Law Commons^™

Did Pa. Supreme Court Justice David Wecht Herald The Death Of God?, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

I Am Resigning From The Pro-Life Movement, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

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

Casebooks, Bias, And Information Literacy—Do Law Librarians Have A Duty?, Kathleen Fletcher

Law Faculty Scholarship

The third principle of the American Association of Law Libraries’ Principles and Standards for Legal Research Competencies states, “A successful researcher critically evaluates information.” This evaluation includes evaluating legal information of material under criteria of “authority, credibility, currency, authenticity, relevance, and bias. ”Does this standard include information contained in legal casebooks? This article’s goal is to show examples of case treatment in casebooks in Constitutional Law, Property, and Civil Procedure which demonstrate authors’ biases in their selection and editing of cases. Under the AALL standards and the ACRL Standards and Framework for Information literacy, librarians should teach students how to …

The Steal In The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, Explained, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

The Rise Of Directed Trusts And Why It Matters, Amy Morris Hess

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Investor-State Dispute Prevention: A Critical Reflection, Lise Johnson, Lisa E. Sachs, Ella Merrill

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

With the rise of treaty-based investor-state dispute settlement (“ISDS”) which has taken place over the last two decades, a number of governments have adopted varying approaches to avoid those arbitration cases. Countries including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Mexico, Mongolia, and Peru have pursued such initiatives, often with the support of intergovernmental organizations such as the United Nations Convention on Trade and Development (“UNCTAD”) and the World Bank.

In the context of discussions on ISDS reform taking place at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (“UNCITRAL”), some states have identified development and implementation of such ISDS-avoidance strategies and tools …

The Promise And Limits Of Lawfulness: Inequality, Law, And The Techlash, Salomé Viljoen

Articles

In response to widespread skepticism about the recent rise of “tech ethics”, many critics have called for legal reform instead. In contrast with the “ethics response”, critics consider the “lawfulness response” more capable of disciplining the excesses of the technology industry. In fact, both are simultaneously vulnerable to industry capture and capable of advancing a more democratic egalitarian agenda for the information economy. Both ethics and law offer a terrain of contestation, rather than a predetermined set of commitments by which to achieve more democratic and egalitarian technological production. In advancing this argument, the essay focuses on two misunderstandings common …

Doj’S Refusal To Defend Mo Brooks Was Wrong; Prosecuting Trump Would Be Worse, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

Writing Like A Lawyer: How Law Student Involvement Affects Self-Reported Gains In Writing Skills In Law School, Kirsten M. Winek J.D., Ph.D

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Afterword: Nudging Toward Virtue, Lauren Robel

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

From The Editors, Jeremy Paul, Margaret Y.K. Woo, Ezra Rosser, Robert Dinerstein

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Advancing An Evidence-Based Approach To Improving Legal Education, Kellye Y. Testy

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

What A Novel Can Teach Us About Religion In America, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

Law, Fact, And Procedural Justice, G. Alexander Nunn

Faculty Scholarship

The distinction between questions of law and questions of fact is deceptively complex. Although any first-year law student could properly classify those issues that fall at the polar ends of the law-fact continuum, the Supreme Court has itself acknowledged that the exact dividing line between law and fact—the point where legal inquiries end and factual ones begin—is “slippery,” “elusive,” and “vexing.” But identifying that line is crucially important. Whether an issue is deemed a question of law or a question of fact often influences the appointment of a courtroom decision maker, the scope of appellate review, the administration of certain …

Carbon Accounting By Public And Private Financial Institutions: Can We Be Sure Climate Finance Is Leading To Emissions Reductions?, Martin Dietrich Brauch, Emily Spittle

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

To further and fully understand how to plan for the decarbonization of mining value chains, we need better data on carbon and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, neither consumers, corporates, or financial institutions know the embodied emissions in the products they produce or sell. While methods like life-cycle analysis and environmental product declarations exist, none use a verifiable, comparable, or widely adopted emissions reporting framework capable of sending supply chain signals.

To truly reform material supply chains, new solutions for markets, capital, and policy are required. COMET (the Coalition on Materials Emissions Transparency) – an alliance launched at Davos …

Mr. Justice Breyer, Thank You For Your Service. Now Please Retire, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

Yes, Allegheny Co. Da Zappala Should Resign Or Be Impeached. No, He Shouldn't Be The Target Of Legal Discipline, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

The Courts Discretionary Role In Testimony, علاء الدين عبابنة

Jerash for Research and Studies Journal مجلة جرش للبحوث والدراسات

There is no doubt that evidence by testimony came as a sign that legislator wants to give judges full power to weigh the evidence, unlike the situation in other kind of evidences where the judge is restricted upon a kind of evidence.

This article shows that even the law has given wide authority to the judge upon testimony; the extent of this authority differs from legislation to another in different countries according to the adopted principle of evidence. Accordingly, this article has been divided into three sections; the first examines the judge's authority upon evidence by testimony, while the second …

The Powers Of The Inter-American Court Of Human Rights Towards The Implementation Of Gender Justice Laws At The National Level In South America, Kiana Therrien-Tomas Miss

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

Although South America is earning international attention as an innovative global leader in various fields, it currently remains a nation steeped in traditional beliefs and practices. Despite prevailing laws against domestic violence, countless Latin American women proceed to be failed by the legal system. As South American society produces its own theory of gender justice, apprised by local realities and universally accepted norms, women's rights advocates and the Supreme Court can represent a decisive role in forming the discourse. Throughout this work, I aim to contemplate the powers of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) towards the implementation of …

July 5, 2021: The Greatest Column Ross Douthat Ever Wrote, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “The Greatest Column Ross Douthat Ever Wrote“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

Five Years After The Adoption Of The Paris Agreement, Are Climate Change Considerations Reflected In Mining Contracts?, Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye, Perrine Toledano, Martin Dietrich Brauch, Mara Greenberg

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Domestic laws are the ideal legal instrument to regulate the mining sector’s contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Even so, as a stop-gap-measure, governments may consider updating model mining development agreements (MMDAs) or negotiating climate­-related contractual provisions. This CCSI paper explores whether governments are using, and how they can use, investor–state mining contracts to advance climate goals. We synthesize our findings and recommendations for six categories of provisions: integrating renewable energy into mining products, reducing deforestation, requiring a climate risk assessment and community vulnerability assessment, regulating water use, requiring tailings dam design justifications, and integrating climate risks into closure …

Comparison Between The Ipcc Reporting Framework And Country Practice, Jiarui Chen, Martin Dietrich Brauch

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

To further and fully understand how to plan for the decarbonization of mining value chains, we need better data on carbon and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, neither consumers, corporates, or financial institutions know the embodied emissions in the products they produce or sell. While methods like life-cycle analysis and environmental product declarations exist, none use a verifiable, comparable, or widely adopted emissions reporting framework capable of sending supply chain signals.

To truly reform material supply chains, new solutions for markets, capital, and policy are required. COMET (the Coalition on Materials Emissions Transparency) – an alliance launched at Davos …

Responsible Coffee Sourcing: Towards A Living Income For Producers, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Margaret Sagan, Solina Kennedy

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Coffee, one of the world’s most popular beverages, provides livelihoods for at least 60 million people across dozens of countries. Promoting the long-term health, wellbeing, and environmental sustainability of the much beloved coffee sector should be a clear priority.

CCSI has continued its work on coffee sustainability with a 2021 report: “Responsible Coffee Sourcing: Towards a Living Income for Producers.” The report focuses on a critical but under-examined topic: the impact of coffee company sourcing practices on coffee producer and farmworker well-being. The report, commissioned by a long-term investment manager, analyzes the sourcing practices of ten large coffee roasters and …

With Jews Under Attack, Here Is A Chance To Act, Bruce Ledewitz

Ledewitz Papers

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

We Are All Jews Now. To Fight Anti-Semitism, It’S Time To Don A Kippah, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

Legal Construction Of Nationalism And National Identity In The Hashemite Kingdom Of Jordan, Zaina Siyam

Theses and Dissertations

Nationalism is an ideology that is not unique to one nation or one area, but it is a concept unique in the way it is defined. How it is defined and what it really is depends on where the definition is coming from. It is most important to post-colonial nations that relied and still rely on the creation of national identity and construction of an imagined community, in order to reach their liberation. Nations are imagined communities constructed through shared history, beliefs, traditions, and experiences that happen over different periods in time, between individuals that do not necessarily know each …

Reducing Prejudice Through Law: Evidence From Experimental Psychology, Roseanna Sommers, Sara Burke

Law & Economics Working Papers

Can antidiscrimination law effect changes in public attitudes toward minority groups? Could learning, for instance, that employment discrimination against people with clinical depression is illegal cause members of the public to be more accepting toward people with mental health conditions? In this Article, we report the results of a series of experiments that test the effect of inducing the belief that discrimination against a given group is legal (vs. illegal) on interpersonal attitudes toward members of that group. We find that learning that discrimination is unlawful does not simply lead people to believe that an employer is more likely to …

June 9, 2021: We Need A Nov. 3 National Commission, Bruce Ledewitz

Hallowed Secularism

Blog post, “We Need a Nov. 3 National Commission“ discusses politics, theology and the law in relation to religion and public life in the democratic United States of America.

We Never Needed A Jan. 6 Commission. We Need A Nov. 3 Commission. This Is Why, Bruce Ledewitz

Newspaper Columns

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

Replacement Of The Transfer Act: The Impact Of Connecticut's Effort To Expedite Contaminated Site Remediation, Avery Bikerman

Honors Scholar Theses

The scope of this thesis is to analyze the legal framework established by House Bill 7001 and Public Act 20-9, which revise provisions of the CT Transfer Act, and establish a release-based reporting program which will be administered upon the sunset of the original act. While any release that occurred prior to the Release Based Remediation Program adoption (regardless of discovery date) is still regulated by the original Transfer Act, any release that occurs subsequent to the adoption of the new program will be regulated by the Release Based Remediation Program. This study investigates the scope of the new release-reporting …