Law Commons^™

Workshop Democracy: Making Policy In Cote D'Ivoire, Max Levin

Max Levin

Development experts would benefit from a better understanding of how policy is made in developing countries. In this article, I describe how health policy is made in Cote d’Ivoire, from the perspective of a Westerner embedded in the Ministry of Health for 10 months. I provide a narrative of how one health system reform—performance-based financing—moved from policy idea to enacted reform. I describe the origins of the reform in Cote d’Ivoire, how the government came to support the reform, and then the mechanics of how the reform was enacted. I then present observations on how policymaking in Cote d’Ivoire differs …

Mutual Pharmaceutical Co. V. Bartlett: A Need For “Explicit” Congressional Action And State Tort Law Reform, Kara A. Ritter

Kara A Ritter

No abstract provided.

Chevron Inside The Regulatory State: An Empirical Assessment, Christopher J. Walker

Christopher J. Walker

For three decades, scholars (as well as courts and litigants) have written thousands of articles (and opinions and briefs) concerning the impact of the Chevron deference regime on judicial review of agency statutory interpretation. Little attention, however, has been paid to how Chevron and its progeny have actually shaped statutory interpretation inside the regulatory state. As part of the Fordham Law Review symposium Chevron at 30: Looking Back and Looking Forward, this Essay presents the findings of the first comprehensive empirical investigation into the effect of Chevron and related doctrines on how federal agencies interpret statutes they administer.

The Essay …

Material Conditions For The Law Of Democracy: The Problem Of Information Asymmetry In Voting Decisions., Rafael E De O Baptista

Rafael E de O Baptista

The proposal of the present paper is to explore the informational asymmetry that exists between politicians and citizens, especially towards voting, and directives for regulation and public policies that may diminish it. We develop a reading of the specialized literature, alongside the case study of a civil society organization that develops this institutional role in the city of Jundiaí, Brazil, which, albeit restricted geographically, leads up to broader implications. Based on these sets of data, we develop the following argument: information asymmetry is a problem in any context where rationality in voting decisions are a value to be pursued. In …

Regulation Of Chemical Risks: Lessons For Tsca Reform From Canada And The European Union, Adam Abelkop, John D. Graham

Adam Abelkop

The United States Congress is considering reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976. This Article compares recent reforms in Europe and Canada in order to draw lessons for TSCA reform. In 2006, the European Union enacted the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation while Canada used existing authority under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) of 1999 to initiate the 2006 Chemicals Management Plan (CMP). Focusing on the tens of thousands of industrial chemicals now in use in the US, we offer several suggestions for TSCA reform based on the European and Canadian experiences. …

The Ciudades Modelo Project: Testing The Legality Of Paul Romer’S Charter Cities Concept By Analyzing The Constitutionality Of The Honduran Zones For Employment And Economic Development, Michael R. Miller

Michael R Miller

Over the last several years, the Honduran government has been aggressively advancing a "model cities" project that it argues will provide options for its citizens to escape the extreme violence in their country without migrating to the U.S. The model cities, which are formally called "Zones for Employment and Economic Development" ("ZEDEs"), are purported to be autonomously governed areas that will attract foreign investment and compete for residents by establishing safer communities and better managed institutions governed by the rule of law.

The ZEDEs trace their origin to a concept formulated by development economist Paul Romer, who proposed the idea …

Complexity And Simplicity In Law: A Review Essay (Cass R. Sunstein, Simpler: The Future Of Government (2003)), David M. Driesen

David M Driesen

This essay discusses Cass Sunstein’s book, Simpler: The Future of Government, in order to advance our understanding of the concepts of complex and simple law. Many writers identify complexity with uncertainty and high cost. This essay argues that complexity bears no fixed relationship to costs or benefits. It also shows that complexity’s relationship to uncertainty is so ambiguous that it is profitable to treat complexity and uncertainty as separate concepts. It develops useful separate concepts of legal and compliance complexity that will aid efforts to simplify law, like the one Sunstein claims to have embarked upon. It also argues that …

Complexity And Simplicity In Law: A Review Essay (Cass R. Sunstein, Simpler 2013)), David M. Driesen

David M Driesen

This essay discusses Cass Sunstein’s book, Simpler, in order to advance our understanding of the concepts of complex and simple law. Many writers identify complexity with uncertainty and high cost. This essay argues that complexity bears no fixed relationship to costs or benefits. It also shows that complexity’s relationship to uncertainty is so ambiguous that it is profitable to treat complexity and uncertainty as separate concepts. It develops useful separate concepts of legal and compliance complexity that will aid efforts to simplify law, like the one Sunstein claims to have embarked upon. It also argues that complexity is a hallmark …

The Law And Economics Of Microfinance, Katherine Helen Mary Hunt

Katherine Helen Mary Hunt

Financial inclusion may be jargon which appeals to international donors and academics, but the strategic implementation in developing countries is often based on international du jour priorities, such as microfinance. The topic of microfinance is highly debated in the academic literature, although little empirical work has been published. Further, no literature to date has considered microfinance from a law and economics perspective. This paper seeks to contribute to the gap in the literature by considering how microfinance has evolved to address the credit market failure, and how microfinance regulation should be designed to promote long term financial inclusion via financially …

The Origins Of Affirmative Fiscal Action, Mirit Eyal-Cohen

Mirit Eyal-Cohen

This article highlights an anomaly. It shows that two tax rules aimed to achieve a similar goal were introduced at the same time. Both meant to be temporary and bring economic stimuli, but received a dramatically different treatment. The less efficient or economically inferior survived. Its superior counterpart did not. The article reviews the reasons for this paradox. It shows that the reason is both political and an agency problem. The article not only enriches an important and ongoing debate that has received much attention in recent years, but also provides important lessons to policymakers.

Encouraging Cooperation: Harmonizing The Battle Of Association And Mortgagee Lien Priority In America’S Common Interest Communities, Christian J. Bromley

Christian J Bromley

As the United States grappled with millions of foreclosures in recent years, the delinquency of mortgage and community association payments threatened the sustainability of over 300,000 common interest communities that house 63.4 million Americans. When owners of residential property fall behind on mortgage and association assessments, a battle for lien priority emerges between the associations and mortgagees. Each respectively holds a lien on the property to secure the debt owed to them, but it is the priority of these liens that determines the amount the lienholder recovers from a foreclosure sale. There is no uniform approach to priority in the …

Avoiding The Road To Ferc-Dom: The Supreme Court Affirms The Right To Contract In Morgan Stanley V. Snohomish, Jorge A. Mestre

Jorge A Mestre

No abstract provided.

Narrow Tailoring, Compelling Interests, And Free Exercise: On Aca, Rfra And Predictability, Mark Strasser

Mark Strasser

The holding in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Incorporated was narrow in scope—closely held, for-profit corporations must be afforded an exemption from providing insurance coverage for a few types of contraception if the corporation has religious objections to providing that coverage. In addition, the exemption requirement was based on a construction of federal statute rather than on the Constitution’s free exercise guarantees. Both the narrowness of the holding and the Court’s express disavowal that it was offering a constitutional analysis might make the opinion appear relatively inconsequential. However, because the opinion changes the focus and standards of federal law and …

Crítica A La Nueva Regulación De La Autotutela De La Posesión, Jimmy J. Ronquillo Pascual

Jimmy J. Ronquillo Pascual

No abstract provided.

Crítica A La Nueva Regulación De La Defensa Posesoria Extrajudicial, Jimmy J. Ronquillo Pascual

Jimmy J. Ronquillo Pascual

No abstract provided.

Marriage Penalty: How Stacking Income Affects The Secondary Earner’S Decision To Work, Kevin M. Walsh

Kevin M Walsh

Our progressive tax rate structure is aimed at taxing citizens fairly and based on their ability to pay. The rate structure, however, partially loses its purpose when analyzing the income taxation of married individuals. If a married couple decides to file jointly they are sometimes taxed at higher rates than individuals are depending on the incomes of the couple. This has created what we know today as the “marriage penalty,” and it can serve as a deterrent to the secondary earner from working.

There is no simple solution to address how the marriage penalty, in combination with necessary expenses, affects …

Breaking The Ice: How Plaintiffs May Establish Premises Liability In "Black Ice" Cases Where The Dangerous Condition Is By Definition Not Visible Or Apparent To The Property Owner, Hon. Mark Dillon

Hon. Mark C. Dillon

Plaintiffs that are injured as a result of encounters with "black ice," as distinguished from regular ice, face peculiar difficulties in establishing liability against property owners for the dangerous icy conditions on their premises. Black ice results from a unique process under certain conditions by which air bubbles are expelled from water during the freezing process, rendering the ice virtually invisible to the naked eye. Property owners therefore are not typically on actual or constructive notice of black ice conditions as to become subject to the legal requirement of undertaking measures to remedy the conditions. This article explores the law …

Protecting The Sender: Liability Protection For The Senders Of Electronic Communication, Meredith W. Doherty

Meredith W. Doherty

As the technology of smartphones has progressed, electronic communication has become an integral and portable part of our daily lives. A recent New Jersey case highlighted the issue of holding the sender of a text message liable for injuries resulting from a motor vehicle accident in which the driver at fault was reading a text message from the sender at the time of the accident. This note focuses on the implications of such liability being imposed on senders of text messages as well as the slippery slope that could result, taking all forms of electronic communication, social media and mobile …

Pennsylvanians' Constitutional Right To Juries Free Of Any Suspicion Of Partiality In Danger?, Thomas J. Foley Iii

Thomas J Foley III

Jury selection is the critical beginning, and all too often the untimely end, to any “fair” civil or criminal jury trial. Some Pennsylvania trial judges give short shrift to litigants’ challenges both for cause and peremptory, and improperly empanel potential jurors despite possible biases and prejudices revealed during voir dire. These trial judges jeopardize the Pennsylvania constitutional right to a fair trial before an ostensibly unbiased jury, one free of any suspicion of partiality. They not only endanger the rights of the litigants themselves, but threaten continued acceptance of the laws by litigants and by the public at large. Three …

La Nueva –Y Desnaturalizada- Defensa Posesoria Extrajudicial, Jimmy J. Ronquillo Pascual

Jimmy J. Ronquillo Pascual

No abstract provided.

Natural Law, Natural Rights, And Same Sex Marriage, Shannon Holzer

Shannon Holzer

ABSTRACT The Definition of Rights and Same-Sex Marriage The claim that same-sex couples have the right to be married needs to be explained according to particular theories of rights. This presents a problem for same-sex marriage (SSM) advocates for two reasons. First, if SSM advocates suggest that they have a natural right to be married (as rights were understood by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence), then they have the burden to prove that this is the case. Yet, Natural Rights entail Natural Law (NL), and NL tends to support teleological definitions of marriage. Thus, the SSM advocate must …

Profit Sharing: An Alternative Minimum Wage Model, Nicholas Parker

Nicholas Parker

No abstract provided.

Friend Or Faux: The Trademark Counterfeiting Act's Inability To Stop The Sale Of Counterfeit Sporting Goods, Jennifer Riso

Jennifer Riso

The demand for counterfeit sporting goods, such as jerseys and other apparel, is on the rise as the prices of authentic goods continue to increase. The Trademark Counterfeiting Act of 1984 criminalizes the import and sale of counterfeit goods, but is ineffective at addressing the demand side of counterfeit goods. This paper analyzes the history behind the Act and recommends ways to ensure that the act will stay relevant as technology makes it easier to purchase counterfeit goods.

Resolution 10-08-2014, To Improve Automated External Defibrillator (Aed) Accessibility, Catherine L. Rucker

Catherine L Rucker

To amend California Health and Safety Code section 1797.196 to require that automatic external defibrillators (AED) units be stored in readily accessible and highly visible locations.

The Presentment Clause Meets The Suspension Power: The Affordable Care Act’S Long And Winding Road To Implementation, Mitchell Widener

Mitchell Widener

The presentment clause MEETs the Suspension Power: The Affordable Care Act’s Long and Winding Road to Implementation

Mitchell J. Widener

Abstract

To enact a law, the Presentment Clause of the Constitution mandates that both Houses of Congress present a bill to the President who either signs it into law or vetoes it. The Founders included this provision to prevent presidents from emulating King James II, who would routinely suspend Parliament’s laws to favor political constituents. Additionally, the Presentment Clause served to enhance the separation-of-powers principle implied in the Constitution.

Within the past year, President Obama has suspended multiple portions of …

You Booze, You Bruise, You Lose: Analyzing The Constitutionality Of Florida’S Involuntary Blood Draw Statute In The Wake Of Missouri V. Mcneely, Francisco D. Zornosa

Francisco D Zornosa

No abstract provided.

The Smokable Goods Tax: Crafting A Constitutional Marijuana Tax, Nima H. Mohebbi, Samuel T. Greenberg

Nima H. Mohebbi

Marijuana legalization and decriminalization has become a hot policy issue. Roughly twenty U.S. states have partially legalized marijuana (generally for medicinal purposes) and two states – Colorado and Washington – have legalized it for general adult recreational use. Given the likely hyper-growth of the cannabis market in view of the possible wide-scale legalization of marijuana, states might enjoy a potential budgetary windfalls from marijuana excise taxes. Marijuana, however, remains a federally controlled substance, the sale or use of which is subject to substantial penalties. For the states, this presents a potential problem in collecting excise taxes on marijuana – namely, …

The Unintended Consequences Of Safety Regulation, Sherzod Abdukadirov

Sherzod Abdukadirov

This study examines how risk trade-offs undermine safety regulations. Safety regulations often come with unintended consequences in that regulations attempting to reduce risk in one area may increase risks elsewhere. The increases in countervailing risks may even exceed the reduction in targeted risks, leading to a policy that does more harm than good. The unintended consequences could be avoided or their impacts minimized through more careful analysis, including formal risk trade-off analysis, consumer testing, and retrospective analysis. Yet agencies face strong incentives against producing better analysis; increased awareness of risk trade-offs would force agencies to make unpalatable and politically sensitive …

C(R)Ap And Trade: The Brave New World Of Non-Point Source Nutrient Trading And Using Lessons From Greenhouse Gas Markets To Make It Work, Victor B. Flatt

Victor B Flatt

After several decades of improvement, water quality in the United States is getting worse, and the problem is primarily caused by run-off from non-point sources, such as farms and urban development. These non-point sources have never had regulatory mandates in the Clean Water Act, and have proven very difficult to control. With little likelihood of comprehensive statutory changes, the EPA and the states that administer the Clean Water Act have looked to other regulatory means to address this problem. One of the most prominent has been the use of markets in pollution (particularly for nutrient pollution from run-off) to provide …

Bounties For Bad Behavior: Rewarding Culpable Whistleblowers Under The Dodd-Frank Act And Internal Revenue Code, Jennifer M. Pacella

Jennifer M. Pacella, Esq.

In 2012, Bradley Birkenfeld received a $104 million reward or “bounty” from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for blowing the whistle on his employer, UBS, which facilitated a major offshore tax fraud scheme by assisting thousands of U.S. taxpayers to hide their assets in Switzerland. Birkenfeld does not fit the mold of the public’s common perception of a whistleblower. He was himself complicit in this crime and even served time in prison for his involvement. Despite his conviction, Birkenfeld was still eligible for a sizable whistleblower bounty under the IRS Whistleblower Program, which allows rewards for whistleblowers who are convicted …