Law Commons^™

Interpreting The Wisconsin Constitution, Daniel R. Suhr

Marquette Law Review

The Wisconsin Constitution is the state’s fundamental law and is often the final authority over important issues of public moment. When interpreting a provision in the state constitution, the Wisconsin Supreme Court relies on three primary sources: the plain meaning of the text, the legislative and ratification history surrounding the clause, and construction by the legislature. The second and third sources that the Court uses to resolve constitutional cases are significantly flawed for both practical and jurisprudential reasons.

By contrast, the Wisconsin Supreme Court focuses first and foremost on the text when interpreting statutes. The Court only turns to history …

Flirting With The Law: An Analysis Of The Ellerth/Faragher Circuit Split And A Prediction Of The Seventh Circuit’S Stance, Natalie S. Neals

Marquette Law Review

This Comment critically analyzes the split in the circuits over the second prong of the Ellerth/Faragher defense. Further, this Comment predicts how the Seventh Circuit will rule on this split. The Ellerth/Faragher defense is an affirmative defense available to employers who would otherwise be held liable for their supervisors’ harassing acts in hostile work environment situations. There are two prongs to the defense: (1) “the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior” and (2) “the plaintiff employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventative or corrective opportunities provided by the employer or to …

Who Needs A Uniform Contract Law, And Why?, Ingeborg Schwenzer

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Applicable Law, The Cisg, And The Future Convention On International Commercial Contracts, Pilar Perales Viscasillas

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Attorneys' Fees -- Last Ditch Stand?, Bruno Zeller

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Easing The Guidance Document Dilemma Agency By Agency: Immigration Law And Not Really Binding Rules, Jill E. Family

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Immigration law relies on rules that bind effectively, but not legally, to adjudicate millions of applications for immigration benefits every year. This Article provides a blueprint for immigration law to improve its use of these practically binding rules, often called guidance documents. The agency that adjudicates immigration benefit applications, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), should develop and adopt its own Good Guidance Practices to govern how it uses guidance documents. This Article recommends a mechanism for reform, the Good Guidance Practices, and tackles many complex issues that USCIS will need to address in creating its practices. The recommended …

The Nfl's Stance On Gambling: A Calculated Contradiction, Daniel Bernard

UNLV Gaming Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Possible Future Work By Uncitral In The Field Of Contract Law: Preliminary Thoughts From The Secretariat, Renaud Sorieul, Emma Hatcher, Cyril Emery

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The Intrepretation In Mexico Of The United Nations Convention On Contracts For The International Sale Of Goods, Alejandro Osuna-Ganzalez

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Cisg And Upicc As The Basis For An International Convention On International Commercial Contracts, Jan Ramberg

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

A New Global Initiative On Contract Law In Uncitral: Right Project, Right Forum?, Keith Loken

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Unidroit Principles As A Source For Global Sales Law, Henry Deeb Gabriel

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Retroactivity And Crack Sentencing Reform, Harold J. Krent

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article argues that the strong presumption against retroactive application of reduced punishments articulated in the Supreme Court’s recent decision, Dorsey v. United States, is neither historically grounded nor constitutionally compelled. Although not dispositive in Dorsey, the presumption may mislead legislatures in future contexts, whether addressing marijuana decriminalization or lessened punishment for file sharing, and in no way should signal to Congress that future changes should apply prospectively only. Although the Court reached the right result in applying the reduction in punishment for crack offenses to offenders whose sentences had not been finalized, the Court relied excessively on the general …

Knives And The Second Amendment, David B. Kopel, Clayton E. Cramer, Joseph Edward Olson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article is the first scholarly analysis of knives and the Second Amendment. Under the Supreme Court’s standard in District of Columbia v. Heller, knives are Second Amendment “arms” because they are “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes,” including self-defense. There is no knife that is more dangerous than a modern handgun; to the contrary, knives are much less dangerous. Therefore, restrictions on carrying handguns set the upper limit for restrictions on carrying knives. Prohibitions on carrying knives in general, or of particular knives, are unconstitutional. For example, bans of knives that open in a convenient way (e.g., …

Finding Common Feminist Ground: The Role Of The Next Generation In Shaping Feminist Legal Theory, Kathleen Kelly Janus

Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy

This article explores the ways in which current feminist frameworks are dividing the women’s movement along generational lines, thereby inhibiting progress in the struggle for gender equality. Third-wave feminists, or the generation of feminists that came of age in the 1990s and continues today, have been criticized for focusing on personal stories of oppression and failing to influence feminist legal theory. Yet this critique presupposes that third-wave feminism is fundamentally different from the feminism of past generations. In contrast, this article argues that third-wave feminism is rooted in the feminist legal theory developed in the prior generation.

This article demonstrates …

Hero With A Thousand Copyright Violations: Modern Myth And An Argument For Universally Transformative Fan Fiction, Natalie H. Montano

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

Copyright law is designed to protect the ownership and financial rights of the original author of a literary work. However, the internet has created new opportunities for amateur writers to create their own fan fiction based on such literary works. Borrowing from the ideas and characters of a work, fan fiction authors build upon and re-imagine these stories. Such fan works should be protected under the Fair Use Defense, but the power imbalance between amateur fan fiction authors and successful published authors often leads to the eradication of fan stories from the public domain.

This Comment argues that fan fiction …

Addressing The Impediments Copyright Imposes On The Use Of Patent Specifications And Prior Art Documents To Improve Patent Quality, Ben Mceniery

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

This article considers from an Australian perspective the impediments that copyright law places in the path of those who seek to use patent specifications and non-patent prior art documents in ways that are necessary to the proper functioning of the patent system. Until recently, copyright law in Australia had limited the uses to which members of the public could put patent specifications in that country. Those impediments have been removed as a result of an important legislative change to the way in which copyright in patent specifications can be enforced. The change gives the public a greater freedom to make …

The Collision Of Social Media And Social Unrest: Why Shutting Down Social Media Is The Wrong Response, Mirae Yang

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

With the growing availability of Internet access across the globe, social media has transformed the traditional relationship between government authority and its citizens by providing the people with an innovative and powerful means to harmonize their efforts in expressing their political and social concerns. The importance of safeguarding Internet availability is more critical than ever before as access to the Internet is now the means by which the world communicates, stays informed, and engages in daily tasks. In the face of potential social unrest fueled by social media, the United States must take a preventative approach, one that matches our …

International Cryptography Regulation And The Global Information Economy, Nathan Saper

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

With the meteoric rise of the Internet and e-commerce in the 1990s came great attention to the problems and opportunities associated with cryptography. Throughout that decade, the United States and many foreign countries debated and experimented with various forms of cryptography regulation, and attempts were made at international harmonization. Since then, however, policy-making activity around cryptography has slowed, if not halted altogether, leaving individuals and companies to face a bewildering array of regulations—or, in many cases, to face regulations that are extraordinarily unclear and haphazardly applied.

This Note seeks to introduce the reader to the issue of international cryptography regulation …

Quality In European Trade Mark Law, Andrew Griffiths

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

This article addresses the capacity of trade marks to provide assurance concerning product quality and the importance of this capacity in promoting competition and various forms of innovation. It considers the meaning of “quality” in this context and shows how this can include the aesthetic and intangible characteristics of products as well as their functional and material characteristics. And it is suggested that quality assurance should cover the whole range of variable product characteristics to which at least some consumers attach value. This is because the key economic problem that underlies the need for this assurance is the difficulty that …

Do-Not-Track As Default, Joshua A.T. Fairfield

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

Do-Not-Track is a developing online legal and technological standard that permits consumers to express their desire not to be tracked by online advertisers. Do-Not-Track has the ability to change the relationship between consumers and advertisers in the information market. Everything will depend on implementation. The most effective way to allow users to achieve their privacy preferences is to implement Do-Not-Track as a default feature.

The World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) standard setting body for Do-Not-Track has, however, endorsed a corrosive standard in its Tracking Preferences Expression (TPE) draft. This standard requires consumers to set their privacy preference by hand. This …

An Overview Of The Cisg And An Introduction To The Debate About The Future Convention, Michael Bridge

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The Soft Law Approach To Unification Of International Commercial Contract Law: Future Perspectives In Light Of Unidroit's Experience, Anna Veneziano

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Article 35 Of The Cisg: Reflecting On The Present And Thinking About The Future, Djakhongir Saidov

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

An Assessment Of The Convention On The Limitation Period In The International Sale Of Goods Through Case Law, Luca G. Castellani

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Law Wars: Australian Contract Law Reform Vs. Cisg Vs. Cesl, Lisa Spagnolo

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Cisg As Basis Of A Comprehensive International Sales Law, Larry A. Dimatteo

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The "Nixon Sabotage": The Political Origins Of The Equal Protection Challenge To The Voting Rights Act, Danieli Evans

Articles

Critics of the Voting Rights Act argue that the anti-discrimination law requires states to engage in unconstitutional discrimination, as state decisionmakers must be conscious of race in order to ensure that voting policies do not weaken minority representation. This argument relies on the idea that subjective racial motivation is the essence of unconstitutional discrimination (even if benevolent, or to promote racial inclusion). The conventional understanding among constitutional scholars is that this “search for the bigoted decisionmaker” developed in employment and housing discrimination decisions between 1976 and 1979. Previous accounts have not recognized the role that the 1971 school desegregation decision …

Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference Journal, Volume 2, William & Mary Law School

Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Journal

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Property

October 11-12, 2012

Panel 1: The Impact of a Leading Property Scholar

Panel 3: Property Rights in Times of Economic Crisis

Panel 4: Property's Moral Dimension

Safeguarding The Proprierty Of The Judiciary, Jon P. Mcclanahan

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.