Law Commons^™

What's At Stake For Women Of Color In Zubik V. Burwell, Public Rights/Private Conscience Project

Center for Gender & Sexuality Law

In March 2016, the Law, Rights, and Religion Project issued a memorandum analyzing the potential outcomes of the Supreme Court case, Zubik v. Burwell. Per the Law, Rights, and Religion Project's analysis, if the plaintiffs in Zubik v. Burwell win, thousands of women of color who work at religious non-profits could be stripped of their right to no-cost insurance coverage for contraception. That’s what at stake in the latest Supreme Court case challenging the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive mandate. This fact sheet explores what women of color have at stake in this round of litigation over the ACA.

Using Thematic Hearings At The Inter-American Human Rights Commission To Advance U.S. Human Rights Accountability: A Resource For The Bringing Human Rights Home Lawyers' Network, Human Rights Institute

Human Rights Institute

As U.S. social justice advocates increasingly turn to the Inter‐American Commission on Human Rights (the “IACHR” or the “Commission”) as a tool to advance domestic social justice advocacy, there has been significant growth in the number of requests for thematic hearings. Thematic hearings offer a unique opportunity to raise‐awareness of human rights issues, build coalitions, strengthen the regional and international human rights record on the United States, and advocate for changes to law and policy, as well as to promote regional norms. To leverage this opportunity, it is useful to understand thematic hearings and how they function within the Inter‐ …

Emerging Practices In Community Development Agreements, Jennifer Loutit, Jacqueline Mandelbaum, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

A Community Development Agreement or CDA can be a vital mechanism for ensuring that local communities benefit from large-scale investment projects, such as mines or forestry concessions. In formalizing agreements between an investor and a project-affected community, CDAs set out how the benefits of an investment project will be shared with local communities. In some countries CDAs are required by domestic legislation; in others, they are entered into voluntarily. The most effective CDAs are also adapted to the local context, meaning that no single model agreement or process will be appropriate in every situation. Nonetheless, leading practices are emerging which …

The Outsized Costs Of Investor–State Dispute Settlement, Lise Johnson, Lisa E. Sachs

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The negotiation of several mega-treaties in 2015, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), and other regional agreements, has generated substantial public discussion about the protections and privileges afforded to multinational enterprises through the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism in these treaties. ISDS has increasingly raised concerns among certain governments and civil society groups, particularly as a growing number of ISDS cases involve investors challenging a range of governmental measures taken in good faith and in the public interest, including measures related to environmental protection, public health …

Brief For Amici Curiae Church-State Scholars In Support Of Respondents In Zubik V. Burwell, Elizabeth Boylan

Center for Gender & Sexuality Law

The Law, Rights, and Religion Project assisted the Counsel for Church-State Scholars in the preparation of an amicus brief submitted in the Supreme Court of the United States case of David A. Zubik, et al., v. Sylvia Burwell, et al.

Creative Sparks: Works Of Nature, Selection, And The Human Author, Neal F. Burstyn

Kernochan Center for Law, Media, and the Arts

It is now common knowledge that if you put a bunch of monkeys in a room with a typewriter, they will eventually reproduce the works of Shakespeare. But according to the United States Copyright Office, if you give that same group of monkeys a camera, you do not get copyright in any pictures they may happen to take. In 2011, British wildlife photographer David Slater was in Indonesia when a group of crested black macaques began playing with his camera equipment and snapped some pictures, one of which went viral and proved temporarily profitable for Slater. The popular image, known …

International Dealmaking At The White House: Toward A Viable Test Of Allowable Sole Executive Agreements, Joshua Abbuhl

National Security Law Program

The Constitution's Treaty Clause states that the President "shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur." This clause represents the only instance in which the Constitution describes a process by which the United States can conclude agreements with foreign governments. However, the President regularly enters international agreements on his own authority and without the assent of a supermajority of the Senate. This Note explores when the President may lawfully enter such agreements, known as "sole executive agreements."

Linkages To The Resource Sector: The Role Of Companies, Governments, And International Development Cooperation, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

With support from GIZ, CCSI prepared a report titled "Linkages to the Resource Sector: The Role of Companies, Governments, and International Development Cooperation." It outlines options for how these stakeholders can increase the economic linkages to the extractive industries sector not only in terms of ‘breadth’ (number of linkages) but also in terms of ‘depth’ (local value added). Apart from providing the theoretical framework for linkage creation and an overview of existing literature on this topic, the study highlights successful case study examples. Recommendations are provided for the three types of stakeholders.

International Investment Law And The Extractive Industries Sector, Lise Johnson, Jesse Coleman

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Since the 1990s, international investment law has been rapidly evolving, resulting in a complex web of over 3,000 investment treaties. These treaties have been used to challenge a wide range of host state actions and inactions that have allegedly negatively affected foreign investors or investments. Those challenges, in turn, expose host states to potentially significant financial costs, and can restrict the ability of such states to maximize the benefits, and limit the environmental and social harms, that can result from the exploitation of natural resources. This briefing note provides an introduction to international investment law, with a view to assisting …

The Future Of Finance Colloquium, Ira M. Millstein Center For Global Markets And Corporate Ownership

Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership

On April 25, 2014, the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership and the CFA Institute hosted the Future of Finance Colloquium. The following is a summary of the panel discussions.

On The Use And Misuse Of Stock Price, Ira M. Millstein Center For Global Markets And Corporate Ownership

Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership

In 2013, in an effort to better understand the purpose, use, and potential misuse of stock prices in public equity markets, the Millstein Center and the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi) issued a call for papers on the role prices play as a corporate governance mechanism. In lieu of completed projects, proposals were sought for new research that explored how equity prices affect the decision-making processes of corporate management, boards of directors, and investors. On September 19, 2014, the Millstein Center and the IRRCi hosted a gathering entitled the Conference on the Use and Misuse of Stock Price, …

Discussion On Transparent And Effective Disclosure, Ira M. Millstein Center For Global Markets And Corporate Ownership

Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership

On January 22, 2015, the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership and the Center for Audit Quality hosted a Discussion on Transparent and Effective Disclosure. The following is a summary of the panel discussions.

Inversions: Implications For Tax Planning, Tax Policy, And Corporate Governance, Ira M. Millstein Center For Global Markets And Corporate Ownership

Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership

On February 27, 2015, the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership, the Richard Paul Richman Center, the Charles Evans Gerber Transactional Studies Center, and David Polk & Wardwell hosted a conference on Inversions: Implications for Tax Planning, Tax Policy, and Corporate Governance. The following is a summary of the panel discussions.

Proxy Access 2.0: A Recap On 1.0 And The Economic Analysis, Ira M. Millstein Center For Global Markets And Corporate Ownership

Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership

On April 27, 2015, the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership and the CFA Institute hosted a discussion on the state of proxy access. The following is a summary of the panel discussion.

Key Topics In Corporate Governance: Disclosure, Ira M. Millstein Center For Global Markets And Corporate Ownership

Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership

On June 18, 2015, the Ira M. Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership hosted a symposium on transparency in the corporate and investment communities. The half-day event brought together prominent speakers from the business, regulatory and academic sectors to discuss current trends and emerging issues associated with disclosure. In a related vein, panelists also debated the case for furthering engagement with retail investors whose needs and resources may differ, at times substantially, from their institutional counterparts. The following is a summary of the panel discussions.

New York State's Innovative New Program For Risk Management: Bringing Leading Private Sector Practice To Government, Office Of New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

On January 21, 2015, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo implemented New York’s first statewide system for risk management. Designed to identify, manage and mitigate vulnerabilities in the areas of ethics, risk and compliance, this system ensures that efficient and responsive government services are provided to New York’s almost 20 million residents.

The size, scope and complexity of New York’s operations demanded the implementation of a risk management system. New York’s government includes a fiscal year 2016 operating budget of $94.25 billion, 110 executive agencies and authorities with over 224,000 employees, $198 billion in contracts, and $35 billion in federal benefits programs. …

Suppressing Bid Rigging: Lessons From Japan, Takaki Soto

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Bid rigging is a form of procurement fraud that occurs when participants in a bidding process for public contracts conspire to undermine the integrity or transparency of the process, sometimes with the complicity of public officials. Common examples of violations include collusion among bidders to fix a common price, requests for proposals deliberately and unnecessarily tailored so that only select bidders can meet their requirements, and lowballed bids with hidden costs and fees.

In Japan, where corruption is generally perceived to be relatively rare, bid rigging—nyusatsu dango—is a persistent and problematic form of public corruption. In many cases, …

How To Craft A Powerful Annual Report, Amy Kurland

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

To an oversight agency, an annual report is more than a financial statement. At the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the City of Philadelphia, we view our annual report as an opportunity to increase awareness of our office, to encourage public reporting, and to deter wrongdoing. Because most investigations originate from tips submitted by citizens, we see community engagement as critical to our success.

In our years of report writing, we have gained a lot of experience about what works and what does not work, and we have distilled that experience into six basic lessons for maximizing the …

The Conviction Of Alabama House Speaker Michael Hubbard, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Hubbard is the former speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives. First elected in 1998, he represented Auburn in the state legislature and served as House Minority leader from 2004 to 2010. As chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, Hubbard spearheaded his party’s successful effort to win control of both chambers of the state legislature for the first time in 136 years. In 2010, he was unanimously elected speaker and helped pass ethics laws considered among the nation’s strictest.

Profile In Public Integrity: David Harper, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

David Harper was appointed as the Inspector General of Albuquerque, New Mexico, this past April. Prior to becoming Inspector General, Harper served for over three decades in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), conducting and overseeing financial investigations resulting in recoveries of over one billion dollars. Most recently, he served as AFOSI’s Chief of Economic Crimes Investigations. In that capacity, he directed staff support to the more than 200 AFOSI field and regional offices and oversaw over 500 financial crime investigations. Harper previously served as Special Agent-in-Charge of the AFOSI regional office in Boston, Massachusetts. He holds a …

Profile In Public Integrity: Cynthia Carrasco, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Before becoming the Inspector General for the state of Indiana, Cynthia Carrasco was the executive director of the Indiana Ethics Commission. In 2015, she was named one of Indiana’s “Forty Under 40” by the Indianapolis Business Journal. A graduate of the Indiana University (IU) Robert H. McKinney School of Law, she serves as a volunteer for the IU Latino Alumni Association and the Indiana University Health Patient-Family Advisory Council.

Profile In Public Integrity: Heather Holt, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Heather Holt is in her sixth year as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission. Before joining the Ethics Commission in 2006 as the Director of Policy and Legislation, Holt served as an ethics officer for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. She has served as legal and policy counsel to several cities in San Diego County, the United States House of Representatives, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, and the Maine State Legislature. She has also served as the director of a nonprofit agency that provides assistance to military families. A Southern California native, Holt holds …

The False Claims Act: A Useful Tool In The Fight Against Public Corruption, John Carroll

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

When most people think of the available tools in the fight against public corruption, they think of the criminal laws and courts, or the oversight provided by government watchdog agencies. The False Claims Act (or FCA) provides another way in which public integrity can be enhanced, and it is a tool that has many advantages. First, the FCA is a civil statute, which means that as compared to criminal litigation, the FCA requires a lower burden of proof, and carries the possibility of a high damages award. Second, the False Claims Act permits citizen watchdogs to bring claims that the …

Kernochan Center News - Summer 2016, Kernochan Center For Law, Media And The Arts

Kernochan Center for Law, Media, and the Arts

No abstract provided.

Landscape Assessment: Survey Of The Practitioners, Offices, And Agencies Charged With Upholding Public Integrity Across The United States, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

The United States has a decentralized system of anti-corruption oversight unique in the world. Rather than a single national anti-corruption agency, an array of state, local, and federal offices have evolved to safeguard public integrity through both enforcement and oversight, including ethics commissions, inspectors general, ombudsman offices, and specialized prosecutorial and investigative units. Most of these offices were created by state and local governments in the last 25 years, often in response to citizen demands for efficiency and accountability in the public sector following a scandal.1 In the last decade alone, local corruption scandals have prompted cities like Houston, Philadelphia, …

Leveraging Resources And Relationships In Joint Corruption Investigations, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Prosecutors and investigators pursuing corruption cases need all the help they can get. Detecting and proving public integrity violations can require hours of work, specialized expertise, and sometimes expensive software or surveillance equipment. Collaboration across agency lines can be a force multiplier, bringing additional resources, expertise, and legal tools. Strong partnerships can also provide critical cover in politically sensitive cases, helping investigative agencies weather the storm and diffuse political risks.

This paper is intended to provide practical insights about the benefits and nuances of inter-agency cooperation on public integrity cases, as well as anticipated challenges. The paper ends with two …

Does Seeking Cell Site Location Information Require A Search Warrant?: The Current State Of The Law In A Rapidly Changing Field, Wesley Cheng

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

In 2015, a divided panel of the Fourth Circuit ruled in United States v. Graham that the collection of cell site location information (CSLI) without a search warrant was an unreasonable intrusion under the Fourth Amendment. With Graham, the Fourth Circuit split from all of the other circuits to have decided this question. Earlier this year, however, on May 31, 2016, an en banc Fourth Circuit reversed course, holding contrary to the original Fourth Circuit decision in United States v. Graham that a warrant is not required for CSLI.

With the new en banc decision the Fourth Circuit now …

Prison Corruption: The Problem And Some Potential Solutions, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

Corruption occurs in the American prison system in a variety of forms. In the most basic version, correction officers accept bribes or sexual favors to smuggle weapons, drugs, or cell phones to inmates, or to provide inmates with other benefits. Other kinds of prison corruption can involve higher-level prison officials. For example, some prison officials have been implicated in pay-to-play schemes with private prisons. In other cases prison supervisors and administrators have been accused of covering up violations by correction officers or others within the prison, such as by shielding human rights abuses.

The Integrity Monitor Program: The Role Of The Private Sector In City Contract Oversight, New York City Department Of Investigation (Doi)

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

New York City’s Department of Investigation (DOI) is responsible for overseeing thousands of contracts between the City and private firms, worth more than $14 billion annually. To fulfil this mandate, DOI vets every City contract and conducts regular audits and investigations to detect and address potential instances of waste, fraud, abuse, or corruption.

Certain City contracts may require extra oversight due to their nature, scale, or exigency or concerns about a contractor’s past record of performance. In such cases, DOI might require contractors to comply with a regime of closer scrutiny and more regimented oversight to deter misconduct and detect …

An Honest Day's Work: Regulating State Lawmakers' Outside Income, Center For The Advancement Of Public Integrity

Center for the Advancement of Public Integrity (Inactive)

The practice of permitting legislators to earn outside income, income apart from compensation for service in office, is a frequent battlefield in the fight against legislative corruption in the United States. Critics of the practice argue that such income creates potential conflicts of interest, pitting legislators’ personal pecuniary interests against the public interest. As public servants, legislators should not be accountable to other paymasters and should not use their legislative positions to enrich themselves beyond their official salary. On the other hand, legislators point out that their positions are generally low-paid and part-time, and that they have the right—perhaps …