Law Commons^™

[Introduction To] Rap On Trial: Race, Lyrics, And Guilt In America, Erik Nielson, Andrea L. Dennis, Killer Mike

Bookshelf

A groundbreaking exposé about the alarming use of rap lyrics as criminal evidence to convict and incarcerate young men of color

“If you believe that I’m a cop killer, you believe David Bowie is an astronaut.” —Rapper Ice-T, on the persona he adopted in the song “Cop Killer”

Should Johnny Cash have been charged with murder after he sang, “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die”? Few would seriously subscribe to this notion of justice. Yet in 2001, a rapper named Mac whose music had gained national recognition was convicted of manslaughter after the prosecutor quoted …

Cape Town Animal Conference, South Africa, Andrew N. Rowan

WellBeing News

The second Cape Animal Conference was held at the University of Cape Town in September, 2019. The conference theme focused on animal law development in the country but there was a broad mix of topics covered during the two days of the event.

October 27, 2019: The Shooter And The Death Penalty, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Shooter and the Death Penalty“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Coastal Cultural Heritage Protection In The United States, France And The United Kingdom, Ryan Rowberry, Ismat Hanano, Sutton M. Freedman, Michelle Wilco, Cameron Kline

Journal of Comparative Urban Law and Policy

Exacerbated by climate change, sea levels are rising rapidly. This poses a significant, immediate threat to coastal or riverine urban areas and the tangible cultural heritage (e.g. artifacts, buildings, monuments, archaeological sites) that makes them unique. Protecting coastal cultural resources from climate change is quickly becoming a global priority, and comparing cultural heritage laws designed to protect historic resources in coastal areas from several countries may illuminate potential paths forward. Following a brief discussion of the economic and public health benefits arising from the protection of cultural heritage, this article describes, examines, and compares the legal frameworks through which the …

Book Review Of The Formation Of Professional Identity: The Path From Student To Lawyer, Neil W. Hamilton

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Finding The Goldilocks Zone: Negotiating Your First Employment Offer In Legal Academia, Darby Dickerson

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

It's Not The Robot's Fault! Russian And American Perspectives On Responsibility For Robot Harms, Bryant Walker Smith, Andrey Neznamov

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Agricultural Investments: A Primer For Host Government Lawyers And Local Lawyers In Private Practice, Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Attracting investment in agriculture has been a key policy goal of governments in the global south. Development partners have supported these policies. But what do governments hope to achieve by attracting investment in the agricultural sector? Why are companies interested in investing? What is in it for local communities? And what is the role of lawyers? This primer provides an introduction to some of the key issues that arise in the negotiation of contracts linked to investments in agriculture, and practical guidance for how to approach common issues. Section 1 of this primer outlines the typical goals of three important …

Ensuring Economic Viability And Sustainability Of Coffee Production, Jeffrey D. Sachs, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, James Rising, Perrine Toledano, Nicolas Maennling

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Coffee, the world’s favorite beverage, provides livelihoods for at least 60 million people across dozens of countries. Yet this beloved drink is experiencing a sustainability crisis. A sustained decline in world coffee prices has squeezed coffee producers, and thrown a tremendous number of producers below the global extreme poverty line. This report presents our research into sustainability within the coffee sector, including the results of our analytical and empirical modeling, and provides several recommendations.

Linkages To The Mining Sector In Colombia, Nicolas Maennling, Perrine Toledano

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

At the request of the Colombian Government and with the support of GIZ, CCSI prepared a policy brief focused on linkages from the mining sector in Colombia. The brief gives an overview of existing regulatory requirements, government policies and company programs to foster economic and infrastructure linkages. Based on the findings, the brief provides suggestions for next steps if the government is to develop a more comprehensive linkage creation program.

The Influence Of The Law In American Literature And Culture, Emily Johnson, Steven Hamelman

Honors Theses

This piece explores the relationship between law and its influence within American literature and the overall culture. Themes of discrimination, corruption, greed, advocacy, and incriminating evidence, present in the analyzed texts and films, greatly plays into the American public’s perception of their judicial system. Is it truly the law influencing American literature and culture, or is it the sentiments of the masses influencing the legal field itself? This work aims at analyzing this question, while also making a point to explain what American citizens can do with such influence and knowledge.

Family Law's Coldest War: The Battle For Frozen Embryos And The Need For A Statutory White Flag, Mary Joy Dingler

Seattle University Law Review

Without concrete legislative guidance, courts are left to a variety of unsatisfactory methods of determining the disposition of frozen embryos in dissolutions and custody disputes. Beginning in 1992, courts have been issuing problematic rulings that are reached through the application of three approaches: (1) the balancing-interests test; (2) the contemporaneous mutual consent approach; and (3) the contractual approach. These approaches are examined in this Comment through the lens of selected cases and the largely inequitable outcomes for parties are critiqued. Courts even lament the lack of statutory guidance in deciding these disputes but are resigned to employing these largely flawed, …

Notoriously Ruthless: The Idolization Of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Lucille Moran

Political Science Honors Projects

It is now a fixture of mainstream commentary in the United States that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has become a popular idol on the political left. Yet, while Justice Ginsburg’s image and story has reached an unprecedented level of valorization and even commercialization, scholars have yet to give sustained attention to the phenomenon and to contextualize it: why has this idolization emerged within this context, and what is its impact? This paper situates her portrayal in the cultural imagination as the product of two political forces, namely partisanship and identity politics. Considering parallel scholarly discourses of reputation, celebrity, …

Identity Politics Is Failing Women In Legal Academia, Sahar Aziz

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Legal Writing As Office Housework?, Mary Nicol Bowman

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Fixing The Business Of Food: The Food Industry And The Sdg Challenge, Barilla Center For Food And Nutrition, Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment, Sanda Chiara Lab

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In collaboration with the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, and the Santa Chiara Lab of the University of Siena, CCSI presented its first report on Fixing the Business of Food.

The document, part of a two-year effort, highlights the sustainable development challenge faced by the food industry. By proposing a Four Dimension framework, the report asks four overarching questions for companies in the food sector to address alignment with the SDGs:

1. Does the company contribute to healthy and sustainable dietary patterns through its products and strategy?
2. Are the company’s production processes economically, socially, …

Vawa Reauthorization Of 2013 And The Continued Legacy Of Violence Against Indigenous Women: A Critical Outsider Jurisprudence Perspective, Luhui Whitebear

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ethics Or Law: Which Should Prevail In Conflicts Regarding The Restitution Of Nazi-Looted Art?, Anthony Caruso

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Museums and sovereign states often face a dilemma when confronted with a claim seeking restitution of Nazi-looted artwork. The assertion of legal technicalities may allow an institution to maintain possession of its artwork whereas ethics would dictate its return. This paper discusses three cases where legal technicalities take precedence over ethics. This conflict demonstrates the need to have such disputes addressed in a forum other than a court system.

Don’T Lock Trump Up, Just Because Mueller Said You Can, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

Published scholarship collected from academic journals, law reviews, newspaper publications & online periodicals.

Equal Protection Supreme Court Appellate Division Third Department

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Scotus Gerrymandering Case: Roberts Didn’T Defend Constitutional Democracy, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

Collected biweekly contributions to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news site.

The Technology Enterprise: Systemic Bias Against Women, Lori Andrews

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Cotten V. Wilson: Toward A New Approach In Negligence Cases Involving Suicide, Alex B. Long

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

School Of Law Annual Report 2018: Embracing Change In An Evolving World, Singapore Management University

SMU Corporate Reports

The Annual Report highlights the School of Law’s modest achievements and developments over the past year, as well as the substantive impact of these initiatives.

Uncitral Working Group Iii On Isds Reform: How Cross-Cutting Issues Reshape Reform Options, Lorenzo Cotula, Thierry Berger, Lise Johnson, Brooke Güven, Jesse Coleman

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently working on how to reform international investment treaties, focusing in particular on those treaties’ provisions enabling investors to sue governments in international arbitration. As an observer organization in this process, CCSI has emphasized that in the context of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) reform, it is important to first consider what it is that investment treaties aim to achieve, and only then to consider what form(s) of dispute settlement will best advance those objectives. This means not only looking at reform of the existing ISDS mechanism, but also alternatives to …

Draft Text Providing For Transparency And Prohibiting Certain Forms Of Third-Party Funding In Investor–State Dispute Settlement, Brooke Güven, Lise Johnson, Nathalie Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Lorenzo Cotula, Jane Kelsey

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently working on how to reform international investment treaties, focusing in particular on those treaties’ provisions enabling investors to sue governments in international arbitration. As an observer organization in this process, CCSI has emphasized that in the context of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) reform, it is important to first consider what it is that investment treaties aim to achieve, and only then to consider what form(s) of dispute settlement will best advance those objectives. This means not only looking at reform of the existing ISDS mechanism, but also alternatives to …

Third-Party Rights In Investor-State Dispute Settlement: Options For Reform, Jesse Coleman, Lise Johnson, Brooke Güven, Lorenzo Cotula, Thierry Berger

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently working on how to reform international investment treaties, focusing in particular on those treaties’ provisions enabling investors to sue governments in international arbitration. As an observer organization in this process, CCSI has emphasized that in the context of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) reform, it is important to first consider what it is that investment treaties aim to achieve, and only then to consider what form(s) of dispute settlement will best advance those objectives. This means not only looking at reform of the existing ISDS mechanism, but also alternatives to …

Draft Treaty Language: Withdrawal Of Consent To Arbitrate And Termination Of International Investment Agreements, Brooke Güven, Lise Johnson

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is currently working on how to reform international investment treaties, focusing in particular on those treaties’ provisions enabling investors to sue governments in international arbitration. As an observer organization in this process, CCSI has emphasized that in the context of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) reform, it is important to first consider what it is that investment treaties aim to achieve, and only then to consider what form(s) of dispute settlement will best advance those objectives. This means not only looking at reform of the existing ISDS mechanism, but also alternatives to …

Briefing For Civil Society Organizations – Understanding Commercial Eucalyptus Plantations: How Do They Work And What Are Their Environmental Impacts?, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

If a company wants to use a community’s land for eucalyptus plantations, the community should think carefully about whether this is a good idea. Civil society organizations that support communities can use this briefing to help communities understand the potential environmental impacts the community should be aware of. The briefing explains plantation forestry and the life-cycle of eucalyptus tree plantations. It also notes the different possible negative environmental impacts of eucalyptus plantations before exploring how this information can be factored into community decision-making about a proposed eucalyptus plantation. While the briefing focuses on eucalyptus plantations, a lot of it will …

Gender Equity In Law School Enrollment: An Elusive Goal, Deborah Jones Merritt, Kyle Mcentee

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.