Law Commons^™

Is The Dutch Auction Ipo A Good Idea?, Anita I. Anand

ExpressO

The Google IPO raised the question of whether Dutch auctions are preferable to the traditional bookbuilding method of financing. Some argue that Dutch auctions make public offerings more efficient in terms of price discovery by leaving less money on the table. They further argue that Dutch auctions are more fair, since underwriters do not allocate securities to preferred clients, thereby allowing for a more equitable allocation among institutional and retail investors. I suggest that the Dutch auction is not necessarily more fair and may in fact lead to less efficient capital markets. I argue that reform of the current system …

True Lies: The Constitutional And Evidentiary Bases For Admitting Prior False Accusation Evidence In Sexual Assault Prosecutions, Jules Epstein

ExpressO

The admission of false accusation evidence in sexual assault prosecutions has been ruled on inconsistently by courts nationally. This article identifies the constitutional bases for admitting false accusation evidence as both impeachment and substantive (non-character) proof, and re-focuses Confrontation Clause analysis post-Crawford on the scope of the cross-examination right; offers a definition for what constitutes a false accusation and the level of proof requisite to its admission; and addresses social and policy concerns attendant to its presentation.

The Limits Of Equality - Wishing For Discrimination?, Yifat Bitton

ExpressO

The Limits of Equality – Wishing for Discrimination? Yifat Bitton Abstract The article focuses on the different manner in which antidiscrimination regimes treat groups that have been discriminated-against de jure and de facto. The Article approaches the prerequisite of antidiscrimination laws that there be some past or on-going discrimination in a manner that diverges from the dominant view that discrimination is a purely destructive force. The central argument is that the way in which de jure, overt and blatant discrimination necessarily must create a coherent group identity recognized by law allows groups that are discriminated against in this manner to …

Legislatively Revising Kelo V. City Of New London: Eminent Domain, Federalism, And Congressional Powers, Bernard W. Bell

Rutgers Law School (Newark) Faculty Papers

This paper explores Congress’ power to limit state and local authorities’ use of eminent domain to further economic revitalization. More particularly, it examines whether Congress can constrain the discretion to invoke eminent domain which state and local officials appear entitled to under the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Kelo v. City of New London, — U.S. —, 125 S.Ct. 2655 (2005). The question involves and exploration and assessment of the Supreme Court’s recent jurisprudence regarding federalism and judicial supremacy.

In providing that private property may not be taken for “public use” without just compensation, the Fifth Amendment implicitly precludes government …

The Economics Of Loyalty Discounts And Antitrust Law In The United States, Bruce H. Kobayashi

George Mason University School of Law Working Papers Series

This paper examines the law and economics of loyalty discounts. While there have been recent advances in the economic analysis of loyalty discounts, this literature is still relatively recent and sparse. Though some of these papers provide tests that would serve to identify either deviations from short run profit maximization or, in the case of bundled discounts, a reduction in consumer welfare or the exclusion of a hypothetically equally efficient competitor, these tests have several shortcomings. As a result, the economic literature currently does not provide a reliable way to gauge whether the potential harm from the use of loyalty …

Prisons Of The Mind: Social Value And Economic Inefficiency In The Criminal Justice Response To Mental Illness, Amanda C. Pustilnik

ExpressO

This Article employs a “New Chicago School” law and economics analysis to examine why the staggering economic and human costs of channeling non-violent mentally ill adults and children into the criminal system not only are countenanced but embraced by voters and lawmakers. Analyzing legislation, statements by lawmakers and jurors, and historical sources, the Article contends that certain social value is created through the incarceration of this marginalized group. That is, there is a taste for the punishment of these people that incarceration satisfies but that therapeutic alternatives would not. The willingness to pay for this contestable taste keeps entrenched this …

The Five Stages Of Law Review Submission, Brannon P. Denning

ExpressO

Our article is a humorous look at the law review submissions process from the author’s perspective. It suggests that the process of submitting to law reviews tracks Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’s “five stages of grief.”

Child Laundering: How The Intercountry Adoption System Legitimizes And Incentivizes The Practices Of Buying, Trafficking, Kidnapping, And Stealing Children, David M. Smolin

ExpressO

This article documents and analyzes a substantial incidence of "child laundering" within the intercountry adoption system. Child laundering occurs when children are taken illegally from birth families through child buying or kidnapping, and then "laundered" through the adoption system as "orphans" and then "adoptees." The article then proposes reforms to the intercountry adoption system that could substantially reduce the incidence of child laundering.

Vol. 56, No. 1, August 29, 2005, University Of Michigan Law School

Res Gestae

•Career Services Dispels Seven Myths of Early Interview Week •How to Succeed at OCI Without Really Trying •Top Ten Reasons to Say "Yes!" When a 3L Asks You Out •Learn How to Find a Firm Job and Be Happy •The OCI Drinking Game! •Frequently Answered Questions at OCI •Crossword

Guidance From Above And Beyond, Steven L. Chanenson

Working Paper Series

Criminal sentencing does not just happen in the courtroom. Some key sentencing decisions happen long before court convenes, while other critical sentencing decisions take place long after court adjourns. Although the public focuses primarily on the black-robed figure wielding the gavel, sentencing reflects decisions by a veritable parade of actors, including legislators, sentencing commissioners, police officers, prosecutors, juries, trial judges, appellate judges, and executive branch officials. All of these people guide and constrain the sentencing process. Through their official actions, they inform each other about what is happening in their corners of the sentencing drama, and prod their counterparts to …

One Pill, Many Prices: Variation In Prescription Drug Prices In Selected Government Programs, Dawn Gencarelli

National Health Policy Forum

This paper updates a June 2002 National Health Policy Forum Issue Brief, "Average Wholesale Price for Prescription Drugs: Is There a More Appropriate Pricing Mechanism?" Since the release of that paper, Congress enacted the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003, which created a new, comprehensive outpatient prescription drug benefit and reduced Medicare’s reliance on the average wholesale price (AWP) in paying for prescription drugs. This paper discusses the continued use of AWP as well as other pricing benchmarks that pertain to prescription drugs. It explains the relevance of these pricing mechanisms to different government programs and …

Vol. 29, No. 01 (August 29, 2005)

Indiana Law Annotated

No abstract provided.

China's New Automobile Policy Fails To Comply With Its Wto Commitments, Jean Wang

ExpressO

China enacted a new automobile policy in June 2004 to guide the direction of its automotive industry. However, its new laws create obstacles to foreign car manufacturers that contravene China's promises to the WTO. Moreover, China's ultimate goal is to become the leader into automobile production and is trying to achieve this goal through non-market means.

No Longer Just Company Men: The Flexible Workforce And Employment Discrimination (Book Review Of Katherine Stone's From Widgets To Digits), Miriam A. Cherry

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Making State Law In Federal Court, Benjamin C. Glassman

ExpressO

Abstract: We know from Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins that unless the Constitution or a federal statute provides the rule of decision in federal court, state law does. Contrary to the assumption of several recent commentators, however, Erie itself does not tell the federal court how to ascertain what is the law of the state, and the refrain that federal courts are to predict what the state supreme court would decide not only proves unhelpful upon examination, but also has tended to confuse the courts themselves in recent years. Yet federal courts routinely face questions of state law that admit …

“Racially-Tailored” Medicine Unraveled, Sharona Hoffman

ExpressO

In June 2005, the FDA approved BiDil, a heart failure medication that is labeled for use only by African-Americans and thus, is the first treatment of its kind. The drug likely portends a future of growing interest in “race-based” medicine. This phenomenon is emerging at the same time that scientists, in light of the Human Genome Project, are reaching an understanding that “race” has no biological meaning, and consequently, “racially-tailored” medicine is both puzzling and troubling.

This Article explores the reasons for the new focus on “racial-profiling” in medicine. It analyzes the risks and dangers of this approach, including medical …

Do Institutions Really Matter? Assessing The Impact Of State Judicial Structures On Citizen Litigiousness, Jeff L. Yates, Paul Brace, Holley Tankersley

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Bargaining Power In Contract Theory, Daniel D. Barnhizer

ExpressO

This Article analyzes the role that legal conceptions of bargaining power play in defining the jurisprudence of contract law. Contract law cannot ignore bargaining power asymmetries. Unchecked power imbalances in the bargaining context soon become indistinguishable from naked coercion, and at some level the imbalance undermines both the consent of the weaker party and the legitimacy of the resulting bargain. The debate over the role of the legal doctrine of inequality of bargaining power and subdoctrines such as unconscionability and duress has largely focused on whether and how the state should intervene in individual private agreements to correct perceived power …

Controlling Conflicts Of Interest: A Tale Of Two Industries, Ahmed E. Taha

ExpressO

Large corporate conglomerates are being formed in many industries. Although a conglomerate may be able to use its multiple businesses to offer better products or services or lower prices, conglomeration can also create conflicts of interest within a corporation, harming consumers. Other researchers and observers have long been aware of these conflicts of interest, however, this Article’s empirical analyses identify what specific characteristics of a conglomerate cause conflicts of interest to actually result in harm to consumers. In doing so, the Article also guides policymakers regarding how to regulate conflicts of interest.

This Article examines two industries – financial services …

An Analysis Of The Duties And Obligations Of The International Legal Community To The Eradication Of Poverty And Growth Of Sustainable Development In Light Of The Jus Cogens Nature Of The Declaration Of The Right To Development, Freda R. Murray-Bruce

ExpressO

This paper examines the copious problem of world poverty affecting half of the world’s population in the South and assesses the international legal obligations of the international legal community, viz., developed states, transnational corporations and the international financial institutions of the IMF, World Bank and WTO to the eradication of poverty and the growth of sustainable development, in view of the inviolability and peremptory nature of the Charter of the UN, and the international human rights provisions arising therefrom. To this extent, we examine the 1986 General Assembly Declaration on the Right to Development, along with the other International Bill …

Calling A Truce In The Culture Wars: From Enron To The Cia, Craig S. Lerner

George Mason University School of Law Working Papers Series

This Article compares and evaluates recent Congressional efforts to improve institutional “cultures” in the private and public sectors. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was designed to upgrade corporate culture by patching up the “walls” that separate corporate management from boards of directors, accountants, lawyers, and financial analysts. The Intelligence Reform Act of 2005 took a different tack, hammering away at walls that supposedly segmented the intelligence community. The logic was that the market failed because people did not observe sufficient formalities in their dealings with one another, while the intelligence community failed precisely because people kept their distance from one …

Cheyenne River Sioux Gas Company V. Georgianne Dupris, Frank Pommersheim

Tribal Court Opinions Authored by Emeritus Professor of Law Frank Pommersheim

No abstract provided.

Sicangu Wicoti Awanyakape V. Phyllis Stone, Frank Pommersheim

Tribal Court Opinions Authored by Emeritus Professor of Law Frank Pommersheim

No abstract provided.

Ronald Cook V. Dennis Cook, Frank Pommersheim

Tribal Court Opinions Authored by Emeritus Professor of Law Frank Pommersheim

No abstract provided.

Summary Of Anderson V. State, 121 Nev. Adv. Op. 51, Bryce C. Loveland

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

No abstract provided.

Building Universal Digital Libraries: An Agenda For Copyright Reform , Hannibal B. Travis

ExpressO

This article proposes a series of copyright reforms to pave the way for digital library projects like Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, and Google Print, which promise to make much of the world’s knowledge easily searchable and accessible from anywhere. Existing law frustrates digital library growth and development by granting overlapping, overbroad, and near-perpetual copyrights in books, art, audiovisual works, and digital content. Digital libraries would benefit from an expanded public domain, revitalized fair use doctrine and originality requirement, rationalized systems for copyright registration and transfer, and a new framework for compensating copyright owners for online infringement without imposing derivative …

The Mirage Of Equivalence And The Ethereal Principles Of Parallelism And Horizontal Equity, Jeffrey H. Kahn

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Contracts Concluded By Electronic Agents - Comparative Analysis Of American And Polish Legal Systems, Aleksandra M. Jurewicz

ExpressO

This article analyzes the US and Polish law on contract formation by electronic agents. It persents the main similarities and differences in the approaches of common and civil legal systems. Finally, it discusses changes in legal theories in Poland that had to be made in order to comply with standards of electronic commerce.

Clinical Preventive Services: When Is The Juice Worth The Squeeze?, Eileen Salinsky

National Health Policy Forum

This paper provides an overview of clinical preventive services, including a definition of such services and the role of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in recommending which services should be routinely offered to patients. It also describes efforts to analyze the cost effectiveness of clinical preventive services and reviews the insurance coverage policies of private and public payers. Barriers to increased uptake of appropriate services are discussed and policy relevant issues are summarized.

Life V. Death: Or Why The Death Penalty Should Marginally Deter, Charles N. W. Keckler

George Mason University School of Law Working Papers Series

Econometric measures of the effect of capital punishment have increasingly provided evidence that it deters homicides. However, most researchers on both sides of the death penalty debate continue to rely on rather simple assumptions about criminal behavior. I attempt to provide a more nuanced and predictive rational choice model of the incentives and disincentives to kill, with the aim of assessing to what extent the statistical findings of deterrence are in line with theoretical expectations. In particular, I examine whether it is plausible to suppose there is a marginal increase in deterrence created by increasing the penalty from life imprisonment …