Courts Commons^™

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.

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.

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 …

Dam Federal Jurisdiction!, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

From the outset, the reader should be familiar with our script. Our threefold purpose in writing this essay is to be at once descriptive, evaluative, and prescriptive. We shall describe briefly the decisions of the United States Supreme Court during the 1981 Term in the broad field of federal jurisdiction, and shall compare and contrast those decisions with the past decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Ancillary Relief In Federal Securities Law: A Study In Federal Remedies, George W. Dent

Faculty Publications

After describing the history and current practice of ancillary relief in federal securities law, this Article analyzes the general law of federal remedies and ancillary relief, including ancillary relief in other areas of administrative law, recent developments in federal equity, statutory interpretation, and federal common law, and implied statutory remedies. The Article then examines pertinent aspects of the federal securities laws, including their legislative history and recent judicial interpretations. On this basis the Article recommends both a general approach to ancillary relief in federal securities law and responses to problems of specific remedies. Finally, the Article discusses ancillary relief under …

Constitutional Criminal Procedure, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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 …

Constitutional Criminal Procedure, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

This article discusses decisions of the new Eleventh Circuit and also decisions of the former Fifth Circuit, some of which are binding precedents for the new court. By way of introduction, the title Constitutional Criminal Procedure deserves amplification. Related criminal law topics not within the scope of this article include the following: the substantive law of crimes; non constitutional aspects of the Federal Rules of Evidence; non constitutional aspects of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; procedural aspects of habeas corpus; sentencing; prisoners' rights; and civil rights suits alleging constitutional deprivations.

A Postscript On Precedent In The Divided Fifth Circuit, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

Professor Baker analyzes the three courts that resulted from the split of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 1981 and how each court treats precedent.

Probation For Class C Misdemeanors: To Fine Or Not To Fine Is Now The Question, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Precedent Times Three: Stare Decisis In The Divided Fifth Circuit, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

October 1, 1981, marked a milestone in the history of our federal courts. On that day the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Reorganization Act of 1980 (Reorganization Act) divided the" former fifth circuit" into 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.

Constitutional Law, Thomas E. Baker

Faculty Publications

This 1981 article discusses principles of federal constitutional law. Professor Baker notes that the constitutional decisions of the courts of appeals will continue to increase in number and importance as the burgeoning federal caseload grows. Professor Baker analyzes how the Fifth Circuit dealt with constitutional principles in the year preceding the article. The article commences with a discussion of cases dealing with justiciability issues. The justiciability issues discussed include standing, mootness, advisory opinions, political questions, ripeness, and Eleventh Amendment issues. Next, Professor Baker discusses cases construing the Commerce Clause. Next, the article discusses cases dealing with due process issues, both …

The Role Of Appellate Court In Mandatory Sentencing Schemes, Larry I. Palmer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Notice, Costs, And The Effect Of Judgment In Missouri's New Common-Question Class Action, William B. Fisch

Faculty Publications

On December 1, 1972, the Missouri Supreme Court greatly expanded the potential usefulness of the class action device in our state courts by adopting the most recent version of the federal class action rule.

Institute Of Contemporary Law: The California Superior Court System, Mary Emery, Nicholas Livak, Leon Panetta

Faculty Publications

The Institute of Contemporary Law, having recently completed an investigation and analysis of the California grand jury, now turns its efforts to the area of the superior court system in California. Hoping to correlate the work of students, lawyers and judges in this area, the following article attempts a broad review of the function and operation of the superior court in California. The history of the court, its rules and operation, its jurisdiction and its various departments are the topics covered by the discussion below. The presentation here offered is mainly expository and informational, and, it is hoped, will provide …

Appellate Court Articulation Of General Standards Of Conduct: Effective Guidance Versus Impotent Verbalism, Arthur W. Phelps

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.