Law Commons^™

Remanding Multidistrict Litigation, Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

Scholarly Works

Multidistrict litigation has frequently been described as a “black hole” because transfer is typically a one-way ticket. The numbers lend truth to this proposition. As of 2010, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation remanded only 3.425% of cases to their original districts. That number dwindled to 3.1% in 2012, and to a scant 2.9% in 2013. Retaining cases in hopes of forcing a global settlement can cause a constellation of complications. These concerns range from procedural justice issues over selecting a forum and correcting error, to substantive concerns about fidelity to state laws, to undermining democratic participation ideals fulfilled through …

Why Wynne Should Win, Dan T. Coenen

Scholarly Works

In Maryland State Comptroller of the Treasury v. Wynne, the Court could reshape core features of dormant Commerce Clause law. Maryland’s theory in the case is that it can lay an income tax on every penny of an individual resident’s income even if some of that income is earned entirely outside the state and therefore, in keeping with standard state practice, already taxed elsewhere. On its face, this approach exposes interstate income earners to overlapping income taxation. Maryland’s scheme thus violates a cardinal principle of dormant Commerce Clause law, “forbidding” state laws that expose interstate commerce “to the risk …

The Great Writ In The Peach State: Georgia Habeas Corpus, 1865-1965, Donald E. Wilkes Jr.

Scholarly Works

There is a plenitude of scholarly writing on the Great Writ of Habeas Corpus, which is universally recognized as "one of the decisively differentiating factors between our democracy and totalitarian governments."' The overwhelming majority of these scholarly publications are concerned with the writ of habeas corpus as administered in the federal court system. There are far fewer scholarly publications on the writ of habeas corpus as administered in the courts of the State of Georgia, and most of these works are concerned with Georgia habeas corpus as a state postconviction remedy, past and present. Only one scholarly piece, a law …

Encouraging Victims: Responding To A Recent Study Of Battered Women Who Commit Crimes, Andrea L. Dennis, Carol E. Jordan

Scholarly Works

The article discusses evolution of social services and legal remedies for domestic violence. It reviews research done on domestic violence victims to find out factors that prevent victims from reporting the incident. It offers tips on how to motivate victims to report the incidence of domestic violence. It offers a new proposal targeting women who both suffer violence and have a criminal history.

Teaching “The Wire”: Crime, Evidence, And Kids, Andrea L. Dennis

Scholarly Works

I have a confession: I have only watched Season 1 of The Wire, and it has been many years since I did that. Thus, both my knowledge and pedagogical use of the show are limited. What explanation can I offer for my failings? I am a Maryland native with family who resides in Baltimore City, or Charm City as it is affectionately called. I worked for several years as an assistant federal public defender in Baltimore City. Over time, I have seen the city evolve, and I have seen it chew up and spit out many good people and some …

First Amendment Neighbors, Sonja R. West

Scholarly Works

An abdication of the Press Clause reflects the most basic of analytical errors: It treats the text of the Press Clause as redundant and ignores the specialized functions that the Framers meant for the Press Clause to play. Failing to give the Press Clause constitutional recognition by declaring it too difficult to interpret or by dismissing it as "mere surplusage" is utterly at odds with our constitutional traditions. The Religion Clauses provide an example on how to give the text of the Press Clause true meaning.

In interpreting the Religion Clauses, the Supreme Court has taken a different attitude than …

The Effect Of The Jobs Act On Underwriting Spreads, Usha Rodrigues

Scholarly Works

U.S. underwriting fees, or spreads, have somewhat inexplicably clustered around 7% for years, a phenomenon that some have suggested evidences implicit collusion. The goal of Title I the JOBS Act of 2012 was to make going public easier for smaller firms; certain provisions specifically should make the underwriters’ task less risky, and thus less expensive. Presuming these provisions are effective, then one would predict that underwriting spreads would decrease as the costs to the underwriter for a public offering declined. Admittedly the prior presumption is a big one: it may be that the JOBS Act reforms were largely ineffective, and …

In-Sourcing Corporate Responsibility For Enforcement Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Larry D. Thompson

Scholarly Works

In this article I first review our nation's long-standing and active aversion to corporate corruption overseas, as principally embodied in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. I then explain how achievement of the FCPA's goals is undermined by the uncertainty in current federal enforcement policies and the consequent ambivalence toward self disclosure exhibited by multinational corporations. Finally, I argue that the only realistic way to make up the shortcomings in FCPA enforcement that flow from the Justice Department's limited resources is to motivate corporations themselves to police corruption in their foreign subsidiaries by giving them a concrete incentive in the form …

The Problem Of Abusive Related-Partner Allocations, Gregg D. Polsky, Emily Cauble

Scholarly Works

This Article highlights a flaw in the existing rules regarding partnership tax allocations that has not yet received sufficient attention by existing literature. Namely, the partnership tax allocation rules are implicitly premised on the assumption that partners are unrelated and, thus, transact with each other at arm’s length. As a result, related partners can and do devise tax allocation schemes that exploit the gap in the current partnership tax allocation rules to achieve unwarranted tax savings.

This Article proposes to end this abuse by disallowing special allocations among related partners. Under the proposal, allocations among related partners would be required …

Merger Control Procedures And Institutions: A Comparison Of The Eu And Us Practice, William E. Kovacic, Petros C. Mavroidis, Damien J. Neven

Faculty Scholarship

The objective of this paper is to discuss and compare the role that different constituencies play in US and EU procedures for merger control. We describe the main constituencies (both internal and external) involved in merger control in both jurisdictions and discuss how a typical merger case would be handled under these procedures. At each stage, we consider how the procedure unfolds, which parties are involved, and how they can affect the procedure. Our discussion reveals a very different ecology. EU and US procedures differ in terms of their basic design and in terms of the procedures that are naturally …

Corporate Governance Theory And Review Of Board Decisions, Christopher M. Bruner

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Review Essay: Reading The Dream Machine: The Untold Story Of The Notorious V-22 Osprey, By Richard Whittle, In Light Of The Defense Acquisition Performance Study, Steven L. Schooner, Nathaniel E. Castellano

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This review commends The Dream Machine to a broad range of readers, including public contracts attorneys, acquisition policy officials, contracts professionals, program managers, government procurement law students, as well as consumers of military history. It’s a remarkable story told with style. The review juxtapose some aspects of the author’s exhaustive case study of this seemingly problematic program against the Defense Department’s nascent effort to assess the performance of the Defense Acquisition System. We make no secret of our belief that DoD’s acquisition performance assessment has the potential to become one of the most significant recent developments in defense acquisition. Among …

Inconsistent Jury Verdicts, Stephen A. Saltzburg

GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

This article examines United States v. Moran-Toala, 726 F.3d 334 (2d Cir. 2013), to illustrate what happens when a trial judge explicitly instructs a jury that its verdict need not be consistent.

Fairness Over Deference: The Shifting Landscape Of Creditors Rights To Claims And Debtor Protection Regarding The Issuance Of Form 1099-C, Patrick Christensen

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

Issues surrounding the discharge of indebtedness with regard to Form 1099-C filings have recently become a difficult issue for bankruptcy courts. When a debtor cannot afford to pay a creditor an outstanding debt, a Form 1099-C is utilized to “discharge the debt.” The resulting cancellation is then reportable for tax purposes for both the debtor (as cancellation-of-debt income – “COD income”) and the creditor (as a deduction). Form 1099-C filings are made by creditors and issued to each “debtor for whom . . . $600 or more of a debt owed” had been cancelled.

Courts have had to consider …

Preclusive Effect Of Pre-Petition State Court Judgments In Nondischargeability Proceedings, Kelly E. Porcelli

Bankruptcy Research Library

(Excerpt)

A central purpose of the Bankruptcy Code is to provide a “fresh start” for the “honest but unfortunate debtor.” Subject to various exceptions, section 727 of the Bankruptcy Code provides that the court shall grant the debtor a discharge, which permanently enjoins the debtor’s creditors from attempting to collect any prepetition debts. This “fresh start” policy is not absolute, however, and section 523 of the Bankruptcy Code lists various types of debts that are nondischargeable. Under section 523(a)(2), (4), and (6), a debtor will not be discharged from debts which are “(2) . . . obtained by-- (A) false …

United States Assistant Attorney General For National Security John P. Carlin Delivers Remarks At The American University Business Law Review 2014 Symposium, John P. Carlin

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Stare Indecisis: The Federal Circuit's En Banc Battle Against Itself And Business In Lighting Ballast Control, Llc V. Philips Electronics North America Corp., Ronny Valdes

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Benefit Corporations—The Latest Development In The Evolution Of Social Enterprise: Are They Worthy Of A Taxpayer Subsidy?, Mystica M. Alexander

Seton Hall Journal of Legislation and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Beware Of New Jerseyans Bearing Gift Cards: New Jersey Gift Card Legislation And The Corporate Effect, Isabella Pitt

Seton Hall Journal of Legislation and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents - Vol. 38, No. 2 2014

Seton Hall Journal of Legislation and Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Product Of The Mind: Idea Submission Cases And Copyright Preemption Post-Grosso, Catherine Niebergall

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

Stalemate: Patent Eligibility, Pamela Welch

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

Preemption Of Other State Law By The Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Richard F. Dole Jr.

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Internet And Its Discontents: 3-D Printing, The Commerce Clause, And A Possible Solution To An Inevitable Problem, Jeffrey T. Leslie

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

Evolving Patent Legislation Growing Pains, Eric Carr

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Apps Act: Regulation Of Mobile Application Privacy, Katherine Gnadinger

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cyberspace: A Constitutionally Protected Forum For Free Speech, Donald H. Flanary Iii, Jessica J. Pritchett

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

Judges And Social Media: Disclosure As Disinfectant, Benjamin P. Cooper

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.

Avoiding Misrepresentation In Informal Social Media Discovery, Agnieszka Mcpeak

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

No abstract provided.