Common Law Commons^™

The Female Legal Realist Inside The Common Law, Ann Bartow

Law Faculty Scholarship

This essay, a response piece to Anita Bernstein’s thought-provoking book The Common Law Inside the Female Body, examines the powerful tool of the common law and the role that judges play in wielding it. I begin by drawing on my twenty-four years of teaching and looking at the questions that I, and my students, grapple with every year while studying the common law: Do the uncoordinated actions of individual judges, juries, and lawyers and parties generate an efficient legal system? And does that system result in some version of justice for most of the parties, most of the time, …

The Common Law As A Force For Women, Bridget J. Crawford

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This essay introduces a collection of Symposium Essays examining Anita Bernstein's book, The Common Law Inside the Female Body (Cambridge University Press, 2019). Professor Bernstein explores the common law's recognition of both rights and liberties, highlighting in particular negative liberties such as the right to be left undisturbed. The Symposium Essays test and explore Professor Bernstein's thesis as applied to the right to be free from rape and unwanted pregnancies. Grounded in perspectives informed by the study of tort law, legal history, intellectual property, constitutional law, and critical race theory, these Essays--together with Professor Bernstein's book--suggest that the common law …

Rules, Standards, And Such, Kevin M. Clermont

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This Article aims to create a complete typology of the forms of decisional law. Distinguishing "rules" from "standards" is the most commonly attempted jurisprudential line, roughly drawn between nonvague and vague. But no agreement exists on the dimension along which the rule/standard terminology lies, or on where the dividing line on the continuum lies. Thus, classifying in terms of vagueness is itself vague. Ultimately it does not aid legal actors in formulating or applying the law. The classification works best as an evocative image.

A clearer distinction would be useful in formulating and applying the law. For the law-applier, it …

Why Class Actions Are Something Both Liberals And Conservatives Can Love, Brian T. Fitzpatrick

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In Professor Redish's review of my new book, The Conservative Case for Class Actions, he argues that liberals should oppose the class action because the cy pres doctrine used to distribute settlement money is democratically illegitimate and that conservatives should oppose it because it is inferior to government policing of the marketplace or no policing at all. But cy pres is a longstanding common law doctrine and relying on it is no more illegitimate than relying on any other common law doctrine that has not been abrogated by legislation. Moreover, contrary to popular caricatures, conservatives actually do believe the marketplace …

The Common Law Of Cyber Trespass, Michael J. O'Connor

Brooklyn Law Review

Right now, if executives in California and Virginia each bribe a competitor’s disloyal employee to steal a trade secret from the competitor’s servers, under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the Government can charge one executive but not the other. Courts decide these cases differently due to the widening circuit split over the CFAA term “without authorization.” Neither the Supreme Court nor Congress has shown interest in resolving the split over authorization. Even more concerning is the suggestion that they can’t resolve it; the statute addresses too many potential scenarios for a single definition to end all debate. …

Fmc Corp. V. Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Seth T. Bonilla

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In 1998, FMC Corporation agreed to submit to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes’ permitting processes, including the payment of fees, for clean-up work required as part of consent decree negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency. Then, in 2002, FMC refused to pay the Tribes under a permitting agreement entered into by both parties, even though the company continued to store hazardous waste on land within the Shoshone-Bannock Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho. FMC challenged the Tribes’ authority to enforce the $1.5 million permitting fees first in tribal court and later challenged the Tribes’ authority to exercise civil regulatory and adjudicatory jurisdiction over …

Classifying Systems Of Constitutional Review: A Context-Specific Analysis, Samantha Lalisan

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

Modern constitutional drafters and advisors increasingly use judicial review classifications and the current model for classification does not accurately capture constitutional review in Latin America. This paper proposes context-specific classification that can accurately capture constitutional review in the Latin American region. Specifically, this paper argues that the context-specific analysis suggests that the more salient point of classification in Latin America is that of access mechanisms to constitutional courts. As such, the paper proceeds in four parts: Part I examines the traditional model of classification in Europe and focuses on the Spanish and German direct access mechanisms. Part II explores the …

Re-Reading Anita Bernstein's The Common Law Inside The Female Body From The Bottom Of The Well: Analysis Of The Central Park Five, Border Drownings, The Kavanaugh Confirmation, And The Coronavirus, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Reflections On The Effects Of Federalism On Opioid Policy, Matthew B. Lawrence

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

The Opioid Litigation: The Fda Is Mia, Catherine M. Sharkey

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

It is readily agreed that federal preemption of state tort law alters the balance between federal and state power. Federal preemption is a high-profile defense in almost all modern products liability cases. It is thus surprising to see how little attention has been given to federal preemption by courts and commentators in the opioid litigation. Opioid litigation provides a lens through which I explore the role of state and federal courts and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in striking the right balance of power. My purpose here is not to resolve the divide among the few courts that have …

The Need For Certainty And Written Form In Land Sale Contracts In China: A Legal Reform Recommendation, Wei Wen

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

Despite the significance of land sale contracts, China's Contract Law (the supreme authority in contractual matters) fails to articulate whether written form is mandatory for land sale contracts as a prerequisite for contractual remedies. The result of this ambiguity is that urban and rural courts across China have delivered contradictory judgments on this matter, and Chinese claimants do not have clear rules or authorities to follow. This imposes unfairness on those claimants. This article examines and analyzes the uncertainty and its causes, reaching a conclusion that the solution to addressing the nationwide uncertainty is a legal reform-Contract Law should articulate …

Were Justices Lawyers?, Thomas J. Mcsweeney

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

The Parable Of The Forms, Samuel L. Bray

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

It might be good for each department to have its own form, or it might be better to have one form for the whole campus. That is an open question. It depends on how different the repair requests are in different departments, and on the value of specialization. It depends on whether we want some complexity about the choice of forms or if we want radical simplicity about the number of forms, with all of the complexity residing within a single form.

So, too, it might be good to have different forms of action. That way, everyone knows upfront …

Legal Genres, Thomas J. Mcsweeney

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Who Are The "We"?, Thomas J. Mcsweeney

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

The Need For Federal Disclosure And Fraud Protection In The Workplace, Carlos Garcia

Legislation and Policy Brief

No abstract provided.

Putting The People Into Legal History, Thomas J. Mcsweeney

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

The Overly Familiar Treatise, Thomas J. Mcsweeney

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

Drones: Where Does The National Airspace System Start?, Jason T. Lorenzon J.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Unmanned Aeronautical Vehicles (UAV), drones and Personal Aerial Vehicles (PAV) constitute the greatest technological advancement since the jet age. (Elaine Chao, Secretary of Transportation, October 26, 2017) This technological advancement has prompted significant public policy challenges and the need for new laws regarding navigable airspace. This proposal investigates how airspace used by drones will evolve given existing Constitutional and common law principals. These principals will influence the creation, development and modification of UAS airspace regulations by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Two critical but unanswered questions concerning the National Airspace System, are where does navigable airspace …

Three Questions About "Stand Your Ground" Laws, Cynthia V. Ward

Notre Dame Law Review Reflection

Stand Your Ground laws, and the issues they generate, do raise serious questions about what constitutes justice in cases that give rise to claims of self-defense. In order to resolve those questions, we first need to understand what the self-defense doctrine actually says and how it was designed to work. It is necessary to specify the ways in which Stand Your Ground provisions do, and do not, affect that doctrine.

In this Essay I will raise three issues about Stand Your Ground and self-defense. In addressing these issues I will use Florida law as a template because the Stand …

Extraterritoriality In Common Law Climate Actions: Judicial Restraint Or Judicial Error?, Aaron B. Rudyan

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Contract Rights Under The I-864 Affidavit Of Support: Seventh Circuit's Reasoning Binds Courts' Hands In A Shifting Landscape For Public Charge Doctrine, John T. Burger

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Courts are currently split on the issue of whether a mitigation of damages defense is available to sponsors to the Affidavit. Leading cases, including Liu, rely upon the unique nature of the form to assert that such defenses are precluded. This Note will argue that the I-864 should be treated under the same principles as a typical common-law contract. Part I of this Note will trace the history of the I-864 form, primarily focusing on the legislation and case law rendering the form an enforceable contract. Part II will discuss Liu v. Mund, focusing extensively on the United States …

Domestic Violence And Self-Defense: Respecting Women's Autonomy By Creating A Woman-Centered Law Of Self-Defense, Caroline Gillis

Upper Level Writing Requirement Research Papers

No abstract provided.

"Inciting A Riot": Silent Sentinels, Group Protests, And Prisoners' Petition And Associational Rights, Nicole B. Godfrey

Seattle University Law Review

This Article argues for increased legal protections for prisoners who choose to engage in group protest to shed light on the conditions of their incarceration. A companion piece to a similar article that focused on prisoner free speech rights, this Article uses the acts of protest utilized by the Silent Sentinels to examine why prisoners’ rights to petition and association should be strengthened. By strengthening these rights, the Article argues that we will advance the values enshrined by the First Amendment’s Petition Clause while simultaneously advancing the rights of the incarcerated millions with little to no political power.

The Article …

Does The Woman Suffrage Amendment Protect The Voting Rights Of Men?, Steve Kolbert

Seattle University Law Review

This Article—part of the Seattle University Law Review’s symposium on the centennial of the ratification of the Woman Suffrage Amendment—examines that open possibility. Concluding that the Nineteenth Amendment does protect men’s voting rights, this Article explores why and how that protection empowers Congress to address felon disenfranchisement and military voting. This Article also examines the advantages of using Nineteenth Amendment enforcement legislation compared to legislation enacted under other constitutional provisions.

Part I discusses the unique barriers to voting faced by voters with criminal convictions (Section I.A) and voters in the armed forces (Section I.B). This Part also explains how existing …

Attorney–Client Privilege In Bad Faith Insurance Claims: The Cedell Presumption And A Necessary National Resolution, Klien Hilliard

Seattle University Law Review

Attorney–client privilege is one of the most important aspects of our legal system. It is one of the oldest privileges in American law and is codified both at the national and state level. Applying to both individual persons and corporations, this expanded privilege covers a wide breadth of clients. However, this broad privilege can sometimes become blurred in relationships between the corporation and the individuals it serves. Specifically, insurance companies and those they cover have complex relationships, as the insurer possesses a quasi-fiduciary relationship in relation to the insured. This type of relationship requires that the insurer act in good …

In Memory Of Professor James E. Bond, Janet Ainsworth

Seattle University Law Review

Janet Ainsworth, Professor of Law at Seattle University School of Law: In Memory of Professor James E. Bond.

A Return To The Traditional Use Of The Writ Of Mandamus, Audrey Davis

Lewis & Clark Law Review

A litigant filing a petition for a writ of mandamus takes a gamble. If unsuc- cessful, the petitioner risks not only wasting time and effort but also insulting the district court judge by calling into question his or her ability to carry out the basic duties of a judge. And even if successful, the petitioner still faces the risk of returning to the district court on less-than-friendly terms. More than anything, however, the writ of mandamus poses such risks because appellate courts have employed widely varying approaches in developing a standard for granting the writ. In order to offer greater …

Public Rights After Oil States Energy, Adam J. Macleod

Faculty Articles

The concept of public rights plays an important role in the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of the United States. But as the decision in Oil States last Term revealed, the Court has often used the term to refer to three different concepts with different jurisprudential implications. Using insights drawn from historical and analytical jurisprudence, this Article distinguishes the three concepts and examines how each of them is at work in patent law. A precise reading of Oil States also bears lessons for other areas of law that implicate both private rights and duties and the administration of public regulatory …

Redefining Tribal Sovereignty For The Era Of Fundamental Rights, Michael Doran

Indiana Law Journal

This Article explains a longstanding problem in federal Indian law. For two centuries, the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly acknowledged the retained, inherent sovereignty of American Indian tribes. But more recently, the Court has developed the implicit-divestiture theory to deny tribal governments criminal and civil jurisdiction over nonmembers, even with respect to activities on tribal lands. Legal scholars have puzzled over this move from a territorial-based definition of tribal sovereignty to a membership-based definition; they have variously explained it as the Court’s abandonment of the foundational principles of Indian law, the product of the Court’s indifference or even racist hostility …