Legal History Commons^™

The Sit-Ins And The State Action Doctrine, Christopher W. Schmidt

All Faculty Scholarship

By taking their seats at “whites only” lunch counters across the South in the spring of 1960, African American students not only launched a dramatic new stage in the civil rights movement, they also sparked a national reconsideration of the scope of the constitutional equal protection requirement. The critical constitutional question raised by the sit-in movement was whether the Fourteenth Amendment, which after Brown v. Board of Education (1954) prohibited racial segregation in schools and other state-operated facilities, applied to privately owned accommodations open to the general public. From the perspective of the student protesters, the lunch counter operators, and …

Relationship Banker : Eugene W. Stetson, Wall Street, And American Business, 1916-1959, James L. Hunt

Books and Chapters

In 1916, Eugene W. Stetson, a thirty-five year old banker from Macon, Georgia, became a vice-president with the Guaranty Trust Company of New York, a 'Morgan Bank'. Although by this time Pierpont Morgan was dead, Guaranty still resided fully within the Morgan firm's orbit, its broader policies controlled by the votes of Morgan partners. Stetson took full advantage of the Guaranty-Morgan opportunity. Between 1916 and his death in 1959, he became president and chairman of Guaranty. He survived the booms and busts of World War I and its aftermath, the stock-crazed 1920s, the transformation of banking in the Depression, and …

The Opinion Volume 47 Issue 2 – November 1, 2009, The Opinion

The Opinion Newspaper (all issues)

The Opinion newspaper issue dated November 01, 2009

The Status And Future Of Government Documents, James T. Shaw

Criss Library Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

Depository libraries have traditionally enjoyed a pretty sweet deal—we receive free copies of documents in return for space, processing, and staff to help people use them. Depository libraries have served as key players in two areas of public policy: 1) public access to government information for the needs of today; and 2) widespread distribution of documents helps them survive to form a historical record.

Echoes Of The Impact Of Webb V. Mcgowin On The Doctrine Of Consideration Under Contract Law: Some Reflections On The Decision On The Approach Of Its 75th Anniversary, Stephen J. Leacock

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Narratives Drawn From Rich Experience: Mayer Brown's Federal Appellate Practice, Patrick E. Higginbotham

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

The Opinion Volume 47 Issue 1 – October 1, 2009, The Opinion

The Opinion Newspaper (all issues)

The Opinion newspaper issue dated October, 1, 2009

Hope In The Law, Annelise Riles

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Written And Oral Persuasion In The United States Courts: A District Judge's Perspective On Their History, Function, And Future, Mark R. Kravitz

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

R' Blake Brown, A Trying Question: The Jury In Nineteenth-Century Canada, Mary Stokes

Dalhousie Law Journal

In a 1984 review essay on the inter-relationship(s) oflaw and society in English criminal law historiography, Doug Hay observed that "in history, there is no 'background,"" His point was that there are an infinite number ofbackgrounds, all of which are moving and changing, often in non-linear fashion, at different paces, either in counter-point or direct dialogue with the foreground which is the immediate subject ofexposition. Legal historians who put their topics "in context" by treating the background as static are now fortunately few, at least when this background is conceived of as social or economic. But as Hay observed, the …

Examining Presidential Power Through The Rubric Of Equity, Eric A. White

Michigan Law Review

In this Note I propose a method to examine presidents' actions taken outside the normal bounds of executive power by employing the general rubric of equity, in an attempt to find when the president acts with what I term "practical legitimacy." This would be a new category for executive actions that, while perhaps arguably illegal, are so valuable that we want to treat them as legitimate exercises of executive power. To do so, I first examine the history of equity, noting the many relevant parallels to our modern conception of executive power In light of these parallels, I argue that …

Pierson V. Post: The New Learning, Daniel R. Ernst

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Pierson v. Post, 3 Caines 175 (N.Y. 1805), one of the most commonly assigned cases in the first-year Property course, was a dispute over the ownership of a fox discovered at large “upon a certain wild and uninhabited, unpossessed and waste land, called the beach.” For a very long time, all that was known about the case, other than the report itself, was a vivid but antiquarian account published in the Sag Harbor Express of October 24, 1895, by the judge and local historian Henry Parsons Hedges (1817-1911). Hedges claimed to have met Jesse Pierson (1780-1840) and Lodowick Post …

Protecting Cultural Heritage In Armed Conflict: Looking Back, Looking Forward, Patty Gerstenblith

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The article argues that the destruction and looting of cultural property during armed conflicts, as exemplified by the 2003 Gulf War and its aftermath, highlight the urgent need for stronger enforcement of international legal frameworks, particularly the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The failure of the United States to ratify this convention undermines global efforts to protect cultural heritage, despite the U.S. military already adhering to some of its principles through other legal frameworks. The article advocates for U.S. ratification of both the 1954 Hague Convention and its protocols to …

Mothers And Sons: The Lloyd Schlup Story, Sean O'Brien

Faculty Works

This article tells the back story of the near-execution of Lloyd Schlup, condemned to die in Missouri for the 1984 murder of fellow Missouri State Penitentiary prisoner Arthur Dade, Jr. Mr. Schlup came within hours of execution before the Supreme Court granted certiorari on his case to decide whether a prisoner who is probably innocent can avail himself of the habeas corpus remedy. Mr. Schlup's and Mr. Dade's mothers played pivotal roles in the ultimate outcome of Schlup v. Delo, 513 U.S. 298 (1995). Dedicated to the memory of Nancy Slater.

War, Peace, And The Landscape Of The Inka Heartland, Terence N. D'Altroy, Darryl A. Wilkinson

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The article argues that the conservation of cultural heritage in the Inka imperial heartland must move beyond the protection of discrete archaeological sites to encompass the broader landscape, which includes intangible elements such as social memory, power dynamics, and historical narratives. The authors advocate for a holistic approach to heritage management that integrates the physical environment with the cultural and historical contexts that give landscapes their significance.

A Historical Overview Of The Fair Labor Standards Act, Pamela Newell

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

'Equal Citizenship Stature': Justice Ginsburg’S Constitutional Visionq, Neil S. Siegel

Faculty Scholarship

In this essay, Professor Siegel examines the nature and function of constitutional visions in the American constitutional order. He argues that Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg possesses such a vision and that her vision is defined by her oft-stated commitment to “full human stature,” to “equal citizenship stature.” He then defends Justice Ginsburg’s characteristically incremental and moderate approach to realizing her vision. He does so in part by establishing that President Barack Obama articulated a similar vision and approach in his Philadelphia speech on American race relations and illustrated its capacity to succeed during the 2008 presidential election.

Changing The Lebanese Constitution: A Postmodern History, John J. Donohue

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Development And Outcomes Of Investment Treaty Arbitration, Susan Franck

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The legitimacy of investment treaty arbitration is a matter of heated debate. Asserting that arbitration is unfairly tilted toward the developed world, some countries have withdrawn from World Bank dispute resolution bodies or are taking steps to eliminate arbitration. In order to assess whether investment arbitration is the equivalent of tossing a two-headed coin to resolve investment disputes, this article explores the role of development status in arbitration outcome. It first presents descriptive, quantitative research about the developmental background of the presiding arbitrators who exert particular control over the arbitration process. The article then assesses how (1) the development status …

Fault At The Contract-Tort Interface, Roy Kreitner

Michigan Law Review

The formative period in the history of contract and tort (in the second half of the nineteenth century) may be characterized by the cleavage of contract and tort around the concept of fault: tort modernized by moving from strict liability to a regime of "no liability without fault," while contract moved toward strict liability. The opposing attitudes toward fault are puzzling at first glance. Nineteenth-century scholars of private law offered explanations for the opposition, reasoning that alternative ideas about fault account for the different character of state involvement in enforcing private law rights: tort law governs liabilities imposed by law …

Abortion Across State Lines, Joseph W. Dellapenna

Working Paper Series

In this Article, I propose to analyze conflicts of law precedents and theory to explore the extent to which a state can apply its law on abortion to abortions performed outside the state but bearing a significant connection to the state. In attempting to resolve such questions, we enter into the domain of choice of law, part of the field of conflicts of law. This domain is notoriously unstable and contested. This instability allows legal commentators to project their attitudes towards abortion (and many other matters) in analyzing and construing the relevant authorities to resolve choice of law issues. I …

Arsenic And Old Chemistry: Images Of Mad Alchemists, Experts Attacking Experts, And The Crisis In Forensic Science, David S. Caudill

Working Paper Series

Drawing on research into the use of experts in early 19th-century criminal trials, the image of mad alchemists in popular culture representations of science, and the distinction between empirical and contingent “interpretive repertoires” in the discourse of scientific controversies, this article explores the controversy over arsenic-detection technologies prior to the Marsh test. In addition to noting the predictable criticism of incompetent expertise in the service of law, this article highlights implied accusations of hubris and amorality on the part of over-confident experts, both in the early 19th-century and in today's crisis of forensic science.

The Appropriations Power And Sovereign Immunity, Paul F. Figley, Jay Tidmarsh

Michigan Law Review

Discussions of sovereign immunity assume that the Constitution contains no explicit text regarding sovereign immunity. As a result, arguments about the existence-or nonexistence-of sovereign immunity begin with the English and American common-law doctrines. Exploring political, fiscal, and legal developments in England and the American colonies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, this Article shows that focusing on common-law developments is misguided. The common-law approach to sovereign immunity ended in the early 1700s. The Bankers' Case (1690- 1700), which is often regarded as the first modern common-law treatment of sovereign immunity, is in fact the last in the line of English …

Jamie L. Bronstein's Caught In The Machinery: Workplace Accidents And Injured Workers In Nineteenth-Century Britain, Robert J. Steinfeld

Book Reviews

No abstract provided.

"We're Your Government And We're Here To Help": Obtaining Amicus Support From The Federal Government In Supreme Court Cases, Patricia A. Millett

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

Overturning The Last Stone: The Final Step In Returning Precedential Status To All Opinions, David R. Cleveland

The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process

No abstract provided.

The Opinion Volume 46 Issue 6 – April 1, 2009, The Opinion

The Opinion Newspaper (all issues)

The Opinion newspaper issue dated April 01, 2009. Missing Page 5.

Questioning The Political Question Doctrine: Inconsistent Applications In Reparations And Alien Tort Claims Act Litigation, Shelley Buchanan

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note argues that while transnational public law litigants have successfully used U.S. courts to address human rights violations under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), African American reparations claims for slavery have been systematically dismissed on procedural grounds, particularly under the political question doctrine. This disparity highlights the inconsistent application of the doctrine, with recent ATCA cases narrowing its scope, while African American slave redress cases continue to face strict dismissal. The note advocates for a more consistent application of the political question doctrine across all human rights litigation, including slave redress, to ensure fairness and maintain the U.S. …

Agents Of (Incremental) Change: From Myra Bradwell To Hillary Clinton, Gwen Hoerr Jordan

Nevada Law Journal

In this Article, the author asserts that after the Civil War, when the race and gender hierarchies that ordered American society were vulnerable, a little-studied collection of activist women lawyers led a law reform movement that established women’s rights incrementally. They were among those thinking about and experimenting with different ways of framing, securing, and enforcing women’s full and equal citizenship rights. Their dual status as lawyers and women shaped their goals and strategies. As lawyers and licensed members of the legal profession, they operated within the conventional institutions of power—lobbying the legislatures to enact new laws and urging judges …

Dan Freed: My Teacher, My Colleague, My Friend, Ronald Weich

All Faculty Scholarship

At a recent meeting of the National Association of Sentencing Commissions, Yale professor Dan Freed was honored during a panel discussion titled "Standing on the Shoulders of Sentencing Giants," Dan Freed is indeed a sentencing giant. but he is the gentlest giant of all. It is hard to imagine that a man as mild-mannered, soft-spoken, and self-effacing as Dan Freed has had such a profound impact on federal sentencing law and so many other areas of criminal justice policy, Yet he has.

I've been in many rooms with Dan Freed over the years — classrooms, boardrooms, dining rooms, and others. …