Law Commons^™

Revising International Law: A Liberal Account Of Natural Resources, Fernando R. Tesón

Scholarly Publications

In this Article, I defend the view that natural resources originally belong to individuals who have legitimately established private property claims over them. Natural resources do not belong to a collective entity such as the people or the state. My argument is simple. Relying on the Lockean contractarian tradition, I argue that individuals must delegate any resource controlled by the state. This is because all powers of the state are, morally, delegated powers. A group's claims over natural resources is entirely derivative of the original claims of its members. Only individuals can originally appropriate natural resources; only they have the …

The Oedipus Hex: Regulating Family After Marriage Equality, Courtney Megan Cahill

Scholarly Publications

Now that national marriage equality for same-sex couples has become the law of the land, commentators are turning their attention from the relationships into which some gays and lesbians enter to the mechanisms on which they — and many others — rely in order to reproduce. Even as one culture war makes way for another, however, there is something that binds them: a desire to establish the family. This Article focuses on a problematic manifestation of that desire: the incest prevention justification. The incest prevention justification posits that the law ought to regulate alternative reproduction in order to minimize the …

Presidential Control Across Policymaking Tools, Catherine Y. Kim

Florida State University Law Review

Over the past quarter century, administrative law scholars have observed the President’s growing control over agency policymaking and the separation-of-powers concerns implicated by such unilateral exercises of power. The paradigmatic form of agency policymaking—notice-and-comment rulemaking—mitigates these concerns by ensuring considerable oversight by the courts, Congress, and the public at large. Agencies, however, typically have at their disposal a variety of policymaking tools with which to implement White House goals, including the issuance of guidance documents and the strategic exercise of enforcement discretion. While commentators have drawn attention to the risk that agencies will circumvent the extensive checks associated with rulemaking …

Maximizing Utility In Electric Utility Regulation, Jonas J. Monast

Florida State University Law Review

The electric power sector is undergoing a period of profound change, reacting to economic, technological, and regulatory variables that have emerged quickly and largely without warning. In many states, the public utility commission (PUC) will play a key role in deter-mining how electric utilities respond to these rapidly changing circumstances, the outcome of which will affect electricity rates, investor returns, public health, and local and state economies for decades to come. The general mandate underlying many utility commission proceedings—seeking the least cost option for maintaining a reliable electricity sector—provides the PUC with considerable discretion to choose among sources of information, …

Is Personhood The Answer To Resolve Frozen Pre-Embryo Disputes?, Erica Steinmiller-Perdomo

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Taking Turns, Ronen Perry, Tal Z. Zarsky

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Interpreting Force Authorization, Scott M. Sullivan

Florida State University Law Review

This Article presents a theory of authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs) that reconciles separation of power failures in the current interpretive model. Existing doctrine applies the same text-driven models of statutory interpretation to AUMFs that are utilized with all other legal instruments. However, the conditions at birth, objectives, and expected impacts underlying military force authorizations differ dramatically from typical legislation. AUMFs are focused but temporary corrective interventions intended to change the underlying facts that prompted their passage. This Article examines historical practice and utilizes institutionalist principles to develop a theory of AUMF decay that eschews text in …

A New Test To Reconcile The Right Of Publicity With Core First Amendment Values, Nat Stern, Mark Joseph Stern

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

The Indefinite Deflection Of Congressional Standing, Nat Stern

Scholarly Publications

Recent litigation brought or threatened against the administration of President Obama has brought to prominence the question of standing by Congress or its members to sue the President for nondefense or non-enforcement of federal law. Leading scholars in the field of congressional standing immediately expressed doubt that courts would entertain a suit seeking to compel enforcement of these provisions. This Article argues that the premise that suits of this sort can be maintained rests on a tenuous understanding of the Supreme Court's fitful treatment of standing by Congress or its members to sue the Executive.

The Court has never issued …

Ordering Proof: Beyond Adversarial And Inquisitorial Trial Structures, Emily Spottswood

Scholarly Publications

In typical trials, judges and juries will find it easier to remember the proof that occurs early in the process over than what comes later. Moreover, once a fact-finder starts to form a working hypothesis to explain the facts of the case, they will be biased towards interpreting new facts in a way that confirms that theory. These two psychological mechanisms will often combine to create a strong “primacy effect,” in which the party who goes first gains a subtle, but significant, advantage over the opposing party. In this article, I propose a new method of ordering proof, designed to …

The Wellness Approach: Weeding Out Unfair Labor Practices In The Cannabis Industry, Taylor G. Sachs

Florida State University Law Review

Privity's Shadow: Exculpatory Terms In Extended Forms Of Private Ordering, Mark P. Gergen

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cancellation Of Debt And Related Transactions, Jeffrey H. Kahn, Douglas A. Kahn

Scholarly Publications

If a taxpayer borrows money, the borrowed funds are not included in the taxpayer’s gross income. That treatment is proper even though the taxpayer has increased his assets by the amount he borrowed because he also has created a corresponding liability to pay back the loan. The taxpayer’s net wealth has not increased. The more difficult and interesting questions arise when the taxpayer fails to repay the loan. At first blush, it would appear that upon cancellation of a loan, the taxpayer should have income for the amount that was cancelled. However, the current tax treatment is not that simple. …

Cancellation Of Debt And Related Transactions, Jeffrey H. Kahn, Douglas A. Kahn

Scholarly Publications

If a taxpayer borrows money, the borrowed funds are not included in the taxpayer’s gross income. That treatment is proper even though the taxpayer has increased his assets by the amount he borrowed because he also has created a corresponding liability to pay back the loan. The taxpayer’s net wealth has not increased. The more difficult and interesting questions arise when the taxpayer fails to repay the loan. At first blush, it would appear that upon cancellation of a loan, the taxpayer should have income for the amount that was cancelled. However, the current tax treatment is not that simple. …

Florida State Law Alumni Magazine (Fall 2015), Florida State University College Of Law Office Of Development And Alumni Affairs

Alumni Newsletter & FSU Law Magazine

No abstract provided.

The Prioritization Of Criminal Over Civil Counsel And The Discounted Danger Of Private Power, Kathryn A. Sabbeth

Florida State University Law Review

This Article seeks to make two contributions to the literature on the role of counsel. First, it brings together civil Gideon research and recent studies of collateral consequences. Like criminal convictions, civil judgments result in far-reaching collateral consequences, and these should be included in any evaluation of the private interests that civil lawyers protect. Second, this Article argues that the prioritization of criminal defense counsel over civil counsel reflects a mistaken view of lawyers’ primary role as a shield against government power. Lawyers also serve a vital role in checking the power of private actors. As private actors increasingly take …

Renewing Electricity Competition, David Schraub

Florida State University Law Review

The scholarly literature on law and social movement has historically focused on public law issues like environmentalism, reproductive rights, and race relations, while staying far away from business and firm behavior. Business behavior was easily understood as that of self-interested profit-maximizers and thereby left to the economics. Recently, however, social movement theorists have begun paying more attention to the business world. While traditional economic models can explain why businesses pursue higher profits, greater market shares, and superior regulatory climates, they are limited in their ability to explain how wish becomes reality. The formation and identification of market opportunities are products …

Response To Heather Gerken's Federalism And Nationalism: Time For A Détente?, Erin Ryan

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

The Medical Liability Exemption: A Path To Affordable Pharmaceuticals, Carrie E. Rosato

Florida State University Law Review

Patent monopolies are tolerated because we believe they promote progress that benefits society. What should be done when these monopolies actually increase human suffering? Drug prices in America are fifty to eighty percent higher than the rest of the world, meaning many cannot afford drugs that will improve or even save their lives. When striking a balance between the interests of the patent holder and that of the public, it is important to bear in mind that the rewards granted to patentees are secondary to the public benefit derived from their labors. The ideal solution would come from Congress creating …

Implementing A Carbon Tax In Florida Under The Clean Power Plan: Policy Considerations, Chris Hastings

Florida State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Moral Hazard Of Contract Drafting, Eric A. Zacks

Florida State University Law Review

This Article identifies and examines the principal-agent problem as it arises in the context of contract preparation. The economic agency relationship, as it may be understood to exist for contract drafting, provides a superior framework for understanding and reforming the inability of the non-drafting party (the principal) to control the drafting party (the agent). As an economic agent, the drafting party faces a moral hazard when preparing the contract because of the differing interests of the parties as well as the information and control asymmetries that exists. For example, the use of standard form contracts in consumer transactions is an …

A Deficiency In Addressing Campus Sexual Assault: The Lack Of Women Law Enforcement Officers, Nat Stern, Karen Oehme

Scholarly Publications

The federal government has taken a range of measures to combat the scourge of sexual assault afflicting college campuses across the nation. Whatever the efficacy of these policies, however, they fail to address a major obstacle to curbing sexual violence on campus: the chronically low rate of reporting of this crime to police. Research on crime data has produced evidence that as female representation among police officers increases, more crimes against women are reported. Yet, most university campus law enforcement agencies-tasked with taking a “central role” in combatting sexual assault-include strikingly few female officers. This Article proposes an increase in …

The Dangerous Right To Food Choice, Samuel R. Wiseman

Scholarly Publications

Scholars, advocates, and interest groups have grown increasingly concerned with the ways in which government regulations—from agricultural subsidies to food safety regulations to licensing restrictions on food trucks—affect access to local food. One argument emerging from the interest in recent years is that choosing what foods to eat, what I have previously called “liberty of palate,” is a fundamental right.1 The attraction is obvious: infringements of fundamental rights trigger strict scrutiny, which few statutes survive. As argued elsewhere, the doctrinal case for the existence of such a right is very weak. This Essay does not revisit those arguments, but instead …

How Would The Supreme Court Rule On Loving And Ridgely?, Steve R. Johnson

Scholarly Publications

On March 3 the Supreme Court unanimously decided Direct Marketing Association v. Brohl, a case arising under the Tax Injunction Act {TIA). The focus of this article is not on Brohl on its own terms but on the implications of Brohl· for the Loving line of cases and for future cases that may arise out of Loving. I believe Brohl reveals that the Supreme Court would likely uphold the approach taken in Loving were a case of this kind to reach the Court. For that reason, the government was wise not to seek Supreme Court review of Loving. Unless it …

The Agency Exception To The Anticipatory Assignment Doctrine, Jeffrey H. Kahn, Douglas A. Kahn

Scholarly Publications

In this article, the authors discuss the agency exception to the anticipatory assignment of income doctrine and explain the policy justification for the exception.

What Is Federal Habeas Worth?, Samuel R. Wiseman

Scholarly Publications

Federal habeas review of state non-capital cases under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) is widely regarded as deeply flawed for producing a huge volume of costly litigation and very little relief. Many scholars have called for AEDPA’s repeal and a return to more robust federal review, but recently, several prominent commentators have suggested more dramatic change— radically limiting federal habeas in exchange for more fruitful reform efforts. In an era of limited criminal justice budgets and an increasing focus on efficiency, these proposals are likely to proliferate. This Article lays out a needed empirical and …

Reverse Nullification And Executive Discretion, Michael T. Morley

Scholarly Publications

The President has broad discretion to refrain from enforcing many civil and criminal laws, either in general or under certain circumstances. The Supreme Court has not only affirmed the constitutionality of such under-enforcement, but extolled its virtues. Most recently, in Arizona v. United States, it deployed the judicially created doctrines of obstacle and field preemption to invalidate state restrictions on illegal immigrants that mirrored federal law, in large part to ensure that states do not undermine the effects of the President’s decision to refrain from fully enforcing federal immigration provisions.

Such a broad application of obstacle and field preemption is …

A Tax Audible: Coaches And Buyouts, Jeffrey H. Kahn

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Negotiating Federalism And The Structural Constitutionn: Navigating The Separation Of Powers Both Vertically And Horizontally, Erin Ryan

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.

Duress As Rent-Seeking, Mark Seidenfeld, Murat C. Mungan

Scholarly Publications

No abstract provided.