Law Commons^™

Risk-Utility Balancing In Design Defect Cases, David G. Owen

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Design defectiveness is generally defined in terms of a risk-utility balance, the form of liability test adopted by the Restatement (Third) of Torts: Products Liability. However, confusion abounds in how courts formulate such balancing tests. A national survey of recent appellate court decisions reveals that courts generally define the balance in terms of the product's risks and utility, a formulation which appears to call for weighing the product's global costs against the product's global benefits. So defined, the design defect test is incorrect. What appellate courts mean for juries to decide, and what juries ordinarily do in fact decide, …

Section 1500 And The Jurisdictional Pitfalls Of Federal Government Litigation , Paul Frederic Kirgis

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Question Of Intent: Aiding And Abetting Law And The Rule Of Accomplice Liability Under § 924©, Tyler B. Robinson

Michigan Law Review

Firearms are common tools of the violent-crime and drugtrafficking trades. Their prevalence is reflected in the frequency with which federal prosecutors charge, juries apply, and courts review 18 U.S.C. §924(c). That provision imposes heavy penalties for either the use or carrying of a firearm "during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime," in addition to the punishment provided for the underlying violent or drug-related offense. A conviction under section 924(c) carries at the very least a mandatory, consecutive five-year sentence, even when the underlying crime already provides enhanced punishment for use of a dangerous weapon …

The Supreme Court, 1996 Term: Leading Cases, Dana Brakman Reiser

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Rescuing Multidistrict Litigation From The Altar Of Expediency, Carter G. Phillips, Gene C. Schaerr, Anil K. Abraham

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Congress Authorizes Appellate Study Panel, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

In mid-November, the first session of the 105th Congress passed a measure authorizing a national commission to study the federal appeals courts. On November 26, President Clinton signed the legislation. The Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals has a historic opportunity to analyze carefully the federal appellate system and make valuable suggestions for improvement, thereby charting the destiny of the intermediate appeals courts for the 21st century.

The Path To Habeas Corpus Narrows: Interpreting 28 U.S.C. § 2254(D)(1), Sharad Sushil Khandelwal

Michigan Law Review

The enforcement of the U.S. Constitution within the criminal justice system is an odd subspecies of constitutional law. In areas other than criminal law, federal courts act as the ultimate guarantors of constitutional rights by providing remedies whenever violations occur. Criminal law, however, is different by necessity; the bulk of criminal justice occurs in state courthouses, leaving constitutional compliance largely to state judges. The U.S. Supreme Court, of course, may review these decisions if it chooses, but a writ of certiorari can be elusive, especially given the Court's shrinking docket. After World War II, however, this feature of criminal constitutional …

Congressional Power Over Federal Court Jurisdiction: A Defense Of The Neo-Federalist Interpretation Of Article Iil, Robert J. Pushaw Jr.

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Trail Mountain Coal Co. V. Utah Division Of State Lands & Forestry: Can States Retroactively Alter Their Own Contractual Obligations?, Michael S. Lee

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

To The Best Of My Recollection: Memory Malingerers And Congressional Testimony, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article (1) describes some common concepts of clinical research on memory malingering and (2) advocates the heuristic value of these concepts for political committees seeking to devise methods that elicit truthful statements from individuals providing testimony.

The Last Word Debate: How Social And Political Forces Shape Constitutional Values, Neal Devins

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Speaking To Tribal Judges On The Matter Of Improving Children's Court Practice In Child Abuse And Neglect Cases In Our Country: A Proposal For A Uniform Children's Code, Julian D. Pinkham

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Since the 1970 the responsibilities of the tribal children's courts have increased dramatically. In child welfare case tribal courts no longer simply determine whether a child has been abused or neglected. They now also oversee the placement of the child in a shelter, foster care, or a permanent home, as well as determine the parent's treatment or visitation rights The complexity of the cases causes unacceptable delays in placing Indian children in need of care and hinders the placement of Indian children within the tribal community.

Judge Pinkham introduces a proposed solution to the problems of current tribal child welfare …

Class Action Reform, Qui Tam, And The Role Of The Plaintiff, Jill E. Fisch

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Filling The Box: Responding To Jury Duty Avoidance, Thomas L. Fowler

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

What Went Wrong With Fre Rule 609: A Look At How Jurors Really Misuse Prior Conviction Evidence, Robert D. Dodson

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Civil Liberty And The Civil War: The Indianapolis Treason Trials, William Rehnquist

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Prevalence Of Pulmonary And Upper Respiratory Tract Symptoms And Spirometric Test Findings Among Newspaper Pressroom Workers Exposed To Solvents, Dean M. Hashimoto, Burton W. Lee, Karl T. Kelsey, Barbara Yakes, Teresa Seitz, David Christiani

Dean M. Hashimoto

To investigate the relationship between exposure to organic solvents and the presence of pulmonary and upper respiratory tract mucous membrane symptoms, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 215 newspaper pressroom workers who were occupationally exposed to organic solvent and lubricant mixtures. Thirty-four compositors, who were not occupationally exposed to the solvents or lubricants, served as controls. Pressroom workers and compositors underwent spirometric testing and were also asked about the presence of cough, phlegm, hemoptysis, dyspnea, wheezing, chest tightness, nose or throat irritation, eye irritation, and sinus trouble. The spirometric results did not significantly differ between the two groups. However, the …

Completing The Admissibility Equation, Richard C. Reuben

Faculty Publications

Later this year, the U.S. Supreme Court will take up an evidence dispute from Georgia that promises to be one of the new term's most important nuts-and-bolts cases for litigators. General Electric Co. v. Joiner, no. 96-188, is expected to determine the standard of review that federal appellate courts must give to lower court decisions on the admissibility of scientific evidence. The Court's decision in Joiner promises to have an important effect on a broad range of cases in which causation often is a pivotal issue.

Moment Of Truth, Richard C. Reuben

Faculty Publications

While the technical sophistication of today's polygraphs is far beyond the cathode-tube stuff of the 1920s, many lawyers and judges continue to view them as inherently unreliable and overly prejudicial. Their concern is that the procedure does not test whether a subject is telling the truth but measures physiological responses to questions- which may reveal much, but not necessarily the truth. But this fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider, in United States v. Scheffer, No. 96-1133, whether to finally lift the barrier to admissibility of polygraph evidence, at least in the federal courts, on grounds that it inhibits the …

Places In The Heartland: Departure Jurisprudence After Koon, Frank O. Bowman Iii

Faculty Publications

There are two things upon which I suspect most observers will agree following the decision in Koon v. United States. First, the United States Supreme Court wants district courts to have more discretion to depart from the otherwise applicable guideline range, and wants appellate courts to have less authority to overturn those discretionary judgments. Second, in light of the conflicting signals the Court gave by, on the one hand, declaring that the standard of appellate review for departure decisions is to be abuse of discretion,” and on the other hand, finding that two of the five factors relied upon by …

The Uniform Commercial Code Meets The Seventh Amendment: The Demise Of Jury Trials Under Article 5?, Margaret L. Moses

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Bailing Out Of Bonds: The Effect Of Victim/Offender Relationships And Other Factors In The Setting Of Bail, Tancy Vandecar

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate which factors impact bail decisions made by magistrates and judges. Much of the research on this topic was done in the early 1960s and 1970s when efforts such as the Manhattan Bail Project were in full force and the decisions of magistrates had not been investigated. There has been little research which looks specifically at the effect of victim-offender relationship on the bail decision. The present research utilizes bail decisions made by judges in the General District Court of Virginia Beach, Virginia as well as Virginia Beach magistrates. The effects of offense …

Gender, Race, And Court Location Effects On Exceptional Sentencing In The State Of Washington, Catherine L. Drezak

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Policy statements by the Sentencing Commission for the State of Washington emphasize that gender, race, and community ties are irrelevant to sentencing decisions. Based on prior sentencing practices, these policies carry the potential to incorporate unrecognized sentencing disparity practices into the proposed sentencing equality solution. Using Washington's sentencing data under current sentencing guideline structures, this research examined the sentencing outcomes with respect to sentences given outside the guidelines. This study was designed to address the research questions: What effect, if any, does gender have on exceptional sentence outcome? To what extent, if any, is race a factor in determining gender …

House Authorizes Appellate Court Study Commission, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Gaining Appellate Review By "Manufacturing" A Final Judgment Through Voluntary Dismissal Of Peripheral Claims, Rebecca A. Cochran

Mercer Law Review

In recent decades, the paths from federal district courts to the federal circuit courts of appeals have narrowed considerably. Appeals through rule 54(b), section 1292(b), the collateral order doctrine, and other litigants and judges to test the limits of the most prevalent appellate path-appeal from a final judgment. This Article argues that the purposes of the final judgment rule, including judicial economy, are served, not hindered, by voluntary dismissals with prejudice of peripheral claims to render final an earlier ruling that decided the heart of the litigation.

First, this Article profiles the district court cases in which peripheral claims dismissals …

Extending The Due Process Clause To Prevent A Previously Recused Judge From Later Attempting To Affect The Case From Which He Was Recused, S. Matthew Cook

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Erie Awry: A Comment On Gasperini V. Center For Humanities, Inc., C. Douglas Floyd

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Courtroom As A Stop On The Information Superhighway, Fredric I. Lederer

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Slavery And The Arkansas Supreme Court, L. Scott Stafford

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

When Physicians Balk At Futile Care: Implications Of The Disability Rights Laws, Philip G. Peters Jr.

Faculty Publications

Part I of this article reviews the factual background of the futility debate. Part II introduces the antidiscrimination laws. Thereafter, Parts III, IV, and V examine the three components of the proposal suggested above.