Law Commons^™

Poking Along In The Fast Lane On The Information Super Highway: Territorial-Based Jurisprudence In A Technological World, Brian E. Daughdrill

Mercer Law Review

When Icarus slipped the surly bonds of Earth for the boundless expanses of heaven, he suffered the limitation of wings made of wax. Every school child knows the story of how, enamored with the power and freedom of soaring with the gods, Icarus flew closer and closer to the sun until its heat melted the wax and he fell into the sea.' Though he had transcended the territorial boundaries of Earth, he was limited by the man-created materials with which he escaped.

Today, Icarian adventurers slipping the bonds of a world defined by territories and countries via their departure into …

Admiralty, Robert S. Glenn Jr., Colin A. Mcrae

Mercer Law Review

The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided fourteen admiralty cases with written opinions in 2000. These cases can generally be divided into three broad categories: (1) cases involving the interpretation of federal statutes such as The Americans with Disabilities Act, ("ADA"), the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act ("FSIA"), the Suits in Admiralty Act ("SAA"), The Carriage of Goods By Sea Act ("COGSA"), and the Federal Maritime Lien Act ("FMLA"); (2) cases involving the interplay of admiralty law and state law in suits involving claims for attorney fees, the application of laches, and marine insurance issues; and (3) cases involving …

Appellate Practice And Procedure, William M. Droze, Suzanne F. Sturdivant

Mercer Law Review

In 2000 the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit was called upon to decide high profile and difficult issues. It helped determine the fate of young Elian Gonzalez and the course of President Bush and former Vice President Al Gore's legal battles for the presidency. Yet some of these decisions-and many others-turned on less sensational procedural questions. This Article examines the role that procedural issues have played in the court's recent opinions. It is intended to help practitioners gauge trends in the court's approach to interlocutory matters; timeliness of notice of appeal and presentation of argument; the …

Constitutional Criminal Procedure, James P. Fleissner, Sarah B. Mabery, Jeanne L. Wiggins

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys noteworthy 2000 decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in the field commonly known as Constitutional Criminal Procedure. As in past years, the survey focuses on significant decisions concerning the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures; the Fifth Amendment's privilege against self-incrimination, prohibition against double jeopardy, and guarantees of due process and grand jury screening; and the Sixth Amendment's procedural protections, including the right to counsel and the right of confrontation. Of course, most of these rights, with few exceptions, such as the right to have charges approved by a …

Evidence, Marc T. Treadwell

Mercer Law Review

This survey marks the fifteenth year the author has surveyed Eleventh Circuit evidence decisions. This survey year saw the continuation of what has become a clear trend in Eleventh Circuit evidence decisions. In stark contrast to the days when the Eleventh Circuit, and other courts, rigorously examined district court evidentiary decisions and freely reversed those decisions, the Eleventh Circuit now carefully defers to district judges. The reason for this trend can be debated. Perhaps, given that most evidentiary issues addressed by the Eleventh Circuit arise in the context of criminal cases, Eleventh Circuit judges are today more conservative and thus …

Employment Discrimination, Peter Reed Corbin, John E. Duvall

Mercer Law Review

The field of employment discrimination law was alive and well in the Eleventh Circuit during the 2000 survey period. Indeed, the area is not even showing any signs of slowing down. The case receiving the most press was the Supreme Court's decision in Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc. , which, although an age discrimination action, will have a large impact on whether cases reach a jury in all areas of employment discrimination law. The Eleventh Circuit also handed down a number of notable decisions, particularly in the area of sexual harassment, the disparate impact theory of liability, and the …

Federal Sentencing Guidelines, Rosemary T. Cakmis, James T. Skuthan

Mercer Law Review

Compared to the previous two years, the Eleventh Circuit issued relatively few published opinions relating to the United States Sentencing Guidelines ("U.S.S.G.") during 2000. This decline could be the result of fewer guidelines cases being presented to the Eleventh Circuit or more guideline cases being disposed of in unpublished opinions. An equally likely explanation, however, may be that the court has been inundated with cases involving the application of the landmark United States Supreme Court decision in Apprendi v. New Jersey. Courts across the nation have been grappling with the ripple effects of the potentially far reaching applications of …

Securities Regulation, L. Briley Brisendine Jr.

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys significant cases decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit during 1999 and 2000 in the field of securities regulation. This Article also examines one rule adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") during this survey period that affects Eleventh Circuit precedent.

• Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statement
• Judicial Notice of SEC Filings and Standard for Scienter Pleading
• "Knowing Possession" Test Adopted for Section 10(B) Fraud Claims

Federal Taxation, Suellen M. Wolfe, Jennifer N. Moore

Mercer Law Review

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals examined prominent and controversial tax issues during 2000. The technically difficult concept of cancellation of indebtedness income as it relates to the basis of a Subchapter S shareholder's interest was examined just prior to the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of this tax concept. The Supreme Court agreed with the interpretation of Internal Revenue Code ("I.R.C.") section 1366 espoused by the Eleventh Circuit. The Eleventh Circuit also examined an issue that the Supreme Court may soon consider when the circuit court followed the lead of an early 2000 Tax Court case examining the tax …

Constitutional Civil Rights, John Sanchez

Mercer Law Review

The 2000 survey period was an active year for constitutional civil rights litigation in the Eleventh Circuit. All eighteen cases examine thorny issues arising under the First Amendment. Thirteen cases address free speech issues while five cases touch on religion. Two cases deal with zoning ordinances that regulate adult businesses. Two cases address the constitutionality of zoning ordinances that regulate nude dancing. Two apply the test in Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission ("Central Hudson") for regulating commercial speech. Two cases analyze the law of prior restraints when it comes to licensing access to traditional public …

Labor And Employment Law, Richard Gerakitis, James P. Ferguson Jr., Dorothy E. Larkin

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys the 1999 and 2000 decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in which the court addressed issues in the areas of labor and employment law. Specifically, this Article examines decisions by the Eleventh Circuit under the (1) Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"); (2) Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"); (3) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"); (4) Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"); (5) Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"); and (6) Americans With Disabilities Act ("ADA").' During the past two years, the Eleventh Circuit decided numerous cases …

Trial Practice And Procedure, Philip W. Savrin

Mercer Law Review

This Article surveys the year 2000 decisions of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals that have a significant impact on issues relating to trial practice and procedure.

• Constitutional Torts
• Removal Jurisdiction
• Intervention
• Jurisdiction
• Prison Litigation Reform Act
• Abstention and Removal of Bankruptcy Proceedings

Apprendi V. New Jersey: Should Any Factual Determination Authorizing An Increase In A Criminal Defendant's Sentence Be Proven To A Jury Beyond A Reasonable Doubt, Jason Ferguson

Mercer Law Review

In Apprendi v. New Jersey, the United States Supreme Court held, with the exception of the fact of prior criminal convictions, that any factual determination that authorizes an increased sentence beyond the statutory maximum must be proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Inherent Constitutionality Of The Police Use Of Deadly Force To Stop Dangerous Pursuits, Michael Douglas Owens

Mercer Law Review

Every day in our country, police agencies pursue criminal suspects who are unlawfully attempling to elude them. Reality-based television shows, such as Cops and the Police Videos series on the Fox Network, bring home to the public some measure of the adrenaline-producing excitement that automobile pursuits engender. Rarely, however, does one see the tragedy that often results from these pursuits. While reliable nationwide statistics on police pursuits are not available, various studies depict the rate of accidents as ranging from twenty-nine percent to seventy percent, with a rate of injury ranging from eleven percent to twenty-seven percent. Injuries and deaths …

Reeves V. Sanderson Plumbing Products: Stemming The Tide Of Motions For Summary Judgment And Motions For Judgment As A Matter Of Law, Trevor K. Ross

Mercer Law Review

In Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., the Supreme Court addressed the evidentiary burdens required of a plaintiff in an ADEA case, holding that evidence leading the fact finder to reject the defendant's proffered legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons together with the elements of a prima facie case may meet a plaintiff's burden to show intentional discrimination. Additionally, the Court at last set forth the way in which judges may consider a motion for judgment as a matter of law without weighing the evidence, holding that a court should consider all the nonmovant's evidence drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of …

Judicial Jabberwocky In The Presidential Election 2000: When Law And Facts Collide With Politics, Theresa H. Hammond

Mercer Law Review

Long before the United States Constitution was ratified, Americans displayed a deep skepticism of the judiciary. Codification of extremely detailed and complex laws was the palliate to judicial activism. People believed that if the laws were all published and readily accessible, judges would have less ability to substitute their own personal values and predilections for the will of the people, established through the legislation promulgated by their chosen representatives. Hamilton's first essay on the judiciary assured New Yorkers that "the judiciary is beyond comparison the weakest of the three departments of power" and that "the liberty of the people can …

Symposium Introduction - Ethics In Settlement Negotiations: Foreward, Patrick Emery Longan

Mercer Law Review

On March 9 and 10, 2001, Mercer University's Walter F. George School of Law and its Mercer Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism held a Symposium on ethical issues in settlement negotiations. Funding for the Symposium came from a consent order, signed by United States District Judge Hugh Lawson, in which the DuPont Corporation settled claims of litigation misconduct in exchange for a payment of $11 million. Each of the four accredited law schools in Georgia received $2.5 million to endow a faculty chair in ethics and professionalism, and the other $1 million was set aside to endow an annual …

Session Two: Conditional Settlement Agreements

Mercer Law Review

A transcript featuring The Honorable Marvin Aspen, Evett Simmons, Esq., Professor Ronald Ellington, and Professor Bruce Green, Moderator

Symposium Article - The Incompleteness Of The Model Rules And The Development Of Professional Standards, Nathan M. Crystal

Mercer Law Review

Rules and standards of professional conduct are proliferating. In November 2000, the American Bar Association's ("ABA's") Ethics 2000 Commission released its final report recommending changes in the ABA's Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Earlier in the year the American Law Institute ("ALI") issued its long awaited Restatement of the Law Governing Lawyers.

The Model Rules and the Restatement are similar in two respects. Both contain detailed rules and both are comprehensive, covering relationships between lawyers and their clients, the courts, and third parties. Standards prepared by other organizations, however, have taken a narrower approach. Some have focused on particular activities …

Symposium Speech - Those Who Worry About The Ethics Of Negotiation Should Never Be Viewed As Just Another Set Of Service Providers, Lawrence J. Fox

Mercer Law Review

It is an honor to address this distinguished group of lawyers and law students this evening as part of the very first Symposium funded by the duPont Company's generosity by way of Judge Lawson. The issues important themes in the bigger professional responsibility arena, and examining them with this level of care can inform the profession more widely.

It is ironic then that when Professor Pat Longan invited me to give the keynote address, he himself negotiated my appearance in a highly questionable manner. "Would I like to be the keynote speaker at this upcoming Symposium?" Would I? Of course, …

Session Four: Special Issues In Assisted Settlement

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Gay Marriages And Civil Unions: Democracy, The Judiciary And Discursive Space In The Liberal Society, Mae Kuykendall

Mercer Law Review

The various states have given provisional answers to the socially volatile quest by gay couples for legal recognition of their relationships as marriage. The provisional quality of the policy-making is related to the status of the language of marriage as a contested site. The language evolves, but pressure exists to stall public acknowledgment of changes in descriptors for basic relationships. The prominence of language as itself a matter of dispute gives new and broadened meaning to classic arguments defending the judicial role on the grounds that courts function well to advance public discourse, particularly if they do not impose final …

Session Three: Fairness Issues In Negotiation

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of The Mandated Discount Rate On The Value Of Wrongful Death Awards In Georgia, Charles Dominique

Mercer Law Review

This Article examines Georgia tort law regarding wrongful death. Tort has been described as the body of law that deals with "compensable wrongs that do not arise from breach of contract and cannot be remedied by an induction against future inference."' When a tort has been proven, two types of damages can be incurred-compensatory and punitive. Compensatory damages, as the phrase implies, compensate the plaintiff for damages suffered at the hands of the defendant. The goal of compensatory awards is to compensate and deter but not to punish the wrongdoer. The theories behind compensatory damages are that deterrence encourages potential …

A Transcript Of The March 10, 2001 Luncheon Speech, Patrick E. Higginbotham

Mercer Law Review

Introduction of Judge Higginbotham by Professor Patrick Longan

Judge Higginbotham comes to us from Dallas. He has had a very distinguished career. He was a United States District Judge in Dallas for seven years and then was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. In addition to his judicial duties, he has served in a number of capacities throughout his career. Most recently he served a four-year term as president of the American Inns of Court Foundation. He has served as the Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Civil Rules. He has done a number …

Session One: Limits On Misleading Conduct

Mercer Law Review

A transcript featuring The Honorable Thomas Zlaket, Wm. Reece Smith, Jr., Esq., Professor Nathan Crystal, and Professor Amy Mashburn, Moderator

Not Interaction But Melding—The "Russian Dressing" Theory Of Emotions: An Explanation Of The Phenomenology Of Emotions And Rationality With Suggested Related Maxims For Judges And Other Legal Decision Makers, Peter Brandon Bayer

Mercer Law Review

Even after centuries of contrary philosophy and psychology, many commentators, jurisprudes, and law makers insist that emotions have no legitimate place in most legal decision making. This recalcitrance, of course, is misplaced in light of the powerful body of theory explaining that without emotions, decisions, including matters of law and policy, simply cannot be made. Judges, along with all societal actors, must disabuse themselves of the fallacious belief that emotions obstruct or obscure reason in all endeavors, particularly morality, law, and justice.

The project of truly apprehending emotions, however, requires more than appreciating that they play a crucial role in …

Rewriting Near V. Minnesota: Creating A Complete Definition Of Prior Restraint, Michael I. Meyerson

Mercer Law Review

The Supreme Court's opinion in Near v. Minnesota was both a major step on the road to free expression and a missed opportunity. It represented the first time a law was struck down as violating the First Amendment's guarantee of free expression. Moreover, it placed the concept of "prior restraint" at the forefront of the theory of free expression. As one scholar noted: "Since the 1931 release of the Supreme Court's opinion in Near v. Minnesota, the doctrine of prior restraint has been an essential element of first amendment jurisprudence."

Unfortunately, the Court neither defined prior restraint, nor explained precisely …

Albany Urology Clinic, P.C. V. Cleveland: Why You Should Always Ask Your Urologiest If He Is A Cocaine Addict, Kate Sievert Cook

Mercer Law Review

In Albany Urology Clinic, P.C. v. Cleveland,'the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that neither state common law nor Georgia's informed consent statutes require physicians affirmatively to disclose negative personal life factors, such as illegal drug use, before treating patients. Consequently, patients injured during certain surgical or diagnostic procedures are severely impeded from pursuing an action of fraud or battery against physicians who fail to divulge their illegal drug use during the course of their patients' medical treatment.

Resolving The Mdp Issue: Deciding If The Status Quo Is What's Best For The Client, Julia J. Hall

Mercer Law Review

On the forefront of the current debate surrounding legal ethics is the heated question of whether the legal profession should permit its members to participate in multidisciplinary practices or partnerships ("MDPs") and thereby share fees with nonlawyers. Currently, this conduct is prohibited by the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. This issue clearly has global implications for various professions desiring to partner with attorneys, and those persons with interest in this area have followed the debate closely as viewpoints are researched and expressed in support of one position over another. Nonetheless, the American Bar Association ("ABA") has effectively closed the door …