Courts Commons^™

Beyond Reparations: An American Indian Theory Of Justice, William C. Bradford

ExpressO

The number of states, corporations, and religious groups formally disowning past records of egregious human injustice is mushrooming. Although the Age of Apology is a global phenomenon, the question of reparations—a tort-based mode of redress whereby a wrongdoing group accepts legal responsibility and compensates victims for the damage it inflicted upon them—likely consumes more energy, emotion, and resources in the U.S. than in any other jurisdiction. Since the final year of the Cold War, the U.S. and its political subdivisions have apologized or paid compensation to Japanese-American internees, native Hawaiians, civilians killed in the Korean War, and African American victims …

The Role Of Purposivism In The Delegation Of Rulemaking Authority To The Courts, Michael Rosensaft

ExpressO

The courts are often used by Congress as a “political lightning rod,” when Congress cannot decide how to resolve an issue. Congress relies on administrative agencies for their expertise, and it also makes sense for Congress to delegate some rulemaking authority to the courts, relying on a court’s expertise in developing caselaw in an incremental basis. However, this authority should not be lightly implied. A court can tell that Congress has delegated rulemaking authority to it when the purpose of the statute is clear and the text is broadly worded. It thus makes sense in these cases that purposivism should …

Beyond Rights: Legal Process And Ethnic Conflicts, Elena A. Baylis

ExpressO

Unresolved ethnic conflicts threaten the stability and the very existence of multi-ethnic states. The realities of ethnic conflict are daunting: ethnic disputes tend to be both persistent and complex, and efforts to use democracy or ethnic-blind policies to deal with those conflicts tend to fail. While multi-ethnic states have struggled to devise political solutions for ethnic conflict, they have largely ignored the role that legal processes might play in resolving ethnic discord. But at certain crucial moments in the development of ethnic conflicts, legal processes such as mediation, adjudication, and constitutional interpretation might effectively address these disputes.

This article explores …

The Market For Justice, The "Litigation Explosion," And The "Verdict Bubble": A Closer Look At Vanishing Trials, Frederic Nelson Smalkin, Frederic Nelson Chancellor Smalkin

ExpressO

This article takes a fresh look at the increasingly discussed topic of the scarcity of civil cases reaching trial in the Article III system. The number of cases tried declined by more than one-fourth in the decade from 1989-1999, and the decline continued at about the same rate to the end of the latest year for which statistics are available, 2002, while ADR (particularly arbitrations) skyrocketed.

The authors examine the history of competing English courts (particularly Common Pleas and King's Bench) for signs that, in fact, market competition can arise among dispute-resolving bodies. They also apply economic analysis to the …

The Supreme Court And Pledge Of Allegiance: Does God Still Have A Place In American Schools?, Charles J. Russo

Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Trying To Push A Square Peg Through A Round Hole: Why The Higher Education Style Of Strict Scrutiny Review Does Not Fit When Courts Consider K-12 Admissions Programs, James Nial Robinson Ii

Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Ten Years Of Pena: Revisiting The Utah Mixed Question Standard Of Appellate Review, Andrew Franklin Peterson

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

No abstract provided.

Dedication, Jaime L. Henshaw

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Chief Justice Harry L. Carrico And The Ideal Of Judicial Independence, Rodney A. Smolla

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Appellate Courts, Historical Facts, And The Civil-Criminal Distinction, Chad M. Oldfather

Vanderbilt Law Review

Among the pieties of our legal system is the notion that appellate courts do not engage in factual evaluation. Murky though the distinction between "fact" and "law" may be,' there is general agreement that somewhere along the fact-law spectrum lies a point beyond which appellate courts ought not venture. Past it exist questions of "historical fact," the "who, when, what, and where" series of questions that we have deemed only juries or trial judges to be capable of answering.

Just as well accepted is the reasoning behind this juridical line in the sand. Simply put, we believe that appellate courts …

Adrift On A Sea Of Uncertainty: Preserving Uniformity In Patent Law Post-Vornado Through Deference To The Federal Circuit, Larry D. Thompson

Scholarly Works

Congress created the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1982, and granted that court exclusive appellate jurisdiction over civil actions arising under patent law. Congress's primary goals in creating the Federal Circuit were to produce a more uniform patent jurisprudence and to reduce forum shopping based on favorable patent law. But in the 2002 decision of Holmes Group, Inc. v. Vornado Air Circulation Systems, the Supreme Court held that patent counterclaims alone could not create Federal Circuit jurisdiction. This decision not only overruled the Federal Circuit's longstanding jurisdictional rule, but also opened the door for Regional …

Free Exercise Of Religion In Germany And The United States, Edward J. Eberle

Law Faculty Scholarship

In this Article, Professor Edward Eberle provides a comparative overview of constitutional safeguards affecting religious freedom in Germany and the United States. Specifically the author analyzes the German and American approaches to the free exercise of religion within their respective constitutional systems. The result is an illuminating exposition that provides much insight for comparative and constitutional scholars.

In the years following the Second World War, religious freedoms in Germany developed along similar, individualist paths to those found in the United States Constitution. However, unlike the Constitution, the Basic Law's provisions touching on religious liberty are detailed and quite elaborate and …

Pleas For Dna Testing: Why Lawmakers Should Amend State Post-Conviction Dna Testing Statutes To Apply To Prisoners Who Pled Guilty, Daina Borteck

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Call To Arms: The Need To Protect The Independence Of The Judiciary, Harry L. Carrico

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Preface, Jaime L. Henshaw

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Three Independences, H. Jefferson Powell

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Most Rational Branch: Guinn V. Legislature And The Judiciary's Role As Helpful Arbiter Of Conflict, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Preserving The Legacy: A Tribute To Chief Justice Harry L. Carrico, One Who Exalted Judicial Independence, Penny J. White

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Judicial Independence, William H. Rehnquist

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Legislative Restraint In The Confirmation Process, Kenneth W. Starr

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Judicial Independence And The Scope Of Article Iii--A View From The Federalist, Michael G. Collins

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Induced Litigation, Tracey E. George, Chris Guthrie

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

If "justice delayed" is "justice denied,"justice is often denied in American courts. Delay in the courts is a "ceaseless and unremitting problem of modem civil justice" that "has an irreparable effect on both plaintiffs and defendants." To combat this seemingly intractable problem, judges and court administrators routinely clamor for additional judicial resources to enable them to manage their dockets more "effectively and efficiently." By building new courthouses and adding new judgeships, a court should be able to manage its caseload more efficiently. Trial judges should be able to hold motion hearings, host settlement conferences, and conduct trials in a timely …

A Proposed Solution To Jury Confusion In Patent Infringement Cases Involving Means-Plus-Function Claims, Tony Caliendo

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Judicial Perspectives On The Federal Sentencing Guidelines And The Goals Of Sentencing: Debunking The Myths, Michael E. O'Neill

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

The Common Law Process: A New Look At An Ancient Value Delivery System, Dennis J. Sweeney

Washington Law Review

Have common law courts subtly and incrementally put themselves out of the substantial and traditional business of law-making or, at least, put themselves out of business as we once knew it? More personally, do I belong here? Or am I helping to betray the common law tradition I preach and practice and which has served the citizens of Washington since statehood and before? The short answer is: I think not. Each of the relevant principles, if they are to have any practical application at all, must someday be applied by a court to an actual case, to an actual controversy. …

Some Reflections On Long-Term Lessons And Implications Of The Access To Justice Technology Bill Of Rights Process, Richard Zorza

Washington Law Review

The Washington State Access to Justice Technology Bill of Rights (ATJ-TBoR) process (Process), described in detail in both its substantive and procedural aspects in other papers in this volume, has the potential to have a major impact on access to justice in the state—its first and primary goal. In addition, however, it has the potential to have broader implications in the legal world, in the process of legal innovation, in access to other services, and internationally. This paper is intended to start the debate about these implications and how they can be optimized and maximized.

Online Court Records: Balancing Judicial Accountability And Privacy In An Age Of Electronic Information, Peter A. Winn

Washington Law Review

This Article examines the traditional balance courts have reached between the disclosure of information generated by the judicial process and the need at times to limit the disclosure of that information. The Article then examines how this traditional balance is upset when judicial information is placed online. The Article argues that as courts adapt to a world of electronic information, new rules and practices must be established to maintain the policies underlying the traditional balance. While there must continue to be a presumption of openness, courts must limit the disclosure of judicial information when it threatens the effective administration of …

Keeping Attorneys From Trashing Identities: Malpractice As Backstop Protection For Clients Under The United States Judicial Conference's Policy On Electronic Court Records, Michael Caughey

Washington Law Review

Federal courts in the United States have embraced electronic access to court records because it promises to allow courts to run more efficiently. At the same time, critics worry that electronically available court records might provide identity thieves with a trove of clients' personal information. The United States Judicial Conference has adopted a policy endorsing electronic access to court records, but the policy does not contain an express enforcement mechanism to protect clients' privacy. While court-directed protections, such as Rule I 1 sanctions, might help prevent identity theft, they will not help clients after the crime occurs. To recover their …

Rise Of The Machines: Justice Information Systems And The Question Of Public Access To Court Records Over The Internet, Gregory M. Silverman

Washington Law Review

In the first half of the present Article, I introduce the reader to this technology (Part II) and its likely role in evolving justice information systems (Parts I and III). In the second half of the Article, I enter the debate over whether the public should be permitted access to court records over the Internet. After explaining the origins, history, and principal sides of this debate (Part IV), I argue, first, that when used properly, XML permits the public to have access to court records over the Internet while promoting public safety and protecting personal security (Part V) and, second, …

Designing An Accessible, Technology-Driven Justice System: An Exercise In Testing The Access To Justice Technology Bill Of Rights, T. W. Small, Robert Boiko, Richard Zorza

Washington Law Review

The Access to Justice Technology Bill of Rights project, sponsored by the Access to Justice Board of Washington State, included a committee composed of attorneys, judges, technologists, and librarians charged with envisioning an ideal civil justice system. Our goals were to design a system with certain core values (e.g., due process and access to justice), test the system using a complex family law scenario, determine what opportunities technology brings to the table, and identify what barriers technology creates for persons using the system. This Article describes an idealized civil justice system (System) unlike anything that presently exists. The System is …