Industry Self-Regulatory Organizations Be Considered Government Agencies?, Roberta S. Karmel

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Young People On Remand, Mairéad Seymour, Michelle Butler

Reports

The aim of this study is to examine the services and supports required by young people to promote greater compliance with the conditions of bail and reduce the use of detention on remand. The research addresses three main areas: • to establish the service and support needs of young people by investigating the circumstances of their life circumstances; • to examine the specific services and supports required by young people and their families during the remand process, in the courtroom and in the period between adjournments; • to address the issues and barriers to delivering services and supports to young …

Beyond Guantánamo, Obstacles And Options (Part Ii), Gregory S. Mcneal

NULR Online

No abstract provided.

Beyond Guantánamo, Obstacles And Options, Gregory S. Mcneal

NULR Online

No abstract provided.

Implications Of The Supreme Court’S Boumediene Decision For Detainees At Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: Hearing Before The H. Comm. On Armed Services, 110th Cong., July 30, 2008 (Statement Of Neal Katyal, Prof. Of Law, Geo. U. L. Center), Neal K. Katyal

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

The Americans With Disabilities Act And The Ada Amendments Act Of 2008: Hearing Before The S. Comm. On Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, 110th Cong., July 15, 2008 (Statement Of Chai R. Feldblum, Geo. U. L. Center), Chai R. Feldblum

Testimony Before Congress

No abstract provided.

The Grand Jury Legal Advisor: Resurrecting The Grand Jury’S Shield, Thaddeus A. Hoffmeister

School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article advocates for the creation of a Grand Jury Legal Advisor (GJLA) to resurrect the historical autonomy of grand juries. The Article draws upon Hawaii's experiences with the GJLA, and incorporates survey responses from a representative sample of former GJLAs.

The Article begins with a general and historical overview of the grand jury process. This portion of the Article demonstrates how all three branches of government have contributed to the diminishment of the powers of grand jurors. Part IV of this Article discusses the important policy rationales underlying the need for grand jury autonomy; Part V recommends the implementation …

Reincarnating The “Major Questions” Exception To Chevron Deference As A Doctrine Of Non-Interference (Or Why Massachusetts V. Epa Got It Wrong), Abigail R. Moncrieff

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

This Article proceeds as follows. Part I describes the birth of the major questions exception in MCI and Brown & Williamson and the death of the exception in Massachusetts. Part II identifies the three forms of the major questions rule that the Court and the literature have proposed to date and rejects all three, concluding that the rule ought not to be reincarnated if it cannot also be reformed. Part III proposes the noninterference form of the Chevron exception, demonstrating its foundations in the history of the major questions cases and demonstrating its similarities to other noninterference rules. Part IV …

Enhancing Courtroom Presentation Through Technology, Fredric I. Lederer

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Courtroom Technology, Fredric I. Lederer, Tom O'Connor, Timothy A. Piganelli

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Gender, Race, And Intersectionality On The Federal Appellate Bench., Todd Collins, Laura Moyer

Faculty Scholarship

While theoretical justifications predict that a judge’s gender and race may influence judicial decisions, empirical support for these arguments has been mixed. However, recent increases in judicial diversity necessitate a reexamination of these earlier studies. Rather than examining individual judges on a single characteristic, such as gender or race alone, this research note argues that the intersection of individual characteristics may provide an alternative approach for evaluating the effects of diversity on the federal appellate bench. The results of cohort models examining the joint effects of race and gender suggest that minority female judges are more likely to support criminal …

Responding To Foreclosures In Cuyahoga County: A Pilot Initiative, Interim Report, Alan C. Weinstein, Kathryn W. Hexter, Molly Schnoke

Law Faculty Reports and Comments

The Center for Civic Education and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law released their report, on May 12, 2008. The report, prepared for the Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners, is an assessment of the County's comprehensive approach to addressing foreclosures on two levels: 1) Making foreclosure proceedings faster and fairer and 2) Creating an early intervention program to help residents prevent foreclosure.

A Rodent In Robes, Donald E. Wilkes Jr.

Popular Media

Because of the credible (but ultimately unresolved) sexual harassment charges leveled against him by Anita Hill and others at his confirmation hearings, as well as his creepy-crawly anti-individual rights voting record on the Supreme Court, nearly every time U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visits a university campus there are protests by faculty and students, and now Michael Adams' decision to invite Thomas to be the commencement speaker at the upcoming UGA graduation ceremony has created a furor. For years, UGA administrators appear to have tolerated sexual harassment on campus, and in recent months there have been startling revelations of …

Factual Premises Of Statutory Interpretation In Agency Review Cases, Todd S. Aagaard

Working Paper Series

This article examines factual premises of statutory interpretation in agency review cases, and proposes an approach that would better integrate the treatment of such factual premises into the overall structure of administrative law. Courts frequently encounter questions of statutory interpretation that depend on underlying factual background, context, and implications. When they do so, courts generally assume that they retain the authority to decide the factual premises and thereby to answer questions of statutory interpretation that depend on factual premises. This is problematic from a functional standpoint, because courts often lack the information or expertise necessary to assess these underlying facts …

Arbitration And Article Iii, Peter B. Rutledge

Scholarly Works

Does arbitration violate Article III? Despite the critical need for a coherent theory to answer this question, few commentators or courts have made serious attempts to provide one. For much of the country's history, federal courts conveniently could avoid this nettlesome question. Prior to the twentieth century, courts simply declined to enforce pre-dispute arbitration agreements as unenforceable attempts to appropriate their jurisdiction. From the early decades of the twentieth century (with the enactment of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) in 1925) through the 1960s, the non-arbitrability doctrine prevented arbitrators from resolving issues of federal statutory law. Notably, while both of …

Finding And Citing The "Unimportant" Decisions Of The U.S. Courts Of Appeals, Peter W. Martin

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

A Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure that took effect at the end of 2006 overturned past policies in several circuits that banned or severely limited citation of unpublished or nonprecedential opinions. All U.S. Court of Appeals decisions issued after January 1, 2007, published or not, may be cited. One of the objections raised by those opposed to the rule rested on concern about access to such opinions, which constitute more than 80% of the annual total. The Judicial Conference committee that drafted and pressed for adoption of the rule pointed out that federal legislation called on the circuit courts to …

The Verdict On Juries, Valerie P. Hans, Neil Vidmar

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

In reviewing debates and research evidence about jury trials for our book, American Juries: The Verdict (Prometheus Books, 2007), we have had the chance to reflect on the status of the jury system in the United States. High profile jury trials put the spotlight on the American practice of using its citizens as decision makers. When jury verdicts are at odds with public opinion, criticisms of the institution are common. The civil jury has been a lightning rod for those who want tort reform. This article draws together some of our reflections about the health of the jury system …

Reevaluating Where We Stand: A Comprehensive Survey Of America’S Family Justice Systems, Barbara A. Babb

All Faculty Scholarship

The call for court reform remains critical in the face of the growing complexity of burgeoning family law cases nationwide. Many states have restructured their court systems using the unified family court model, resolving legal, personal, emotional, and social disputes with the aim of improving the well-being of families and children. Other states utilize the traditional approach, resulting in cases being handled in a fragmented, time-consuming and expensive manner. In this article, Professor Barbara A. Babb presents the results of her nationwide survey regarding how each state handles family law matters. The survey is a follow-up to her comprehensive 1998 …

Introduction To Special Issue On Unified Family Courts, Barbara A. Babb, Gloria Danziger

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Advocacy Through Briefs In The U.S. Court Of Appeals., Susan B. Haire, Laura P. Moyer

Faculty Scholarship

The focus of this paper is to evaluate the role of advocates in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit by examining the characterization of issues offered in appellate briefs against the issues addressed in the court's decisions. Specifically, in an environment in which attorneys are expected to frame the issues on appeal and judges are expected to respond to those issues, what accounts for judges addressing some issues while suppressing others? By explicitly focusing on how the substantive content of an opinion is shaped, we depart from other, earlier scholarship on the advantages of "repeat player" litigants …

Online Access To Court Records - From Documents To Data, Particulars To Patterns, Peter W. Martin

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

For over a decade the public has had remote access to federal court records held in electronic format, including documents filed by litigants and judicial rulings. First available via dial-up connections, access migrated to the Web in 1998. That and a succession of other improvements to the federal "Public Access to Court Electronic Records" system or PACER prompted the Administrative Office of the United States Courts to proclaim in 2001 that "the advancement of technology has brought the citizen ever closer to the courthouse." Unquestionably, what the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and Judicial Conference of the United States …