Law and Society Commons^™

Law, Narrative, And The Continuing Colonist Oppression Of Native Hawaiians, David Barnard

ExpressO

The article does three things. First, and for the first time, it brings to bear the perspectives of critical race theory, postcolonial theory, and narrative theory on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2000 decision in Rice v. Cayetano, which dealt a severe blow to Native Hawaiians’ struggles for redress and reparations for a century of dispossession and impoverishment at the hands of the United States. Second, it demonstrates in the concrete case of Hawaii the power of a particular historical narrative—when it is accepted uncritically by the Supreme Court—to render the law itself into an instrument of colonial domination. Third, it …

All In The Family: The Apocalyptic Legal Tradition As Crit Theory, Marc L. Roark

ExpressO

This essay compares the Evangelical manifestation of legal education with the political evolution of the critical legal studies movement. It suggests that the pedagogical methods, the concentration on historical criticism and the political origins suggest a familial relationship between the two groups that would appear to be diametrically opposed.

Refugee Security And The Organizational Logic Of Legal Mandates, Mariano-Florentino Cuellar

ExpressO

While the refugee protection system is one of international law’s most recognizable features, it routinely places massive numbers of refugees in camps in the developing world, where they face chronic threats to their physical security from crime and disorder, coercion, and military attacks. Yet key actors responsible for refugee protection, including host states, advanced industrialized countries, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), generally have failed to prioritize refugee security. This article asks: (1) Why? (2) What have been the consequences? (3) And what do these answers reveal about how organizations carry out legal mandates in complicated political …

The Limits Of Equality And The Virtues Of Discrimination, Yifat Bitton

ExpressO

This article focuses on the application of antidiscrimination regimes to groups which have been discriminated-against de jure and de facto. This Article approaches diverges from the dominant view that discrimination is a purely destructive force. The central argument of the Article is that de jure, overt and blatant discrimination necessarily contributes to the creation of a coherent group identity recognized by law, which enables groups that are discriminated against to obtain remedial relief. In contrast, the law fails to recognize a coherent group identity for de facto discriminated-against groups and thus these groups have to overcome a structural challenge to …

Law In The Digital Age: How Visual Communication Technologies Are Transforming The Practice, Theory, And Teaching Of Law, Richard K. Sherwin, Neal Feigenson, Christina Spiesel

ExpressO

Law today has entered the digital age. The way law is practiced – how truth and justice are represented and assessed – is increasingly dependent on what appears on electronic screens in courtrooms, law offices, government agencies, and elsewhere. Practicing lawyers know this and are rapidly adapting to the new era of digital visual rhetoric. Legal theory and education, however, have yet to catch up. This article is the first systematic effort to theorize law's transformation by new visual and multimedia technologies and to set out the changes in legal pedagogy that are needed to prepare law students for practice …

Genetic Residues Of Ancient Migrations: An End To Biological Essentialism And The Reification Of Race, William M. Richman

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Open Water: Affirmative Action, Mismatch Theory And Swarming Predators: A Response To Richard Sander, André Douglas Pond Cummings, Seth Harper

Law Faculty Scholarship

"Open Water" offers a sharp normative critique of Richard Sander's Stanford Law Review study (57 STAN. L. REV. 367 (2004)) that claims to prove empirically that affirmative action positively injures African American law students. Sander's law review article and conclusions are troublesome for a range of reasons and my critique unfolds as follows: First, Sander promulgates an objectionable form of racial paternalism in his anti-affirmative action study; Second, Sander casts himself in the fateful and historically disturbing role of the "Great White Father"; Third, Sander seemingly manipulated the mass media in drawing attention to his study and purported findings, particularly …

“It’S The [Tort System], Stupid:” Consumer Deductibles; How To More Equitably Distribute The Risks Of Medical Malpractice And Adequately Compensate Victims Without Statutory Damage Caps., Bradford Luke Ledbetter

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Dangerousness And Expertise Redux, Christopher Slobogin

ExpressO

Civil commitment, confinement under sexual predator laws, and many capital and noncapital sentences depend upon proof of a propensity toward violence. This article discusses the current state of prediction science, in particular the advantages and disadvantages of clinical and actuarial prediction, and then analyzes how the rules of evidence should be interpreted in deciding whether opinions about propensity should be admissible. It concludes that dangerousness predictions that are not based on empirically-derived probability estimates should be excluded from the courtroom unless the defense decides otherwise. This conclusion is not bottomed on the usual concern courts and commentators raise about expert …

Gender Equality, Social Values And Provocation Law In The United States, Canada And Australia, Caroline A. Forell

ExpressO

In this article I examine and compare the partial defense of provocation as it applies to domestic homicide in Australia, Canada, and the United States on both the gendered-male basis of jealous rage and gendered-female basis of fear. I explain why substantive equality, prevalent under Canadian constitutional law, has not resulted in woman-friendly provocation rules in Canada and the United States and why Australia is the leader in incorporating substantive equality into its provocation doctrine. I conclude that the main reason why some Australian jurisdictions have abolished provocation and others have female-friendly versions of the doctrine is that, unlike Canada …

On The Legal Construction Of Ethnic Cleansing, Timothy V. Waters

ExpressO

On the Legal Construction of Ethnic Cleansing

Timothy William Waters, Univ. Mississippi School of Law

Abstract

What is the true shape of our commitment to prohibit ethnic cleansing? This Article explores that question by considering a case observers have universally decided does not constitute ethnic cleansing. It examines the recent controversy in the European Union, when Sudeten Germans demanded that the Czech Republic apologize for having expelled them after WWII before being admitted to the EU. Their demands were universally rejected and the legality of the expulsions was reconfirmed by all relevant actors. So what is the consequence for customary …

Justice And The Evolution Of The Common Law, Richard O. Zerbe

ExpressO

Empirical evidence shows, and theory suggests, that the common law tends toward economic efficiency. While various theories attempt to explain this phenomenon, no single one is well accepted. This article provides a simple explanation. It suggests that efficiency arises as a matter of justice. Justice is sought because justice-seeking is a social norm with its own sanctioning force. Justice is sought and efficiency achieved because they substantially overlap. Limitations in the traditional definition of efficiency, however, ensure that efficiency is not congruent with justice. This paper suggests that it can be: the congruence of justice and efficiency will be greater …

Legislation And Legitimation: Congress And Insider Trading In The 1980s, Thomas W. Joo

ExpressO

Legislation and Legitimation:

Congress and Insider Trading in the 1980s

Abstract

Orthodox corporate law-and-economics holds that American corporate and securities regulation has evolved inexorably toward economic efficiency. That position is difficult to square with the fact that regulation is the product of government actors and institutions. Indeed, the rational behavior assumptions of law-and-economics suggest that those actors and institutions would tend to place their own self-interest ahead of economic efficiency. This article provides anecdotal evidence of such self-interest at work. Based on an analysis of legislative history—primarily Congressional hearings—this article argues that Congress had little interest in the economic policy …

Feb. 3, 2006, Ifc, Working Draft E&S Review Procedures, V.05, Ifc

IFC E&S Performance Standards

No abstract provided.

Law As Rationalization: Getting Beyond Reason To Business Ethics, Jeffrey Marc Lipshaw

ExpressO

Embedded in the way we use the law is the tendency of human reason to justification, in the words of one philosopher, “the thirst for rationality that creates lies.” I contend that this tendency is exacerbated by the conflation of what is knowable as a matter of science, and that which we might believe is normative. I rely on Kant’s critique of theoretical and practical reason to assess claims to objectivity in social science approaches to law, and to suggest it is not surprising that the operation of theoretical and practical reason would tend to the conflation of the descriptive …

Feb. 2006, M. Warner, Odi, Opinions, New Benchmark For E&S Performance, Michael Warner

IFC E&S Performance Standards

No abstract provided.

The First Constitution: Rethinking The Origins Of Rule Of Law And Separation Of Powers In Light Of Deuteronomy, Bernard M. Levinson

Cardozo Law Review

This Article demonstrates the overlooked contribution of the ancient Near East to the development of constitutional law. The legal corpus of Deuteronomy provides a utopian model for the organization of the state, one that enshrines separation of powers and their systematic subordination to a public legal text - the "Torah" - that delineates their jurisdiction while also ensuring their autonomy. This legislation establishes an independent judiciary while bringing even the monarch under the full authority of the law. Deuteronomy's implicit model for a political constitution is unprecedented in legal history. Two of its cornerstones are fundamental to the modern idea …

Implementation Of Sarbanes-Oxley: New Rules For Lawyers And What Lawyers Think, Olga Yevglevskaya-Wayne

ExpressO

This paper discusses practical implications of Sarbanes-Oxley for lawyers. Emphasis is on the new federal rules of professional responsibility the Act sets up. The paper includes the views of various renowned practitioners interpreting and using these rules. The paper also contains suggestions for how the Securities and Exchange Commission could potentially improve those areas that are proving problematic for attorneys so as to better effectuate the purpose of this major new law, in light of its legislative history and intent, which are also discussed in the paper.

What's In A Name?: Cause Lawyers As Conceptual Category, Corey S. Shdaimah

ExpressO

Stuart Scheingold's and Austin Sarat's "Something to Believe In: Politics, Professionalism, and Cause Lawyering," (Stanford University Press, December 2004) draws on a decade of empirical and theoretical work on cause lawyering. Scheingold’s and Sarat’s law and society scholarship contributes to our knowledge of lawyering, the law, work with clients and social movements, and the interplay between what Ewick and Silbey have called "legality" and the social world. Their cross-disciplinary work makes a significant contribution to the social sciences as well as to the field of legal studies. This review examines the utility of cause lawyering as a concept that contributes …

Living By The Sword: The Free Exercise Of Religion And The Sikh Struggle For The Right To Carry A Kirpan, Rishi S. Bagga

ExpressO

Sikhism is a 500 year old religion with a growing presence in the United States. However, one of the articles of faith required for Sikhs, a kirpan (a ceremonial sword), conflicts with the norms of American life for these often misunderstood people. This paper gives a brief primer on Sikhism and discusses some of the day-to-day problems and recent issues facing kirpan-carrying Sikhs in North America. Upon reviewing the current state of free exercise jurisprudence as applied to the kirpan, I outline several suggestions for the acceptance and accommodation of kirpans.

Dan The Xenophobe Rides The A-Train Or The Modern, "Secret" Racist: Unconscious Racism In `Enlightened America' And The Destructive Stereotypes That Fuel It, Richard D. Salgado

ExpressO

A short story style exploration of unconscious racism in modern "enlightened" America.

Six Thinking Hats For The Lorax: Corporate Responsibility And The Environment, Robert F. Blomquist

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Institutional Fixes Versus Fixed Institutions, Robert C. Hockett

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

A number of philosophers, policy thinkers and activists have despaired over the prospect that global institutions can bring progressive change to the international order. They advocate that those who would change things should place their hopes in global social movements rather than global institutions. This essay humbly suggests that we ought to do both. Global institutions require an active global civil society that includes social movements if they would not lose their senses of mission and purpose. Global social movements for their part require global institutions to serve as focal points for their efforts, which are otherwise threatened with diffusion …

Reading, Writing, And Reparations: Systematic Reform Of Public Schools As A Matter Of Justice, Verna L. Williams

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This Article examines reparations as a means of supporting systemic reform of public education, focusing on a recent enactment of the Virginia General Assembly, the Brown v. Board of Education Scholarship Program and Fund (Brown Fund Act). This provision seeks to remedy the state's refusal to integrate schools after the Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education by providing scholarships to persons denied an education between 1954 and 1964, a period known as massive resistance. Under this regime, the state's executive and legislative branches colluded to develop laws that defied Brown's mandate, including authorizing the governor to close …

Toward Praxis, Emily Houh

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This Essay, written for a 2005 symposium issue of the U.C. Davis Law Review, responds to an important question posed by the symposium organizers: What is the future of critical race feminism? In this Essay, I use a common law contractual good faith antidiscrimination claim, developed and proposed by me in a series of previously written articles, to help answer that question. While, in the past, my proposed good faith claim aimed principally to operationalize some recurring and foundational insights of critical race theory, such as the race crits' critique of the intentionality requirement in conventional antidiscrimination law, the Davis …

Making America "The Land Of Second Chances": Restoring Socioeconomic Rights For Ex-Offenders, Deborah N. Archer, Kele Stewart

Articles

No abstract provided.

Law And Culture In China And Japan: A Framework For Analysis, John O. Haley

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Comment is divided into two parts. The first sets forth a series of definitional propositions intended for a more general analysis of the interrelationships of law and culture. The second comprises an introduction to the evolution of legal institutions that enables us to understand better the reception and development of Western legal institutions in East Asia and provides context for the four articles and their individual and collective insights.

The Culture Of Legal Change: A Case Study Of Tobacco Control In Twenty-First Century Japan, Eric A. Feldman

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article argues that the interaction of international norms and local culture is a central factor in the creation and transformation of legal rules. Like Alan Watson's influential theory of legal transplants, it emphasizes that legal change is frequently a consequence of learning from other jurisdictions. And like those who have argued that rational, self-interested lawmakers responding to incentives such as reelection are the engine of legal change, this Article treats incentives as critical motivators of human behavior. But in place of the cutting-and-pasting of black-letter legal doctrine it highlights the cross-border flow of social norms, and rather than material …

Still, At The Margins, Emily Houh

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

An anthology by Austin Sarat is reviewed from a critical race perspective. The book's agenda is to show how the law seeks to work in the world, particularly when, why, and how legal decisions respond to social characteristics of those making them as well as those who are subject to them. Also emphasized are the complex relations among the law's various parts (e.g., judges and jurors, police and prosecutors, appellate and trial courts). The book is organized around the law's paradoxes, purposes of the law which can be somewhat mutually exclusive. Many of the leading voices in the law and …

Asking The Straight Question: How To Come To Speech In Spite Of Conceptual Liquidation As A Homosexual, Jose M. Gabilondo

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.