Law Commons^™

Response To Endicott: The Case Of The Wise Electrician, Gerard V. Bradley

Gerard V. Bradley

Timothy Endicott tells the tale of the "wise electrician." The main activities of the Wise Electrician are two. One is that he installs legally required Grade 5 insulation in everyone's home save one. The second is that on his own ceiling light circuits he uses Grade 4 insulation, which cheaper to acquire and, in his professional judgment, it is safe. In fact, the Wise Electrician would install Grade 4 in those houses, too, but for one fact: it would be illegal. What makes our man so interesting is that it is illegal to install Grade 4 in his house too. …

Fuller And Godel: Prophets Against The Evils Of Positivism: How The Natural Law Is Necessary To Provide Legal Meaning And Consistency, Henry James Garon

LLM Theses

Gödel showed that formal systems which discuss natural numbers cannot be complete or prove their own consistency. Incompleteness in this sense is limited to formal systems, and so is not applicable to law by it own terms.

Looking to the philosophy behind the Incompleteness Theorem, Gödel intended to show that positivism was a bankrupt world-view, and this resonates strongly with Lon Fuller. Fuller is analogous to Gödel in his condemnation of the positivist philosophy because he showed that a system of rules, by itself, was not capable of rendering judgments. A legal system is dependent upon an external morality, but …

Leveraging Paraguay’S Hydropower For Sustainable Economic Development, Perrine Toledano, Nicolas Maennling

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

While internationally Paraguay is known for being the largest hydropower exporter in the world, the domestic economy suffers from regular outages and high system losses. The country is largely dependent on agricultural production, which has led to volatile economic performances in the past resulting from climatic circumstances and commodity price fluctuations. To address these two key policy challenges, the Government of Paraguay has approached The Earth Institute to: 1) explore the potential of a climate risk management system and sustainable agriculture activities to mitigate environmental vulnerability and 2) develop a high-level strategic plan to use Paraguay’s vast hydropower resources for …

The Nfl Concussion Settlement And Injury Compensation Funds, Annette Greenhow

Annette Greenhow

Details of the US$765m settlement between the NFL and over 4 500 retired NFL players

'Dred Scott V. Sandford' Analysis, Sarah E. Roessler

Student Publications

The Scott v. Sandford decision will forever be known as a dark moment in America's history. The Supreme Court chose to rule on a controversial issue, and they made the wrong decision. Scott v. Sandford is an example of what can happen when the Court chooses to side with personal opinion instead of what is right.

No Child Left Behind - Representing Youth And Families In Truancy Matters, Dean Rivkin

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Family Law, Sharon K. Lieblich

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

No Child Left Behind - Representing Youth And Families In Truancy Matters, Dean Rivkin, Brenda Mcgee

College of Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

From Coercion To Politics To Law: The Evolution Of Property Rights Protection, Fali Huang

Research Collection School Of Economics

This paper shows how property rights security improves over time as a result of increasing legal quality and political democratization in a political economy context, where political and legal institutions adapt to evolving factor composition of land and capital in the dynamic economic development process. There seems to exist a clear sequence of di⁄erent forms of protection in that it is unlikely to have a strong rule of law with an exploitative political regime, or to have a democratic political system when the distribution of potential coercive power is too skewed. The routine form of protection thus shifts from coercion …

The Mighty Work Of Making Nations Happy: A Response To James Davison Hunter, Patrick Brennan

Patrick McKinley Brennan

This article is an invited response to James Davison Hunter’s much-discussed book To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World (Oxford University Press, 2010). Hunter, a sociologist at UVA and a believing Protestant, claims that law’s capacity to contribute to social change is “mostly illusory” and that Christians, therefore, should practice “faithful presence” in the public square rather than seek to influence law directly. My response is that it is, in fact, law’s stunning ability to alter and limit available choices that makes it an object of deservedly fierce contest. The wild …

Law, Religion, And Pluralism: The Thought And Experiences Of Nathan Isaacs (1886-1941), Samuel Flaks

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Some Thoughts On Sanford Levinson’S “Divided Loyalties: The Problem Of 'Dual Sovereignty' And Constitutional Faith”, David Novak

Touro Law Review

Analyzes the two divided loyalties that Levinson faces in "Divided Loyalties: The Problem of 'Dual Sovereignty' and Constitutional Faith."

A New Introduction To American Constitutionalism, Mark Graber

Mark Graber

A New Introduction to American Constitutionalism is the first text to study the entirety of American constitutionalism, not just the traces that appear in Supreme Court decisions. Mark A. Graber both explores and offers original answers to such central questions as: What is a Constitution? What are fundamental constitutional purposes? How are constitutions interpreted? How is constitutional authority allocated? How do constitutions change? How is the Constitution of the United States influenced by international and comparative law? and, most important, How does the Constitution work? Relying on an historical/institutional perspective, the book illustrates how American constitutionalism is a distinct form …

Reconciling Positivism And Realism: Kelsen And Habermas On Democracy And Human Rights, David Ingram

David Ingram

It is well known that Hans Kelsen and Jürgen Habermas invoke realist arguments drawn from social science in defending an international, democratic human rights regime against Carl Schmitt’s attack on the rule of law. However, despite embracing the realist spirit of Kelsen’s legal positivism, Habermas criticizes Kelsen for neglecting to connect the rule of law with a concept of procedural justice (Part I). I argue, to the contrary (Part II), that Kelsen does connect these terms, albeit in a manner that may be best described as functional, rather than conceptual. Indeed, whereas Habermas tends to emphasize a conceptual connection between …

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter, Fall 2013

Mid-Atlantic Ethics Committee Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Tales Of A Fourth Tier Nothing, A Response To Brian Tamanaha's Failing Law Schools, Lucille Jewel

Scholarly Works

This is a paper written in response to Professor Brian Tamanaha’s Failing Law Schools. Much of the book is laudable for highlighting the serious structural, policy, and moral issues confronting legal education today. However, I disagree with several of Professor Tamanaha’s ideas for reforming our system. In this paper, I write from the perspective of a tenured legal writing professor teaching at a for-profit fourth tier school, in fact, one of the schools that Tamanaha repeatedly implies are the problem and not the solution for the legal education crisis.

Part One addresses the idea, which dates back to 1921, that …

Legal Form, Style, And Etiquette For Email, George Kuney

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Trauma-Informed Approaches To Law: Why Restorative Justice Must Understand Trauma And Psychological Coping, Melanie Randall, Lori Haskell

Dalhousie Law Journal

Becoming trauma informed entails becoming more astutely aware of the ways in which people who are traumatized have their life trajectories shaped by the experience and its effects, and developing policies and practices which reflect this understanding. The idea that lawand, in particular the criminaljustice system, should be trauma informed is novel, and, as a result, quite underdeveloped. In this paper we advance the general argument that more effective, fair, intelligent, and just legal responses must work from a perspective which is trauma informed. We specifically apply this argument to legal work being carried out and developed under the rubric …

A Narrative Analysis Of Judicial Attitudes Towards Sexual Harassment In Japan, Leon Wolff

Leon Wolff

This study applies a narrative analysis of the first two judicial decisions on sexual harassment in Japan to test claims of a culture of gender bias in Japanese judicial attitudes towards victims of sexual violence. Although the results do not provide an unambiguous support or rebuttal of gendered justice in Japan, they do reveal some of the dangers of narrative analysis as a basis for making generalizable claims about how law functions in Japanese society.

When The Court Has A Party, How Many Friends Show Up - A Note On The Statistical Distribution Of Amicus Brief Filings, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

This article examines the statistical distribution of amicus brief filings. The previous research on the distribution of amicus brief filings had examined the patterns of citation frequency in order to test three models. The current study tests these models in the context of amicus brief filings. The two primary results of the current study are presented. First, a power law distribution does provide improved fit over linear regression. Second, amicus brief filings are unrelated to the number of federal appellate citations received by an opinion.

The Dead Hand Of The Architect, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.

Taking Slippage Seriously: Noncompliance And Creative Compliance In Environmental Law, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

Environmental law is examined in light of the slippage between regulatory standards and the actual conduct of regulated parties. Two forms of slippage are identified: negative, which describes the situation where something that is legally mandated to happen fails to happen; and affirmative, which describes the situation where required standards are renegotiated rather than ignored. This concept of slippage is explored in terms of how it might inform discussions of legal doctrine, environmental policy, and environmental pedagogy. Slippage is good in the context that it can ameliorate the sometimes impractical demands found in statues, and bad in the context that …

Politics And Procedure In Environmental Law, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

Deals with a study which applied interest-group theories on environmental laws. Relationship between legislators and environmental groups; Sources of environmental legislation; Role of environmental groups in the passage of environmental legislation.

Contract Law And Modern Economic Theory, Daniel A. Farber

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.

In The Shadow Of The Legislature: The Common Law In The Age Of The New Public Law, Daniel A. Farber, Philip P. Frickey

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.

The 200,000 Cards Of Dimitri Yurasov: Further Reflections On Scholarship And Truth, Daniel A. Farber, Suzanna Sherry

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.

Telling Stories Out Of School: An Essay On Legal Narratives, Daniel A. Farber, Suzanna Sherry

Daniel A Farber

No abstract provided.

The Application Of The Endangered Species Act To The Protection Of Freshwater Mussels: A Case Study, Eric Biber

Eric Biber

The success or failure of the 1973 Endangered Species Act in protecting freshwater mussels, which constitute a substantial portion of the species listed as threatened or endangered in the US, is examined. Current human threats to the survival of mussel species are reviewed, as are tools provided by the Act that might be used to protect and restore them. While the Act has prevented the extinction of most species of freshwater mussels, many remain critically endangered and declining. The inability of the statute to provide for freshwater mussel species recovery is attributed to the near-impossibility of recovering a species after …

The Rule Of Law And The Litigation Process: The Paradox Of Losing By Winning, Catherine Albiston

Catherine R. Albiston

This article expands upon the idea that repeat players influence the development of law by settling cases they are likely to lose and litigating cases they are likely to win. Through empirical analysis of judicial opinions interpreting the Family and Medical Leave Act, it shows how the rule-making opportunities in the litigation process affect the development of law and the judicial determination of statutory rights. In addition, the article explains how early judicial opinions might influence later judicial interpretations of the law. Although individuals may successfully mobilize the law to gain benefits in their disputes, that success often removes their …

Cameroon Pastoralists Fight For Their Way Of Life, Kaitlin Y. Cordes

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

After years of struggles against governments and private parties, the Mbororo-Fulani are gaining international attention. But is this too little too late?