Law Commons^™

Desperately Seeking A Voice, Jeffrey S. Lehman

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Can Process Theory Constrain Courts?, Michael C. Dorf, Samuel Issacharoff

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The political process theory introduced by the Carolene Products footnote and developed through subsequent scholarship has shaped much of the modern constitutional landscape. Process theory posits that courts may justifiably intervene in the political arena when institutional obstacles impede corrective action by political actors themselves. Judged by this standard, the United States Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore was a failure, because the majority could not explain why its interference was necessary. More broadly, Bush v. Gore points to a central deficiency in process theory: it relies upon the Justices to guard against their own overreaching, but does not …

Normativity And Objectivity In Law, Dennis Patterson

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Constitutional Theory For Criminal Procedure: Dickerson, Miranda, And The Continuing Quest For Broad-But-Shallow, Donald A. Dripps

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Long Distance Remand: Florida V. Bostick And The Re-Awakened Bus Search Battlefront In The War On Drugs, Dennis J. Callahan

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

Designing Non-National Systems: The Case Of The Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, Laurence R. Helfer, Graeme B. Dinwoodie

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Preliminary Survey Of The Sewage Pumpout Facilities In The No Discharge Areas Of Massachusetts, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

This survey provides a preliminary review of the activities of pumpout facilities in the No Discharge Areas of Massachusetts. It highlights areas of concern, identifies potential improvements and focuses further research.

Based on data from Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management, there are 100 pumpout facilities in Massachusetts, located in 56 towns. Of these 52, have one or more pumpout boats. Due to financial limitations and the time available, any attempt to survey all these facilities was beyond the scope of this study. However, it had been suggested that from CZM’s, DMF’s and EPA’s standpoint, the areas of greatest interest were those …

Foreword, John M. Conley

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.

Scientific Ignorance And Reliable Patterns Of Evidence In Toxic Tort Causation: Is There A Need For Liability Reform?, Carl F. Cranor, David A. Eastmond

Law and Contemporary Problems

As a first step to preserving the central aims of tort law, courts will need to recognize the wide variety of respectable, reliable patterns of evidence on which scientists themselves rely for drawing inferences about the toxicity of substances. Courts may also need to take further steps to address the woeful ignorance about the chemical universe. This may necessitate changes in the liability rules.

The Swine Flu Vaccine And Guillain-Barré Syndrome: A Case Study In Relative Risk And Specific Causation, David A. Freedman, Philip B. Stark

Law and Contemporary Problems

This article discusses the role of epidemiologic evidence in toxic tort cases, focusing on relative risk. Whether specific causation can be inferred if a relative risk is above 2.0 is discussed. The object is to explore the scientific logic behind intuitions of relative risk.

Scientific Models Of Human Health Risk Analysis In Legal And Policy Decisions, Douglas Crawford-Brown

Law and Contemporary Problems

The quality of scientific predictions of risk in the courtroom and policy arena rests in large measure on how the two differences between normal practice and the legal/policy practice of science are reconciled. This article considers a variety of issues that arise in reconciling these differences, and the problems that remain with scientific estimates of risk when these are used in decisions.

Causation And The Law: Preemption, Lawful Sufficiency, And Causal Sufficiency, Richard Fumerton, Ken Kress

Law and Contemporary Problems

This article briefly describes the normative/nonnormative distinction, and how one might invoke this distinction to locate a nonnormative dimension of actual causation. After briefly introducing Richard Wright's concept of a necessary element in a set of conditions for an effect, the article notes ambiguities in the critical concepts of necessity and sufficiency that he deploys. The article suggests the most plausible interpretation of Wright's use of different modal concepts.

The Admissibility Of Differential Diagnosis Testimony To Prove Causation In Toxic Tort Cases: The Interplay Of Adjective And Substantive Law, Joseph Sanders, Julie Machal-Fulks

Law and Contemporary Problems

This article uses the differential diagnosis opinions to explore a pair of interrelationships. The basic causal framework employed by most courts in toxic tort cases is presented. A key to understanding the developing case law in this area is to appreciate the degree to which the courts have adopted the interpretive conventions of science in assessing admissibility.

Of Cherries, Fudge, And Onions: Science And Its Courtroom Perversion, David W. Peterson, John M. Conley

Law and Contemporary Problems

The thesis of this article is that the Supreme Court decision in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s focus on the scientific method, however rigorously applied, invites certain classes of abuses. There are instances in which evidence can be made to look more scientific by a process that in fact and substance makes is utterly unscientific.

Causation, Contribution, And Legal Liability: An Empirical Study, Lawrence M. Solan, John M. Darley

Law and Contemporary Problems

This article presents empirical evidence of the ways people compare judgments of liability with judgments of causation and contribution. Specifically, the article reports the results of experiments designed to show whether people regard causation and enablement as necessary elements of liability.

Rationalism And Empiricism In Modern Medicine, Warren Newton

Law and Contemporary Problems

The roots of rationalism and empiricism in the Hippocratic tradition are explored. The triumph of the rationalists in the founding of modern medicine is emphasized. The development of clinical epidemiology and the evidence-based medicine over the last 30 years is described. The tension illuminates fundamental clinical and policy questions that doctors, the health care system, and the legal system confront today.

Culture And Causality: Non-Western Systems Of Explanation, William M. O'Barr

Law and Contemporary Problems

The logic of some other systems of thought, explanation, and prediction are discussed, in order to find what can be learned about the sociocultural contexts and their functions in other cultures. The truths they may represent are about the human quest to understand causes and effects.

Stand Or Deliver: Citizen Suits, Standing, And Environmental Protection, Jonathan H. Adler

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Escaping The Common Law’S Shadow: Standing In The Light Of Laidlaw, Robert V. Percival, Joanna B. Goger

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

What If Justice Scalia Took History And The Rule Of Law Seriously?, Steven L. Winter

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Economic Observations On Citizen-Suit Provisions Of Environmental Legislation, A. H. Barnett, Timothy D. Terrell

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Lawyers In The World Trade Organization, Peter D. Ehrenhaft

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The World Trade Organization is a marvelously ambitious effort of now 140 countries to bring the rule of law to international trade. The WTO is a logical extension of the inspired ideas of the draftsmen of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), who recognized at the end of World War II that the seeds of that conflagration were sown, in part, by the chaotic condition of international trade following World War I.

During that inter-war period, the United States adopted its Antidumping Act of 1921 and its Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930. Both survive to this day. By …

The Influence Of Marvin V. Marvin On Housework During Marriage, Margaret F. Brinig

Journal Articles

When Michelle Marvin was forced to leave the home she shared with what today we would call her partner, Lee Marvin, she had a number of problems. The first ones, of course, were legal: she had no marriage with Lee and no written contract that could distinguish their relationship from "mere cohabitation." Nor had she contributed directly to his career or other assets. What she alleged was his express promise to "take care of her" (for some time period that was not altogether clear) and, less obviously, a promise implied by all she had done with and for him during …

The Empire Of The Lone Mother: Parental Rights, Child Welfare Law, And State Restructuring, Hester Lessard

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article uses the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in G.(J.) v. New Brunswick to frame a discussion of the historical and ideological character of Canadian child welfare regimes on the nature and experience of women’s citizenship within the liberal political order and, in particular, within the current neo-liberal restructuring of welfare provision. The article also analyzes traditional understandings of the political character of child welfare in terms of state intervention and non-intervention, by placing the state ordering of parent-child relations in the context of larger issues of colonialism, gendered parenting discourses, and the linkage between child neglect and poverty. …

Germany: Lessons To Learn From The Implementation Of A New Insolvency Code, Christoph G. Paulus

Connecticut Journal of International Law

The new German Insolvency Code (Insolvenzordnung = InsO) went into force on January 1, 1999, thereby replacing two sets of insolvency laws. In the western part of Germany, there was the time-honored 1877 Bankruptcy Law (Konkursordnung) and a 1935 Composition Law (Vergleichsordnung); in the eastern part the 1991 General Execution Law (Gesamtvollstreckungsordnung) had replaced a former GDR statute and was applicable only in the territory of the former East Germany.

Despite its youth, the new Code is at this moment subject to some amendments. They are felt to be necessary since the practical experience of some two and a half …

The New Environment Of Insolvency In Mexico, Eduardo Martinez

Connecticut Journal of International Law

The Mexican Commercial Insolvency Law ("CIL"),' which abrogated the old and impractical Bankruptcy and Suspension of Payments Law ("BSPL"), came into effect on May 15, 2000. CIL applies not only to large corporations, but also to small businesses and individuals doing business2. It safeguards public interest by warning companies against defaulting on payment obligations.3 Moreover, drafters of CIL hoped that it would bolster confidence in the Mexican business community and that it would forge a new existence for foreign individuals and entities in Mexico.

Indeed, CIL looks to other foreign laws for guidance. For instance, articles 278 to 310 of …

Foreign Representatives In U.S. Chapter 11 Cases: Filling The Void In The Law Of Multinational Insolvencies, Evan D. Flaschen, Anthony J. Smits, Leo Plank

Connecticut Journal of International Law

In 1850, with forty dollars' and a lot of hard work, Isaac Merritt Singer created "America's greatest invention," a revolutionary design for the sewing machine. He founded the Singer Sewing Machine Company in 1851, and in 1867 opened a factory in Scotland, making Singer the first American multinational manufacturing company.

In 1999, with little more than forty dollars in the bank, The Singer Company N.V., the successor in interest to the Singer Sewing Machine Company, was again responsible for a new invention, this time in the field of international insolvency. Singer and forty-six of its affiliates (collectively, "Singer") filed Chapter …

Symposium - International Insolvency: Introduction, Richard A. Gitlin

Connecticut Journal of International Law

The concept of saving and restructuring a troubled business, and making it a stronger competitor, is a relatively new phenomenon to global commerce, whether it be a purely national enterprise, or one that does business in more than one jurisdiction. However, the global community has finally come to realize how important this is to economic well-being.

The Social Meaning Of Environmental Command And Control, Michael P. Vandenbergh

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

...This essay draws on the new social norms literature to examine one of the possible reasons for the public misperceptions about the sources of the remaining environmental problems. The essay suggests that one of the insights of the social norms literature, the influence of social meaning on social norms, may shed light on these misperceptions and may enrich our understanding of the difficulties encountered by efforts to control second generation sources. In particular, this essay examines two principal social meanings that appear to have been conveyed by the command and control system. The first social meaning is the conventional notion …

The Cashless Corporate Tax, Herwig J. Schlunk

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Proposals for reforming the federal corporate income tax are neverending and ever-multiplying. They range from those that merely tinker around the edges, such as most recent proposals attacking the various perceived abuses that masquerade under the moniker "corporate tax shelter," to various integration approaches that arguably would gut the enterprise of a corporate income tax altogether. Since everything and the kitchen sink is at least theoretically in play, it seems appropriate to add this modest proposal, which I call the "cashless corporate tax" (CCT). As described below, the CCT is a "tax" that would replace the current corporate income tax-defined …