Law Commons^™

Earning Deference: Reflections On The Merger Of Environmental And Land-Use Law, Michael Allan Wolf

UF Law Faculty Publications

The bedrock notion that courts should, in the overwhelming majority of cases, defer to lawmakers is currently under attack in the nation's courts, commentary and classrooms. Leading the way are several United States Supreme Court Justices who, in cases involving the Commerce Clause, the Takings Clause and Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment, are much more willing than their immediate predecessors to second-guess the motives and tactics of elected and appointed officials at all levels of government. Given this new juris-political reality, it is more important than ever that local government officials--who are often (though, certainly, not always justifiably) viewed …

Let The Jury Decide: The Gap Between What Judges And Reasonable People Believe Is Sexually Harassing, Theresa M. Beiner

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Specialized Trial Courts: Concentrating Expertise On Fact, Arti K. Rai

Faculty Scholarship

In the absence of a specialized patent trial court with expertise in fact-finding, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit often reviews de novo the many factual questions that pervade patent law. De novo review of fact by an appellate court is problematic. In the area of patent law, as in other areas of law, there are sound institutional justifications for the conventional division of labor that gives trial courts primary responsibility for questions of law. This Article identifies the problems created by de novo appellate review of fact and argues for the creation of a specialized trial court …

A New Look At Sexual Harassment Under The Fair Housing Act: The Forgotten Role Of §3604(C), Robert G. Schwemm, Rigel C. Oliveri

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Sexual harassment in housing is a significant national problem. Although less visible than the comparable problem in employment, sexual harassment in housing may be as prevalent and probably more devastating to its victims.

Nevertheless, relatively little attention has been paid to this issue or to the law that should govern it. Indeed, the law of sexual harassment in housing developed well after and in virtual lock-step with the law of sexual harassment in employment. Thus, courts have simply interpreted the Fair Housing Act (FHA) to prohibit sexual harassment to the same degree—and only to the same degree—as it is prohibited …

Common Law Courts In An Age Of Equity Procedure: Redefining Appellate Review For The Mass Tort Era, Melissa A. Waters

Scholarship@WashULaw

From expansion of tort liability rules, to novel claims aggregation and settlement techniques, to statistically derived liability and damages assessments, mass tort litigation is producing unprecedented innovations at every level of the federal legal system. What is particularly striking about these innovations is that they are almost exclusively the product of a handful of federal trial judges who specialize in mass tort cases. Because appellate courts lack the necessary tools to supervise their decisions, these few mass tort trial judges are shaping the rules that govern the mass tort legal regime with little or no appellate supervision. The result is …

The Movement Toward Federalism In Italy: A Policy-Oriented Perspective, Siegfried Wiessner

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Default Rules In Sales And The Myth Of Contracting Out, James J. White

Articles

In this article, I trace the dispute in the courts and before the ALI and NCCUSL over the proper contract formation and interpretation default rules. In Part II, I consider the Gateway litigation. In Part III, I deal with UCITA and the revision to Article 2. In Part IV, I consider the merits of the competing default rules.

The Ins And Outs, Stops And Starts Of Speedy Trial Rights In Colorado--Part Ii, H. Patrick Furman

Publications

This two-part article reviews the constitutional and statutory right to a speedy trial and discusses the case law interpreting that right. The first part was printed in July 2002.

See Part I at http://scholar.law.colorado.edu/articles/550/.

Dissenting Opinions: In The Georgia Supreme Court, R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Scholarly Works

Under our system of justice, each jurisdiction necessarily evolves its own distinct tradition of judicial dissent. That evolution's impetus, history, pattern, and results all converge in an informative profile--affording yet another means of studying a state's highest appellate court. A dissent profile of the Georgia Supreme Court thus offers an additional evaluative view of the state's most important judicial cathedral.

Inter-American System, Claudia Martin

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Inter-American System, Diego Rodriguez-Pinzon

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Civil Litigation From Litigants' Perspectives: What We Know And What We Don't Know About The Litigation Experience Of Individual Litigants, Tamara Relis

Scholarly Works

This study of the entire phenomenon of civil litigation commenced with the sole aim of ascertaining the extant gaps in the available knowledge about litigation from the perspectives of those who are by far affected most by it: the litigants. What does litigation mean for those who are directly embroiled and whose lives may consequently be radically transformed? Serious lacunas exist. However, extensive readings worldwide throughout the research process result in a stark elucidation of an overlooked, yet crucially important and somewhat egregious state of affairs, making surprisingly clear just how pernicious litigation is for the average 'nonrepeat player'.

Burdine V. Johnson -- To Sleep, Perchance To Get A New Trial: Presumed Prejudice Arising From Sleeping Counsel, James M. Donovan

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Few images slice as deeply into our self-image as a fair society than that of a defendant on trial for his very life depending upon the services of an attorney who naps throughout the proceedings. Although this scenario is not new, the courts have yet to resolve definitively how they should respond to a defendant burdened with snoozing counsel. This note discusses the outcome of the latest attempt. UPDATE: While a conscious lawyer is presumably a requirement of due process, some jurisdictions make no similar demand that judges remain awake: see http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWCCA/2007/273.html

The Courtroom Technology Wars Are Here!, Fredric I. Lederer

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

From Common Law To Civil Law Jurisdictions: Court Adr On The Move In Germany, Nadja Alexander

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In Australia today, ADR processes are recognised not only as a distinct system of dispute resolution, but also as a system that interacts interdependently with the legal system. This is most clearly demonstrated in the context of court-related mediation, which is increasingly seen as an effective way to increase access to, participation in, and satisfaction with the way legal disputes are resolved. Cappelletti categorises ADR as the third wave in the worldwide access-to-justice movement. ADR provides a different approach and a different sort of justice for solving disputes — what Cappelletti labels ‘co-existential justice’.

Discriminatory Housing Statements And §3604(C): A New Look At The Fair Housing Act’S Most Intriguing Provision, Robert G. Schwemm

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Today, more than three decades after the 1968 Fair Housing Act ("FHA") banned such behavior, blatant discrimination—often accompanied by racist slurs and other explicitly discriminatory statements—continues to plague America's housing markets. The FHA not only outlawed discrimination in most housing transactions on the basis of race, color, religion, and national origin, but also contained a specific prohibition, § 3604(c), banning all discriminatory housing statements. Unlike the FHA's more traditional prohibitions against discriminatory refusals to deal and discriminatory terms and conditions, § 3604(c)'s ban on discriminatory statements has not been the subject of much litigation or debate.

Part I of the …

The Institutional And Substantive Effects Of The Human Rights Act In The United Kingdom, Christopher D. Jenkins

Dalhousie Law Journal

This article reviews the institutional and substantive impact that the Human Rights Act has on English law through its incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Under the Act, higher courts can now move beyond a formalistic method of judicial review and substantively evaluate legislation in light of the Convention. The judiciary can accordingly issue declarations that statutes are incompatible with the Convention which, although not invalidating the act in question, will bring considerable political pressure to bear on Parliament to ensure compliance. The Act further directs courts to give special regard to the decisions of the European Court …

The Legislature, The Executive And The Courts: The Delicate Balance Of Power Or Who Is Running This Country Anyway?, A Wayne Mackay

Dalhousie Law Journal

The expanding role of Canadian courts since the introduction of the Charter has prompted critics to decry what they see as excessive and "anti-democratic" judicial activism. The author addresses such criticisms, responding, in particular, to the arguments of Ted Morton and Rainer Knopff. The article critiques the basic elements of Morton/Knopf's thesis: that activist courts are anti-democratic, excessively political, and engaging in illegitimate law-making. Rejecting the claim that Canada's judiciary is a less democratic state institution, the author notes the powerful law and policy-making role performed by the federal cabinet-for practical purposes, an unelected body. The author endorses the dialogue …

Monroe County, Kentucky - Records, 1838-1857 (Mss 61), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid for Manuscripts Collection 61. Docket books, 1838-1876 (3), kept by J. Gee, justice of the peace of Monroe County, Kentucky; miscellaneous papers found in books, 1838-post 1952 (20). Includes record book kept by B. C. Maxey of Barren County, Kentucky, which contains Gee family history, Maxey cemetery records, etc., 1925-1957 (Click on "Additional Files" below for scan).

Rethink The Laws Relating To Fathers (Change: With The Decline In Married Mothers And Traditional Families, The Legal Image Of Dads Needs Re-Examination), Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

This "marital presumption" permitted courts to assume a set of biological facts in the name of preserving the sanctity and stability of what was assumed to be the cornerstone of a healthy society — the traditional family of husband, wife and children. In the last decades of the 20th century, science developed paternity testing with results approaching certainty. Despite the availability of DNA testing, the marital presumption is still used in many courtrooms to answer the question of who is the legal father. What one scholar has called "the law's struggle to preserve the fiction of an older moral order" …

Chief Judge Edward R. Becker: A Truly Remarkable Judge, Marci A. Hamilton

Articles

No abstract provided.

The Judiciary In The United States: A Search For Fairness, Independence And Competence, Stephen J. Shapiro

All Faculty Scholarship

Alexander Hamilton referred to the judiciary as “the least dangerous branch” because it could neither make nor enforce the law without help from the other two branches of government. In the years since then, however, courts and judges in the United States have assumed a much more prominent role in society. American judges preside over criminal trials and sentence those convicted, decide all kinds of civil disputes, both large and small, and make important decisions involving families, such as child custody. They have also become the primary guarantors of the civil and constitutional rights of American citizens.

The case of …

The Courts And Legislation: Anglo-American Contrasts (George P. Smith, Ii, Distinguished Professorship-Chair Of Law), Sir David Williams David Q. C.

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

On April 12, 2000, Sir David Williams delivered the following lecture at the Indiana School of Law-Bloomington in accordance with The George P. Smith, II, Distinguished Visiting Professorship-Chair of Law and Legal Research endowment. The Chair was established by George P. Smith to broaden students' exposure to scholars and judges of national and international reputation and to allow distinguished visiting scholars the opportunity to do research at Indiana University and share their ideas with the faculty and students of the Indiana University School of Law and Indiana University. George P. Smith, an Indiana native, received his B.S. degree in business, …

Slow And Steady Does Not Always Win The Race: The Nuremberg Files Web Site And What It Should Teach Us About Incitement And The Internet, Nadine E. Mcspadden

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Restatement Of Torts And The Courts, Jack B. Weinstein

Vanderbilt Law Review

Primarily through tort law the courts compensate those injured by others. Secondary aspects of our work such as deterrence or forcing tortfeasors to pay the full social costs of their activities are minor and collateral. For jurors focusing on compensation, tort law has only two operative elements: damage and cause. It is the law professor and the judge, through decisions on motions and instructions, who are the main Restatement consumers. Emphasizing mass torts, I will make three points relevant to those considering the health of tort law.

First: Tort law in its least inhibitory principle is useful be- cause of …

The Thinning Vision Of Self-Determination In Court-Connected Mediation: The Inevitable Price Of Institutionalization?, Nancy A. Welsh

Faculty Scholarship

Ethical codes for mediators describe party self-determination as “the fundamental principle of mediation,” regardless of the context within which the mediation is occurring. The definition of self-determination, however, is a matter of dispute. Based on a review of the debate surrounding the promulgation and revision of ethical codes for court-connected mediators in Florida and Minnesota, this Article demonstrates that a vision of self-determination anchored in party-centered empowerment is yielding to a vision that is more reflective of the norms and traditional practices of lawyers and judges, as well as the courts’ strong orientation to efficiency and closure of cases through …

Free? Exercise, Marci A. Hamilton

Articles

No abstract provided.

Juries And Technology: Equipping Jurors For The Twenty-First Century (Symposium), Nancy S. Marder

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Managing Punitive Damages: A Role For Mandatory "Limited Generosity" Classes And Anti-Suit Injunctions?, Joan E. Steinman

All Faculty Scholarship

In this Article, I consider whether "limited generosity" classes may be used to determine a defendant's entire liability for punitive damages arising from a defined course of conduct. The goals of such a class action would include adequately punishing and deterring the defendant, keeping the defendant's liability within state-mandated and constitutional limits, and facilitating equitable distribution of the damages among injured plaintiffs. The Article describes the legal limits on punitive damages liability that states have established and that the Supreme Court has held substantive due process to impose, and then carefully examines whether such limits constitute a predicate for mandatory …

Using § 1983 To Enforce Title Vi's Section 602 Regulations, Bradford Mank

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This Article examines the circumstances under which § 1983 suits may be used to enforce agency regulations in general, and Title VI's disparate impact regulations in particular.