Law Commons^™

"A Revolution Which Seeks To Abolish Law, Must End Necessarily In Despotism": Louisa Mccord And Antebellum Southern Legal Thought, Alfred L. Brophy

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

Louisa McCord's essays provide a unique lens into the legal and political thought of antebellum Southern society, particularly her defense of slavery and the role of law in maintaining social order. She argued that law should ensure basic fairness in market transactions but should not interfere with the institution of slavery, which she viewed as a matter of sentiment rather than legal regulation. McCord's work challenges the notion that legal history is confined to the common law tradition, emphasizing the importance of understanding law as part of a broader societal outlook.

Fairness Of Contract V. Freedom Of Contract: The Problematic Nature Of Contractual Obligation In Premarital Agreements, Faun M. Phillipson

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the tension between the duty of full and fair disclosure in premarital agreements and the principle of freedom of contract, focusing on Wisconsin courts' handling of this issue. It critiques the ambiguity in judicial standards for enforcing such agreements, arguing that the concept of "meaningful choice" introduced by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, while promising, lacks clear guidelines, leading to inconsistent and sometimes arbitrary outcomes. The analysis highlights the conflict between ensuring procedural fairness and avoiding paternalistic judicial interference in private contracts.

Invasion Of Privacy Tort: Does The Deference Given To The Press Ignore The Family, T. Michael Wickersham

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Reaching Beyond The Bars: An Analysis Of Prison Nurseries, Nicole Mauskopf

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that prison nurseries offer a viable solution to the challenges faced by incarcerated mothers and their children, addressing the detrimental effects of separation on both. It advocates for the implementation of prison nurseries to support maternal care and rehabilitation, while also highlighting the need for legal and policy reforms to ensure equitable treatment and protect parental rights.

Neonaticide And The "Ethos Of Maternity": Traditional Criminal Law Defenses And The Novel Syndrome, Judith E. Macfarlane

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note explores the legal and psychological dimensions of neonaticide, proposing the recognition of a Neonaticide Syndrome to better understand the mental state of perpetrators and inform legal defenses. It argues that such a syndrome, characterized by denial of pregnancy and psychotic breaks, could provide a framework for lenient sentencing and negate intent in homicide charges, similar to how Rape Trauma Syndrome and Battered Woman Syndrome are used in court. The analysis emphasizes the need for expert testimony to explain the mental state of defendants and the admissibility of such evidence under Frye and Daubert standards.

Women's Annotated Legal Bibliography

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Same-Sex Sexual Harassment: Cutting The Gordian Knot, Collin O'Connor Udell

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Women And Assisted Suicide: Exposing The Gender Vulnerability To Acquiescent Death, Lynne Marie Kohm, Britney N. Brigner

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that women are disproportionately vulnerable to assisted suicide due to societal, economic, and emotional factors, and that legalizing assisted suicide could exacerbate gender disparities in death rates. It critiques the lack of protections for vulnerable individuals, particularly women, who may be coerced or influenced into assisted suicide. The analysis emphasizes the need to address the root causes of suffering rather than resorting to assisted suicide, while also advocating for societal changes to support women and reduce their vulnerability.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg And The Virginia Military Institute: A Culmination Of Strategic Success, Scott M. Smiler

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines Justice Ginsburg's pivotal role in shaping the Supreme Court's approach to gender-based discrimination, particularly through her advocacy for heightened scrutiny of such classifications. It highlights how her efforts culminated in the landmark decision of United States v. Virginia, where the Court ruled that Virginia Military Institute's (VMI) exclusion of women violated the Equal Protection Clause. The decision reinforced the requirement that gender-based classifications must meet an exceedingly persuasive justification, aligning with Ginsburg's long-standing commitment to dismantling gender stereotypes and advancing equal protection principles.

Alumni News & Notes (Volume 2, Issue No. 1) (1998), Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Taking The Cop Out Of Copping A Plea: Eradicating Police Prosecution Of Criminal Cases, Andrew Horwitz

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Law, Language And Lenity, Lawrence Solan

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Ban On Welfare For Felony Drug Offenders: Giving A New Meaning To 'Life Sentence', Cynthia Godsoe

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

We're All Capitalist Now: The Importance, Nature, Provision And Regulation Of Investor Education, James A. Fanto

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Pentagon Papers Case And The Path Not Taken: A Personal Memoir On The First Amendment And The Separation Of Powers, Joel Gora

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Corporate Law In French Corporate Governance (Reprinted In The Legal Basis Of Corporate Governance In Publicly-Held Corporations: A Comparative Approach (A.R. Pinto & G. Visentini Eds. 1998)), James A. Fanto

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Harmonizing The Law Governing Secured Credit: The Next Frontier, Neil B. Cohen

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Employment Law, M. Christina Floyd

University of Richmond Law Review

There have been a variety of developments in employment law since the Annual Survey of Virginia Law last included an article on this topic. This article focuses primarily upon two significant areas: (1) wrongful discharge and (2) employment contract claims which have been litigated since September 1996. Public sector employment, unemployment compensation, and workers' compensation are not addressed in this article.

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Workers' Compensation, Daniel E. Lynch

University of Richmond Law Review

This article addresses the most significant developments in the law of workers' compensation since September 1997. The areas discussed consist of the following: (1) injury by accident claims; (2) occupational disease claims; (3) benefits and coverage under the Workers' Compensation Act; (4) panels of physicians; and (5) 1998 legislative changes affecting workers' compensation. Emphasis has been placed on the most important developments in this area of law with respect to decisions of the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Virginia Court of Appeals, as well as new legislation.

Understanding Compliance With International Environmental Agreements: The Baker's Dozen Myths, Edith Brown Weiss

University of Richmond Law Review

Until recently, little attention has been given to whether states and other actors comply with the agreements they negotiate. The assumption has been that most states comply with most international law most of the time. There is, however, strong reason to question this assumption. As was apparent in the Breard case, which involved implementation and compliance with the consular convention, states do not necessarily comply with the international agreements they join, particularly when they involve implementation at the provincial/state and local levels.

Breard And The Federal Power To Require Compliance With Icj Orders Of Provisional Measures, Carlos Manuel Vázquez

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Among the puzzling aspects of the Breard episode was the Clinton administration's claim that the decision whether or not to comply with the Order of the International Court of Justice requiring the postponement of Breard's execution lay exclusively in the hands of the Governor of Virginia. The ICJ's Order provided that"[t]he United States should take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Angel Francisco Breard is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings." The Clinton administration argued that the Order was not binding, but it also took the position that, even if the order were binding, …

The Constitutionality Of Censure, Michael J. Gerhardt

University of Richmond Law Review

It has become commonplace for commentators to suggest that, in the aftermath of the Senate's acquittal of President William Jefferson Clinton, there have been only losers and no real winners. Whether this is true generally is a difficult question to which I will not hazard an answer. It is beyond question, however, that one device that lost ground as a result of the storm of impeachment was censure. That censure has taken a severe beating is unfortunate because so much of the beating was based on misguided interpretations of, or arguments about, the Constitution.

Night And Day: Coeur D’Alene, Breard, And The Unraveling Of The Prospective-Retrospective Distinction In Eleventh Amendment Doctrine, Carlos Manuel Vázquez

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Supreme Court's decision in Edelman v. Jordan has been read to establish a distinction between suits seeking prospective relief from a state official's violation of federal law (which are not barred by the Eleventh Amendment under Ex parte Young) and suits seeking retrospective relief from the state (which are barred by the Eleventh Amendment, even if the officer is the defendant). Commentators and the lower courts have long had difficulty understanding and applying the distinction. Until recently, the principal effect of the Edelman line of cases has been to bar suits seeking damages and similar monetary relief from …

Understanding Mahon In Historical Context, William Michael Treanor

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Despite its enormous influence on constitutional law, Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon is just such an opinion; the primary purpose of the author’s article Jam for Justice Holmes: Reassessing the Significance of Mahon is to clarify Holmes's intent by placing the opinion in historical context and in the context of Holmes's other opinions. While other scholars have also sought to place Mahon in context, his account differs in large part because of its recognition, as part of the background of Mahon, of a separate line of cases involving businesses affected with a public interest.

The author argues that at …

Independent Counsel And Vigorous Investigation And Prosecution, William Michael Treanor

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This essay draws on the examples of Watergate and Iran-Contra to offer a new perspective on Independent Counsel and their ability to investigate and prosecute high-level wrongdoing. The current consensus is that an Independent Counsel, appointed by judges of the special court pursuant to the Ethics in Government Act, will invariably investigate and prosecute crimes more vigorously than a Special Prosecutor appointed by the President or the Attorney General. Watergate and Iran-Contra suggest, however, that there are institutional and political factors that make analysis of the comparative tendencies of the two types of prosecutors more complex and dependent on circumstance. …

Translation Without Fidelity: A Response To Richard Epstein’S Fidelity Without Translation, William Michael Treanor

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article is a response to Fidelity Without Translation by Richard Epstein (1997).

Explaining why a body of work is influential is inevitably a complex matter, but part of the success of Professor Epstein’s writings undoubtedly stems from their grounding in the original understanding of the Constitution. He has claimed the mantle of the framers, and that claim gives his reading of the takings clause a deep resonance it would not otherwise have.

Explicitly rejecting Epstein’s reading of the clause and the history that lay behind its adoption, the author has previously advanced his own view of the original understanding …

The Summary Affirmance Proposal Of The Board Of Immigration Appeals, Philip G. Schrag

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The Board of Immigration Appeals is on the verge of making a tragic mistake, trading away a key element of fair adjudication--the written opinion--for the sake of what it hopes will be greater administrative efficiency. The cost of eliminating written adjudication is too great, and the Board has given no indication that it has sufficiently canvassed less drastic alternatives.

The Board of Immigration Appeals (the "Board") is the primary appellate body for immigration law. The "staple" of its work is to decide appeals from decisions of Immigration Judges in removal proceedings, though it also hears appeals in several other categories, …

End-Of-Life Decision Making: What We Don’T Know, We Make Up; What We Do Know, We Ignore, Sandra H. Johnson

All Faculty Scholarship

The recent emergence of substantial empirical research in bioethics reveals gaps between “reality” and the normative principles that largely instruct American bioethics and the legal framework of health care. This Article examines how the debate over the appropriate source of legal and ethical norms in medicine has been played out in judicial decisions regarding the legalization of physician-assisted suicide.

The article begins with an analysis of the Ninth Circuit’s 1996 majority opinion in Compassion in Dying v. Washington, later reversed by the Supreme Court. In support of the legalization of physician-assisted suicide, the Ninth Circuit emphasized the role of empirical …

Research Report: A Preliminary Analysis Of Medical Futility Decisionmaking: Law And Professional Attitudes, Richard L. Wiener Ph.D., David Eton M.A., Vincent P. Gibbons M.D., Jesse A. Goldner J.D., Sandra H. Johnson J.D.

All Faculty Scholarship

The debate in medical futility decisionmaking centers on the conflict between a patient insisting treatment and a doctor refusing to furnish it. Courts have taken two disparate approaches to the legal status of medical futility. Believing that such legal ambiguity may reflect ambiguity in the medical profession itself, this research report sought to identify any emerging consensus among professionals handling medical futility issues.

The report explains the results of the Life Sustaining Treatment Survey, a nationwide survey of health care professionals at hospitals. Presented with a list of criteria, respondents assigned important ratings to the factors used in recent futility …

Spain Returns To Trial By Jury, Stephen C. Thaman

All Faculty Scholarship

In 1995, the Spanish Parliament reenacted trial by jury in criminal cases by implementing a mandate of the 1978 post Franco Spanish Constitution. This article discusses the 17 year dispute, following the ratification of the democratic post-Franco Spanish Constitution, on whether Article 25 mandated the reintroduction of lay participation in the criminal trial, and, if so, whether in the form of the classic jury or a continental European style court with lay assessors. This article analyzes the Law on Trial by Jury and its implementation in the first year of trials, and references Spain’s experience with trial by jury in …