Courts Commons^™

A Legislative History Of The Creation Of The Eleventh Circuit, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Some Preliminary Thoughts On Long-Range Planning For The Federal Judiciary, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

Professor Baker gives his prescription for the Long-Range Planning Committee of the Judicial Conference. First, he considers the "mission" of the federal courts, explaining that there should be no single, objectively correct conception of the role of the federal courts. Second, he discusses his conception of long-range planning, in terms of a relatively short event horizon and the absolutely wide-open scope of the range of proposals that are relevant to the work of the Committee. Third, he describes his preliminary thoughts on the role of the Committee to be a kind of permanent Federal Courts Study Committee modeled after comparable …

Litigation As A Predatory Practice, Gary Myers

Faculty Publications

This article reviews and evaluates the sham litigation case law, finding that many courts have allowed immunity too readily or on inappropriate grounds. It attempts to develop comprehensive standards for antitrust claims based on sham litigation.

Book Review Of Clement Haynsworth, The Senate, And The Supreme Court, Davison M. Douglas

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Judicial Matters, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Enduring Example Of John Marshall Harlan: "Virtue As Practice" In The Supreme Court, William W. Van Alstyne

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

An Introduction To Federal Court Rulemaking Procedure, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

Toward the end of September 1990 at a closed meeting in Washington, DC, the Judicial Conference of the United States passed on a substantial set of proposed amendments to the rules of practice and procedure of the federal courts. The new appellate rules authorized local circuit rules on electronic filing, required a jurisdictional statement in the appellant's brief and eliminated some inconsistencies in the notice rules for admiralty appeals.

A Rational Choice Theory Of Supreme Court Statutory Decisions With Applications To The State Farm And Grove City Cases, Rafael Gely, Pablo T. Spiller

Faculty Publications

In this article we follow the recent developments of the modern theory of administrative agencies, by developing a rational choice theory of the Supreme Court. Our framework combines two of the main characteristics of this literature: namely, the rational choice modeling strategy with the notion that institutions matter in the design of public policy. We differ basically by modeling the Supreme Court as a self-interested, ideologically motivated institution, making its decisions subject not to the traditional legal rules of precedent, but to the constraints arising from the political interests of other institutions of government-namely, Congress and the President.

On Redrawing Circuit Boundaries — Why The Proposal To Divide The United States Court Of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit Is Not Such A Good Idea, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

The current U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit covers Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. Nearly 46 million people live within its boundaries. As a result, the 9th Circuit has the largest caseload and takes the most time of any federal circuit court to dispose of cases. Despite all of this, Professor Baker lays out his argument for why dividing the 9th Circuit is wrong-headed. He starts by giving a detailed history of U.S. circuit courts, including the recent experience of splitting the 5th Circuit. He then takes on …

Toward A Unified Theory Of The Jurisdiction Of The United States Courts Of Appeals, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

“Our Federalism” In Pennzoil Co. V. Texaco, Inc. Or How The Younger Doctrine Keeps Getting Older Not Better, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Killing Daddy: Developing A Self-Defense Strategy For The Abused Child, Joelle A. Moreno

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

1987 Survey Of Trends And Developments On Religious Liberty In The Courts, Carl H. Esbeck

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this survey is to note important caselaw developments in the state and lower federal courts concerning religious liberty. Purposely omitted are the widely reported United States Supreme Court opinions, as well as cases where the Court has granted review during the 1987-88 term. The focus here is to collect significant cases that may otherwise escape broad attention. Only the facts and rationale of each court's decision is recorded. No editorial comment on the merits of these cases is intended.

The Relevance Of Administrative Considerations In The Judicial Decisionmaking Process: A Kantian Perspective, Edward D. Cavanagh

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

This essay examines and analyzes the role of administrative considerations in the judicial decisionmaking process. The central issue is the extent to which administrative factors, such as concerns for efficiency, minimization of complexity, ease of proof, consistency of holdings, and predictability of future decisions, may be properly taken into account by courts in rendering decisions and weighed against rights granted under substantive law. Put another way, the question presented is: To what extent may a court invoke administrative considerations to reach a result different from what otherwise would be the just solution? The analysis will proceed in two steps. …

Personal Jurisdiction After Asahi: The Other (International) Shoe Drops, R. Lawrence Dessem

Faculty Publications

This articles analyzes the growth and development of the doctrine of personal jurisdiction and the Supreme Court's consideration and application of that doctrine in the recent case of Asahi Metal Industry Co. v. Superior Court. Asahi is significant both because of the nature of the suit and the nationality of the third-party defendant. The Supreme Court for the first time directly addressed the constitutionality of the ‘stream of commerce’ doctrine of personal jurisdiction, a jurisdictional theory that has been employed increasingly in recent years in products liability actions. Asahi also is one of the few cases in which the Court …

The Need For A New National Court, Douglas D. Mcfarland, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

By any measure, the Supreme Court is tremendously overburdened. Statistics speak clearly on this point; sometimes they shout. After the caseload relief provided by the Judges' Bill, 4 which was passed in I925 and took effect during the I928 Term, the Supreme Court caseload grew slowly for thirty years. Beginning in the I96os, growth sharply accelerated, and during the I970S and I98os, the numbers exploded.

Scholarly Reflections On The Court And The Constitution, Michael Ashley Stein

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Thinking About Federal Jurisdiction — Of Serpents And Swallows, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

In this essay, Professor Baker assumes that the decision to get into or stay in federal court has been made, for whatever reason. His concentration is focused on providing a checklist of some of the typical challenges to jurisdiction and to highlight some uncommon responses. Organizationally, he first considers general issues which apply to all cases, and then considers separately some issues in diversity cases and in federal question cases.

1985 Survey Of Trends And Developments On Religious Liberty In The Courts, Carl H. Esbeck

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this survey is to note important caselaw developments in the state and lower federal courts concerning religious liberty during 1985. Purposely omitted are the widely reported United State Supreme Court opinions, as well as cases where the high court has granted review during its 1985-86 term. The focus here is to collect significant cases that may otherwise escape broad attention. Only the facts and rationale of each court's decision is recorded. No editorial comment on the merits of these cases is intended.

Congressional Standing To Sue: Whose Vote Is This, Anyway?, R. Lawrence Dessem

Faculty Publications

The article is divided into three major sections. Section I traces the development of a separate doctrine of “congressional standing.” It examines the doctrine's development from the Supreme Court's initial consideration of legislative standing through the current opinions of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Section II then analyzes three possible theories of congressional injury and standing. Derivative, representative, and third-party standing theories are all rejected as a basis for congressional standing. While rejecting the suggestion that congressmen possess a personal interest in “their” votes sufficient to constitute the “distinct and palpable injury” required …

1986 Survey Of Trends And Developments In Religious Liberty In The Courts, Carl H. Esbeck

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this survey is to note important caselaw developments in the state and lower federal courts concerning religious liberty. Purposely omitted are the widely reported United States Supreme Court opinions, as well as cases where the high court has granted review during its 1986-87 term. The focus here is to collect significant cases that may otherwise escape broad attention. Only the facts and rationale of each court's decision is recorded. No editorial comment on the merits of these cases is intended.

Judicial Independence And The Rule Of Law, Jonathan Van Patten

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of The Second American Revolution, Neal Devins

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Compendium Of Proposals To Reform The United States Courts Of Appeals, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

Judge Ginsburg has provided a judge's-eye view of the work of a United States Court of Appeals in her Dunwody Lecture.'From her perspective as a judge on the District of Columbia Circuit, she has done a fine job describing the process of deciding appellate cases and composing a reasoned decision. But simply describing" things as they are" in the decisional process will not suffice in this article for two reasons. First, Judge Ginsburg has already done that, as have other judges.

Federal Jurisdiction, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Ambiguous Independent And Adequate State Ground In Criminal Cases: Federalism Along A Mobius Strip, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

In topology a Mobius strip is a one-sided surface formed by holding one end of a rectangle fixed, rotating the opposite end 180 degrees, and joining the two ends.'In Supreme Court jurisdiction the independent and adequate state ground doctrine forms a similar figure by joining, on one side, the power of the Court to revise the judgments of state courts on issues of federal law with, on the other side, the Court's lack of any general power to re examine issues of state law.

The Supreme Court And The Privilege Against Self-Incrimination: Has The Burger Court Retreated?, Paul Marcus

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Playing With Numbers: Determining The Majority Of Judges Required To Grant En Banc Sittings In The United States Court Of Appeals, James J. Wheaton

Faculty Publications

This note addresses the effects that these two interests -- majority control of circuit law and judicial integrity -- have on the appropriate definition of majority. Neither legislative history nor Supreme Court constructions of section 46(c) provide an unambiguous rule, and interpretation of the majority requirement remains within the authority of each circuit. The Judicial Conference of the United States, at its meeting in September 1984, recommended that each circuit clearly describe its en banc voting procedures. This note delineates considerations that may assist the circuit courts in their efforts to outline the method by which they should order en …

Impressions Of A Not-So-Average Juror, Robert H. Jerry Ii

Faculty Publications

Direct observation of jury decision-making is impossible without tainting the quality of the observations, and perhaps the jury's decision itself. Another reason for the difficulty attorneys have in understanding how juries will respond to their efforts is lack of experience. Because attorneys rarely serve on juries, the typical attorney cannot converse with colleagues about personal observations of how juries decide cases.

It is probably fair to say that I am one of only a few lawyers who has served on a jury. My own recollections of my service may well be incomplete, skewed, and deficient. Generalizations from my recollections must …

A Primer On Precedent In The Eleventh Circuit, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

This article is the third and final article in a series of articles written by Professor Baker considering the problems of precedent created by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 1980. The Act divided the former Fifth Circuit into two autonomous judicial circuits: the new Fifth Circuit, composed of the District of the Canal Zone, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, and the new Eleventh Circuit, composed of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. In this article, Professor Baker seeks to provide an introduction to how the new Eleventh Circuit has treated antecedent Fifth Circuit precedents. First, Professor Baker identifies and …